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Full-Text Articles in Electronic Devices and Semiconductor Manufacturing

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.


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 …


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 …


Evaluation And Design Optimization Of Piezoresistive Gauge Factor Of Thick-Film Resistors, Sherra E. Kerns, David V. Kerns, C Song, J. L. Davidson, W. P. Kang Apr 2012

Evaluation And Design Optimization Of Piezoresistive Gauge Factor Of Thick-Film Resistors, Sherra E. Kerns, David V. Kerns, C Song, J. L. Davidson, W. P. Kang

Sherra E. Kerns

On the basis of the analysis of all the thick- film design methodologies, the authors designed a test sample on which four different length-over-width ratios of resistors were designed. They found that the length-over-width ratio will substantially affect the gauge factor in some cases, in contrast to prior research. This can be modeled to generate a linear predictive model, The sensors designed on the insulator and the sensors underneath the insulator were also studied in order to simulate the multilayer hybrid technology and study the effects of insulator-resistor-substrate surface interaction. It is demonstrated that design techniques can affect the strain …


Measurement Of Metal Migration On Thick Film Piezoresistors And Their Termination, David V. Kerns, C Song, J L. Davidson, D L. Kinser Apr 2012

Measurement Of Metal Migration On Thick Film Piezoresistors And Their Termination, David V. Kerns, C Song, J L. Davidson, D L. Kinser

David V. Kerns

Metal migration from the thick-film termination can affect not only the electrical characteristics but also the gauge factor or piezoresistive coefficient of thick-film sensors. Four sets of sensors with different ratios were designed to test the influence of the terminal metal migration effects on the gauge factors and resistivity of thick-film resistors. In all the cases, the shortest resistors have a lower gauge factor and a large deviation ofresistances. The longer resistors will have better electrical parameters. SEM (scanning electron microscope) studies showed this interaction at the interface between the terminal and the resistor. The same distance of terminal diffusion …


Evaluation And Design Optimization Of Piezoresistive Gauge Factor Of Thick-Film Resistors, Sherra E. Kerns, David V. Kerns, C Song, J. L. Davidson, W. P. Kang Apr 2012

Evaluation And Design Optimization Of Piezoresistive Gauge Factor Of Thick-Film Resistors, Sherra E. Kerns, David V. Kerns, C Song, J. L. Davidson, W. P. Kang

David V. Kerns

On the basis of the analysis of all the thick- film design methodologies, the authors designed a test sample on which four different length-over-width ratios of resistors were designed. They found that the length-over-width ratio will substantially affect the gauge factor in some cases, in contrast to prior research. This can be modeled to generate a linear predictive model, The sensors designed on the insulator and the sensors underneath the insulator were also studied in order to simulate the multilayer hybrid technology and study the effects of insulator-resistor-substrate surface interaction. It is demonstrated that design techniques can affect the strain …