Hybrid ring coupler for W-band MMIC applications using MEMS technology

The hybrid ring coupler was designed and fabricated on a GaAs substrate using surface micromachining techniques, which adopted dielectric-supported air-gapped microstrip line (DAML) structure. The fabrication process of DAML is compatible with the standard monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) techniques, and the hybrid ring coupler can be simply integrated into a plane-structural MMIC. The fabricated hybrid ring coupler shows wideband characteristics of the coupling loss of 3.57 /spl plusmn/ 0.22dB and the transmission loss of 3.80 /spl plusmn/ 0.08dB across the measured frequency range of 85 to 105GHz. The isolation characteristics and output phase differences are -34dB and 180/spl plusmn/1/spl deg/, at 94GHz, respectively.     

Selective Photothermal Tumor Therapy Using Nanodiamond‐Based Nanoclusters with Folic Acid

This paper describes the fabrication and evaluation of folic acid (FA)‐conjugated nanodiamond (ND) nanoclusters for selective photothermal tumor therapy. ND nanoclusters with surface carboxyl groups are aminated using ethylenediamine and conjugated with FA via carbodiimide chemistry. The temperature of an aqueous ND dispersion (10 μg mL^?1) is increased to 54 °C upon laser exposure for 5 min. FA‐ND nanoclusters are preferentially taken up by KB cells (folate receptor positive) compared to WI‐38 (folate receptor negative) cells, suggesting specificity for tumor cells that overexpress folate receptors. Cell viability tests reveal that FA‐ND nanoclusters effectively and selectively ablate KB cells upon near‐infrared (NIR) laser exposure. In addition, fluorescence microscopy images confirm that only KB cells treated with FA‐ND nanoclusters are ablated in a spot (200 μm in diameter) by NIR laser exposure. In an animal model, a large amount of FA‐ND nanoclusters is accumulated into tumor tissue, resulting in dramatically reduced tumor volume post‐NIR laser exposure as compared to ND nanoclusters.     

A Fully-Differential Complementary Hartley VCO in 0.18 m CMOS Technology

In this letter, a new complementary Hartley (C-Hartley) voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) with fully differential outputs is proposed, in which the self-biasing configuration is introduced to solve the biasing difficulty of a Hartley VCO by employing a five-port transformer. The proposed C-Hartley VCO with the center frequency of 5.6 GHz is implemented in a 1P6M 0.18 $mu$m CMOS process. The measurement result shows that the phase noise is ${-}123.6$ dBc/Hz at 1 MHz offset frequency, while dissipating 6.5 mA from 1.6 V supply with the FOM of ${-}188.5$ dBc.      

Significantly Enhanced Photoluminescence of Doped Polymer‐Metal Hybrid Nanotubes

We report on the significantly enhanced photoluminescence (PL) of hybrid double‐layered nanotubes (HDLNTs) consisting of poly(3‐methylthiophene) (P3MT) nanotubes with various doping levels enveloped by an inorganic, nickel (Ni) metal nanotube. From laser confocal microscopy PL experiments on a single strand of the doped‐P3MT nanotubes and of their HDLNTs, the PL peak intensity of the HDLNT systems increased remarkably up to ～350 times as the doping level of the P3MT nanotubes of the HDLNTs increased, which was confirmed by measurements of the quantum yield. In a comparison of the normalized ultraviolet and visible absorption spectra of the doped‐P3MT nanotubes and their HDLNTs, new absorption peaks corresponding to surface‐plasmon (SP) energy were created at 563 and 615 nm after the nanoscale Ni metal coating onto the P3MT nanotubes, and their intensity increased on increasing the doping level of the P3MT nanotube. The doping‐induced bipolaron peaks of the HDLNTs of doped‐P3MT/Ni were relatively reduced, compared with those of the doped‐P3MT nanotubes before the Ni coating, due to the charge‐transfer effect in the SP‐resonance (SPR) coupling. Both energy‐transfer and charge‐transfer effects due to SP resonance contributed to the very‐large enhancement of the PL efficiency of the doped‐P3MT‐based HDLNTs.     

Simultaneous Formation of Ohmic Contacts on p +- and n +-4H-SiC Using a Ti/Ni Bilayer

In this work, Ti/Ni bilayer contacts were fabricated on both p ⁺- and n ⁺-4H-SiC formed by ion implantation, and the effects of the Ti interlayer on the contact resistance and interfacial microstructure were studied. Adoption of a thin (10 nm) Ti interlayer resulted in specific contact resistance of 4.8 μΩ cm² and 1.3 mΩ cm² on n ⁺- and p ⁺-4H-SiC, respectively, comparable to the values for contacts using only Ni. Moreover, contacts using Ti/Ni provide a flat and uniform interface between Ni₂Si and SiC, whereas discontinuous, agglomerated Ni₂Si islands are formed without the use of a Ti interlayer. In addition, the Ti interlayer was demonstrated to effectively dissociate the thin oxide film on SiC, which is advantageous for low-resistance, reliable ohmic contact formation. In summary, use of a Ti/Ni bilayer is a promising solution for one-step formation of ohmic contacts on both p ⁺- and n ⁺-4H-SiC, being especially suitable for SiC n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (nMOSFET) fabrication.     

A reliable overlay video transport protocol for multicast agents in wireless mesh networks

A new video transport protocol for multicast agents in wireless mesh networks (WMNs) is proposed in this paper. The proposed protocol enables a significant reduction in the transmission overhead, while providing reliable communication for its use in multicast applications. This proposed reliable protocol provides a practical approach for an overlay peer‐to‐peer multicast facility supported within the application layer. This obviates the need to give upgraded routers capable of handling multicast broadcasting or modify the existing protocol stack. The protocol tolerates partial losses in multimedia transmissions, while supporting control of the delay sensitivity of such transmissions in WMNs. The key issue in this protocol is the ability to detect packet loss, anticipate retransmission requests, and use the anticipated retransmission requests to transmit the lost packets prior to requests from other receiving agents. The proposed protocol allows for the receiver to determine if retransmission of lost packets is required, ensuring the greatest flexibility needed for a reliable multicast protocol. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Structural Investigation of CdTe(001) Thin Films on GaAs/Si(001) Substrates by High-Resolution Electron Microscopy

Epitaxial CdTe thin films were grown on GaAs/Si(001) substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using thin GaAs as a buffer layer. The interfaces were investigated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and geometric phase analysis strain mapping. It was observed that dislocation cores exist at the CdTe/GaAs interface with periodic distribution. The spacing of the misfit dislocation was measured to be about 2?nm, corresponding to the calculated spacing of a misfit dislocation (2.6?nm) in CdTe/Si with Burgers vector of a[110]/2. From these results, it is suggested that the GaAs buffer layer effectively absorbs the strain originating from the large lattice mismatch between the CdTe thin film and Si substrate with the formation of periodic structural defects.     

Laser-Induced Carbonization for Anticounterfeiting Tags

The counterfeiting of products is a serious concern for any nation with the increasing activity of counterfeit markets. Anticounterfeiting tags demand low-cost, unclonable, facile, and ultrafast manufacturing processes. In this study, a laser-induced carbonization (LIC) technique is employed to produce discrete sizes of LIC spots distributed randomly in an array fashion, as a tag, preferably on a laser wavelength-sensitive polyimide (PI) film. This technique enables the intrinsic creation of LIC spots in PI without any foreign functional materials, thus avoiding the need for external material. Owing to laser technology, based on the input design and laser processing parameters, the reconfigurable desired output tags can be accomplished in a very short time. Different forms of LIC spots in an optical image are grouped and sorted into three-level bits based on their sizes and brightness for digitalization. The unique LIC-based tags can be applied to the flexible printed circuit board industry to address counterfeiting.     

Sensitivity analysis of ion implanted silicon wafers after rapid thermal annealing

In this study, we have investigated sensitivities of the ion implanted silicon wafers processed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA), which can reveal the variation of sheet resistance as a function of annealing temperature as well as implantation parameters. All the wafers were sequentially implanted by the arsenic or phosphorous implantations at 40, 80, and 100 keV with the dose level of 10¹⁴ to 2 × 10¹⁶ ions/cm². Rapid thermal annealing was carried out for 10 s by the infrared irradiation at a temperature between 850 and 1150°C in the nitrogen ambient. The activated wafer was characterized by the measurements of the sheet resistance and its uniformity mapping. The values of sensitivities are determined from the curve fitting of the experimental data to the fitting equation of correlation between the sheet resistance and process variables. From the sensitivity values and the deviation of sheet resistance, the optimum process conditions minimizing the effects of straggle in process parameters are obtained. As a result, a strong dependence of the sensitivity on the process variables, especially annealing temperatures and dose levels is also found. From the sensitivity analysis of the 10 s RTA process, the optimum values for the implant dose and annealing temperature are found to be in the range of 10¹⁶ ions/cm² and 1050-1100°C, respectively. The sensitivity analysis of sheet resistance will provide valuable data for accurate activation process, offering a guideline for dose monitoring and calibration of ion implantation process.