International Journal of High Speed Electronics and Systems

As thin Si quantum wells with oxide barriers have become an experimental reality in silicon-on-insulator technology, we discuss the feasibility of a terahertz laser based on an intersubband transition in such a Si quantum well. Electrons tunnel into an upper two-dimensional subband from a thin polysilicon gate through an ultrathin tunneling oxide and are extracted laterally from the Si well by diffusion. Population inversion arises because lateral diffusion to the contacts can be a faster process than intersubband relaxation and also because the in-plane diffusivity in the upper subband is suppressed by the interaction with a nearby subband characterized by a heavy in-plane mass. Thick oxide layers provide optical confinement and the main optical loss mechanism is the weak free-carrier absorption in thin doped regions in the polysilicon gate and substrate. A voltage on the substrate may provide some tunability of the gain peak.

In an attempt to realize tiny "knowledge vehicles" called intelligent quantum (IQ) chips for use in the coming ubiquitous network society, this paper presents the present status and future prospects of ultra-small-size and ultra-low-power III-V quantum logic large scale integrated circuits based on a novel hexagonal binary-decision diagram (BDD) quantum circuit architecture. Here, quantum transport in path switching node devices formed on III-V semiconductor-based hexagonal nanowire networks is controlled by nanometer scale Schottky wrap gates (WPGs) to realize arbitrary combinational logic function. Feasibility of the approach is shown through fabrication of basic node devices and various small-scale circuits, and approaches for higher density integration and larger scale circuits are discussed.

A short drift distance N-I-N device, with high electric field, allows ballistic electron accelerations and drift. Conditions can be enhanced by using a heterojunction to launch electrons at finite energy. Initial I(V) results without the heterojunctions are presented, as well as the design of a structure which has the heterostructure, projected results are speculated upon, along with an on-chip circuit being used.

We show that the steady state with a dc current in ungated 2D electron gas might exhibit an instability related to asymmetrical boundary conditions, which is similar to the "shallow water" instability in the gated 2D electron gas. The mathematics of the problem corresponds to "deep water" solutions for plasma waves. In the ideal case, the boundary conditions should correspond to zero ac voltage at the source and zero ac current at the drain, similar to the conditions for instability in a field effect transistor. Such boundary conditions can be realized using several different device configurations. For similar device dimensions, the plasma wave generated in an ungated 2D device will have much higher frequency compared to that in gated devices.

III-Nitride Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Heterojunction (MOSH) structure consists of a thin dielectric layer deposited on top of a semiconductor heterostructure with a 2D electron gas at the heterojunction interface. MOSH structures are the key components for high-power low-loss, fast RF switches. The paper discusses two types of high-power switches using III-Nitride MOSH structures. The first type uses the MOSH structure as the gate region of an AlGaN/GaN HFET. The second type uses MOSH structure as a switching capacitor. In the 2GHz - 10 GHz frequency range, switching powers from 20 to 60 W/mm have been achieved with the insertion loss below 1 dB.

We present results of some novel AlGaN/GaN heterojunction field-effect transistors (HFETs) specifically developed for RF front-end and power applications. To reduce the parasitic resistance, two unique techniques: selective Si doping into contact area and a superlattice (SL) cap structure, are developed. With the selective Si doping method, a transistor with an on-state resistance as low as 1.86 Ω·mm and a Tx/Rx switch IC with very low insertion loss (0.26 dB) and very high power handling capability (P1dB over 40 dBm) were obtained. With the SL cap HFETs, an ultra low source resistance of 0.4 Ω·mm was achieved and excellent DC and RF performances were demonstrated. The typical characteristics of these HFETs are: maximum transconductance of over 400 mS/mm, maximum drain current of 1.2 A/mm, cut-off frequency of 60 GHz, maximum oscillation frequency of 140 GHz, and a very low noise figure of 0.7 dB with 15 dB gain at 12 GHz. For power applications, in order to significantly reduce fabrication cost, we fabricated the AlGaN/GaN HFET on a conductive Si substrate with a source-via grounding (SVG) structure. The device has a very low on-state sheet resistance of 1.9 mΩ·cm², a high off-state breakdown voltage of 350 V, and a current handling capability of 150 A. In addition, a sub-nano second switching response with t_r of 98 ps and t_f of 96 ps with a current density as high as 2.0 kA/cm² is demonstrated for the first time.

This paper describes the recent advancements in the development of nanoelectronic SONOS nonvolatile semiconductor memory (NVSM) devices and technology, which are employed in both embedded applications, such as microcontrollers, and 'stand-alone', high-density, memory applications, such as cell phones and memory 'sticks'. Multi-dielectric devices, such as the MNOS devices, were among the first NVSM; however, over the ensuing years the double polysilicon, floating-gate device has become the dominant semiconductor NVSM technology. Today, however, questions arise as to future scaling and cost effectiveness of floating gate technology – questions, which have sparked renewed interest in SONOS technology. The latter offers a single polysilicon device structure with reduced lithography steps together with compact cell layouts - compatible with 'standard' CMOS technology for cost effectiveness. In addition, SONOS technology offers performance features, such as reduced erase and write voltage levels to ease the design of peripheral memory circuits with a decrease in electric fields and localized charge storage for improved reliability and multi-bit storage, and ease of memory testing. A special feature of SONOS technology is radiation hardness, which makes this technology ideal for advanced Space and Military systems. SONOS devices use ultra-thin tunnel oxides (2nm) and operate with 'modified' Fowler-Nordheim and 'direct' tunneling in both erase and write (program) modes. A thicker tunnel oxide SONOS device (5nm), called the NROM™ device, uses 'hot electron injection for programming and 'hot hole band-to-band tunneling' for erase. The NROM™ device provides spatially isolated, two-bit storage with the possibility of multi-level charge (MLC) storage at each bit location. This paper describes the physical electronics for these device structures and their erase/write, retention and endurance characteristics. In addition, several novel SONOS device structures are discussed as potential candidates for future NVSM.

We discuss a THz laser device based on a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) gain medium, where the lasing occurs through discrete conduction states. An ensemble of QDs is selectively placed in a high quality cavity, called a microdisk, which is resonant with a terahertz intersublevel QD transition. We simulate the rate equations governing lasing and discuss a variety of processes affecting lasing including nonradiative recombination and the ground state decay rate.

Wide-bandgap dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMS), such as transition-metal doped ZnO and GaN, have gained attention for use in spintronic devices because of predictions and experimental reports of room temperature ferromagnetism which may enable their use in spintronic devices. However, there has been some debate over the source of ferromagnetism in these materials. This paper focuses on the high quality growth of wide bandgap DMS, and the characterization of Zn_1-xMn_xO produced by melt-growth techniques and Ga_1-xMn_xN grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). High resolution X-ray diffraction results revealed no second phases in either the ZnO crystals or the GaN films. Undoped as-grown, bulk crystals of Zn_1-xMn_xO and Zn_1-xCo_xO crystals are shown to be paramagnetic at all temperatures. In contrast, the Ga_1-xMn_xN films showed ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature under optimum growth conditions. Experimental identification of the Mn ion charge state and the presence of bands in the bandgap of GaN are investigated by optical spectroscopy and electron spin paramagnetic resonance (EPR). It is shown that the broadening of states in the Mn 3d shell scaled with Mn concentration, and that optical transitions due to this band correlated with the strong ferromagnetism in these samples. However, this band disappeared with an increase in free electron concentration provided by either annealing or doping. Raman studies of Ga_1-xMn_xN revealed two predominant Mn-related modes featured with increasing concentration, a broad disorder related structure at 300cm^-1 and a sharper peak at 669cm^-1 This works show that the development of practical ferromagnetic wide bandgap DMS materials for spintronic applications will require both the lattice site introduction of Mn as well as careful control of the background defect concentration to optimize these materials.

Silicon carbide (SiC) unipolar devices have much higher breakdown voltages than silicon (Si) unipolar devices because of the ten times greater electric field strength of SiC compared with Si. 4H-SiC unipolar devices have higher switching speeds due to the higher bulk mobility of 4H-SiC compared to other polytypes. In this paper, four commercially available SiC Schottky diodes with different voltage and current ratings, VJFET, and MOSFET samples have been tested to characterize their performance at different temperatures ranging from -50°C to 175°C. Their forward characteristics and switching characteristics in this temperature range are presented. The characteristics of the SiC Schottky diodes are compared with those of a Si pn diode with comparable ratings.

We consider a free-space communication system based on optical frequency modulation (FM), where the information is encoded by a time-variable wavelength. As is well known, broadband FM systems use a transmission bandwidth that is larger than the signal's information bandwidth, thus enabling an enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and hence the effective information rate per unit transmitter power. Because of the atmospheric conditions, any optical free-space communication system, contemplated at a terrestrial level, must operate at mid-infrared wavelengths in the range λ = 2.5 2.8 μm. Development of rapidly tunable single-frequency lasers in this wavelength range is quite feasible, based on the current experience with tunable telecom lasers at 1.5 μm. Nevertheless, there is no currently available optical FM system. The main difficulty is associated not so much with the tunable optical sources, as with the implementation of a wavelength-discriminating receiver system that would take advantage of the enhanced SNR. In our view, the key enabling solution is optical superheterodyne with a local oscillator implemented as a tunable mid-infrared laser similar to that at the source. The intermediate frequency can be tuned to lie either in a frequency range directly accessible to electronic limiting amplifier and frequency discriminator or, in a multichannel system, to a second heterodyne in the terahertz range.

We have investigated commercially available photodiodes and also recent developed Sb-based phototransistors in order to compare their performances for applications to laser remote sensing. A custom-designed phototransistor in the 0.9- to 2.2-μm wavelength range has been developed at AstroPower and characterized at NASA Langley's Detector Characterization Laboratory. The phototransistor's performance greatly exceeds the previously reported results at this wavelength range in the literature. The detector testing included spectral response, dark current and noise measurements. Spectral response measurements were carried out to determine the responsivity at 2-μm wavelength at different bias voltages with fixed temperature; and different temperatures with fixed bias voltage. Current versus voltage characteristics were also recorded at different temperatures. Results show high responsivity of 2650 AIW corresponding to an internal gain of three orders of magnitude, and high detectivity (D*) of 3.9×10¹¹cm.Hz^1/2/W that is equivalent to a noise-equivalent-power of 4.6×10^-14W/Hz^1/2 (-4.0 V @ -20°C) with a light collecting area diameter of 200-μm. It appears that this recently developed 2-μm phototransistor's performances such as responsivity, detectivity, and gain are improved significantly as compared to the previously published APD and SAM APD using similar materials. These detectors are considered as phototransistors based-on their structures and performance characteristics and may have great potential for high sensitivity differential absorption lidar (DIAL) measurements of carbon dioxide and water vapor at 2.05-μm and 1.9-μm, respectively.

This article presents an innovative and creative approach to detect harmful level of Ultra Violet light on human skin. Different commercial UV sensors are evaluated for comparison. The comparison is made for performance, cost and dimension. The proposed affordable UV sensor solutions are presented using chemical and MEMS/MOEMS technologies. The UV dynamic sensor detects the harmful level of UV and informs the user about the eventual UV radiation risk. The proposed two solutions consider chemical material for UV detection and different actuation mechanism to inform the UV harmful level to the user. These sensors are non disposable and are packaged for visual monitoring (without battery) and acoustic operation (using a battery).

By mixing two infrared radiations near 1 μm in a 47-mm-long GaSe crystal, we efficiently generated a monochromatic radiation which has frequency tunability from 4.51 THz down to 53 GHz. The highest peak power produced by us is 389 W at 203 μm (1.48 THz), which corresponds to the photon conversion efficiency of 19% (the power conversion efficiency of 0.098%).

Challenges and limitations in development of the mid-infrared room temperature CW operated diode lasers with wavelength longer than 2 μm are discussed. The major breakthrough in terms of high power performance in this spectral range was achieved with type-I true quaternary InGaAsSb heavily compressively strained QW GaSb-based lasers. We have demonstrated 1 W CW at 2.5 μm, 500 mW and 160 mW CW at 2.7 and 2.8 μm, respectively. High power 2.3 μm linear laser arrays output 10W CW at room temperature. Experimental results show that there is no fundamental limitation to extend CW RT operating wavelength of these devices to over 3 μm spectral region. It is carrier leakage and material quality issues that limit device performance at wavelength longer than 2.5 μm. The role of Auger recombination is not decisive in type-I MQW GaSb-based lasers. We speculate that it is high differential gain and, as a result, low threshold carrier concentration that can account for muted effect of Auger on type-I GaSb-based laser performance. Dilute-nitride GaSb-based type-I QWs are proposed for development of CW room temperature operated lasers in spectral range 3 - 4 μm.

A new bio-molecular electronic architectural concept is presented that has potential for defining nanoscale sensor platforms with enhanced capabilities for sensing terahertz (THz) frequency bio-signatures. This architecture makes strategic use of integrated biological elements to enable communication and high-level function within densely-packed nanoelectronic systems. Specifically, a completely new paradigm for establishing hybrid Electro-THz-Optical (ETO) communication channels is introduced. Here, the THz-frequency spectral characteristics that are uniquely associated with the embedded bio-molecules are utilized directly in the architecture design and this immediately allows for defining new methods for enhanced sensing of THz bio-signatures. This integrated sensor concept greatly facilitates the collection of THz bio-signatures associated with embedded bio-molecules via interactions with the time-dependent signals propagating through the nanoelectronic circuit. In addition, it leads to a new Multi-State Spectral Sensing (MS³) approach where bio-signature information can be collected from multiple metastable state conformations. This paper presents new simulation results for a class of bio-molecular components that exhibit the prescribed type of ETO characteristics. Most noteworthy, this research derives THz spectral bio-signatures for organic molecules that are amenable to photo-induced metastable-state conformations and establishes an initial scientific foundation and design blueprint for an enhanced THz bio-signature sensing capability.

This paper presents of development of quantum transport equations for barrier devices with both electron and hole transport in dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS) structures. The equations are developed from the time dependent equation of motion of the density matrix equation in the coordinate representation, from which both the spin drift and diffusion and transient Wigner equations are obtained, for a system in which high 'g' factor materials result in significant spin-splitting of the valence and conduction bands. Then for a structure in which the DMS layer is confined to the first barrier solutions to the coupled Poisson's and spin dependent Wigner equations yield the IV and carrier distributions. Negative differential conductance as well as the significant unequal spinup and spin down charge distributions are obtained.

This paper focuses on: (a) the concept and use of chemically-directed assembly to integrate nanoscale quantum dots at densities above 10¹⁷ cm^-3 with biomolecular interconnecting structures; and (b) the phenomena of phonon absorption and emission from holes propagating in DNA molecules that are bond on one terminus to semiconductor quantum dots.

Terahertz signal transmission in DNA is simulated and analyzed using molecular dynamics and digital signal processing techniques to demonstrate that signals encoded in vibrational movements of hydrogen bonds can travel along the backbone of DNA and eventually be recovered and analyzed using digital signal processing techniques.

The next generation of electronic devices will be developed at the nanoscale and molecular level, where quantum mechanical effects are observed. These effects must be accounted for in the design process for such small devices. One prototypical nanoscale semiconductor device under investigation is a resonant tunneling diode (RTD). Scientists are hopeful the quantum tunneling effects present in an RTD can be exploited to induce and sustain THz frequency current oscillations. To simulate the electron transport within the RTD, the Wigner-Poisson equations are used. These equations describe the time evolution of the electrons' distribution within the device. In this paper, this model and a parameter study using this model will be presented. The parameter study involves calculating the steady-state current output from the RTD as a function of an applied voltage drop across the RTD and also calculating the stability of that solution. To implement the parameter study, the computational model was connected to LOCA (Library of Continuation Algorithms), a part of Sandia National Laboratories parallel solver project, Trilinos. Numerical results will be presented.

MEMS research has been carried out through industry-university (Tohoku) collaboration for practical applications. Sophisticated devices such as electrostatically levitated rotational gyroscope, MEMS relay for wafer level packaging, array MEMS including multi-probe data storage and multi-column electron beam lithography system, small diameter fiber optic pressure sensor and SiC micro structure or glass press molding, have been developed. Electrical feedthroughs in glass play important role in the wafer level packaging and array MEMS. Materials such as conductive polymer for recording media, carbon nanotube for electron field emitter, SiC for harsh environment are used in these MEMS because of their unique features.

Based on density functional theory, we have calculated and analyzed the electrical characteristics of silicon (100) - 2×1 surfaces. The calculation results show that the sulfur atom establishes a Schottky-like contact when it is used to tethering the surface and the molecule. In contrast to the Si – S linkage, a direct Si – C linkage does not build up a barrier between the molecule and the surface of silicon. This type of contact is a Ohmic-like contact. The origin of the characteristics of the contacts is analyzed. A basic rule for designing the electrical characteristics of the molecule - surface of silicon is presented.

The concept of silicon fibre technology follows the aspiration of making whole computers recede into textile format, which can be used in a wearable or ambient environment. The integration of IC technology into fibre format is an important development for a wide range of emerging scientific applications from wearable vital sign health monitoring systems [1] to Ambient Intelligence Microsystems.

This concept is achieved by building a device in silicon on insulator (SOI) [2] material and under-cutting the sacrificial SiO₂ layer by a combination of isotropic and anisotropic etch processes, to leave a freestanding functional fibre. A demonstration of functionality based on this technology was produced in the form of a PN diode on a fibre [3]. After demonstrating the feasibility of the concept, subsequent active device circuits were designed and fabricated as a more complex demonstration of functionality.

One of the primary considerations involved with this technology is the interconnection of these flexible silicon structures to each other and to the outside environment. A novel interconnection protocol has been developed and a prototype demonstration of a flexible LED circuit has been fabricated.

Metal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors fabricated using compound semiconductor materials have important applications in high-speed/low-noise communication systems. However, their integration densities are low compared to silicon technologies, and it is difficult to combine them with conventional CMOS for single-chip, mixed-signal circuit applications. In this paper we describe how silicon-on-insulator MESFETs can be fabricated alongside conventional MOSFETs using a commercially available silicon-on-insulator foundry. The process flow for the integrated MOSFETS and MESFETs is presented. Measurements from MESFETs fabricated using a commercial foundry demonstrate good depletion-mode device operation. The measured data confirms a square-law behavior for the saturated drain current, which can be reproduced using readily available MESFET models for Spice circuit simulation. The Spice model is applied to a simple differential-pair amplifier and the modeled results compared to measured data.

In this paper, an analytical model for a vertical double implanted metal-oxide semiconductor (DIMOS) transistor structure in 4H-Silicon Carbide (SiC) is presented. Simulation for transport characteristics of the SiC MOSFET with the exact device geometry is carried out using the commercial device simulator MEDICI. A rigorous experimental testing and characterization is done on a 4H-SiC DIMOS transistor test device. SPICE parameters are extracted from the measurements, and a SPICE model for the DIMOS transistor has been developed. The presented work is a part of team efforts of material, device, and power electronics researchers at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.