Performance of GaAs-AlGaAs V-grooved inner stripe quantum-well wirelasers with different current blocking configurations

GaAs-AlGaAs V-grooved inner stripe (VIS) quantum-well wire (QWW) lasers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition with different current blocking configurations, n-blocking on p-substrate (VIPS), p-n-p-n blocking on n-substrate (VI(PN)_nS) and p-blocking on n-substrate (VINS) have been fabricated and characterized. The VIPS QWW lasers show the most stable characteristics with effective current confinement: one of the lasers shows fundamental transverse mode, lasing up to 5 mW/facet, typical threshold current of 39.9 mA at 818.5 mm, an external differential quantum efficiency of 24%/facet, and characteristic temperature of 92 K. The current tuning rate was almost linear at 0.031 mm/mA, and the temperature tuning rate was measured to be 0.14 nm/°C. Comparison of the light output versus current characteristics of the lasers with different current blocking configurations is presented here     

Charge pump boosting technique for power noise immune high-speedPLL implementation

A phase-locked loop (PLL) with a charge pump boosting technique is described. The technique enables the voltage controlled oscillator circuit in the PLL to run faster than conventional circuits at low supply voltage. This design method is applicable to PLLs with low jitter, high-speed characteristics in environments with high supply noise     

A 1 Gbit synchronous dynamic random access memory with anindependent subarray-controlled scheme and a hierarchical decodingscheme

A prototype 1 Gbit synchronous DRAM with independent subarray-controlled isolation and hierarchical decoding schemes is demonstrated to alleviate the difficulties encountered in high-density devices with regard to failure analysis and performance optimization. The scheme to isolate memory arrays from “hard” defects and to overcome the dc leakages of “soft” defects with external sources allows monitoring of the leakage current for the defect analysis and testing of the device without being limited by the capabilities of on-chip voltage sources. A hierarchical decoding scheme with a dynamic CMOS series logic predecoder achieves improvements in circuit speed, power, and complexity. As a result, evaluation of the prototype devices can be facilitated, and the optimized circuit schemes achieve enhanced circuit performance. A fully working 1 Gbit synchronous DRAM with a chip size of 570 mm² was fabricated using a 0.16 μm CMOS process and tested for excellent functionality up to 143 MHz     

The Evolution of Korean Information Infrastructure and Its Future Direction: A System Dynamics Model

The recent technological and industrial revolution dictates a new approach in constructing Korean Information Infrastructure. Lacking past data on the newly emerging markets, econometrics methodologies cannot accurately forecast future paths of advanced networks, let alone dynamic impacts of public policies. In this paper, we have built a system dynamics model of the Korean Information Infrastructure and simulated diverse policy measures including market integration and government initiative in investment for experimenting their effectiveness. The most counterintuitive result of our research is that the market integration policy will facilitate CATV networks at an early stage until the year 2010, but will result in a diminished market size in the long run. With the system dynamics approach, we can enhance our understanding of the complex policy systems and get valuable insights through learning by modeling and simulation.     

Interdiffusion behavior of Hg in HgTe/CdTe superlattices grown on Cd0.96Zn0.04 Te (211)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Double-crystal x-ray rocking curve (DCRC) and secondary-ion mass-spectroscopy (SIMS) measurements have been performed to investigate the effect of rapid thermal annealing on the interdiffusion behavior of Hg in HgTe/CdTe superlattices grown on Cd_0.96Zn_0.04Te (211)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The sharp satellite peaks of the DCRC measurements on a 100-period HgTe/CdTe (100Å/100Å) superlattice show a periodic arrangement of the superlattice with high-quality interfaces. The negative direction of the entropy change obtained from the diffusion coefficients as a function of the reciprocal of the temperature after RTA indicates that the Hg diffusion for the annealed HgTe/CdTe superlattice is caused by an interstitial mechanism. The Cd and the Hg concentration profiles near the annealed HgTe/CdTe superlattice interfaces, as measured by SIMS, show a nonlinear behavior for Hg, originating from the interstitial diffusion mechanism of the Hg composition. These results indicate that a nonlinear interdiffusion behavior is dominant for HgTe/CdTe superlattices annealed at 190°C and that the rectangular shape of HgTe/CdTe superlattices may change to a parabolic shape because of the intermixing of Hg and Cd due to the thermal treatment.     

Characterization of InGaAs/GaAs(001) films grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy using alternative sources

Thin films of In_xGa_1−xAs (0<x<0.012) on GaAs (001) were grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy using triisopropylindium, triisobutylgallium, and tertiarybutylarsine. The effect of the process conditions, temperature, and V/III ratio on the film quality was studied using high resolution x-ray diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, and Hall measurements. High quality films were grown at temperatures as low as 475 °C and at a V/III ratio of 100. However, under these conditions, a change in growth mode from step flow to two-dimensional nucleation was observed.     

Thermally robust Ta2O5 capacitor for the256-Mbit DRAM

The thermal degradation of the Ta₂ O₅ capacitor during BPSG reflow has been studied. The cause of deterioration of Ta₂O₅ with the TiN top electrode was found to be the oxidation of TiN. By placing a poly-Si layer between TiN and BPSG to suppress oxidation, the low leakage current level was maintained after BPSG reflow at 850°C. The Ta₂O₅ capacitor with the TiN/poly-Si top electrode was integrated into 256-Mbit DRAM cells and excellent leakage current characteristics were obtained     

Enhancement of the photoelectric performance of dye-sensitized solar cells by using a CaCO3-coated TiO2 nanoparticle film as an electrode

Core-shell-type nanoparticles with TiO₂ cores and CaCO₃ shells were applied as the electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells. The performance of the cell was significantly improved (as high as 26.7%) compared to the case when un-coated TiO₂ particle film was used as electrode. The improved energy conversion efficiency has been ascribed to (i) enhanced dye adsorption due to the high isoelectric point of the overlayer, and (ii) the prevention of the back electron transfer by the insulating nature of the overlayer.     

Power generation characteristics of a sandwich‐type self‐heating thermoelectric generator with spatially varying embedded heat source

Power generation characteristics of a sandwich‐type thermoelectric generator in which the heat source is embedded into thermoelectric elements are investigated. Our previous work on a similar concept only considered a uniform heat source distribution inside thermoelectric elements. In this work, the effect of the spatial distribution of a heat source is examined. In particular, the effect of the concentration of heat source near the one end, that is, the hot end, is intensively studied as a potential means of improving the efficiency of the device. Although the effects of heat source concentration in impractical cases without heat transfer limitations on the cold side remain ambiguous, it become clear that heat source concentration indeed has positive effects in more realistic cases with finite heat transfer coefficients imposed on the cold side. Because of the relatively low efficiency of typical thermoelectric generation, a significant amount of heat must be dissipated from the cold end of the thermoelectric element. Greater heat source concentration near the hot end leads to more effective utilization of available heat source, reduces the amount of heat rejected at the cold end, and lowers the hot end temperature of the thermoelectric element. Overall, it is suggested that heat source concentration can be used as a method to achieve more efficient operation and better structural integrity of the system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrogel Microcapsules with a Thin Oil Layer: Smart Triggered Release via Diverse Stimuli

A hydrogel microcapsule with an intermediate thin oil layer is presented to achieve smart release of a broad range of cargoes triggered via diverse stimuli. A microfluidic technique is used to produce triple emulsion droplets with a thin oil layer that separates the innermost aqueous phase from the hydrogel prepolymer phase, which transforms into a hydrogel shell via photopolymerization. The intermediate oil layer within the hydrogel microcapsule acts as an effective diffusion barrier, allowing encapsulation of various small cargoes within a porous hydrogel shell until a stimulus is applied to destabilize the oil layer. It is demonstrated that diverse stimuli including chemical dissolution, mechanical stress, and osmotic pressure can be utilized to release the encapsulated cargo on-demand. In addition, osmotic pressure and the hydrogel shell thickness can be independently tuned to control the onset time of release as well as the release behavior of multi-cargo encapsulated hydrogel microcapsule. The release can be either simultaneous or selective.