AlGaN/GaN-based diodes and gateless HEMTs for gas and chemical sensing

The characteristics of Pt/GaN Schottky diodes and Sc/sub 2/O/sub 3//AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) diodes as hydrogen and ethylene gas sensors and of gateless AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) as polar liquid sensors are reported. At 25/spl deg/C, a change in forward current of /spl sim/6 mA at a bias of 2 V was obtained in the MOS diodes in response to a change in ambient from pure N/sub 2/ to 10% H/sub 2// 90% N/sub 2/. This is approximately double the change in forward current obtained in Pt/GaN Schottky diodes measured under the same conditions. The mechanism appears to be formation of a dipole layer at the oxide/GaN interface that screens some of the piezo-induced channel charge. The MOS-diode response time is limited by the mass transport of gas into the test chamber and not by the diffusion of atomic hydrogen through the metal/oxide stack, even at 25/spl deg/C. Gateless AlGaN/GaN HEMT structures exhibit large changes in source-drain current upon exposing the gate region to various polar liquids, including block co-polymer solutions. The polar nature of some of these polymer chains lead to a change of surface charges in gate region on the HEMT, producing a change in surface potential at the semiconductor/liquid interface. The nitride sensors appear to be promising for a wide range of chemicals, combustion gases and liquids.     

Part cost estimation at early design phase

Although 70% of part cost is determined during the early design stage, designers rarely accurately estimate the costs of their designs. Based on extensive literature review, in-depth industrial survey and close collaboration with multiple manufacturers, forty factors were identified as governing part cost and ranked according to cost impact. Based on parameter ranking and availability at the early stages of design, a cost estimator for designers is proposed. As the design progresses and more parameters become available, a more accurate cost model is derived and proposed to manufacturers. Results are analyzed and compared to actual manufacturing costing demonstrating good fit.     

AIN-based dilute magnetic semiconductors

AlMnN and AlCrN have been synthesized by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy (GSMBE). Using optimized growth conditions and compositions, sccm films as determined by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy, which also show room-temperature magnetic behavior were obtained for both materials. Chromium was found to produce greater magnetic ordering as evidenced by a higher technical saturation. The AlCrN also exhibited a higher remanent magnetization and a M versus T behavior more typical of ferromagnetism than that observed for AlMnN. These results suggest that Cr is a superior dopant for formation of AlN-based, dilute magnetic semiconductors.     

Surface Dynamics vs. Adhesion in Oxygen Plasma Treated Polyolefins

Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) were oxygen plasma treated and aged in carefully reproducible conditions. The effect of aging on the surface chemistry, wettability and adhesion were studied using a combination of techniques: contact angle measurements, XPS, SSIMS, adhesion tests (shear and pull).

PE was found to be relatively insensitive to aging both in terms of wettability and adhesion, due to crosslinking during plasma treatment, which is likely to reduce macromolecular mobility within the surface layer.

In the case of PP, dramatic decreases of wettability occur with time, due to macromolecular motions leading to minimization of oxygen-containing functions at the surface. This behavior was shown to affect the adhesion performance of treated PP.     

Selective dry etching of (Sc2O3)x(Ga2O3)1−x gate dielectrics and surface passivation films on GaN

(Sc₂O₃)_x(Ga₂O₃)_1?x films grown by molecular beam epitaxy show promise for use as surface passivation layers and gate dielectrics on GaN-based high electron mobility transistors. Completely selective, low-damage, dry etching of (Sc₂O₃)_x(Ga₂O₃)_1?x films with respect to GaN can be achieved with low-power inductively coupled plasmas of CH₄/H₂/Ar with etch rates in the range 200–300 Å/min. The incident ion energies are of order 100 eV, and no roughening of the underlying GaN was observed under these conditions. Similar etch rates were obtained with Cl₂/Ar discharges under the same conditions, but GaN showed rates almost an order of magnitude higher.     

Investigation of the effect of temperature during off-state degradation of AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors

AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors were found to exhibit a negative temperature dependence of the critical voltage (V_CRI) for irreversible device degradation to occur during bias-stressing. At elevated temperatures, devices exhibited similar gate leakage currents before and after biasing to V_CRI, independent of both stress temperature and critical voltage. Though no crack formation was observed after stress, cross-sectional TEM indicates a breakdown in the oxide interfacial layer due to high reverse gate bias.     

Microwave Performance of AlGaN/GaN High-Electron-Mobility Transistors on Si/SiO2/Poly-SiC Substrates

The radiofrequency (RF) performance of AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si-on-poly-SiC (SopSiC) substrates formed by the Smart-Cut^TM process is reported. This provides a low-cost, high-thermal-conductivity substrate for power applications. HEMTs with a 0.5 μm gate length show cutoff frequencies (f _T) of 18 to 27 GHz for gate-to-drain distances of 3 to 32 μm and a maximum frequency of oscillation (f _max) of 43 to 47 GHz. The f _max values are slightly lower than comparable devices on sapphire, SiC or Si alone. This approach looks promising for applications requiring cheap large-area substrates and better thermal management than provided by pure Si substrates alone.     

Growth and Characterization of GaN Nanowires for Hydrogen Sensors

We report on the growth and characterization of high-quality GaN nanowires for hydrogen sensors. We grew the GaN nanowires by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using gold thin films as a catalyst on a Si wafer with an insulating SiO₂ layer. Structural characterization of the as-grown nanowires by several methods shows that the nanowires are single-crystal wurtzite GaN.␣Photoluminescence measurements under 325 nm excitation show a near-band-edge emission peak around ∼3.4 eV. The hydrogen sensors are fabricated by contacting the as-grown GaN nanowires by source and drain electrodes and coating them with a thin layer of Pd. Hydrogen sensing experiments using the fabricated devices show high sensitivity response (ppm detection limit at room temperature) and excellent recovery. This work opens up the possibility of using high-quality GaN nanowire networks for hydrogen sensing applications.     

Computer aided manufacturability analysis: Closing the knowledge gap between the designer and the manufacturer

Manufacturing today is marked by increased competition and dispersed global organization, thus necessitating enhanced collaboration among designers and manufacturers. Nevertheless, while Design for Manufacturability (DFM) has been the subject of in-depth research over the past decades, the supporting software solutions have not as yet matured. In this paper we present a holistic approach and supporting software tool, termed the Computer Aided Manufacturability Analysis (CAMA) tool, for capitalizing on available manufacturability knowledge. This is achieved by closing the knowledge loop between the design and manufacturing environments. CAMA captures the knowledge in a structured manner and incorporates this knowledge within the product design tools (CAD systems), thus enabling improved product timeliness and profitability. CAMA represents proof of concept and constitutes a demonstrative prototype of an adaptive and open DFX tool. It is based on industrial surveys of the Knowledge, Information and Data (KID) flows in CAD, CAPP and CAM processes within the manufacturing outsourcing environment. CAMA differs from other approaches in that it is an open system that enables continuous and intuitive capture, modification and implementation of updated manufacturability KID.