EMP effects on high-T/sub c/ superconducting devices

The results of a study of irreversible damage induced in microstrips made from high-T/sub c/ thin films by high-power electromagnetic pulses is presented. It was demonstrated that at high supercritical currents, the magnetic flux flow process induces fast thermomagnetic instability. The result of this instability is local magnetic flux propagation, and subsequent irreversible damage of the high-T/sub c/ film. The parameter D=(I/sub d/-I/sub c/)/I/sub c/, where I/sub d/ and I/sub c/ are the critical damaging and superconducting-to-dissipative state transition currents, respectively, which represents the capability of the high-T/sub c/ microstrip to withstand supercritical current, depends on the quality and critical current density of the film.     

Operational characteristics of a flux-lock-type high-T/sub c/ superconducting fault current limiter with a tap changer

The authors investigate the operational characteristics of a flux-lock-type high-T/sub c/ superconducting (HTSC) fault current limiter (SFCL) with a tap changer which could adjust the number of turns of the third winding. In the case of conventional flux-lock-type SFCL, the phase adjusting capacitor is connected in series with magnetic field coil to adjust the magnetic field applied to the HTSC element in phase with the current flowing through the HTSC element during a fault time. However, the current flowing at the third winding, which is connected with magnetic field coil, affects the fault current limiting characteristics. To analyze the influence of current flowing at the third winding on the fault current limiting characteristics, the fault current limiting characteristics of the flux-lock type SFCL, whose inductance of coil 3 could be adjustable through a tap changer, are investigated through the experiments and the computer-aided simulations. The relation of line currents flowing into the flux-lock-type SFCL during a fault time and numbers of turns of a tap changer is drawn.     

High-T/sub 0/ strain-compensated InGaAsSb-AlGaAsSb quantum-well lasers emitting at 2.43 /spl mu/m

Strain-compensated InGaAsSb-AlGaAsSb quantum-well (QW) lasers emitting near 2.5 /spl mu/m have been grown by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy. The relatively high arsenic composition causing a tensile strain in the Al/sub 0.25/GaAs/sub 0.08/Sb barriers lowers the valence band edge and the hole energy level, leading to an increased hole confinement and improved laser performance. A 60% external differential efficiency in pulsed mode was achieved for 1000-/spl mu/m-long lasers emitting at 2.43 /spl mu/m. A characteristic temperature T/sub 0/ as high as 163 K and a lasing-wavelength temperature dependence of 1.02 nm//spl deg/C were obtained at room temperature. For 2000 /spl times/ 200 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ broad-area three-QW lasers without lateral current confinement, a low pulsed threshold of 275 A/cm/sup 2/ was measured.     

InGaAs-InP mesa DHBTs with simultaneously high f/sub /spl tau// and f/sub max/ and low C/sub cb//I/sub c/ ratio

We report an InP-InGaAs-InP double heterojunction bipolar transistor (DHBT), fabricated using a conventional triple mesa structure, exhibiting a 370-GHz f/sub /spl tau// and 459-GHz f/sub max/, which is to our knowledge the highest f/sub /spl tau// reported for a mesa InP DHBT-as well as the highest simultaneous f/sub /spl tau// and f/sub max/ for any mesa HBT. The collector semiconductor was undercut to reduce the base-collector capacitance, producing a C/sub cb//I/sub c/ ratio of 0.28 ps/V at V/sub cb/=0.5 V. The V/sub BR,CEO/ is 5.6 V and the devices fail thermally only at >18 mW//spl mu/m/sup 2/, allowing dc bias from J/sub e/=4.8 mA//spl mu/m/sup 2/ at V/sub ce/=3.9 V to J/sub e/=12.5 mA//spl mu/m/sup 2/ at V/sub ce/=1.5 V. The device employs a 30 nm carbon-doped InGaAs base with graded base doping, and an InGaAs-InAlAs superlattice grade in the base-collector junction that contributes to a total depleted collector thickness of 150 nm.     

Limitation of DC currents by YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta//-Au superconducting films

The limitation of dc fault currents is one of the issues for the development of dc networks or links. This paper shows for the first time the high potential of YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta//-Au bilayers for the design of dc current limiters. Such devices are based on the transition into the normal state of the superconducting YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// films above a current I/sup */>I/sub c/, where I/sub c/ is the critical current at the onset of dissipation. The study of the transition under current pulses shows that a thermally driven transition into the normal state can occur after a delay t/sub trans/. This duration is defined by the amplitude of the current pulse. For I/sup *//spl ap/3I/sub c/, this delay is less than 10 /spl mu/s. The abrupt transition into the normal state allows an efficient current limitation. A recovery of the superconducting state can also occur under current. This property can be extremely interesting for autonomous operation of a current limiter in an electrical network in case of transient over-currents coming from the starting of high-power devices.     

Second-harmonic generation in ion-implanted KTiOPO/sub 4/ planar waveguides

The first example of second harmonic generation (SHG) in an ion implanted KTiOPO/sub 4/ waveguide is reported. This was formed by helium implantation, and SHG was achieved using zero order mode phase matching at lambda approximately=1.07 mu m. The results indicate that the high nonlinearity remains in the guiding region after implantation. The conversion efficiency in the guide is estimated to be >10% for approximately 1 mu J 20 ns pulsed excitation.<>     

GHz bandstop microstrip filter using patterned Ni/sub 78/Fe/sub 22/ ferromagnetic film

A series of microstrips with patterned Ni/sub 78/Fe/sub 22/ ferromagnetic cores have been investigated for RF applications. The devices have been integrated onto a silicon substrate by using a fully IC-compatible process. The Ni/sub 78/Fe/sub 22/ films were deposited by electroplating onto Si at room temperature and were structured into rectangular prisms with large aspect ratios, i.e., 10:1 and 40:1. Measurements have been performed using a network analyzer. Voltage attenuation of 19 dB/cm has been obtained at 3.9 GHz on a 2-mm-long strip line. The propagating wavelength is reduced by 60% compared to a control device without ferromagnetic core.     

Effect of Mg doping on the superconducting properties of Cu/sub 1-x/Tl/sub x/Ba/sub 2/Ca/sub 3-y/Mg/sub y/Cu/sub 4/O/sub 12-/spl delta//

Superconducting properties of Cu/sub 1-x/Tl/sub x/Ba/sub 2/Ca/sub 3-y/Mg/sub y/Cu/sub 4/O/sub 12-/spl delta// (Cu/sub 1-x/Tl/sub x/Mg/sub y/-1234) material have been studied in the composition range y=0,1.5,2.25. The zero resistivity critical temperature [T/sub c/(R=0)] was found to increase with the increased concentration of Mg in the unit cell; for y=1.5 [T/sub c/(R=0)]=131 K was achieved which is hitherto highest in Cu/sub 1-x/Tl/sub x/-based superconductors. The X-ray diffraction analyses have shown the formation of a predominant single phase of Cu/sub 0.5/Tl/sub 0.5/Ba/sub 2/Ca/sub 3-y/Mg/sub y/Cu/sub 4/O/sub 12-/spl delta// superconductor with an inclusion of impurity phase. It is observed from the convex shape of the resistivity versus temperature measurements that our as-prepared material was in the region of carrier over-doping, and the number of carriers was optimized by postannealing experiments in air at 400/spl deg/C, 500/spl deg/C, and 600/spl deg/C. The T/sub c/(R=0) was found to increase with postannealing and the best postannealing temperature was found to be 600/spl deg/C. The mechanism of increased T/sub c/(R=0) is understood by carrying out infrared absorption measurements. It was observed through softening of Cu(2)-O/sub A/-Tl apical oxygen mode that improved interplane coupling was a possible source of enhancement of T/sub c/(R=0) to 131 K.     

GaAs/Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As quantum well infra-red photodetectors with cutoff wavelength lambda /sub c/=14.9 mu m

The longest wavelength quantum well infra-red photo-detector (QWIP) ever measured with a cutoff wavelength of lambda /sub c/=14.9 mu m is demonstrated when cooled to 10 K. Prospects for even longer wavelength detectors are promising.<>     

Free-space electrooptic sampling of terahertz radiation from optically excited superconducting YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// thin films

The characteristics of photogenerated terahertz radiation from a current-biased superconducting YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-/spl delta// (YBCO) bow-tie antenna were investigated using a free-space electrooptic sampling technique. Picosecond electromagnetic pulses about 450 fs wide were obtained. The frequency spectrum derived by Fourier transforming the picosecond pulses spans over 0.1-4 THz. The dynamics of the quasi-particles optically induced by the ultrafast laser pulse primarily determines the performances of the transient terahertz radiation generated under different operating parameters. The results indicate a characteristic quasi-particle relaxation time of about 2.5 ps close to the critical temperature T/sub c/, and a faster time at lower temperatures.     

Tunable superconducting microstrip filter

An electrically tunable two-pole bandpass filter with incorporated superconductor (YBaCuO) and nonlinear dielectric (SrTiO₃) films has been designed and investigated. The filter layout and DC voltage tuning of the filter frequency response are presented     

Photosensitivity and application with 157-nm F/sub 2/ laser radiation in planar lightwave circuits

Photosensitivity studies of germanosilica planar waveguides were carried out with short-wavelength 157-nm light from an F/sub 2/ laser. More than a 5/spl times/10/sup -3/ refractive-index change was induced in a nonuniform index profile concentrated near the cladding-core interface and confirmed by an atomic force microscopy in 157-nm radiated fiber. This profile geometry narrows with the laser exposure to offer practical application in trimming phase errors and controlling birefringence in frequency domain modulators where a 1.7/spl times/10/sup -3/ effective index change and a 5/spl times/10/sup -4/ birefringence change were induced, respectively. The 157-nm photosensitivity response is more than 15 times stronger than that by a 248-nm KrF laser and more than twofold stronger than that by a 193-nm ArF laser.     

Large-scale and high-density planar lightwave circuits with high- Delta GeO/sub 2/-doped silica waveguides

GeO/sub 2/-doped silica waveguides with a high refractive index difference ( Delta ) of 2% and a propagation loss of 0.1 dB/cm are fabricated on Si substrates. 200 cm-long test circuits and ring resonators are demonstrated, both with a minimum curvature of 2 mm.<>     

Characterization of asymmetric graded-index planar optical waveguides from the knowledge of TE/sub 0/-TE/sub 1/ mode cutoff wavelengths

The authors have proposed (1991) a simple method for predicting the index profile parameter (the profile exponent q in case of a power law profile or the aspect ratio S in case of trapezoidal index profile) of a graded-index optical fiber which is single moded in the 1.3-1.55 mu m wavelength range from a measurement of the LP/sub 11/ and LP/sub 02/ cutoff wavelengths. They extend the method with appropriate modification to determine the asymmetry parameter sigma , the maximum refractive index n/sub f/ and the characteristic thickness d of the guiding layer of a few-moded graded-index asymmetric planar optical waveguide from a measurement of the TE/sub 0/ and TE/sub 1/ cutoff wavelengths. The method is simple and can give firsthand information about these parameters with reasonably good accuracy.<>     

Low drive-power integrated acoustooptic filter on X-cut Y-propagating LiNbO/sub 3/

The authors fabricated very low power integrated acoustically tunable optical filters using walkoff-compensated miniature interdigital transducers, coupled to narrow-width acoustic waveguides. Nearly 100% transverse electric-transverse magnetic (TE-TM) polarization conversion efficiency was achieved using only 8 mW of applied RF power in a 1550-nm filter of 1.8-nm optical bandwidth. A power handling capacity of almost 100 channels was demonstrated by driving these transducers with 760 mW of RF power. These devices suffer little performance degradation in terms of filter width and sidelobe spectrum.<>     

All-pole filter with predistorted attenuation characteristic

A simple predistortion technique is presented to decrease the effect of losses in polynomial filters. The technique is based on a special class of filtering functions with monotonically decreasing passband attenuation response. With lossy elements this type of function provides a substantially flat passband attenuation characteristic.     

Genetic algorithm approach to fixed-order mixed H/sub 2//H/sub /spl infin// optimal deconvolution filter designs

The mixed H/sub 2//H/sub /spl infin// optimal deconvolution filter is proposed to achieve the H/sub 2/ optimal reconstruction and a desired robustness against the effect of uncertainties in signal processing from the H/sub /spl infin// norm perspective. However, the conventional mixed H/sub 2//H/sub /spl infin// optimal design filters are very complicated and are not practical for industrial applications. For simplicity of implementation and conservation of operation time, the fixed-order mixed H/sub 2//H/sub /spl infin// optimal deconvolution filter design is interesting for engineers in signal processing from the practical design perspective. In this study, to avoid the trap of local minima, a design method based on the genetic algorithm is introduced to treat the nonlinear optimization design problem of the fixed-order mixed H/sub 2//H/sub /spl infin// deconvolution filter. The convergence property of our design algorithm is also discussed. Finally, an example is presented to illustrate the design procedure and confirm the robustness performance of the proposed method.     

A novel strained Si/sub 0.7/Ge/sub 0.3/ surface-channel pMOSFET with an ALD TiN/Al/sub 2/O/sub 3//HfAlO/sub x//Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ gate stack

Proof-of-concept pMOSFETs with a strained-Si/sub 0.7/Ge/sub 0.3/ surface-channel deposited by selective epitaxy and a TiN/Al/sub 2/O/sub 3//HfAlO/sub x//Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ gate stack grown by atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALD) techniques were fabricated. The Si/sub 0.7/Ge/sub 0.3/ pMOSFETs exhibited more than 30% higher current drive and peak transconductance than reference Si pMOSFETs with the same gate stack. The effective mobility for the Si reference coincided with the universal hole mobility curve for Si. The presence of a relatively low density of interface states, determined as 3.3 /spl times/ 10/sup 11/ cm/sup -2/ eV/sup -1/, yielded a subthreshold slope of 75 mV/dec. for the Si reference. For the Si/sub 0.7/Ge/sub 0.3/ pMOSFETs, these values were 1.6 /spl times/ 10/sup 12/ cm/sup -2/ eV/sup -1/ and 110 mV/dec., respectively.     

Microwave power limiter based on high-T/sub c/ superconductive film

A power limiter is designed with two resonant diaphragms included in an X-range rectangular waveguide. The cross strips made of YBaCuO high-T/sub c/ superconductive films placed in the centre of diaphragms can be in superconducting or normal states. The film state is controlled by the microwave power. The S-N transition in the strips causes a change of the transmitted wave attenuation from 0.5 to 25 dB.<>     

High quality Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ IPD with NH/sub 3/ surface nitridation

In this letter, the effect of surface NH/sub 3/ nitridation on the electrical properties and reliability characteristics of aluminum oxide (Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/) interpoly capacitors is studied. With NH/sub 3/ surface nitridation, the formation of an additional layer with lower dielectric constant during post-annealing process can be significantly suppressed, compared to that without nitridation treatment. Furthermore, the presence of a thin Si-N layer can make post-deposition annealing more effective in eliminating traps existing in the as-deposited films. As a result, a smoother interface and smaller electron trapping rate can contribute to the drastically reduced leakage current, enhanced breakdown field and charge to breakdown (Q/sub bd/) of Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ interpoly capacitors with surface NH/sub 3/ nitridation.