Electronic Devices and Semiconductor Manufacturing Commons^™

Closed-Form Expression For The Net Ground Plane Inductance Of Coplanar Stripline Pcbs, Li Huadong, Guru Subramanyam

Guru Subramanyam

The net ground plane inductance of printed circuit boards is the source of common-mode radiated emissions. Correct determination of the net ground plane inductance provides a quick estimation of the radiated emissions from printed circuit boards. Employing conformal mapping technique, this paper gives a closed-form expression for the per unit length net ground plane inductance of coplanar stripline printed circuit boards with finite ground plane width. Current density distribution on the ground plane is also obtained.

A Low Voltage Tunable Analog Phase Shifter Utilizing Ferroelectric Varactors, Guru Subramanyam, Kevin Leedy, Chakrapani Varanasi, Robert Neidhard, Keith Stamper, Mark Calcatera

Guru Subramanyam

A distributed transmission line phase shifter was implemented by periodically loading a coplanar transmission line using ferroelectric varactors in a shunt configuration. A single dc bias applied to the phase shifter circuit provides a large relative phase shift. A relative phase shift of ∼ 305 degrees was obtained at 20 GHz for a dc bias of only 5 V.

Generalized Memristive Device Spice Model And Its Application In Circuit Design, Chris Yakopcic, Tarek Taha, Guru Subramanyam, R. Pino

Guru Subramanyam

This paper presents a SPICE model for memristive devices. It builds on existing models and is correlated against several published device characterization data with an average error of 6.04%. When compared to existing alternatives, the proposed model can more accurately simulate a wide range of published memristors. The model is also tested in large circuits with up to 256 memristors, and was less likely to cause convergence errors when compared to other models. We show that the model can be used to study the impact of memristive device variation within a circuit. We examine the impact of nonuniformity in device …

Microwave Dielectric Properties Of Epitaxial Mn-Doped Ba(Zr,Ti)O-3 Thin Films On Laalo3 Substrates, Ming Liu, Chunrui Ma, Jian Liu, Gregory Collins, Chonglin Chen, Andy Alemayehu, Guru Subramanyam, Chao Dai, Yuan Lin, Amar Bhalla

Guru Subramanyam

Environmental friendly ferroelectric relaxor Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 thin films with an additional 2% Mn dopant were epitaxially fabricated on the (001) LaAlO3 single crystal substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Microstructure characterizations from x-ray diffraction suggest that the films are c-axis oriented with the interface relationship of [101]Mn:BZT//[100]LAO and (001)Mn:BZT //(001)LAO. The microwave dielectric property measurements (13–17.5 GHz) reveal that the films have excellent dielectric properties with large tunability, high dielectric constant, and low dielectric loss, which the average value is 25.9%, 169 and 0.054, respectively. It is indicated that the additional 2% Mn doped Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 thin films can be used for the …

Influence Of Space-Charge On Hysteresis Loop Characteristics Of Ferroelectric Thin Films, Huadong Li, Guru Subramanyam, S. Dey

Guru Subramanyam

Hysteresis loops of Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 (PZT) thin films obtained by using a Sawyer-Tower (ST) circuit are affected by many factors. This paper investigated the influence of space charge on the hysteresis loop of thin-film ferroelectrics, based on the model that polarization consists of two parts: linear and switching polarization. It is found that the space charge affects both the shape and offset of the ideal hysteresis loop. Further investigation shows that the practical hysteresis loop has a close relationship with the equivalent ST circuit parameters: the leakage resistance of the FE film, the equivalent input impedance of the measurement equipment, …

Novel Multi-Capacitor Architecture For Bst Thin Film Varactors, Guru Subramanyam, M. Patterson, K. Leedy, R. Neidhard, C. Varanasi, G. Steinhauer

Guru Subramanyam

Novel Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) thin film varactors with parallel capacitor architecture were designed fabricated and tested. Varactors with 2–6 parallel capacitors were experimentally verified using large area processed bst thin films. The multicapacitor varactor shunt switches provided improved isolation at the expense of higher insertion loss. The multicapacitor varactors yielded reduced overall parasitic series inductance and resistances, resulting in higher quality factor Q. This is the first time such a device is reported.

Performance Of Thin Film Ferroelectrics With Dopant-Ion Charges, Huadong Li, Guru Subramanyam, Jiadong Wang

Guru Subramanyam

This paper studied the effect of dopant-ion charges on the performance of thin film ferroelectrics. Field distributions and capacitance of ferroelectric thin films with different dopant-ion charge densities are analyzed. The non-linearity of the electric field inside the thin film increases with the dopant-ion charge density and decreases with the linear permittivity of the ferroelectric thin film. Once the applied voltage is strong enough, the field distribution will become linear. The FE thin film peak capacitance reduces with the dopant-ion charge density and the total area under the C-V curve between two large voltages with opposite signs is fixed.

Voltage Tunable Epitaxial Pb X Sr(1− X )Tio3 Films On Sapphire By Mocvd: Nanostructure And Microwave Properties, S. Dey, C. Wang, W. Cao, S. Bhaskar, J. Li, Guru Subramanyam

Guru Subramanyam

Frequency and phase agile microwave components such as tunable filters and phase shifters will require ferroelectric thin films that exhibit a nonlinear dependence of dielectric permittivity (ɛ _r ) with dc electric bias, as well as a high material (Δɛ _r /tan δ) and device (or K-factor in phase shift/dB) figure of merits (FOM). Therefore, voltage tunable (Pb_0.3Sr_0.7)TiO₃ (PST) thin films (90–150 nm) on (0001) sapphire were deposited by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition at rates of 10–15 nm/min. The as-deposited epitaxial PST films were characterized by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, X-ray methods, field …

Very-Low-Specific-Resistance Pd/Ag/Au/Ti/Au Alloyed Ohmic Contact To P Gan For High-Current Devices, V. Adivarahan, A. Lunev, M. Asif Khan, J. Yang, Grigory Simin, M. S. Shur, R. Gaska

Grigory Simin

We report on Pd/Ag/Au/Ti/Au alloyed metallic contact to pGaN. An 800 °C anneal for 1 min in flowing nitrogen ambient produces an excellent ohmic contact with a specific contact resistivity close to 1×10−6 Ω cm2 and with good stability under high current operation conditions. This high-temperature anneal forms an alloy between Ag,Au, and pGaN resulting in a highly p-doped region at the interface. Using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray diffractionanalysis, we confirm that the contact formation mechanism is the metal intermixing and alloying with the semiconductor.

Algan/Gan Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Heterostructure Field-Effect Transistors On Sic Substrates, M. Asif Khan, X. Hu, A. Tarakji, Grigory Simin, J. Yang, R. Gaska, M. S. Shur

Grigory Simin

We report on AlGaN/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor heterostructurefield-effect transistors (MOS-HFETs) grown over insulating 4H–SiC substrates. We demonstrate that the dc and microwave performance of the MOS-HFETs is superior to that of conventional AlGaN/GaN HFETs, which points to the high quality of SiO2/AlGaNheterointerface. The MOS-HFETs could operate at positive gate biases as high as +10 V that doubles the channel current as compared to conventional AlGaN/GaN HFETs of a similar design. The gate leakage current was more than six orders of magnitude smaller than that for the conventional AlGaN/GaN HFETs. The MOS-HFETs exhibited stable operation at elevated temperatures up to 300 °Cwith excellent …

Mechanism Of Radio-Frequency Current Collapse In Gan-Algan Field-Effect Transistors, A. Tarakji, Grigory Simin, N. Ilinskaya, X. Hu, A. Kumar, A. Koudymov, J. Yang, M. Asif Khan, M. S. Shur, R. Gaska

Grigory Simin

The mechanism of radio-frequency current collapse in GaN–AlGaN heterojunctionfield-effect transistors(HFETs) was investigated using a comparative study of HFET and metal–oxide–semiconductor HFET current–voltage (I–V) and transfer characteristics under dc and short-pulsed voltage biasing. Significant current collapse occurs when the gate voltage is pulsed, whereas under drain pulsing the I–V curves are close to those in steady-state conditions. Contrary to previous reports, we conclude that the transverse electric field across the wide-band-gap barrier layer separating the gate and the channel rather than the gate or surface leakage currents or high-field effects in the gate–drain spacing is responsible for the current collapse. We …

Variable Attenuator Blends Dynamic Range, Linearity, Chin-Leong Lim

Chin-Leong Lim

A voltage variable attenuators (VVA) with compact dimensions and high linearity can be realized by connecting PIN diodes in the form of a π network. However this VVA's maximum frequency is limited to ~1 GHz because of signal leakage through the series diodes' parasitic capacitances. The ceiling frequency can significantly raised by resonating the parasitic capacitance with a parallel inductor. This technique has been previously demonstrated on a discrete design. To reduce component count and size, this work extends the technique to a standalone, highly-integrated module. This paper reports the performances achieved at 3.5 GHz.

The prototype's attenuation is adjustable …

Challenges And Opportunities For Multi-Functional Oxide Thin Films For Voltage Tunable Radio-Frequency/Microwave Components, Guru Subramanyam, M W. Cole, Nian X. Sun, Thottam S. Kalkur, Nick M. Sbrockey, Gary S. Tompa, Xiaomei Guo, Chonglin Chen, S P. Alpay, G A. Rossetti Jr., Kaushik Dayal, Long-Qing Chen, Darrell G. Schlom

Guru Subramanyam

There has been significant progress on the fundamental science and technological applications of complex oxides and multiferroics. Among complex oxide thin films, barium strontium titanate (BST) has become the material of choice for room-temperature-based voltage-tunable dielectric thin films, due to its large dielectric tunability and low microwave loss at room temperature. BST thin film varactor technology based reconfigurable radio frequency (RF)/microwave components have been demonstrated with the potential to lower the size, weight, and power needs of a future generation of communication and radar systems. Low-power multiferroic devices have also been recently demonstrated. Strong magneto-electric coupling has also been demonstrated …

Limiters Protect Adcs Without Adding Harmonics, Chin-Leong Lim

Chin-Leong Lim

High-speed Analogue to Digital Converters (ADC) are used for sampling at either the intermediate frequency (IF) or the radio frequency of wireless receivers. When the transmitter is nearby, the sampled signal can exceed the ADC’s maximum input level. So, amplitude limiting is necessary to prevent ADC damage or degradation. While automatic gain control is effective for controlling IF amplitude excursion in traditional single-carrier systems, it is not desirable in modern multi-carrier applications. One solution is to cap the IF amplitude excursion with a limiter. Unfortunately, a new problem is created – the strong non-linearity that is required of a good …

Lna Integrates Fast Shutdown Function, Chin-Leong Lim

Chin-Leong Lim

To minimize dead time in time domain duplex (TDD) transceiver, reception should ideally commence as soon as transmission ends. However, the low noise amplifier (LNA), which is typically shutdown during transmission to prevent device damage and receiver overload, can exhibit a turn-on delay. In older implementations, the shutdown function is external to the LNA device. So, one way to reduce part count and to miniaturize this class of LNA is to integrate the LNA and shutdown function in a microwave monolithic integrated circuit (MMIC). The integration also allows the shutdown circuit to be connected to the LNA at an optimum …

Low Loss Configuration For Integrated Pin-Schottky Limiters, Chin-Leong Lim

Chin-Leong Lim

Compared to the PIN diode limiter, the Schottky-PIN limiter improves receiver protection, but has a higher insertion loss. Low cost, plastic packaged diodes can further worsen the loss. Diode stacking, mesa diode construction, and isolating the Schottky diode with a high-impedance quarter wave line or a directional coupler can reduce loss, but detrimentally raises the limiting threshold and/or adds bulk or cost. The PIN-Schottky limiter’s insertion loss can be improved by integrating the diodes’ parasitic capacitances into a low pass ladder network, but this solution requires the PIN diode to have two anode connections. Recently, the PIN-Schottky limiter was integrated …

Active Neutral Point Clamped Converter For Equal Loss Distribution, Saad Mekhilef

Prof. Dr. Saad Mekhilef

No abstract provided.

Limiting And Transient Performances Of A Low Loss Pin-Schottky Limiter, Chin-Leong Lim

Chin-Leong Lim

The main cause of loss in the PIN-Schottky limiter is the diodes’ parasitic capacitances. Techniques to counter the parasitic capacitances include using bare chip, air cavity packaging, diode stacking, mesa construction, isolating the Schottky diode from the signal path and connecting the diodes to a low impedance node. But the aforementioned techniques either sacrifice cost, manufacturability, size, performances or thermal ruggedness. To reduce loss in the PIN-Schottky limiter, we re-configured its parasitics into a low pass ladder network. This paper reports on the new configuration’s changed large signal and transient performances. We observed improved isolation at 0.9 and 2.4 GHz, …

Experimental And Theoretical Study Of Polarization-Dependent Optical Transitions In Inas Quantum Dots At Telecommunication-Wavelengths (1300-1500 Nm), Muhammad Usman, Susannah Heck, Edmund Clarke, Peter Spencer, Hoon Ryu, Ray Murray, Gerhard Klimeck

Gerhard Klimeck

observed, in contrast to recent reports for single QDJOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 109, 104510 (2011)The design of some optical devices, such as semiconductor optical amplifiers for telecommunication applications, requires polarization-insensitive optical emission at long wavelengths (1300–1550 nm). Self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) typically exhibit ground state optical emissions at wavelengths shorter than 1300 nm with highly polarization-sensitive characteristics, although this can be modified by the use of low growth rates, the incorporation of strain-reducing capping layers, or the growth of closely-stacked QD layers. Exploiting the strain interactions between closely stacked QD layers also affords greater freedom in the choice of …

Balanced Uhf Lna Simplifies Cell Towers, Chin-Leong Lim

Chin-Leong Lim

Cellular basestations' low noise amplifiers (LNA) must have input impedances that are closely matched to the antennas. Unfortunately, the amplifier devices cannot be conjugate matched without sacrificing their noise performances. Current solutions such as the isolator and the balanced LNA can satisfactorily solve the matching problem but at the expense of increased cost, weight and size. On the other hand, the confined space atop cellular towers makes the current solutions unattractive. To shrink the balanced LNA for cellular infrastructure service, we pair a highly integrated dual-amplifier MMIC with miniature multilayer couplers. This MMIC also achieves the distinction of being the …

Mems Resonant Magnetic Field Sensor Based On An Aln/Fegab Bilayer Nano-Plate Resonator, Yu Hui, Tianxiang Nan, Nian Sun, Matteo Rinaldi

Nian X. Sun

This paper reports on the first demonstration of an ultra-miniaturized, high frequency (215 MHz) and high sensitivity MEMS resonant magnetic field sensor based on an AlN/FeGaB bilayer nano-plate resonator capable of detecting magnetic field at nano-Tesla level. Despite of the reduced volume and the high operating frequency of the sensor, high electromechanical performances were achieved (quality factor Q ≈ 511 and electromechanical coupling coefficient kt² ≈ 1.63%). This first prototype was characterized for different magnetic field levels from 0 to 152 Oe showing a frequency sensitivity of ~ 1 Hz/nT and a limit of detection of ~ 10 nT.

Wireless Transmission Network : A Imagine, Radhey Shyam Meena Engineer, Neeraj Kumar Garg Asst.Prof

Radhey Shyam Meena

World cannot be imagined without electrical power. Generally the power is transmitted through transmission networks. This paper describes an original idea to eradicate the hazardous usage of electrical wires which involve lot of confusion in particularly organizing them. Imagine a future in which wireless power transfer is feasible: cell phones, household robots, mp3 players, laptop computers and other portable electronic devices capable of charging themselves without ever being plugged in freeing us from that final ubiquitous power wire. This paper includes the techniques of transmitting power without using wires with an efficiency of about 95% with non-radioactivemethods. In this paper …

Mems Resonant Magnetic Field Sensor Based On An Aln/Fegab Bilayer Nano-Plate Resonator, Yu Hui, Tianxiang Nan, Nian Sun, Matteo Rinaldi

Tianxiang Nan

This paper reports on the first demonstration of an ultra-miniaturized, high frequency (215 MHz) and high sensitivity MEMS resonant magnetic field sensor based on an AlN/FeGaB bilayer nano-plate resonator capable of detecting magnetic field at nano-Tesla level. Despite of the reduced volume and the high operating frequency of the sensor, high electromechanical performances were achieved (quality factor Q ≈ 511 and electromechanical coupling coefficient kt² ≈ 1.63%). This first prototype was characterized for different magnetic field levels from 0 to 152 Oe showing a frequency sensitivity of ~ 1 Hz/nT and a limit of detection of ~ 10 nT.

Battery Energy Storage System In Solar Power Generation, Radhey Shyam Meena Er., Deepa Sharma

Radhey Shyam Meena

Grid-connected solar PV dramatically changes the load profile of an electric utility customer. The expected widespread adoption of solar generation by customers on the distribution system poses significant challenges to system operators both in transient and steady state operation, from issues including voltage swings, sudden weather-induced changes in generation, and legacy protective devices designed with one-way power flow in mind

A Shade Tolerant Panel Design For Thin Film Photovoltaics, Sourabh Dongaonkar, Muhammad Alam

Sourabh Dongaonkar

We analyze the problem of partial shading of thin film photovoltaic (TFPV) panels, using full two dimensional circuit simulations. By accounting for the panel structure and typical array configurations, we can accurately account for the effect of various shading configurations at the cell and panel level. We demonstrate the limitation of external bypass diodes in protecting shaded cells from reverse breakdown, and explore the whole range of shading scenarios and their impact on reverse stress experienced by shaded cells. Based on the analysis, we identify the key aspects of shading problem, and formulate design rules for shadow aware geometrical design …

End-To-End Modeling For Variability And Reliability Analysis Of Thin Film Pv, Sourabh Dongaonkar, Muhammad Alam

Sourabh Dongaonkar

We present an end-to-end modeling framework, spanning the device, module and also system levels, for analyzing thin film photovoltaics (PV). This approach is based on embedding a detailed, statistically relevant, physics based equivalent circuit into module and array level simulations. This approach enables us to analyze key variability and reliability issues in thin film PV, and allows us to interpret their effect on process yield and intrinsic module lifetimes. Our results suggest that the time-zero gap between cell and module efficiencies, a key variability concern for thin-film PV, can be attributed to processrelated shunts with log-normal PDF distributed randomly across …

Reverse Stress Metastability Of Shunt Current In Cigs Solar Cells, Sourabh Dongaonkar, Erik Sheets, Rakesh Agrawal, Muhammad Alam

Sourabh Dongaonkar

Partial shading in thin film solar panels can result in reverse bias stress across shaded cells. Therefore, it is important to understand the effect of such reverse stress in commercially competitive PV technologies such as CIGS. In this paper, we systematically investigate the effect of moderate reverse bias on solution-processed CIGS solar cells. We subject the solar cells to varying degrees of reverse biases and continuously monitor the impact of the stress on dark current. We also explore the relaxation behavior of dark current following passive storage and the long term effect of the shadow stress on power output of …

A Physical Model For Non-Ohmic Shunt Conduction And Metastability In Amorphous Silicon P-I-N Solar Cells, Sourabh Dongaonkar, Karthik Y, Souvik Mahapatra, Muhammad Alam

Sourabh Dongaonkar

We present a physical model of non-ohmic shunt current in a-Si:H p-i-n solar cells, and validate it with detailed measurements. This model is based on space-charge-limited (SCL) transport through localized p-i-p shunt paths, which can arise from contact metal incorporation in a-Si:H layer. This model explains both the electrical characteristics and the metastable switching behavior of the shunts within an integrated framework. We first verify the SCL model using simulations and statistically robust measurements, and then use this picture to analyze our systematic observations of non-volatile switching in these shunts. Our work not only resolves broad experimental observations on shunt …

On The Nature Of Shunt Leakage In Amorphous Silicon P-I-N Solar Cells, Sourabh Dongaonkar, Karthik Y, Dapeng Wang, Michel Frei, Souvik Mahapatra, Muhammad Alam

Sourabh Dongaonkar

In this letter, we investigate the nature of shunt leakage currents in large-area (on the order of square centimeters) thin-film a-Si:H p-i-n solar cells and show that it is characterized by following universal features: 1) voltage symmetry; 2) power-law voltage dependence; and 3) weak temperature dependence. The voltage symmetry offers a robust empirical method to isolate the diode current from measured “shunt-contaminated” forward dark IV . We find that space-charge-limited current provides the best qualitative explanation for the observed features of the shunt current. Finally, we discuss the possible physical origin of localized shunt paths in the light of experimental …

Identification, Characterization, And Implications Of Shadow Degradation In Thin Film Solar Cells, Sourabh Dongaonkar, Karthik Y, Dapeng Wang, Michel Frei, Souvik Mahapatra, Muhammad Alam

Sourabh Dongaonkar

We describe a comprehensive study of intrinsicreliability issue arising from partial shadowing of photovoltaicpanels (e.g., a leaf fallen on it, a nearby tree casting a shadow,etc.). This can cause the shaded cells to be reverse biased, causingdark current degradation. In this paper, (1) we calculate thestatistical distribution of reverse bias stress arising from variousshading configurations, (2) identify the components of darkcurrent, and provide a scheme to isolate them, (3) characterizethe effect of reverse stress on the dark current of a-Si:H p-i-ncells, and (4) finally, combine these features of degradationprocess with shadowing statistics, to project ‘shadow-degradation’ (SD) over the operating lifetime …