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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Vacuum Microelectronic Integrated Differential Amplifier, S. Hsu, W. Kang, J. Davidson, J. Huang, David Kerns, Jr. Aug 2012

Vacuum Microelectronic Integrated Differential Amplifier, S. Hsu, W. Kang, J. Davidson, J. Huang, David Kerns, Jr.

David V. Kerns

Reported is a novel vacuum field emission transistor (VFET) differential amplifier (diff-amp) utilising nanocrystalline diamond emitters with self-aligned gate partitions. The integrated VFET diff-amp was fabricated by a dual-mask self-aligned mould transfer method in conjunction with chemical vapour deposited nanodiamond. Identical pairs of devices with well-matched field emission transistor characteristics were obtained, realising a negligible common-mode gain, high differential-mode gain, and large common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) of 55 dB. The emission current was validated by a modified Fowler-Nordheim equation in transistor configuration, and the CMRR was modelled by an equivalent half-circuit with the calculated result found to agree well with …


Terahertz And Microwave Detection Using Metallic Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes, Enrique Carrion Aug 2012

Terahertz And Microwave Detection Using Metallic Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes, Enrique Carrion

Enrique A Carrion

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising nanomaterials for high frequency applications due to their unique physical characteristics. CNTs have a low heat capacity, low intrinsic capacitance, and incredibly fast thermal time constants. They can also exhibit ballistic transport at low bias, for both phonons and electrons, as evident by their fairly long mean free paths. However, despite the great potential they present, the RF behavior of these nanostructures is not completely understood. In order to explore this high frequency regime we studied the microwave (MW) and terahertz (THz) response of individual and bundled single wall nanotube based devices. This thesis is …


Power Mems And Microengines, Alan Epstein, Stephen Senturia, G. Ananthasuresh, Arturo Ayon, Kenneth Breuer, Kuo-Shen Chen, Fredric Ehrich, Gautam Gauba, Reza Ghodssi, C. Groshenry, Stuart Jacobson, Jeffrey Lang, Chuang-Chia Lin, Amit Mehra, José Oscar Mur-Miranda, Steve Nagle, D. Orr, Ed Piekos, Martin Schmidt, Gregory Shirley, Mark Spearing, Choon Tan, Sheng-Yang Tzeng, Ian Waitz Jul 2012

Power Mems And Microengines, Alan Epstein, Stephen Senturia, G. Ananthasuresh, Arturo Ayon, Kenneth Breuer, Kuo-Shen Chen, Fredric Ehrich, Gautam Gauba, Reza Ghodssi, C. Groshenry, Stuart Jacobson, Jeffrey Lang, Chuang-Chia Lin, Amit Mehra, José Oscar Mur-Miranda, Steve Nagle, D. Orr, Ed Piekos, Martin Schmidt, Gregory Shirley, Mark Spearing, Choon Tan, Sheng-Yang Tzeng, Ian Waitz

José Oscar Mur-Miranda

MIT is developing a MEMS-based gas turbine generator. Based on high speed rotating machinery, this 1 cm diameter by 3 mm thick SiC heat engine is designed to produce 10-20 W of electric power while consuming 10 grams/hr of H2. Later versions may produce up to 100 W using hydrocarbon fuels. The combustor is now operating and an 80 W micro-turbine has been fabricated and is being tested. This engine can be considered the first of a new class of MEMS device, power MEMS, which are heat engines operating at power densities similar to those of the best large scale …


Degradation Uniformity Of Rf-Power Gaas Phemts Under Electrical Stress, Anita Villanueva, Jesus Del Alamo, Takayuki Hisaka, Kazuo Hayashi, Mark Somerville Jul 2012

Degradation Uniformity Of Rf-Power Gaas Phemts Under Electrical Stress, Anita Villanueva, Jesus Del Alamo, Takayuki Hisaka, Kazuo Hayashi, Mark Somerville

Mark Somerville

We have studied the electrical degradation of RF-power PHEMTs by means of in situ 2-D light-emission measurements. Electroluminescence originates in the recombination of holes that have been generated by impact ionization. The local light intensity, thus, maps the electric-field distribution at the drain side of the device. This allows us to probe the uniformity of electrical degradation due to electric-field-driven mechanisms. We find that electrical degradation proceeds in a highly nonuniform manner across the width of the device. In an initial phase, degradation takes place preferentially toward the center of the gate finger. In advanced stages of degradation, the edges …


Determining Dominant Breakdown Mechanisms In Inp Hemts, Mark Somerville, Chris Putnam, Jesus Del Alamo Jul 2012

Determining Dominant Breakdown Mechanisms In Inp Hemts, Mark Somerville, Chris Putnam, Jesus Del Alamo

Mark Somerville

We present a new technique for determining the dominant breakdown mechanism in InAlAs-InGaAs high-electron mobility transistors. By exploiting both the temperature dependence and the bias dependence of different physical mechanisms, we are able to discriminate impact ionization gate current from tunneling and thermionic field emission gate current in these devices. Our results suggest that the doping level of the supply layers plays a key role in determining the relative importance of these two effects.


Film Thickness Constraints For Manufacturable Strained Silicon Cmos, J. Fiorenza, G. Braithwaite, C. Leitz, M. Currie, J. Yap, F. Singaporewala, V. Yang, T. Langdo, J. Carlin, Mark Somerville, A. Lochtefeld, H. Badawi, M. Bulsara Jul 2012

Film Thickness Constraints For Manufacturable Strained Silicon Cmos, J. Fiorenza, G. Braithwaite, C. Leitz, M. Currie, J. Yap, F. Singaporewala, V. Yang, T. Langdo, J. Carlin, Mark Somerville, A. Lochtefeld, H. Badawi, M. Bulsara

Mark Somerville

This paper studies the effect of the strained silicon thickness on the characteristics of strained silicon MOSFETs on SiGe virtual substrates. NMOSFETs were fabricated on strained silicon substrates with various strained silicon thicknesses, both above and below the strained silicon critical thickness. The low field electron mobility and subthreshold characteristics of the devices were measured. Low field electron mobility is increased by about 1.8 times on all wafers and is not significantly degraded on any of the samples, even for a strained silicon thickness far greater than the critical thickness. From the subthreshold characteristics, however, it is shown that the …


Physical Mechanisms Limiting The Manufacturing Uniformity Of Millimeter-Wave Power Inp Hemt's, Sergei Krupenin, Roxann Blanchard, Mark Somerville, Jesus Del Alamo, K. Duh, Pane Chao Jul 2012

Physical Mechanisms Limiting The Manufacturing Uniformity Of Millimeter-Wave Power Inp Hemt's, Sergei Krupenin, Roxann Blanchard, Mark Somerville, Jesus Del Alamo, K. Duh, Pane Chao

Mark Somerville

We have developed a methodology to diagnose the physical mechanisms limiting the manufacturing uniformity of millimeter-wave power InAlAs/InGaAs HEMT's on InP. A statistical analysis was carried out on dc figures of merit obtained from a large number of actual devices on an experimental wafer. Correlation studies and principal component analysis of the results indicated that variations in Si delta-doping concentration introduced during molecular-beam epitaxy accounted for more than half of the manufacturing variance. Variations in the gate-source distance that is determined by the electron-beam alignment in the gate formation process were found to be the second leading source of manufacturing …


Strained Si On Insulator Technology: From Materials To Devices, T. Langdo, M. Currie, Z.-Y. Cheng, J. Fiorenza, M. Erdtmann, G. Braithwaite, C. Leitz, C. Vineis, J. Carlin, A. Lochtefeld, M. Bulsara, Isaac Lauer, Dimitri Antoniadis, Mark Somerville Jul 2012

Strained Si On Insulator Technology: From Materials To Devices, T. Langdo, M. Currie, Z.-Y. Cheng, J. Fiorenza, M. Erdtmann, G. Braithwaite, C. Leitz, C. Vineis, J. Carlin, A. Lochtefeld, M. Bulsara, Isaac Lauer, Dimitri Antoniadis, Mark Somerville

Mark Somerville

SiGe-free strained Si on insulator (SSOI) is a new material system that combines the carrier transport advantages of strained Si with the reduced capacitance and improved scalability of thin film silicon on insulator (SOI). We demonstrate fabrication of 20% Ge equivalent strain level SSOI substrates with Si thicknesses of 100 and 400 Å by hydrogen-induced layer transfer of strained Si layers from high quality graded SiGe virtual substrates. The substrate properties are excellent: wafer scale strained Si film thickness uniformities are better than 8%, strained Si surface roughnesses are better than 0.5 nm RMS, and robust tensile strain levels are …


Fully Depleted N-Mosfets On Supercritical Thickness Strained Soi, Isaac Lauer, T. Langdo, Z.-Y. Cheng, J. Fiorenza, G. Braithwaite, M. Currie, C. Leitz, A. Lochtefeld, H. Badawi, M. Bulsara, Mark Somerville, Dimitri Antoniadis Jul 2012

Fully Depleted N-Mosfets On Supercritical Thickness Strained Soi, Isaac Lauer, T. Langdo, Z.-Y. Cheng, J. Fiorenza, G. Braithwaite, M. Currie, C. Leitz, A. Lochtefeld, H. Badawi, M. Bulsara, Mark Somerville, Dimitri Antoniadis

Mark Somerville

Strained silicon-on-insulator (SSOI) is a new material system that combines the carrier transport advantages of strained Si with the reduced parasitic capacitance and improved MOSFET scalability of thin-film SOI. We demonstrate fabrication of highly uniform SiGe-free SSOI wafers with 20% Ge equivalent strain and report fully depleted n-MOSFET results. We show that enhanced mobility is maintained in strained Si films transferred directly to SiO2 from relaxed Si0.8Ge0.2 virtual substrates, even after a generous MOSFET fabrication thermal budget. Further, we find the usable strained-Si thickness of SSOI significantly exceeds the critical thickness of strained Si/SiGe without deleterious leakage current effects typically …


An Autozeroing Floating-Gate Amplifier, Paul Hasler, Bradley Minch, Chris Diorio Jul 2012

An Autozeroing Floating-Gate Amplifier, Paul Hasler, Bradley Minch, Chris Diorio

Bradley Minch

We have developed a bandpass floating-gate amplifier that uses tunneling and pFET hot-electron injection to set its dc operating point adaptively. Because the hot-electron injection is an inherent part of the pFET's behavior, we obtain this adaptation with no additional circuitry. Because the gate currents are small, the circuit exhibits a high-pass characteristic with a cutoff frequency less than 1 Hz. The high-frequency cutoff is controlled electronically, as is done in continuous-time filters. We have derived analytical models that completely characterize the amplifier and that are in good agreement with experimental data for a wide range of operating conditions and …


Integration Of Chemical Sensing And Electrowetting Actuation On Chemoreceptive Neuron Mos (Cνmos) Transistors, Nick Shen, Zengtao Liu, Blake Jacquot, Bradley Minch, Edwin Kan Jul 2012

Integration Of Chemical Sensing And Electrowetting Actuation On Chemoreceptive Neuron Mos (Cνmos) Transistors, Nick Shen, Zengtao Liu, Blake Jacquot, Bradley Minch, Edwin Kan

Bradley Minch

An integration of chemical sensors and electrowetting actuators based on the chemoreceptive neuron MOS (CνMOS) transistors has brought forth a novel system-on-chip approach to the microfluidic system. The extended floating-gate structure of the CνMOS transistors enables monolithic sensing and actuating schemes. The sensors with generic chemical receptive areas have been characterized with various fluids, and have demonstrated a high sensitivity from the current differentiation and a large dynamic range from threshold-voltage shifts in sensing polar and electrolytic liquids. The actuators have illustrated valve functions based on contact-angle modification by nonvolatile charge injection into the channel wall. Electrochemical models for sensing …


Charge-Based Chemical Sensors: A Neuromorphic Approach With Chemoreceptive Neuron Mos (Cvmos) Transistors, Nick Shen, Zengtao Liu, Chungho Lee, Bradley Minch, Edwin Kan Jul 2012

Charge-Based Chemical Sensors: A Neuromorphic Approach With Chemoreceptive Neuron Mos (Cvmos) Transistors, Nick Shen, Zengtao Liu, Chungho Lee, Bradley Minch, Edwin Kan

Bradley Minch

A novel chemoreceptive neuron MOS (CνMOS) transistor with an extended floating-gate structure has been designed with several individual features that significantly facilitate system integration of chemical sensing. We have fabricated CνMOS transistors with generic molecular receptive areas and have characterized them with various fluids. We use an insulating polymer layer to provide physical and electrical isolation for sample fluid delivery. Experimental results from these devices have demonstrated both high sensitivity via current differentiation and large dynamic range from threshold voltage shifts in sensing both polar and electrolytic liquids. We have established electrochemical models for both steady-state and transient analyses. Our …


Simulation Of Gallium Arsenide Electroluminescence Spectra In Avalanche Breakdown Using Self-Absorption And Recombination Models, David Kerns, Sherra Kerns, M Lahbabi, A Ahaitouf, E Abarkan, M Fliyou, A Hoffmann, J Charles, Bharat Bhuva Apr 2012

Simulation Of Gallium Arsenide Electroluminescence Spectra In Avalanche Breakdown Using Self-Absorption And Recombination Models, David Kerns, Sherra Kerns, M Lahbabi, A Ahaitouf, E Abarkan, M Fliyou, A Hoffmann, J Charles, Bharat Bhuva

Sherra E. Kerns

Light emission from gallium arsenide (GaAs) p–n junctions biased in avalanche breakdown have been modeled over the range of 1.4–3.4 eV. The model emphasizes direct and indirect recombination processes and bulk self-absorption. Comparisons between measured and simulated spectra for sample junctions from custom and commercially fabricated GaAs devices demonstrate that the model is simple, accurate, and consistent with fundamental physical device theory. The model also predicts the junction depth with accuracy.


A Study Of Diamond Field Emission Using Micro-Patterned Monolithic Diamond Tips With Different Sp2 Contents, David Kerns, A Wisitsora-At, W Kang, J Davidson Apr 2012

A Study Of Diamond Field Emission Using Micro-Patterned Monolithic Diamond Tips With Different Sp2 Contents, David Kerns, A Wisitsora-At, W Kang, J Davidson

David V. Kerns

Electron field emission from an array of micro-patterned monolithic diamond tips with varying sp2 content has been systematically investigated. The experimental results show that the field emission characteristics can be improved and the turn-on electric field can be reduced more than 50% by increasing sp2 content. Two hypotheses are proposed as an explanation of the effect of sp2 content on the field emission characteristics of diamond tips: the lowering of the work function due to defect-induced band generated bysp2 content in the diamond lattice and an increase in the field enhancement factor due to embedded sp2–diamond–sp2 cascaded microstructures.


Simulation Of Gallium Arsenide Electroluminescence Spectra In Avalanche Breakdown Using Self-Absorption And Recombination Models, David Kerns, Sherra Kerns, M Lahbabi, A Ahaitouf, E Abarkan, M Fliyou, A Hoffmann, J Charles, Bharat Bhuva Apr 2012

Simulation Of Gallium Arsenide Electroluminescence Spectra In Avalanche Breakdown Using Self-Absorption And Recombination Models, David Kerns, Sherra Kerns, M Lahbabi, A Ahaitouf, E Abarkan, M Fliyou, A Hoffmann, J Charles, Bharat Bhuva

David V. Kerns

Light emission from gallium arsenide (GaAs) p–n junctions biased in avalanche breakdown have been modeled over the range of 1.4–3.4 eV. The model emphasizes direct and indirect recombination processes and bulk self-absorption. Comparisons between measured and simulated spectra for sample junctions from custom and commercially fabricated GaAs devices demonstrate that the model is simple, accurate, and consistent with fundamental physical device theory. The model also predicts the junction depth with accuracy.


Analysis Of Scratches Formed On Oxide Surface During Chemical Mechanical Planarization, Jae-Gon Choi, Y. Prasad, In-Kwon Kim, In-Gon Kim, Woo-Jin Kim, Ahmed Busnaina, Jin-Goo Park Apr 2012

Analysis Of Scratches Formed On Oxide Surface During Chemical Mechanical Planarization, Jae-Gon Choi, Y. Prasad, In-Kwon Kim, In-Gon Kim, Woo-Jin Kim, Ahmed Busnaina, Jin-Goo Park

Jin-Goo Park

Scratch formation on patterned oxide wafers during the chemical mechanical planarization process was investigated. Silica and ceria slurries were used for polishing the experiments to observe the effect of abrasives on the scratch formation. Interlevel dielectric patterned wafers were used to study the scratch dimensions, and shallow trench isolation patterned wafers were used to study the effect of polishing parameters, such as pressure and rotational speed (head/platen). Similar shapes of scratches (chatter type) were observed with both types of slurries. The length of the scratch formed might be related to the period of contact between the wafer and the pad. …


A Parallel Circuit Model For Multi-State Resistive-Switching Random Access Memory, Albert Chen Jan 2012

A Parallel Circuit Model For Multi-State Resistive-Switching Random Access Memory, Albert Chen

Albert B Chen

Large, rapidly growing literature is available on bipolar resistive-switching random access memories (RRAM) made of myriad of simple and advanced materials. Many of them exhibit similar resistance switching behavior but, until now, no unifying model can allow quantification of their voltage and time responses. Using a simple parallel circuit model, these responses of a newly discovered RRAM made of a thin-film random material are successfully analyzed. The analysis clearly reveals a large population of intermediate states with remarkably similar switching characteristics. Such modeling framework based on simple circuit constructs also appears applicable to several RRAM made of other materials. This …