Nanoplasmonic Enhanced ZnO/Si Heterojunction Metal–Semiconductor–Metal Photodetectors

This paper presents a nanoplasmonic enhanced ZnO/Si heterojunction metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) photodetector (PD). By depositing different thicknesses of Ag thin film and annealing at a moderate temperature, well-defined silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) with different diameters, densities, and size distributions were produced on the surface of ZnO/Si MSM photodetector devices. By tuning the characteristics of these NPs, a higher-performance ZnO/Si MSM photodetector has been realized. The photocurrent of the detector with NPs was increased by 160% to 680%, depending on the applied voltage. The spectral photocurrent enhancement by a factor of 7 to 18 was broadband from 350 nm to 850 nm.     

Study on low-Ag content Sn–Ag–Zn/Cu solder joints

The eutectic Sn–Ag–Cu solder is the most popular lead free solder. But reliability and cost issues limit its application. On the other hand, Sn–Ag–Zn system has many advantages comparing with Sn–Ag–Cu. In this paper, interfaces of Sn–xAg–1Zn/Cu and Sn–2Ag–xZn/Cu (x = 1, 2, 3), Sn–2Ag–2.5Zn/Cu and Sn–1.5Ag–2Zn/Cu solders joints were studied to understand effects of Ag and Zn contents. Results show that shearing strength of as-reflowed Sn–2Ag–2Zn/Cu and Sn–1.5Ag–2Zn/Cu joints is higher than other joints. Because of the strong Cu–Sn reaction and the formation of Ag₃Sn, the Sn–Ag–Zn series solder joints are not suitable for use above 150 °C temperature. After 250 °C soldering for 4 h, while the Zn content increased from 1 wt% to 2 wt%, the interfacial IMC of Sn–Ag–Zn/Cu altered from Cu₆Sn₅ to Cu₅Zn₈. The Cu₅Zn₈ interface has higher shearing strength than Cu₆Sn₅ interface. Relationships among microstructure, strength and aging condition are discussed.     

Space–Time/Space–Frequency/Space–Time–Frequency Block Coded MIMO-OFDM System with Equalizers in Quasi Static Mobile Radio Channels Using Higher Tap Order

In 4G broadband wireless communications, multiple transmit and receive antennas are used to form multiple input multiple output (MIMO) channels to increase the capacity (by a factor of the minimum number of transmit and receive antennas) and data rate. In this paper, the combination of MIMO technology and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems is analyzed for wideband transmission which mitigates the intersymbol interference and hence enhances system capacity. In MIMO-OFDM systems, the coding is done over space, time, and frequency domains to provide reliable and robust transmission in harsh wireless environment. Also, the performance of space time frequency (STF) coded MIMO-OFDM is analyzed with space time and space frequency coding as special cases. The maximum achievable diversity of STF coded MIMO-OFDM is analyzed and bit error rate performance improvement is verified by simulation results. Simulations are carried out in harsh wireless environment, whose effect is mitigated by using higher tap order channels. The complexity is resolved by employing sphere decoder at the receiver.     

Chemical–Mechanical Polishing of CdTe and ZnxCd1?xTe Single Crystals by H2O2(HNO3)–HBr–Organic Solvent Etchant Compositions

Chemical–mechanical polishing of CdTe and Zn _x Cd_1−x Te single-crystal surfaces by bromine-evolving compositions based on aqueous solutions of H₂O₂(HNO₃)–HBr–solvent has been investigated. The dependences of the chemical–mechanical polishing rate on the dilution of the base polishing etchant for various organic components have been determined. The surface condition after such polishing has been investigated using profilometry. The polishing etchant compositions for CdTe and Zn _x Cd_1−x Te single-crystal surfaces and the chemical polishing conditions have been optimized.     

Nonvolatile Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Capacitors with Ru-RuOx Composite Nanodots Embedded in Atomic-Layer-Deposited Al2O3 Films

Growth of Ru-RuO _x composite nanodots (RONs) on atomic-layer-deposited Al₂O₃ films has been investigated using magnetic sputtering of a Ru target followed by postdeposition annealing. RONs with a density as high as ~2 × 10¹² cm⁻² were obtained together with good uniformity. Subsequently, metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitors with RONs embedded in Al₂O₃ films have been electrically characterized for different configurations of tunneling layers (T)/blocking layers (B), and the underlying mechanisms of charge storage are discussed. For a 6-nm T/22-nm B device, a memory window of 3.7 V is achieved for a ±7 V programing/erasing voltage for 0.1 ms, and superior charge retention of more than 80% is achieved after 10 years.     

Flexibility of p–n Junction Formation from SWIR to LWIR Using MBE-Grown Hg(1–x)CdxTe on Si Substrates

In this paper, we show the versatility of using molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) for the growth of the mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) system. Abrupt composition profiles, changes in doping levels or switching doping types are easily performed. It is shown that high-quality material is achieved with Hg_(1–x)Cd _x Te grown by MBE from a cadmium mole fraction of x = 0.15 to x = 0.72. Doping elements incorporation as low as 10¹⁵ cm⁻³ for both n-type and p-type material as well as high incorporation levels >10¹⁸ cm⁻³ for both carrier types were achieved. X-ray curves, secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) data, Hall data, the influence of doping incorporation with cadmium content and growth rate, etch pit density (EPD), composition uniformity determined from Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) transmission spectro- scopy, and surface defect maps from low to high x values are presented to illustrate the versatility and quality of HgCdTe material grown by MBE. All data presented in this work are from layers grown on silicon (112) substrate.     

Timing–driven variation–aware synthesis of hybrid mesh/tree clock distribution networks

Clock skew variations adversely affect timing margins, limiting performance, reducing yield, and may also lead to functional faults. Non-tree clock distribution networks, such as meshes and crosslinks, are employed to reduce skew and also to mitigate skew variations. These networks, however, increase the dissipated power while consuming significant metal resources. Several methods have been proposed to trade off power and wires to reduce skew. In this paper, an efficient algorithm is presented to reduce clock skew variations while minimizing power dissipation and metal area overhead. With a combination of nonuniform meshes and unbuffered trees (UBT), a variation-tolerant hybrid clock distribution network is produced. Clock skew variations are selectively reduced based on circuit timing information generated by static timing analysis (STA). The skew variation reduction procedure is prioritized for critical timing paths, since these paths are more sensitive to skew variations. A framework for skew variation management is proposed. The algorithm has been implemented in a standard 65 nm cell library using standard EDA tools, and tested on several benchmark circuits. As compared to other nonuniform mesh construction methods that do not support managed skew tolerance, experimental results exhibit a 41% average reduction in metal area and a 43% average reduction in power dissipation. As compared to other methods that employ skew tolerance management techniques but do not use a hybrid clock topology, an 8% average reduction in metal area and a 9% average reduction in power dissipation are achieved.     

Extended frequency-band-decomposition sigma–delta A/D converter

Parallelism can be used to increase the bandwidths of ADC converters based on sigma–delta modulators. Each modulator converts a part of the input signal band and is followed by a digital filter. Unfortunately, solutions using bandpass sigma–delta modulators are very sensitive to the position of the modulators’ central frequencies. This paper shows the feasibility of a frequency-band-decomposition (FBD) ADC using continuous time bandpass sigma–delta modulators, even in the case of large analog mismatches. The major benefit of such a solution, called extended-frequency-band-decomposition (EFBD) is its low sensitivity to analog parameters. For example, a relative error in the central frequencies of 4% can be accepted without significant degradation in the performance (other published FBD ADCs require a precision of the central frequencies better than 0.1%). This paper will focus on the performance which can be reached with this system, and the architecture of the digital part. The quantization of coefficients and operators will be addressed. It will be shown that a 14 bit resolution can be theoretically reached using 10 sixth-order bandpass modulators at a sampling frequency of 800 MHz which results in a bandwidth of 80 MHz centered around 200 MHz (the resolution depends on the effective quality factor of the filters of the analog modulators).     

Low cycle fatigue performance of ball grid array structure Cu/Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu/Cu solder joints

Low cycle fatigue performance of ball grid array (BGA) structure Cu/Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu/Cu joints with different standoff heights (h, varying from 100 to 500 μm) and two pad diameters (d, d = 320 and 480 μm) under displacement-controlled cyclic loading was studied by experimental method and finite element (FE) simulation. A prediction method based on the plastic strain energy density and continuum damage mechanics (CDM) framework was proposed to evaluate the initiation and propagation of fatigue crack in solder joints. The results show that fatigue failure of solder joints is a process of damage accumulation and the plastic strain energy density performs a power function correlation with the cycle numbers of crack initiation and propagation. Crack propagation rate is affected by the stress triaxiality, which is dependent on the loading mode and increases dramatically with decreasing h under tensile loading, while the change of standoff height has very limited influence on the stress triaxiality under shear loading mode. Moreover, crack growth correlation constants identified in Cu/Sn–3.0Ag–0.5Cu/Cu joints with a specific geometry (h = 100 μm and d = 480 μm) can be well used to predict the fatigue life of BGA joints with other geometries. Furthermore, the results have also shown that the fatigue life of solder joints increases with decreasing the geometric ratio of h/d under the same nominal shear strain amplitude, while it drops with decreasing h/d under the same shear displacement amplitude in cyclic loading. When the geometric ratio (i.e., h/d ratio) is unchanged, the miniaturization of BGA joints brings about a decrease in fatigue life of the joints.     

Realization of OSW/AWG-based bipolar wavelength–time optical CDMA for wired–wireless transmissions

This study proposes a novel radio-over-fiber (RoF) system using two-dimensional (2-D) optical code-division multiple-access (OCDMA) scheme using pseudorandom (PN) codes for the time-spreading and wavelength-hopping (t-spreading/λ-hopping) codes. The 2-D system is implemented using optical switches (OSWs) and arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) routers. By constructing 2-D codes using bipolar PN codes rather than unipolar codes provides a significant increase in the maximum permissible number of active radio base stations (RBSs). In general, the phase-induced intensity noise (PIIN) generated at high optical intensities significantly degrades the performance of a conventional multi-wavelength scheme. However, the OSW-based time-spreading method employed in the current 2-D OCDMA scheme effectively suppresses the PIIN effect. Additionally, multiple-access interference (MAI) is suppressed by the use of a wavelength/time balanced detector structure in the network receivers. The numerical evaluation results demonstrate that under PIIN- and MAI-limited conditions, the proposed system outperforms a conventional multi-wavelength OCDMA scheme by using the spectral spreading scheme to suppress beating noise. Especially, the t-spreading encoder/decoder (codec) groups share the same wavelength codec and the overall complexity is reduced and system network becomes more compact.     

Novel Christmas Branched Like NiO/NiWO4/WO3 (p–p–n) Nanowire Heterostructures for Chemical Sensing

Establishing a platform comprising different nanostructured oxides is an emerging idea to develop highly sensitive and selective sensing devices. Herein, novel 3D-heterostructures (p–p–n) consisting of 1D nanowires of NiO and WO₃ along with their intermediate reactive product, i.e., NiWO₄ seed, are produced by a two-steps vapor phase growth method. In-depth morphological and structural investigations describing the growth mechanism of these heterostructures are presented. Finally, the p–p–n heterostructures are integrated into conductometric sensing devices and their performances are investigated toward different gases. It is observed that by modulating the charge-carrier transport with temperature, the heterostructure sensors exhibit selective behavior toward different gas analytes. Indeed, at 300 °C, the heterostructure sensors show relatively selective behavior toward NO₂, while at 400 °C, high selectivity toward VOCs is observed. The improvement in sensing performances is mainly based on charge carrier transport through the two interfaces (one at WO₃/NiWO₄ (n–p) and the other at NiWO₄/NiO (p–p)) and the modulation of charge carriers in the electron depletion layer of WO₃ and hole accumulation layer of NiO and NiWO₄. The remarkable performance of these complex heterostructures with low ppb-level detection limits makes them excellent candidates for chemical/ gas sensing applications in e-noses.     

Effects of Cu on the interfacial reactions between Sn–8Zn–3Bi–xCu solders and Cu substrate

The microstructure, thermal property, and interfacial reaction with Cu substrate of Sn–8Zn–3Bi–xCu (x = 0, 0.5, 1) lead-free solders were investigated in this work. Cu–Zn intermetallics formed in the solder matrix and the melting temperature increases slightly with Cu addition. After soldering at 250 °C for 90 s, a flat Cu₅Zn₈ layer and a scallop CuZn₅ layer formed at the interfaces of all samples. The CuZn₅ intermetallic compound (IMC) transformed to Cu₅Zn₈ IMC with longer reaction time due to the diffusion of Cu atoms from Cu substrate. The interfacial IMC layer grew thicker with the reaction time following a parabolic law which suggested the interfacial reactions were diffusion controlled. The calculation results show that the activation energy of IMC growth for Cu-containing solders is larger than that of Sn–8Zn–3Bi solder, which demonstrated that a small amount of Cu addition to the solder can effectively suppressed the growth of the interfacial IMC.     

Anisotropic Responsivity of AlGaN Metal–Semiconductor–Metal Photodetectors on Epitaxial Laterally Overgrown AlN/Sapphire Templates

Al_0.4Ga_0.6N metal–semiconductor–metal photodetectors on epitaxial laterally overgrown (ELO) AlN/sapphire templates show anisotropic device characteristics depending on the orientation of the electrode stripes with respect to the stripe pattern onto which the underlying ELO AlN buffer layers have been grown. With electrodes perpendicular to the stripes, a quantum efficiency (QE) of ～140 was found for 20-V bias at room-temperature. This gain is explained by carrier transport along channels with increased Ga content resulting from faceted growth at the steps of the ELO template. The resulting potential barrier is confirmed by the activation energy found for the temperature dependence of the QE. In contrast, photodetectors with electrodes running parallel to these channels do not show gain but have an enhanced QE at elevated bias voltage compared to devices on planar AlN buffer layers. This effect is attributed to different densities of threading dislocations in the absorber layer.     

Dual Sub-Cells Modification Enables High-Efficiency n–i–p Type Monolithic Perovskite/Organic Tandem Solar Cells

Monolithic perovskite/organic tandem solar cells (POTSCs) have attracted increasing attention owing to ability to overcome the Shockley–Queisser limit. However, compromised sub-cells performance limits the tandem device performance, and the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of POTSCs is still lower than their single-junction counterparts. Therefore, optimized sub-cells with minimal energy loss are desired for producing high-efficiency POTSCs. In this study, an ionic liquid, methylammonium acetate (MAAc), is used to modify wide-bandgap perovskite sub-cells (WPSCs), and bathocuproine (BCP) is used to modify small-bandgap organic solar cells. The Ac⁻ group of MAAc can effectively heal the Pb defects in the all-inorganic perovskite film, which enables a high PCE of 17.16% and an open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 1.31 V for CsPbI_2.2Br_0.8-based WPSCs. Meanwhile, the BCP film, inserted at the ZnO/organic bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) interface, acts as a space layer to prevent direct contact between ZnO and the BHJ while passivating the surface defects of ZnO, thereby mitigating ZnO defect-induced efficiency loss. As a result, PM6:CH1007-based SOSCs exhibit a PCE of 15.46%. Integrating these modified sub-cells enable the fabrication of monolithic n–i–p structured POTSCs with a maximum PCE of 22.43% (21.42% certified), which is one of the highest efficiencies in such type of POTSCs.     

Crystal growth in Bi–Sr–Ca–Cu–O system

We report growth of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ single crystals with dimensions of 6×2×0.03 mm³ using a melt and growth technique. The oxygen content is determined to be δ≈0.13 by iodometric titration. The crystal is shown to be homogeneous and close to stoichiometric cation ratio. The superconducting temperature with a sharp transition width (10–90% level) of 6–8 K was determined to be T_c=92 K from resistivity and dc susceptibility measurements. The predominant impurity phase is a Cu-free crystal, whose composition is identified as Bi₁₀Sr₁₁Ca₅O_x. The crystal structure of Bi₁₀Sr₁₁Ca₅O_x is monoclinic with a=11.108(1) Å, b=5.9487(1) Å; c=19.838 (3) Åand β=101.5° (P2_1/c space group).     

Influence of growth conditions of oxide on electrical properties of AlGaN/GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor transistors

AlGaN/GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistors(MIS-HEMTs) on a silicon substrate were fabricated with silicon oxide as a gate dielectric by sputtering deposition and electron-beam(EB) evaporation. It was found that the oxide deposition method and conditions have great influences on the electrical properties of HEMTs. The low sputtering temperature or oxygen introduction at higher temperature results in a positive equivalent charge density at the oxide/AlGaN interface(Nequ), which induces a negative shift of threshold voltage and an increase in both sheet electron density(ns) and drain current density(ID). Contrarily, EB deposition makes a negative Nequ, resulting in reduced ns and ID. Besides, the maximum transconductance(gm-max) decreases and the off-state gate current density(I_G-off) increases for oxides at lower sputtering temperature compared with that at higher temperature, possibly due to a more serious sputter-induced damage and much larger Nequ at lower sputtering temperature. At high sputtering temperature, I_G-off decreases by two orders of magnitude compared to that without oxygen, which indicates that oxygen introduction and partial pressure depression of argon decreases the sputter-induced damage significantly. I_G-off for EB-evaporated samples is lower by orders of magnitude than that of sputtered ones, possibly attributed to the lower damage of EB evaporation to the barrier layer surface.     

Electromagnetic Properties and Impedance Matching Effect of Flaky Fe–Si–Al/Co2Z Ferrite Composite

Fe–Si–Al/Co₂Z ferrite composites were prepared by ball-milling. The microstructure, microwave electromagnetic properties, and impedance-matching performance of a series of composites were determined and the results are discussed. Experimental results indicated that, in frequency range 1–18 GHz, the permittivity and permeability of the complexes can be adjusted by changing the Fe–Si–Al-to-Co₂Z weight ratio. Calculated reflection losses indicate that the absorption performance of Fe–Si–Al/Co₂Z ferrite composites is superior to that of the pure Fe–Si–Al and Co₂Z ferrites. It was found that the impedance-matching performance of the materials, which contributes to perfect absorption, can be improved by use of an appropriate weight ratio for the Fe–Si–Al/Co₂Z ferrite composite.     

The temperature dependent analysis of Au/TiO2 (rutile)/n-Si (MIS) SBDs using current–voltage–temperature (I–V–T) characteristics

In this study, the main electrical parameters of Au/TiO₂(rutile)/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) were analyzed by using current–voltage–temperature (I–V–T) characteristics in the temperature range 200–380 K. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) thin film was deposited on a polycrystalline n-type Silicon (Si) substrate using the DC magnetron sputtering system at 200 °C. In order to improve the crystal quality deposited film was annealed at 900 °C in air atmosphere for phase transition from amorphous to rutile phase. The barrier height (Φ_b) and ideality factor (n) were calculated from I–V characteristics. An increase in the value of Φ_b and a decrease in n with increasing temperature were observed. The values of Φ_b and n for Au/TiO₂(rutile)/n-Si SBDs ranged from 0.57 eV and 3.50 (at 200 K) to 0.82 eV and 1.90 (at 380 K), respectively. In addition, series resistance (R_s) and Φ_b values of MIS SBDs were determined by using Cheung's and Norde's functions. Cheung's plots are obtained from the donward concave curvature region in the forward bias semi-logarithmic I–V curves originated from series resistance. Norde's function is easily used to obtain series resistance as a function of temperature due to current counduction mechanism which is dominated by thermionic emission (TE). The obtained results have been compared with each other and experimental results show that R_s values exhibit an unusual behavior that it increases with increasing temperature.     

Temperature dependent of the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of TaSi2/n-Si structure

Tantalum silicide (TaSi₂) thin films were deposited on n-type silicon single crystal substrates using a dual electron-gun system and with Ta and Si targets. The electrical transport properties of the TaSi₂/n-Si structures were investigated by temperature-dependent current–voltage (I–V) measurements. The temperature-dependent I–V characteristics revealed that the forward conduction was determined by thermionic-emission and space-charge-limited current mechanisms at low and high voltage respectively. On the other hand, the reverse current is limited by the carrier generation process.