MBE-grown vertical power-MOSFETs with 100-nm channel length

In this work we present a new approach for solving the tradeoff between breakdown capability and on state resistance for Power-MOS devices. Therefore we use a vertical transistor on an epitaxial layer. This concept allows the adjustment of the breakdown voltage due to the thickness of the epi-layer separately from the on-state resistance, which is defined by the vertical transistor. The transistor was fabricated by means of MBE, which allows very small channel length and doping control on atomistic scale. Devices with breakdown voltages between 12 V and 40 V were produced. It is also shown that the usage of local channel doping instead of homogenous doping in the switching transistor reduces the on state resistance of the device significantly.     

Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Detection of pH with Silica-Encapsulated 4-Mercaptobenzoic Acid-Functionalized Silver Nanoparticles

Sensors based upon surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) are attractive because they have narrow, vibrationally specific spectral peaks that can be excited using red and near-infrared light which avoids photobleaching, penetrates tissue, and reduces autofluorescence. Several groups have fabricated pH nanosensors by functionalizing silver or gold nanoparticle surfaces with an acidic molecule and measuring the ratio of protonated to deprotonated Raman bands. However, a limitation of these sensors is that macromolecules in biological systems can adsorb onto the nanoparticle surface and interfere with measurements. To overcome this interference, we encapsulated pH SERS sensors in a 30 nm thick silica layer with small pores which prevented bovine serum albumin (BSA) molecules from interacting with the pH-indicating 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) on the silver surfaces but preserved the pH-sensitivity. Encapsulation also improved colloidal stability and sensor reliability. The noise level corresponded to less than 0.1 pH units from pH 3 to 6. The silica-encapsulated functionalized silver nanoparticles (Ag-MBA@SiO(2)) were taken up by J774A.1 macrophage cells and measured a decrease in local pH during endocytosis. This strategy could be extended for detecting other small molecules in situ.     

Microwave Imaging with a Resolution of a Few Wavelengths

A simple method for on-line microwave imaging with very high resolution is presented. The imaging principle is based on the use of a synthetic aperture. Resolution is in one dimension but can be extended to two dimensions. Experimental results for one- and two-dimensional imaging are shown.     

Improvement in Resolution of Laser Capture Microdissection Using Near-Field Probe to Capture Nanoparticles

Purpose: A modified laser capture microdissection (LCM) system is developed to improve resolution to 400 nm, using a laser light (808 nm) transmitted by a near-field tip probe. Materials and methods: Using a 150-nm aperture to heat an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) film, melted spots on the average of 400 nm in diameter are generated on the underlying target composed of a 20-nm gold-particle monolayer. The near-field tip probe composed of fiber is set on a 2-D nanometer piezoactuator (PZT) for precise capturing of the monolayer of gold particles. The monolayer of gold particles under the target is bound to the EVA film using a laser, while the remaining EVA film stays on the monolayer. Results: The diameter of the melted spots as small as 400 nm are produced and details are provided that demonstrate the feasibility of the nanooperation of this new LCM system. Conclusion: The new LCM system successfully captures nanoparticles and improves resolution of microdissection to 400 nm. With this LCM system, the isolation of a single organelle or bacterium is possible.      

Charging process and Coulomb-force-directed printing of nanoparticles with sub-100-nm lateral resolution

This article reports on a new charging process and Coulomb-force-directed assembly of nanoparticles onto charged surface areas with sub-100-nm resolution. The charging is accomplished using a flexible nanostructured thin silicon electrode. Electrical nanocontacts have been created as small as 50 nm by placing the nanostructured electrode onto an electret surface. The nanocontacts have been used to inject charge into 50 nm sized areas. Nanoparticles were assembled onto the charge patterns, and a lateral resolution of 60 nm has been observed for the first time. A comparison of the nanoparticle patterns with the surface potential distribution recorded by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KFM) revealed a mismatch in the lateral resolution. One possible explanation is that nanoparticles may visualize charge patterns at a sub-60-nm length scale that is not well resolved using KFM.     

One-Dimensional, Time-Resolved Raman Measurements in a Sooting Flame made with 355-nm Excitation

Single-shot vibrational Raman measurements were performed along an 11-mm-long line crossing the reaction zone in a premixed, fuel-rich (phi = 10), laminar methane-air flame by use of a frequency-tripled Nd:YAG laser with a 355-nm emission wavelength. This laser source seems to have advantages relative to KrF excimer lasers as well as to Nd:YAG lasers at 532 nm for hydrocarbon combustion diagnostics. The Raman emissions of all major species (N(2), O(2), CH(4), H(2), CO(2), H(2)O) were detected simultaneously with a spatial resolution of 0.4 mm. By integration over selected spectral intervals, the mole fractions of all species and subsequently the local gas temperatures have been obtained. A comparison of the temperatures that were found with results from filtered Rayleigh experiments showed good agreement, indicating the success of what are to the best of our knowledge the first one-dimensional single-shot Raman measurements in a sooting hydrocarbon flame.     

Breakdown of universal mobility curves in sub-100-nm MOSFETs

We explore the breakdown of universal mobility behavior in sub-100-nm Si MOSFETs, using a novel three-dimensional (3-D) statistical simulation approach. In this approach, carrier trajectories in the bulk are treated via 3-D Brownian dynamics, while the carrier-interface roughness scattering is treated using a novel empirical model. Owing to the high efficiency of the transport kernel, effective mobility in 3-D MOSFETs with realistic Si-SiO/sub 2/ interfaces reconstructed from a Gaussian or exponential correlation function can be simulated in a statistical manner. We first demonstrate a practical calibration procedure for the interface mobility and affirm the universal behavior in the long channel limit. Next, effective mobility in ensembles of MOSFETs with a gate length down to 10 nm is investigated. It is found that the random-discrete nature of the Si-SiO/sub 2/ interface leads to a distribution of carrier mobility below the interface, which can deviate considerably from universal mobility curves when L/sub gate/<6/spl Lambda/, where /spl Lambda/ is the correlation length for the SiO/sub 2/ interface.     

Imaging of Thermal Conductivity with Sub-Micrometer Resolution Using Scanning Thermal Microscopy

With the development of new emerging technologies, many objects in scientific research and engineering are of sub-micrometer and nanometer size, such as microelectronics, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), biomedicines, etc. Therefore, thermal conductivity measurements with sub-micrometer resolution are indispensable. This paper reports on the imaging of various micrometer and sub-micrometer size surface variations using a scanning thermal microscope (SThM). The thermal images show the contrasts indicating the differences of the local thermal conductivity in the sample. Thermal resistance circuits for the thermal tip temperature are developed to explain the heat transfer mechanism between the thermal tip and the sample and to explain the coupling between the local thermal conductivity and the topography in the test results.     

Optimization of the Digital Near-Field Beamforming for Underwater 3-D Sonar Imaging System

This paper proposes a novel approximation for the delays of digital near-field beamforming based on a planar array. An optimized algorithm for the underwater 3-D sonar imaging system based on the novel approximation will also be described. The algorithm is applied to both an evenly spaced planar array and an unevenly spaced planar array. A data path for the optimized algorithm will be illustrated. Comparisons of the memory and the computational requirements between the optimized algorithm and the direct method (DM) beamforming will be presented. Comparisons of the proposed approximation and the Fresnel approximation will also be demonstrated. This paper illustrates that the proposed approximation enlarges the validity region of the system's view scene as compared with the Fresnel approximation. The optimized algorithm has the advantage of reducing the memory requirements for parameter storage comparing with DM beamforming.      

Highly uniform and reproducible surface-enhanced Raman scattering from DNA-tailorable nanoparticles with 1-nm interior gap

An ideal surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanostructure for sensing and imaging applications should induce a high signal enhancement, generate a reproducible and uniform response, and should be easy to synthesize. Many SERS-active nanostructures have been investigated, but they suffer from poor reproducibility of the SERS-active sites, and the wide distribution of their enhancement factor values results in an unquantifiable SERS signal. Here, we show that DNA on gold nanoparticles facilitates the formation of well-defined gold nanobridged nanogap particles (Au-NNP) that generate a highly stable and reproducible SERS signal. The uniform and hollow gap (～1 nm) between the gold core and gold shell can be precisely loaded with a quantifiable amount of Raman dyes. SERS signals generated by Au-NNPs showed a linear dependence on probe concentration (R(2) > 0.98) and were sensitive down to 10 fM concentrations. Single-particle nano-Raman mapping analysis revealed that >90% of Au-NNPs had enhancement factors greater than 1.0 × 10(8), which is sufficient for single-molecule detection, and the values were narrowly distributed between 1.0 × 10(8) and 5.0 × 10(9).     

Imaging theory of nonlinear Raman confocal microscopy

A novel nonlinear Raman confocal microscopy utilizing Raman induced Kerr effect spectroscopy (RIKES) is presented in this paper. The imaging theory of RIKES confocal microscopy with Gaussian beam is derived. The imaging properties of RIKES confocal microscopy and the impact of different beam waist widths of Gaussian beam on the lateral and axial resolution have been analyzed in detail. It is proved that RIKES confocal microscopy has high sensitivity and high resolution, besides capability to characterize inherent structural features, such as vibration mode, vibration orientation, and optically induced molecular reorientation etc. Therefore, nonlinear Raman confocal microscopy that is based on RIKES has potential to provide a novel characteristic imaging method comparable to the existing imaging techniques based on other nonlinear optical processes, such as two-photon fluorescence, second harmonic generation (SHG) and coherent anti-Stoke Raman scattering (CARS).     

光瞳滤波提高投影光刻成像分辨力研究

针对投影光刻成像系统在数值孔径足够大时所产生的分辨力和焦深的矛盾,详细研究了光瞳滤波对投影成像对比度的改善情况,根据不同掩模图形设计对应的最优滤波器。研究结果表明,光瞳滤波能大幅度提高投影光刻成像分辨力并增大焦深,是一种比较有效的提高光刻成像分辨力的方法。     

Anti-Stokes Raman spectrometry with 1064-nm excitation: an effective instrumental approach for field detection of explosives

Anti-Stokes Raman spectra of 28 explosive materials were obtained with 1064-nm excitation using fiber-optic sampling and a dispersive spectrograph equipped with a charge-coupled device (CCD) array detector. By using a silicon CCD detector, anti-Stokes features could clearly be observed for the majority of samples from -250 to -1650 cm(-1). Using the fiber-optic probe, spectra were routinely obtained from samples positioned up to twelve meters from the spectrograph within 240 s. The utility of an anti-Stokes correction routine is demonstrated, which routine allowed anti-Stokes spectra measured with 1064-nm excitation to be successfully searched and identified against libraries of Stokes spectra obtained using a Fourier transform (FT) Raman system equipped with a 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser.     

Imaging Fullerene C60 with Atomic Resolution Using a Scanning Tunnelling Microscope

C₆₀ was purified and imaged utilizing scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) in a constant current mode. By fixing the Fullerenes on the substrate (“frozen state” - no movement or rotation), direct imaging of C₆₀ with atomic resolution was possible, showing one pentagon and one hexagon carbon ring of C₆₀.     

一种用于微米／纳米硬度测试的具有纳米分辨率的压痕成像系统

与包括原子力显微镜在内的其他压痕形貌测量方法相比,光学显微镜以其非接触、大测量范围及较快的测量速度等优点在硬度测试中应用广泛,但包括共焦显微镜在内的常规显微镜其分辨率,特别是纵向分辨率,一直不能满足要求．为此开发了一种沿光轴方向的具有纳米分辨率的压痕成像系统．该系统基于层析全场显微术,即在常规光学显微镜的基础上引入结构光照明．应用移相方法得到样品的三维形貌．成像系统样机的测量结果表明,系统的纵向分辨率可达2nm,可以高精度地实现压痕的三维形貌测量,并量化揭示纳米压痕测试中常见的“坟起（pile-up）”及“沉入（sink-in）”现象．该系统有助于进一步研究显微及纳米硬度计量方法并降低计量的不确定度.     

Fabrication of nanopores in a 100-nm thick Si3N4 membrane

Textured alumina films have been used to fabricate nanoscale pores in Si3N4 membranes. A few nanometer-thick alumina layer was used as a masking material for nanopore fabrication, and the pattern was transferred into a 100-nm thick, 200 microm x 200 microm Si3N4 membrane by reactive ion etching (RIE). The nanopores were found to be concentrated in a approximately 150-microm diameter region at the center of the membrane.     

Intensities of E. coli nucleic acid Raman spectra excited selectively from whole cells with 251-nm light

Escherichia coli bacteria in the logarithmic growth phase have been investigated by UV resonance Raman spectroscopy. Bacterial whole-cell Raman spectra excited at 251 nm reflect nearly exclusively the nucleic acid composition even though a very large fraction of the bacterial mass is composed of protein. It has been demonstrated that if bacteria are grown under controlled (logarithmic growth) conditions, which give rise to organisms of known average biochemical composition, the intensities of E. coli Raman spectra can be explained quantitatively from the knowledge of component nucleic acid base resonance Raman cross sections.