Silicon integrated circuit process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jong Duck

1985-12-15

This book introduces the process of silicon integrated circuit. It is composed of seven parts, which are oxidation process, diffusion process, ion implantation process such as ion implantation equipment, damage, annealing and influence on manufacture of integrated circuit and device, chemical vapor deposition process like silicon Epitaxy LPCVD and PECVD, photolithography process, including a sensitizer, spin, harden bake, reflection of light and problems related process, infrared light bake, wet-etch, dry etch, special etch and problems of etching, metal process like metal process like metal-silicon connection, aluminum process, credibility of aluminum and test process.

Integration of mask and silicon metrology in DFM

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Ryoichi; Mito, Hiroaki; Sugiyama, Akiyuki; Toyoda, Yasutaka

2009-03-01

We have developed a highly integrated method of mask and silicon metrology. The method adopts a metrology management system based on DBM (Design Based Metrology). This is the high accurate contouring created by an edge detection algorithm used in mask CD-SEM and silicon CD-SEM. We have inspected the high accuracy, stability and reproducibility in the experiments of integration. The accuracy is comparable with that of the mask and silicon CD-SEM metrology. In this report, we introduce the experimental results and the application. As shrinkage of design rule for semiconductor device advances, OPC (Optical Proximity Correction) goes aggressively dense in RET (Resolution Enhancement Technology). However, from the view point of DFM (Design for Manufacturability), the cost of data process for advanced MDP (Mask Data Preparation) and mask producing is a problem. Such trade-off between RET and mask producing is a big issue in semiconductor market especially in mask business. Seeing silicon device production process, information sharing is not completely organized between design section and production section. Design data created with OPC and MDP should be linked to process control on production. But design data and process control data are optimized independently. Thus, we provided a solution of DFM: advanced integration of mask metrology and silicon metrology. The system we propose here is composed of followings. 1) Design based recipe creation: Specify patterns on the design data for metrology. This step is fully automated since they are interfaced with hot spot coordinate information detected by various verification methods. 2) Design based image acquisition: Acquire the images of mask and silicon automatically by a recipe based on the pattern design of CD-SEM.It is a robust automated step because a wide range of design data is used for the image acquisition. 3) Contour profiling and GDS data generation: An image profiling process is applied to the acquired image based

Roadmap for integration of InP based photonics and silicon electronics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Williams, K.A.

2015-01-01

We identify the synergies and a roadmap for the intimate integration of InP photonic integrated circuits and Silicon electronic ICs using wafer-scale processes. Advantages are foreseen in terms of bandwidth, energy savings and package simplification.

Amorphous silicon based particle detectors

OpenAIRE

Wyrsch, N.; Franco, A.; Riesen, Y.; Despeisse, M.; Dunand, S.; Powolny, F.; Jarron, P.; Ballif, C.

2012-01-01

Radiation hard monolithic particle sensors can be fabricated by a vertical integration of amorphous silicon particle sensors on top of CMOS readout chip. Two types of such particle sensors are presented here using either thick diodes or microchannel plates. The first type based on amorphous silicon diodes exhibits high spatial resolution due to the short lateral carrier collection. Combination of an amorphous silicon thick diode with microstrip detector geometries permits to achieve micromete...

System-level integration of active silicon photonic biosensors

Science.gov (United States)

Laplatine, L.; Al'Mrayat, O.; Luan, E.; Fang, C.; Rezaiezadeh, S.; Ratner, D. M.; Cheung, K.; Dattner, Y.; Chrostowski, L.

2017-02-01

Biosensors based on silicon photonic integrated circuits have attracted a growing interest in recent years. The use of sub-micron silicon waveguides to propagate near-infrared light allows for the drastic reduction of the optical system size, while increasing its complexity and sensitivity. Using silicon as the propagating medium also leverages the fabrication capabilities of CMOS foundries, which offer low-cost mass production. Researchers have deeply investigated photonic sensor devices, such as ring resonators, interferometers and photonic crystals, but the practical integration of silicon photonic biochips as part of a complete system has received less attention. Herein, we present a practical system-level architecture which can be employed to integrate the aforementioned photonic biosensors. We describe a system based on 1 mm2 dies that integrate germanium photodetectors and a single light coupling device. The die are embedded into a 16x16 mm2 epoxy package to enable microfluidic and electrical integration. First, we demonstrate a simple process to mimic Fan-Out Wafer-level-Packaging, which enables low-cost mass production. We then characterize the photodetectors in the photovoltaic mode, which exhibit high sensitivity at low optical power. Finally, we present a new grating coupler concept to relax the lateral alignment tolerance down to +/- 50 μm at 1-dB (80%) power penalty, which should permit non-experts to use the biochips in a"plug-and-play" style. The system-level integration demonstrated in this study paves the way towards the mass production of low-cost and highly sensitive biosensors, and can facilitate their wide adoption for biomedical and agro-environmental applications.

An innovative large scale integration of silicon nanowire-based field effect transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Legallais, M.; Nguyen, T. T. T.; Mouis, M.; Salem, B.; Robin, E.; Chenevier, P.; Ternon, C.

2018-05-01

Since the early 2000s, silicon nanowire field effect transistors are emerging as ultrasensitive biosensors while offering label-free, portable and rapid detection. Nevertheless, their large scale production remains an ongoing challenge due to time consuming, complex and costly technology. In order to bypass these issues, we report here on the first integration of silicon nanowire networks, called nanonet, into long channel field effect transistors using standard microelectronic process. A special attention is paid to the silicidation of the contacts which involved a large number of SiNWs. The electrical characteristics of these FETs constituted by randomly oriented silicon nanowires are also studied. Compatible integration on the back-end of CMOS readout and promising electrical performances open new opportunities for sensing applications.

Silicon based light-emitting materials and devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Weide

1999-01-01

Silicon based light-emitting materials and devices are the key to optoelectronic integration. Recently, there has been significant progress in materials engineering methods. The author reviews the latest developments in this area including erbium doped silicon, porous silicon, nanocrystalline silicon and Si/SiO 2 superlattice structures. The incorporation of these different materials into devices is described and future device prospects are assessed

Invited Article: Electrically tunable silicon-based on-chip microdisk resonator for integrated microwave photonic applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weifeng Zhang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Silicon photonics with advantages of small footprint, compatibility with the mature CMOS fabrication technology, and its potential for seamless integration with electronics is making a significant difference in realizing on-chip integration of photonic systems. A microdisk resonator (MDR with a strong capacity in trapping and storing photons is a versatile element in photonic integrated circuits. Thanks to the large index contrast, a silicon-based MDR with an ultra-compact footprint has a great potential for large-scale and high-density integrations. However, the existence of multiple whispering gallery modes (WGMs and resonance splitting in an MDR imposes inherent limitations on its widespread applications. In addition, the waveguide structure of an MDR is incompatible with that of a lateral PN junction, which leads to the deprivation of its electrical tunability. To circumvent these limitations, in this paper we propose a novel design of a silicon-based MDR by introducing a specifically designed slab waveguide to surround the disk and the lateral sides of the bus waveguide to suppress higher-order WGMs and to support the incorporation of a lateral PN junction for electrical tunability. An MDR based on the proposed design is fabricated and its optical performance is evaluated. The fabricated MDR exhibits single-mode operation with a free spectral range of 28.85 nm. Its electrical tunability is also demonstrated and an electro-optic frequency response with a 3-dB modulation bandwidth of ∼30.5 GHz is measured. The use of the fabricated MDR for the implementation of an electrically tunable optical delay-line and a tunable fractional-order temporal photonic differentiator is demonstrated.

Silicon photonics fiber-to-the-home transceiver array based on transfer-printing-based integration of III-V photodetectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jing; De Groote, Andreas; Abbasi, Amin; Loi, Ruggero; O'Callaghan, James; Corbett, Brian; Trindade, António José; Bower, Christopher A; Roelkens, Gunther

2017-06-26

A 4-channel silicon photonics transceiver array for Point-to-Point (P2P) fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) optical networks at the central office (CO) side is demonstrated. A III-V O-band photodetector array was integrated onto the silicon photonic transmitter through transfer printing technology, showing a polarization-independent responsivity of 0.39 - 0.49 A/W in the O-band. The integrated PDs (30 × 40 μm 2 mesa) have a 3 dB bandwidth of 11.5 GHz at -3 V bias. Together with high-speed C-band silicon ring modulators whose bandwidth is up to 15 GHz, operation of the transceiver array at 10 Gbit/s is demonstrated. The use of transfer printing for the integration of the III-V photodetectors allows for an efficient use of III-V material and enables the scalable integration of III-V devices on silicon photonics wafers, thereby reducing their cost.

2 μm wavelength range InP-based type-II quantum well photodiodes heterogeneously integrated on silicon photonic integrated circuits.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ruijun; Sprengel, Stephan; Muneeb, Muhammad; Boehm, Gerhard; Baets, Roel; Amann, Markus-Christian; Roelkens, Gunther

2015-10-05

The heterogeneous integration of InP-based type-II quantum well photodiodes on silicon photonic integrated circuits for the 2 µm wavelength range is presented. A responsivity of 1.2 A/W at a wavelength of 2.32 µm and 0.6 A/W at 2.4 µm wavelength is demonstrated. The photodiodes have a dark current of 12 nA at -0.5 V at room temperature. The absorbing active region of the integrated photodiodes consists of six periods of a "W"-shaped quantum well, also allowing for laser integration on the same platform.

Integration of lateral porous silicon membranes into planar microfluidics.

Science.gov (United States)

Leïchlé, Thierry; Bourrier, David

2015-02-07

In this work, we present a novel fabrication process that enables the monolithic integration of lateral porous silicon membranes into single-layer planar microchannels. This fabrication technique relies on the patterning of local electrodes to guide pore formation horizontally within the membrane and on the use of silicon-on-insulator substrates to spatially localize porous silicon within the channel depth. The feasibility of our approach is studied by current flow analysis using the finite element method and supported by creating 10 μm long mesoporous membranes within 20 μm deep microchannels. The fabricated membranes are demonstrated to be potentially useful for dead-end microfiltration by adequately retaining 300 nm diameter beads while macromolecules such as single-stranded DNA and immunoglobulin G permeate the membrane. The experimentally determined fluidic resistance is in accordance with the theoretical value expected from the estimated pore size and porosity. The work presented here is expected to greatly simplify the integration of membranes capable of size exclusion based separation into fluidic devices and opens doors to the use of porous silicon in planar lab on a chip devices.

Mode converter based on an inverse taper for multimode silicon nanophotonic integrated circuits.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Daoxin; Mao, Mao

2015-11-02

An inverse taper on silicon is proposed and designed to realize an efficient mode converter available for the connection between multimode silicon nanophotonic integrated circuits and few-mode fibers. The present mode converter has a silicon-on-insulator inverse taper buried in a 3 × 3μm(2) SiN strip waveguide to deal with not only for the fundamental mode but also for the higher-order modes. The designed inverse taper enables the conversion between the six modes (i.e., TE(11), TE(21), TE(31), TE(41), TM(11), TM(12)) in a 1.4 × 0.22μm(2) multimode SOI waveguide and the six modes (like the LP(01), LP(11a), LP(11b) modes in a few-mode fiber) in a 3 × 3μm(2) SiN strip waveguide. The conversion efficiency for any desired mode is higher than 95.6% while any undesired mode excitation ratio is lower than 0.5%. This is helpful to make multimode silicon nanophotonic integrated circuits (e.g., the on-chip mode (de)multiplexers developed well) available to work together with few-mode fibers in the future.

Silicon-Based Technology for Integrated Waveguides and mm-Wave Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jovanovic, Vladimir; Gentile, Gennaro; Dekker, Ronald

2015-01-01

IC processing is used to develop technology for silicon-filled millimeter-wave-integrated waveguides. The front-end process defines critical waveguide sections and enables integration of dedicated components, such as RF capacitors and resistors. Wafer gluing is used to strengthen the mechanical...... support and deep reactive-ion etching forms the waveguide bulk with smooth and nearly vertical sidewalls. Aluminum metallization covers the etched sidewalls, fully enclosing the waveguides in metal from all sides. Waveguides are fabricated with a rectangular cross section of 560 μm x 280 μm. The measured...

Silicon wafers for integrated circuit process

OpenAIRE

Leroy , B.

1986-01-01

Silicon as a substrate material will continue to dominate the market of integrated circuits for many years. We first review how crystal pulling procedures impact the quality of silicon. We then investigate how thermal treatments affect the behaviour of oxygen and carbon, and how, as a result, the quality of silicon wafers evolves. Gettering techniques are then presented. We conclude by detailing the requirements that wafers must satisfy at the incoming inspection.

Long-wavelength III-V/silicon photonic integrated circuits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roelkens, G.C.; Kuyken, B.; Leo, F.; Hattasan, N.; Ryckeboer, E.M.P.; Muneeb, M.; Hu, C.L.; Malik, A.; Hens, Z.; Baets, R.G.F.; Shimura, Y.; Gencarelli, F.; Vincent, B.; Loo, van de R.; Verheyen, P.A.; Lepage, G.; Campenhout, van J.; Cerutti, L.; Rodriquez, J.B.; Tournie, E.; Chen, X; Nedeljkovic, G.; Mashanovich, G.; Liu, X.; Green, W.S.

2013-01-01

We review our work in the field of short-wave infrared and mid-infrared photonic integrated circuits for applications in spectroscopic sensing systems. Passive silicon waveguide circuits, GeSn photodetectors, the integration of III-V and IV-VI semiconductors on these circuits, and silicon nonlinear

Silicon integrated circuits part A : supplement 2

CERN Document Server

Kahng, Dawon

1981-01-01

Applied Solid State Science, Supplement 2: Silicon Integrated Circuits, Part A focuses on MOS device physics. This book is divided into three chapters-physics of the MOS transistor; nonvolatile memories; and properties of silicon-on-sapphire substrates devices, and integrated circuits. The topics covered include the short channel effects, MOSFET structures, floating gate devices, technology for nonvolatile semiconductor memories, sapphire substrates, and SOS integrated circuits and systems. The MOS capacitor, MIOS devices, and SOS process and device technology are also deliberated. This public

Amorphous silicon rich silicon nitride optical waveguides for high density integrated optics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Philipp, Hugh T.; Andersen, Karin Nordström; Svendsen, Winnie Edith

2004-01-01

Amorphous silicon rich silicon nitride optical waveguides clad in silica are presented as a high-index contrast platform for high density integrated optics. Performance of different cross-sectional geometries have been measured and are presented with regards to bending loss and insertion loss...

Flexible integration of free-standing nanowires into silicon photonics.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bigeng; Wu, Hao; Xin, Chenguang; Dai, Daoxin; Tong, Limin

2017-06-14

Silicon photonics has been developed successfully with a top-down fabrication technique to enable large-scale photonic integrated circuits with high reproducibility, but is limited intrinsically by the material capability for active or nonlinear applications. On the other hand, free-standing nanowires synthesized via a bottom-up growth present great material diversity and structural uniformity, but precisely assembling free-standing nanowires for on-demand photonic functionality remains a great challenge. Here we report hybrid integration of free-standing nanowires into silicon photonics with high flexibility by coupling free-standing nanowires onto target silicon waveguides that are simultaneously used for precise positioning. Coupling efficiency between a free-standing nanowire and a silicon waveguide is up to ~97% in the telecommunication band. A hybrid nonlinear-free-standing nanowires-silicon waveguides Mach-Zehnder interferometer and a racetrack resonator for significantly enhanced optical modulation are experimentally demonstrated, as well as hybrid active-free-standing nanowires-silicon waveguides circuits for light generation. These results suggest an alternative approach to flexible multifunctional on-chip nanophotonic devices.Precisely assembling free-standing nanowires for on-demand photonic functionality remains a challenge. Here, Chen et al. integrate free-standing nanowires into silicon waveguides and show all-optical modulation and light generation on silicon photonic chips.

Progress in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor silicon photonics and optoelectronic integrated circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Hongda; Zhang Zan; Huang Beiju; Mao Luhong; Zhang Zanyun

2015-01-01

Silicon photonics is an emerging competitive solution for next-generation scalable data communications in different application areas as high-speed data communication is constrained by electrical interconnects. Optical interconnects based on silicon photonics can be used in intra/inter-chip interconnects, board-to-board interconnects, short-reach communications in datacenters, supercomputers and long-haul optical transmissions. In this paper, we present an overview of recent progress in silicon optoelectronic devices and optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs) based on a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor-compatible process, and focus on our research contributions. The silicon optoelectronic devices and OEICs show good characteristics, which are expected to benefit several application domains, including communication, sensing, computing and nonlinear systems. (review)

Integrated double-sided silicon microstrip detectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perevertailo V. L.

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The problems of design, technology and manufacturing double-sided silicon microstrip detectors using standard equipment production line in mass production of silicon integrated circuits are considered. The design of prototype high-energy particles detector for experiment ALICE (CERN is presented. The parameters of fabricated detectors are comparable with those of similar foreign detectors, but they are distinguished by lesser cost.

Materials issues in silicon integrated circuit processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wittmer, M.; Stimmell, J.; Strathman, M.

1986-01-01

The symposium on ''Materials Issues in Integrated Circuit Processing'' sought to bring together all of the materials issued pertinent to modern integrated circuit processing. The inherent properties of the materials are becoming an important concern in integrated circuit manufacturing and accordingly research in materials science is vital for the successful implementation of modern integrated circuit technology. The session on Silicon Materials Science revealed the advanced stage of knowledge which topics such as point defects, intrinsic and extrinsic gettering and diffusion kinetics have achieved. Adaption of this knowledge to specific integrated circuit processing technologies is beginning to be addressed. The session on Epitaxy included invited papers on epitaxial insulators and IR detectors. Heteroepitaxy on silicon is receiving great attention and the results presented in this session suggest that 3-d integrated structures are an increasingly realistic possibility. Progress in low temperature silicon epitaxy and epitaxy of thin films with abrupt interfaces was also reported. Diffusion and Ion Implantation were well presented. Regrowth of implant-damaged layers and the nature of the defects which remain after regrowth were discussed in no less than seven papers. Substantial progress was also reported in the understanding of amorphising boron implants and the use of gallium implants for the formation of shallow p/sup +/ -layers

High-efficiency power transfer for silicon-based photonic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Gyeongho; Yu, Kyoungsik

2018-02-01

We demonstrate an efficient coupling of guided light of 1550 nm from a standard single-mode optical fiber to a silicon waveguide using the finite-difference time-domain method and propose a fabrication method of tapered optical fibers for efficient power transfer to silicon-based photonic integrated circuits. Adiabatically-varying fiber core diameters with a small tapering angle can be obtained using the tube etching method with hydrofluoric acid and standard single-mode fibers covered by plastic jackets. The optical power transmission of the fundamental HE11 and TE-like modes between the fiber tapers and the inversely-tapered silicon waveguides was calculated with the finite-difference time-domain method to be more than 99% at a wavelength of 1550 nm. The proposed method for adiabatic fiber tapering can be applied in quantum optics, silicon-based photonic integrated circuits, and nanophotonics. Furthermore, efficient coupling within the telecommunication C-band is a promising approach for quantum networks in the future.

Infrared transparent graphene heater for silicon photonic integrated circuits.

Science.gov (United States)

Schall, Daniel; Mohsin, Muhammad; Sagade, Abhay A; Otto, Martin; Chmielak, Bartos; Suckow, Stephan; Giesecke, Anna Lena; Neumaier, Daniel; Kurz, Heinrich

2016-04-18

Thermo-optical tuning of the refractive index is one of the pivotal operations performed in integrated silicon photonic circuits for thermal stabilization, compensation of fabrication tolerances, and implementation of photonic operations. Currently, heaters based on metal wires provide the temperature control in the silicon waveguide. The strong interaction of metal and light, however, necessitates a certain gap between the heater and the photonic structure to avoid significant transmission loss. Here we present a graphene heater that overcomes this constraint and enables an energy efficient tuning of the refractive index. We achieve a tuning power as low as 22 mW per free spectral range and fast response time of 3 µs, outperforming metal based waveguide heaters. Simulations support the experimental results and suggest that for graphene heaters the spacing to the silicon can be further reduced yielding the best possible energy efficiency and operation speed.

Ka-band to L-band frequency down-conversion based on III-V-on-silicon photonic integrated circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Van Gasse, K.; Wang, Z.; Uvin, S.; De Deckere, B.; Mariën, J.; Thomassen, L.; Roelkens, G.

2017-12-01

In this work, we present the design, simulation and characterization of a frequency down-converter based on III-V-on-silicon photonic integrated circuit technology. We first demonstrate the concept using commercial discrete components, after which we demonstrate frequency conversion using an integrated mode-locked laser and integrated modulator. In our experiments, five channels in the Ka-band (27.5-30 GHz) with 500 MHz bandwidth are down-converted to the L-band (1.5 GHz). The breadboard demonstration shows a conversion efficiency of - 20 dB and a flat response over the 500 MHz bandwidth. The simulation of a fully integrated circuit indicates that a positive conversion gain can be obtained on a millimeter-sized photonic integrated circuit.

Software-defined networking control plane for seamless integration of multiple silicon photonic switches in Datacom networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Yiwen; Hattink, Maarten H N; Samadi, Payman; Cheng, Qixiang; Hu, Ziyiz; Gazman, Alexander; Bergman, Keren

2018-04-16

Silicon photonics based switches offer an effective option for the delivery of dynamic bandwidth for future large-scale Datacom systems while maintaining scalable energy efficiency. The integration of a silicon photonics-based optical switching fabric within electronic Datacom architectures requires novel network topologies and arbitration strategies to effectively manage the active elements in the network. We present a scalable software-defined networking control plane to integrate silicon photonic based switches with conventional Ethernet or InfiniBand networks. Our software-defined control plane manages both electronic packet switches and multiple silicon photonic switches for simultaneous packet and circuit switching. We built an experimental Dragonfly network testbed with 16 electronic packet switches and 2 silicon photonic switches to evaluate our control plane. Observed latencies occupied by each step of the switching procedure demonstrate a total of 344 µs control plane latency for data-center and high performance computing platforms.

Silicon photonic integration in telecommunications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher Richard Doerr

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Silicon photonics is the guiding of light in a planar arrangement of silicon-based materials to perform various functions. We focus here on the use of silicon photonics to create transmitters and receivers for fiber-optic telecommunications. As the need to squeeze more transmission into a given bandwidth, a given footprint, and a given cost increases, silicon photonics makes more and more economic sense.

Silicon Microspheres Photonics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serpenguzel, A.

2008-01-01

Electrophotonic integrated circuits (EPICs), or alternatively, optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEICs) are the natural evolution of the microelectronic integrated circuit (IC) with the addition of photonic capabilities. Traditionally, the IC industry has been based on group IV silicon, whereas the photonics industry on group III-V semiconductors. However, silicon based photonic microdevices have been making strands in siliconizing photonics. Silicon microspheres with their high quality factor whispering gallery modes (WGMs), are ideal candidates for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) applications in the standard near-infrared communication bands. In this work, we will discuss the possibility of using silicon microspheres for photonics applications in the near-infrared

Integration of functional complex oxide nanomaterials on silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose Manuel eVila-Fungueiriño

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The combination of standard wafer-scale semiconductor processing with the properties of functional oxides opens up to innovative and more efficient devices with high value applications that can be produced at large scale. This review uncovers the main strategies that are successfully used to monolithically integrate functional complex oxide thin films and nanostructures on silicon: the chemical solution deposition approach (CSD and the advanced physical vapor deposition techniques such as oxide molecular beam epitaxy (MBE. Special emphasis will be placed on complex oxide nanostructures epitaxially grown on silicon using the combination of CSD and MBE. Several examples will be exposed, with a particular stress on the control of interfaces and crystallization mechanisms on epitaxial perovskite oxide thin films, nanostructured quartz thin films, and octahedral molecular sieve nanowires. This review enlightens on the potential of complex oxide nanostructures and the combination of both chemical and physical elaboration techniques for novel oxide-based integrated devices.

Functionalization and microfluidic integration of silicon nanowire biologically gated field effect transistors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pfreundt, Andrea

This thesis deals with the development of a novel biosensor for the detection of biomolecules based on a silicon nanowire biologically gated field-effect transistor and its integration into a point-of-care device. The sensor and electrical on-chip integration was developed in a different project...

Functionalization and microfluidic integration of silicon nanowire biologically gated field effect transistors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pfreundt, Andrea; Svendsen, Winnie Edith; Dimaki, Maria

2016-01-01

This thesis deals with the development of a novel biosensor for the detection of biomolecules based on a silicon nanowire biologically gated field-effect transistor and its integration into a point-of-care device. The sensor and electrical on-chip integration was developed in a different project...

MEMS-based silicon cantilevers with integrated electrothermal heaters for airborne ultrafine particle sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Wasisto, Hutomo Suryo; Merzsch, Stephan; Waag, Andreas; Peiner, Erwin

2013-05-01

The development of low-cost and low-power MEMS-based cantilever sensors for possible application in hand-held airborne ultrafine particle monitors is described in this work. The proposed resonant sensors are realized by silicon bulk micromachining technology with electrothermal excitation, piezoresistive frequency readout, and electrostatic particle collection elements integrated and constructed in the same sensor fabrication process step of boron diffusion. Built-in heating resistor and full Wheatstone bridge are set close to the cantilever clamp end for effective excitation and sensing, respectively, of beam deflection. Meanwhile, the particle collection electrode is located at the cantilever free end. A 300 μm-thick, phosphorus-doped silicon bulk wafer is used instead of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) as the starting material for the sensors to reduce the fabrication costs. To etch and release the cantilevers from the substrate, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) cryogenic dry etching is utilized. By controlling the etching parameters (e.g., temperature, oxygen content, and duration), cantilever structures with thicknesses down to 10 - 20 μm are yielded. In the sensor characterization, the heating resistor is heated and generating thermal waves which induce thermal expansion and further cause mechanical bending strain in the out-of-plane direction. A resonant frequency of 114.08 +/- 0.04 kHz and a quality factor of 1302 +/- 267 are measured in air for a fabricated rectangular cantilever (500x100x13.5 μm3). Owing to its low power consumption of a few milliwatts, this electrothermal cantilever is suitable for replacing the current external piezoelectric stack actuator in the next generation of the miniaturized cantilever-based nanoparticle detector (CANTOR).

Integrated nanophotonic frequency shifter on the silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) platform for laser vibrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lauermann, M.; Weimann, C.; Palmer, R.; Schindler, P. C.; Koeber, S.; Freude, W.; Koos, C.; Rembe, C.

2014-01-01

We demonstrate a waveguide-based frequency shifter on the silicon photonic platform, enabling frequency shifts up to 10 GHz. The device is realized by silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) integration. Temporal shaping of the drive signal allows the suppression of spurious side-modes by more than 23 dB

Integrated nanophotonic frequency shifter on the silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) platform for laser vibrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lauermann, M.; Weimann, C.; Palmer, R.; Schindler, P. C. [Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany); Koeber, S.; Freude, W., E-mail: christian.koos@kit.edu; Koos, C., E-mail: christian.koos@kit.edu [Institute of Photonics and Quantum Electronics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany and Institute of Microstructure Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany); Rembe, C. [Polytec GmbH, 76337 Waldbronn (Germany)

2014-05-27

We demonstrate a waveguide-based frequency shifter on the silicon photonic platform, enabling frequency shifts up to 10 GHz. The device is realized by silicon-organic hybrid (SOH) integration. Temporal shaping of the drive signal allows the suppression of spurious side-modes by more than 23 dB.

Silicon-Nitride-based Integrated Optofluidic Biochemical Sensors using a Coupled-Resonator Optical Waveguide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiawei eWANG

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Silicon nitride (SiN is a promising material platform for integrating photonic components and microfluidic channels on a chip for label-free, optical biochemical sensing applications in the visible to near-infrared wavelengths. The chip-scale SiN-based optofluidic sensors can be compact due to a relatively high refractive index contrast between SiN and the fluidic medium, and low-cost due to the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS-compatible fabrication process. Here, we demonstrate SiN-based integrated optofluidic biochemical sensors using a coupled-resonator optical waveguide (CROW in the visible wavelengths. The working principle is based on imaging in the far field the out-of-plane elastic-light-scattering patterns of the CROW sensor at a fixed probe wavelength. We correlate the imaged pattern with reference patterns at the CROW eigenstates. Our sensing algorithm maps the correlation coefficients of the imaged pattern with a library of calibrated correlation coefficients to extract a minute change in the cladding refractive index. Given a calibrated CROW, our sensing mechanism in the spatial domain only requires a fixed-wavelength laser in the visible wavelengths as a light source, with the probe wavelength located within the CROW transmission band, and a silicon digital charge-coupled device (CCD / CMOS camera for recording the light scattering patterns. This is in sharp contrast with the conventional optical microcavity-based sensing methods that impose a strict requirement of spectral alignment with a high-quality cavity resonance using a wavelength-tunable laser. Our experimental results using a SiN CROW sensor with eight coupled microrings in the 680nm wavelength reveal a cladding refractive index change of ~1.3 × 10^-4 refractive index unit (RIU, with an average sensitivity of ~281 ± 271 RIU-1 and a noise-equivalent detection limit (NEDL of 1.8 ×10^-8 RIU ~ 1.0 ×10^-4 RIU across the CROW bandwidth of ~1 nm.

Silicon Photonics II Components and Integration

CERN Document Server

Lockwood, David J

2011-01-01

This book is volume II of a series of books on silicon photonics. It gives a fascinating picture of the state-of-the-art in silicon photonics from a component perspective. It presents a perspective on what can be expected in the near future. It is formed from a selected number of reviews authored by world leaders in the field, and is written from both academic and industrial viewpoints. An in-depth discussion of the route towards fully integrated silicon photonics is presented. This book will be useful not only to physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and engineers but also to graduate students who are interested in the fields of micro- and nanophotonics and optoelectronics.

Hybrid integrated single-wavelength laser with silicon micro-ring reflector

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Min; Pu, Jing; Krishnamurthy, Vivek; Xu, Zhengji; Lee, Chee-Wei; Li, Dongdong; Gonzaga, Leonard; Toh, Yeow T.; Tjiptoharsono, Febi; Wang, Qian

2018-02-01

A hybrid integrated single-wavelength laser with silicon micro-ring reflector is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally. It consists of a heterogeneously integrated III-V section for optical gain, an adiabatic taper for light coupling, and a silicon micro-ring reflector for both wavelength selection and light reflection. Heterogeneous integration processes for multiple III-V chips bonded to an 8-inch Si wafer have been developed, which is promising for massive production of hybrid lasers on Si. The III-V layer is introduced on top of a 220-nm thick SOI layer through low-temperature wafer-boning technology. The optical coupling efficiency of >85% between III-V and Si waveguide has been achieved. The silicon micro-ring reflector, as the key element of the hybrid laser, is studied, with its maximized reflectivity of 85.6% demonstrated experimentally. The compact single-wavelength laser enables fully monolithic integration on silicon wafer for optical communication and optical sensing application.

High-contrast gratings for long-wavelength laser integration on silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Sciancalepore, Corrado; Descos, Antoine; Bordel, Damien; Duprez, Hélène; Letartre, Xavier; Menezo, Sylvie; Ben Bakir, Badhise

2014-02-01

Silicon photonics is increasingly considered as the most promising way-out to the relentless growth of data traffic in today's telecommunications infrastructures, driving an increase in transmission rates and computing capabilities. This is in fact challenging the intrinsic limit of copper-based, short-reach interconnects and microelectronic circuits in data centers and server architectures to offer enough modulation bandwidth at reasonable power dissipation. In the context of the heterogeneous integration of III-V direct-bandgap materials on silicon, optics with high-contrast metastructures enables the efficient implementation of optical functions such as laser feedback, input/output (I/O) to active/passive components, and optical filtering, while heterogeneous integration of III-V layers provides sufficient optical gain, resulting in silicon-integrated laser sources. The latest ensure reduced packaging costs and reduced footprint for the optical transceivers, a key point for the short reach communications. The invited talk will introduce the audience to the latest breakthroughs concerning the use of high-contrast gratings (HCGs) for the integration of III-V-on-Si verticalcavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) as well as Fabry-Perot edge-emitters (EELs) in the main telecom band around 1.55 μm. The strong near-field mode overlap within HCG mirrors can be exploited to implement unique optical functions such as dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM): a 16-λ100-GHz-spaced channels VCSEL array is demonstrated. On the other hand, high fabrication yields obtained via molecular wafer bonding of III-V alloys on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) conjugate excellent device performances with cost-effective high-throughput production, supporting industrial needs for a rapid research-to-market transfer.

Towards Cost-Effective Crystalline Silicon Based Flexible Solar Cells: Integration Strategy by Rational Design of Materials, Process, and Devices

KAUST Repository

Bahabry, Rabab R.

2017-11-30

The solar cells market has an annual growth of more than 30 percent over the past 15 years. At the same time, the cost of the solar modules diminished to meet both of the rapid global demand and the technological improvements. In particular for the crystalline silicon solar cells, the workhorse of this technology. The objective of this doctoral thesis is enhancing the efficiency of c-Si solar cells while exploring the cost reduction via innovative techniques. Contact metallization and ultra-flexible wafer based c-Si solar cells are the main areas under investigation. First, Silicon-based solar cells typically utilize screen printed Silver (Ag) metal contacts which affect the optimal electrical performance. To date, metal silicide-based ohmic contacts are occasionally used for the front contact grid lines. In this work, investigation of the microstructure and the electrical characteristics of nickel monosilicide (NiSi) ohmic contacts on the rear side of c-Si solar cells has been carried out. Significant enhancement in the fill factor leading to increasing the total power conversion efficiency is observed. Second, advanced classes of modern application require a new generation of versatile solar cells showcasing extreme mechanical resilience. However, silicon is a brittle material with a fracture strains <1%. Highly flexible Si-based solar cells are available in the form thin films which seem to be disadvantageous over thick Si solar cells due to the reduction of the optical absorption with less active Si material. Here, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology based integration strategy is designed where corrugation architecture to enable an ultra-flexible solar cell module from bulk mono-crystalline silicon solar wafer with 17% efficiency. This periodic corrugated array benefits from an interchangeable solar cell segmentation scheme which preserves the active silicon thickness and achieves flexibility via interdigitated back contacts. These cells

Technology for the compatible integration of silicon detectors with readout electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmer, G.

1984-01-01

Compatible integration of detectors and readout electronics on the same silicon substrate is of growing interest. As the methods of microelectronics technology have already been adapted for detector fabrication, a common technology basis for detectors and readout electronics is available. CMOS technology exhibits most attractive features for the compatible realization of readout electronics when advanced LSI processing steps are combined with detector requirements. The essential requirements for compatible integration are the availability of high resistivity (100)-oriented single crystalline silicon substrate, the formation of suitably doped areas for MOS circuits and the isolation of the low voltage circuit from the detector operated at much higher supply voltage. Junction isolation as a first approach based on present production technology and dielectric isolation based on an advanced SOI-LSI technology are discussed as the most promising solutions for present and future applications, respectively. (orig.)

Nonlinear silicon photonics

Science.gov (United States)

Borghi, M.; Castellan, C.; Signorini, S.; Trenti, A.; Pavesi, L.

2017-09-01

Silicon photonics is a technology based on fabricating integrated optical circuits by using the same paradigms as the dominant electronics industry. After twenty years of fervid development, silicon photonics is entering the market with low cost, high performance and mass-manufacturable optical devices. Until now, most silicon photonic devices have been based on linear optical effects, despite the many phenomenologies associated with nonlinear optics in both bulk materials and integrated waveguides. Silicon and silicon-based materials have strong optical nonlinearities which are enhanced in integrated devices by the small cross-section of the high-index contrast silicon waveguides or photonic crystals. Here the photons are made to strongly interact with the medium where they propagate. This is the central argument of nonlinear silicon photonics. It is the aim of this review to describe the state-of-the-art in the field. Starting from the basic nonlinearities in a silicon waveguide or in optical resonator geometries, many phenomena and applications are described—including frequency generation, frequency conversion, frequency-comb generation, supercontinuum generation, soliton formation, temporal imaging and time lensing, Raman lasing, and comb spectroscopy. Emerging quantum photonics applications, such as entangled photon sources, heralded single-photon sources and integrated quantum photonic circuits are also addressed at the end of this review.

Integrated Amorphous Silicon p-i-n Temperature Sensor for CMOS Photonics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandro Rao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H shows interesting optoelectronic and technological properties that make it suitable for the fabrication of passive and active micro-photonic devices, compatible moreover with standard microelectronic devices on a microchip. A temperature sensor based on a hydrogenated amorphous silicon p-i-n diode integrated in an optical waveguide for silicon photonics applications is presented here. The linear dependence of the voltage drop across the forward-biased diode on temperature, in a range from 30 °C up to 170 °C, has been used for thermal sensing. A high sensitivity of 11.9 mV/°C in the bias current range of 34–40 nA has been measured. The proposed device is particularly suitable for the continuous temperature monitoring of CMOS-compatible photonic integrated circuits, where the behavior of the on-chip active and passive devices are strongly dependent on their operating temperature.

High quality silicon-based substrates for microwave and millimeter wave passive circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Belaroussi, Y.; Rack, M.; Saadi, A. A.; Scheen, G.; Belaroussi, M. T.; Trabelsi, M.; Raskin, J.-P.

2017-09-01

Porous silicon substrate is very promising for next generation wireless communication requiring the avoidance of high-frequency losses originating from the bulk silicon. In this work, new variants of porous silicon (PSi) substrates have been introduced. Through an experimental RF performance, the proposed PSi substrates have been compared with different silicon-based substrates, namely, standard silicon (Std), trap-rich (TR) and high resistivity (HR). All of the mentioned substrates have been fabricated where identical samples of CPW lines have been integrated on. The new PSi substrates have shown successful reduction in the substrate's effective relative permittivity to values as low as 3.7 and great increase in the substrate's effective resistivity to values higher than 7 kΩ cm. As a concept proof, a mm-wave bandpass filter (MBPF) centred at 27 GHz has been integrated on the investigated substrates. Compared with the conventional MBPF implemented on standard silicon-based substrates, the measured S-parameters of the PSi-based MBPF have shown high filtering performance, such as a reduction in insertion loss and an enhancement of the filter selectivity, with the joy of having the same filter performance by varying the temperature. Therefore, the efficiency of the proposed PSi substrates has been well highlighted. From 1994 to 1995, she was assistant of physics at (USTHB), Algiers . From 1998 to 2011, she was a Researcher at characterization laboratory in ionized media and laser division at the Advanced Technologies Development Center. She has integrated the Analog Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits team as Researcher since 2011 until now in Microelectronic and Nanotechnology Division at Advanced Technologies Development Center (CDTA), Algiers. She has been working towards her Ph.D. degree jointly at CDTA and Ecole Nationale Polytechnique, Algiers, since 2012. Her research interest includes fabrication and characterization of microwave passive devices on porous

Extremely flexible nanoscale ultrathin body silicon integrated circuits on plastic.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahrjerdi, Davood; Bedell, Stephen W

2013-01-09

In recent years, flexible devices based on nanoscale materials and structures have begun to emerge, exploiting semiconductor nanowires, graphene, and carbon nanotubes. This is primarily to circumvent the existing shortcomings of the conventional flexible electronics based on organic and amorphous semiconductors. The aim of this new class of flexible nanoelectronics is to attain high-performance devices with increased packing density. However, highly integrated flexible circuits with nanoscale transistors have not yet been demonstrated. Here, we show nanoscale flexible circuits on 60 Å thick silicon, including functional ring oscillators and memory cells. The 100-stage ring oscillators exhibit the stage delay of ~16 ps at a power supply voltage of 0.9 V, the best reported for any flexible circuits to date. The mechanical flexibility is achieved by employing the controlled spalling technology, enabling the large-area transfer of the ultrathin body silicon devices to a plastic substrate at room temperature. These results provide a simple and cost-effective pathway to enable ultralight flexible nanoelectronics with unprecedented level of system complexity based on mainstream silicon technology.

Integration of a silicon-based microprobe into a gear measuring instrument for accurate measurement of micro gears

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferreira, N; Krah, T; Jeong, D C; Kniel, K; Härtig, F; Metz, D; Dietzel, A; Büttgenbach, S

2014-01-01

The integration of silicon micro probing systems into conventional gear measuring instruments (GMIs) allows fully automated measurements of external involute micro spur gears of normal modules smaller than 1 mm. This system, based on a silicon microprobe, has been developed and manufactured at the Institute for Microtechnology of the Technische Universität Braunschweig. The microprobe consists of a silicon sensor element and a stylus which is oriented perpendicularly to the sensor. The sensor is fabricated by means of silicon bulk micromachining. Its small dimensions of 6.5 mm × 6.5 mm allow compact mounting in a cartridge to facilitate the integration into a GMI. In this way, tactile measurements of 3D microstructures can be realized. To enable three-dimensional measurements with marginal forces, four Wheatstone bridges are built with diffused piezoresistors on the membrane of the sensor. On the reverse of the membrane, the stylus is glued perpendicularly to the sensor on a boss to transmit the probing forces to the sensor element during measurements. Sphere diameters smaller than 300 µm and shaft lengths of 5 mm as well as measurement forces from 10 µN enable the measurements of 3D microstructures. Such micro probing systems can be integrated into universal coordinate measuring machines and also into GMIs to extend their field of application. Practical measurements were carried out at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt by qualifying the microprobes on a calibrated reference sphere to determine their sensitivity and their physical dimensions in volume. Following that, profile and helix measurements were carried out on a gear measurement standard with a module of 1 mm. The comparison of the measurements shows good agreement between the measurement values and the calibrated values. This result is a promising basis for the realization of smaller probe diameters for the tactile measurement of micro gears with smaller modules. (paper)

Heterogeneously integrated silicon photonics for the mid-infrared and spectroscopic sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yu; Lin, Hongtao; Hu, Juejun; Li, Mo

2014-07-22

Besides being the foundational material for microelectronics, crystalline silicon has long been used for the production of infrared lenses and mirrors. More recently, silicon has become the key material to achieve large-scale integration of photonic devices for on-chip optical interconnect and signal processing. For optics, silicon has significant advantages: it offers a very high refractive index and is highly transparent in the spectral range from 1.2 to 8 μm. To fully exploit silicon’s superior performance in a remarkably broad range and to enable new optoelectronic functionalities, here we describe a general method to integrate silicon photonic devices on arbitrary foreign substrates. In particular, we apply the technique to integrate silicon microring resonators on mid-infrared compatible substrates for operation in the mid-infrared. These high-performance mid-infrared optical resonators are utilized to demonstrate, for the first time, on-chip cavity-enhanced mid-infrared spectroscopic analysis of organic chemicals with a limit of detection of less than 0.1 ng.

Ultrahigh-density trench cpacitors in silicon and their application to integrated DC-DC conversion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roozeboom, F.; Bergveld, H.J.; Nowak, K.; Le Cornec, F.; Guiraud, L.; Bunel, C.; Iochem, S.; Ferreira, J.; Ledain, S.; Pieraerts, E.; Pommier, M.

2009-01-01

This paper addresses silicon-based integration of passive components applied to 3D integration with dies of other technologies within one package. Particularly, the development of high-density trench capacitors has enabled the realization of small-formfactor DC-DC converters. As illustration, an

Ultrafast triggered transient energy storage by atomic layer deposition into porous silicon for integrated transient electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Anna; Muralidharan, Nitin; Carter, Rachel; Share, Keith; Pint, Cary L.

2016-03-01

Here we demonstrate the first on-chip silicon-integrated rechargeable transient power source based on atomic layer deposition (ALD) coating of vanadium oxide (VOx) into porous silicon. A stable specific capacitance above 20 F g-1 is achieved until the device is triggered with alkaline solutions. Due to the rational design of the active VOx coating enabled by ALD, transience occurs through a rapid disabling step that occurs within seconds, followed by full dissolution of all active materials within 30 minutes of the initial trigger. This work demonstrates how engineered materials for energy storage can provide a basis for next-generation transient systems and highlights porous silicon as a versatile scaffold to integrate transient energy storage into transient electronics.Here we demonstrate the first on-chip silicon-integrated rechargeable transient power source based on atomic layer deposition (ALD) coating of vanadium oxide (VOx) into porous silicon. A stable specific capacitance above 20 F g-1 is achieved until the device is triggered with alkaline solutions. Due to the rational design of the active VOx coating enabled by ALD, transience occurs through a rapid disabling step that occurs within seconds, followed by full dissolution of all active materials within 30 minutes of the initial trigger. This work demonstrates how engineered materials for energy storage can provide a basis for next-generation transient systems and highlights porous silicon as a versatile scaffold to integrate transient energy storage into transient electronics. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: (i) Experimental details for ALD and material fabrication, ellipsometry film thickness, preparation of gel electrolyte and separator, details for electrochemical measurements, HRTEM image of VOx coated porous silicon, Raman spectroscopy for VOx as-deposited as well as annealed in air for 1 hour at 450 °C, SEM and transient behavior dissolution tests of uniformly coated VOx on

Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuit Mode Multiplexer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ding, Yunhong; Ou, Haiyan; Xu, Jing

2013-01-01

We propose and demonstrate a novel silicon photonic integrated circuit enabling multiplexing of orthogonal modes in a few-mode fiber (FMF). By selectively launching light to four vertical grating couplers, all six orthogonal spatial and polarization modes supported by the FMF are successfully...

Silicon Based Mid Infrared SiGeSn Heterostructure Emitters and Detectors

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-16

AFRL-AFOSR-JP-TR-2016-0054 Silicon based mid infrared SiGeSn heterostrcture emitters and detectors Greg Sun UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS Final Report... Silicon Based Mid Infrared SiGeSn Heterostructure Emitters and Detectors ” February 10, 2016 Principal Investigator: Greg Sun Engineering...diodes are incompatible with the CMOS process and therefore cannot be easily integrated with Si electronics . The GeSn mid IR detectors developed in

Crystalline Silicon Interconnected Strips (XIS). Introduction to a New, Integrated Device and Module Concept

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Roosmalen, J.; Bronsveld, P.; Mewe, A.; Janssen, G.; Stodolny, M.; Cobussen-Pool, E.; Bennett, I.; Weeber, A.; Geerligs, B. [ECN Solar Energy, P.O. Box 1, NL-1755 ZG, Petten (Netherlands)

2012-06-15

A new device concept for high efficiency, low cost, wafer based silicon solar cells is introduced. To significantly lower the costs of Si photovoltaics, high efficiencies and large reductions of metals and silicon costs are required. To enable this, the device architecture was adapted into low current devices by applying thin silicon strips, to which a special high efficiency back-contact heterojunction cell design was applied. Standard industrial production processes can be used for our fully integrated cell and module design, with a cost reduction potential below 0.5 euro/Wp. First devices have been realized demonstrating the principle of a series connected back contact hybrid silicon heterojunction module concept.

Hybrid Integration of Solid-State Quantum Emitters on a Silicon Photonic Chip.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Je-Hyung; Aghaeimeibodi, Shahriar; Richardson, Christopher J K; Leavitt, Richard P; Englund, Dirk; Waks, Edo

2017-12-13

Scalable quantum photonic systems require efficient single photon sources coupled to integrated photonic devices. Solid-state quantum emitters can generate single photons with high efficiency, while silicon photonic circuits can manipulate them in an integrated device structure. Combining these two material platforms could, therefore, significantly increase the complexity of integrated quantum photonic devices. Here, we demonstrate hybrid integration of solid-state quantum emitters to a silicon photonic device. We develop a pick-and-place technique that can position epitaxially grown InAs/InP quantum dots emitting at telecom wavelengths on a silicon photonic chip deterministically with nanoscale precision. We employ an adiabatic tapering approach to transfer the emission from the quantum dots to the waveguide with high efficiency. We also incorporate an on-chip silicon-photonic beamsplitter to perform a Hanbury-Brown and Twiss measurement. Our approach could enable integration of precharacterized III-V quantum photonic devices into large-scale photonic structures to enable complex devices composed of many emitters and photons.

Heterogeneous integration of lithium niobate and silicon nitride waveguides for wafer-scale photonic integrated circuits on silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Lin; Pfeiffer, Martin H P; Volet, Nicolas; Zervas, Michael; Peters, Jon D; Manganelli, Costanza L; Stanton, Eric J; Li, Yifei; Kippenberg, Tobias J; Bowers, John E

2017-02-15

An ideal photonic integrated circuit for nonlinear photonic applications requires high optical nonlinearities and low loss. This work demonstrates a heterogeneous platform by bonding lithium niobate (LN) thin films onto a silicon nitride (Si3N4) waveguide layer on silicon. It not only provides large second- and third-order nonlinear coefficients, but also shows low propagation loss in both the Si3N4 and the LN-Si3N4 waveguides. The tapers enable low-loss-mode transitions between these two waveguides. This platform is essential for various on-chip applications, e.g., modulators, frequency conversions, and quantum communications.

Silicon integrated circuits advances in materials and device research

CERN Document Server

Kahng, Dawon

1981-01-01

Silicon Integrated Circuits, Part B covers the special considerations needed to achieve high-power Si-integrated circuits. The book presents articles about the most important operations needed for the high-power circuitry, namely impurity diffusion and oxidation; crystal defects under thermal equilibrium in silicon and the development of high-power device physics; and associated technology. The text also describes the ever-evolving processing technology and the most promising approaches, along with the understanding of processing-related areas of physics and chemistry. Physicists, chemists, an

Silicon-on-Insulator Nanowire Based Optical Waveguide Biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Mingyu; Liu, Yong; Chen, Yangqing; He, Jian-Jun

2016-01-01

Optical waveguide biosensors based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) nanowire have been developed for label free molecular detection. This paper reviews our work on the design, fabrication and measurement of SOI nanowire based high-sensitivity biosensors employing Vernier effect. Biosensing experiments using cascaded double-ring sensor and Mach-Zehnder- ring sensor integrated with microfluidic channels are demonstrated (paper)

Porous silicon technology for integrated microsystems

Science.gov (United States)

Wallner, Jin Zheng

With the development of micro systems, there is an increasing demand for integrable porous materials. In addition to those conventional applications, such as filtration, wicking, and insulating, many new micro devices, including micro reactors, sensors, actuators, and optical components, can benefit from porous materials. Conventional porous materials, such as ceramics and polymers, however, cannot meet the challenges posed by micro systems, due to their incompatibility with standard micro-fabrication processes. In an effort to produce porous materials that can be used in micro systems, porous silicon (PS) generated by anodization of single crystalline silicon has been investigated. In this work, the PS formation process has been extensively studied and characterized as a function of substrate type, crystal orientation, doping concentration, current density and surfactant concentration and type. Anodization conditions have been optimized for producing very thick porous silicon layers with uniform pore size, and for obtaining ideal pore morphologies. Three different types of porous silicon materials: meso porous silicon, macro porous silicon with straight pores, and macro porous silicon with tortuous pores, have been successfully produced. Regular pore arrays with controllable pore size in the range of 2mum to 6mum have been demonstrated as well. Localized PS formation has been achieved by using oxide/nitride/polysilicon stack as masking materials, which can withstand anodization in hydrofluoric acid up to twenty hours. A special etching cell with electrolytic liquid backside contact along with two process flows has been developed to enable the fabrication of thick macro porous silicon membranes with though wafer pores. For device assembly, Si-Au and In-Au bonding technologies have been developed. Very low bonding temperature (˜200°C) and thick/soft bonding layers (˜6mum) have been achieved by In-Au bonding technology, which is able to compensate the potentially

Through-silicon-via crosstalk model and optimization design for three-dimensional integrated circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qian Li-Bo; Xia Yin-Shui; Zhu Zhang-Ming; Ding Rui-Xue; Yang Yin-Tang

2014-01-01

Through-silicon-via (TSV) to TSV crosstalk noise is one of the key factors affecting the signal integrity of three-dimensional integrated circuits (3D ICs). Based on the frequency dependent equivalent electrical parameters for the TSV channel, an analytical crosstalk noise model is established to capture the TSV induced crosstalk noise. The impact of various design parameters including insulation dielectric, via pitch, via height, silicon conductivity, and terminal impedance on the crosstalk noise is analyzed with the proposed model. Two approaches are proposed to alleviate the TSV noise, namely, driver sizing and via shielding, and the SPICE results show 241 mV and 379 mV reductions in the peak noise voltage, respectively

Realization of an integrated VDF/TrFE copolymer-on-silicon pyroelectric sensor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Setiadi, D.; Setiadi, D.; Regtien, Paulus P.L.; Sarro, P.M.

1995-01-01

An integrated pyroelectric sensor based on a vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene (VDF/TrFE) copolymer is presented. A silicon substrate that contains FET readout electronics is coated with the VDF/TrFE copolymer film using a spin-coating technique. On-chip poling of the copolymer has been applied

Synthesis of highly integrated optical network based on microdisk-resonator add-drop filters in silicon-on-insulator technology

Science.gov (United States)

Kaźmierczak, Andrzej; Dortu, Fabian; Giannone, Domenico; Bogaerts, Wim; Drouard, Emmanuel; Rojo-Romeo, Pedro; Gaffiot, Frederic

2009-10-01

We analyze a highly compact optical add-drop filter topology based on a pair of microdisk resonators and a bus waveguide intersection. The filter is further assessed on an integrated optical 4×4 network for optical on-chip communication. The proposed network structure, as compact as 50×50 μm, is fabricated in a CMOS-compatible process on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate the proper operation of the fabricated devices.

Silicon-Based Integration of Groups III, IV, V Chemical Vapor Depositions in High-Quality Photodiodes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sammak, A.

2012-01-01

Heterogeneous integration of III-V semiconductors with silicon (Si) technology is an interesting approach to utilize the advantages of both high-speed photonic and electronic properties. The work presented in this thesis is initiated by this major goal of merging III-V semiconductor technology with

Heterogenous integration of a thin-film GaAs photodetector and a microfluidic device on a silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Fuchuan; Xiao, Jing; Udawala, Fidaali; Seo, Sang-Woo

2011-01-01

In this paper, heterogeneous integration of a III–V semiconductor thin-film photodetector (PD) with a microfluidic device is demonstrated on a SiO 2 –Si substrate. Thin-film format of optical devices provides an intimate integration of optical functions with microfluidic devices. As a demonstration of a multi-material and functional system, the biphasic flow structure in the polymeric microfluidic channels was co-integrated with a III–V semiconductor thin-film PD. The fluorescent drops formed in the microfluidic device are successfully detected with an integrated thin-film PD on a silicon substrate. The proposed three-dimensional integration structure is an alternative approach to combine optical functions with microfluidic functions on silicon-based electronic functions.

Integration of the End Cap TEC+ of the CMS Silicon Strip Tracker

CERN Document Server

Adler, Volker; Ageron, Michel; Agram, Jean-Laurent; Atz, Bernd; Barvich, Tobias; Baulieu, Guillaume; Beaumont, Willem; Beissel, Franz; Bergauer, Thomas; Berst, Jean-Daniel; Blüm, Peter; Bock, E; Bogelsbacher, F; de Boer, Wim; Bonnet, Jean-Luc; Bonnevaux, Alain; Boudoul, Gaelle; Bouhali, Othmane; Braunschweig, Wolfgang; Bremer, R; Brom, Jean-Marie; Butz, Erik; Chabanat, Eric; Chabert, Eric Christian; Clerbaux, Barbara; Contardo, Didier; De Callatay, Bernard; Dehm, Philip; Delaere, Christophe; Della Negra, Rodolphe; Dewulf, Jean-Paul; D'Hondt, Jorgen; Didierjean, Francois; Dierlamm, Alexander; Dirkes, Guido; Dragicevic, Marko; Drouhin, Frédéric; Ernenwein, Jean-Pierre; Esser, Hans; Estre, Nicolas; Fahrer, Manuel; Feld, Lutz; Fernández, J; Florins, Benoit; Flossdorf, Alexander; Flucke, Gero; Flügge, Günter; Fontaine, Jean-Charles; Freudenreich, Klaus; Frey, Martin; Friedl, Markus; Furgeri, Alexander; Giraud, Noël; Goerlach, Ulrich; Goorens, Robert; Graehling, Philippe; Grégoire, Ghislain; Gregoriev, E; Gross, Laurent; Hansel, S; Haroutunian, Roger; Hartmann, Frank; Heier, Stefan; Hermanns, Thomas; Heydhausen, Dirk; Heyninck, Jan; Hosselet, J; Hrubec, Josef; Jahn, Dieter; Juillot, Pierre; Kaminski, Jochen; Karpinski, Waclaw; Kaussen, Gordon; Keutgen, Thomas; Klanner, Robert; Klein, Katja; König, Stefan; Kosbow, M; Krammer, Manfred; Ledermann, Bernhard; Lemaître, Vincent; De Lentdecker, Gilles; Linn, Alexander; Lounis, Abdenour; Lübelsmeyer, Klaus; Lumb, Nicholas; Maazouzi, Chaker; Mahmoud, Tariq; Michotte, Daniel; Militaru, Otilia; Mirabito, Laurent; Müller, Thomas; Neukermans, Lionel; Ollivetto, C; Olzem, Jan; Ostapchuk, Andrey; Pandoulas, Demetrios; Pein, Uwe; Pernicka, Manfred; Perriès, Stephane; Piaseki, C; Pierschel, Gerhard; Piotrzkowski, Krzysztof; Poettgens, Michael; Pooth, Oliver; Rouby, Xavier; Sabellek, Andreas; Schael, Stefan; Schirm, Norbert; Schleper, Peter; Schmitz, Stefan Antonius; Schultz von Dratzig, Arndt; Siedling, Rolf; Simonis, Hans-Jürgen; Stahl, Achim; Steck, Pia; Steinbruck, G; Stoye, Markus; Strub, Roger; Tavernier, Stefaan; Teyssier, Daniel; Theel, Andreas; Trocmé, Benjamin; Udo, Fred; Van der Donckt, M; Van der Velde, C; Van Hove, Pierre; Vanlaer, Pascal; Van Lancker, Luc; Van Staa, Rolf; Vanzetto, Sylvain; Weber, Markus; Weiler, Thomas; Weseler, Siegfried; Wickens, John; Wittmer, Bruno; Wlochal, Michael; De Wolf, Eddi A; Zhukov, Valery; Zoeller, Marc Henning

2009-01-01

The silicon strip tracker of the CMS experiment has been completed and inserted into the CMS detector in late 2007. The largest sub-system of the tracker is its end cap system, comprising two large end caps (TEC) each containing 3200 silicon strip modules. To ease construction, the end caps feature a modular design: groups of about 20 silicon modules are placed on sub-assemblies called petals and these self-contained elements are then mounted into the TEC support structures. Each end cap consists of 144 petals, and the insertion of these petals into the end cap structure is referred to as TEC integration. The two end caps were integrated independently in Aachen (TEC+) and at CERN (TEC--). This note deals with the integration of TEC+, describing procedures for end cap integration and for quality control during testing of integrated sections of the end cap and presenting results from the testing.

Generation and manipulation of entangled photons on silicon chips

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matsuda Nobuyuki

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Integrated quantum photonics is now seen as one of the promising approaches to realize scalable quantum information systems. With optical waveguides based on silicon photonics technologies, we can realize quantum optical circuits with a higher degree of integration than with silica waveguides. In addition, thanks to the large nonlinearity observed in silicon nanophotonic waveguides, we can implement active components such as entangled photon sources on a chip. In this paper, we report recent progress in integrated quantum photonic circuits based on silicon photonics. We review our work on correlated and entangled photon-pair sources on silicon chips, using nanoscale silicon waveguides and silicon photonic crystal waveguides. We also describe an on-chip quantum buffer realized using the slow-light effect in a silicon photonic crystal waveguide. As an approach to combine the merits of different waveguide platforms, a hybrid quantum circuit that integrates a silicon-based photon-pair source and a silica-based arrayed waveguide grating is also presented.

A 40-GBd QPSK/16-QAM integrated silicon coherent receiver

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verbist, J.; Zhang, J.; Moeneclaey, B.; Soenen, W.; Van Weerdenburg, J.J.A.; Van Uden, R.; Okonkwo, C.M.; Bauwelinck, J.; Roelkens, G.; Yin, X.

2016-01-01

Through co-design of a dual SiGe transimpedance amplifier and an integrated silicon photonic circuit, we realized for the first time an ultra-compact and low-power silicon single-polarization coherent receiver operating at 40 GBd. A bit-error rate of <3.8× 10-3 was obtained for an optical

Hybrid integration of carbon nanotubes in silicon photonic structures

Science.gov (United States)

Durán-Valdeiglesias, E.; Zhang, W.; Alonso-Ramos, C.; Le Roux, X.; Serna, S.; Hoang, H. C.; Marris-Morini, D.; Cassan, E.; Intonti, F.; Sarti, F.; Caselli, N.; La China, F.; Gurioli, M.; Balestrieri, M.; Vivien, L.; Filoramo, A.

2017-02-01

Silicon photonics, due to its compatibility with the CMOS platform and unprecedented integration capability, has become the preferred solution for the implementation of next generation optical interconnects to accomplish high efficiency, low energy consumption, low cost and device miniaturization in one single chip. However, it is restricted by silicon itself. Silicon does not have efficient light emission or detection in the telecommunication wavelength range (1.3 μm-1.5 μm) or any electro-optic effect (i.e. Pockels effect). Hence, silicon photonic needs to be complemented with other materials for the realization of optically-active devices, including III-V for lasing and Ge for detection. The very different requirement of these materials results in complex fabrication processes that offset the cost-effectiveness of the Si photonics approach. For this purpose, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have recently been proposed as an attractive one-dimensional light emitting material. Interestingly, semiconducting single walled CNTs (SWNTs) exhibit room-temperature photo- and electro-luminescence in the near-IR that could be exploited for the implementation of integrated nano-sources. They can also be considered for the realization of photo-detectors and optical modulators, since they rely on intrinsically fast non-linear effects, such as Stark and Kerr effect. All these properties make SWNTs ideal candidates in order to fabricate a large variety of optoelectronic devices, including near-IR sources, modulators and photodetectors on Si photonic platforms. In addition, solution processed SWNTs can be integrated on Si using spin-coating or drop-casting techniques, obviating the need of complex epitaxial growth or chip bonding approaches. Here, we report on our recent progress in the coupling of SWNTs light emission into optical resonators implemented on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. .

Mechanical engineering and design of silicon-based particle tracking devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, W.O.; Thompson, T.C.; Gamble, M.T.; Reid, R.S.; Woloshun, K.A.; Dransfield, G.D.; Ziock, H.J.

1990-01-01

The Mechanical Engineering and Electronics Division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory has been investigating silicon-based particle tracking device technology as part of the Superconducting Super Collider-sponsored silicon subsystem collaboration. Structural, thermal, and materials issues have been addressed. This paper discussed detector structural integrity and stability, including detailed finite element models of the silicon chip support and predictive methods used in designing with advanced composite materials. Electronic thermal loading and efficient dissipation of such energy using heat pipe technology has been investigated. The use of materials whose coefficients of thermal expansion are engineered to match silicon or to be near zero, as appropriate, have been explored. Material analysis and test results from radiation, chemical, and static loading are compared with analytical predictions and discussed. 1 ref., 2 figs., 1 tab

Silicon oxynitride based photonics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Worhoff, Kerstin; Klein, E.J.; Hussein, M.G.; Driessen, A.; Marciniak, M.; Jaworski, M.; Zdanowicz, M.

2008-01-01

Silicon oxynitride is a very attractive material for integrated optics. Besides possessing excellent optical properties it can be deposited with refractive indices varying over a wide range by tuning the material composition. In this contribution we will summarize the key properties of this material

Multi-Step Deep Reactive Ion Etching Fabrication Process for Silicon-Based Terahertz Components

Science.gov (United States)

Jung-Kubiak, Cecile (Inventor); Reck, Theodore (Inventor); Chattopadhyay, Goutam (Inventor); Perez, Jose Vicente Siles (Inventor); Lin, Robert H. (Inventor); Mehdi, Imran (Inventor); Lee, Choonsup (Inventor); Cooper, Ken B. (Inventor); Peralta, Alejandro (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A multi-step silicon etching process has been developed to fabricate silicon-based terahertz (THz) waveguide components. This technique provides precise dimensional control across multiple etch depths with batch processing capabilities. Nonlinear and passive components such as mixers and multipliers waveguides, hybrids, OMTs and twists have been fabricated and integrated into a small silicon package. This fabrication technique enables a wafer-stacking architecture to provide ultra-compact multi-pixel receiver front-ends in the THz range.

Miniaturized flow cytometer with 3D hydrodynamic particle focusing and integrated optical elements applying silicon photodiodes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rosenauer, M.; Buchegger, W.; Finoulst, I.; Verhaert, P.D.E.M.; Vellekoop, M.

2010-01-01

In this study, the design, realization and measurement results of a novel optofluidic system capable of performing absorbance-based flow cytometric analysis is presented. This miniaturized laboratory platform, fabricated using SU-8 on a silicon substrate, comprises integrated polymer-based

A low cost and hybrid technology for integrating silicon sensors or actuators in polymer microfluidic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charlot, Samuel; Gué, Anne-Marie; Tasselli, Josiane; Marty, Antoine; Abgrall, Patrick; Estève, Daniel

2008-01-01

This paper describes a new technology permitting a hybrid integration of silicon chips in polymer (PDMS and SU8) microfluidic structures. This two-step technology starts with transferring the silicon device onto a rigid substrate (typically PCB) and planarizing it, and then it proceeds with stacking of the polymer-made fluidic network onto the device. The technology is low cost, based on screen printing and lamination, can be applied to treat large surface areas, and is compatible with standard photolithography and vacuum based approaches. We show, as an example, the integration of a thermal sensor inside channels made of PDMS or SU8. The developed structures had no fluid leaks at the Si/polymer interfaces and the electrical circuit was perfectly tightproof. (note)

Hybrid III-V/silicon lasers

Science.gov (United States)

Kaspar, P.; Jany, C.; Le Liepvre, A.; Accard, A.; Lamponi, M.; Make, D.; Levaufre, G.; Girard, N.; Lelarge, F.; Shen, A.; Charbonnier, P.; Mallecot, F.; Duan, G.-H.; Gentner, J.-.; Fedeli, J.-M.; Olivier, S.; Descos, A.; Ben Bakir, B.; Messaoudene, S.; Bordel, D.; Malhouitre, S.; Kopp, C.; Menezo, S.

2014-05-01

The lack of potent integrated light emitters is one of the bottlenecks that have so far hindered the silicon photonics platform from revolutionizing the communication market. Photonic circuits with integrated light sources have the potential to address a wide range of applications from short-distance data communication to long-haul optical transmission. Notably, the integration of lasers would allow saving large assembly costs and reduce the footprint of optoelectronic products by combining photonic and microelectronic functionalities on a single chip. Since silicon and germanium-based sources are still in their infancy, hybrid approaches using III-V semiconductor materials are currently pursued by several research laboratories in academia as well as in industry. In this paper we review recent developments of hybrid III-V/silicon lasers and discuss the advantages and drawbacks of several integration schemes. The integration approach followed in our laboratory makes use of wafer-bonded III-V material on structured silicon-on-insulator substrates and is based on adiabatic mode transfers between silicon and III-V waveguides. We will highlight some of the most interesting results from devices such as wavelength-tunable lasers and AWG lasers. The good performance demonstrates that an efficient mode transfer can be achieved between III-V and silicon waveguides and encourages further research efforts in this direction.

Flip-chip bonded optoelectronic integration based on ultrathin silicon (UTSi) CMOS

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Sunkwang; Ho, Tawei; Zhang, Liping; Sawchuk, Alexander A.

2003-06-01

We describe the design and test of flip-chip bonded optoelectronic CMOS devices based on Peregrine Semiconductor's 0.5 micron Ultra-Thin Silicon on sapphire (UTSi) technology. The UTSi process eliminates the substrate leakage that typically results in crosstalk and reduces parasitic capacitance to the substrate, providing many benefits compared to bulk silicon CMOS. The low-loss synthetic sapphire substrate is optically transparent and has a coefficient of thermal expansion suitable for flip-chip bonding of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and detectors. We have designed two different UTSi CMOS chips. One contains a flip-chip bonded 1 x 4 photodiode array, a receiver array, a double edge triggered D-flip flop-based 2047-pattern pseudo random bit stream (PRBS) generator and a quadrature-phase LC-voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). The other chip contains a flip-chip bonded 1 x 4 VCSEL array, a driver array based on high-speed low-voltage differential signals (LVDS) and a full-balanced differential LC-VCO. Each VCSEL driver and receiver has individual input and bias voltage adjustments. Each UTSi chip is mounted on different printed circuit boards (PCBs) which have holes with about 1 mm radius for optical output and input paths through the sapphire substrate. We discuss preliminary testing of these chips.

Compact high-efficiency vortex beam emitter based on a silicon photonics micro-ring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Shimao; Ding, Yunhong; Guan, Xiaowei

2018-01-01

Photonic integrated devices that emit vortex beam carrying orbital angular momentum are becoming key components for multiple applications. Here we propose and demonstrate a high-efficiency vortex beam emitter based on a silicon micro-ring resonator integrated with a metal mirror. Such a compact...

Stretchable and foldable silicon-based electronics

KAUST Repository

Cavazos Sepulveda, Adrian Cesar

2017-03-30

Flexible and stretchable semiconducting substrates provide the foundation for novel electronic applications. Usually, ultra-thin, flexible but often fragile substrates are used in such applications. Here, we describe flexible, stretchable, and foldable 500-μm-thick bulk mono-crystalline silicon (100) “islands” that are interconnected via extremely compliant 30-μm-thick connectors made of silicon. The thick mono-crystalline segments create a stand-alone silicon array that is capable of bending to a radius of 130 μm. The bending radius of the array does not depend on the overall substrate thickness because the ultra-flexible silicon connectors are patterned. We use fracture propagation to release the islands. Because they allow for three-dimensional monolithic stacking of integrated circuits or other electronics without any through-silicon vias, our mono-crystalline islands can be used as a “more-than-Moore” strategy and to develop wearable electronics that are sufficiently robust to be compatible with flip-chip bonding.

Stretchable and foldable silicon-based electronics

KAUST Repository

Cavazos Sepulveda, Adrian Cesar; Diaz Cordero, M. S.; Carreno, Armando Arpys Arevalo; Nassar, Joanna M.; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2017-01-01

Flexible and stretchable semiconducting substrates provide the foundation for novel electronic applications. Usually, ultra-thin, flexible but often fragile substrates are used in such applications. Here, we describe flexible, stretchable, and foldable 500-μm-thick bulk mono-crystalline silicon (100) “islands” that are interconnected via extremely compliant 30-μm-thick connectors made of silicon. The thick mono-crystalline segments create a stand-alone silicon array that is capable of bending to a radius of 130 μm. The bending radius of the array does not depend on the overall substrate thickness because the ultra-flexible silicon connectors are patterned. We use fracture propagation to release the islands. Because they allow for three-dimensional monolithic stacking of integrated circuits or other electronics without any through-silicon vias, our mono-crystalline islands can be used as a “more-than-Moore” strategy and to develop wearable electronics that are sufficiently robust to be compatible with flip-chip bonding.

Cobalt micro-magnet integration on silicon MOS quantum dots

Science.gov (United States)

Camirand Lemyre, Julien; Rochette, Sophie; Anderson, John; Manginell, Ronald P.; Pluym, Tammy; Ward, Dan; Carroll, Malcom S.; Pioro-Ladrière, Michel

Integration of cobalt micro-magnets on silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) quantum dot devices has been investigated. The micro-magnets are fabricated in a lift-off process with e-beam lithography and deposited directly on top of an etched poly-silicon gate stack. Among the five resist stacks tested, one is found to be compatible with our MOS specific materials (Si and SiO2) . Moreover, devices with and without additional Al2O3 insulating layer show no additional gate leakage after processing. Preliminary transport data indicates electrostatic stability of our devices with integrated magnets. This work was performed, in part, at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, an Office of Science User Facility operated for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed-Martin Company, for the U. S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000.

MIDAS: Automated Approach to Design Microwave Integrated Inductors and Transformers on Silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Aluigi

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The design of modern radiofrequency integrated circuits on silicon operating at microwave and millimeter-waves requires the integration of several spiral inductors and transformers that are not commonly available in the process design-kits of the technologies. In this work we present an auxiliary CAD tool for Microwave Inductor (and transformer Design Automation on Silicon (MIDAS that exploits commercial simulators and allows the implementation of an automatic design flow, including three-dimensional layout editing and electromagnetic simulations. In detail, MIDAS allows the designer to derive a preliminary sizing of the inductor (transformer on the bases of the design entries (specifications. It draws the inductor (transformer layers for the specific process design kit, including vias and underpasses, with or without patterned ground shield, and launches the electromagnetic simulations, achieving effective design automation with respect to the traditional design flow for RFICs. With the present software suite the complete design time is reduced significantly (typically 1 hour on a PC based on Intel® Pentium® Dual 1.80GHz CPU with 2-GB RAM. Afterwards both the device equivalent circuit and the layout are ready to be imported in the Cadence environment.

Al transmon qubits on silicon-on-insulator for quantum device integration

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Andrew J.; Dieterle, Paul B.; Fang, Michael; Berger, Brett; Fink, Johannes M.; Painter, Oskar

2017-07-01

We present the fabrication and characterization of an aluminum transmon qubit on a silicon-on-insulator substrate. Key to the qubit fabrication is the use of an anhydrous hydrofluoric vapor process which selectively removes the lossy silicon oxide buried underneath the silicon device layer. For a 5.6 GHz qubit measured dispersively by a 7.1 GHz resonator, we find T1 = 3.5 μs and T2* = 2.2 μs. This process in principle permits the co-fabrication of silicon photonic and mechanical elements, providing a route towards chip-scale integration of electro-opto-mechanical transducers for quantum networking of superconducting microwave quantum circuits. The additional processing steps are compatible with established fabrication techniques for aluminum transmon qubits on silicon.

Silicon based ultrafast optical waveform sampling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ji, Hua; Galili, Michael; Pu, Minhao

2010-01-01

A 300 nmx450 nmx5 mm silicon nanowire is designed and fabricated for a four wave mixing based non-linear optical gate. Based on this silicon nanowire, an ultra-fast optical sampling system is successfully demonstrated using a free-running fiber laser with a carbon nanotube-based mode-locker as th......A 300 nmx450 nmx5 mm silicon nanowire is designed and fabricated for a four wave mixing based non-linear optical gate. Based on this silicon nanowire, an ultra-fast optical sampling system is successfully demonstrated using a free-running fiber laser with a carbon nanotube-based mode......-locker as the sampling source. A clear eye-diagram of a 320 Gbit/s data signal is obtained. The temporal resolution of the sampling system is estimated to 360 fs....

Monolithic nanoscale photonics-electronics integration in silicon and other group IV elements

CERN Document Server

Radamson, Henry

2014-01-01

Silicon technology is evolving rapidly, particularly in board-to-board or chip-to chip applications. Increasingly, the electronic parts of silicon technology will carry out the data processing, while the photonic parts take care of the data communication. For the first time, this book describes the merging of photonics and electronics in silicon and other group IV elements. It presents the challenges, the limitations, and the upcoming possibilities of these developments. The book describes the evolution of CMOS integrated electronics, status and development, and the fundamentals of silicon p

The integration of InGaP LEDs with CMOS on 200 mm silicon wafers

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bing; Lee, Kwang Hong; Wang, Cong; Wang, Yue; Made, Riko I.; Sasangka, Wardhana Aji; Nguyen, Viet Cuong; Lee, Kenneth Eng Kian; Tan, Chuan Seng; Yoon, Soon Fatt; Fitzgerald, Eugene A.; Michel, Jurgen

2017-02-01

The integration of photonics and electronics on a converged silicon CMOS platform is a long pursuit goal for both academe and industry. We have been developing technologies that can integrate III-V compound semiconductors and CMOS circuits on 200 mm silicon wafers. As an example we present our work on the integration of InGaP light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with CMOS. The InGaP LEDs were epitaxially grown on high-quality GaAs and Ge buffers on 200 mm (100) silicon wafers in a MOCVD reactor. Strain engineering was applied to control the wafer bow that is induced by the mismatch of coefficients of thermal expansion between III-V films and silicon substrate. Wafer bonding was used to transfer the foundry-made silicon CMOS wafers to the InGaP LED wafers. Process trenches were opened on the CMOS layer to expose the underneath III-V device layers for LED processing. We show the issues encountered in the 200 mm processing and the methods we have been developing to overcome the problems.

A CMOS microdisplay with integrated controller utilizing improved silicon hot carrier luminescent light sources

Science.gov (United States)

Venter, Petrus J.; Alberts, Antonie C.; du Plessis, Monuko; Joubert, Trudi-Heleen; Goosen, Marius E.; Janse van Rensburg, Christo; Rademeyer, Pieter; Fauré, Nicolaas M.

2013-03-01

Microdisplay technology, the miniaturization and integration of small displays for various applications, is predominantly based on OLED and LCoS technologies. Silicon light emission from hot carrier electroluminescence has been shown to emit light visibly perceptible without the aid of any additional intensification, although the electrical to optical conversion efficiency is not as high as the technologies mentioned above. For some applications, this drawback may be traded off against the major cost advantage and superior integration opportunities offered by CMOS microdisplays using integrated silicon light sources. This work introduces an improved version of our previously published microdisplay by making use of new efficiency enhanced CMOS light emitting structures and an increased display resolution. Silicon hot carrier luminescence is often created when reverse biased pn-junctions enter the breakdown regime where impact ionization results in carrier transport across the junction. Avalanche breakdown is typically unwanted in modern CMOS processes. Design rules and process design are generally tailored to prevent breakdown, while the voltages associated with breakdown are too high to directly interact with the rest of the CMOS standard library. This work shows that it is possible to lower the operating voltage of CMOS light sources without compromising the optical output power. This results in more efficient light sources with improved interaction with other standard library components. This work proves that it is possible to create a reasonably high resolution microdisplay while integrating the active matrix controller and drivers on the same integrated circuit die without additional modifications, in a standard CMOS process.

Millimeter-wave silicon-based ultra-wideband automotive radar transceivers

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, Vipul

Since the invention of the integrated circuit, the semiconductor industry has revolutionized the world in ways no one had ever anticipated. With the advent of silicon technologies, consumer electronics became light-weight and affordable and paved the way for an Information-Communication-Entertainment age. While silicon almost completely replaced compound semiconductors from these markets, it has been unable to compete in areas with more stringent requirements due to technology limitations. One of these areas is automotive radar sensors, which will enable next-generation collision-warning systems in automobiles. A low-cost implementation is absolutely essential for widespread use of these systems, which leads us to the subject of this dissertation---silicon-based solutions for automotive radars. This dissertation presents architectures and design techniques for mm-wave automotive radar transceivers. Several fully-integrated transceivers and receivers operating at 22-29 GHz and 77-81 GHz are demonstrated in both CMOS and SiGe BiCMOS technologies. Excellent performance is achieved indicating the suitability of silicon technologies for automotive radar sensors. The first CMOS 22-29-GHz pulse-radar receiver front-end for ultra-wideband radars is presented. The chip includes a low noise amplifier, I/Q mixers, quadrature voltage-controlled oscillators, pulse formers and variable-gain amplifiers. Fabricated in 0.18-mum CMOS, the receiver achieves a conversion gain of 35-38.1 dB and a noise figure of 5.5-7.4 dB. Integration of multi-mode multi-band transceivers on a single chip will enable next-generation low-cost automotive radar sensors. Two highly-integrated silicon ICs are designed in a 0.18-mum BiCMOS technology. These designs are also the first reported demonstrations of mm-wave circuits with high-speed digital circuits on the same chip. The first mm-wave dual-band frequency synthesizer and transceiver, operating in the 24-GHz and 77-GHz bands, are demonstrated. All

A Novel Silicon Micromachined Integrated MCM Thermal Management System

Science.gov (United States)

Kazmierczak, M. J.; Henderson, H. T.; Gerner, F. M.

1997-01-01

"Micromachining" is a chemical means of etching three-dimensional structures, typically in single- crystalline silicon. These techniques are leading toward what is coming to be referred to as MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems), where in addition to the ordinary two-dimensional (planar) microelectronics, it is possible to build three-dimensional n-ticromotors, electrically- actuated raicrovalves, hydraulic systems and much more on the same microchip. These techniques become possible because of differential etching rates of various crystallographic planes and materials used for semiconductor n-ticrofabfication. The University of Cincinnati group in collaboration with Karl Baker at NASA Lewis were the first to form micro heat pipes in silicon by the above techniques. Current work now in progress using MEMS technology is now directed towards the development of the next generation in MCM (Multi Chip Module) packaging. Here we propose to develop a complete electronic thermal management system which will allow densifica6on in chip stacking by perhaps two orders of magnitude. Furthermore the proposed technique will allow ordinary conu-nercial integrated chips to be utilized. Basically, the new technique involves etching square holes into a silicon substrate and then inserting and bonding commercially available integrated chips into these holes. For example, over a 100 1/4 in. by 1 /4 in. integrated chips can be placed on a 4 in. by 4 in. silicon substrate to form a Multi-Chip Module (MCM). Placing these MCM's in-line within an integrated rack then allows for three-diniensional stacking. Increased miniaturization of microelectronic circuits will lead to very high local heat fluxes. A high performance thermal management system will be specifically designed to remove the generated energy. More specifically, a compact heat exchanger with milli / microchannels will be developed and tested to remove the heat through the back side of this MCM assembly for moderate and high

Nanophotonic integrated circuits from nanoresonators grown on silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Roger; Ng, Kar Wei; Ko, Wai Son; Parekh, Devang; Lu, Fanglu; Tran, Thai-Truong D; Li, Kun; Chang-Hasnain, Connie

2014-07-07

Harnessing light with photonic circuits promises to catalyse powerful new technologies much like electronic circuits have in the past. Analogous to Moore's law, complexity and functionality of photonic integrated circuits depend on device size and performance scale. Semiconductor nanostructures offer an attractive approach to miniaturize photonics. However, shrinking photonics has come at great cost to performance, and assembling such devices into functional photonic circuits has remained an unfulfilled feat. Here we demonstrate an on-chip optical link constructed from InGaAs nanoresonators grown directly on a silicon substrate. Using nanoresonators, we show a complete toolkit of circuit elements including light emitters, photodetectors and a photovoltaic power supply. Devices operate with gigahertz bandwidths while consuming subpicojoule energy per bit, vastly eclipsing performance of prior nanostructure-based optoelectronics. Additionally, electrically driven stimulated emission from an as-grown nanostructure is presented for the first time. These results reveal a roadmap towards future ultradense nanophotonic integrated circuits.

Thermally controlled coupling of a rolled-up microtube integrated with a waveguide on a silicon electronic-photonic integrated circuit.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Qiuhang; Tian, Zhaobing; Veerasubramanian, Venkat; Dastjerdi, M Hadi Tavakoli; Mi, Zetian; Plant, David V

2014-05-01

We report on the first experimental demonstration of the thermal control of coupling strength between a rolled-up microtube and a waveguide on a silicon electronic-photonic integrated circuit. The microtubes are fabricated by selectively releasing a coherently strained GaAs/InGaAs heterostructure bilayer. The fabricated microtubes are then integrated with silicon waveguides using an abruptly tapered fiber probe. By tuning the gap between the microtube and the waveguide using localized heaters, the microtube-waveguide evanescent coupling is effectively controlled. With heating, the extinction ratio of a microtube whispering-gallery mode changes over an 18 dB range, while the resonant wavelength remains approximately unchanged. Utilizing this dynamic thermal tuning effect, we realize coupling modulation of the microtube integrated with the silicon waveguide at 2 kHz with a heater voltage swing of 0-6 V.

Dielectric elastomers, with very high dielectric permittivity, based on silicone and ionic interpenetrating networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yu, Liyun; Madsen, Frederikke Bahrt; Hvilsted, Søren

2015-01-01

permittivity and the Young's modulus of the elastomer. One system that potentially achieves this involves interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs), based on commercial silicone elastomers and ionic networks from amino- and carboxylic acid-functional silicones. The applicability of these materials as DEs...... are obtained while dielectric breakdown strength and Young's modulus are not compromised. These good overall properties stem from the softening effect and very high permittivity of ionic networks – as high as ε′ = 7500 at 0.1 Hz – while the silicone elastomer part of the IPN provides mechanical integrity...

[A micro-silicon multi-slit spectrophotometer based on MEMS technology].

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Peng; Wu, Yi-Hui; Zhang, Ping; Liu, Yong-Shun; Zhang, Ke; Li, Hai-Wen

2009-06-01

A new mini-spectrophotometer was developed by adopting micro-silicon slit and pixel segmentation technology, and this spectrophotometer used photoelectron diode array as the detector by the back-dividing-light way. At first, the effect of the spectral bandwidth on the tested absorbance linear correlation was analyzed. A theory for the design of spectrophotometer's slit was brought forward after discussing the relationships between spectrophotometer spectrum band width and pre-and post-slits width. Then, the integrative micro-silicon-slit, which features small volume, high precision, and thin thickness, was manufactured based on the MEMS technology. Finally, a test was carried on linear absorbance solution by this spectrophotometer. The final result showed that the correlation coefficients were larger than 0.999, which means that the new mini-spectrophotometer with micro-silicon slit pixel segmentation has an obvious linear correlation.

Silicon photonics integrated circuits: a manufacturing platform for high density, low power optical I/O's.

Science.gov (United States)

Absil, Philippe P; Verheyen, Peter; De Heyn, Peter; Pantouvaki, Marianna; Lepage, Guy; De Coster, Jeroen; Van Campenhout, Joris

2015-04-06

Silicon photonics integrated circuits are considered to enable future computing systems with optical input-outputs co-packaged with CMOS chips to circumvent the limitations of electrical interfaces. In this paper we present the recent progress made to enable dense multiplexing by exploiting the integration advantage of silicon photonics integrated circuits. We also discuss the manufacturability of such circuits, a key factor for a wide adoption of this technology.

III-V-on-Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuits for Spectroscopic Sensing in the 2-4 μm Wavelength Range.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ruijun; Vasiliev, Anton; Muneeb, Muhammad; Malik, Aditya; Sprengel, Stephan; Boehm, Gerhard; Amann, Markus-Christian; Šimonytė, Ieva; Vizbaras, Augustinas; Vizbaras, Kristijonas; Baets, Roel; Roelkens, Gunther

2017-08-04

The availability of silicon photonic integrated circuits (ICs) in the 2-4 μm wavelength range enables miniature optical sensors for trace gas and bio-molecule detection. In this paper, we review our recent work on III-V-on-silicon waveguide circuits for spectroscopic sensing in this wavelength range. We first present results on the heterogeneous integration of 2.3 μm wavelength III-V laser sources and photodetectors on silicon photonic ICs for fully integrated optical sensors. Then a compact 2 μm wavelength widely tunable external cavity laser using a silicon photonic IC for the wavelength selective feedback is shown. High-performance silicon arrayed waveguide grating spectrometers are also presented. Further we show an on-chip photothermal transducer using a suspended silicon-on-insulator microring resonator used for mid-infrared photothermal spectroscopy.

Silicon nanowire-based solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stelzner, Th; Pietsch, M; Andrae, G; Falk, F; Ose, E; Christiansen, S [Institute of Photonic Technology, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 9, D-07745 Jena (Germany)], E-mail: thomas.stelzner@ipht-jena.de

2008-07-23

The fabrication of silicon nanowire-based solar cells on silicon wafers and on multicrystalline silicon thin films on glass is described. The nanowires show a strong broadband optical absorption, which makes them an interesting candidate to serve as an absorber in solar cells. The operation of a solar cell is demonstrated with n-doped nanowires grown on a p-doped silicon wafer. From a partially illuminated area of 0.6 cm{sup 2} open-circuit voltages in the range of 230-280 mV and a short-circuit current density of 2 mA cm{sup -2} were obtained.

Silicon nanowire-based solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stelzner, Th; Pietsch, M; Andrae, G; Falk, F; Ose, E; Christiansen, S

2008-01-01

The fabrication of silicon nanowire-based solar cells on silicon wafers and on multicrystalline silicon thin films on glass is described. The nanowires show a strong broadband optical absorption, which makes them an interesting candidate to serve as an absorber in solar cells. The operation of a solar cell is demonstrated with n-doped nanowires grown on a p-doped silicon wafer. From a partially illuminated area of 0.6 cm 2 open-circuit voltages in the range of 230-280 mV and a short-circuit current density of 2 mA cm -2 were obtained

Six-beam homodyne laser Doppler vibrometry based on silicon photonics technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yanlu; Zhu, Jinghao; Duperron, Matthieu; O'Brien, Peter; Schüler, Ralf; Aasmul, Soren; de Melis, Mirko; Kersemans, Mathias; Baets, Roel

2018-02-05

This paper describes an integrated six-beam homodyne laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV) system based on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) full platform technology, with on-chip photo-diodes and phase modulators. Electronics and optics are also implemented around the integrated photonic circuit (PIC) to enable a simultaneous six-beam measurement. Measurement of a propagating guided elastic wave in an aluminum plate (speed ≈ 909 m/s @ 61.5 kHz) is demonstrated.

Localized synthesis, assembly and integration of silicon nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Englander, Ongi

Localized synthesis, assembly and integration of one-dimensional silicon nanowires with MEMS structures is demonstrated and characterized in terms of local synthesis processes, electric-field assisted self-assembly, and a proof-of-concept nanoelectromechanical system (HEMS) demonstration. Emphasis is placed on the ease of integration, process control strategies, characterization techniques and the pursuit of integrated devices. A top-down followed by a bottom-up integration approach is utilized. Simple MEMS heater structures are utilized as the microscale platforms for the localized, bottom-up synthesis of one-dimensional nanostructures. Localized heating confines the high temperature region permitting only localized nanostructure synthesis and allowing the surroundings to remain at room temperature thus enabling CMOS compatible post-processing. The vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) process in the presence of a catalytic nanoparticle, a vapor phase reactant, and a specific temperature environment is successfully employed locally. Experimentally, a 5nm thick gold-palladium layer is used as the catalyst while silane is the vapor phase reactant. The current-voltage behavior of the MEMS structures can be correlated to the approximate temperature range required for the VLS reaction to take place. Silicon nanowires averaging 45nm in diameter and up to 29mum in length synthesized at growth rates of up to 1.5mum/min result. By placing two MEMS structures in close proximity, 4--10mum apart, localized silicon nanowire growth can be used to link together MEMS structures to yield a two-terminal, self-assembled micro-to-nano system. Here, one MEMS structure is designated as the hot growth structure while a nearby structure is designated as the cold secondary structure, whose role is to provide a natural stopping point for the VLS reaction. The application of a localized electric-field, 5 to 13V/mum in strength, during the synthesis process, has been shown to improve nanowire

Label-free silicon photonic biosensor system with integrated detector array

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Rongjin; Mestas, Santano P.; Yuan, Guangwei; Safaisini, Rashid; Dandy, David S.

2010-01-01

An integrated, inexpensive, label-free photonic waveguide biosensor system with multi-analyte capability has been implemented on a silicon photonics integrated circuit from a commercial CMOS line and tested with nanofilms. The local evanescent array coupled (LEAC) biosensor is based on a new physical phenomenon that is fundamentally different from the mechanisms of other evanescent field sensors. Increased local refractive index at the waveguide’s upper surface due to the formation of a biological nanofilm causes local modulation of the evanescent field coupled into an array of photodetectors buried under the waveguide. The planar optical waveguide biosensor system exhibits sensitivity of 20%/nm photocurrent modulation in response to adsorbed bovine serum albumin (BSA) layers less than 3 nm thick. In addition to response to BSA, an experiment with patterned photoresist as well as beam propagation method simulations support the evanescent field shift principle. The sensing mechanism enables the integration of all optical and electronic components for a multi-analyte biosensor system on a chip. PMID:19606292

Label-free silicon photonic biosensor system with integrated detector array.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Rongjin; Mestas, Santano P; Yuan, Guangwei; Safaisini, Rashid; Dandy, David S; Lear, Kevin L

2009-08-07

An integrated, inexpensive, label-free photonic waveguide biosensor system with multi-analyte capability has been implemented on a silicon photonics integrated circuit from a commercial CMOS line and tested with nanofilms. The local evanescent array coupled (LEAC) biosensor is based on a new physical phenomenon that is fundamentally different from the mechanisms of other evanescent field sensors. Increased local refractive index at the waveguide's upper surface due to the formation of a biological nanofilm causes local modulation of the evanescent field coupled into an array of photodetectors buried under the waveguide. The planar optical waveguide biosensor system exhibits sensitivity of 20%/nm photocurrent modulation in response to adsorbed bovine serum albumin (BSA) layers less than 3 nm thick. In addition to response to BSA, an experiment with patterned photoresist as well as beam propagation method simulations support the evanescent field shift principle. The sensing mechanism enables the integration of all optical and electronic components for a multi-analyte biosensor system on a chip.

Integrating photonics with silicon nanoelectronics for the next generation of systems on a chip.

Science.gov (United States)

Atabaki, Amir H; Moazeni, Sajjad; Pavanello, Fabio; Gevorgyan, Hayk; Notaros, Jelena; Alloatti, Luca; Wade, Mark T; Sun, Chen; Kruger, Seth A; Meng, Huaiyu; Al Qubaisi, Kenaish; Wang, Imbert; Zhang, Bohan; Khilo, Anatol; Baiocco, Christopher V; Popović, Miloš A; Stojanović, Vladimir M; Ram, Rajeev J

2018-04-01

Electronic and photonic technologies have transformed our lives-from computing and mobile devices, to information technology and the internet. Our future demands in these fields require innovation in each technology separately, but also depend on our ability to harness their complementary physics through integrated solutions 1,2 . This goal is hindered by the fact that most silicon nanotechnologies-which enable our processors, computer memory, communications chips and image sensors-rely on bulk silicon substrates, a cost-effective solution with an abundant supply chain, but with substantial limitations for the integration of photonic functions. Here we introduce photonics into bulk silicon complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chips using a layer of polycrystalline silicon deposited on silicon oxide (glass) islands fabricated alongside transistors. We use this single deposited layer to realize optical waveguides and resonators, high-speed optical modulators and sensitive avalanche photodetectors. We integrated this photonic platform with a 65-nanometre-transistor bulk CMOS process technology inside a 300-millimetre-diameter-wafer microelectronics foundry. We then implemented integrated high-speed optical transceivers in this platform that operate at ten gigabits per second, composed of millions of transistors, and arrayed on a single optical bus for wavelength division multiplexing, to address the demand for high-bandwidth optical interconnects in data centres and high-performance computing 3,4 . By decoupling the formation of photonic devices from that of transistors, this integration approach can achieve many of the goals of multi-chip solutions 5 , but with the performance, complexity and scalability of 'systems on a chip' 1,6-8 . As transistors smaller than ten nanometres across become commercially available 9 , and as new nanotechnologies emerge 10,11 , this approach could provide a way to integrate photonics with state-of-the-art nanoelectronics.

Novel technique for reliability testing of silicon integrated circuits

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Le Minh, P.; Wallinga, Hans; Woerlee, P.H.; van den Berg, Albert; Holleman, J.

2001-01-01

We propose a simple, inexpensive technique with high resolution to identify the weak spots in integrated circuits by means of a non-destructive photochemical process in which photoresist is used as the photon detection tool. The experiment was done to localize the breakdown link of thin silicon

Micro direct methanol fuel cell with perforated silicon-plate integrated ionomer membrane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Jackie Vincent; Dalslet, Bjarke Thomas; Johansson, Anne-Charlotte Elisabeth Birgitta

2014-01-01

This article describes the fabrication and characterization of a silicon based micro direct methanol fuel cell using a Nafion ionomer membrane integrated into a perforated silicon plate. The focus of this work is to provide a platform for micro- and nanostructuring of a combined current collector...... at a perforation ratio of 40.3%. The presented fuel cells also show a high volumetric peak power density of 2 mW cm−3 in light of the small system volume of 480 μL, while being fully self contained and passively feed....... and catalytic electrode. AC impedance spectroscopy is utilized alongside IV characterization to determine the influence of the plate perforation geometries on the cell performance. It is found that higher ratios of perforation increases peak power density, with the highest achieved being 2.5 mW cm−2...

Nanoscale phosphorus atom arrays created using STM for the fabrication of a silicon based quantum computer.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Brien, J. L. (Jeremy L.); Schofield, S. R. (Steven R.); Simmons, M. Y. (Michelle Y.); Clark, R. G. (Robert G.); Dzurak, A. S. (Andrew S.); Curson, N. J. (Neil J.); Kane, B. E. (Bruce E.); McAlpine, N. S. (Neal S.); Hawley, M. E. (Marilyn E.); Brown, G. W. (Geoffrey W.)

2001-01-01

Quantum computers offer the promise of formidable computational power for certain tasks. Of the various possible physical implementations of such a device, silicon based architectures are attractive for their scalability and ease of integration with existing silicon technology. These designs use either the electron or nuclear spin state of single donor atoms to store quantum information. Here we describe a strategy to fabricate an array of single phosphorus atoms in silicon for the construction of such a silicon based quantum computer. We demonstrate the controlled placement of single phosphorus bearing molecules on a silicon surface. This has been achieved by patterning a hydrogen mono-layer 'resist' with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip and exposing the patterned surface to phosphine (PH3) molecules. We also describe preliminary studies into a process to incorporate these surface phosphorus atoms into the silicon crystal at the array sites. Keywords: Quantum computing, nanotechriology scanning turincling microscopy, hydrogen lithography

Microspot-based ELISA in microfluidics: chemiluminescence and colorimetry detection using integrated thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon photodiodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Novo, Pedro; Prazeres, Duarte Miguel França; Chu, Virginia; Conde, João Pedro

2011-12-07

Microfluidic technology has the potential to decrease the time of analysis and the quantity of sample and reactants required in immunoassays, together with the potential of achieving high sensitivity, multiplexing, and portability. A lab-on-a-chip system was developed and optimized using optical and fluorescence microscopy. Primary antibodies are adsorbed onto the walls of a PDMS-based microchannel via microspotting. This probe antibody is then recognised using secondary FITC or HRP labelled antibodies responsible for providing fluorescence or chemiluminescent and colorimetric signals, respectively. The system incorporated a micron-sized thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon photodiode microfabricated on a glass substrate. The primary antibody spots in the PDMS-based microfluidic were precisely aligned with the photodiodes for the direct detection of the antibody-antigen molecular recognition reactions using chemiluminescence and colorimetry. The immunoassay takes ~30 min from assay to the integrated detection. The conditions for probe antibody microspotting and for the flow-through ELISA analysis in the microfluidic format with integrated detection were defined using antibody solutions with concentrations in the nM-μM range. Sequential colorimetric or chemiluminescence detection of specific antibody-antigen molecular recognition was quantitatively detected using the photodiode. Primary antibody surface densities down to 0.182 pmol cm(-2) were detected. Multiplex detection using different microspotted primary antibodies was demonstrated.

Predicting the performance of amorphous and crystalline silicon based photovoltaic solar thermal collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daghigh, Ronak; Ibrahim, Adnan; Jin, Goh Li; Ruslan, Mohd Hafidz; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman

2011-01-01

BIPVT is an application where solar PV/T modules are integrated into the building structure. System design parameters such as thermal conductivity and fin efficiency, type of cells, type of coolant and operating conditions are factors which influence the performance of BIPVT. Attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of building-integrated photovoltaic thermal (BIPVT). A new design concept of water-based PVT collector for building-integrated applications has been designed and evaluated. The results of simulation study of amorphous silicon (a-Si) PV/T and crystalline silicon (c-Si) module types are based on the metrological condition of Malaysia for a typical day in March. At a flow rate of 0.02 kg/s, solar radiation level between 700 and 900 W/m 2 and ambient temperature between 22 and 32 o C, the electrical, thermal and combined photovoltaic thermal efficiencies for the PV/T (a-Si) were 4.9%, 72% and 77%, respectively. Moreover, the electrical, thermal and combined photovoltaic thermal efficiencies of the PV/T (c-Si) were 11.6%, 51% and 63%.

Mechanically flexible optically transparent silicon fabric with high thermal budget devices from bulk silicon (100)

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2013-05-30

Today’s information age is driven by silicon based electronics. For nearly four decades semiconductor industry has perfected the fabrication process of continuingly scaled transistor – heart of modern day electronics. In future, silicon industry will be more pervasive, whose application will range from ultra-mobile computation to bio-integrated medical electronics. Emergence of flexible electronics opens up interesting opportunities to expand the horizon of electronics industry. However, silicon – industry’s darling material is rigid and brittle. Therefore, we report a generic batch fabrication process to convert nearly any silicon electronics into a flexible one without compromising its (i) performance; (ii) ultra-large-scale-integration complexity to integrate billions of transistors within small areas; (iii) state-of-the-art process compatibility, (iv) advanced materials used in modern semiconductor technology; (v) the most widely used and well-studied low-cost substrate mono-crystalline bulk silicon (100). In our process, we make trenches using anisotropic reactive ion etching (RIE) in the inactive areas (in between the devices) of a silicon substrate (after the devices have been fabricated following the regular CMOS process), followed by a dielectric based spacer formation to protect the sidewall of the trench and then performing an isotropic etch to create caves in silicon. When these caves meet with each other the top portion of the silicon with the devices is ready to be peeled off from the bottom silicon substrate. Release process does not need to use any external support. Released silicon fabric (25 μm thick) is mechanically flexible (5 mm bending radius) and the trenches make it semi-transparent (transparency of 7%). © (2013) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Mechanically flexible optically transparent silicon fabric with high thermal budget devices from bulk silicon (100)

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa; Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto; Sevilla, Galo T.

2013-01-01

Today’s information age is driven by silicon based electronics. For nearly four decades semiconductor industry has perfected the fabrication process of continuingly scaled transistor – heart of modern day electronics. In future, silicon industry will be more pervasive, whose application will range from ultra-mobile computation to bio-integrated medical electronics. Emergence of flexible electronics opens up interesting opportunities to expand the horizon of electronics industry. However, silicon – industry’s darling material is rigid and brittle. Therefore, we report a generic batch fabrication process to convert nearly any silicon electronics into a flexible one without compromising its (i) performance; (ii) ultra-large-scale-integration complexity to integrate billions of transistors within small areas; (iii) state-of-the-art process compatibility, (iv) advanced materials used in modern semiconductor technology; (v) the most widely used and well-studied low-cost substrate mono-crystalline bulk silicon (100). In our process, we make trenches using anisotropic reactive ion etching (RIE) in the inactive areas (in between the devices) of a silicon substrate (after the devices have been fabricated following the regular CMOS process), followed by a dielectric based spacer formation to protect the sidewall of the trench and then performing an isotropic etch to create caves in silicon. When these caves meet with each other the top portion of the silicon with the devices is ready to be peeled off from the bottom silicon substrate. Release process does not need to use any external support. Released silicon fabric (25 μm thick) is mechanically flexible (5 mm bending radius) and the trenches make it semi-transparent (transparency of 7%). © (2013) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

III–V-on-Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuits for Spectroscopic Sensing in the 2–4 μm Wavelength Range

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ruijun; Vasiliev, Anton; Muneeb, Muhammad; Malik, Aditya; Sprengel, Stephan; Boehm, Gerhard; Amann, Markus-Christian; Šimonytė, Ieva; Vizbaras, Augustinas; Vizbaras, Kristijonas; Baets, Roel; Roelkens, Gunther

2017-01-01

The availability of silicon photonic integrated circuits (ICs) in the 2–4 μm wavelength range enables miniature optical sensors for trace gas and bio-molecule detection. In this paper, we review our recent work on III–V-on-silicon waveguide circuits for spectroscopic sensing in this wavelength range. We first present results on the heterogeneous integration of 2.3 μm wavelength III–V laser sources and photodetectors on silicon photonic ICs for fully integrated optical sensors. Then a compact 2 μm wavelength widely tunable external cavity laser using a silicon photonic IC for the wavelength selective feedback is shown. High-performance silicon arrayed waveguide grating spectrometers are also presented. Further we show an on-chip photothermal transducer using a suspended silicon-on-insulator microring resonator used for mid-infrared photothermal spectroscopy. PMID:28777291

Integrated Temperature Sensors based on Heat Diffusion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Vroonhoven, C.P.L.

2015-01-01

This thesis describes the theory, design and implementation of a new class of integrated temperature sensors, based on heat diffusion. In such sensors, temperature is sensed by measuring the time it takes for heat to diffuse through silicon. An on-chip thermal delay can be determined by geometry and

Integrated reconfigurable microring based silicon WDM receiver for on-chip optical interconnect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Ao; Yang, Long-Zhi; Dai, Ting-Ge; Hao, Yin-Lei; Jiang, Xiao-Qing; Yang, Jian-Yi; Qiu, Chen

2015-01-01

We demonstrate an integrated reconfigurable wavelength division multiplexing receiver on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. The receiver is composed of a 1 × 8 thermally tunable microring resonator filter and Ge–Si photodetectors. With low thermal tuning powers the channel allocation of the receiver can be reconfigured with high accuracy and flexibility. The thermal tuning efficiency is approximately 8 mW nm −1 . We show eight-channel configurations with channel spacing of 100 GHz and 50 GHz and a configuration in which all eight channels cover an entire free spectral range of the ring with uniform channel spacing of 1.2 nm. Each channel can receive high-quality signals with a data rate of up to 13.5 Gb s −1 ; thus an aggregate data rate higher than 100 Gb s −1 can be achieved. (paper)

Integration Science and Technology of Silicon-Based Ceramics and Composites:Technical Challenges and Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, M.

2013-01-01

Ceramic integration technologies enable hierarchical design and manufacturing of intricate ceramic and composite parts starting with geometrically simpler units that are subsequently joined to themselves and/or to metals to create components with progressively higher levels of complexity and functionality. However, for the development of robust and reliable integrated systems with optimum performance for high temperature applications, detailed understanding of various thermochemical and thermomechanical factors is critical. Different technical approaches are required for the integration of ceramic to ceramic and ceramic to metal systems. Active metal brazing, in particular, is a simple and cost-effective method to integrate ceramic to metallic components. Active braze alloys usually contain a reactive filler metal (e.g., Ti, Cr, V, Hf etc) that promotes wettability and spreading by inducing chemical reactions with the ceramics and composites. In this presentation, various examples of brazing of silicon nitride to themselves and to metallic systems are presented. Other examples of joining of ceramic composites (C/SiC and SiC/SiC) using ceramic interlayers and the resulting microstructures are also presented. Thermomechanical characterization of joints is presented for both types of systems. In addition, various challenges and opportunities in design, fabrication, and testing of integrated similar (ceramic-ceramic) and dissimilar (ceramic-metal) material systems will be discussed. Potential opportunities and need for the development of innovative design philosophies, approaches, and integrated system testing under simulated application conditions will also be presented.

Three-Dimensional Integration of Black Phosphorus Photodetector with Silicon Photonics and Nanoplasmonics.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Che; Youngblood, Nathan; Peng, Ruoming; Yoo, Daehan; Mohr, Daniel A; Johnson, Timothy W; Oh, Sang-Hyun; Li, Mo

2017-02-08

We demonstrate the integration of a black phosphorus photodetector in a hybrid, three-dimensional architecture of silicon photonics and metallic nanoplasmonics structures. This integration approach combines the advantages of the low propagation loss of silicon waveguides, high-field confinement of a plasmonic nanogap, and the narrow bandgap of black phosphorus to achieve high responsivity for detection of telecom-band, near-infrared light. Benefiting from an ultrashort channel (∼60 nm) and near-field enhancement enabled by the nanogap structure, the photodetector shows an intrinsic responsivity as high as 10 A/W afforded by internal gain mechanisms, and a 3 dB roll-off frequency of 150 MHz. This device demonstrates a promising approach for on-chip integration of three distinctive photonic systems, which, as a generic platform, may lead to future nanophotonic applications for biosensing, nonlinear optics, and optical signal processing.

Periodically poled silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Hon, Nick K.; Tsia, Kevin K.; Solli, Daniel R.; Khurgin, Jacob B.; Jalali, Bahram

2010-02-01

Bulk centrosymmetric silicon lacks second-order optical nonlinearity χ(2) - a foundational component of nonlinear optics. Here, we propose a new class of photonic device which enables χ(2) as well as quasi-phase matching based on periodic stress fields in silicon - periodically-poled silicon (PePSi). This concept adds the periodic poling capability to silicon photonics, and allows the excellent crystal quality and advanced manufacturing capabilities of silicon to be harnessed for devices based on χ(2)) effects. The concept can also be simply achieved by having periodic arrangement of stressed thin films along a silicon waveguide. As an example of the utility, we present simulations showing that mid-wave infrared radiation can be efficiently generated through difference frequency generation from near-infrared with a conversion efficiency of 50% based on χ(2) values measurements for strained silicon reported in the literature [Jacobson et al. Nature 441, 199 (2006)]. The use of PePSi for frequency conversion can also be extended to terahertz generation. With integrated piezoelectric material, dynamically control of χ(2)nonlinearity in PePSi waveguide may also be achieved. The successful realization of PePSi based devices depends on the strength of the stress induced χ(2) in silicon. Presently, there exists a significant discrepancy in the literature between the theoretical and experimentally measured values. We present a simple theoretical model that produces result consistent with prior theoretical works and use this model to identify possible reasons for this discrepancy.

Energy Conversion Properties of ZnSiP2, a Lattice-Matched Material for Silicon-Based Tandem Photovoltaics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez, Aaron D.; Warren, Emily L.; Gorai, Prashun; Borup, Kasper A.; Krishna, Lakshmi; Kuciauskas, Darius; Dippo, Patricia C.; Ortiz, Brenden R.; Stradins, Paul; Stevanovic, Vladan; Toberer, Eric S.; Tamboli, Adele C.

2016-11-21

ZnSiP2 demonstrates promising potential as an optically active material on silicon. There has been a longstanding need for wide band gap materials that can be integrated with Si for tandem photovoltaics and other optoelectronic applications. ZnSiP2 is an inexpensive, earth abundant, wide band gap material that is stable and lattice matched with silicon. This conference proceeding summarizes our PV-relevant work on bulk single crystal ZnSiP2, highlighting the key findings and laying the ground work for integration into Si-based tandem devices.

Feasibility studies of microelectrode silicon detectors with integrated electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalla Betta, G.-F.; Batignani, G.; Bettarini, S.; Boscardin, M.; Bosisio, L.; Carpinelli, M.; Dittongo, S.; Forti, F.; Giorgi, M.; Gregori, P.; Lusiani, A.; Manghisoni, M.; Pignatel, G.U.; Rama, M.; Ratti, L.; Re, V.; Sandrelli, F.; Speziali, V.; Svelto, F.; Zorzi, N.

2002-01-01

We describe our experience on design and fabrication, on high-resistivity silicon substrates, of microstrip detectors and integrated electronics, devoted to high-energy physics experiments and medical/industrial imaging applications. We report on the full program of our collaboration, with particular regards to the tuning of a new fabrication process, allowing for the production of good quality transistors, while keeping under control the basic detector parameters, such as leakage current. Experimental results on JFET and bipolar transistors are presented, and a microstrip detector with an integrated JFET in source-follower configuration is introduced

Silicon Alloying On Aluminium Based Alloy Surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suryanto

2002-01-01

Silicon alloying on surface of aluminium based alloy was carried out using electron beam. This is performed in order to enhance tribological properties of the alloy. Silicon is considered most important alloying element in aluminium alloy, particularly for tribological components. Prior to silicon alloying. aluminium substrate were painted with binder and silicon powder and dried in a furnace. Silicon alloying were carried out in a vacuum chamber. The Silicon alloyed materials were assessed using some techniques. The results show that silicon alloying formed a composite metal-non metal system in which silicon particles are dispersed in the alloyed layer. Silicon content in the alloyed layer is about 40% while in other place is only 10.5 %. The hardness of layer changes significantly. The wear properties of the alloying alloys increase. Silicon surface alloying also reduced the coefficient of friction for sliding against a hardened steel counter face, which could otherwise be higher because of the strong adhesion of aluminium to steel. The hardness of the silicon surface alloyed material dropped when it underwent a heating cycle similar to the ion coating process. Hence, silicon alloying is not a suitable choice for use as an intermediate layer for duplex treatment

Neuron Stimulation Device Integrated with Silicon Nanowire-Based Photodetection Circuit on a Flexible Substrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suk Won Jung

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a neural stimulation device integrated with a silicon nanowire (SiNW-based photodetection circuit for the activation of neurons with light. The proposed device is comprised of a voltage divider and a current driver in which SiNWs are used as photodetector and field-effect transistors; it has the functions of detecting light, generating a stimulation signal in proportion to the light intensity, and transmitting the signal to a micro electrode. To show the applicability of the proposed neural stimulation device as a high-resolution retinal prosthesis system, a high-density neural stimulation device with a unit cell size of 110 × 110 μ m and a resolution of 32 × 32 was fabricated on a flexible film with a thickness of approximately 50 μm. Its effectiveness as a retinal stimulation device was then evaluated using a unit cell in an in vitro animal experiment involving the retinal tissue of retinal Degeneration 1 (rd1 mice. Experiments wherein stimulation pulses were applied to the retinal tissues successfully demonstrate that the number of spikes in neural response signals increases in proportion to light intensity.

First operation of a hybrid photon detector prototype with electrostatic cross-focussing and integrated silicon pixel readout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alemi, M.; Campbell, M.; Gys, T.; Mikulec, B.; Piedigrossi, D.; Puertolas, D.; Rosso, E.; Schomaker, R.; Snoeys, W.; Wyllie, K.

2000-01-01

We report on the first operation of a hybrid photon detector prototype with integrated silicon pixel readout for the ring imaging Cherenkov detectors of the LHCb experiment. The photon detector is based on a cross-focussed image intensifier tube geometry where the image is de-magnified by a factor of 4. The anode consists of a silicon pixel array, bump-bonded to a binary readout chip with matching pixel electronics. The prototype has been characterized using a low-intensity light-emitting diode operated in pulsed mode. Its performance in terms of single-photoelectron detection efficiency and imaging properties is presented. A model of photoelectron detection is proposed, and is shown to be in good agreement with the experimental data. It includes an estimate of the charge signal generated in the silicon detector, and the combined effects of the comparator threshold spread of the pixel readout chip, charge sharing at the pixel boundaries and back-scattering of the photoelectrons at the silicon detector surface

First operation of a hybrid photon detector prototype with electrostatic cross-focussing and integrated silicon pixel readout

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alemi, M.; Campbell, M.; Gys, T. E-mail: thierry.gys@cern.ch; Mikulec, B.; Piedigrossi, D.; Puertolas, D.; Rosso, E.; Schomaker, R.; Snoeys, W.; Wyllie, K

2000-07-11

We report on the first operation of a hybrid photon detector prototype with integrated silicon pixel readout for the ring imaging Cherenkov detectors of the LHCb experiment. The photon detector is based on a cross-focussed image intensifier tube geometry where the image is de-magnified by a factor of 4. The anode consists of a silicon pixel array, bump-bonded to a binary readout chip with matching pixel electronics. The prototype has been characterized using a low-intensity light-emitting diode operated in pulsed mode. Its performance in terms of single-photoelectron detection efficiency and imaging properties is presented. A model of photoelectron detection is proposed, and is shown to be in good agreement with the experimental data. It includes an estimate of the charge signal generated in the silicon detector, and the combined effects of the comparator threshold spread of the pixel readout chip, charge sharing at the pixel boundaries and back-scattering of the photoelectrons at the silicon detector surface.

Integrated GaN photonic circuits on silicon (100) for second harmonic generation

OpenAIRE

Xiong, Chi; Pernice, Wolfram; Ryu, Kevin K.; Schuck, Carsten; Fong, King Y.; Palacios, Tomas; Tang, Hong X.

2014-01-01

We demonstrate second order optical nonlinearity in a silicon architecture through heterogeneous integration of single-crystalline gallium nitride (GaN) on silicon (100) substrates. By engineering GaN microrings for dual resonance around 1560 nm and 780 nm, we achieve efficient, tunable second harmonic generation at 780 nm. The \\{chi}(2) nonlinear susceptibility is measured to be as high as 16 plus minus 7 pm/V. Because GaN has a wideband transparency window covering ultraviolet, visible and ...

Tin (Sn) for enhancing performance in silicon CMOS

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Aftab M.; Fahad, Hossain M.; Singh, Nirpendra; Sevilla, Galo T.; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2013-01-01

We study a group IV element: tin (Sn) by integrating it into silicon lattice, to enhance the performance of silicon CMOS. We have evaluated the electrical properties of the SiSn lattice by performing simulations using First-principle studies, followed by experimental device fabrication and characterization. We fabricated high-κ/metal gate based Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs) using SiSn as channel material to study the impact of Sn integration into silicon. © 2013 IEEE.

Tin (Sn) for enhancing performance in silicon CMOS

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Aftab M.

2013-10-01

We study a group IV element: tin (Sn) by integrating it into silicon lattice, to enhance the performance of silicon CMOS. We have evaluated the electrical properties of the SiSn lattice by performing simulations using First-principle studies, followed by experimental device fabrication and characterization. We fabricated high-κ/metal gate based Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs) using SiSn as channel material to study the impact of Sn integration into silicon. © 2013 IEEE.

Design and fabrication of a foldable 3D silicon based package for solid state lighting applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokolovskij, R; Liu, P; Van Zeijl, H W; Mimoun, B; Zhang, G Q

2015-01-01

Miniaturization of solid state lighting (SSL) luminaires as well as reduction of packaging and assembly costs are of prime interest for the SSL lighting industry. A novel silicon based LED package for lighting applications is presented in this paper. The proposed design consists of 5 rigid Si tiles connected by flexible polyimide hinges with embedded interconnects (ICs). Electrical, optical and thermal characteristics were taken into consideration during design. The fabrication process involved polyimide (PI) application and patterning, aluminium interconnect integration in the flexible hinge, LED reflector cavity formation and metalization followed by through wafer DRIE etching for chip formation and release. A method to connect chip front to backside without TSVs was also integrated into the process. Post-fabrication wafer level assembly included LED mounting and wirebond, phosphor-based colour conversion and silicone encapsulation. The package formation was finalized by vacuum assisted wrapping around an assembly structure to form a 3D geometry, which is beneficial for omnidirectional lighting. Bending tests were performed on the flexible ICs and optical performance at different temperatures was evaluated. It is suggested that 3D packages can be expanded to platforms for miniaturized luminaire applications by combining monolithic silicon integration and system-in-package (SiP) technologies. (paper)

Flexible Thermoelectric Generators on Silicon Fabric

KAUST Repository

Sevilla, Galo T.

2012-11-01

In this work, the development of a Thermoelectric Generator on Flexible Silicon Fabric is explored to extend silicon electronics for flexible platforms. Low cost, easily deployable plastic based flexible electronics are of great interest for smart textile, wearable electronics and many other exciting applications. However, low thermal budget processing and fundamentally limited electron mobility hinders its potential to be competitive with well established and highly developed silicon technology. The use of silicon in flexible electronics involve expensive and abrasive materials and processes. In this work, high performance flexible thermoelectric energy harvesters are demonstrated from low cost bulk silicon (100) wafers. The fabrication of the micro- harvesters was done using existing silicon processes on silicon (100) and then peeled them off from the original substrate leaving it for reuse. Peeled off silicon has 3.6% thickness of bulk silicon reducing the thermal loss significantly and generating nearly 30% more output power than unpeeled harvesters. The demonstrated generic batch processing shows a pragmatic way of peeling off a whole silicon circuitry after conventional fabrication on bulk silicon wafers for extremely deformable high performance integrated electronics. In summary, by using a novel, low cost process, this work has successfully integrated existing and highly developed fabrication techniques to introduce a flexible energy harvester for sustainable applications.

Strategies for doped nanocrystalline silicon integration in silicon heterojunction solar cells

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Seif, J.; Descoeudres, A.; Nogay, G.; Hänni, S.; de Nicolas, S.M.; Holm, N.; Geissbühler, J.; Hessler-Wyser, A.; Duchamp, M.; Dunin-Borkowski, R.E.; Ledinský, Martin; De Wolf, S.; Ballif, C.

2016-01-01

Roč. 6, č. 5 (2016), s. 1132-1140 ISSN 2156-3381 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LM2015087 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : microcrystalline silicon * nanocrystalline silicon * silicon heterojunctions (SHJs) * solar cells Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 3.712, year: 2016

Recent results from the development of silicon detectors with integrated electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalla Betta, G.-F. E-mail: dallabe@dit.unitn.it; Boscardin, M.; Batignani, G.; Bettarini, S.; Bisogni, M.G.; Bosisio, L.; Carpinelli, M.; Ciacchi, M.; Dittongo, S.; Forti, F.; Giorgi, M.; Gregori, P.; Manghisoni, M.; Novelli, M.; Piemonte, C.; Rachevskaia, I.; Rama, M.; Ratti, L.; Re, V.; Ronchin, S.; Sandrelli, F.; Simi, G.; Speziali, V.; Rosso, V.; Traversi, G.; Zorzi, N

2004-02-01

In the past few years we have developed a technological process allowing for the fabrication of radiation detectors with integrated electronics on high-resistivity silicon substrates. We report on some recent results relevant to the process optimisation and to device/circuit characterization.

Recent results from the development of silicon detectors with integrated electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalla Betta, G.-F.; Boscardin, M.; Batignani, G.; Bettarini, S.; Bisogni, M.G.; Bosisio, L.; Carpinelli, M.; Ciacchi, M.; Dittongo, S.; Forti, F.; Giorgi, M.; Gregori, P.; Manghisoni, M.; Novelli, M.; Piemonte, C.; Rachevskaia, I.; Rama, M.; Ratti, L.; Re, V.; Ronchin, S.; Sandrelli, F.; Simi, G.; Speziali, V.; Rosso, V.; Traversi, G.; Zorzi, N.

2004-01-01

In the past few years we have developed a technological process allowing for the fabrication of radiation detectors with integrated electronics on high-resistivity silicon substrates. We report on some recent results relevant to the process optimisation and to device/circuit characterization

An FPGA-based silicon neuronal network with selectable excitability silicon neurons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing eLi

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a digital silicon neuronal network which simulates the nerve system in creatures and has the ability to execute intelligent tasks, such as associative memory. Two essential elements, the mathematical-structure-based digital spiking silicon neuron (DSSN and the transmitter release based silicon synapse, allow the network to show rich dynamic behaviors and are computationally efficient for hardware implementation. We adopt mixed pipeline and parallel structure and shift operations to design a sufficient large and complex network without excessive hardware resource cost. The network with $256$ full-connected neurons is built on a Digilent Atlys board equipped with a Xilinx Spartan-6 LX45 FPGA. Besides, a memory control block and USB control block are designed to accomplish the task of data communication between the network and the host PC. This paper also describes the mechanism of associative memory performed in the silicon neuronal network. The network is capable of retrieving stored patterns if the inputs contain enough information of them. The retrieving probability increases with the similarity between the input and the stored pattern increasing. Synchronization of neurons is observed when the successful stored pattern retrieval occurs.

Interface and integration of a silicon graphics UNIX computer with the Encore based SCE SONGS 2/3 simulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olmos, J.; Lio, P.; Chan, K.S.

1991-01-01

The SONGS Unit 2/3 simulator was originally implemented in 1983 on a Master/Slave 32/7780 Encore MPX platform by the Singer-Link Company. In 1986, a 32/9780 MPX Encore computer was incorporated into the simulator computer system to provide the additional CPU processing needed to install the PACE plant monitoring system and to enable the upgrade of the NSSS Simulation to the advanced RETACT/STK models. Since the spring of 1990, the SCE SONGS Nuclear Training Division simulator technical staff, in cooperation with Micro Simulation Inc., has undertaken a project to integrate a Silicon Graphics UNIX based computer with the Encore MPX SONGS 2/3 simulation computer system. In this paper the authors review the objectives, advantages to be gained, software and hardware approaches utilized, and the results so far achieved by the authors' project

Imprinted silicon-based nanophotonics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borel, Peter Ingo; Olsen, Brian Bilenberg; Frandsen, Lars Hagedorn

2007-01-01

We demonstrate and optically characterize silicon-on-insulator based nanophotonic devices fabricated by nanoimprint lithography. In our demonstration, we have realized ordinary and topology-optimized photonic crystal waveguide structures. The topology-optimized structures require lateral pattern ...

Transformational silicon electronics

KAUST Repository

Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto

2014-02-25

In today\\'s traditional electronics such as in computers or in mobile phones, billions of high-performance, ultra-low-power devices are neatly integrated in extremely compact areas on rigid and brittle but low-cost bulk monocrystalline silicon (100) wafers. Ninety percent of global electronics are made up of silicon. Therefore, we have developed a generic low-cost regenerative batch fabrication process to transform such wafers full of devices into thin (5 μm), mechanically flexible, optically semitransparent silicon fabric with devices, then recycling the remaining wafer to generate multiple silicon fabric with chips and devices, ensuring low-cost and optimal utilization of the whole substrate. We show monocrystalline, amorphous, and polycrystalline silicon and silicon dioxide fabric, all from low-cost bulk silicon (100) wafers with the semiconductor industry\\'s most advanced high-κ/metal gate stack based high-performance, ultra-low-power capacitors, field effect transistors, energy harvesters, and storage to emphasize the effectiveness and versatility of this process to transform traditional electronics into flexible and semitransparent ones for multipurpose applications. © 2014 American Chemical Society.

A CMOS-compatible large-scale monolithic integration of heterogeneous multi-sensors on flexible silicon for IoT applications

KAUST Repository

Nassar, Joanna M.

2017-02-07

We report CMOS technology enabled fabrication and system level integration of flexible bulk silicon (100) based multi-sensors platform which can simultaneously sense pressure, temperature, strain and humidity under various physical deformations. We also show an advanced wearable version for body vital monitoring which can enable advanced healthcare for IoT applications.

A CMOS-compatible large-scale monolithic integration of heterogeneous multi-sensors on flexible silicon for IoT applications

KAUST Repository

Nassar, Joanna M.; Sevilla, Galo T.; Velling, Seneca J.; Cordero, Marlon D.; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2017-01-01

We report CMOS technology enabled fabrication and system level integration of flexible bulk silicon (100) based multi-sensors platform which can simultaneously sense pressure, temperature, strain and humidity under various physical deformations. We also show an advanced wearable version for body vital monitoring which can enable advanced healthcare for IoT applications.

Robust integration schemes for junction-based modulators in a 200mm CMOS compatible silicon photonic platform (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Szelag, Bertrand; Abraham, Alexis; Brision, Stéphane; Gindre, Paul; Blampey, Benjamin; Myko, André; Olivier, Segolene; Kopp, Christophe

2017-05-01

Silicon photonic is becoming a reality for next generation communication system addressing the increasing needs of HPC (High Performance Computing) systems and datacenters. CMOS compatible photonic platforms are developed in many foundries integrating passive and active devices. The use of existing and qualified microelectronics process guarantees cost efficient and mature photonic technologies. Meanwhile, photonic devices have their own fabrication constraints, not similar to those of cmos devices, which can affect their performances. In this paper, we are addressing the integration of PN junction Mach Zehnder modulator in a 200mm CMOS compatible photonic platform. Implantation based device characteristics are impacted by many process variations among which screening layer thickness, dopant diffusion, implantation mask overlay. CMOS devices are generally quite robust with respect to these processes thanks to dedicated design rules. For photonic devices, the situation is different since, most of the time, doped areas must be carefully located within waveguides and CMOS solutions like self-alignment to the gate cannot be applied. In this work, we present different robust integration solutions for junction-based modulators. A simulation setup has been built in order to optimize of the process conditions. It consist in a Mathlab interface coupling process and device electro-optic simulators in order to run many iterations. Illustrations of modulator characteristic variations with process parameters are done using this simulation setup. Parameters under study are, for instance, X and Y direction lithography shifts, screening oxide and slab thicknesses. A robust process and design approach leading to a pn junction Mach Zehnder modulator insensitive to lithography misalignment is then proposed. Simulation results are compared with experimental datas. Indeed, various modulators have been fabricated with different process conditions and integration schemes. Extensive

A parylene-filled-trench technique for thermal isolation in silicon-based microdevices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lei Yinhua; Wang Wei; Li Ting; Jin Yufeng; Zhang Haixia; Li Zhihong; Yu Huaiqiang; Luo Yingcun

2009-01-01

Microdevices prepared in a silicon substrate have been widely used in versatile fields due to the matured silicon-based microfabrication technique and the excellent physical properties of silicon material. However, the high thermal conductivity of silicon restricts its application in most thermal microdevices, especially devices comprising different temperature zones. In this work, a parylene-filled-trench technique was optimized to realize high-quality thermal isolation in silicon-based microdevices. Parylene C, a heat transfer barricading material, was deposited on parallel high-aspect-ratio trenches, which surrounded the isolated target zones. After removing the remnant silicon beneath the trenches by deep reactive ion etching from the back side, a high-quality heat transfer barrier was obtained. By using narrow trenches, only 5 µm thick parylene was required for a complete filling, which facilitated multi-layer interconnection thereafter. The parylene filling performance inside the high-aspect-ratio trench was optimized by two approaches: multiple etch–deposition cycling and trench profile controlling. A 4 × 6 array, in which each unit was kept at a constant temperature and was well thermally isolated individually, was achieved on a silicon substrate by using the present parylene-filled-trench technique. The preliminary experimental results indicated that the present parylene-filled-trench structure exhibited excellent thermal isolation performance, with a very low power requirement of 0.134 mW (K mm 2 ) −1 for heating the isolated silicon unit and a high thermal isolation efficiency of 72.5% between two adjacent units. Accompanied with high-quality isolation performance, the microdevices embedded the present parylene-filled-trench structure to retain a strong mechanical connection larger than 400 kPa between two isolated zones, which is very important for a high-reliability-required micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) device. Considering its room

Silicon Hard-Stop Mesas for 3D Integration of Superconducting Qubits

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, David; Rosenberg, Danna; Osadchy, Brenda; Calusine, Greg; Das, Rabindra; Melville, Alexander; Yoder, Jonilyn; Yost, Donna-Ruth; Racz, Livia; Oliver, William

As quantum computing with superconducting qubits advances past the few-qubit stage, implementing 3D packaging/integration to route readout/control lines will become increasingly important. One approach is to bond chips that perform different functions using indium bump bonds. Because indium is malleable, however, achieving the desired spacing and tilt between two chips can be challenging. We present an approach based on etching several microns into the silicon substrate to produce hard stop silicon posts. Since this process involves etching into a pristine substrate, it is essential to evaluate its impact on qubit performance. We report the etched surface's effect on the resonator quality factor and qubit coherence time, as well as the improvement in planarity and tilt. This research was funded in part by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) and by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering under Air Force Contract No. FA8721-05-C-0002. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of ODNI, IARPA, or the US Government.

Mechanical integration of the detector components for the CBM silicon tracking system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vasylyev, Oleg; Niebur, Wolfgang [GSI Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Collaboration: CBM-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment (CBM) at FAIR is designed to explore the QCD phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities. The central detector component, the Silicon Tracking System (STS) is based on double-sided micro-strip sensors. In order to achieve the physics performance, the detector mechanical structures should be developed taking into account the requirements of the CBM experiments: low material budget, high radiation environment, interaction rates, aperture for the silicon tracking, detector segmentation and mounting precision. A functional plan of the STS and its surrounding structural components is being worked out from which the STS system shape is derived and the power and cooling needs, the connector space requirements, life span of components and installation/repair aspects are determined. The mechanical integration is at the point of finalizing the design stage and moving towards production readiness. This contribution shows the current processing state of the following engineering tasks: construction space definition, carbon ladder shape and manufacturability, beam-pipe feedthrough structure, prototype construction, cable routing and modeling of the electronic components.

High-speed all-optical logic inverter based on stimulated Raman scattering in silicon nanocrystal.

Science.gov (United States)

Sen, Mrinal; Das, Mukul K

2015-11-01

In this paper, we propose a new device architecture for an all-optical logic inverter (NOT gate), which is cascadable with a similar device. The inverter is based on stimulated Raman scattering in silicon nanocrystal waveguides, which are embedded in a silicon photonic crystal structure. The Raman response function of silicon nanocrystal is evaluated to explore the transfer characteristic of the inverter. A maximum product criterion for the noise margin is taken to analyze the cascadability of the inverter. The time domain response of the inverter, which explores successful inversion operation at 100 Gb/s, is analyzed. Propagation delay of the inverter is on the order of 5 ps, which is less than the delay in most of the electronic logic families as of today. Overall dimension of the device is around 755  μm ×15  μm, which ensures integration compatibility with the matured silicon industry.

Catastrophic degradation of the interface of epitaxial silicon carbide on silicon at high temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pradeepkumar, Aiswarya; Mishra, Neeraj; Kermany, Atieh Ranjbar; Iacopi, Francesca [Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre and Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan QLD 4111 (Australia); Boeckl, John J. [Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratories, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433 (United States); Hellerstedt, Jack; Fuhrer, Michael S. [Monash Centre for Atomically Thin Materials, Monash University, Monash, VIC 3800 (Australia)

2016-07-04

Epitaxial cubic silicon carbide on silicon is of high potential technological relevance for the integration of a wide range of applications and materials with silicon technologies, such as micro electro mechanical systems, wide-bandgap electronics, and graphene. The hetero-epitaxial system engenders mechanical stresses at least up to a GPa, pressures making it extremely challenging to maintain the integrity of the silicon carbide/silicon interface. In this work, we investigate the stability of said interface and we find that high temperature annealing leads to a loss of integrity. High–resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis shows a morphologically degraded SiC/Si interface, while mechanical stress measurements indicate considerable relaxation of the interfacial stress. From an electrical point of view, the diode behaviour of the initial p-Si/n-SiC junction is catastrophically lost due to considerable inter-diffusion of atoms and charges across the interface upon annealing. Temperature dependent transport measurements confirm a severe electrical shorting of the epitaxial silicon carbide to the underlying substrate, indicating vast predominance of the silicon carriers in lateral transport above 25 K. This finding has crucial consequences on the integration of epitaxial silicon carbide on silicon and its potential applications.

Three-Dimensional Integrated Circuit (3D IC) Key Technology: Through-Silicon Via (TSV).

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Wen-Wei; Chen, Kuan-Neng

2017-12-01

3D integration with through-silicon via (TSV) is a promising candidate to perform system-level integration with smaller package size, higher interconnection density, and better performance. TSV fabrication is the key technology to permit communications between various strata of the 3D integration system. TSV fabrication steps, such as etching, isolation, metallization processes, and related failure modes, as well as other characterizations are discussed in this invited review paper.

Experimental Demonstration of 7 Tb/s Switching Using Novel Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ding, Yunhong; Kamchevska, Valerija; Dalgaard, Kjeld

2016-01-01

We demonstrate BER performance <10^-9 for a 1 Tb/s/core transmission over 7-core fiber and SDM switching using a novel silicon photonic integrated circuit composed of a 7x7 fiber switch and low loss SDM couplers.......We demonstrate BER performance integrated circuit composed of a 7x7 fiber switch and low loss SDM couplers....

Methods and mechanisms of gettering of silicon structures in the production of integrated circuits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pilipenko V. A.

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Increasing the degree of integration of hardware components imposes more stringent requirements for the reduction of the concentration of contaminants and oxidation stacking faults in the original silicon wafers with its preservation in the IC manufacturing process cycle. This causes high relevance of the application of gettering in modern microelectronic technology. The existing methods of silicon wafers gettering and the mechanisms of their occurrence are considered.

Silicon-based sleeve devices for chemical reactions

Science.gov (United States)

Northrup, M. Allen; Mariella, Jr., Raymond P.; Carrano, Anthony V.; Balch, Joseph W.

1996-01-01

A silicon-based sleeve type chemical reaction chamber that combines heaters, such as doped polysilicon for heating, and bulk silicon for convection cooling. The reaction chamber combines a critical ratio of silicon and silicon nitride to the volume of material to be heated (e.g., a liquid) in order to provide uniform heating, yet low power requirements. The reaction chamber will also allow the introduction of a secondary tube (e.g., plastic) into the reaction sleeve that contains the reaction mixture thereby alleviating any potential materials incompatibility issues. The reaction chamber may be utilized in any chemical reaction system for synthesis or processing of organic, inorganic, or biochemical reactions, such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or other DNA reactions, such as the ligase chain reaction, which are examples of a synthetic, thermal-cycling-based reaction. The reaction chamber may also be used in synthesis instruments, particularly those for DNA amplification and synthesis.

Integration of the end cap TEC+ of the CMS silicon strip tracker

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bremer, Richard

2008-04-28

CMS is the first large experiment of high-energy particle physics whose inner tracking system is exclusively instrumented with silicon detector modules. This tracker comprises 15 148 silicon strip modules enclosing the interaction point in 10-12 layers. The 1. Physikalisches Institut B of RWTH Aachen was deeply involved in the completion of the end caps of the tracking system. The institute played a leading role in the end cap design, produced virtually all support structures and several important electrical components, designed and built the laser alignment system of the tracker, performed system tests and finally integrated one of the two end caps in Aachen. This integration constitutes the central part of the present thesis work. The main focus was on the development of methods to recognise defects early in the integration process and to assert the detector's functionality. Characteristic quantities such as the detector noise or the optical gain of the readout chain were determined during integration as well as during a series of tests performed after transport of the end cap from Aachen to CERN. The procedures followed during the mechanical integration of the detector and during the commissioning of integrated sectors are explained, and the software packages developed for quality assurance are described. In addition, results of the detector readout are presented. During the integration phase, sub-structures of the end cap - named petals - were subjected to a reception test which has also been designed and operated as part of this thesis work. The test setup and software developed for the test are introduced and an account of the analysis of the recorded data is given. Before the end cap project entered the production phase, a final test beam experiment was performed in which the suitability of a system of two fully equipped petals for operation at the LHC was checked. The measured ratio of the signal induced in the silicon sensors by minimal ionising

Integration of the end cap TEC+ of the CMS silicon strip tracker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bremer, Richard

2008-01-01

CMS is the first large experiment of high-energy particle physics whose inner tracking system is exclusively instrumented with silicon detector modules. This tracker comprises 15 148 silicon strip modules enclosing the interaction point in 10-12 layers. The 1. Physikalisches Institut B of RWTH Aachen was deeply involved in the completion of the end caps of the tracking system. The institute played a leading role in the end cap design, produced virtually all support structures and several important electrical components, designed and built the laser alignment system of the tracker, performed system tests and finally integrated one of the two end caps in Aachen. This integration constitutes the central part of the present thesis work. The main focus was on the development of methods to recognise defects early in the integration process and to assert the detector's functionality. Characteristic quantities such as the detector noise or the optical gain of the readout chain were determined during integration as well as during a series of tests performed after transport of the end cap from Aachen to CERN. The procedures followed during the mechanical integration of the detector and during the commissioning of integrated sectors are explained, and the software packages developed for quality assurance are described. In addition, results of the detector readout are presented. During the integration phase, sub-structures of the end cap - named petals - were subjected to a reception test which has also been designed and operated as part of this thesis work. The test setup and software developed for the test are introduced and an account of the analysis of the recorded data is given. Before the end cap project entered the production phase, a final test beam experiment was performed in which the suitability of a system of two fully equipped petals for operation at the LHC was checked. The measured ratio of the signal induced in the silicon sensors by minimal ionising particles

CH(3)NH(3)PbI(3) perovskite / silicon tandem solar cells: characterization based optical simulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Filipič, Miha; Löper, Philipp; Niesen, Bjoern; De Wolf, Stefaan; Krč, Janez; Ballif, Christophe; Topič, Marko

2015-04-06

In this study we analyze and discuss the optical properties of various tandem architectures: mechanically stacked (four-terminal) and monolithically integrated (two-terminal) tandem devices, consisting of a methyl ammonium lead triiodide (CH(3)NH(3)PbI(3)) perovskite top solar cell and a crystalline silicon bottom solar cell. We provide layer thickness optimization guidelines and give estimates of the maximum tandem efficiencies based on state-of-the-art sub cells. We use experimental complex refractive index spectra for all involved materials as input data for an in-house developed optical simulator CROWM. Our characterization based simulations forecast that with optimized layer thicknesses the four-terminal configuration enables efficiencies over 30%, well above the current single-junction crystalline silicon cell record of 25.6%. Efficiencies over 30% can also be achieved with a two-terminal monolithic integration of the sub-cells, combined with proper selection of layer thicknesses.

Towards a fully integrated indium-phosphide membrane on silicon photonics platform

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Engelen, J.P.; Pogoretskiy, V.; Smit, M.K.; van der Tol, J.J.G.M.; Jiao, Y.

2017-01-01

Recently a uni-traveling-carrier photodetector with high speed (> 67GHz) and a high-gain optical amplifier (110/cm at 4 kA/cm2) have been demonstrated using the InP membrane-on-Silicon (IMOS) integration technology. Passives in IMOS have shown features comparable to SOI platforms due to the tight

Polishing of silicon based advanced ceramics

Science.gov (United States)

Klocke, Fritz; Dambon, Olaf; Zunke, Richard; Waechter, D.

2009-05-01

Silicon based advanced ceramics show advantages in comparison to other materials due to their extreme hardness, wear and creep resistance, low density and low coefficient of thermal expansion. As a matter of course, machining requires high efforts. In order to reach demanded low roughness for optical or tribological applications a defect free surface is indispensable. In this paper, polishing of silicon nitride and silicon carbide is investigated. The objective is to elaborate scientific understanding of the process interactions. Based on this knowledge, the optimization of removal rate, surface quality and form accuracy can be realized. For this purpose, fundamental investigations of polishing silicon based ceramics are undertaken and evaluated. Former scientific publications discuss removal mechanisms and wear behavior, but the scientific insight is mainly based on investigations in grinding and lapping. The removal mechanisms in polishing are not fully understood due to complexity of interactions. The role of, e.g., process parameters, slurry and abrasives, and their influence on the output parameters is still uncertain. Extensive technological investigations demonstrate the influence of the polishing system and the machining parameters on the stability and the reproducibility. It is shown that the interactions between the advanced ceramics and the polishing systems is of great relevance. Depending on the kind of slurry and polishing agent the material removal mechanisms differ. The observed effects can be explained by dominating mechanical or chemo-mechanical removal mechanisms. Therefore, hypotheses to state adequate explanations are presented and validated by advanced metrology devices, such as SEM, AFM and TEM.

Materials and fabrication sequences for water soluble silicon integrated circuits at the 90 nm node

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin, Lan; Harburg, Daniel V.; Rogers, John A.; Bozler, Carl; Omenetto, Fiorenzo

2015-01-01

Tungsten interconnects in silicon integrated circuits built at the 90 nm node with releasable configurations on silicon on insulator wafers serve as the basis for advanced forms of water-soluble electronics. These physically transient systems have potential uses in applications that range from temporary biomedical implants to zero-waste environmental sensors. Systematic experimental studies and modeling efforts reveal essential aspects of electrical performance in field effect transistors and complementary ring oscillators with as many as 499 stages. Accelerated tests reveal timescales for dissolution of the various constituent materials, including tungsten, silicon, and silicon dioxide. The results demonstrate that silicon complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor circuits formed with tungsten interconnects in foundry-compatible fabrication processes can serve as a path to high performance, mass-produced transient electronic systems

Materials and fabrication sequences for water soluble silicon integrated circuits at the 90 nm node

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yin, Lan; Harburg, Daniel V.; Rogers, John A., E-mail: jrogers@illinois.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 104 S Goodwin Ave., Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States); Bozler, Carl [Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 244 Wood Street, Lexington, Massachusetts 02420 (United States); Omenetto, Fiorenzo [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Physics, Tufts University, 4 Colby St., Medford, Massachusetts 02155 (United States)

2015-01-05

Tungsten interconnects in silicon integrated circuits built at the 90 nm node with releasable configurations on silicon on insulator wafers serve as the basis for advanced forms of water-soluble electronics. These physically transient systems have potential uses in applications that range from temporary biomedical implants to zero-waste environmental sensors. Systematic experimental studies and modeling efforts reveal essential aspects of electrical performance in field effect transistors and complementary ring oscillators with as many as 499 stages. Accelerated tests reveal timescales for dissolution of the various constituent materials, including tungsten, silicon, and silicon dioxide. The results demonstrate that silicon complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor circuits formed with tungsten interconnects in foundry-compatible fabrication processes can serve as a path to high performance, mass-produced transient electronic systems.

Mechanical integrity of a carbon nanotube/copper-based through-silicon via for 3D integrated circuits: a multi-scale modeling approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Awad, Ibrahim; Ladani, Leila

2015-12-04

Carbon nanotube (CNT)/copper (Cu) composite material is proposed to replace Cu-based through-silicon vias (TSVs) in micro-electronic packages. The proposed material is believed to offer extraordinary mechanical and electrical properties and the presence of CNTs in Cu is believed to overcome issues associated with miniaturization of Cu interconnects, such as electromigration. This study introduces a multi-scale modeling of the proposed TSV in order to evaluate its mechanical integrity under mechanical and thermo-mechanical loading conditions. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was used to determine CNT/Cu interface adhesion properties. A cohesive zone model (CZM) was found to be most appropriate to model the interface adhesion, and CZM parameters at the nanoscale were determined using MD simulation. CZM parameters were then used in the finite element analysis in order to understand the mechanical and thermo-mechanical behavior of composite TSV at micro-scale. From the results, CNT/Cu separation does not take place prior to plastic deformation of Cu in bending, and separation does not take place when standard thermal cycling is applied. Further investigation is recommended in order to alleviate the increased plastic deformation in Cu at the CNT/Cu interface in both loading conditions.

High surface area silicon materials: fundamentals and new technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Buriak, Jillian M

2006-01-15

Crystalline silicon forms the basis of just about all computing technologies on the planet, in the form of microelectronics. An enormous amount of research infrastructure and knowledge has been developed over the past half-century to construct complex functional microelectronic structures in silicon. As a result, it is highly probable that silicon will remain central to computing and related technologies as a platform for integration of, for instance, molecular electronics, sensing elements and micro- and nanoelectromechanical systems. Porous nanocrystalline silicon is a fascinating variant of the same single crystal silicon wafers used to make computer chips. Its synthesis, a straightforward electrochemical, chemical or photochemical etch, is compatible with existing silicon-based fabrication techniques. Porous silicon literally adds an entirely new dimension to the realm of silicon-based technologies as it has a complex, three-dimensional architecture made up of silicon nanoparticles, nanowires, and channel structures. The intrinsic material is photoluminescent at room temperature in the visible region due to quantum confinement effects, and thus provides an optical element to electronic applications. Our group has been developing new organic surface reactions on porous and nanocrystalline silicon to tailor it for a myriad of applications, including molecular electronics and sensing. Integration of organic and biological molecules with porous silicon is critical to harness the properties of this material. The construction and use of complex, hierarchical molecular synthetic strategies on porous silicon will be described.

Ultra-fast photon counting with a passive quenching silicon photomultiplier in the charge integration regime

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guoqing; Lina, Liu

2018-02-01

An ultra-fast photon counting method is proposed based on the charge integration of output electrical pulses of passive quenching silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The results of the numerical analysis with actual parameters of SiPMs show that the maximum photon counting rate of a state-of-art passive quenching SiPM can reach ~THz levels which is much larger than that of the existing photon counting devices. The experimental procedure is proposed based on this method. This photon counting regime of SiPMs is promising in many fields such as large dynamic light power detection.

Ultrafast all-optical arithmetic logic based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon microring resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Gostimirovic, Dusan; Ye, Winnie N.

2016-03-01

For decades, the semiconductor industry has been steadily shrinking transistor sizes to fit more performance into a single silicon-based integrated chip. This technology has become the driving force for advances in education, transportation, and health, among others. However, transistor sizes are quickly approaching their physical limits (channel lengths are now only a few silicon atoms in length), and Moore's law will likely soon be brought to a stand-still despite many unique attempts to keep it going (FinFETs, high-k dielectrics, etc.). This technology must then be pushed further by exploring (almost) entirely new methodologies. Given the explosive growth of optical-based long-haul telecommunications, we look to apply the use of high-speed optics as a substitute to the digital model; where slow, lossy, and noisy metal interconnections act as a major bottleneck to performance. We combine the (nonlinear) optical Kerr effect with a single add-drop microring resonator to perform the fundamental AND-XOR logical operations of a half adder, by all-optical means. This process is also applied to subtraction, higher-order addition, and the realization of an all-optical arithmetic logic unit (ALU). The rings use hydrogenated amorphous silicon as a material with superior nonlinear properties to crystalline silicon, while still maintaining CMOS-compatibility and the many benefits that come with it (low cost, ease of fabrication, etc.). Our method allows for multi-gigabit-per-second data rates while maintaining simplicity and spatial minimalism in design for high-capacity manufacturing potential.

Single- and double- lumen silicone breast implant integrity: prospective evaluation of MR and US criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, W A; Caskey, C I; Hamper, U M; Kuhlman, J E; Anderson, N D; Chang, B W; Sheth, S; Zerhouni, E A

1995-10-01

To evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance (MR) and ultrasound (US) criteria for breast implant integrity. One hundred twenty-two single-lumen silicone breast implants and 22 bilumen implants were evaluated with surface coil MR imaging and US and surgically removed. MR criteria for implant failure were a collapsed implant shell ("linguine sign"), foci of silicone outside the shell ("noose sign"), and extracapsular gel, US criteria were collapsed shell, low-level echoes within the gel, and "snowstorm" echoes of extracapsular silicone. Among single-lumen implants, MR imaging depicted 39 of 40 ruptures, 14 of 28 with minimal leakage; 49 of 54 intact implants were correctly interpreted. US depicted 26 of 40 ruptured implants, four of 28 with minimal leakage, and 30 of 54 intact implants. Among bilumen implants, MR imaging depicted four of five implants with rupture of both lumina and nine of 10 as intact; US depicted one rupture and helped identify two of 10 as intact. Mammography accurately depicted the status of 29 of 30 bilumen implants with MR imaging correlation. MR imaging depicts implant integrity more accurately than US; neither method reliably depicts minimal leakage with shell collapse. Mammography is useful in screening bilumen implant integrity.

Photonic Crystal Sensors Based on Porous Silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Pacholski

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Porous silicon has been established as an excellent sensing platform for the optical detection of hazardous chemicals and biomolecular interactions such as DNA hybridization, antigen/antibody binding, and enzymatic reactions. Its porous nature provides a high surface area within a small volume, which can be easily controlled by changing the pore sizes. As the porosity and consequently the refractive index of an etched porous silicon layer depends on the electrochemial etching conditions photonic crystals composed of multilayered porous silicon films with well-resolved and narrow optical reflectivity features can easily be obtained. The prominent optical response of the photonic crystal decreases the detection limit and therefore increases the sensitivity of porous silicon sensors in comparison to sensors utilizing Fabry-Pérot based optical transduction. Development of porous silicon photonic crystal sensors which allow for the detection of analytes by the naked eye using a simple color change or the fabrication of stacked porous silicon photonic crystals showing two distinct optical features which can be utilized for the discrimination of analytes emphasize its high application potential.

Photonic Crystal Sensors Based on Porous Silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Pacholski, Claudia

2013-01-01

Porous silicon has been established as an excellent sensing platform for the optical detection of hazardous chemicals and biomolecular interactions such as DNA hybridization, antigen/antibody binding, and enzymatic reactions. Its porous nature provides a high surface area within a small volume, which can be easily controlled by changing the pore sizes. As the porosity and consequently the refractive index of an etched porous silicon layer depends on the electrochemial etching conditions photonic crystals composed of multilayered porous silicon films with well-resolved and narrow optical reflectivity features can easily be obtained. The prominent optical response of the photonic crystal decreases the detection limit and therefore increases the sensitivity of porous silicon sensors in comparison to sensors utilizing Fabry-Pérot based optical transduction. Development of porous silicon photonic crystal sensors which allow for the detection of analytes by the naked eye using a simple color change or the fabrication of stacked porous silicon photonic crystals showing two distinct optical features which can be utilized for the discrimination of analytes emphasize its high application potential. PMID:23571671

Application of hydrogen-plasma technology for property modification of silicon and producing the silicon-based structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fedotov, A.K.; Mazanik, A.V.; Ul'yashin, A.G.; Dzhob, R; Farner, V.R.

2000-01-01

Effects of atomic hydrogen on the properties of Czochralski-grown single crystal silicon as well as polycrystalline shaped silicon have been investigated. It was established that the buried defect layers created by high-energy hydrogen or helium ion implantation act as a good getter centers for hydrogen atoms introduced in silicon in the process of hydrogen plasma hydrogenation. Atomic hydrogen was shown to be active as a catalyzer significantly enhancing the rate of thermal donors formation in p-type single crystal silicon. This effect can be used for n-p- and p-n-p-silicon based device structures producing [ru

Key Success Factors and Future Perspective of Silicon-Based Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Binetti

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Today, after more than 70 years of continued progress on silicon technology, about 85% of cumulative installed photovolatic (PV modules are based on crystalline silicon (c-Si. PV devices based on silicon are the most common solar cells currently being produced, and it is mainly due to silicon technology that the PV has grown by 40% per year over the last decade. An additional step in the silicon solar cell development is ongoing, and it is related to a further efficiency improvement through defect control, device optimization, surface modification, and nanotechnology approaches. This paper attempts to briefly review the most important advances and current technologies used to produce crystalline silicon solar devices and in the meantime the most challenging and promising strategies acting to increase the efficiency to cost/ratio of silicon solar cells. Eventually, the impact and the potentiality of using a nanotechnology approach in a silicon-based solar cell are also described.

Passive technologies for future large-scale photonic integrated circuits on silicon: polarization handling, light non-reciprocity and loss reduction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daoxin Dai

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Silicon-based large-scale photonic integrated circuits are becoming important, due to the need for higher complexity and lower cost for optical transmitters, receivers and optical buffers. In this paper, passive technologies for large-scale photonic integrated circuits are described, including polarization handling, light non-reciprocity and loss reduction. The design rule for polarization beam splitters based on asymmetrical directional couplers is summarized and several novel designs for ultra-short polarization beam splitters are reviewed. A novel concept for realizing a polarization splitter–rotator is presented with a very simple fabrication process. Realization of silicon-based light non-reciprocity devices (e.g., optical isolator, which is very important for transmitters to avoid sensitivity to reflections, is also demonstrated with the help of magneto-optical material by the bonding technology. Low-loss waveguides are another important technology for large-scale photonic integrated circuits. Ultra-low loss optical waveguides are achieved by designing a Si3N4 core with a very high aspect ratio. The loss is reduced further to <0.1 dB m−1 with an improved fabrication process incorporating a high-quality thermal oxide upper cladding by means of wafer bonding. With the developed ultra-low loss Si3N4 optical waveguides, some devices are also demonstrated, including ultra-high-Q ring resonators, low-loss arrayed-waveguide grating (demultiplexers, and high-extinction-ratio polarizers.

Integrated Microfluidic Gas Sensors for Water Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, L.; Sniadecki, N.; DeVoe, D. L.; Beamesderfer, M.; Semancik, S.; DeVoe, D. L.

2003-01-01

A silicon-based microhotplate tin oxide (SnO2) gas sensor integrated into a polymer-based microfluidic system for monitoring of contaminants in water systems is presented. This device is designed to sample a water source, control the sample vapor pressure within a microchannel using integrated resistive heaters, and direct the vapor past the integrated gas sensor for analysis. The sensor platform takes advantage of novel technology allowing direct integration of discrete silicon chips into a larger polymer microfluidic substrate, including seamless fluidic and electrical interconnects between the substrate and silicon chip.

Graphene-on-silicon hybrid plasmonic-photonic integrated circuits.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Ting-Hui; Cheng, Zhenzhou; Goda, Keisuke

2017-06-16

Graphene surface plasmons (GSPs) have shown great potential in biochemical sensing, thermal imaging, and optoelectronics. To excite GSPs, several methods based on the near-field optical microscope and graphene nanostructures have been developed in the past few years. However, these methods suffer from their bulky setups and low GSP-excitation efficiency due to the short interaction length between free-space vertical excitation light and the atomic layer of graphene. Here we present a CMOS-compatible design of graphene-on-silicon hybrid plasmonic-photonic integrated circuits that achieve the in-plane excitation of GSP polaritons as well as localized surface plasmon (SP) resonance. By employing a suspended membrane slot waveguide, our design is able to excite GSP polaritons on a chip. Moreover, by utilizing a graphene nanoribbon array, we engineer the transmission spectrum of the waveguide by excitation of localized SP resonance. Our theoretical and computational study paves a new avenue to enable, modulate, and monitor GSPs on a chip, potentially applicable for the development of on-chip electro-optic devices.

Waveguide silicon nitride grating coupler

Science.gov (United States)

Litvik, Jan; Dolnak, Ivan; Dado, Milan

2016-12-01

Grating couplers are one of the most used elements for coupling of light between optical fibers and photonic integrated components. Silicon-on-insulator platform provides strong confinement of light and allows high integration. In this work, using simulations we have designed a broadband silicon nitride surface grating coupler. The Fourier-eigenmode expansion and finite difference time domain methods are utilized in design optimization of grating coupler structure. The fully, single etch step grating coupler is based on a standard silicon-on-insulator wafer with 0.55 μm waveguide Si3N4 layer. The optimized structure at 1550 nm wavelength yields a peak coupling efficiency -2.6635 dB (54.16%) with a 1-dB bandwidth up to 80 nm. It is promising way for low-cost fabrication using complementary metal-oxide- semiconductor fabrication process.

Nonclassical light sources for silicon photonics

Science.gov (United States)

Bajoni, Daniele; Galli, Matteo

2017-09-01

Quantum photonics has recently attracted a lot of attention for its disruptive potential in emerging technologies like quantum cryptography, quantum communication and quantum computing. Driven by the impressive development in nanofabrication technologies and nanoscale engineering, silicon photonics has rapidly become the platform of choice for on-chip integration of high performing photonic devices, now extending their functionalities towards quantum-based applications. Focusing on quantum Information Technology (qIT) as a key application area, we review recent progress in integrated silicon-based sources of nonclassical states of light. We assess the state of the art in this growing field and highlight the challenges that need to be overcome to make quantum photonics a reliable and widespread technology.

Study and characterization of an integrated circuit-deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon sensor for the detection of particles and radiations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Despeisse, M.

2006-03-01

Next generation experiments at the European laboratory of particle physics (CERN) require particle detector alternatives to actual silicon detectors. This thesis presents a novel detector technology, which is based on the deposition of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon sensor on top of an integrated circuit. Performance and limitations of this technology have been assessed for the first time in this thesis in the context of particle detectors. Specific integrated circuits have been designed and the detector segmentation, the interface sensor-chip and the sensor leakage current have been studied in details. The signal induced by the track of an ionizing particle in the sensor has been characterized and results on the signal speed, amplitude and on the sensor resistance to radiation are presented. The results are promising regarding the use of this novel technology for radiation detection, though limitations have been shown for particle physics application. (author)

Plasma deposition of amorphous silicon-based materials

CERN Document Server

Bruno, Giovanni; Madan, Arun

1995-01-01

Semiconductors made from amorphous silicon have recently become important for their commercial applications in optical and electronic devices including FAX machines, solar cells, and liquid crystal displays. Plasma Deposition of Amorphous Silicon-Based Materials is a timely, comprehensive reference book written by leading authorities in the field. This volume links the fundamental growth kinetics involving complex plasma chemistry with the resulting semiconductor film properties and the subsequent effect on the performance of the electronic devices produced. Key Features * Focuses on the plasma chemistry of amorphous silicon-based materials * Links fundamental growth kinetics with the resulting semiconductor film properties and performance of electronic devices produced * Features an international group of contributors * Provides the first comprehensive coverage of the subject, from deposition technology to materials characterization to applications and implementation in state-of-the-art devices.

Silicon-Based Detectors at the HL-LHC

CERN Document Server

Hartmann, Frank

2018-01-01

This document discusses the silicon-based detectors planned for the High Luminosity LHC. The special aspects to cope with the new environment and its challenges, e.g. very high radiation levels and very high instantaneous luminosity thus high pile-up, high occupancy and high data rates, are addressed. The different design choices of the detectors are put into perspective. Exciting topics like trackers, high granularity silicon-based calorimetry with novel 8~inch processing, fast timing and new triggers are described.

Monolithic photonic integrated circuit with a GaN-based bent waveguide

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Wei; Qin, Chuan; Zhang, Shuai; Yuan, Jialei; Zhang, Fenghua; Wang, Yongjin

2018-06-01

Integration of a transmitter, waveguide and receiver into a single chip can generate a multicomponent system with multiple functionalities. Here, we fabricate and characterize a GaN-based photonic integrated circuit (PIC) on a GaN-on-silicon platform. With removal of the silicon and back wafer thinning of the epitaxial film, ultrathin membrane-type devices and highly confined suspended GaN waveguides were formed. Two suspended-membrane InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well diodes (MQW-diodes) served as an MQW light-emitting diode (MQW-LED) to emit light and an MQW photodiode (MQW-PD) to sense light. The optical interconnects between the MQW-LED and MQW-PD were achieved using the GaN bent waveguide. The GaN-based PIC consisting of an MQW-LED, waveguides and an MQW-PD forms an in-plane light communication system with a data transmission rate of 70 Mbps.

Basic opto-electronics on silicon for sensor applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Joppe, J.L.; Bekman, H.H.P.Th.; de Krijger, A.J.T.; Albers, H.; Chalmers, J.; Chalmers, J.D.; Holleman, J.; Ikkink, T.J.; Ikkink, T.; van Kranenburg, H.; Zhou, M.-J.; Zhou, Ming-Jiang; Lambeck, Paul

1994-01-01

A general platform for integrated opto-electronic sensor systems on silicon is proposed. The system is based on a hybridly integrated semiconductor laser, ZnO optical waveguides and monolithic photodiodes and electronic circuiry.

Silicon microphotonic waveguides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ta'eed, V.; Steel, M.J.; Grillet, C.; Eggleton, B.; Du, J.; Glasscock, J.; Savvides, N.

2004-01-01

Full text: Silicon microphotonic devices have been drawing increasing attention in the past few years. The high index-difference between silicon and its oxide (Δn = 2) suggests a potential for high-density integration of optical functions on to a photonic chip. Additionally, it has been shown that silicon exhibits strong Raman nonlinearity, a necessary property as light interaction can occur only by means of nonlinearities in the propagation medium. The small dimensions of silicon waveguides require the design of efficient tapers to couple light to them. We have used the beam propagation method (RSoft BeamPROP) to understand the principles and design of an inverse-taper mode-converter as implemented in several recent papers. We report on progress in the design and fabrication of silicon-based waveguides. Preliminary work has been conducted by patterning silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers using optical lithography and reactive ion etching. Thus far, only rib waveguides have been designed, as single-mode ridge-waveguides are beyond the capabilities of conventional optical lithography. We have recently moved to electron beam lithography as the higher resolutions permitted will provide the flexibility to begin fabricating sub-micron waveguides

Research Update: Phonon engineering of nanocrystalline silicon thermoelectrics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junichiro Shiomi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Nanocrystalline silicon thermoelectrics can be a solution to improve the cost-effectiveness of thermoelectric technology from both material and integration viewpoints. While their figure-of-merit is still developing, recent advances in theoretical/numerical calculations, property measurements, and structural synthesis/fabrication have opened up possibilities to develop the materials based on fundamental physics of phonon transport. Here, this is demonstrated by reviewing a series of works on nanocrystalline silicon materials using calculations of multiscale phonon transport, measurements of interfacial heat conduction, and synthesis from nanoparticles. Integration of these approaches allows us to engineer phonon transport to improve the thermoelectric performance by introducing local silicon-oxide structures.

Surface wave photonic device based on porous silicon multilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guillermain, E.; Lysenko, V.; Benyattou, T.

2006-01-01

Porous silicon is widely studied in the field of photonics due to its interesting optical properties. In this work, we present theoretical and first experimental studies of a new kind of porous silicon photonic device based on optical surface wave. A theoretical analysis of the device is presented using plane-wave approximation. The porous silicon multilayered structures are realized using electrochemical etching of p + -type silicon. Morphological and optical characterizations of the realized structures are reported

Durable crystalline Si photovoltaic modules based on silicone-sheet encapsulants

Science.gov (United States)

Hara, Kohjiro; Ohwada, Hiroto; Furihata, Tomoyoshi; Masuda, Atsushi

2018-02-01

Crystalline Si photovoltaic (PV) modules were fabricated with sheets of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (silicone) as an encapsulant. The long-term durability of the silicone-encapsulated PV modules was experimentally investigated. The silicone-based modules enhanced the long-term durability against potential-induced degradation (PID) and a damp-heat (DH) condition at 85 °C with 85% relative humidity (RH). In addition, we designed and fabricated substrate-type Si PV modules based on the silicone encapsulant and an Al-alloy plate as the substratum, which demonstrated high impact resistance and high incombustible performance. The high chemical stability, high volume resistivity, rubber-like elasticity, and incombustibility of the silicone encapsulant resulted in the high durability of the modules. Our results indicate that silicone is an attractive encapsulation material, as it improves the long-term durability of crystalline Si PV modules.

Strained silicon as a new electro-optic material

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Rune Shim; Andersen, Karin Nordström; Borel, Peter Ingo

2006-01-01

For decades, silicon has been the material of choice for mass fabrication of electronics. This is in contrast to photonics, where passive optical components in silicon have only recently been realized1, 2. The slow progress within silicon optoelectronics, where electronic and optical...... functionalities can be integrated into monolithic components based on the versatile silicon platform, is due to the limited active optical properties of silicon3. Recently, however, a continuous-wave Raman silicon laser was demonstrated4; if an effective modulator could also be realized in silicon, data...... processing and transmission could potentially be performed by all-silicon electronic and optical components. Here we have discovered that a significant linear electro-optic effect is induced in silicon by breaking the crystal symmetry. The symmetry is broken by depositing a straining layer on top...

Development of deep silicon plasma etching for 3D integration technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Golishnikov А. А.

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Plasma etch process for thought-silicon via (TSV formation is one of the most important technological operations in the field of metal connections creation between stacked circuits in 3D assemble technology. TSV formation strongly depends on parameters such as Si-wafer thickness, aspect ratio, type of metallization material, etc. The authors investigate deep silicon plasma etch process for formation of TSV with controllable profile. The influence of process parameters on plasma etch rate, silicon etch selectivity to photoresist and the structure profile are researched in this paper. Technology with etch and passivation steps alternation was used as a method of deep silicon plasma etching. Experimental tool «Platrane-100» with high-density plasma reactor based on high-frequency ion source with transformer coupled plasma was used for deep silicon plasma etching. As actuation gases for deep silicon etching were chosen the following gases: SF6 was used for the etch stage and CHF3 was applied on the polymerization stage. As a result of research, the deep plasma etch process has been developed with the following parameters: silicon etch rate 6 µm/min, selectivity to photoresist 60 and structure profile 90±2°. This process provides formation of TSV 370 µm deep and about 120 µm in diameter.

Compact polarization beam splitter for silicon photonic integrated circuits with a 340-nm-thick silicon core layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chenlei; Dai, Daoxin

2017-11-01

A polarization beam splitter (PBS) is proposed and realized for silicon photonic integrated circuits with a 340-nm-thick silicon core layer by introducing an asymmetric directional coupler (ADC), which consists of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) nanowire and a subwavelength grating (SWG) waveguide. The SWG is introduced to provide an optical waveguide which has much higher birefringence than a regular 340-nm-thick SOI nanowire, so that it is possible to make the phase-matching condition satisfied for TE polarization only in the present design when the waveguide dimensions are optimized. Meanwhile, there is a significant phase mismatching for TM polarization automatically. In this way, the present ADC enables strong polarization selectivity to realize a PBS that separates TE and TM polarizations to the cross and through ports, respectively. The realized PBS has a length of ∼2  μm for the coupling region. For the fabricated PBS, the extinction ratio (ER) is 15-30 dB and the excess loss is 0.2-2.6 dB for TE polarization while the ER is 20-27 dB and the excess loss is 0.3-2.8 dB for TM polarization when operating in the wavelength range of 1520-1580 nm.

A Microsystem Based on Porous Silicon-Glass Anodic Bonding for Gas and Liquid Optical Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivo Rendina

2006-06-01

Full Text Available We have recently presented an integrated silicon-glass opto-chemical sensor forlab-on-chip applications, based on porous silicon and anodic bonding technologies. In thiswork, we have optically characterized the sensor response on exposure to vapors of severalorganic compounds by means of reflectivity measurements. The interaction between theporous silicon, which acts as transducer layer, and the organic vapors fluxed into the glasssealed microchamber, is preserved by the fabrication process, resulting in optical pathincrease, due to the capillary condensation of the vapors into the pores. Using theBruggemann theory, we have calculated the filled pores volume for each substance. Thesensor dynamic has been described by time-resolved measurements: due to the analysischamber miniaturization, the response time is only of 2 s. All these results have beencompared with data acquired on the same PSi structure before the anodic bonding process.

High-speed detection at two micrometres with monolithic silicon photodiodes

Science.gov (United States)

Ackert, Jason J.; Thomson, David J.; Shen, Li; Peacock, Anna C.; Jessop, Paul E.; Reed, Graham T.; Mashanovich, Goran Z.; Knights, Andrew P.

2015-06-01

With continued steep growth in the volume of data transmitted over optical networks there is a widely recognized need for more sophisticated photonics technologies to forestall a ‘capacity crunch’. A promising solution is to open new spectral regions at wavelengths near 2 μm and to exploit the long-wavelength transmission and amplification capabilities of hollow-core photonic-bandgap fibres and the recently available thulium-doped fibre amplifiers. To date, photodetector devices for this window have largely relied on III-V materials or, where the benefits of integration with silicon photonics are sought, GeSn alloys, which have been demonstrated thus far with only limited utility. Here, we describe a silicon photodiode operating at 20 Gbit s-1 in this wavelength region. The detector is compatible with standard silicon processing and is integrated directly with silicon-on-insulator waveguides, which suggests future utility in silicon-based mid-infrared integrated optics for applications in communications.

High-density oxidized porous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gharbi, Ahmed; Souifi, Abdelkader; Remaki, Boudjemaa; Halimaoui, Aomar; Bensahel, Daniel

2012-01-01

We have studied oxidized porous silicon (OPS) properties using Fourier transform infraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy and capacitance–voltage C–V measurements. We report the first experimental determination of the optimum porosity allowing the elaboration of high-density OPS insulators. This is an important contribution to the research of thick integrated electrical insulators on porous silicon based on an optimized process ensuring dielectric quality (complete oxidation) and mechanical and chemical reliability (no residual pores or silicon crystallites). Through the measurement of the refractive indexes of the porous silicon (PS) layer before and after oxidation, one can determine the structural composition of the OPS material in silicon, air and silica. We have experimentally demonstrated that a porosity approaching 56% of the as-prepared PS layer is required to ensure a complete oxidation of PS without residual silicon crystallites and with minimum porosity. The effective dielectric constant values of OPS materials determined from capacitance–voltage C–V measurements are discussed and compared to FTIR results predictions. (paper)

Radiation defect formation in two-barrier structures based on silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madatov, R.S.; Abbasov, F.P.; Mustafayev, Yu.M.

2013-01-01

It was developed a silicon-based photodetector with high integral sensitivity in low-wave spectrum. It was investigated the effect of gamma radiation on the mechanism of current transport in the structure of Schottky barrier type and in transitions. It is shown that the double-barrier structures can improve the photovoltaic parameters of conventional detectors. For the first time it was obtained and studied the characteristics of two-barrier structures created on the same plane. The advantages over conventional structures are shown. The annealing point is changing the structure of radiation defects and leads to their disappearance

Oxide-Free Bonding of III-V-Based Material on Silicon and Nano-Structuration of the Hybrid Waveguide for Advanced Optical Functions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konstantinos Pantzas

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Oxide-free bonding of III-V-based materials for integrated optics is demonstrated on both planar Silicon (Si surfaces and nanostructured ones, using Silicon on Isolator (SOI or Si substrates. The hybrid interface is characterized electrically and mechanically. A hybrid InP-on-SOI waveguide, including a bi-periodic nano structuration of the silicon guiding layer is demonstrated to provide wavelength selective transmission. Such an oxide-free interface associated with the nanostructured design of the guiding geometry has great potential for both electrical and optical operation of improved hybrid devices.

Electrical leakage phenomenon in heteroepitaxial cubic silicon carbide on silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Pradeepkumar, Aiswarya; Zielinski, Marcin; Bosi, Matteo; Verzellesi, Giovanni; Gaskill, D. Kurt; Iacopi, Francesca

2018-06-01

Heteroepitaxial 3C-SiC films on silicon substrates are of technological interest as enablers to integrate the excellent electrical, electronic, mechanical, thermal, and epitaxial properties of bulk silicon carbide into well-established silicon technologies. One critical bottleneck of this integration is the establishment of a stable and reliable electronic junction at the heteroepitaxial interface of the n-type SiC with the silicon substrate. We have thus investigated in detail the electrical and transport properties of heteroepitaxial cubic silicon carbide films grown via different methods on low-doped and high-resistivity silicon substrates by using van der Pauw Hall and transfer length measurements as test vehicles. We have found that Si and C intermixing upon or after growth, particularly by the diffusion of carbon into the silicon matrix, creates extensive interstitial carbon traps and hampers the formation of a stable rectifying or insulating junction at the SiC/Si interface. Although a reliable p-n junction may not be realistic in the SiC/Si system, we can achieve, from a point of view of the electrical isolation of in-plane SiC structures, leakage suppression through the substrate by using a high-resistivity silicon substrate coupled with deep recess etching in between the SiC structures.

Integrated investigation approach for determining mechanical properties of poly-silicon membranes

OpenAIRE

Brueckner, J.; Dehe, A.; Auerswald, E.; Dudek, R.; Michel, B.; Rzepka, S.

2014-01-01

A methodology is presented for determining mechanical properties of free-standing thin films such as poly-silicon membranes. The integrated investigation approach comprises test structure development, mechanical testing, and numerical simulation. All membrane test structures developed and manufactured consist of the same material but have different stiffness due to variations in the geometric design. The mechanical tests apply microscopic loads utilizing a nanoindentation tool. Young's modulu...

Amorphous silicon-based microchannel plates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franco, Andrea; Riesen, Yannick; Wyrsch, Nicolas; Dunand, Sylvain; Powolny, François; Jarron, Pierre; Ballif, Christophe

2012-01-01

Microchannel plates (MCP) based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) were recently introduced to overcome some of the limitations of crystalline silicon and glass MCP. The typical thickness of a-Si:H based MCPs (AMCP) ranges between 80 and 100 μm and the micromachining of the channels is realized by deep reactive ion etching (DRIE). Advantages and issues regarding the fabrication process are presented and discussed. Electron amplification is demonstrated and analyzed using Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC) technique. The gain increases as a function of the bias voltage, limited to −340 V on account of high leakage currents across the structure. EBIC maps on 10° tilted samples confirm that the device active area extend to the entire channel opening. AMCP characterization with the electron beam shows gain saturation and signal quenching which depends on the effectiveness of the charge replenishment in the channel walls.

Impurity engineering of Czochralski silicon used for ultra large-scaled-integrated circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Deren; Chen, Jiahe; Ma, Xiangyang; Que, Duanlin

2009-01-01

Impurities in Czochralski silicon (Cz-Si) used for ultra large-scaled-integrated (ULSI) circuits have been believed to deteriorate the performance of devices. In this paper, a review of the recent processes from our investigation on internal gettering in Cz-Si wafers which were doped with nitrogen, germanium and/or high content of carbon is presented. It has been suggested that those impurities enhance oxygen precipitation, and create both denser bulk microdefects and enough denuded zone with the desirable width, which is benefit of the internal gettering of metal contamination. Based on the experimental facts, a potential mechanism of impurity doping on the internal gettering structure is interpreted and, a new concept of 'impurity engineering' for Cz-Si used for ULSI is proposed.

A Medipix2-based imaging system for digital mammography with silicon pixel detectors

CERN Document Server

Bisogni, M G; Fantacci, M E; Mettivier, G; Montesi, M C; Novelli, M; Quattrocchi, M; Rosso, V; Russo, P; Stefanini, A

2004-01-01

In this paper we present the first tests of a digital imaging system based on a silicon pixel detector bump-bonded to an integrated circuit operating in single photon counting mode. The X-rays sensor is a 300 mu m thick silicon, 14 by 14 mm/sup 2/, upon which a matrix of 256 * 256 pixels has been built. The read-out chip, named MEDIPIX2, has been developed at CERN within the MEDIPIX2 Collaboration and it is composed by a matrix of 256 * 256 cells, 55 * 55 mu m/sup 2/. The spatial resolution properties of the system have been assessed by measuring the square wave resolution function (SWRF) and first images of a standard mammographic phantom were acquired using a radiographic tube in the clinical irradiation condition. (5 refs).

Single-crystal silicon trench etching for fabrication of highly integrated circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Engelhardt, Manfred

1991-03-01

The development of single crystal silicon trench etching for fabrication of memory cells in 4 16 and 64Mbit DRAMs is reviewed in this paper. A variety of both etch tools and process gases used for the process development is discussed since both equipment and etch chemistry had to be improved and changed respectively to meet the increasing requirements for high fidelity pattern transfer with increasing degree of integration. In additon to DRAM cell structures etch results for deep trench isolation in advanced bipolar ICs and ASICs are presented for these applications grooves were etched into silicon through a highly doped buried layer and at the borderline of adjacent p- and n-well areas respectively. Shallow trench etching of large and small exposed areas with identical etch rates is presented as an approach to replace standard LOCOS isolation by an advanced isolation technique. The etch profiles were investigated with SEM TEM and AES to get information on contathination and damage levels and on the mechanism leading to anisotropy in the dry etch process. Thermal wave measurements were performed on processed single crystal silicon substrates for a fast evaluation of the process with respect to plasma-induced substrate degradation. This useful technique allows an optimization ofthe etch process regarding high electrical performance of the fully processed memory chip. The benefits of the use of magnetic fields for the development of innovative single crystal silicon dry

On-chip photonic microsystem for optical signal processing based on silicon and silicon nitride platforms

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yu; Li, Jiachen; Yu, Hongchen; Yu, Hai; Chen, Hongwei; Yang, Sigang; Chen, Minghua

2018-04-01

The explosive growth of data centers, cloud computing and various smart devices is limited by the current state of microelectronics, both in terms of speed and heat generation. Benefiting from the large bandwidth, promising low power consumption and passive calculation capability, experts believe that the integrated photonics-based signal processing and transmission technologies can break the bottleneck of microelectronics technology. In recent years, integrated photonics has become increasingly reliable and access to the advanced fabrication process has been offered by various foundries. In this paper, we review our recent works on the integrated optical signal processing system. We study three different kinds of on-chip signal processors and use these devices to build microsystems for the fields of microwave photonics, optical communications and spectrum sensing. The microwave photonics front receiver was demonstrated with a signal processing range of a full-band (L-band to W-band). A fully integrated microwave photonics transceiver without the on-chip laser was realized on silicon photonics covering the signal frequency of up 10 GHz. An all-optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) de-multiplier was also demonstrated and used for an OFDM communication system with the rate of 64 Gbps. Finally, we show our work on the monolithic integrated spectrometer with a high resolution of about 20 pm at the central wavelength of 1550 nm. These proposed on-chip signal processing systems potential applications in the fields of radar, 5G wireless communication, wearable devices and optical access networks.

Silicon-based metallic micro grid for electron field emission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jaehong; Jeon, Seok-Gy; Kim, Jung-Il; Kim, Geun-Ju; Heo, Duchang; Shin, Dong Hoon; Sun, Yuning; Lee, Cheol Jin

2012-01-01

A micro-scale metal grid based on a silicon frame for application to electron field emission devices is introduced and experimentally demonstrated. A silicon lattice containing aperture holes with an area of 80 × 80 µm 2 and a thickness of 10 µm is precisely manufactured by dry etching the silicon on one side of a double-polished silicon wafer and by wet etching the opposite side. Because a silicon lattice is more rigid than a pure metal lattice, a thin layer of Au/Ti deposited on the silicon lattice for voltage application can be more resistant to the geometric stress caused by the applied electric field. The micro-fabrication process, the images of the fabricated grid with 88% geometric transparency and the surface profile measurement after thermal feasibility testing up to 700 °C are presented. (paper)

In-situ formation of nanoparticles within a silicon-based matrix

Science.gov (United States)

Thoma, Steven G [Albuquerque, NM; Wilcoxon, Jess P [Albuquerque, NM; Abrams, Billie L [Albuquerque, NM

2008-06-10

A method for encapsulating nanoparticles with an encapsulating matrix that minimizes aggregation and maintains favorable properties of the nanoparticles. The matrix comprises silicon-based network-forming compounds such as ormosils and polysiloxanes. The nanoparticles are synthesized from precursors directly within the silicon-based matrix.

A silicon-based electrical source for surface plasmon polaritons

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Walters, Robert J.; van Loon, Rob V.A.; Brunets, I.; Schmitz, Jurriaan; Polman, Albert

2009-01-01

This work demonstrates the fabrication of a silicon-based electrical source for surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) at low temperatures using silicon nanocrystal doped alumina within a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide geometry. The fabrication method uses established microtechnology processes

EQUIPMENT FOR NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING OF SILICON WAFERS SUBMICRON TOPOLOGY DURING THE FABRICATION OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. A. Chizhik

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The advantages of using an atomic force microscopy in manufacturing of submicron integrated circuits are described. The possibilities of characterizing the surface morphology and the etching profile for silicon substrate and bus lines, estimation of the periodicity and size of bus lines, geometrical stability for elementary bus line are shown. Methods of optical and atomic force microcopies are combined in one diagnostic unit. Scanning  probe  microscope  (SPM  200  is  designed  and  produced.  Complex  SPM  200  realizes  nondestructive control of microelectronics elements made on silicon wafers up to 200 mm in diameter and it is introduced by JSC «Integral» for the purpose of operational control, metrology and acceptance of the final product.

Silicon technology-based micro-systems for atomic force microscopy/photon scanning tunnelling microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gall-Borrut, P; Belier, B; Falgayrettes, P; Castagne, M; Bergaud, C; Temple-Boyer, P

2001-04-01

We developed silicon nitride cantilevers integrating a probe tip and a wave guide that is prolonged on the silicon holder with one or two guides. A micro-system is bonded to a photodetector. The resulting hybrid system enables us to obtain simultaneously topographic and optical near-field images. Examples of images obtained on a longitudinal cross-section of an optical fibre are shown.

A bipolar analog front-end integrated circuit for the SDC silicon tracker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kipnis, I.; Spieler, H.; Collins, T.

1993-11-01

A low-noise, low-power, high-bandwidth, radiation hard, silicon bipolar-transistor full-custom integrated circuit (IC) containing 64 channels of analog signal processing has been developed for the SDC silicon tracker. The IC was designed and tested at LBL and was fabricated using AT ampersand T's CBIC-U2, 4 GHz f T complementary bipolar technology. Each channel contains the following functions: low-noise preamplification, pulse shaping and threshold discrimination. This is the first iteration of the production analog IC for the SDC silicon tracker. The IC is laid out to directly match the 50 μm pitch double-sided silicon strip detector. The chip measures 6.8 mm x 3.1 mm and contains 3,600 transistors. Three stages of amplification provide 180 mV/fC of gain with a 35 nsec peaking time at the comparator input. For a 14 pF detector capacitance, the equivalent noise charge is 1300 el. rms at a power consumption of 1 mW/channel from a single 3.5 V supply. With the discriminator threshold set to 4 times the noise level, a 16 nsec time-walk for 1.25 to 10fC signals is achieved using a time-walk compensation network. Irradiation tests at TRIUMF to a Φ=10 14 protons/cm 2 have been performed on the IC, demonstrating the radiation hardness of the complementary bipolar process

Porous silicon-based passivation and gettering in polycrystalline silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dimassi, W.; Bouaiecha, M.; Saadoun, M.; Bessaies, B.; Ezzaouia, H.; Bennaceur, R.

2002-01-01

In this work, we report on the effect of introducing a superficial porous silicon (PS) layer on the electrical characteristics of polycrystalline silicon solar cells. The PS layer was formed using a vapour etching (VE)-based method. In addition to its known anti-reflecting action, the forming hydrogen-rich PS layer acts as a passivating agent for the surface of the cell. As a result we found an improvement of the I-V characteristics in dark conditions and AM1 illumination. We show that when the formation of a superficial PS layer is followed by a heat treatment, gettering of impurities from the polycrystalline silicon material is possible. After the removal of the PS layer and the formation of the photovoltaic (PV) structure, we observed an increase of the light-beam-induced-current (LBIC) for treatment temperatures not exceeding 900 deg. C. An improvement of the bulk minority carrier diffusion length and the grain boundary (GB) recombination velocity were observed as the temperature rises, although a global decrease of the LBIC current was observed for temperatures greater than 900 deg. C

Reduced Moment-Based Models for Oxygen Precipitates and Dislocation Loops in Silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Trzynadlowski, Bart

The demand for ever smaller, higher-performance integrated circuits and more efficient, cost-effective solar cells continues to push the frontiers of process technology. Fabrication of silicon devices requires extremely precise control of impurities and crystallographic defects. Failure to do so not only reduces performance, efficiency, and yield, it threatens the very survival of commercial enterprises in today's fiercely competitive and price-sensitive global market. The presence of oxygen in silicon is an unavoidable consequence of the Czochralski process, which remains the most popular method for large-scale production of single-crystal silicon. Oxygen precipitates that form during thermal processing cause distortion of the surrounding silicon lattice and can lead to the formation of dislocation loops. Localized deformation caused by both of these defects introduces potential wells that trap diffusing impurities such as metal atoms, which is highly desirable if done far away from sensitive device regions. Unfortunately, dislocations also reduce the mechanical strength of silicon, which can cause wafer warpage and breakage. Engineers must negotiate this and other complex tradeoffs when designing fabrication processes. Accomplishing this in a complex, modern process involving a large number of thermal steps is impossible without the aid of computational models. In this dissertation, new models for oxygen precipitation and dislocation loop evolution are described. An oxygen model using kinetic rate equations to evolve the complete precipitate size distribution was developed first. This was then used to create a reduced model tracking only the moments of the size distribution. The moment-based model was found to run significantly faster than its full counterpart while accurately capturing the evolution of oxygen precipitates. The reduced model was fitted to experimental data and a sensitivity analysis was performed to assess the robustness of the results. Source

Neuromorphic Silicon Neuron Circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Indiveri, Giacomo; Linares-Barranco, Bernabé; Hamilton, Tara Julia; van Schaik, André; Etienne-Cummings, Ralph; Delbruck, Tobi; Liu, Shih-Chii; Dudek, Piotr; Häfliger, Philipp; Renaud, Sylvie; Schemmel, Johannes; Cauwenberghs, Gert; Arthur, John; Hynna, Kai; Folowosele, Fopefolu; Saighi, Sylvain; Serrano-Gotarredona, Teresa; Wijekoon, Jayawan; Wang, Yingxue; Boahen, Kwabena

2011-01-01

Hardware implementations of spiking neurons can be extremely useful for a large variety of applications, ranging from high-speed modeling of large-scale neural systems to real-time behaving systems, to bidirectional brain–machine interfaces. The specific circuit solutions used to implement silicon neurons depend on the application requirements. In this paper we describe the most common building blocks and techniques used to implement these circuits, and present an overview of a wide range of neuromorphic silicon neurons, which implement different computational models, ranging from biophysically realistic and conductance-based Hodgkin–Huxley models to bi-dimensional generalized adaptive integrate and fire models. We compare the different design methodologies used for each silicon neuron design described, and demonstrate their features with experimental results, measured from a wide range of fabricated VLSI chips. PMID:21747754

Neuromorphic silicon neuron circuits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giacomo eIndiveri

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Hardware implementations of spiking neurons can be extremely useful for a large variety of applications, ranging from high-speed modeling of large-scale neural systems to real-time behaving systems, to bidirectional brain-machine interfaces. The specific circuit solutions used to implement silicon neurons depend on the application requirements. In this paper we describe the most common building blocks and techniques used to implement these circuits, and present an overview of a wide range of neuromorphic silicon neurons, which implement different computational models, ranging from biophysically realistic and conductance based Hodgkin-Huxley models to bi-dimensional generalized adaptive Integrate and Fire models. We compare the different design methodologies used for each silicon neuron design described, and demonstrate their features with experimental results, measured from a wide range of fabricated VLSI chips.

A phononic crystal strip based on silicon for support tether applications in silicon-based MEMS resonators and effects of temperature and dopant on its band gap characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thi Dep Ha

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Phononic crystals (PnCs and n-type doped silicon technique have been widely employed in silicon-based MEMS resonators to obtain high quality factor (Q as well as temperature-induced frequency stability. For the PnCs, their band gaps play an important role in the acoustic wave propagation. Also, the temperature and dopant doped into silicon can cause the change in its material properties such as elastic constants, Young’s modulus. Therefore, in order to design the simultaneous high Q and frequency stability silicon-based MEMS resonators by two these techniques, a careful design should study effects of temperature and dopant on the band gap characteristics to examine the acoustic wave propagation in the PnC. Based on these, this paper presents (1 a proposed silicon-based PnC strip structure for support tether applications in low frequency silicon-based MEMS resonators, (2 influences of temperature and dopant on band gap characteristics of the PnC strips. The simulation results show that the largest band gap can achieve up to 33.56 at 57.59 MHz and increase 1280.13 % (also increase 131.89 % for ratio of the widest gaps compared with the counterpart without hole. The band gap properties of the PnC strips is insignificantly effected by temperature and electron doping concentration. Also, the quality factor of two designed length extensional mode MEMS resonators with proposed PnC strip based support tethers is up to 1084.59% and 43846.36% over the same resonators with PnC strip without hole and circled corners, respectively. This theoretical study uses the finite element analysis in COMSOL Multiphysics and MATLAB softwares as simulation tools. This findings provides a background in combination of PnC and dopant techniques for high performance silicon-based MEMS resonators as well as PnC-based MEMS devices.

A phononic crystal strip based on silicon for support tether applications in silicon-based MEMS resonators and effects of temperature and dopant on its band gap characteristics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ha, Thi Dep, E-mail: hathidep@yahoo.com [School of Electronic Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731 (China); Faculty of Electronic Technology, Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, Hochiminh City (Viet Nam); Bao, JingFu, E-mail: baojingfu@uestc.edu.cn [School of Electronic Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731 (China)

2016-04-15

Phononic crystals (PnCs) and n-type doped silicon technique have been widely employed in silicon-based MEMS resonators to obtain high quality factor (Q) as well as temperature-induced frequency stability. For the PnCs, their band gaps play an important role in the acoustic wave propagation. Also, the temperature and dopant doped into silicon can cause the change in its material properties such as elastic constants, Young’s modulus. Therefore, in order to design the simultaneous high Q and frequency stability silicon-based MEMS resonators by two these techniques, a careful design should study effects of temperature and dopant on the band gap characteristics to examine the acoustic wave propagation in the PnC. Based on these, this paper presents (1) a proposed silicon-based PnC strip structure for support tether applications in low frequency silicon-based MEMS resonators, (2) influences of temperature and dopant on band gap characteristics of the PnC strips. The simulation results show that the largest band gap can achieve up to 33.56 at 57.59 MHz and increase 1280.13 % (also increase 131.89 % for ratio of the widest gaps) compared with the counterpart without hole. The band gap properties of the PnC strips is insignificantly effected by temperature and electron doping concentration. Also, the quality factor of two designed length extensional mode MEMS resonators with proposed PnC strip based support tethers is up to 1084.59% and 43846.36% over the same resonators with PnC strip without hole and circled corners, respectively. This theoretical study uses the finite element analysis in COMSOL Multiphysics and MATLAB softwares as simulation tools. This findings provides a background in combination of PnC and dopant techniques for high performance silicon-based MEMS resonators as well as PnC-based MEMS devices.

Subwavelength silicon photonics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheben, P.; Bock, P.J.; Schmid, J.H.; Lapointe, J.; Janz, S.; Xu, D.-X.; Densmore, A.; Delage, A.; Lamontagne, B.; Florjanczyk, M.; Ma, R.

2011-01-01

With the goal of developing photonic components that are compatible with silicon microelectronic integrated circuits, silicon photonics has been the subject of intense research activity. Silicon is an excellent material for confining and manipulating light at the submicrometer scale. Silicon optoelectronic integrated devices have the potential to be miniaturized and mass-produced at affordable cost for many applications, including telecommunications, optical interconnects, medical screening, and biological and chemical sensing. We review recent advances in silicon photonics research at the National Research Council Canada. A new type of optical waveguide is presented, exploiting subwavelength grating (SWG) effect. We demonstrate subwavelength grating waveguides made of silicon, including practical components operating at telecom wavelengths: input couplers, waveguide crossings and spectrometer chips. SWG technique avoids loss and wavelength resonances due to diffraction effects and allows for single-mode operation with direct control of the mode confinement by changing the refractive index of a waveguide core over a range as broad as 1.6 - 3.5 simply by lithographic patterning. The light can be launched to these waveguides with a coupling loss as small as 0.5 dB and with minimal wavelength dependence, using coupling structures similar to that shown in Fig. 1. The subwavelength grating waveguides can cross each other with minimal loss and negligible crosstalk which allows massive photonic circuit connectivity to overcome the limits of electrical interconnects. These results suggest that the SWG waveguides could become key elements for future integrated photonic circuits. (authors)

Silicon-Rich Silicon Carbide Hole-Selective Rear Contacts for Crystalline-Silicon-Based Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Nogay, Gizem; Stuckelberger, Josua; Wyss, Philippe; Jeangros, Quentin; Allebé, Christophe; Niquille, Xavier; Debrot, Fabien; Despeisse, Matthieu; Haug, Franz-Josef; Löper, Philipp; Ballif, Christophe

2016-12-28

The use of passivating contacts compatible with typical homojunction thermal processes is one of the most promising approaches to realizing high-efficiency silicon solar cells. In this work, we investigate an alternative rear-passivating contact targeting facile implementation to industrial p-type solar cells. The contact structure consists of a chemically grown thin silicon oxide layer, which is capped with a boron-doped silicon-rich silicon carbide [SiC x (p)] layer and then annealed at 800-900 °C. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the thin chemical oxide layer disappears upon thermal annealing up to 900 °C, leading to degraded surface passivation. We interpret this in terms of a chemical reaction between carbon atoms in the SiC x (p) layer and the adjacent chemical oxide layer. To prevent this reaction, an intrinsic silicon interlayer was introduced between the chemical oxide and the SiC x (p) layer. We show that this intrinsic silicon interlayer is beneficial for surface passivation. Optimized passivation is obtained with a 10-nm-thick intrinsic silicon interlayer, yielding an emitter saturation current density of 17 fA cm -2 on p-type wafers, which translates into an implied open-circuit voltage of 708 mV. The potential of the developed contact at the rear side is further investigated by realizing a proof-of-concept hybrid solar cell, featuring a heterojunction front-side contact made of intrinsic amorphous silicon and phosphorus-doped amorphous silicon. Even though the presented cells are limited by front-side reflection and front-side parasitic absorption, the obtained cell with a V oc of 694.7 mV, a FF of 79.1%, and an efficiency of 20.44% demonstrates the potential of the p + /p-wafer full-side-passivated rear-side scheme shown here.

Mode-locked silicon evanescent lasers.

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Brian R; Fang, Alexander W; Cohen, Oded; Bowers, John E

2007-09-03

We demonstrate electrically pumped lasers on silicon that produce pulses at repetition rates up to 40 GHz. The mode locked lasers generate 4 ps pulses with low jitter and extinction ratios above 18 dB, making them suitable for data and telecommunication transmitters and for clock generation and distribution. Results of both passive and hybrid mode locking are discussed. This type of device could enable new silicon based integrated technologies, such as optical time division multiplexing (OTDM), wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), and optical code division multiple access (OCDMA).

An improved PIN photodetector with integrated JFET on high-resistivity silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalla Betta, Gian-Franco; Piemonte, Claudio; Boscardin, Maurizio; Gregori, Paolo; Zorzi, Nicola; Fazzi, Alberto; Pignatel, Giorgio U.

2006-01-01

We report on a PIN photodetector integrated with a Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET) on a high-resistivity silicon substrate. Owing to a modified fabrication technology, the electrical and noise characteristics of the JFET transistor have been enhanced with respect to the previous versions of the device, allowing the performance to be significantly improved. In this paper, the main design and technological aspects relevant to the proposed structure are addressed and experimental results from the electrical characterization are discussed

Broadband wavelength conversion in hydrogenated amorphous silicon waveguide with silicon nitride layer

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jiang; Li, Yongfang; Wang, Zhaolu; Han, Jing; Huang, Nan; Liu, Hongjun

2018-01-01

Broadband wavelength conversion based on degenerate four-wave mixing is theoretically investigated in a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) waveguide with silicon nitride inter-cladding layer (a-Si:HN). We have found that enhancement of the non-linear effect of a-Si:H waveguide nitride intermediate layer facilitates broadband wavelength conversion. Conversion bandwidth of 490 nm and conversion efficiency of 11.4 dB were achieved in a numerical simulation of a 4 mm-long a-Si:HN waveguide under 1.55 μm continuous wave pumping. This broadband continuous-wave wavelength converter has potential applications in photonic networks, a type of readily manufactured low-cost highly integrated optical circuits.

Ultracompact on-chip photothermal power monitor based on silicon hybrid plasmonic waveguides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wu Hao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We propose and demonstrate an ultracompact on-chip photothermal power monitor based on a silicon hybrid plasmonic waveguide (HPWG, which consists of a metal strip, a silicon core, and a silicon oxide (SiO2 insulator layer between them. When light injected to an HPWG is absorbed by the metal strip, the temperature increases and the resistance of the metal strip changes accordingly due to the photothermal and thermal resistance effects of the metal. Therefore, the optical power variation can be monitored by measuring the resistance of the metal strip on the HPWG. To obtain the electrical signal for the resistance measurement conveniently, a Wheatstone bridge circuit is monolithically integrated with the HPWG on the same chip. As the HPWG has nanoscale light confinement, the present power monitor is as short as ~3 μm, which is the smallest photothermal power monitor reported until now. The compactness helps to improve the thermal efficiency and the response speed. For the present power monitor fabricated with simple fabrication processes, the measured responsivity is as high as about 17.7 mV/mW at a bias voltage of 2 V and the power dynamic range is as large as 35 dB.

Broadband image sensor array based on graphene-CMOS integration

Science.gov (United States)

Goossens, Stijn; Navickaite, Gabriele; Monasterio, Carles; Gupta, Shuchi; Piqueras, Juan José; Pérez, Raúl; Burwell, Gregory; Nikitskiy, Ivan; Lasanta, Tania; Galán, Teresa; Puma, Eric; Centeno, Alba; Pesquera, Amaia; Zurutuza, Amaia; Konstantatos, Gerasimos; Koppens, Frank

2017-06-01

Integrated circuits based on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductors (CMOS) are at the heart of the technological revolution of the past 40 years, enabling compact and low-cost microelectronic circuits and imaging systems. However, the diversification of this platform into applications other than microcircuits and visible-light cameras has been impeded by the difficulty to combine semiconductors other than silicon with CMOS. Here, we report the monolithic integration of a CMOS integrated circuit with graphene, operating as a high-mobility phototransistor. We demonstrate a high-resolution, broadband image sensor and operate it as a digital camera that is sensitive to ultraviolet, visible and infrared light (300-2,000 nm). The demonstrated graphene-CMOS integration is pivotal for incorporating 2D materials into the next-generation microelectronics, sensor arrays, low-power integrated photonics and CMOS imaging systems covering visible, infrared and terahertz frequencies.

Electroluminescence efficiencies of erbium in silicon-based hosts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cueff, Sébastien, E-mail: sebastien-cueff@brown.edu, E-mail: christophe.labbe@ensicaen.fr [Centre de Recherche sur les Ions, les Matériaux et la Photonique (CIMAP), UMR 6252 CNRS/CEA/Ensicaen/UCBN, Caen 14050 (France); School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912 (United States); Manel Ramírez, Joan; Berencén, Yonder; Garrido, Blas [MIND-IN2UB, Department Electrònica, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, Barcelona 08028 (Spain); Kurvits, Jonathan A.; Zia, Rashid [School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912 (United States); Department of Physics, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912 (United States); Rizk, Richard; Labbé, Christophe, E-mail: sebastien-cueff@brown.edu, E-mail: christophe.labbe@ensicaen.fr [Centre de Recherche sur les Ions, les Matériaux et la Photonique (CIMAP), UMR 6252 CNRS/CEA/Ensicaen/UCBN, Caen 14050 (France)

2013-11-04

We report on room-temperature 1.5 μm electroluminescence from trivalent erbium (Er{sup 3+}) ions embedded in three different CMOS-compatible silicon-based hosts: SiO{sub 2}, Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}, and SiN{sub x}. We show that although the insertion of either nitrogen or excess silicon helps enhance electrical conduction and reduce the onset voltage for electroluminescence, it drastically decreases the external quantum efficiency of Er{sup 3+} ions from 2% in SiO{sub 2} to 0.001% and 0.0004% in SiN{sub x} and Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}, respectively. Furthermore, we present strong evidence that hot carrier injection is significantly more efficient than defect-assisted conduction for the electrical excitation of Er{sup 3+} ions. These results suggest strategies to optimize the engineering of on-chip electrically excited silicon-based nanophotonic light sources.

SiC-Based Composite Materials Obtained by Siliconizing Carbon Matrices

Science.gov (United States)

Shikunov, S. L.; Kurlov, V. N.

2017-12-01

We have developed a method for fabrication of parts of complicated configuration from composite materials based on SiC ceramics, which employs the interaction of silicon melt with the carbon matrix having a certain composition and porosity. For elevating the operating temperatures of ceramic components, we have developed a method for depositing protective silicon-carbide coatings that is based on the interaction of the silicon melt and vapor with carbon obtained during thermal splitting of hydrocarbon molecules. The new structural ceramics are characterized by higher operating temperatures; chemical stability; mechanical strength; thermal shock, wear and radiation resistance; and parameters stability.

Design and simulation of a novel GaN based resonant tunneling high electron mobility transistor on a silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chowdhury, Subhra; Biswas, Dhrubes; Chattaraj, Swarnabha

2015-01-01

For the first time, we have introduced a novel GaN based resonant tunneling high electron mobility transistor (RTHEMT) on a silicon substrate. A monolithically integrated GaN based inverted high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) and a resonant tunneling diode (RTD) are designed and simulated using the ATLAS simulator and MATLAB in this study. The 10% Al composition in the barrier layer of the GaN based RTD structure provides a peak-to-valley current ratio of 2.66 which controls the GaN based HEMT performance. Thus the results indicate an improvement in the current–voltage characteristics of the RTHEMT by controlling the gate voltage in this structure. The introduction of silicon as a substrate is a unique step taken by us for this type of RTHEMT structure. (paper)

Optical interconnects based on VCSELs and low-loss silicon photonics

Science.gov (United States)

Aalto, Timo; Harjanne, Mikko; Karppinen, Mikko; Cherchi, Matteo; Sitomaniemi, Aila; Ollila, Jyrki; Malacarne, Antonio; Neumeyr, Christian

2018-02-01

Silicon photonics with micron-scale Si waveguides offers most of the benefits of submicron SOI technology while avoiding most of its limitations. In particular, thick silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides offer 0.1 dB/cm propagation loss, polarization independency, broadband single-mode (SM) operation from 1.2 to >4 µm wavelength and ability to transmit high optical powers (>1 W). Here we describe the feasibility of Thick-SOI technology for advanced optical interconnects. With 12 μm SOI waveguides we demonstrate efficient coupling between standard single-mode fibers, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and photodetectors (PDs), as well as wavelength multiplexing in small footprint. Discrete VCSELs and PDs already support 28 Gb/s on-off keying (OOK), which shows a path towards 50-100 Gb/s bandwidth per wavelength by using more advanced modulation formats like PAM4. Directly modulated VCSELs enable very power-efficient optical interconnects for up to 40 km distance. Furthermore, with 3 μm SOI waveguides we demonstrate extremely dense and low-loss integration of numerous optical functions, such as multiplexers, filters, switches and delay lines. Also polarization independent and athermal operation is demonstrated. The latter is achieved by using short polymer waveguides to compensate for the thermo-optic effect in silicon. New concepts for isolator integration and polarization rotation are also explained.

Magneto-optical non-reciprocal devices in silicon photonics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuya Shoji

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Silicon waveguide optical non-reciprocal devices based on the magneto-optical effect are reviewed. The non-reciprocal phase shift caused by the first-order magneto-optical effect is effective in realizing optical non-reciprocal devices in silicon waveguide platforms. In a silicon-on-insulator waveguide, the low refractive index of the buried oxide layer enhances the magneto-optical phase shift, which reduces the device footprints. A surface activated direct bonding technique was developed to integrate a magneto-optical garnet crystal on the silicon waveguides. A silicon waveguide optical isolator based on the magneto-optical phase shift was demonstrated with an optical isolation of 30 dB and insertion loss of 13 dB at a wavelength of 1548 nm. Furthermore, a four port optical circulator was demonstrated with maximum isolations of 15.3 and 9.3 dB in cross and bar ports, respectively, at a wavelength of 1531 nm.

A 3x1 integrated pyroelectric sensor based on VDF/TrFE copolymer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Setiadi, D.; Setiadi, D.; Sarro, P.M.; Regtien, Paulus P.L.

1996-01-01

This paper presents an integrated pyroelectric sensor based on a vinylidene fluoride¿trifluoroethylene (VDF/TrFE) copolymer. A silicon substrate that contains field-effect transistor (FET) readout electronics is coated with the VDF/TrFE copolymer film using a spin-coating technique. On-chip poling

Photoluminescence and electrical properties of silicon oxide and silicon nitride superlattices containing silicon nanocrystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shuleiko, D V; Ilin, A S

2016-01-01

Photoluminescence and electrical properties of superlattices with thin (1 to 5 nm) alternating silicon-rich silicon oxide or silicon-rich silicon nitride, and silicon oxide or silicon nitride layers containing silicon nanocrystals prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with subsequent annealing were investigated. The entirely silicon oxide based superlattices demonstrated photoluminescence peak shift due to quantum confinement effect. Electrical measurements showed the hysteresis effect in the vicinity of zero voltage due to structural features of the superlattices from SiOa 93 /Si 3 N 4 and SiN 0 . 8 /Si 3 N 4 layers. The entirely silicon nitride based samples demonstrated resistive switching effect, comprising an abrupt conductivity change at about 5 to 6 V with current-voltage characteristic hysteresis. The samples also demonstrated efficient photoluminescence with maximum at ∼1.4 eV, due to exiton recombination in silicon nanocrystals. (paper)

Double side multicrystalline silicon passivation by one step stain etching-based porous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohamed, Seifeddine Belhadj; Ben Rabha, Mohamed; Bessais, Brahim [Laboratoire de Photovoltaique, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l' Energie, Technopole de Borj-Cedria, BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia)

2012-10-15

In this paper, we investigate the effect of stain etching-based porous silicon on the double side multicrystalline silicon. Special attention is given to the use of the stain etched PS as an antireflection coating as well as for surface passivating capabilities. Stain etching of double side multicrystalline silicon leads to the formation of PS nanostructures, that dramatically decrease the surface reflectivity from 30% to about 7% and increase the effective lifetime from 1 {mu}s to 10 {mu}s at a minority carrier density ({Delta}n) of 10{sup 15} cm{sup -3}. These results let us correlate the rise of the lifetime values to the photoluminescence intensity to the hydrogen and oxide passivation as shown by FTIR analysis. This low-cost PS formation process can be applied in the photovoltaic cell technology as a standard procedure (copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Integrated Circuit Interconnect Lines on Lossy Silicon Substrate with Finite Element Method

OpenAIRE

Sarhan M. Musa,; Matthew N. O. Sadiku

2014-01-01

The silicon substrate has a significant effect on the inductance parameter of a lossy interconnect line on integrated circuit. It is essential to take this into account in determining the transmission line electrical parameters. In this paper, a new quasi-TEM capacitance and inductance analysis of multiconductor multilayer interconnects is successfully demonstrated using finite element method (FEM). We specifically illustrate the electrostatic modeling of single and coupled in...

Suppression of interfacial voids formation during silane (SiH4)-based silicon oxide bonding with a thin silicon nitride capping layer

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kwang Hong; Bao, Shuyu; Wang, Yue; Fitzgerald, Eugene A.; Seng Tan, Chuan

2018-01-01

The material properties and bonding behavior of silane-based silicon oxide layers deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition were investigated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was employed to determine the chemical composition of the silicon oxide films. The incorporation of hydroxyl (-OH) groups and moisture absorption demonstrates a strong correlation with the storage duration for both as-deposited and annealed silicon oxide films. It is observed that moisture absorption is prevalent in the silane-based silicon oxide film due to its porous nature. The incorporation of -OH groups and moisture absorption in the silicon oxide films increase with the storage time (even in clean-room environments) for both as-deposited and annealed silicon oxide films. Due to silanol condensation and silicon oxidation reactions that take place at the bonding interface and in the bulk silicon, hydrogen (a byproduct of these reactions) is released and diffused towards the bonding interface. The trapped hydrogen forms voids over time. Additionally, the absorbed moisture could evaporate during the post-bond annealing of the bonded wafer pair. As a consequence, defects, such as voids, form at the bonding interface. To address the problem, a thin silicon nitride capping film was deposited on the silicon oxide layer before bonding to serve as a diffusion barrier to prevent moisture absorption and incorporation of -OH groups from the ambient. This process results in defect-free bonded wafers.

Towards Cost-Effective Crystalline Silicon Based Flexible Solar Cells: Integration Strategy by Rational Design of Materials, Process, and Devices

KAUST Repository

Bahabry, Rabab R.

2017-01-01

. However, silicon is a brittle material with a fracture strains <1%. Highly flexible Si-based solar cells are available in the form thin films which seem to be disadvantageous over thick Si solar cells due to the reduction of the optical absorption

Integrating carbon nanotubes into silicon by means of vertical carbon nanotube field-effect transistors

KAUST Repository

Li, Jingqi; Wang, Qingxiao; Yue, Weisheng; Guo, Zaibing; LI, LIANG; Zhao, Chao; Wang, Xianbin; Abutaha, Anas I.; Alshareef, Husam N.; Zhang, Yafei; Zhang, Xixiang

2014-01-01

Single-walled carbon nanotubes have been integrated into silicon for use in vertical carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs). A unique feature of these devices is that a silicon substrate and a metal contact are used as the source and drain for the vertical transistors, respectively. These CNTFETs show very different characteristics from those fabricated with two metal contacts. Surprisingly, the transfer characteristics of the vertical CNTFETs can be either ambipolar or unipolar (p-type or n-type) depending on the sign of the drain voltage. Furthermore, the p-type/n-type character of the devices is defined by the doping type of the silicon substrate used in the fabrication process. A semiclassical model is used to simulate the performance of these CNTFETs by taking the conductance change of the Si contact under the gate voltage into consideration. The calculation results are consistent with the experimental observations. This journal is © the Partner Organisations 2014.

Dissolution chemistry and biocompatibility of silicon- and germanium-based semiconductors for transient electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Seung-Kyun; Park, Gayoung; Kim, Kyungmin; Hwang, Suk-Won; Cheng, Huanyu; Shin, Jiho; Chung, Sangjin; Kim, Minjin; Yin, Lan; Lee, Jeong Chul; Lee, Kyung-Mi; Rogers, John A

2015-05-06

Semiconducting materials are central to the development of high-performance electronics that are capable of dissolving completely when immersed in aqueous solutions, groundwater, or biofluids, for applications in temporary biomedical implants, environmentally degradable sensors, and other systems. The results reported here include comprehensive studies of the dissolution by hydrolysis of polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, silicon-germanium, and germanium in aqueous solutions of various pH values and temperatures. In vitro cellular toxicity evaluations demonstrate the biocompatibility of the materials and end products of dissolution, thereby supporting their potential for use in biodegradable electronics. A fully dissolvable thin-film solar cell illustrates the ability to integrate these semiconductors into functional systems.

A study of luminescence from silicon-rich silica fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trwoga, P.F.

1998-01-01

Silicon is the most studied electronic material known to man and dominates the electronics industry in its use as a semiconductors for nearly all integrated electronics. However, optoelectronics is almost entirely based on III-V materials. This technology is used because silicon is a very inefficient light source, whereas the III-V band structure can lend itself to efficient light emission by electron injection. However, due to the overwhelming dominance of silicon based electronics it is still a highly desirable goal to generate light efficiently from silicon based materials. Recently, studies have demonstrated that efficient visible luminescence can be obtained from certain novel forms of silicon. These materials include porous silicon, hydrogenated amorphous silicon, and silicon-rich silica (SiO x x x is studied in detail; in addition, electroluminescence and rare-earth doping of silicon-rich silica is also addressed. (author)

Impurity engineering for germanium-doped Czochralski silicon wafer used for ultra large scale integrated circuit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Jiahe; Yang, Deren [State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou (China)

2009-07-01

Internal gettering (IG) technology has been challenged by both the reduction of thermal budget during device fabrication and the enlargement of wafer diameter. Improving the properties of Czochralski (Cz) silicon wafers by intentional impurity doping, the so-called 'impurity engineering (IE)', is defined. Germanium has been found to be one of the important impurities for improving the internal gettering effect in Cz silicon wafer. In this paper, the investigations on IE involved with the conventional furnace anneal based denudation processing for germanium-doped Cz silicon wafer are reviewed. Meanwhile, the potential mechanisms of germanium effects for the IE of Cz silicon wafer are also interpreted based on the experimental facts. (copyright 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Porous silicon based anode material formed using metal reduction

Science.gov (United States)

Anguchamy, Yogesh Kumar; Masarapu, Charan; Deng, Haixia; Han, Yongbong; Venkatachalam, Subramanian; Kumar, Sujeet; Lopez, Herman A.

2015-09-22

A porous silicon based material comprising porous crystalline elemental silicon formed by reducing silicon dioxide with a reducing metal in a heating process followed by acid etching is used to construct negative electrode used in lithium ion batteries. Gradual temperature heating ramp(s) with optional temperature steps can be used to perform the heating process. The porous silicon formed has a high surface area from about 10 m.sup.2/g to about 200 m.sup.2/g and is substantially free of carbon. The negative electrode formed can have a discharge specific capacity of at least 1800 mAh/g at rate of C/3 discharged from 1.5V to 0.005V against lithium with in some embodiments loading levels ranging from about 1.4 mg/cm.sup.2 to about 3.5 mg/cm.sup.2. In some embodiments, the porous silicon can be coated with a carbon coating or blended with carbon nanofibers or other conductive carbon material.

Integration of silicon-based neural probes and micro-drive arrays for chronic recording of large populations of neurons in behaving animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Michon, Frédéric; Aarts, Arno; Holzhammer, Tobias; Ruther, Patrick; Borghs, Gustaaf; McNaughton, Bruce; Kloosterman, Fabian

2016-08-01

Understanding how neuronal assemblies underlie cognitive function is a fundamental question in system neuroscience. It poses the technical challenge to monitor the activity of populations of neurons, potentially widely separated, in relation to behaviour. In this paper, we present a new system which aims at simultaneously recording from a large population of neurons from multiple separated brain regions in freely behaving animals. The concept of the new device is to combine the benefits of two existing electrophysiological techniques, i.e. the flexibility and modularity of micro-drive arrays and the high sampling ability of electrode-dense silicon probes. Newly engineered long bendable silicon probes were integrated into a micro-drive array. The resulting device can carry up to 16 independently movable silicon probes, each carrying 16 recording sites. Populations of neurons were recorded simultaneously in multiple cortical and/or hippocampal sites in two freely behaving implanted rats. Current approaches to monitor neuronal activity either allow to flexibly record from multiple widely separated brain regions (micro-drive arrays) but with a limited sampling density or to provide denser sampling at the expense of a flexible placement in multiple brain regions (neural probes). By combining these two approaches and their benefits, we present an alternative solution for flexible and simultaneous recordings from widely distributed populations of neurons in freely behaving rats.

Low-loss compact multilayer silicon nitride platform for 3D photonic integrated circuits.

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Kuanping; Pathak, Shibnath; Guan, Binbin; Liu, Guangyao; Yoo, S J B

2015-08-10

We design, fabricate, and demonstrate a silicon nitride (Si(3)N(4)) multilayer platform optimized for low-loss and compact multilayer photonic integrated circuits. The designed platform, with 200 nm thick waveguide core and 700 nm interlayer gap, is compatible for active thermal tuning and applicable to realizing compact photonic devices such as arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs). We achieve ultra-low loss vertical couplers with 0.01 dB coupling loss, multilayer crossing loss of 0.167 dB at 90° crossing angle, 50 μm bending radius, 100 × 2 μm(2) footprint, lateral misalignment tolerance up to 400 nm, and less than -52 dB interlayer crosstalk at 1550 nm wavelength. Based on the designed platform, we demonstrate a 27 × 32 × 2 multilayer star coupler.

A monolithically integrated detector-preamplifier on high-resistivity silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, S.; Spieler, H.

1990-02-01

A monolithically integrated detector-preamplifier on high-resistivity silicon has been designed, fabricated and characterized. The detector is a fully depleted p-i-n diode and the preamplifier is implemented in a depletion-mode PMOS process which is compatible with detector processing. The amplifier is internally compensated and the measured gain-bandwidth product is 30 MHz with an input-referred noise of 15 nV/√Hz in the white noise regime. Measurements with an Am 241 radiation source yield an equivalent input noise charge of 800 electrons at 200 ns shaping time for a 1.4 mm 2 detector with on-chip amplifier in an experimental setup with substantial external pickup

Highly efficient luminescent solar concentrators based on earth-abundant indirect-bandgap silicon quantum dots

Science.gov (United States)

Meinardi, Francesco; Ehrenberg, Samantha; Dhamo, Lorena; Carulli, Francesco; Mauri, Michele; Bruni, Francesco; Simonutti, Roberto; Kortshagen, Uwe; Brovelli, Sergio

2017-02-01

Building-integrated photovoltaics is gaining consensus as a renewable energy technology for producing electricity at the point of use. Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) could extend architectural integration to the urban environment by realizing electrode-less photovoltaic windows. Crucial for large-area LSCs is the suppression of reabsorption losses, which requires emitters with negligible overlap between their absorption and emission spectra. Here, we demonstrate the use of indirect-bandgap semiconductor nanostructures such as highly emissive silicon quantum dots. Silicon is non-toxic, low-cost and ultra-earth-abundant, which avoids the limitations to the industrial scaling of quantum dots composed of low-abundance elements. Suppressed reabsorption and scattering losses lead to nearly ideal LSCs with an optical efficiency of η = 2.85%, matching state-of-the-art semi-transparent LSCs. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that optimized silicon quantum dot LSCs have a clear path to η > 5% for 1 m2 devices. We are finally able to realize flexible LSCs with performances comparable to those of flat concentrators, which opens the way to a new design freedom for building-integrated photovoltaics elements.

Strong quantum-confined stark effect in germanium quantum-well structures on silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuo, Y.; Lee, Y. K.; Gei, Y.; Ren, S; Roth, J. E.; Miller, D. A.; Harris, J. S.

2006-01-01

Silicon is the dominant semiconductor for electronics, but there is now a growing need to integrate such component with optoelectronics for telecommunications and computer interconnections. Silicon-based optical modulators have recently been successfully demonstrated but because the light modulation mechanisms in silicon are relatively weak, long (for example, several millimeters) devices or sophisticated high-quality-factor resonators have been necessary. Thin quantum-well structures made from III-V semiconductors such as GaAs, InP and their alloys exhibit the much stronger Quantum-Confined Stark Effect (QCSE) mechanism, which allows modulator structures with only micrometers of optical path length. Such III-V materials are unfortunately difficult to integrate with silicon electronic devices. Germanium is routinely integrated with silicon in electronics, but previous silicon-germanium structures have also not shown strong modulation effects. Here we report the discovery of the QCSE, at room temperature, in thin germanium quantum-well structures grown on silicon. The QCSE here has strengths comparable to that in III-V materials. Its clarity and strength are particularly surprising because germanium is an indirect gap semiconductor, such semiconductors often display much weak optical effects than direct gap materials (such as the III-V materials typically used for optoelectronics). This discovery is very promising for small, high-speed, low-power optical output devices fully compatible with silicon electronics manufacture. (author)

Development and miniaturization of a photoacoustic silicon integrated spectrometer for trace gas analysis; Etude et developpement d`un spectrometre photoacoustique integre sur silicium pour analyse de gaz

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jourdain, A.

1998-10-29

The study deals with the integration on silicon wafers of an infrared spectrometer for carbon dioxide measurements. Photoacoustic detection that measures a differential pressure in a cavity turns out to be the best spectroscopic technique for miniaturization and integration. The micro-system is composed of two main components: an infrared light source on a silicon nitride membrane and a component integrating a tunable optical filter, a microphone for detection and a micro-cavity. After a theoretical study of the different components, each element is realized with the microelectronic techniques such as photolithography, thin films deposits and dry and wet etching. A resin sealing of all the different elements realizes the final micro-spectrophotometer. A characterization of the components is done thanks to the realization of an electronic specific set-up. (author) 107 refs.

Chip-integrated optical power limiter based on an all-passive micro-ring resonator

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Siqi; Dong, Jianji; Zheng, Aoling; Zhang, Xinliang

2014-10-01

Recent progress in silicon nanophotonics has dramatically advanced the possible realization of large-scale on-chip optical interconnects integration. Adopting photons as information carriers can break the performance bottleneck of electronic integrated circuit such as serious thermal losses and poor process rates. However, in integrated photonics circuits, few reported work can impose an upper limit of optical power therefore prevent the optical device from harm caused by high power. In this study, we experimentally demonstrate a feasible integrated scheme based on a single all-passive micro-ring resonator to realize the optical power limitation which has a similar function of current limiting circuit in electronics. Besides, we analyze the performance of optical power limiter at various signal bit rates. The results show that the proposed device can limit the signal power effectively at a bit rate up to 20 Gbit/s without deteriorating the signal. Meanwhile, this ultra-compact silicon device can be completely compatible with the electronic technology (typically complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology), which may pave the way of very large scale integrated photonic circuits for all-optical information processors and artificial intelligence systems.

Fluorescence and thermoluminescence in silicon oxide films rich in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berman M, D.; Piters, T. M.; Aceves M, M.; Berriel V, L. R.; Luna L, J. A.

2009-10-01

In this work we determined the fluorescence and thermoluminescence (TL) creation spectra of silicon rich oxide films (SRO) with three different silicon excesses. To study the TL of SRO, 550 nm of SRO film were deposited by Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition technique on N-type silicon substrates with resistivity in the order of 3 to 5 Ω-cm with silicon excess controlled by the ratio of the gases used in the process, SRO films with Ro= 10, 20 and 30 (12-6% silicon excess) were obtained. Then, they were thermally treated in N 2 at high temperatures to diffuse and homogenize the silicon excess. In the fluorescence spectra two main emission regions are observed, one around 400 nm and one around 800 nm. TL creation spectra were determined by plotting the integrated TL intensity as function of the excitation wavelength. (Author)

High-performance integrated field-effect transistor-based sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adzhri, R., E-mail: adzhri@gmail.com [Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis (Malaysia); Md Arshad, M.K., E-mail: mohd.khairuddin@unimap.edu.my [Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis (Malaysia); School of Microelectronic Engineering (SoME), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis (Malaysia); Gopinath, Subash C.B., E-mail: subash@unimap.edu.my [Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis (Malaysia); School of Bioprocess Engineering (SBE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Arau, Perlis (Malaysia); Ruslinda, A.R., E-mail: ruslinda@unimap.edu.my [Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis (Malaysia); Fathil, M.F.M., E-mail: faris.fathil@gmail.com [Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis (Malaysia); Ayub, R.M., E-mail: ramzan@unimap.edu.my [Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis (Malaysia); Nor, M. Nuzaihan Mohd, E-mail: m.nuzaihan@unimap.edu.my [Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis (Malaysia); Voon, C.H., E-mail: chvoon@unimap.edu.my [Institute of Nano Electronic Engineering (INEE), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Kangar, Perlis (Malaysia)

2016-04-21

Field-effect transistors (FETs) have succeeded in modern electronics in an era of computers and hand-held applications. Currently, considerable attention has been paid to direct electrical measurements, which work by monitoring changes in intrinsic electrical properties. Further, FET-based sensing systems drastically reduce cost, are compatible with CMOS technology, and ease down-stream applications. Current technologies for sensing applications rely on time-consuming strategies and processes and can only be performed under recommended conditions. To overcome these obstacles, an overview is presented here in which we specifically focus on high-performance FET-based sensor integration with nano-sized materials, which requires understanding the interaction of surface materials with the surrounding environment. Therefore, we present strategies, material depositions, device structures and other characteristics involved in FET-based devices. Special attention was given to silicon and polyaniline nanowires and graphene, which have attracted much interest due to their remarkable properties in sensing applications. - Highlights: • Performance of FET-based biosensors for the detection of biomolecules is presented. • Silicon nanowire, polyaniline and graphene are the highlighted nanoscaled materials as sensing transducers. • The importance of surface material interaction with the surrounding environment is discussed. • Different device structure architectures for ease in fabrication and high sensitivity of sensing are presented.

High-performance integrated field-effect transistor-based sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adzhri, R.; Md Arshad, M.K.; Gopinath, Subash C.B.; Ruslinda, A.R.; Fathil, M.F.M.; Ayub, R.M.; Nor, M. Nuzaihan Mohd; Voon, C.H.

2016-01-01

Field-effect transistors (FETs) have succeeded in modern electronics in an era of computers and hand-held applications. Currently, considerable attention has been paid to direct electrical measurements, which work by monitoring changes in intrinsic electrical properties. Further, FET-based sensing systems drastically reduce cost, are compatible with CMOS technology, and ease down-stream applications. Current technologies for sensing applications rely on time-consuming strategies and processes and can only be performed under recommended conditions. To overcome these obstacles, an overview is presented here in which we specifically focus on high-performance FET-based sensor integration with nano-sized materials, which requires understanding the interaction of surface materials with the surrounding environment. Therefore, we present strategies, material depositions, device structures and other characteristics involved in FET-based devices. Special attention was given to silicon and polyaniline nanowires and graphene, which have attracted much interest due to their remarkable properties in sensing applications. - Highlights: • Performance of FET-based biosensors for the detection of biomolecules is presented. • Silicon nanowire, polyaniline and graphene are the highlighted nanoscaled materials as sensing transducers. • The importance of surface material interaction with the surrounding environment is discussed. • Different device structure architectures for ease in fabrication and high sensitivity of sensing are presented.

Physical and electrical characterization of corundum substrates and epitaxial silicon layers in view of fabricating integrated circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trilhe, J.; Legal, H.; Rolland, G.

1975-01-01

The S.O.S. technology (silicon on insulating substrate) allows compact, radiation hard, fast integrated circuits to be fabricated. It is noticeable that complex integrated circuits on corundum substrates obtained with various fabrication processes have various electrical characteristics. Possible correlations between the macroscopic defects of the substrate and the electrical characteristics of the circuit were investigated [fr

The thermal neutron absorption cross-sections, resonance integrals and resonance parameters of silicon and its stable isotopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Story, J.S.

1969-09-01

The data available up to the end of November 1968 on the thermal neutron absorption cross-sections, resonance absorption integrals, and resonance parameters of silicon and its stable isotopes are collected and discussed. Estimates are given of the mean spacing of the energy levels of the compound nuclei near the neutron binding energy. It is concluded that the thermal neutron absorption cross-section and resonance absorption integral of natural silicon are not well established. The data on these two parameters are somewhat correlated, and three different assessments of the resonance integral are presented which differ over-all by a factor of 230. Many resonances have been detected by charged particle reactions which have not yet been observed in neutron cross-section measurements. One of these resonances of Si 2 8, at E n = 4 ± 5 keV might account for the large resonance integral which is derived, very uncertainly, from integral data. The principal source of the measured resonance integral of Si 3 0 has not yet been located. The thermal neutron absorption cross-section of Si 2 8 appears to result mainly from a negative energy resonance, possibly the resonance at E n = - 59 ± 5 keV detected by the Si 2 8 (d,p) reaction. (author)

Performance of integrated retainer rings in silicon micro-turbines with thrust style micro-ball bearings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hergert, Robert J; Holmes, Andrew S; Hanrahan, Brendan; Ghodssi, Reza

2013-01-01

This work explores the performance of different silicon retainer ring designs when integrated into silicon micro-turbines (SMTs) incorporating thrust style bearings supported on 500 µm diameter steel balls. Experimental performance curves are presented for SMTs with rotor diameters of 5 mm and 10 mm, each with five different retainer designs varying in mechanical rigidity, ball pocket shape and ball complement. It was found that the different retainer designs yielded different performance curves, with the closed pocket designs consistently requiring lower input power for a given rotation speed, and the most rigid retainers giving the best performance overall. Both 5 mm and 10 mm diameter devices have shown repeatable performance at rotation speeds up to and exceeding 20 000 RPM with input power levels below 2 W, and devices were tested for over 2.5 million revolutions without failure. Retainer rings are commonly used in macro-scale bearings to ensure uniform spacing between the rolling elements. The integration of retainers into micro-bearings could lower costs by reducing the number of balls required for stable operation, and also open up the possibility of ‘smart’ bearings with integrated sensors to monitor the bearing status. (paper)

Hybrid graphene/silicon integrated optical isolators with photonic spin–orbit interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Jingwen; Sun, Xiankai; Xi, Xiang; Yu, Zejie

2016-01-01

Optical isolators are an important building block in photonic computation and communication. In traditional optics, isolators are realized with magneto-optical garnets. However, it remains challenging to incorporate such materials on an integrated platform because of the difficulty in material growth and bulky device footprint. Here, we propose an ultracompact integrated isolator by exploiting graphene's magneto-optical property on a silicon-on-insulator platform. The photonic nonreciprocity is achieved because the cyclotrons in graphene experiencing different optical spins exhibit different responses to counterpropagating light. Taking advantage of cavity resonance effects, we have numerically optimized a device design, which shows excellent isolation performance with the extinction ratio over 45 dB and the insertion loss around 12 dB at a wavelength near 1.55 μm. Featuring graphene's CMOS compatibility and substantially reduced device footprint, our proposal sheds light on monolithic integration of nonreciprocal photonic devices.

Stable configurations of graphene on silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Javvaji, Brahmanandam; Shenoy, Bhamy Maithry [Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Mahapatra, D. Roy, E-mail: droymahapatra@aero.iisc.ernet.in [Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Ravikumar, Abhilash [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal 575025 (India); Hegde, G.M. [Center for Nano Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Rizwan, M.R. [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal 575025 (India)

2017-08-31

Highlights: • Simulations of epitaxial growth process for silicon–graphene system is performed. • Identified the most favourable orientation of graphene sheet on silicon substrate. • Atomic local strain due to the silicon–carbon bond formation is analyzed. - Abstract: Integration of graphene on silicon-based nanostructures is crucial in advancing graphene based nanoelectronic device technologies. The present paper provides a new insight on the combined effect of graphene structure and silicon (001) substrate on their two-dimensional anisotropic interface. Molecular dynamics simulations involving the sub-nanoscale interface reveal a most favourable set of temperature independent orientations of the monolayer graphene sheet with an angle of ∽15° between its armchair direction and [010] axis of the silicon substrate. While computing the favorable stable orientations, both the translation and the rotational vibrations of graphene are included. The possible interactions between the graphene atoms and the silicon atoms are identified from their coordination. Graphene sheet shows maximum bonding density with bond length 0.195 nm and minimum bond energy when interfaced with silicon substrate at 15° orientation. Local deformation analysis reveals probability distribution with maximum strain levels of 0.134, 0.047 and 0.029 for 900 K, 300 K and 100 K, respectively in silicon surface for 15° oriented graphene whereas the maximum probable strain in graphene is about 0.041 irrespective of temperature. Silicon–silicon dimer formation is changed due to silicon–carbon bonding. These results may help further in band structure engineering of silicon–graphene lattice.

Porous silicon based micro-opto-electro-mechanical-systems (MOEMS) components for free space optical interconnects

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Da

2008-02-01

One of the major challenges confronting the current integrated circuits (IC) industry is the metal "interconnect bottleneck". To overcome this obstacle, free space optical interconnects (FSOIs) can be used to address the demand for high speed data transmission, multi-functionality and multi-dimensional integration for the next generation IC. One of the crucial elements in FSOIs system is to develop a high performance and flexible optical network to transform the incoming optical signal into a distributed set of optical signals whose direction, alignment and power can be independently controlled. Among all the optical materials for the realization of FSOI components, porous silicon (PSi) is one of the most promising candidates because of its unique optical properties, flexible fabrication methods and integration with conventional IC material sets. PSi-based Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) and Fabry-Perot (F-P) structures with unique optical properties are realized by electrochemical etching of silicon. By incorporating PSi optical structures with Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MOEMS), several components required for FSOI have been developed. The first type of component is the out-of-plane freestanding optical switch. Implementing a PSi DBR structure as an optically active region, the device can realize channel selection by changing the tilting angle of the micromirror supported by the thermal bimorph actuator. All the fabricated optical switches have reached kHz working frequency and life time of millions of cycles. The second type of component is the in-plane tunable optical filter. By introducing PSi F-P structure into the in-plane PSi film, a thermally tunable optical filter with a sensitivity of 7.9nm/V has been realized for add/drop optical signal selection. Also, for the first time, a new type of PSi based reconfigurable diffractive optical element (DOE) has been developed. By using patterned photoresist as a protective mask for electrochemical

Silicon Strip Detectors for ATLAS at the HL-LHC Upgrade

CERN Document Server

Hara, K; The ATLAS collaboration

2012-01-01

The present ATLAS silicon strip (SCT) and transition radiation (TRT) trackers will be replaced with new silicon strip detectors, as part of the Inner Tracker System (ITK), for the Phase-2 upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider, HL-LHC. We have carried out intensive R&D programs to establish radiation harder strip detectors that can survive in a radiation level up to 3000 fb-1 of integrated luminosity based on n+-on-p microstrip detector. We describe main specifications for this year’s sensor fabrication, followed by a description of possible module integration schema

Tattoo-Like Strain Gauges Based on Silicon Nano-Membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Nanshu

2012-02-01

This talk reports the in vivo measurement of tissue deformation through adhesive-free, conformable lamination of a tattoo-like elastic strain gauge consisted of piezoresistive silicon nano-membranes strategically integrated with tissue-like elastomeric substrates. The mechanical deformation in soft tissues cannot yet be directly quantified due to the lack of enabling tools. While stiff strain gauges for structural health monitoring have long existed, biological tissues are soft, curvilinear and highly deformable in contrast to civil or aerospace structures. An ultra-thin, ultra-soft, tattoo-like strain gauge that can conform to the convoluted surface of human body and stay attached during locomotion will be able to directly quantify tissue deformation without affecting the mechanical behavior of the tissue. While single crystalline silicon is known to have the highest gauge factor and best elastic response, it is intrinsically stiff and brittle. To achieve strain gauges with high compliance, high stretchability and reasonable sensitivity, single crystalline silicon nano-membranes will be transfer-printed onto polymeric support through carefully engineered stamps. The thickness and length of the Si strip will be chosen according to theoretical and numerical mechanics analysis which takes into account for the tradeoff between stretchability and sensitivity.

Graphene as a transparent electrode for amorphous silicon-based solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaianella, F.; Rosolen, G.; Maes, B.

2015-01-01

The properties of graphene in terms of transparency and conductivity make it an ideal candidate to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in a transparent conducting electrode. However, graphene is not always as good as ITO for some applications, due to a non-negligible absorption. For amorphous silicon photovoltaics, we have identified a useful case with a graphene-silica front electrode that improves upon ITO. For both electrode technologies, we simulate the weighted absorption in the active layer of planar amorphous silicon-based solar cells with a silver back-reflector. The graphene device shows a significantly increased absorbance compared to ITO-based cells for a large range of silicon thicknesses (34.4% versus 30.9% for a 300 nm thick silicon layer), and this result persists over a wide range of incidence angles

Graphene as a transparent electrode for amorphous silicon-based solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Vaianella, F.; Rosolen, G.; Maes, B.

2015-06-01

The properties of graphene in terms of transparency and conductivity make it an ideal candidate to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in a transparent conducting electrode. However, graphene is not always as good as ITO for some applications, due to a non-negligible absorption. For amorphous silicon photovoltaics, we have identified a useful case with a graphene-silica front electrode that improves upon ITO. For both electrode technologies, we simulate the weighted absorption in the active layer of planar amorphous silicon-based solar cells with a silver back-reflector. The graphene device shows a significantly increased absorbance compared to ITO-based cells for a large range of silicon thicknesses (34.4% versus 30.9% for a 300 nm thick silicon layer), and this result persists over a wide range of incidence angles.

Graphene as a transparent electrode for amorphous silicon-based solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vaianella, F., E-mail: Fabio.Vaianella@umons.ac.be; Rosolen, G.; Maes, B. [Micro- and Nanophotonic Materials Group, Faculty of Science, University of Mons, 20 place du Parc, B-7000 Mons (Belgium)

2015-06-28

The properties of graphene in terms of transparency and conductivity make it an ideal candidate to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in a transparent conducting electrode. However, graphene is not always as good as ITO for some applications, due to a non-negligible absorption. For amorphous silicon photovoltaics, we have identified a useful case with a graphene-silica front electrode that improves upon ITO. For both electrode technologies, we simulate the weighted absorption in the active layer of planar amorphous silicon-based solar cells with a silver back-reflector. The graphene device shows a significantly increased absorbance compared to ITO-based cells for a large range of silicon thicknesses (34.4% versus 30.9% for a 300 nm thick silicon layer), and this result persists over a wide range of incidence angles.

Silicon photonic integrated circuits with electrically programmable non-volatile memory functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, J-F; Lim, A E-J; Luo, X-S; Fang, Q; Li, C; Jia, L X; Tu, X-G; Huang, Y; Zhou, H-F; Liow, T-Y; Lo, G-Q

2016-09-19

Conventional silicon photonic integrated circuits do not normally possess memory functions, which require on-chip power in order to maintain circuit states in tuned or field-configured switching routes. In this context, we present an electrically programmable add/drop microring resonator with a wavelength shift of 426 pm between the ON/OFF states. Electrical pulses are used to control the choice of the state. Our experimental results show a wavelength shift of 2.8 pm/ms and a light intensity variation of ~0.12 dB/ms for a fixed wavelength in the OFF state. Theoretically, our device can accommodate up to 65 states of multi-level memory functions. Such memory functions can be integrated into wavelength division mutiplexing (WDM) filters and applied to optical routers and computing architectures fulfilling large data downloading demands.

Soft silicone based interpenetrating networks as materials for actuators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yu, Liyun; Gonzalez, Lidia; Hvilsted, Søren

2014-01-01

A new approach based on silicone interpenetrating networks with orthogonal chemistries has been investigated with focus on developing soft and flexible elastomers with high energy densities and small viscous losses. The interpenetrating networks are made as simple two pot mixtures...... as for the commercial available silylation based elastomers such as Elastosil RT625. The resulting interpenetrating networks are formulated to be softer than RT625 to increase the actuation caused when applying a voltage due to their softness combined with the significantly higher permittivity than the pure silicone...

Optoelectronic Device Integration in Silicon (OpSIS)

Science.gov (United States)

2015-10-26

silicon-on-insulator," Opt. Express 22, 17872-17879 (2014) Y. Yang, C. Galland, Y. Liu, K. Tan , R. Ding, Q. Li, K. Bergman, T. Baehr-Jones, M...Jaeger, Nicolas AF; Chrostowski, Lukas; “Electrically tunable resonant filters in phase-shifted contra- directional couplers” IEEE Group IV Photonics... Nicolas AF; Chrostowski, Lukas; “Silicon photonic grating-assisted, contra-directional couplers” Optics express Vol. 21, No. 3; 3633-3650 (2013

Design of a compact and integrated TM-rotated/TE-through polarization beam splitter for silicon-based slot waveguides.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yin; Xiao, Jinbiao

2016-01-20

A compact and integrated TM-rotated/TE-through polarization beam splitter for silicon-based slot waveguides is proposed and characterized. For the input TM mode, it is first transferred into the cross strip waveguide using a tapered directional coupler (DC), and then efficiently rotated to the corresponding TE mode using an L-shaped bending polarization rotator (PR). Finally, the TE mode for slot waveguide at the output end is obtained with the help of a strip-to-slot mode converter. By contrast, for the input TE mode, it almost passes through the slot waveguide directly and outputs at the bar end with nearly neglected coupling due to a large mode mismatch. Moreover, an additional S-bend connecting the tapered DC and bending PR is used to enhance the performance. Results show that a total device length of 19.6 μm is achieved, where the crosstalk (CT) and polarization conversion loss are, respectively -26.09 and 0.54 dB, for the TM mode, and the CT and insertion loss are, respectively, -22.21 and 0.41 dB, for the TE mode, both at 1.55 μm. The optical bandwidth is approximately 50 nm with a CT<-20  dB. In addition, fabrication tolerances and field evolution are also presented.

Micromachined silicon cantilevers with integrated high-frequency magnetoimpedance sensors for simultaneous strain and magnetic field detection

Science.gov (United States)

Buettel, G.; Joppich, J.; Hartmann, U.

2017-12-01

Giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) measurements in the high-frequency regime utilizing a coplanar waveguide with an integrated Permalloy multilayer and micromachined on a silicon cantilever are reported. The fabrication process is described in detail. The aspect ratio of the magnetic multilayer in the magnetoresistive and magnetostrictive device was varied. Tensile strain and compressive strain were applied. Vector network analyzer measurements in the range from the skin effect to ferromagnetic resonance confirm the technological potential of GMI-based micro-electro-mechanical devices for strain and magnetic field sensing applications. The strain-impedance gauge factor was quantified by finite element strain calculations and reaches a maximum value of almost 200.

Alpha radiation detection using silicon memory chips - preliminary studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pace, R.; Paix, D.; Haskard, M.

1993-01-01

Alpha radiation dosage is an important occupational health factor in the mining of uranium and mineral sands. Alpha radiation induced errors in the data of silicon based memory chips provide the foundation for a new type of sensor, with the potential for affordable and prompt measurement of personal alpha doses. With particular reference to Dynamic Random Access Memories (DRAM) this paper introduces the operating principle of a memory based radiation sensor, which is the error mechanism in silicon integrated circuits. 14 refs., 3 figs

Multimodality Imaging-based Evaluation of Single-Lumen Silicone Breast Implants for Rupture.

Science.gov (United States)

Seiler, Stephen J; Sharma, Pooja B; Hayes, Jody C; Ganti, Ramapriya; Mootz, Ann R; Eads, Emily D; Teotia, Sumeet S; Evans, W Phil

2017-01-01

Breast implants are frequently encountered on breast imaging studies, and it is essential for any radiologist interpreting these studies to be able to correctly assess implant integrity. Ruptures of silicone gel-filled implants often occur without becoming clinically obvious and are incidentally detected at imaging. Early diagnosis of implant rupture is important because surgical removal of extracapsular silicone in the breast parenchyma and lymphatics is difficult. Conversely, misdiagnosis of rupture may prompt a patient to undergo unnecessary additional surgery to remove the implant. Mammography is the most common breast imaging examination performed and can readily depict extracapsular free silicone, although it is insensitive for detection of intracapsular implant rupture. Ultrasonography (US) can be used to assess the internal structure of the implant and may provide an economical method for initial implant assessment. Common US signs of intracapsular rupture include the "keyhole" or "noose" sign, subcapsular line sign, and "stepladder" sign; extracapsular silicone has a distinctive "snowstorm" or echogenic noise appearance. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is the most accurate and reliable means for assessment of implant rupture and is highly sensitive for detection of both intracapsular and extracapsular rupture. MR imaging findings of intracapsular rupture include the keyhole or noose sign, subcapsular line sign, and "linguine" sign, and silicone-selective MR imaging sequences are highly sensitive to small amounts of extracapsular silicone. © RSNA, 2017.

Packaged mode multiplexer based on silicon photonics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chen, H.; Koonen, A.M.J.; Snyder, B.; Raz, O.; Boom, van den H.P.A.; Chen, X.

2012-01-01

A silicon photonics based mode multiplexer is proposed. Four chirped grating couplers structure can support all 6 channels in a two-mode fiber and realize LP01 and LP11 mode selective exciting. The packaged device is tested.

Multilayered photonic integration on SOI platform using waveguide-based bridge structure

Science.gov (United States)

Majumder, Saikat; Chakraborty, Rajib

2018-06-01

A waveguide based structure on silicon on insulator platform is proposed for vertical integration in photonic integrated circuits. The structure consists of two multimode interference couplers connected by a single mode (SM) section which can act as a bridge over any other underlying device. Two more SM sections acts as input and output of the first and second multimode couplers respectively. Potential application of this structure is in multilayered photonic links. It is shown that the efficiency of the structure can be improved by making some design modifications. The entire simulation is done using effective-index based matrix method. The feature size chosen are comparable to waveguides fabricated previously so as to fabricate the proposed structure easily.

Silicon-Based Nanoscale Composite Energetic Materials

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-01

1193-1211. 9. Krishnamohan, G., E.M. Kurian, and H.R. Rao, Thermal Analysis and Inverse Burning Rate Studies on Silicon-Potassium Nitrate System...reported in a journal paper and appears in the Appendix. Multiscale Nanoporous Silicon Combustion Introduction for nanoporous silicon effort While

Effect of porous silicon on the performances of silicon solar cells during the porous silicon-based gettering procedure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nouri, H.; Bessais, B. [Laboratoire de Nanomateriaux et des Systemes pour l' Energie, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l' Energie, Technopole de Borj-Cedria, BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia); Bouaicha, M. [Laboratoire de Photovoltaique, des Semi-conducteurs et des Nanostructures, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l' Energie, Technopole de Borj-Cedria, BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia)

2009-10-15

In this work we analyse the effect of porous silicon on the performances of multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells during the porous silicon-based gettering procedure. This procedure consists of forming PS layers on both front and back sides of the mc-Si wafers followed by an annealing in an infrared furnace under a controlled atmosphere at different temperatures. Three sets of samples (A, B and C) have been prepared; for samples A and B, the PS films were removed before and after annealing, respectively. In order to optimize the annealing temperature, we measure the defect density at a selected grain boundary (GB) using the dark current-voltage (I-V) characteristics across the GB itself. The annealing temperature was optimized to 1000 C. The effect of these treatments on the performances of mc-Si solar cells was studied by means of the current-voltage characteristic (at AM 1.5) and the internal quantum efficiency (IQE). The results obtained for cell A and cell B were compared to those obtained on a reference cell (C). (author)

Fabrication of nanopores in multi-layered silicon-based membranes using focused electron beam induced etching with XeF_2 gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liebes-Peer, Yael; Bandalo, Vedran; Sökmen, Ünsal; Tornow, Marc; Ashkenasy, Nurit

2016-01-01

The emergent technology of using nanopores for stochastic sensing of biomolecules introduces a demand for the development of simple fabrication methodologies of nanopores in solid state membranes. This process becomes particularly challenging when membranes of composite layer architecture are involved. To overcome this challenge we have employed a focused electron beam induced chemical etching process. We present here the fabrication of nanopores in silicon-on-insulator based membranes in a single step process. In this process, chemical etching of the membrane materials by XeF_2 gas is locally accelerated by an electron beam, resulting in local etching, with a top membrane oxide layer preventing delocalized etching of the silicon underneath. Nanopores with a funnel or conical, 3-dimensional (3D) shape can be fabricated, depending on the duration of exposure to XeF_2, and their diameter is dominated by the time of exposure to the electron beam. The demonstrated ability to form high-aspect ratio nanopores in comparably thick, multi-layered silicon based membranes allows for an easy integration into current silicon process technology and hence is attractive for implementation in biosensing lab-on-chip fabrication technologies. (author)

Towards micro-assembly of hybrid MOEMS components on a reconfigurable silicon free-space micro-optical bench

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bargiel, S; Gorecki, C; Rabenorosoa, K; Clévy, C; Lutz, P

2010-01-01

The 3D integration of hybrid chips is a viable approach for the micro-optical technologies to reduce the costs of assembly and packaging. In this paper a technology platform for the hybrid integration of MOEMS components on a reconfigurable silicon free-space micro-optical bench (FS-MOB) is presented. In this approach a desired optical component (e.g. micromirror, microlens) is integrated with a removable and adjustable silicon holder which can be manipulated, aligned and fixed in the precisely etched rail of the silicon baseplate by use of a robotic micro-assembly station. An active-based gripping system allows modification of the holder position on the baseplate with nanometre precision. The fabrication processes of the micromachined parts of the micro-optical bench, based on bulk micromachining of standard silicon wafer and SOI wafer, are described. The successful assembly of the holders, equipped with a micromirror and a refractive glass ball microlens, on the baseplate rail is demonstrated.

A silicon integrated micro nano-positioning XY-stage for nano-manipulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Lining; Wang Jiachou; Rong Weibin; Li Xinxin; Bao Haifei

2008-01-01

An integrated micro XY-stage with a 2 × 2 mm 2 movable table is designed and fabricated for application in nanometer-scale operation and nanometric positioning precision. The device integrates the functions of both actuating and sensing in a monolithic chip and is mainly composed of a silicon-based XY-stage, comb-drive actuator and a displacement sensor, which are developed by using double-sided bulk-micromachining technology. The high-aspect-ratio comb-driven XY-stage is achieved by deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) on both sides of the wafer. The displacement sensor is formed on four vertical sidewall surface piezoresistors with a full Wheatstone bridge circuit, where a novel fabrication process of a vertical sidewall surface piezoresistor is proposed. Comprehensive design and analysis of the comb actuator, the piezoresistive displacement sensor and the XY-stage are given in full detail, and the experimental results verify the design and fabrication of the device. The final realization of the device shows that the sensitivity of the fabricated piezoresistive sensors is better than 1.17 mV µm −1 without amplification, and the linearity is better than 0.814%. Under 28.5 V driving voltage, a ±10 µm single-axis displacement is measured without crosstalk and the resonant frequency is measured at 983 Hz in air

Silicon photonic integrated circuit swept-source optical coherence tomography receiver with dual polarization, dual balanced, in-phase and quadrature detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhao; Lee, Hsiang-Chieh; Vermeulen, Diedrik; Chen, Long; Nielsen, Torben; Park, Seo Yeon; Ghaemi, Allan; Swanson, Eric; Doerr, Chris; Fujimoto, James

2015-07-01

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a widely used three-dimensional (3D) optical imaging method with many biomedical and non-medical applications. Miniaturization, cost reduction, and increased functionality of OCT systems will be critical for future emerging clinical applications. We present a silicon photonic integrated circuit swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) coherent receiver with dual polarization, dual balanced, in-phase and quadrature (IQ) detection. We demonstrate multiple functional capabilities of IQ polarization resolved detection including: complex-conjugate suppressed full-range OCT, polarization diversity detection, and polarization-sensitive OCT. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a silicon photonic integrated receiver for OCT. The integrated coherent receiver provides a miniaturized, low-cost solution for SS-OCT, and is also a key step towards a fully integrated high speed SS-OCT system with good performance and multi-functional capabilities. With further performance improvement and cost reduction, photonic integrated technology promises to greatly increase penetration of OCT systems in existing applications and enable new applications.

A physically transient form of silicon electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Suk-Won; Tao, Hu; Kim, Dae-Hyeong; Cheng, Huanyu; Song, Jun-Kyul; Rill, Elliott; Brenckle, Mark A; Panilaitis, Bruce; Won, Sang Min; Kim, Yun-Soung; Song, Young Min; Yu, Ki Jun; Ameen, Abid; Li, Rui; Su, Yewang; Yang, Miaomiao; Kaplan, David L; Zakin, Mitchell R; Slepian, Marvin J; Huang, Yonggang; Omenetto, Fiorenzo G; Rogers, John A

2012-09-28

A remarkable feature of modern silicon electronics is its ability to remain physically invariant, almost indefinitely for practical purposes. Although this characteristic is a hallmark of applications of integrated circuits that exist today, there might be opportunities for systems that offer the opposite behavior, such as implantable devices that function for medically useful time frames but then completely disappear via resorption by the body. We report a set of materials, manufacturing schemes, device components, and theoretical design tools for a silicon-based complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology that has this type of transient behavior, together with integrated sensors, actuators, power supply systems, and wireless control strategies. An implantable transient device that acts as a programmable nonantibiotic bacteriocide provides a system-level example.

Electroplated contacts and porous silicon for silicon based solar cells applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kholostov, Konstantin, E-mail: kholostov@diet.uniroma1.it [Department of information engineering, electronics and telecommunications, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome (Italy); Serenelli, Luca; Izzi, Massimo; Tucci, Mario [Enea Casaccia Research Centre Rome, via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome (Italy); Balucani, Marco [Department of information engineering, electronics and telecommunications, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome (Italy); Rise Technology S.r.l., Lungomare Paolo Toscanelli 170, 00121 Rome (Italy)

2015-04-15

Highlights: • Uniformity of the Ni–Si interface is crucial for performance of Cu–Ni contacts on Si. • Uniformly filled PS is the key to obtain the best performance of Cu–Ni contacts on Si. • Optimization of anodization and electroplating allows complete filling of PS layer. • Highly adhesive and low contact resistance Cu–Ni contacts are obtained on Si. - Abstract: In this paper, a two-layer metallization for silicon based solar cells is presented. The metallization consists of thin nickel barrier and thick copper conductive layers, both obtained by electrodeposition technique suitable for phosphorus-doped 70–90 Ω/sq solar cell emitter formed on p-type silicon substrate. To ensure the adhesion between metal contact and emitter a very thin layer of mesoporous silicon is introduced on the emitter surface before metal deposition. This approach allows metal anchoring inside pores and improves silicon–nickel interface uniformity. Optimization of metal contact parameters is achieved varying the anodization and electrodeposition conditions. Characterization of contacts between metal and emitter is carried out by scanning electron microscopy, specific contact resistance and current–voltage measurements. Mechanical strength of nickel–copper contacts is evaluated by the peel test. Adhesion strength of more than 4.5 N/mm and contact resistance of 350 μΩ cm{sup 2} on 80 Ω/sq emitter are achieved.

Integrated Si-based nanoplasmonic sensor with phase-sensitive angular interrogation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patskovsky, Sergiy; Meunier, Michel [Laser Processing and Plasmonics Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, C. P. 6079, succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal, QC, H3C 3A7 (Canada)

2013-06-15

This work is related to the development of an integrated Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) sensor on silicon platform. The optical properties of metallic nanogratings fabricated on the semiconductor structure allow direct plasmonic detection in transmission mode. Specially designed angular interrogation method provides a periodic signal with phase dependent on the conditions of surface plasmon excitation. Proposed technique leads to sensitivity better than 10{sup -6} RIU for conventional SPR Kretschmann configuration and was tested on the integrated Si-based nanoplasmonic chip. Developed concept is promising for low-cost mono and multi -sensing applications by portable or stationary platforms. (copyright 2013 by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Integrated graphene based modulators enabled by interfacing plasmonic slot and silicon waveguides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xiao, Sanshui

Graphene has offered a new paradigm for extremely fast and active optoelectronic devices due to its unique electronic and optical properties [1]. With the combination of high-index dielectric waveguides/resonators, several integrated graphene-based optical modulators have already been demonstrated...

Substrate and Passivation Techniques for Flexible Amorphous Silicon-Based X-ray Detectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Marrs, Michael A; Raupp, Gregory B

2016-07-26

Flexible active matrix display technology has been adapted to create new flexible photo-sensing electronic devices, including flexible X-ray detectors. Monolithic integration of amorphous silicon (a-Si) PIN photodiodes on a flexible substrate poses significant challenges associated with the intrinsic film stress of amorphous silicon. This paper examines how altering device structuring and diode passivation layers can greatly improve the electrical performance and the mechanical reliability of the device, thereby eliminating one of the major weaknesses of a-Si PIN diodes in comparison to alternative photodetector technology, such as organic bulk heterojunction photodiodes and amorphous selenium. A dark current of 0.5 pA/mm² and photodiode quantum efficiency of 74% are possible with a pixelated diode structure with a silicon nitride/SU-8 bilayer passivation structure on a 20 µm-thick polyimide substrate.

Optical biosensor based on a silicon nanowire ridge waveguide for lab on chip applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gamal, Rania; Ismail, Yehea; Swillam, Mohamed A

2015-01-01

We propose a novel sensor using a silicon nanowire ridge waveguide (SNRW). This waveguide is comprised of an array of silicon nanowires on an insulator substrate that has the envelope of a ridge waveguide. The SNRW inherently maximizes the overlap between the material-under-test and the incident light wave by introducing voids to the otherwise bulk structure. When a sensing sample is injected, the voids within the SNRW adopt the refractive index of the material-under-test. Hence, the strong contribution of the material-under-test to the overall modal effective index will greatly augment the sensitivity. Additionally, the ridge structure provides a fabrication convenience as it covers the entire substrate, ensuring that the etching process would not damage the substrate. Finite-difference time-domain simulations are conducted and showed that the percentage change in the effective index due to a 1% change in the surrounding environment is more than 170 times the change perceived in an evanescent-detection based bulk silicon ridge waveguide. Moreover, the SNRW proves to be more sensitive than recent other, non-evanescent sensors. In addition, the detection limit for this structure was revealed to be as small as 10 −8 . A compact bimodal waveguide based on SNRW is designed and tested. It delivers high sensitivity values that offer comparable performance to similar low-index light-guiding sensing configurations; however, our proposed structure has much smaller footprints and allows high dense integration for lab-on-chip applications. (paper)

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon sensors based on thin film on ASIC technology

CERN Document Server

Despeisse, M; Anelli, G; Jarron, P; Kaplon, J; Rusack, R; Saramad, S; Wyrsch, N

2006-01-01

The performance and limitations of a novel detector technology based on the deposition of a thin-film sensor on top of processed integrated circuits have been studied. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films have been deposited on top of CMOS circuits developed for these studies and the resulting "thin-film on ASIC" (TFA) detectors are presented. The leakage current of the a-Si:H sensor at high reverse biases turns out to be an important parameter limiting the performance of a TFA detector. Its detailed study and the pixel segmentation of the detector are presented. High internal electric fields (in the order of 10/sup 4/-10/sup 5/ V/cm) can be built in the a-Si:H sensor and overcome the low mobility of electrons and holes in a-Si:H. Signal induction by generated carrier motion and speed in the a-Si:H sensor have been studied with a 660 nm pulsed laser on a TFA detector based on an ASIC integrating 5 ns peaking time pre- amplifiers. The measurement set-up also permits to study the depletion of the senso...

Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Sensor Deposited on Integrated Circuit for Radiation Detection

CERN Document Server

Despeisse, M; Jarron, P; Kaplon, J; Moraes, D; Nardulli, A; Powolny, F; Wyrsch, N

2008-01-01

Radiation detectors based on the deposition of a 10 to 30 mum thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) sensor directly on top of integrated circuits have been developed. The performance of this detector technology has been assessed for the first time in the context of particle detectors. Three different circuits were designed in a quarter micron CMOS technology for these studies. The so-called TFA (Thin-Film on ASIC) detectors obtained after deposition of a-Si:H sensors on the developed circuits are presented. High internal electric fields (104 to 105 V/cm) can be built in the a-Si:H sensor and overcome the low mobility of electrons and holes in this amorphous material. However, the deposited sensor's leakage current at such fields turns out to be an important parameter which limits the performance of a TFA detector. Its detailed study is presented as well as the detector's pixel segmentation. Signal induction by generated free carrier motion in the a-Si:H sensor has been characterized using a 660 nm pul...

Molecular Monolayers for Electrical Passivation and Functionalization of Silicon-Based Solar Energy Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Veerbeek, Janneke; Firet, Nienke J; Vijselaar, Wouter; Elbersen, Rick; Gardeniers, Han; Huskens, Jurriaan

2017-01-11

Silicon-based solar fuel devices require passivation for optimal performance yet at the same time need functionalization with (photo)catalysts for efficient solar fuel production. Here, we use molecular monolayers to enable electrical passivation and simultaneous functionalization of silicon-based solar cells. Organic monolayers were coupled to silicon surfaces by hydrosilylation in order to avoid an insulating silicon oxide layer at the surface. Monolayers of 1-tetradecyne were shown to passivate silicon micropillar-based solar cells with radial junctions, by which the efficiency increased from 8.7% to 9.9% for n + /p junctions and from 7.8% to 8.8% for p + /n junctions. This electrical passivation of the surface, most likely by removal of dangling bonds, is reflected in a higher shunt resistance in the J-V measurements. Monolayers of 1,8-nonadiyne were still reactive for click chemistry with a model catalyst, thus enabling simultaneous passivation and future catalyst coupling.

Ballistic Spin Field Effect Transistor Based on Silicon Nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Osintsev, Dmitri; Sverdlov, Viktor; Stanojevic, Zlatan; Selberherr, Siegfried

2011-03-01

We investigate the properties of ballistic spin field-effect transistors build on silicon nanowires. An accurate description of the conduction band based on the k . p} model is necessary in thin and narrow silicon nanostructures. The subband effective mass and subband splitting dependence on the nanowire dimensions is analyzed and used in the transport calculations. The spin transistor is formed by sandwiching the nanowire between two ferromagnetic metallic contacts. Delta-function barriers at the interfaces between the contacts and the silicon channel are introduced. The major contribution to the electric field-dependent spin-orbit interaction in confined silicon systems is due to the interface-induced inversion asymmetry which is of the Dresselhaus type. We study the current and conductance through the system for the contacts being in parallel and anti-parallel configurations. Differences between the [100] and [110] orientated structures are investigated in details. This work is supported by the European Research Council through the grant #247056 MOSILSPIN.

Piezoresistive silicon nanowire resonators as embedded building blocks in thick SOI

Science.gov (United States)

Nasr Esfahani, Mohammad; Kilinc, Yasin; Çagatay Karakan, M.; Orhan, Ezgi; Hanay, M. Selim; Leblebici, Yusuf; Erdem Alaca, B.

2018-04-01

The use of silicon nanowire resonators in nanoelectromechanical systems for new-generation sensing and communication devices faces integration challenges with higher-order structures. Monolithic and deterministic integration of such nanowires with the surrounding microscale architecture within the same thick crystal is a critical aspect for the improvement of throughput, reliability and device functionality. A monolithic and IC-compatible technology based on a tuned combination of etching and protection processes was recently introduced yielding silicon nanowires within a 10 μ m-thick device layer. Motivated by its success, the implications of the technology regarding the electromechanical resonance are studied within a particular setting, where the resonator is co-fabricated with all terminals and tuning electrodes. Frequency response is measured via piezoresistive readout with frequency down-mixing. Measurements indicate mechanical resonance with frequencies as high as 100 MHz exhibiting a Lorentzian behavior with proper transition to nonlinearity, while Allan deviation on the order of 3-8 ppm is achieved. Enabling the fabrication of silicon nanowires in thick silicon crystals using conventional semiconductor manufacturing, the present study thus demonstrates an alternative pathway to bottom-up and thin silicon-on-insulator approaches for silicon nanowire resonators.

BUILDING MATERIALS AND PRODUCTS BASED ON SILICON MANGANESE SLAGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BOLSHAKOV V. I.

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Raising of problem. Currently of particular relevance was given to the matter of introduction in manufacture of building materials and products, resource-saving techniques and technologies; integrated use of raw materials and materials that prevent or significantly reduce their harmful impact on the environment. This allows you to recycle hundreds of thousands of tons of the fiery liquid slags of silicon manganese and to develop effective structural materials that can replace metals, non-metallic building materials of natural origin, concretes, cast stone, plastics and refractories. Purpose. The study of the structure and properties of building materials and products from electric furnace slag of silicon manganese. Conclusion. Slags from the smelting of silicon manganese are classified as acidic. Their lime factor is in the range of 0.47–0.52. The composition of the slag located in the heterogeneous region SiO2 near the line of separation of cristobalite spread to the crystallization of wollastonite, according to the ternary system MnO-CaO-SiO2, which in consideration of their stability, allows the development of technology of building materials (gravel, sand, granulated slag, etc. and products (foundation blocks, road slabs, containers for transportation and storage of hazardous waste, and others.

A silicon-based electrochemical sensor for highly sensitive, specific, label-free and real-time DNA detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Yuanyuan; Su, Shao; Wei, Xinpan; Zhong, Yiling; Su, Yuanyuan; He, Yao; Huang, Qing; Fan, Chunhai

2013-01-01

We herein present a new kind of silicon-based electrochemical sensor using a gold nanoparticles-decorated silicon wafer (AuNPs@Si) as a high-performance electrode, which is facilely prepared via in situ AuNPs growth on a silicon wafer. Particularly significantly, the resultant electrochemical sensor is efficacious for label-free DNA detection with high sensitivity due to the unique merits of the prepared silicon-based electrode. Typically, DNA at remarkably low concentrations (1–10 fM) could be readily detected without requiring additional signal-amplification procedures, which is better than or comparable to the lowest DNA concentration ever detected via well-studied signal-amplification-assisted electrochemical sensors. Moreover, the silicon-based sensor features high specificity, allowing unambiguous discrimination of single-based mismatches. We further show that real-time DNA assembly is readily monitored via recording the intensity changes of current signals due to the robust thermal stability of the silicon-based electrode. The unprecedented advantages of the silicon-based electrochemical sensor would offer new opportunities for myriad sensing applications. (paper)

Formation of multiple levels of porous silicon for buried insulators and conductors in silicon device technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Blewer, Robert S.; Gullinger, Terry R.; Kelly, Michael J.; Tsao, Sylvia S.

1991-01-01

A method of forming a multiple level porous silicon substrate for semiconductor integrated circuits including anodizing non-porous silicon layers of a multi-layer silicon substrate to form multiple levels of porous silicon. At least one porous silicon layer is then oxidized to form an insulating layer and at least one other layer of porous silicon beneath the insulating layer is metallized to form a buried conductive layer. Preferably the insulating layer and conductive layer are separated by an anodization barrier formed of non-porous silicon. By etching through the anodization barrier and subsequently forming a metallized conductive layer, a fully or partially insulated buried conductor may be fabricated under single crystal silicon.

An analog front-end bipolar-transistor integrated circuit for the SDC silicon tracker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kipnis, I.; Spieler, H.; Collins, T.

1994-01-01

Since 1989 the Solenoidal Detector Collaboration (SDC) has been developing a general purpose detector to be operated at the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC). A low-noise, low-power, high-bandwidth, radiation hard, silicon bipolar-transistor full-custom integrated circuit (IC) containing 64 channels of analog signal processing has been developed for the SDS silicon tracker. The IC was designed and tested at LBL and was fabricated using AT and T's CBIC-U2, 4 GHz f T complementary bipolar technology. Each channel contains the following functions: low-noise preamplification, pulse shaping and threshold discrimination. This is the first iteration of the production analog IC for the SDC silicon tracker. The IC is laid out to directly match the 50 μm pitch double-sided silicon strip detector. The chip measures 6.8 mm x 3.1 mm and contains 3,600 transistors. Three stages of amplification provide 180 mV/fC of gain with a 35 nsec peaking time at the comparator input. For a 14 pF detector capacitance, the equivalent noise charge is 1300 el. rms at a power consumption of 1 mW/channel from a single 3.5 V supply. With the discriminator threshold set to 4 times the noise level, a 16nsec time-walk for 1.25 to 10 fC signals is achieved using a time-walk compensation network. Irradiation tests at TRIUMF to a φ = 10 14 protons/cm 2 have been performed on the JC, demonstrating the radiation hardness of the complementary bipolar process

Molecular monolayers for electrical passivation and functionalization of silicon-based solar energy devices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veerbeek, Janneke; Firet, Nienke J.; Vijselaar, Wouter; Elbersen, R.; Gardeniers, Han; Huskens, Jurriaan

2017-01-01

Silicon-based solar fuel devices require passivation for optimal performance yet at the same time need functionalization with (photo)catalysts for efficient solar fuel production. Here, we use molecular monolayers to enable electrical passivation and simultaneous functionalization of silicon-based

High-End Silicon PDICs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Zimmermann

2008-05-01

Full Text Available An overview on integrated silicon photodiodes and photodiode integrated circuits (PDICs or optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs for optical storage systems (OSS and fiber receivers is given. It is demonstrated, that by using low-cost silicon technologies high-performance OEICs being true competitors for some III/V-semiconductor OEICs can be realized. OSS-OEICs with bandwidths of up to 380 MHz and fiber receivers with maximum data rates of up to 11 Gbps are described. Low-cost data comm receivers for plastic optical fibers (POF as well as new circuit concepts for OEICs and highly parallel optical receivers are described also in the following.

Micro benchtop optics by bulk silicon micromachining

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Abraham P.; Pocha, Michael D.; McConaghy, Charles F.; Deri, Robert J.

2000-01-01

Micromachining of bulk silicon utilizing the parallel etching characteristics of bulk silicon and integrating the parallel etch planes of silicon with silicon wafer bonding and impurity doping, enables the fabrication of on-chip optics with in situ aligned etched grooves for optical fibers, micro-lenses, photodiodes, and laser diodes. Other optical components that can be microfabricated and integrated include semi-transparent beam splitters, micro-optical scanners, pinholes, optical gratings, micro-optical filters, etc. Micromachining of bulk silicon utilizing the parallel etching characteristics thereof can be utilized to develop miniaturization of bio-instrumentation such as wavelength monitoring by fluorescence spectrometers, and other miniaturized optical systems such as Fabry-Perot interferometry for filtering of wavelengths, tunable cavity lasers, micro-holography modules, and wavelength splitters for optical communication systems.

Particle interaction and displacement damage in silicon devices operated in radiation environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leroy, Claude; Rancoita, Pier-Giorgio

2007-01-01

Silicon is used in radiation detectors and electronic devices. Nowadays, these devices achieving submicron technology are parts of integrated circuits of large to very large scale integration (VLSI). Silicon and silicon-based devices are commonly operated in many fields including particle physics experiments, nuclear medicine and space. Some of these fields present adverse radiation environments that may affect the operation of the devices. The particle energy deposition mechanisms by ionization and non-ionization processes are reviewed as well as the radiation-induced damage and its effect on device parameters evolution, depending on particle type, energy and fluence. The temporary or permanent damage inflicted by a single particle (single event effect) to electronic devices or integrated circuits is treated separately from the total ionizing dose (TID) effect for which the accumulated fluence causes degradation and from the displacement damage induced by the non-ionizing energy-loss (NIEL) deposition. Understanding of radiation effects on silicon devices has an impact on their design and allows the prediction of a specific device behaviour when exposed to a radiation field of interest

Melting of Grey Cast Iron Based on Steel Scrap Using Silicon Carbide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stojczew A.

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the issue of synthetic cast iron production in the electric induction furnace exclusively on the steel scrap base. Silicon carbide and synthetic graphite were used as carburizers. The carburizers were introduced with solid charge or added on the liquid metal surface. The chemical analysis of the produced cast iron, the carburization efficiency and microstructure features were presented in the paper. It was stated that ferrosilicon can be replaced by silicon carbide during the synthetic cast iron melting process. However, due to its chemical composition (30% C and 70% Si which causes significant silicon content in iron increase, the carbon deficit can be partly compensated by the carburizer introduction. Moreover it was shown that the best carbon and silicon assimilation rate is obtained where the silicon carbide is being introduced together with solid charge. When it is thrown onto liquid alloy surface the efficiency of the process is almost two times less and the melting process lasts dozen minutes long. The microstructure of the cast iron produced with the silicon carbide shows more bulky graphite flakes than inside the microstructure of cast iron produced on the pig iron base.

Silicon carbide optics for space and ground based astronomical telescopes

Science.gov (United States)

Robichaud, Joseph; Sampath, Deepak; Wainer, Chris; Schwartz, Jay; Peton, Craig; Mix, Steve; Heller, Court

2012-09-01

Silicon Carbide (SiC) optical materials are being applied widely for both space based and ground based optical telescopes. The material provides a superior weight to stiffness ratio, which is an important metric for the design and fabrication of lightweight space telescopes. The material also has superior thermal properties with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, and a high thermal conductivity. The thermal properties advantages are important for both space based and ground based systems, which typically need to operate under stressing thermal conditions. The paper will review L-3 Integrated Optical Systems - SSG’s (L-3 SSG) work in developing SiC optics and SiC optical systems for astronomical observing systems. L-3 SSG has been fielding SiC optical components and systems for over 25 years. Space systems described will emphasize the recently launched Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) developed for JHU-APL and NASA-GSFC. Review of ground based applications of SiC will include supporting L-3 IOS-Brashear’s current contract to provide the 0.65 meter diameter, aspheric SiC secondary mirror for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST).

Ultra-thin silicon (UTSi) on insulator CMOS transceiver and time-division multiplexed switch chips for smart pixel integration

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Liping; Sawchuk, Alexander A.

2001-12-01

We describe the design, fabrication and functionality of two different 0.5 micron CMOS optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) chips based on the Peregrine Semiconductor Ultra-Thin Silicon on insulator technology. The Peregrine UTSi silicon- on-sapphire (SOS) technology is a member of the silicon-on- insulator (SOI) family. The low-loss synthetic sapphire substrate is optically transparent and has good thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion properties, which meet the requirements for flip-chip bonding of VCSELs and other optoelectronic input-output components. One chip contains transceiver and network components, including four channel high-speed CMOS transceiver modules, pseudo-random bit stream (PRBS) generators, a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and other test circuits. The transceiver chips can operate in both self-testing mode and networking mode. An on- chip clock and true-single-phase-clock (TSPC) D-flip-flop have been designed to generate a PRBS at over 2.5 Gb/s for the high-speed transceiver arrays to operate in self-testing mode. In the networking mode, an even number of transceiver chips forms a ring network through free-space or fiber ribbon interconnections. The second chip contains four channel optical time-division multiplex (TDM) switches, optical transceiver arrays, an active pixel detector and additional test devices. The eventual applications of these chips will require monolithic OEICs with integrated optical input and output. After fabrication and testing, the CMOS transceiver array dies will be packaged with 850 nm vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), and metal-semiconductor- metal (MSM) or GaAs p-i-n detector die arrays to achieve high- speed optical interconnections. The hybrid technique could be either wire bonding or flip-chip bonding of the CMOS SOS smart-pixel arrays with arrays of VCSELs and photodetectors onto an optoelectronic chip carrier as a multi-chip module (MCM).

Development of a Silicon Based Electron Beam Transmission Window for Use in a KrF Excimer Laser System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gentile, C.A.; Fan, H.M.; Hartfield, J.W.; Hawryluk, R.J.; Hegeler, F.; Heitzenroeder, P.J.; Jun, C.H.; Ku, L.P.; LaMarche, P.H.; Myers, M.C.; Parker, J.J.; Parsells, R.F.; Payen, M.; Raftopoulos, S.; Sethian, J.D.

2002-01-01

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), in collaboration with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), is currently investigating various novel materials (single crystal silicon, , and ) for use as electron-beam transmission windows in a KrF excimer laser system. The primary function of the window is to isolate the active medium (excimer gas) from the excitation mechanism (field-emission diodes). Chosen window geometry must accommodate electron energy transfer greater than 80% (750 keV), while maintaining structural integrity during mechanical load (1.3 to 2.0 atm base pressure differential, approximate 0.5 atm cyclic pressure amplitude, 5 Hz repetition rate) and thermal load across the entire hibachi area (approximate 0.9 W · cm superscript ''-2''). In addition, the window must be chemically resistant to attack by fluorine free-radicals (hydrofluoric acid, secondary). In accordance with these structural, functional, and operational parameters, a 22.4 mm square silicon prototype window, coated with 500 nm thin-film silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ), has been fabricated. The window consists of 81 square panes with a thickness of 0.019 mm ± 0.001 mm. Stiffened (orthogonal) sections are 0.065 mm in width and 0.500 mm thick (approximate). Appended drawing (Figure 1) depicts the window configuration. Assessment of silicon (and silicon nitride) material properties and CAD modeling and analysis of the window design suggest that silicon may be a viable solution to inherent parameters and constraints

Novel detectors for silicon based microdosimetry, their concepts and applications

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenfeld, Anatoly B.

2016-02-01

This paper presents an overview of the development of semiconductor microdosimetry and the most current (state-of-the-art) Silicon on Insulator (SOI) detectors for microdosimetry based mainly on research and development carried out at the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP) at the University of Wollongong with collaborators over the last 18 years. In this paper every generation of CMRP SOI microdosimeters, including their fabrication, design, and electrical and charge collection characterisation are presented. A study of SOI microdosimeters in various radiation fields has demonstrated that under appropriate geometrical scaling, the response of SOI detectors with the well-known geometry of microscopically sensitive volumes will record the energy deposition spectra representative of tissue cells of an equivalent shape. This development of SOI detectors for microdosimetry with increased complexity has improved the definition of microscopic sensitive volume (SV), which is modelling the deposition of ionising energy in a biological cell, that are led from planar to 3D SOI detectors with an array of segmented microscopic 3D SVs. The monolithic ΔE-E silicon telescope, which is an alternative to the SOI silicon microdosimeter, is presented, and as an example, applications of SOI detectors and ΔE-E monolithic telescope for microdosimetery in proton therapy field and equivalent neutron dose measurements out of field are also presented. An SOI microdosimeter "bridge" with 3D SVs can derive the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) in 12C ion radiation therapy that matches the tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC) quite well, but with outstanding spatial resolution. The use of SOI technology in experimental microdosimetry offers simplicity (no gas system or HV supply), high spatial resolution, low cost, high count rates, and the possibility of integrating the system onto a single device with other types of detectors.

Silicone-based Dielectric Elastomers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skov, Anne Ladegaard

Efficient conversion of energy from one form to another (transduction) is an important topic in our daily day, and it is a necessity in moving away from the fossil based society. Dielectric elastomers hold great promise as soft transducers, since they are compliant and light-weight amongst many...... energy efficient solutions are highly sought. These properties allow for interesting products ranging very broadly, e.g. from eye implants over artificial skins over soft robotics to huge wave energy harvesting plants. All these products utilize the inherent softness and compliance of the dielectric...... elastomer transducers. The subject of this thesis is improvement of properties of silicone-based dielectric elastomers with special focus on design guides towards electrically, mechanically, and electromechanically reliable elastomers. Strategies for improving dielectric elastomer performance are widely...

ARROW-based silicon-on-insulator photonic crystal waveguides with reduced losses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lavrinenko, Andrei; Novitsky, A.; Zhilko, V.V.

2006-01-01

We employ an antiresonant reflecting layers arrangement with silicon-on-insulator based photonic crystal waveguides. The 3D FDTD numerical modelling reveals improved transmission in such structures with a promising potential for their application in photonic circuits.......We employ an antiresonant reflecting layers arrangement with silicon-on-insulator based photonic crystal waveguides. The 3D FDTD numerical modelling reveals improved transmission in such structures with a promising potential for their application in photonic circuits....

Silicon-based photonic crystals fabricated using proton beam writing combined with electrochemical etching method.

Science.gov (United States)

Dang, Zhiya; Breese, Mark Bh; Recio-Sánchez, Gonzalo; Azimi, Sara; Song, Jiao; Liang, Haidong; Banas, Agnieszka; Torres-Costa, Vicente; Martín-Palma, Raúl José

2012-07-23

A method for fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) silicon nanostructures based on selective formation of porous silicon using ion beam irradiation of bulk p-type silicon followed by electrochemical etching is shown. It opens a route towards the fabrication of two-dimensional (2D) and 3D silicon-based photonic crystals with high flexibility and industrial compatibility. In this work, we present the fabrication of 2D photonic lattice and photonic slab structures and propose a process for the fabrication of 3D woodpile photonic crystals based on this approach. Simulated results of photonic band structures for the fabricated 2D photonic crystals show the presence of TE or TM gap in mid-infrared range.

CMOS-based carbon nanotube pass-transistor logic integrated circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Li; Zhang, Zhiyong; Liang, Shibo; Pei, Tian; Wang, Sheng; Li, Yan; Zhou, Weiwei; Liu, Jie; Peng, Lian-Mao

2012-01-01

Field-effect transistors based on carbon nanotubes have been shown to be faster and less energy consuming than their silicon counterparts. However, ensuring these advantages are maintained for integrated circuits is a challenge. Here we demonstrate that a significant reduction in the use of field-effect transistors can be achieved by constructing carbon nanotube-based integrated circuits based on a pass-transistor logic configuration, rather than a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor configuration. Logic gates are constructed on individual carbon nanotubes via a doping-free approach and with a single power supply at voltages as low as 0.4 V. The pass-transistor logic configurarion provides a significant simplification of the carbon nanotube-based circuit design, a higher potential circuit speed and a significant reduction in power consumption. In particular, a full adder, which requires a total of 28 field-effect transistors to construct in the usual complementary metal-oxide semiconductor circuit, uses only three pairs of n- and p-field-effect transistors in the pass-transistor logic configuration. PMID:22334080

Temperature detectors on irradiated silicon base

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karimov, M.; Dzhalelov, M.A.; Kurbanov, A.O.

2005-01-01

It is well known, that the most suitable for thermal resistors production is compensated silicon with impurities forming deep lying in forbidden zone, having big negative resistance temperature coefficients (RTC). In the capacity of initial materials for thermal resistors with negative RTC the n-type monocrystalline silicon with specific resistance ∼30 Ω·cm at 300 K is applied. Before the irradiation the phosphorus diffusion is realizing at temperature ∼1000 deg. C for 10 min. Irradiation is putting into practise by WWR-SM reactor fast neutrons within the range (7-10)·10 13 cm -2 . The produced resistors have nominal resistance range (8-20)·10 3 Ω·cm, coefficient of the thermal sensitivity B=4000-6000 deg. C., RTC α 300K =4-6.6 %/grad. It is shown, that offered method allows to obtain same type resistors characteristics on the base of neutron-irradiated material

Novel fabrication of silicon carbide based ceramics for nuclear applications

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Abhishek Kumar

Advances in nuclear reactor technology and the use of gas-cooled fast reactors require the development of new materials that can operate at the higher temperatures expected in these systems. These materials include refractory alloys based on Nb, Zr, Ta, Mo, W, and Re; ceramics and composites such as SiC--SiCf; carbon--carbon composites; and advanced coatings. Besides the ability to handle higher expected temperatures, effective heat transfer between reactor components is necessary for improved efficiency. Improving thermal conductivity of the fuel can lower the center-line temperature and, thereby, enhance power production capabilities and reduce the risk of premature fuel pellet failure. Crystalline silicon carbide has superior characteristics as a structural material from the viewpoint of its thermal and mechanical properties, thermal shock resistance, chemical stability, and low radioactivation. Therefore, there have been many efforts to develop SiC based composites in various forms for use in advanced energy systems. In recent years, with the development of high yield preceramic precursors, the polymer infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP) method has aroused interest for the fabrication of ceramic based materials, for various applications ranging from disc brakes to nuclear reactor fuels. The pyrolysis of preceramic polymers allow new types of ceramic materials to be processed at relatively low temperatures. The raw materials are element-organic polymers whose composition and architecture can be tailored and varied. The primary focus of this study is to use a pyrolysis based process to fabricate a host of novel silicon carbide-metal carbide or oxide composites, and to synthesize new materials based on mixed-metal silicocarbides that cannot be processed using conventional techniques. Allylhydridopolycarbosilane (AHPCS), which is an organometal polymer, was used as the precursor for silicon carbide. Inert gas pyrolysis of AHPCS produces near-stoichiometric amorphous

A prototype silicon detector system for space cosmic-ray charge measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Fei; Fan, Rui-Rui; Peng, Wen-Xi; Dong, Yi-Fa; Gong, Ke; Liang, Xiao-Hua; Liu, Ya-Qing; Wang, Huan-Yu

2014-06-01

A readout electronics system used for space cosmic-ray charge measurement for multi-channel silicon detectors is introduced in this paper, including performance measurements. A 64-channel charge sensitive ASIC (VA140) from the IDEAS company is used. With its features of low power consumption, low noise, large dynamic range, and high integration, it can be used in future particle detecting experiments based on silicon detectors.

Laboratory course on silicon sensors

CERN Document Server

Crescio, E; Roe, S; Rudge, A

2003-01-01

The laboratory course consisted of four different mini sessions, in order to give the student some hands-on experience on various aspects of silicon sensors and related integrated electronics. The four experiments were. 1. Characterisation of silicon diodes for particle detection 2. Study of noise performance of the Viking readout circuit 3. Study of the position resolution of a silicon microstrip sensor 4. Study of charge transport in silicon with a fast amplifier The data in the following were obtained during the ICFA school by the students.

Silicon photonics III systems and applications

CERN Document Server

Lockwood, David

2016-01-01

This book is volume III of a series of books on silicon photonics. It reports on the development of fully integrated systems where many different photonics component are integrated together to build complex circuits. This is the demonstration of the fully potentiality of silicon photonics. It contains a number of chapters written by engineers and scientists of the main companies, research centers and universities active in the field. It can be of use for all those persons interested to know the potentialities and the recent applications of silicon photonics both in microelectronics, telecommunication and consumer electronics market.

Silicone-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Water Wave Energy Harvesting.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Tian Xiao; Jiang, Tao; Zhu, Jian Xiong; Liang, Xi; Xu, Liang; Shao, Jia Jia; Zhang, Chun Lei; Wang, Jie; Wang, Zhong Lin

2018-01-31

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been proven to be efficient for harvesting water wave energy, which is one of the most promising renewable energy sources. In this work, a TENG with a silicone rubber/carbon black composite electrode was designed for converting the water wave energy into electricity. The silicone-based electrode with a soft texture provides a better contact with the dielectric film. Furthermore, a spring structure is introduced to transform low-frequency water wave motions into high-frequency vibrations. They together improve the output performance and efficiency of TENG. The output performances of TENGs are further enhanced by optimizing the triboelectric material pair and tribo-surface area. A spring-assisted TENG device with the segmented silicone rubber-based electrode structure was sealed into a waterproof box, which delivers a maximum power density of 2.40 W m -3 , as triggered by the water waves. The present work provides a new strategy for fabricating high-performance TENG devices by coupling flexible electrodes and spring structure for harvesting water wave energy.

Characterization of electrical and optical properties of silicon based materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jia, Guobin

2009-12-04

In this work, the electrical and luminescence properties of a series of silicon based materials used for photovoltaics, microelectronics and nanoelectronics have been investigated by means of electron beam induced current (EBIC), cathodoluminescence (CL), photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) methods. Photovoltaic materials produced by block casting have been investigated by EBIC on wafers sliced from different parts of the ingot. Various solar cell processings have been compared in parallel wafers by means of EBIC collection efficiency measurements and contrast-temperature C(T) behaviors of the extended defects, i. e. dislocations and grain boundaries (GBs). It was found that the solar cell processing with phosphorus diffusion gettering (PDG) followed with a SiN firing greatly reduces the recombination activity of extended defects at room temperature, and improves the bulk property simultaneously. A remaining activity of the dislocations indicates the limitation of the PDG at extended defects. Abnormal behavior of the dislocation activity after certain solar cell processes was also observed in the region with high dislocation density, the dislocations are activated after certain solar cell processings. In order to evaluate the properties of a thin polycrystalline silicon layer prepared by Al-induced layer exchange (Alile) technique, epitaxially layer grown on silicon substrate with different orientations was used as a model system to investigate the impact by the process temperature and the substrates. EBIC energy dependent collection efficiency measurements reveal an improvement of the epilayer quality with increasing substrate temperature during the growth from 450 C to 650 C, and a decrease of epilayer quality at 700 C. PL measurements on the epitaxially grown Si layer on silicon substrates revealed no characteristic dislocation-related luminescence (DRL) lines at room temperature and 77 K, while in the samples prepared by Alile process, intense

Silicon Strip Detectors for ATLAS at the HL-LHC Upgrade

CERN Document Server

Hara, K; The ATLAS collaboration

2012-01-01

present ATLAS silicon strip tracker (SCT) and transition radiation tracker(TRT) are to be replaced with new silicon strip detectors as part of the Inner Tracker System (ITK) for the Phase-II upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider, HL-LHC. We have carried out intensive R&D programs based on n+-on-p microstrip detectors to fabricate improved radiation hard strip detectors that can survive the radiation levels corresponding to the integrated luminosity of up to 3000 fb−1. We describe the main specifications for this year’s sensor fabrication and the related R&D results, followed by a description of the candidate schema for module integration.

A review of recent progress in heterogeneous silicon tandem solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaguchi, Masafumi; Lee, Kan-Hua; Araki, Kenji; Kojima, Nobuaki

2018-04-01

Silicon solar cells are the most established solar cell technology and are expected to dominate the market in the near future. As state-of-the-art silicon solar cells are approaching the Shockley-Queisser limit, stacking silicon solar cells with other photovoltaic materials to form multi-junction devices is an obvious pathway to further raise the efficiency. However, many challenges stand in the way of fully realizing the potential of silicon tandem solar cells because heterogeneously integrating silicon with other materials often degrades their qualities. Recently, above or near 30% silicon tandem solar cell has been demonstrated, showing the promise of achieving high-efficiency and low-cost solar cells via silicon tandem. This paper reviews the recent progress of integrating solar cell with other mainstream solar cell materials. The first part of this review focuses on the integration of silicon with III-V semiconductor solar cells, which is a long-researched topic since the emergence of III-V semiconductors. We will describe the main approaches—heteroepitaxy, wafer bonding and mechanical stacking—as well as other novel approaches. The second part introduces the integration of silicon with polycrystalline thin-film solar cells, mainly perovskites on silicon solar cells because of its rapid progress recently. We will also use an analytical model to compare the material qualities of different types of silicon tandem solar cells and project their practical efficiency limits.

Porous silicon-based direct hydrogen sulphide fuel cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Dzhafarov, T D; Yuksel, S Aydin

2011-10-01

In this paper, the use of Au/porous silicon/Silicon Schottky type structure, as a direct hydrogen sulphide fuel cell is demonstrated. The porous silicon filled with hydrochlorid acid was developed as a proton conduction membrane. The Au/Porous Silicon/Silicon cells were fabricated by first creating the porous silicon layer in single-crystalline Si using the anodic etching under illumination and then deposition Au catalyst layer onto the porous silicon. Using 80 mM H2S solution as fuel the open circuit voltage of 0.4 V was obtained and maximum power density of 30 W/m2 at room temperature was achieved. These results demonstrate that the Au/Porous Silicon/Silicon direct hydrogen sulphide fuel cell which uses H2S:dH2O solution as fuel and operates at room temperature can be considered as the most promising type of low cost fuel cell for small power-supply units.

Optical micro-cavities on silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Daoxin; Liu, Erhu; Tan, Ying

2018-01-01

Silicon-based optical microcavities are very popular for many applications because of the ultra-compact footprint, easy scalability, and functional versatility. In this paper we give a discussion about the challenges of the optical microcavities on silicon and also give a review of our recent work, including the following parts. First, a near-"perfect" high-order MRR optical filter with a box-like filtering response is realized by introducing bent directional couplers to have sufficient coupling between the access waveguide and the microrings. Second, an efficient thermally-tunable MRR-based optical filter with graphene transparent nano-heater is realized by introducing transparent graphene nanoheaters. Thirdly, a polarization-selective microring-based optical filter is realized to work with resonances for only one of TE and TM polarizations for the first time. Finally, a on-chip reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer for hybrid mode- /wavelength-division-multiplexing systems is realized for the first time by monolithically integrating a mode demultiplexer, four MRR optical switches, and a mode multiplexer.

The SuperB Silicon Vertex Tracker and 3D vertical integration

CERN Document Server

Re, Valerio

2011-01-01

The construction of the SuperB high luminosity collider was approved and funded by the Italian government in 2011. The performance specifications set by the target luminosity of this machine (> 10^36 cm^-2 s^-1) ask for the development of a Silicon Vertex Tracker with high resolution, high tolerance to radiation and excellent capability of handling high data rates. This paper reviews the R&D activity that is being carried out for the SuperB SVT. Special emphasis is given to the option of exploiting 3D vertical integration to build advanced pixel sensors and readout electronics that are able to comply with SuperB vertexing requirements.

Silicon microspheres for near-IR communication applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serpengüzel, Ali; Demir, Abdullah

2008-01-01

We have performed transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarized elastic light scattering calculations at 90° and 0° in the o-band at 1.3 µm for a 15 µm radius silicon microsphere with a refractive index of 3.5. The quality factors are on the order of 10 7 and the mode/channel spacing is 7 nm, which correlate well with the refractive index and the optical size of the microsphere. The 90° elastic light scattering can be used to monitor a dropped channel (drop port), whereas the 0° elastic scattering can be used to monitor the transmission channel (through port). The optical resonances of the silicon microspheres provide the necessary narrow linewidths that are needed for high-resolution optical communication applications. Potential telecommunication applications include filters, modulators, switches, wavelength converters, detectors, amplifiers and light sources. Silicon microspheres show promise as potential building blocks for silicon-based electrophotonic integration

Building integration photovoltaic module with reference to Ghana: using triple junction amorphous silicon

OpenAIRE

Essah, Emmanuel Adu

2010-01-01

This paper assesses the potential for using building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) \\ud roof shingles made from triple-junction amorphous silicon (3a-Si) for electrification \\ud and as a roofing material in tropical countries, such as Accra, Ghana. A model roof \\ud was constructed using triple-junction amorphous (3a-Si) PV on one section and \\ud conventional roofing tiles on the other. The performance of the PV module and tiles \\ud were measured, over a range of ambient temperatures and solar...

Design and characterization of ultra-stretchable monolithic silicon fabric

KAUST Repository

Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto

2014-10-13

Stretchable electronic systems can play instrumental role for reconfigurable macro-electronics such as distributed sensor networks for wearable and bio-integrated electronics. Typically, polymer composite based materials and its deterministic design as interconnects are used to achieve such systems. Nonetheless, non-polymeric inorganic silicon is the predominant material for 90% of electronics. Therefore, we report the design and fabrication of an all silicon based network of hexagonal islands connected through spiral springs to form an ultra-stretchable arrangement for complete compliance to highly asymmetric shapes. Several design parameters are considered and their validation is carried out through finite element analysis. The fabrication process is based on conventional microfabrication techniques and the measured stretchability is more than 1000% for single spirals and area expansions as high as 30 folds in arrays. The reported method can provide ultra-stretchable and adaptable electronic systems for distributed network of high-performance macro-electronics especially useful for wearable electronics and bio-integrated devices.

Design and characterization of ultra-stretchable monolithic silicon fabric

KAUST Repository

Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto; Carreno, Armando Arpys Arevalo; Foulds, I. G.; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2014-01-01

Stretchable electronic systems can play instrumental role for reconfigurable macro-electronics such as distributed sensor networks for wearable and bio-integrated electronics. Typically, polymer composite based materials and its deterministic design as interconnects are used to achieve such systems. Nonetheless, non-polymeric inorganic silicon is the predominant material for 90% of electronics. Therefore, we report the design and fabrication of an all silicon based network of hexagonal islands connected through spiral springs to form an ultra-stretchable arrangement for complete compliance to highly asymmetric shapes. Several design parameters are considered and their validation is carried out through finite element analysis. The fabrication process is based on conventional microfabrication techniques and the measured stretchability is more than 1000% for single spirals and area expansions as high as 30 folds in arrays. The reported method can provide ultra-stretchable and adaptable electronic systems for distributed network of high-performance macro-electronics especially useful for wearable electronics and bio-integrated devices.

Silicon based mechanic-photonic wavelength converter for infrared photo-detection

Science.gov (United States)

Rudnitsky, Arkady; Agdarov, Sergey; Gulitsky, Konstantin; Zalevsky, Zeev

2017-06-01

In this paper we present a new concept to realize a mechanic-photonic wavelength converter in silicon chip by construction of nanorods and by modulating the input illumination at temporal frequency matched to the mechanic resonance of the nanorods. The use case is to realize an infrared photo detector in silicon which is not based on absorption but rather on the mechanical interaction of the nanorods with the incoming illumination.

Photoconductance-calibrated photoluminescence lifetime imaging of crystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herlufsen, Sandra; Schmidt, Jan; Hinken, David; Bothe, Karsten; Brendel, Rolf

2008-01-01

We use photoluminescence (PL) measurements by a silicon charge-coupled device camera to generate high-resolution lifetime images of multicrystalline silicon wafers. Absolute values of the excess carrier density are determined by calibrating the PL image by means of contactless photoconductance measurements. The photoconductance setup is integrated in the camera-based PL setup and therefore identical measurement conditions are realised. We demonstrate the validity of this method by comparison with microwave-detected photoconductance decay measurements. (copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (Abstract Copyright [2008], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Twenty-fold plasmon-induced enhancement of radiative emission rate in silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gardelis, S; Gianneta, V.; Nassiopoulou, A.G

2016-01-01

We report on a 20-fold enhancement of the integrated photoluminescence (PL) emission of silicon nanocrystals, embedded in a matrix of silicon dioxide, induced by excited surface plasmons from silver nanoparticles, which are located in the vicinity of the silicon nanocrystals and separated from them by a silicon dioxide layer of a few nanometers. The electric field enhancement provided by the excited surface plasmons increases the absorption cross section and the emission rate of the nearby silicon nanocrystals, resulting in the observed enhancement of the photoluminescence, mainly attributed to a 20-fold enhancement in the emission rate of the silicon nanocrystals. The observed remarkable improvement of the PL emission makes silicon nanocrystals very useful material for photonic, sensor and solar cell applications.

Resonator-Based Silicon Electro-Optic Modulator with Low Power Consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Xin, Maoqing; Danner, Aaron J.; Eng Png, Ching; Thor Lim, Soon

2009-04-01

This paper demonstrates, via simulation, an electro-optic modulator based on a subwavelength Fabry-Perot resonator cavity with low power consumption of 86 µW/µm. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the lowest power reported for silicon photonic bandgap modulators. The device is modulated at a doped p-i-n junction overlapping the cavity in a silicon waveguide perforated with etched holes, with the doping area optimized for minimum power consumption. The surface area of the entire device is only 2.1 µm2, which compares favorably to other silicon-based modulators. A modulation speed of at least 300 MHz is detected from the electrical simulator after sidewall doping is introduced which is suitable for sensing or fiber to the home (FTTH) technologies, where speed can be traded for low cost and power consumption. The device does not rely on ultra-high Q, and could serve as a sensor, modulator, or passive filter with built-in calibration.

Brain inspired high performance electronics on flexible silicon

KAUST Repository

Sevilla, Galo T.

2014-06-01

Brain\\'s stunning speed, energy efficiency and massive parallelism makes it the role model for upcoming high performance computation systems. Although human brain components are a million times slower than state of the art silicon industry components [1], they can perform 1016 operations per second while consuming less power than an electrical light bulb. In order to perform the same amount of computation with today\\'s most advanced computers, the output of an entire power station would be needed. In that sense, to obtain brain like computation, ultra-fast devices with ultra-low power consumption will have to be integrated in extremely reduced areas, achievable only if brain folded structure is mimicked. Therefore, to allow brain-inspired computation, flexible and transparent platform will be needed to achieve foldable structures and their integration on asymmetric surfaces. In this work, we show a new method to fabricate 3D and planar FET architectures in flexible and semitransparent silicon fabric without comprising performance and maintaining cost/yield advantage offered by silicon-based electronics.

Enhancing the Efficiency of Silicon-Based Solar Cells by the Piezo-Phototronic Effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Laipan; Wang, Longfei; Pan, Caofeng; Chen, Libo; Xue, Fei; Chen, Baodong; Yang, Leijing; Su, Li; Wang, Zhong Lin

2017-02-28

Although there are numerous approaches for fabricating solar cells, the silicon-based photovoltaics are still the most widely used in industry and around the world. A small increase in the efficiency of silicon-based solar cells has a huge economic impact and practical importance. We fabricate a silicon-based nanoheterostructure (p + -Si/p-Si/n + -Si (and n-Si)/n-ZnO nanowire (NW) array) photovoltaic device and demonstrate the enhanced device performance through significantly enhanced light absorption by NW array and effective charge carrier separation by the piezo-phototronic effect. The strain-induced piezoelectric polarization charges created at n-doped Si-ZnO interfaces can effectively modulate the corresponding band structure and electron gas trapped in the n + -Si/n-ZnO NW nanoheterostructure and thus enhance the transport process of local charge carriers. The efficiency of the solar cell was improved from 8.97% to 9.51% by simply applying a static compress strain. This study indicates that the piezo-phototronic effect can enhance the performance of a large-scale silicon-based solar cell, with great potential for industrial applications.

High-performance RF coil inductors on silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malba, V.; Young, D.; Ou, J.J.; Bernhardt, A.F.; Boser, B.E.

1998-03-01

Strong demand for wireless communication devices has motivated research directed toward monolithic integration of transceivers. The fundamental electronic component least compatible with silicon integrated circuits is the inductor, although a number of inductors are required to implement oscillators, filters and matching networks in cellular devices. Spiral inductors have been integrated into the silicon IC metallization sequence but have not performed adequately due to coupling to the silicon which results in parasitic capacitance and loss. We have, for the first time, fabricated three dimensional coil inductors on silicon which have significantly lower capacitive coupling and loss and which now exceed the requirements of potential applications. Quality factors of 30 at 1 GHz have been measured in single turn devices and Q > 16 in 2 and 4 turn devices. The reduced Q for multiturn devices appears to be related to eddy currents in outer turns generated by magnetic fields from current in neighboring turns. Higher Q values significantly in excess of 30 are anticipated using modified coil designs.

Novel Concepts for Silicon Based Photovoltaics and Photoelectrochemistry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Han, L.

2015-01-01

Long term concerns about climate change and fossil fuel depletion will require a transition towards energy systems powered by solar radiation or other renewable sources. Novel concepts based on silicon materials and devices are investigated for applications in the next generation photovoltaic (PV)

Silicon photonics for telecommunications and biomedicine

CERN Document Server

Fathpour, Sasan

2011-01-01

Given silicon's versatile material properties, use of low-cost silicon photonics continues to move beyond light-speed data transmission through fiber-optic cables and computer chips. Its application has also evolved from the device to the integrated-system level. A timely overview of this impressive growth, Silicon Photonics for Telecommunications and Biomedicine summarizes state-of-the-art developments in a wide range of areas, including optical communications, wireless technologies, and biomedical applications of silicon photonics. With contributions from world experts, this reference guides

Angle-resolved diffraction grating biosensor based on porous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lv, Changwu; Li, Peng [School of Physical Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046 (China); Jia, Zhenhong, E-mail: jzhh@xju.edu.cn; Liu, Yajun; Mo, Jiaqing; Lv, Xiaoyi [College of Information Science and Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046 (China)

2016-03-07

In this study, an optical biosensor based on a porous silicon composite structure was fabricated using a simple method. This structure consists of a thin, porous silicon surface diffraction grating and a one-dimensional porous silicon photonic crystal. An angle-resolved diffraction efficiency spectrum was obtained by measuring the diffraction efficiency at a range of incident angles. The angle-resolved diffraction efficiency of the 2nd and 3rd orders was studied experimentally and theoretically. The device was sensitive to the change of refractive index in the presence of a biomolecule indicated by the shift of the diffraction efficiency spectrum. The sensitivity of this sensor was investigated through use of an 8 base pair antifreeze protein DNA hybridization. The shifts of the angle-resolved diffraction efficiency spectrum showed a relationship with the change of the refractive index, and the detection limit of the biosensor reached 41.7 nM. This optical device is highly sensitive, inexpensive, and simple to fabricate. Using shifts in diffraction efficiency spectrum to detect biological molecules has not yet been explored, so this study establishes a foundation for future work.

Solidification phenomena in nickel base brazes containing boron and silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tung, S.K.; Lim, L.C.; Lai, M.O.

1996-01-01

Nickel base brazes containing boron and/or silicon as melting point depressants are used extensively in the repair and joining of aero-engine hot-section components. These melting point depressants form hard and brittle intermetallic compounds with nickel which are detrimental to the mechanical properties of brazed joints. The present investigation studied the microstructural evolution in nickel base brazes containing boron and/or silicon as melting point depressant(s) in simple systems using nickel as the base metal. The basic metallurgical reactions and formation of intermetallic compounds uncovered in these systems will be useful as a guide in predicting the evolution of microstructures in similar brazes in more complex systems involving base metals of nickel base superalloys. The four filler metal systems investigated in this study are: Ni-Cr-Si; Ni-Cr-B; Ni-Si-B and Ni-Cr-Fe-Si-B

Silicon-germanium and platinum silicide nanostructures for silicon based photonics

Science.gov (United States)

Storozhevykh, M. S.; Dubkov, V. P.; Arapkina, L. V.; Chizh, K. V.; Mironov, S. A.; Chapnin, V. A.; Yuryev, V. A.

2017-05-01

This paper reports a study of two types of silicon based nanostructures prospective for applications in photonics. The first ones are Ge/Si(001) structures forming at room temperature and reconstructing after annealing at 600°C. Germanium, being deposited from a molecular beam at room temperature on the Si(001) surface, forms a thin granular film composed of Ge particles with sizes of a few nanometers. A characteristic feature of these films is that they demonstrate signs of the 2 x 1 structure in their RHEED patterns. After short-term annealing at 600°C under the closed system conditions, the granular films reconstruct to heterostructures consisting of a Ge wetting layer and oval clusters of Ge. A mixed type c(4x2) + p(2x2) reconstruction typical to the low-temperature MBE (Tgr Ge. The other type of the studied nanostructures is based on Pt silicides. This class of materials is one of the friendliest to silicon technology. But as silicide film thickness reaches a few nanometers, low resistivity becomes of primary importance. Pt3Si has the lowest sheet resistance among the Pt silicides. However, the development of a process of thin Pt3Si films formation is a challenging task. This paper describes formation of a thin Pt3Si/Pt2Si structures at room temperature on poly-Si films. Special attention is paid upon formation of poly-Si and amorphous Si films on Si3N4 substrates at low temperatures.

Polarization Beam Splitter Based on a Self-Collimation Michelson Interferometer in a Silicon Photonic Crystal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xi-Yao; Lin Gui-Min; Li Jun-Jun; Xu Xiao-Fu; Jiang Jun-Zhen; Qiang Ze-Xuan; Qiu Yi-Shen; Li Hui

2012-01-01

A polarization beam splitter based on a self-collimation Michelson interferometer (SMI) in a hole-type silicon photonic crystal is proposed and numerically demonstrated. Utilizing the polarization dependence of the transmission spectra of the SMI and polarization peak matching method, the SMI can work as a polarization beam splitter (PBS) by selecting an appropriate path length difference in the structure. Based on its novel polarization beam splitting mechanics, the polarization extinction ratios (PERs) for TM and TE modes are as high as 18.4 dB and 24.3 dB, respectively. Since its dimensions are only several operating wavelengths, the PBS may have practical applications in photonic integrated circuits. (fundamental areas of phenomenology(including applications))

Fast neutron dosimeter with wide base silicon diode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Lu

1986-01-01

This paper briefly introduces a wide base silicon diode fast neutron dosimeter with wide measuring range and good energy response to fast neutron. It is suitable to be used to detect fast neutrons in the mixed field of γ-ray, thermal neutrons and fast neutrons

UV lithography-based protein patterning on silicon: Towards the integration of bioactive surfaces and CMOS electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lenci, S., E-mail: silvia.lenci@iet.unipi.it [Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell' Informazione, via G.Caruso 16, Pisa I-56122 (Italy); Tedeschi, L. [Istituto di Fisiologia Clinica - CNR, via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa I-56124 (Italy); Pieri, F. [Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell' Informazione, via G.Caruso 16, Pisa I-56122 (Italy); Domenici, C. [Istituto di Fisiologia Clinica - CNR, via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa I-56124 (Italy)

2011-08-01

A simple and fast methodology for protein patterning on silicon substrates is presented, providing an insight into possible issues related to the interaction between biological and microelectronic technologies. The method makes use of standard photoresist lithography and is oriented towards the implementation of biosensors containing Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) conditioning circuitry. Silicon surfaces with photoresist patterns were prepared and hydroxylated by means of resist- and CMOS backend-compatible solutions. Subsequent aminosilane deposition and resist lift-off in organic solvents resulted into well-controlled amino-terminated geometries. The discussion is focused on resist- and CMOS-compatibility problems related to the used chemicals. Some samples underwent gold nanoparticle (Au NP) labeling and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) observation, in order to investigate the quality of the silane layer. Antibodies were immobilized on other samples, which were subsequently exposed to a fluorescently labeled antigen. Fluorescence microscopy observation showed that this method provides spatially selective immobilization of protein layers onto APTES-patterned silicon samples, while preserving protein reactivity inside the desired areas and low non-specific adsorption elsewhere. Strong covalent biomolecule binding was achieved, giving stable protein layers, which allows stringent binding conditions and a good binding specificity, really useful for biosensing.

Monolithic integration of micromachined sensors and CMOS circuits based on SOI technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Xiaomei; Tang Yaquan; Zhang Haitao

2008-01-01

This note presents a novel way to monolithically integrate micro-cantilever sensors and signal conditioning circuits by combining SOI CMOS and SOI micromachining technologies. In order to improve the sensor performance and reduce the system volume, an integrated sensor system composed of a piezoresistive cantilever array, a temperature-compensation current reference, a digitally controlled multiplexer and an instrument amplifier is designed and finally fabricated. A post-SOI CMOS process is developed to realize the integrated sensor system which is based on a standard CMOS process with one more mask to define the cantilever structure at the end of the process. Measurements on the finished SOI CMOS devices and circuits show that the integration process has good compatibility both for the cantilever sensors and for the CMOS circuits, and the SOI CMOS integration process can decrease about 25% sequences compared with the bulk silicon CMOS process. (note)

Progress in the Development of SERS-Active Substrates Based on Metal-Coated Porous Silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Bandarenka, Hanna V; Girel, Kseniya V; Zavatski, Sergey A; Panarin, Andrei; Terekhov, Sergei N

2018-05-21

The present work gives an overview of the developments in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with metal-coated porous silicon used as an active substrate. We focused this review on the research referenced to SERS-active materials based on porous silicon, beginning from the patent application in 2002 and enclosing the studies of this year. Porous silicon and metal deposition technologies are discussed. Since the earliest studies, a number of fundamentally different plasmonic nanostructures including metallic dendrites, quasi-ordered arrays of metallic nanoparticles (NPs), and metallic nanovoids have been grown on porous silicon, defined by the morphology of this host material. SERS-active substrates based on porous silicon have been found to combine a high and well-reproducible signal level, storage stability, cost-effective technology and handy use. They make it possible to identify and study many compounds including biomolecules with a detection limit varying from milli- to femtomolar concentrations. The progress reviewed here demonstrates the great prospects for the extensive use of the metal-coated porous silicon for bioanalysis by SERS-spectroscopy.

Progress in the Development of SERS-Active Substrates Based on Metal-Coated Porous Silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanna V. Bandarenka

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The present work gives an overview of the developments in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS with metal-coated porous silicon used as an active substrate. We focused this review on the research referenced to SERS-active materials based on porous silicon, beginning from the patent application in 2002 and enclosing the studies of this year. Porous silicon and metal deposition technologies are discussed. Since the earliest studies, a number of fundamentally different plasmonic nanostructures including metallic dendrites, quasi-ordered arrays of metallic nanoparticles (NPs, and metallic nanovoids have been grown on porous silicon, defined by the morphology of this host material. SERS-active substrates based on porous silicon have been found to combine a high and well-reproducible signal level, storage stability, cost-effective technology and handy use. They make it possible to identify and study many compounds including biomolecules with a detection limit varying from milli- to femtomolar concentrations. The progress reviewed here demonstrates the great prospects for the extensive use of the metal-coated porous silicon for bioanalysis by SERS-spectroscopy.

Sub-parts per million NO2 chemi-transistor sensors based on composite porous silicon/gold nanostructures prepared by metal-assisted etching.

Science.gov (United States)

Sainato, Michela; Strambini, Lucanos Marsilio; Rella, Simona; Mazzotta, Elisabetta; Barillaro, Giuseppe

2015-04-08

Surface doping of nano/mesostructured materials with metal nanoparticles to promote and optimize chemi-transistor sensing performance represents the most advanced research trend in the field of solid-state chemical sensing. In spite of the promising results emerging from metal-doping of a number of nanostructured semiconductors, its applicability to silicon-based chemi-transistor sensors has been hindered so far by the difficulties in integrating the composite metal-silicon nanostructures using the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Here we propose a facile and effective top-down method for the high-yield fabrication of chemi-transistor sensors making use of composite porous silicon/gold nanostructures (cSiAuNs) acting as sensing gate. In particular, we investigate the integration of cSiAuNs synthesized by metal-assisted etching (MAE), using gold nanoparticles (NPs) as catalyst, in solid-state junction-field-effect transistors (JFETs), aimed at the detection of NO2 down to 100 parts per billion (ppb). The chemi-transistor sensors, namely cSiAuJFETs, are CMOS compatible, operate at room temperature, and are reliable, sensitive, and fully recoverable for the detection of NO2 at concentrations between 100 and 500 ppb, up to 48 h of continuous operation.

Nanowire-integrated microporous silicon membrane for continuous fluid transport in micro cooling device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

So, Hongyun; Pisano, Albert P.; Cheng, Jim C.

2013-01-01

We report an efficient passive micro pump system combining the physical properties of nanowires and micropores. This nanowire-integrated microporous silicon membrane was created to feed coolant continuously onto the surface of the wick in a micro cooling device to ensure it remains hydrated and in case of dryout, allow for regeneration of the system. The membrane was fabricated by photoelectrochemical etching to form micropores followed by hydrothermal growth of nanowires. This study shows a promising approach to address thermal management challenges for next generation electronic devices with absence of external power

Effects of plasma-deposited silicon nitride passivation on the radiation hardness of CMOS integrated circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clement, J.J.

1980-01-01

The use of plasma-deposited silicon nitride as a final passivation over metal-gate CMOS integrated circuits degrades the radiation hardness of these devices. The hardness degradation is manifested by increased radiation-induced threshold voltage shifts caused principally by the charging of new interface states and, to a lesser extent, by the trapping of holes created upon exposure to ionizing radiation. The threshold voltage shifts are a strong function of the deposition temperature, and show very little dependence on thickness for films deposited at 300 0 C. There is some correlation between the threshold voltage shifts and the hydrogen content of the PECVD silicon nitride films used as the final passivation layer as a function of deposition temperature. The mechanism by which the hydrogen contained in these films may react with the Si/SiO 2 interface is not clear at this point

Fabrication and Characterization of Nanopillars for Silicon-Based Thermoelectrics

Science.gov (United States)

Stranz, A.; Sökmen, Ü.; Wehmann, H.-H.; Waag, A.; Peiner, E.

2010-09-01

Si-based nanopillars of various sizes were fabricated by lateral structuring using anisotropic etching and thermal oxidation. We obtained pillars of diameter <500 nm, about 25 μm in height, with an aspect ratio of more than 50. The distance between pillars was varied from 500 nm to 10 μm. Besides the fabrication and structural characterization of silicon nanopillars, implementation of adequate metrology for measuring single pillars is described. Commercial tungsten probes, self-made gold probes, and piezoresistive silicon cantilever probes were used for measurements of nanopillars in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with nanomanipulators.

Quadruple-Junction Thin-Film Silicon-Based Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Si, F.T.

2017-01-01

The direct utilization of sunlight is a critical energy source in a sustainable future. One of the options is to convert the solar energy into electricity using thin-film silicon-based solar cells (TFSSCs). Solar cells in a triple-junction configuration have exhibited the highest energy conversion

Niobium nitride Josephson junctions with silicon and germanium barriers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cukauskas, E.J.; Carter, W.L.

1988-01-01

Niobium nitride based junctions with silicon, germanium, and composite silicon/germanium barriers were fabricated and characterized for several barrier compositions. The current-voltage characteristics were analyzed at several temperatures using the Simmons model and numerical integration of the WKB approximation for the average barrier height and effective thickness. The zero voltage conductance was measured from 1.5 K to 300 K and compared to the Mott hopping conductivity model and the Stratton tunneling temperature dependence. Conductivity followed Mott conductivity at temperatures above 60 K for junctions with less than 100 angstrom thick barriers

Silicon nitride photonics: from visible to mid-infrared wavelengths

Science.gov (United States)

Micó, Gloria; Bru, Luis A.; Pastor, Daniel; Doménech, David; Fernández, Juan; Sánchez, Ana; Cirera, Josep M.; Domínguez, Carlos; Muñoz, Pascual

2018-02-01

Silicon nitride has received a lot of attention during the last ten years, for applications such as bio-photonics, tele/datacom, optical signal processing and sensing. In this paper, firstly an updated review of the state of the art of silicon nitride photonics integration platforms will be provided. Secondly, our developments on a moderate confinement Si3N4 platform in the near-infrared will be presented. Finally, our steps towards establishing a Si3N4 based platform for broadband operation spanning from visible to mid-infrared wavelengths will be introduced.

Silicon waveguided components for the long-wave infrared region

Science.gov (United States)

Soref, Richard A.; Emelett, Stephen J.; Buchwald, Walter R.

2006-10-01

We propose that the operational wavelength of waveguided Si-based photonic integrated circuits and optoelectronic integrated circuits can be extended beyond the 1.55 µm telecom range into the wide infrared from 1.55 to 100 µm. The Si rib-membrane waveguide offers low-loss transmission from 1.2 to 6 µm and from 24 to 100 µm. This waveguide, which is compatible with Si microelectronics manufacturing, is constructed from silicon-on-insulator by etching away the oxide locally beneath the rib. Alternatively, low-loss waveguiding from 1.9 to 14.7 µm is assured by employing a crystal Ge rib grown directly upon the Si substrate. The Si-based hollow-core waveguide is an excellent device that minimizes loss due to silicon's 6-24 µm multi-phonon absorption. Here the rectangular air-filled core is surrounded by SiGe/Si multi-layer anti-resonant or Bragg claddings. The hollow channel offers less than 1.7 dB cm-1 loss from 1.2 to 100 µm. .

Data Transmission and Thermo-Optic Tuning Performance of Dielectric-Loaded Plasmonic Structures Hetero-Integrated on a Silicon Chip

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Giannoulis, G.; Kalavrouziotis, D.; Apostolopoulos, D.

2012-01-01

We demonstrate experimental evidence of the data capture and the low-energy thermo-optic tuning credentials of dielectric-loaded plasmonic structures integrated on a silicon chip. We show 7-nm thermo-optical tuning of a plasmonic racetrack-resonator with less than 3.3 mW required electrical power...

Novel Non-Carbonate Based Electrolytes for Silicon Anodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Ye [Wildcat Discovery Technologies, San Diego, CA (United States); Yang, Johnny [Wildcat Discovery Technologies, San Diego, CA (United States); Cheng, Gang [Wildcat Discovery Technologies, San Diego, CA (United States); Carroll, Kyler [Wildcat Discovery Technologies, San Diego, CA (United States); Clemons, Owen [Wildcat Discovery Technologies, San Diego, CA (United States); Strand, Diedre [Wildcat Discovery Technologies, San Diego, CA (United States)

2016-09-09

Substantial improvement in the energy density of rechargeable lithium batteries is required to meet the future needs for electric and plug-in electric vehicles (EV and PHEV). Present day lithium ion battery technology is based on shuttling lithium between graphitic carbon and inorganic oxides. Non-graphitic anodes, such as silicon can provide significant improvements in energy density but are currently limited in cycle life due to reactivity with the electrolyte. Wildcat/3M proposes the development of non-carbonate electrolyte formulations tailored for silicon alloy anodes. Combining these electrolytes with 3M’s anode and an NMC cathode will enable up to a 20% increase in the volumetric cell energy density, while still meeting the PHEV/EV cell level cycle/calendar life goals.

Quantum Coherent States and Path Integral Method to Stochastically Determine the Anisotropic Volume Expansion in Lithiated Silicon Nanowires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donald C. Boone

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This computational research study will analyze the multi-physics of lithium ion insertion into a silicon nanowire in an attempt to explain the electrochemical kinetics at the nanoscale and quantum level. The electron coherent states and a quantum field version of photon density waves will be the joining theories that will explain the electron-photon interaction within the lithium-silicon lattice structure. These two quantum particles will be responsible for the photon absorption rate of silicon atoms that are hypothesized to be the leading cause of breaking diatomic silicon covalent bonds that ultimately leads to volume expansion. It will be demonstrated through the combination of Maxwell stress tensor, optical amplification and path integrals that a stochastic analyze using a variety of Poisson distributions that the anisotropic expansion rates in the <110>, <111> and <112> orthogonal directions confirms the findings ascertained in previous works made by other research groups. The computational findings presented in this work are similar to those which were discovered experimentally using transmission electron microscopy (TEM and simulation models that used density functional theory (DFT and molecular dynamics (MD. The refractive index and electric susceptibility parameters of lithiated silicon are interwoven in the first principle theoretical equations and appears frequently throughout this research presentation, which should serve to demonstrate the importance of these parameters in the understanding of this component in lithium ion batteries.

Characterization of silicon- and carbon-based composite anodes for lithium-ion batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khomenko, Volodymyr G.; Barsukov, Viacheslav Z.

2007-01-01

In recent years development of active materials for negative electrodes has been of great interest. Special attention has been focused on the active materials possessing higher reversible capacity than that of conventional graphite. In the present work the electrochemical performance of some carbon/silicon-based materials has been analyzed. For this purpose various silicon-based composites were prepared using such carbon materials as graphite, hard carbon and graphitized carbon black. An analysis of charging-discharging processes at electrodes based on different carbon materials has shown that graphite modified with silicon is the most promising anode material. It has also been revealed that the irreversible capacity mainly depends on the content of Si. An optimum content of Si has been determined with taking into account that high irreversible capacity is not suitable for practical application in lithium-ion batteries. This content falls within the range of 8-10 wt%. The reversible capacity of graphite modified with 8 wt% carbon-coated Si was as high as 604 mAh g -1 . The irreversible capacity loss with this material was as low as 8.1%. The small irreversible capacity of the material allowed developing full lithium-ion rechargeable cells in the 2016 coin cell configuration. Lithium-ion batteries based on graphite modified with silicon show gravimetric and volumetric specific energy densities which are higher by approximately 20% than those for a lithium-ion battery based on natural graphite

Band structure properties of (BGa)P semiconductors for lattice matched integration on (001) silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hossain, Nadir; Sweeney, Stephen [Advanced Technology Institute and Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Hosea, Jeff [Advanced Technology Institute and Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK and Ibnu Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Studies, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru 81310 (Malaysia); Liebich, Sven; Zimprich, Martin; Volz, Kerstin; Stolz, Wolfgang [Material Sciences Center and Faculty of Physics, Philipps-University, 35032 Marburg (Germany); Kunert, Bernerdette [NAsP III/V GmbH, Am Knechtacker 19, 35041 Marburg (Germany)

2013-12-04

We report the band structure properties of (BGa)P layers grown on silicon substrate using metal-organic vapour-phase epitaxy. Using surface photo-voltage spectroscopy we find that both the direct and indirect band gaps of (BGa)P alloys (strained and unstrained) decrease with Boron content. Our experimental results suggest that the band gap of (BGa)P layers up to 6% Boron is large and suitable to be used as cladding and contact layers in GaP-based quantum well heterostructures on silicon substrates.

GaN-on-Silicon - Present capabilities and future directions

Science.gov (United States)

Boles, Timothy

2018-02-01

Gallium Nitride, in the form of epitaxial HEMT transistors on various substrate materials, is the newest and most promising semiconductor technology for high performance devices in the RF, microwave, and mmW arenas. This is particularly true for GaN-on-Silicon based devices and MMIC's which enable both state-of-the-art high frequency functionality and the ability to scale production into large wafer diameter CMOS foundries. The design and development of GaN-on-Silicon structures and devices will be presented beginning with the basic material parameters, growth of the required epitaxial construction, and leading to the fundamental operational theory of high frequency, high power HEMTs. In this discussion comparisons will be made with alternative substrate materials with emphasis on contrasting the inherent advantages of a silicon based system. Theory of operation of microwave and mmW high power HEMT devices will be presented with special emphasis on fundamental limitations of device performance including inherent frequency limiting transit time analysis, required impedance transformations, internal and external parasitic reactance, thermal impedance optimization, and challenges improved by full integration into monolithic MMICs. Lastly, future directions for implementing GaN-on-Silicon into mainstream CMOS silicon semiconductor technologies will be discussed.

Lithium ion batteries based on nanoporous silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Tolbert, Sarah H.; Nemanick, Eric J.; Kang, Chris Byung-Hwa

2015-09-22

A lithium ion battery that incorporates an anode formed from a Group IV semiconductor material such as porous silicon is disclosed. The battery includes a cathode, and an anode comprising porous silicon. In some embodiments, the anode is present in the form of a nanowire, a film, or a powder, the porous silicon having a pore diameters within the range between 2 nm and 100 nm and an average wall thickness of within the range between 1 nm and 100 nm. The lithium ion battery further includes, in some embodiments, a non-aqueous lithium containing electrolyte. Lithium ion batteries incorporating a porous silicon anode demonstrate have high, stable lithium alloying capacity over many cycles.

Rectangular optical filter based on high-order silicon microring resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Jia-qi; Yu, Kan; Wang, Li-jun; Yin, Juan-juan

2017-07-01

The rectangular optical filter is one of the most important optical switching components in the dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) fiber-optic communication system and the intelligent optical network. The integrated highorder silicon microring resonator (MRR) is one of the best candidates to achieve rectangular filtering spectrum response. In general, the spectrum response rectangular degree of the single MRR is very low, so it cannot be used in the DWDM system. Using the high-order MRRs, the bandwidth of flat-top pass band, the out-of-band rejection degree and the roll-off coefficient of the edge will be improved obviously. In this paper, a rectangular optical filter based on highorder MRRs with uniform couplers is presented and demonstrated. Using 15 coupled race-track MRRs with 10 μm in radius, the 3 dB flat-top pass band of 2 nm, the out-of-band rejection ratio of 30 dB and the rising and falling edges of 48 dB/nm can be realized successfully.

Rectangular optical filter based on high-order silicon microring resonators

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

BAO Jia-qi; YU Kan; WANG Li-jun; YIN Juan-juan

2017-01-01

The rectangular optical filter is one of the most important optical switching components in the dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) fiber-optic communication system and the intelligent optical network.The integrated highorder silicon microring resonator (MRR) is one of the best candidates to achieve rectangular filtering spectrum response.In general,the spectrum response rectangular degree of the single MRR is very low,so it cannot be used in the DWDM system.Using the high-order MRRs,the bandwidth of flat-top pass band,the out-of-band rejection degree and the roll-off coefficient of the edge will be improved obviously.In this paper,a rectangular optical filter based on highorder MRRs with uniform couplers is presented and demonstrated.Using 15 coupled race-track MRRs with 10 μm in radius,the 3 dB flat-top pass band of 2 nm,the out-of-band rejection ratio of 30 dB and the rising and falling edges of 48 dB/nm can be realized successfully.

Status and perspectives of pixel sensors based on 3D vertical integration

CERN Document Server

Re, V

2014-01-01

This paper reviews the most recent developments of 3D integration in the field of silicon pixel sensors and readout integrated circuits. This technology may address the needs of future high energy physics and photon science experiments by increasing the electronic functional density in small pixel readout cells and by stacking various device layers based on different technologies, each optimized for a different function. Current efforts are aimed at improving the performance of both hybrid pixel detectors and of CMOS sensors. The status of these activities is discussed here, taking into account experimental results on 3D devices developed in the frame of the 3D-IC consortium. The paper also provides an overview of the ideas that are being currently devised for novel 3D vertically integrated pixel sensors.

Luneburg lens in silicon photonics.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Falco, Andrea; Kehr, Susanne C; Leonhardt, Ulf

2011-03-14

The Luneburg lens is an aberration-free lens that focuses light from all directions equally well. We fabricated and tested a Luneburg lens in silicon photonics. Such fully-integrated lenses may become the building blocks of compact Fourier optics on chips. Furthermore, our fabrication technique is sufficiently versatile for making perfect imaging devices on silicon platforms.

Silicon Micromachined Microlens Array for THz Antennas

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Choonsup; Chattopadhyay, Goutam; Mehdi, IImran; Gill, John J.; Jung-Kubiak, Cecile D.; Llombart, Nuria

2013-01-01

5 5 silicon microlens array was developed using a silicon micromachining technique for a silicon-based THz antenna array. The feature of the silicon micromachining technique enables one to microfabricate an unlimited number of microlens arrays at one time with good uniformity on a silicon wafer. This technique will resolve one of the key issues in building a THz camera, which is to integrate antennas in a detector array. The conventional approach of building single-pixel receivers and stacking them to form a multi-pixel receiver is not suited at THz because a single-pixel receiver already has difficulty fitting into mass, volume, and power budgets, especially in space applications. In this proposed technique, one has controllability on both diameter and curvature of a silicon microlens. First of all, the diameter of microlens depends on how thick photoresist one could coat and pattern. So far, the diameter of a 6- mm photoresist microlens with 400 m in height has been successfully microfabricated. Based on current researchers experiences, a diameter larger than 1-cm photoresist microlens array would be feasible. In order to control the curvature of the microlens, the following process variables could be used: 1. Amount of photoresist: It determines the curvature of the photoresist microlens. Since the photoresist lens is transferred onto the silicon substrate, it will directly control the curvature of the silicon microlens. 2. Etching selectivity between photoresist and silicon: The photoresist microlens is formed by thermal reflow. In order to transfer the exact photoresist curvature onto silicon, there needs to be etching selectivity of 1:1 between silicon and photoresist. However, by varying the etching selectivity, one could control the curvature of the silicon microlens. The figure shows the microfabricated silicon microlens 5 x5 array. The diameter of the microlens located in the center is about 2.5 mm. The measured 3-D profile of the microlens surface has a

Analytical and experimental evaluation of joining silicon carbide to silicon carbide and silicon nitride to silicon nitride for advanced heat engine applications Phase 2. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sundberg, G.J.; Vartabedian, A.M.; Wade, J.A.; White, C.S. [Norton Co., Northboro, MA (United States). Advanced Ceramics Div.

1994-10-01

The purpose of joining, Phase 2 was to develop joining technologies for HIP`ed Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} with 4wt% Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} (NCX-5101) and for a siliconized SiC (NT230) for various geometries including: butt joins, curved joins and shaft to disk joins. In addition, more extensive mechanical characterization of silicon nitride joins to enhance the predictive capabilities of the analytical/numerical models for structural components in advanced heat engines was provided. Mechanical evaluation were performed by: flexure strength at 22 C and 1,370 C, stress rupture at 1,370 C, high temperature creep, 22 C tensile testing and spin tests. While the silicon nitride joins were produced with sufficient integrity for many applications, the lower join strength would limit its use in the more severe structural applications. Thus, the silicon carbide join quality was deemed unsatisfactory to advance to more complex, curved geometries. The silicon carbide joining methods covered within this contract, although not entirely successful, have emphasized the need to focus future efforts upon ways to obtain a homogeneous, well sintered parent/join interface prior to siliconization. In conclusion, the improved definition of the silicon carbide joining problem obtained by efforts during this contract have provided avenues for future work that could successfully obtain heat engine quality joins.

Experimental and Computer Modelling Studies of Metastability of Amorphous Silicon Based Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Munyeme, Geoffrey

2003-01-01

We present a combination of experimental and computer modelling studies of the light induced degradation in the performance of amorphous silicon based single junction solar cells. Of particular interest in this study is the degradation kinetics of different types of amorphous silicon single junction

Demonstration of slot-waveguide structures on silicon nitride / silicon oxide platform.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrios, C A; Sánchez, B; Gylfason, K B; Griol, A; Sohlström, H; Holgado, M; Casquel, R

2007-05-28

We report on the first demonstration of guiding light in vertical slot-waveguides on silicon nitride/silicon oxide material system. Integrated ring resonators and Fabry-Perot cavities have been fabricated and characterized in order to determine optical features of the slot-waveguides. Group index behavior evidences guiding and confinement in the low-index slot region at O-band (1260-1370nm) telecommunication wavelengths. Propagation losses of <20 dB/cm have been measured for the transverse-electric mode of the slot-waveguides.

New dynamic silicon photonic components enabled by MEMS technology

Science.gov (United States)

Errando-Herranz, Carlos; Edinger, Pierre; Colangelo, Marco; Björk, Joel; Ahmed, Samy; Stemme, Göran; Niklaus, Frank; Gylfason, Kristinn B.

2018-02-01

Silicon photonics is the study and application of integrated optical systems which use silicon as an optical medium, usually by confining light in optical waveguides etched into the surface of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. The term microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) refers to the technology of mechanics on the microscale actuated by electrostatic actuators. Due to the low power requirements of electrostatic actuation, MEMS components are very power efficient, making them well suited for dense integration and mobile operation. MEMS components are conventionally also implemented in silicon, and MEMS sensors such as accelerometers, gyros, and microphones are now standard in every smartphone. By combining these two successful technologies, new active photonic components with extremely low power consumption can be made. We discuss our recent experimental work on tunable filters, tunable fiber-to-chip couplers, and dynamic waveguide dispersion tuning, enabled by the marriage of silicon MEMS and silicon photonics.

Polarization Insensitive Wavelength Conversion Based on Four-Wave Mixing in a Silicon Nanowire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pu, Minhao; Hu, Hao; Peucheret, Christophe

2012-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, polarization-insensitive wavelength conversion of a 10 Gb/s NRZ-OOK data signal based on four-wave mixing in a silicon nanowire with bit-error rate measurements.......We experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, polarization-insensitive wavelength conversion of a 10 Gb/s NRZ-OOK data signal based on four-wave mixing in a silicon nanowire with bit-error rate measurements....

High performance high-κ/metal gate complementary metal oxide semiconductor circuit element on flexible silicon

KAUST Repository

Sevilla, Galo T.

2016-02-29

Thinned silicon based complementary metal oxide semiconductor(CMOS)electronics can be physically flexible. To overcome challenges of limited thinning and damaging of devices originated from back grinding process, we show sequential reactive ion etching of silicon with the assistance from soft polymeric materials to efficiently achieve thinned (40 μm) and flexible (1.5 cm bending radius) silicon based functional CMOSinverters with high-κ/metal gate transistors. Notable advances through this study shows large area of silicon thinning with pre-fabricated high performance elements with ultra-large-scale-integration density (using 90 nm node technology) and then dicing of such large and thinned (seemingly fragile) pieces into smaller pieces using excimer laser. The impact of various mechanical bending and bending cycles show undeterred high performance of flexible siliconCMOSinverters. Future work will include transfer of diced silicon chips to destination site, interconnects, and packaging to obtain fully flexible electronic systems in CMOS compatible way.

Surface plasmons based terahertz modulator consisting of silicon-air-metal-dielectric-metal layers

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei; Yang, Dongxiao; Qian, Zhenhai

2018-05-01

An optically controlled modulator of the terahertz wave, which is composed of a metal-dielectric-metal structure etched with circular loop arrays on both the metal layers and a photoexcited silicon wafer separated by an air layer, is proposed. Simulation results based on experimentally measured complex permittivities predict that modification of complex permittivity of the silicon wafer through excitation laser leads to a significant tuning of transmission characteristics of the modulator, forming the modulation depths of 59.62% and 96.64% based on localized surface plasmon peak and propagating surface plasmon peak, respectively. The influences of the complex permittivity of the silicon wafer and the thicknesses of both the air layer and the silicon wafer are numerically studied for better understanding the modulation mechanism. This study proposes a feasible methodology to design an optically controlled terahertz modulator with large modulation depth, high speed and suitable insertion loss, which is useful for terahertz applications in the future.

Study and characterization of an integrated circuit-deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon sensor for the detection of particles and radiations; Etude et caracterisation d'un capteur en silicium amorphe hydrogene depose sur circuit integre pour la detection de particules et de rayonnements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Despeisse, M

2006-03-15

Next generation experiments at the European laboratory of particle physics (CERN) require particle detector alternatives to actual silicon detectors. This thesis presents a novel detector technology, which is based on the deposition of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon sensor on top of an integrated circuit. Performance and limitations of this technology have been assessed for the first time in this thesis in the context of particle detectors. Specific integrated circuits have been designed and the detector segmentation, the interface sensor-chip and the sensor leakage current have been studied in details. The signal induced by the track of an ionizing particle in the sensor has been characterized and results on the signal speed, amplitude and on the sensor resistance to radiation are presented. The results are promising regarding the use of this novel technology for radiation detection, though limitations have been shown for particle physics application. (author)

Safely re-integrating silicone breast implants into the plastic surgery practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Gladfelter, Joanne

2006-01-01

In the early 1990s, it was reported that silicone breast implants were possibly responsible for serious damage to women's health. In January 1992, the Food and Drug Administration issued a voluntary breast implant moratorium and, in April, issued a ban on the use of silicone gel-filled implants for cosmetic breast augmentation. Since that time, silicone gel-filled breast implants have been available to women only for select cases: women seeking breast reconstruction or revision of an existing breast implant, women who have had breast cancer surgery, a severe injury to the breast, a birth defect that affects the breast, or a medical condition causing a severe breast deformity. Since the ban on the use of silicone gel-filled breast implants for cosmetic breast augmentation, numerous scientific studies have been conducted. To ensure patient safety, the American Board of Plastic Surgery believes that these scientific studies and the Food and Drug Administration's scrutiny of silicone gel-filled breast implants have been appropriate and necessary.

Performance of conversion efficiency of a crystalline silicon solar cell with base doping density

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gokhan Sahin

Full Text Available In this study, we investigate theoretically the electrical parameters of a crystalline silicon solar cell in steady state. Based on a one-dimensional modeling of the cell, the short circuit current density, the open circuit voltage, the shunt and series resistances and the conversion efficiency are calculated, taking into account the base doping density. Either the I-V characteristic, series resistance, shunt resistance and conversion efficiency are determined and studied versus base doping density. The effects applied of base doping density on these parameters have been studied. The aim of this work is to show how short circuit current density, open circuit voltage and parasitic resistances are related to the base doping density and to exhibit the role played by those parasitic resistances on the conversion efficiency of the crystalline silicon solar. Keywords: Crystalline silicon solar cell, Base doping density, Series resistance, Shunt resistance, Conversion efficiency

Silicon heterojunction transistor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsushita, T.; Oh-uchi, N.; Hayashi, H.; Yamoto, H.

1979-01-01

SIPOS (Semi-insulating polycrystalline silicon) which is used as a surface passivation layer for highly reliable silicon devices constitutes a good heterojunction for silicon. P- or B-doped SIPOS has been used as the emitter material of a heterojunction transistor with the base and collector of silicon. An npn SIPOS-Si heterojunction transistor showing 50 times the current gain of an npn silicon homojunction transistor has been realized by high-temperature treatments in nitrogen and low-temperature annealing in hydrogen or forming gas

Silicon graphene waveguide tunable broadband microwave photonics phase shifter.

Science.gov (United States)

Capmany, José; Domenech, David; Muñoz, Pascual

2014-04-07

We propose the use of silicon graphene waveguides to implement a tunable broadband microwave photonics phase shifter based on integrated ring cavities. Numerical computation results show the feasibility for broadband operation over 40 GHz bandwidth and full 360° radiofrequency phase-shift with a modest voltage excursion of 0.12 volt.

High performance hybrid silicon micropillar solar cell based on light trapping characteristics of Cu nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yulong Zhang

2018-05-01

Full Text Available High performance silicon combined structure (micropillar with Cu nanoparticles solar cell has been synthesized from N-type silicon substrates based on the micropillar array. The combined structure solar cell exhibited higher short circuit current rather than the silicon miropillar solar cell, which the parameters of micropillar array are the same. Due to the Cu nanoparticles were decorated on the surface of silicon micropillar array, the photovoltaic properties of cells have been improved. In addition, the optimal efficiency of 11.5% was measured for the combined structure solar cell, which is better than the silicon micropillar cell.

High performance hybrid silicon micropillar solar cell based on light trapping characteristics of Cu nanoparticles

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yulong; Fan, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Weijia; Ma, Qiang; Jiang, Zhaoyi; Ma, Denghao

2018-05-01

High performance silicon combined structure (micropillar with Cu nanoparticles) solar cell has been synthesized from N-type silicon substrates based on the micropillar array. The combined structure solar cell exhibited higher short circuit current rather than the silicon miropillar solar cell, which the parameters of micropillar array are the same. Due to the Cu nanoparticles were decorated on the surface of silicon micropillar array, the photovoltaic properties of cells have been improved. In addition, the optimal efficiency of 11.5% was measured for the combined structure solar cell, which is better than the silicon micropillar cell.

Simulations for irradiation of silicon-based structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sagatova, A.; Pavlovic, M.; Sedlackova, K.; Necas, V.; Hybler, P.; Zatko, B.

2013-01-01

The software ModePEB for modelling of electron beam processing in multilayer flat objects was shown to be a very useful tool for optimization of the irradiation of silicon based structures. Except its significant help in setting-up the accelerator parameters corresponding to a desired dose, its proven reliability and consistency with the measured data makes the ModePEB an inevitable instrument for design and optimization of electron irradiation experiments. (authors)

Silicon Integrated Dual-Mode Interferometer with Differential Outputs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niklas Hoppe

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The dual-mode interferometer (DMI is an attractive alternative to Mach-Zehnder interferometers for sensor purposes, achieving sensitivities to refractive index changes close to state-of-the-art. Modern designs on silicon-on-insulator (SOI platforms offer thermally stable and compact devices with insertion losses of less than 1 dB and high extinction ratios. Compact arrays of multiple DMIs in parallel are easy to fabricate due to the simple structure of the DMI. In this work, the principle of operation of an integrated DMI with differential outputs is presented which allows the unambiguous phase shift detection with a single wavelength measurement, rather than using a wavelength sweep and evaluating the optical output power spectrum. Fluctuating optical input power or varying attenuation due to different analyte concentrations can be compensated by observing the sum of the optical powers at the differential outputs. DMIs with two differential single-mode outputs are fabricated in a 250 nm SOI platform, and corresponding measurements are shown to explain the principle of operation in detail. A comparison of DMIs with the conventional Mach-Zehnder interferometer using the same technology concludes this work.

Integrated circuits of silicon on insulator S.O.I. technologies: State of the art and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leray, J.L.; Dupont-Nivet, E.; Raffaelli, M.; Coic, Y.M.; Musseau, O.; Pere, J.F.; Lalande, P.; Bredy, J.; Auberton-Herve, A.J.; Bruel, M.; Giffard, B.

1989-01-01

Silicon On Insulator technologies have been proposed to increase the integrated circuits performances in radiation operation. Active researches are conducted, in France and abroad. This paper reviews briefly radiation effects phenomenology in that particular type of structure S.O.I. New results are presented that show very good radiation behaviour in term of speed, dose (10 to 100 megarad (Si)), dose rate and S.E.U. performances [fr

Determination of the quasi-TE mode (in-plane) graphene linear absorption coefficient via integration with silicon-on-insulator racetrack cavity resonators.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowe, Iain F; Clark, Nicholas; Hussein, Siham; Towlson, Brian; Whittaker, Eric; Milosevic, Milan M; Gardes, Frederic Y; Mashanovich, Goran Z; Halsall, Matthew P; Vijayaraghaven, Aravind

2014-07-28

We examine the near-IR light-matter interaction for graphene integrated cavity ring resonators based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) race-track waveguides. Fitting of the cavity resonances from quasi-TE mode transmission spectra reveal the real part of the effective refractive index for graphene, n(eff) = 2.23 ± 0.02 and linear absorption coefficient, α(gTE) = 0.11 ± 0.01dBμm(-1). The evanescent nature of the guided mode coupling to graphene at resonance depends strongly on the height of the graphene above the cavity, which places limits on the cavity length for optical sensing applications.

Adhesion between coating layers based on epoxy and silicone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Jacob R.; Kontogeorgis, Georgios; Kiil, Søren

2007-01-01

The adhesion between a silicon tie-coat and epoxy primers, used in marine coating systems, has been studied in this work. Six epoxy coatings (with varying chain lengths of the epoxy resins), some of which have shown problems with adhesion to the tie-coat during service life, have been considered....... The experimental investigation includes measurements of the surface tension of the tie-coat and the critical surface tensions of the epoxies, topographic investigation of the surfaces of cured epoxy coatings via atomic force microscopy (AFM), and pull-off tests for investigating the strength of adhesion...... to the silicon/epoxy systems. Calculations for determining the roughness factor of the six epoxy coatings (based on the AFM topographies) and the theoretical work of adhesion have been carried out. The coating surfaces are also characterized based on the van Oss-Good theory. Previous studies on the modulus...

Three hydrogenated amorphous silicon photodiodes stacked for an above integrated circuit colour sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gidon, Pierre; Giffard, Benoit; Moussy, Norbert; Parrein, Pascale; Poupinet, Ludovic [CEA-LETI, MINATEC, CEA-Grenoble, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)

2010-03-15

We present theoretical simulation and experimental results of a new colour pixel structure. This pixel catches the light in three stacked amorphous silicon photodiodes encompassed between transparent electrodes. The optical structure has been simulated for signal optimisation. The thickness of each stacked layer is chosen in order to absorb the maximum of light and the three signals allow to linearly calculate the CIE colour coordinates 1 with minimum error and noise. The whole process is compatible with an above integrated circuit (IC) approach. Each photodiode is an n-i-p structure. For optical reason, the upper diode must be controlled down to 25 nm thickness. The first test pixel structure allows a good recovering of colour coordinates. The measured absorption spectrum of each photodiode is in good agreement with our simulations. This specific stack with three photodiodes per pixel totalises two times more signal than an above IC pixel under a standard Bayer pattern 2,3. In each square of this GretagMacbeth chart is the reference colour on the right and the experimentally measured colour on the left with three amorphous silicon photodiodes per pixel. (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Status and perspectives of pixel sensors based on 3D vertical integration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Re, Valerio [Università di Bergamo, Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Viale Marconi, 5, 24044 Dalmine (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Pavia, Via Bassi, 6, 27100 Pavia (Italy)

2014-11-21

This paper reviews the most recent developments of 3D integration in the field of silicon pixel sensors and readout integrated circuits. This technology may address the needs of future high energy physics and photon science experiments by increasing the electronic functional density in small pixel readout cells and by stacking various device layers based on different technologies, each optimized for a different function. Current efforts are aimed at improving the performance of both hybrid pixel detectors and of CMOS sensors. The status of these activities is discussed here, taking into account experimental results on 3D devices developed in the frame of the 3D-IC consortium. The paper also provides an overview of the ideas that are being currently devised for novel 3D vertically integrated pixel sensors. - Highlights: • 3D integration is a promising technology for pixel sensors in high energy physics. • Experimental results on two-layer 3D CMOS pixel sensors are presented. • The outcome of the first run from the 3D-IC consortium is discussed. • The AIDA network is studying via-last 3D integration of heterogeneous layers. • New ideas based on 3D vertically integrated pixels are being developed for HEP.

Status and perspectives of pixel sensors based on 3D vertical integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Re, Valerio

2014-01-01

This paper reviews the most recent developments of 3D integration in the field of silicon pixel sensors and readout integrated circuits. This technology may address the needs of future high energy physics and photon science experiments by increasing the electronic functional density in small pixel readout cells and by stacking various device layers based on different technologies, each optimized for a different function. Current efforts are aimed at improving the performance of both hybrid pixel detectors and of CMOS sensors. The status of these activities is discussed here, taking into account experimental results on 3D devices developed in the frame of the 3D-IC consortium. The paper also provides an overview of the ideas that are being currently devised for novel 3D vertically integrated pixel sensors. - Highlights: • 3D integration is a promising technology for pixel sensors in high energy physics. • Experimental results on two-layer 3D CMOS pixel sensors are presented. • The outcome of the first run from the 3D-IC consortium is discussed. • The AIDA network is studying via-last 3D integration of heterogeneous layers. • New ideas based on 3D vertically integrated pixels are being developed for HEP

The mid-IR silicon photonics sensor platform (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Kimerling, Lionel; Hu, Juejun; Agarwal, Anuradha M.

2017-02-01

Advances in integrated silicon photonics are enabling highly connected sensor networks that offer sensitivity, selectivity and pattern recognition. Cost, performance and the evolution path of the so-called `Internet of Things' will gate the proliferation of these networks. The wavelength spectral range of 3-8um, commonly known as the mid-IR, is critical to specificity for sensors that identify materials by detection of local vibrational modes, reflectivity and thermal emission. For ubiquitous sensing applications in this regime, the sensors must move from premium to commodity level manufacturing volumes and cost. Scaling performance/cost is critically dependent on establishing a minimum set of platform attributes for point, wearable, and physical sensing. Optical sensors are ideal for non-invasive applications. Optical sensor device physics involves evanescent or intra-cavity structures for applied to concentration, interrogation and photo-catalysis functions. The ultimate utility of a platform is dependent on sample delivery/presentation modalities; system reset, recalibration and maintenance capabilities; and sensitivity and selectivity performance. The attributes and performance of a unified Glass-on-Silicon platform has shown good prospects for heterogeneous integration on materials and devices using a low cost process flow. Integrated, single mode, silicon photonic platforms offer significant performance and cost advantages, but they require discovery and qualification of new materials and process integration schemes for the mid-IR. Waveguide integrated light sources based on rare earth dopants and Ge-pumped frequency combs have promise. Optical resonators and waveguide spirals can enhance sensitivity. PbTe materials are among the best choices for a standard, waveguide integrated photodetector. Chalcogenide glasses are capable of transmitting mid-IR signals with high transparency. Integrated sensor case studies of i) high sensitivity analyte detection in

Silicon based nanogap device for studying electrical transport phenomena in molecule-nanoparticle hybrids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strobel, Sebastian; Hernandez, Rocio Murcia; Hansen, Allan G; Tornow, Marc

2008-01-01

We report the fabrication and characterization of vertical nanogap electrode devices using silicon-on-insulator substrates. Using only standard silicon microelectronic process technology, nanogaps down to 26 nm electrode separation were prepared. Transmission electron microscopy cross-sectional analysis revealed the well defined material architecture of the nanogap, comprising two electrodes of dissimilar geometrical shape. This asymmetry is directly reflected in transport measurements on molecule-nanoparticle hybrid systems formed by self-assembling a monolayer of mercaptohexanol on the electrode surface and the subsequent dielectrophoretic trapping of 30 nm diameter Au nanoparticles. The observed Coulomb staircase I-V characteristic measured at T = 4.2 K is in excellent agreement with theoretical modelling, whereby junction capacitances of the order of a few 10 -18 farad and asymmetric resistances of 30 and 300 MΩ, respectively, are also supported well by our independent estimates for the formed double barrier tunnelling system. We propose our nanoelectrode system for integrating novel functional electronic devices such as molecular junctions or nanoparticle hybrids into existing silicon microelectronic process technology

Silicon based nanogap device for studying electrical transport phenomena in molecule-nanoparticle hybrids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strobel, Sebastian; Hernandez, Rocio Murcia [Walter Schottky Institut, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Am Coulombwall 3, 85748 Garching (Germany); Hansen, Allan G; Tornow, Marc [Institut fuer Halbleitertechnik, Technische Universitaet Braunschweig, Hans-Sommer-Strasse 66, 38106 Braunschweig (Germany)], E-mail: m.tornow@tu-bs.de

2008-09-17

We report the fabrication and characterization of vertical nanogap electrode devices using silicon-on-insulator substrates. Using only standard silicon microelectronic process technology, nanogaps down to 26 nm electrode separation were prepared. Transmission electron microscopy cross-sectional analysis revealed the well defined material architecture of the nanogap, comprising two electrodes of dissimilar geometrical shape. This asymmetry is directly reflected in transport measurements on molecule-nanoparticle hybrid systems formed by self-assembling a monolayer of mercaptohexanol on the electrode surface and the subsequent dielectrophoretic trapping of 30 nm diameter Au nanoparticles. The observed Coulomb staircase I-V characteristic measured at T = 4.2 K is in excellent agreement with theoretical modelling, whereby junction capacitances of the order of a few 10{sup -18} farad and asymmetric resistances of 30 and 300 M{omega}, respectively, are also supported well by our independent estimates for the formed double barrier tunnelling system. We propose our nanoelectrode system for integrating novel functional electronic devices such as molecular junctions or nanoparticle hybrids into existing silicon microelectronic process technology.

Silicon based nanogap device for studying electrical transport phenomena in molecule-nanoparticle hybrids.

Science.gov (United States)

Strobel, Sebastian; Hernández, Rocío Murcia; Hansen, Allan G; Tornow, Marc

2008-09-17

We report the fabrication and characterization of vertical nanogap electrode devices using silicon-on-insulator substrates. Using only standard silicon microelectronic process technology, nanogaps down to 26 nm electrode separation were prepared. Transmission electron microscopy cross-sectional analysis revealed the well defined material architecture of the nanogap, comprising two electrodes of dissimilar geometrical shape. This asymmetry is directly reflected in transport measurements on molecule-nanoparticle hybrid systems formed by self-assembling a monolayer of mercaptohexanol on the electrode surface and the subsequent dielectrophoretic trapping of 30 nm diameter Au nanoparticles. The observed Coulomb staircase I-V characteristic measured at T = 4.2 K is in excellent agreement with theoretical modelling, whereby junction capacitances of the order of a few 10(-18) farad and asymmetric resistances of 30 and 300 MΩ, respectively, are also supported well by our independent estimates for the formed double barrier tunnelling system. We propose our nanoelectrode system for integrating novel functional electronic devices such as molecular junctions or nanoparticle hybrids into existing silicon microelectronic process technology.

Plasmonic nanofocusing of light in an integrated silicon photonics platform.

Science.gov (United States)

Desiatov, Boris; Goykhman, Ilya; Levy, Uriel

2011-07-04

The capability to focus electromagnetic energy at the nanoscale plays an important role in nanoscinece and nanotechnology. It allows enhancing light matter interactions at the nanoscale with applications related to nonlinear optics, light emission and light detection. It may also be used for enhancing resolution in microscopy, lithography and optical storage systems. Hereby we propose and experimentally demonstrate the nanoscale focusing of surface plasmons by constructing an integrated plasmonic/photonic on chip nanofocusing device in silicon platform. The device was tested directly by measuring the optical intensity along it using a near-field microscope. We found an order of magnitude enhancement of the intensity at the tip's apex. The spot size is estimated to be 50 nm. The demonstrated device may be used as a building block for "lab on a chip" systems and for enhancing light matter interactions at the apex of the tip.

Advances in silicon nanophotonics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvam, Jørn Märcher; Pu, Minhao

Silicon has long been established as an ideal material for passive integrated optical circuitry due to its high refractive index, with corresponding strong optical confinement ability, and its low-cost CMOS-compatible manufacturability. However, the inversion symmetry of the silicon crystal lattice.......g. in high-bit-rate optical communication circuits and networks, it is vital that the nonlinear optical effects of silicon are being strongly enhanced. This can among others be achieved in photonic-crystal slow-light waveguides and in nano-engineered photonic-wires (Fig. 1). In this talk I shall present some...... recent advances in this direction. The efficient coupling of light between optical fibers and the planar silicon devices and circuits is of crucial importance. Both end-coupling (Fig. 1) and grating-coupling solutions will be discussed along with polarization issues. A new scheme for a hybrid III...

Process for forming a porous silicon member in a crystalline silicon member

Science.gov (United States)

Northrup, M. Allen; Yu, Conrad M.; Raley, Norman F.

1999-01-01

Fabrication and use of porous silicon structures to increase surface area of heated reaction chambers, electrophoresis devices, and thermopneumatic sensor-actuators, chemical preconcentrates, and filtering or control flow devices. In particular, such high surface area or specific pore size porous silicon structures will be useful in significantly augmenting the adsorption, vaporization, desorption, condensation and flow of liquids and gasses in applications that use such processes on a miniature scale. Examples that will benefit from a high surface area, porous silicon structure include sample preconcentrators that are designed to adsorb and subsequently desorb specific chemical species from a sample background; chemical reaction chambers with enhanced surface reaction rates; and sensor-actuator chamber devices with increased pressure for thermopneumatic actuation of integrated membranes. Examples that benefit from specific pore sized porous silicon are chemical/biological filters and thermally-activated flow devices with active or adjacent surfaces such as electrodes or heaters.

"Silicon millefeuille": From a silicon wafer to multiple thin crystalline films in a single step

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández, David; Trifonov, Trifon; Garín, Moisés; Alcubilla, Ramon

2013-04-01

During the last years, many techniques have been developed to obtain thin crystalline films from commercial silicon ingots. Large market applications are foreseen in the photovoltaic field, where important cost reductions are predicted, and also in advanced microelectronics technologies as three-dimensional integration, system on foil, or silicon interposers [Dross et al., Prog. Photovoltaics 20, 770-784 (2012); R. Brendel, Thin Film Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells (Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany 2003); J. N. Burghartz, Ultra-Thin Chip Technology and Applications (Springer Science + Business Media, NY, USA, 2010)]. Existing methods produce "one at a time" silicon layers, once one thin film is obtained, the complete process is repeated to obtain the next layer. Here, we describe a technology that, from a single crystalline silicon wafer, produces a large number of crystalline films with controlled thickness in a single technological step.

Transformational silicon electronics

KAUST Repository

Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto; Sevilla, Galo T.; Ghoneim, Mohamed T.; Inayat, Salman Bin; Ahmed, Sally; Hussain, Aftab M.; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2014-01-01

In today's traditional electronics such as in computers or in mobile phones, billions of high-performance, ultra-low-power devices are neatly integrated in extremely compact areas on rigid and brittle but low-cost bulk monocrystalline silicon (100

Process for producing silicon nitride based articles of high fracture toughness and strength

Science.gov (United States)

Huckabee, M.; Buljan, S.T.; Neil, J.T.

1991-09-10

A process for producing a silicon nitride-based article of improved fracture toughness and strength is disclosed. The process involves densifying to at least 98% of theoretical density a mixture including (a) a bimodal silicon nitride powder blend consisting essentially of about 10-30% by weight of a first silicon nitride powder of an average particle size of about 0.2 [mu]m and a surface area of about 8-12 m[sup 2]/g, and about 70-90% by weight of a second silicon nitride powder of an average particle size of about 0.4-0.6 [mu]m and a surface area of about 2-4 m[sup 2]/g, (b) about 10-50 percent by volume, based on the volume of the densified article, of refractory whiskers or fibers having an aspect ratio of about 3-150 and having an equivalent diameter selected to produce in the densified article an equivalent diameter ratio of the whiskers or fibers to grains of silicon nitride of greater than 1.0, and (c) an effective amount of a suitable oxide densification aid. Optionally, the mixture may be blended with a binder and injection molded to form a green body, which then may be densified by, for example, hot isostatic pressing.

Rectangular-cladding silicon slot waveguide with improved nonlinear performance

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zengzhi; Huang, Qingzhong; Wang, Yi; Xia, Jinsong

2018-04-01

Silicon slot waveguides have great potential in hybrid silicon integration to realize nonlinear optical applications. We propose a rectangular-cladding hybrid silicon slot waveguide. Simulation result shows that, with a rectangular-cladding, the slot waveguide can be formed by narrower silicon strips, so the two-photon absorption (TPA) loss in silicon is decreased. When the cladding material is a nonlinear polymer, the calculated TPA figure of merit (FOMTPA) is 4.4, close to the value of bulk nonlinear polymer of 5.0. This value confirms the good nonlinear performance of rectangular-cladding silicon slot waveguides.

Materials and integration schemes for above-IC integrated optics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schmitz, Jurriaan; Rangarajan, B.; Kovalgin, Alexeij Y.

2014-01-01

A study is presented on silicon oxynitride material for waveguides and germanium-silicon alloys for p-i-n diodes. The materials are manufactured at low, CMOS-backend compatible temperatures, targeting the integration of optical functions on top of CMOS chips. Low-temperature germanium-silicon

Low surface damage dry etched black silicon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Plakhotnyuk, Maksym M.; Gaudig, Maria; Davidsen, Rasmus Schmidt

2017-01-01

Black silicon (bSi) is promising for integration into silicon solar cell fabrication flow due to its excellent light trapping and low reflectance, and a continuously improving passivation. However, intensive ion bombardment during the reactive ion etching used to fabricate bSi induces surface dam...

Generation of tunable, high repetition rate frequency combs with equalized spectra using carrier injection based silicon modulators

Science.gov (United States)

Nagarjun, K. P.; Selvaraja, Shankar Kumar; Supradeepa, V. R.

2016-03-01

High repetition-rate frequency combs with tunable repetition rate and carrier frequency are extensively used in areas like Optical communications, Microwave Photonics and Metrology. A common technique for their generation is strong phase modulation of a CW-laser. This is commonly implemented using Lithium-Niobate based modulators. With phase modulation alone, the combs have poor spectral flatness and significant number of missing lines. To overcome this, a complex cascade of multiple intensity and phase modulators are used. A comb generator on Silicon based on these principles is desirable to enable on-chip integration with other functionalities while reducing power consumption and footprint. In this work, we analyse frequency comb generation in carrier injection based Silicon modulators. We observe an interesting effect in these comb generators. Enhanced absorption accompanying carrier injection, an undesirable effect in data modulators, shapes the amplitude here to enable high quality combs from a single modulator. Thus, along with reduced power consumption to generate a specific number of lines, the complexity has also been significantly reduced. We use a drift-diffusion solver and mode solver (Silvaco TCAD) along with Soref-Bennett relations to calculate the variations in refractive indices and absorption of an optimized Silicon PIN - waveguide modulator driven by an unbiased high frequency (10 Ghz) voltage signal. Our simulations demonstrate that with a device length of 1 cm, a driving voltage of 2V and minor shaping with a passive ring-resonator filter, we obtain 37 lines with a flatness better than 5-dB across the band and power consumption an order of magnitude smaller than Lithium-Niobate modulators.

Initial steps toward the realization of large area arrays of single photon counting pixels based on polycrystalline silicon TFTs

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Albert K.; Koniczek, Martin; Antonuk, Larry E.; El-Mohri, Youcef; Zhao, Qihua; Jiang, Hao; Street, Robert A.; Lu, Jeng Ping

2014-03-01

The thin-film semiconductor processing methods that enabled creation of inexpensive liquid crystal displays based on amorphous silicon transistors for cell phones and televisions, as well as desktop, laptop and mobile computers, also facilitated the development of devices that have become ubiquitous in medical x-ray imaging environments. These devices, called active matrix flat-panel imagers (AMFPIs), measure the integrated signal generated by incident X rays and offer detection areas as large as ~43×43 cm2. In recent years, there has been growing interest in medical x-ray imagers that record information from X ray photons on an individual basis. However, such photon counting devices have generally been based on crystalline silicon, a material not inherently suited to the cost-effective manufacture of monolithic devices of a size comparable to that of AMFPIs. Motivated by these considerations, we have developed an initial set of small area prototype arrays using thin-film processing methods and polycrystalline silicon transistors. These prototypes were developed in the spirit of exploring the possibility of creating large area arrays offering single photon counting capabilities and, to our knowledge, are the first photon counting arrays fabricated using thin film techniques. In this paper, the architecture of the prototype pixels is presented and considerations that influenced the design of the pixel circuits, including amplifier noise, TFT performance variations, and minimum feature size, are discussed.

Superconducting Super Collider silicon tracking subsystem research and development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, W.O.; Thompson, T.C.; Ziock, H.J.; Gamble, M.T.

1990-12-01

The Alamos National Laboratory Mechanical Engineering and Electronics Division has been investigating silicon-based elementary particle tracking device technology as part of the Superconducting Super Collider-sponsored silicon subsystem collaboration. Structural, materials, and thermal issues have been addressed. This paper explores detector structural integrity and stability, including detailed finite element models of the silicon wafer support and predictive methods used in designing with advanced composite materials. The current design comprises a magnesium metal matrix composite (MMC) truss space frame to provide a sparse support structure for the complex array of silicon detectors. This design satisfies the 25-μm structural stability requirement in a 10-Mrad radiation environment. This stability is achieved without exceeding the stringent particle interaction constraints set at 2.5% of a radiation length. Materials studies have considered thermal expansion, elastic modulus, resistance to radiation and chemicals, and manufacturability of numerous candidate materials. Based on optimization of these parameters, the MMC space frame will possess a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) near zero to avoid thermally induced distortions, whereas the cooling rings, which support the silicon detectors and heat pipe network, will probably be constructed of a graphite/epoxy composite whose CTE is engineered to match that of silicon. Results from radiation, chemical, and static loading tests are compared with analytical predictions and discussed. Electronic thermal loading and its efficient dissipation using heat pipe cooling technology are discussed. Calculations and preliminary designs for a sprayed-on graphite wick structure are presented. A hydrocarbon such as butane appears to be a superior choice of heat pipe working fluid based on cooling, handling, and safety criteria

Optimization of the digital Silicon Photomultiplier for Cherenkov light detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frach, T

2012-01-01

The Silicon Photomultiplier is a promising alternative to fast vacuum photodetectors. We developed a fully digital implementation of the Silicon Photomultiplier. The sensor is based on a single photon avalanche photodiode (SPAD) integrated in a standard CMOS process. Photons are detected directly by sensing the voltage at the SPAD anode using a dedicated cell electronics block next to each diode. This block also contains active quenching and recharge circuits as well as a one bit memory for the selective inhibit of detector cells. A balanced trigger network is used to propagate the trigger signal from all cells to the integrated time-to-digital converter. Photons are detected and counted as digital signals, thus making the sensor less susceptible to temperature variations and electronic noise. The integration with CMOS logic has the added benefit of low power consumption and possible integration of data post-processing in the sensor. In this paper, we discuss the sensor architecture together with its characteristics, and its possible optimizations for applications requiring the detection of Cherenkov light.

Silicon Carbide Power Devices and Integrated Circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Lauenstein, Jean-Marie; Casey, Megan; Samsel, Isaak; LaBel, Ken; Chen, Yuan; Ikpe, Stanley; Wilcox, Ted; Phan, Anthony; Kim, Hak; Topper, Alyson

2017-01-01

An overview of the NASA NEPP Program Silicon Carbide Power Device subtask is given, including the current task roadmap, partnerships, and future plans. Included are the Agency-wide efforts to promote development of single-event effect hardened SiC power devices for space applications.

An integrated nonlinear optical loop mirror in silicon photonics for all-optical signal processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zifei Wang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM has been studied for several decades and has attracted considerable attention for applications in high data rate optical communications and all-optical signal processing. The majority of NOLM research has focused on silica fiber-based implementations. While various fiber designs have been considered to increase the nonlinearity and manage dispersion, several meters to hundreds of meters of fiber are still required. On the other hand, there is increasing interest in developing photonic integrated circuits for realizing signal processing functions. In this paper, we realize the first-ever passive integrated NOLM in silicon photonics and demonstrate its application for all-optical signal processing. In particular, we show wavelength conversion of 10 Gb/s return-to-zero on-off keying (RZ-OOK signals over a wavelength range of 30 nm with error-free operation and a power penalty of less than 2.5 dB, we achieve error-free nonreturn to zero (NRZ-to-RZ modulation format conversion at 10 Gb/s also with a power penalty of less than 2.8 dB, and we obtain error-free all-optical time-division demultiplexing of a 40 Gb/s RZ-OOK data signal into its 10 Gb/s tributary channels with a maximum power penalty of 3.5 dB.

Ordered silicon nanostructures for silicon-based photonics devices

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Fojtík, A.; Valenta, J.; Pelant, Ivan; Kálal, M.; Fiala, P.

2007-01-01

Roč. 5, Suppl. (2007), S250-S253 ISSN 1671-7694 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA1010316 Grant - others:GA MŠk(CZ) ME 933 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : nanocrystals * silicon * self-assembled monolayers Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism

Formation and properties of the buried isolating silicon-dioxide layer in double-layer “porous silicon-on-insulator” structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolotov, V. V.; Knyazev, E. V.; Ponomareva, I. V.; Kan, V. E., E-mail: kan@obisp.oscsbras.ru; Davletkildeev, N. A.; Ivlev, K. E.; Roslikov, V. E. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Omsk Scientific Center, Siberian Branch (Russian Federation)

2017-01-15

The oxidation of mesoporous silicon in a double-layer “macroporous silicon–mesoporous silicon” structure is studied. The morphology and dielectric properties of the buried insulating layer are investigated using electron microscopy, ellipsometry, and electrical measurements. Specific defects (so-called spikes) are revealed between the oxidized macropore walls in macroporous silicon and the oxidation crossing fronts in mesoporous silicon. It is found that, at an initial porosity of mesoporous silicon of 60%, three-stage thermal oxidation leads to the formation of buried silicon-dioxide layers with an electric-field breakdown strength of E{sub br} ~ 10{sup 4}–10{sup 5} V/cm. Multilayered “porous silicon-on-insulator” structures are shown to be promising for integrated chemical micro- and nanosensors.

Neuron-inspired flexible memristive device on silicon (100)

KAUST Repository

Ghoneim, Mohamed T.

2017-06-18

Comprehensive understanding of the world\\'s most energy efficient powerful computer, the human brain, is an elusive scientific issue. Still, already gained knowledge indicates memristors can be used as a building block to model the brain. At the same time, brain cortex is folded allowing trillions of neurons to be integrated in a compact volume. Therefore, we report flexible aluminium oxide based memristive devices fabricated and then derived from widely used bulk mono-crystalline silicon (100). We use complementary metal oxide semiconductor based processes to layout the foundation for ultra large scale integration (ULSI) of such memory devices to advance the task of comprehending a physical model of human brain.

Development of slew-rate-limited time-over-threshold (ToT) ASIC for a multi-channel silicon-based ion detector

Science.gov (United States)

Uenomachi, M.; Orita, T.; Shimazoe, K.; Takahashi, H.; Ikeda, H.; Tsujita, K.; Sekiba, D.

2018-01-01

High-resolution Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (HERDA), which consists of a 90o sector magnetic spectrometer and a position-sensitive detector (PSD), is a method of quantitative hydrogen analysis. In order to increase sensitivity, a HERDA system using a multi-channel silicon-based ion detector has been developed. Here, as a parallel and fast readout circuit from a multi-channel silicon-based ion detector, a slew-rate-limited time-over-threshold (ToT) application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) was designed, and a new slew-rate-limited ToT method is proposed. The designed ASIC has 48 channels and each channel consists of a preamplifier, a slew-rate-limited shaping amplifier, which makes ToT response linear, and a comparator. The measured equivalent noise charges (ENCs) of the preamplifier, the shaper, and the ToT on no detector capacitance were 253±21, 343±46, and 560±56 electrons RMS, respectively. The spectra from a 241Am source measured using a slew-rate-limited ToT ASIC are also reported.

Advancements in n-type base crystalline silicon solar cells and their emergence in the photovoltaic industry.

Science.gov (United States)

ur Rehman, Atteq; Lee, Soo Hong

2013-01-01

The p-type crystalline silicon wafers have occupied most of the solar cell market today. However, modules made with n-type crystalline silicon wafers are actually the most efficient modules up to date. This is because the material properties offered by n-type crystalline silicon substrates are suitable for higher efficiencies. Properties such as the absence of boron-oxygen related defects and a greater tolerance to key metal impurities by n-type crystalline silicon substrates are major factors that underline the efficiency of n-type crystalline silicon wafer modules. The bi-facial design of n-type cells with good rear-side electronic and optical properties on an industrial scale can be shaped as well. Furthermore, the development in the industrialization of solar cell designs based on n-type crystalline silicon substrates also highlights its boost in the contributions to the photovoltaic industry. In this paper, a review of various solar cell structures that can be realized on n-type crystalline silicon substrates will be given. Moreover, the current standing of solar cell technology based on n-type substrates and its contribution in photovoltaic industry will also be discussed.

Surface thiolation of silicon for antifouling application.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoning; Gao, Pei; Hollimon, Valerie; Brodus, DaShan; Johnson, Arion; Hu, Hongmei

2018-02-07

Thiol groups grafted silicon surface was prepared as previously described. 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol (PFDT) molecules were then immobilized on such a surface through disulfide bonds formation. To investigate the contribution of PFDT coating to antifouling, the adhesion behaviors of Botryococcus braunii (B. braunii) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) were studied through biofouling assays in the laboratory. The representative microscope images suggest reduced B. braunii and E. coli accumulation densities on PFDT integrated silicon substrate. However, the antifouling performance of PFDT integrated silicon substrate decreased over time. By incubating the aged substrate in 10 mM TCEP·HCl solution for 1 h, the fouled PFDT coating could be removed as the disulfide bonds were cleaved, resulting in reduced absorption of algal cells and exposure of non-fouled silicon substrate surface. Our results indicate that the thiol-terminated substrate can be potentially useful for restoring the fouled surface, as well as maximizing the effective usage of the substrate.

Silicon Nanowires for All-Optical Signal Processing in Optical Communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pu, Minhao; Hu, Hao; Ji, Hua

2012-01-01

Silicon (Si), the second most abundant element on earth, has dominated in microelectronics for many decades. It can also be used for photonic devices due to its transparency in the range of optical telecom wavelengths which will enable a platform for a monolithic integration of optics...... and microelectronics. Silicon photonic nanowire waveguides fabricated on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates are crucial elements in nano-photonic integrated circuits. The strong light confinement in nanowires induced by high index contrast SOI material enhances the nonlinear effects in the silicon nanowire core...... such as four-wave mixing (FWM) which is an imperative process for optical signal processing. Since the current mature silicon fabrication technology enables a precise dimension control on nanowires, dispersion engineering can be performed by tailoring nanowire dimensions to realize an efficient nonlinear...

Packaging of silicon sensors for microfluidic bio-analytical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wimberger-Friedl, Reinhold; Prins, Menno; Megens, Mischa; Dittmer, Wendy; Witz, Christiane de; Nellissen, Ton; Weekamp, Wim; Delft, Jan van; Ansems, Will; Iersel, Ben van

2009-01-01

A new industrial concept is presented for packaging biosensor chips in disposable microfluidic cartridges to enable medical diagnostic applications. The inorganic electronic substrates, such as silicon or glass, are integrated in a polymer package which provides the electrical and fluidic interconnections to the world and provides mechanical strength and protection for out-of-lab use. The demonstrated prototype consists of a molded interconnection device (MID), a silicon-based giant magneto-resistive (GMR) biosensor chip, a flex and a polymer fluidic part with integrated tubing. The various processes are compatible with mass manufacturing and run at a high yield. The devices show a reliable electrical interconnection between the sensor chip and readout electronics during extended wet operation. Sandwich immunoassays were carried out in the cartridges with surface functionalized sensor chips. Biological response curves were determined for different concentrations of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on the packaged biosensor, which demonstrates the functionality and biocompatibility of the devices. The new packaging concept provides a platform for easy further integration of electrical and fluidic functions, as for instance required for integrated molecular diagnostic devices in cost-effective mass manufacturing

Printable nanostructured silicon solar cells for high-performance, large-area flexible photovoltaics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sung-Min; Biswas, Roshni; Li, Weigu; Kang, Dongseok; Chan, Lesley; Yoon, Jongseung

2014-10-28

Nanostructured forms of crystalline silicon represent an attractive materials building block for photovoltaics due to their potential benefits to significantly reduce the consumption of active materials, relax the requirement of materials purity for high performance, and hence achieve greatly improved levelized cost of energy. Despite successful demonstrations for their concepts over the past decade, however, the practical application of nanostructured silicon solar cells for large-scale implementation has been hampered by many existing challenges associated with the consumption of the entire wafer or expensive source materials, difficulties to precisely control materials properties and doping characteristics, or restrictions on substrate materials and scalability. Here we present a highly integrable materials platform of nanostructured silicon solar cells that can overcome these limitations. Ultrathin silicon solar microcells integrated with engineered photonic nanostructures are fabricated directly from wafer-based source materials in configurations that can lower the materials cost and can be compatible with deterministic assembly procedures to allow programmable, large-scale distribution, unlimited choices of module substrates, as well as lightweight, mechanically compliant constructions. Systematic studies on optical and electrical properties, photovoltaic performance in experiments, as well as numerical modeling elucidate important design rules for nanoscale photon management with ultrathin, nanostructured silicon solar cells and their interconnected, mechanically flexible modules, where we demonstrate 12.4% solar-to-electric energy conversion efficiency for printed ultrathin (∼ 8 μm) nanostructured silicon solar cells when configured with near-optimal designs of rear-surface nanoposts, antireflection coating, and back-surface reflector.

A fully integrated optical detector with a-Si:H based color photodiodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watty, Krystian; Merfort, Christian; Seibel, Konstantin; Schoeler, Lars; Boehm, Markus [Institute for Microsystem Technologies (IMT), University of Siegen, Hoelderlinstr. 3, 57076 Siegen (Germany)

2010-03-15

The fabrication of an electrophoresis separation microchip with monolithic integrated excitation light source and variospectral photodiodes for absorption detection is presented in this paper. Microchip based separation techniques are essential elements in the development of fully integrated micro-total analysis systems ({mu}-TAS). An integrated microfluidic device, like an application specific lab-on-microchip (ALM) (Seibel et al., in: MRS Spring Meeting, San Francisco, USA, 2005 1), includes all components, necessary to perform a chemical analysis on chip and it can be used as a stand-alone unit directly at the point of sampling. Variospectral diodes based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) technology allow for advanced optical detection schemes, because the spectral sensitivity of the devices can be tailored to fit the emission of specific fluorescent markers. Important features of a-Si:H variospectral photodiodes are a high dynamic range, a bias-tunable spectral sensitivity and a very good linearity for the separation of mixed color signals. Principle of ALM device. (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

A Novel Silicon-based Wideband RF Nano Switch Matrix Cell and the Fabrication of RF Nano Switch Structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Xiu YANG

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the concept of RF nano switch matrix cell and the fabrication of RF nano switch. The nano switch matrix cell can be implemented into complex switch matrix for signal routing. RF nano switch is the decision unit for the matrix cell; in this research, it is fabricated on a tri-layer high-resistivity-silicon substrate using surface micromachining approach. Electron beam lithography is introduced to define the pattern and IC compatible deposition process is used to construct the metal layers. Silicon-based nano switch fabricated by IC compatible process can lead to a high potential of system integration to perform a cost effective system-on-a-chip solution. In this paper, simulation results of the designed matrix cell are presented; followed by the details of the nano structure fabrication and fabrication challenges optimizations; finally, measurements of the fabricated nano structure along with analytical discussions are also discussed.

Development of a Silicon Based Electron Beam Transmission Window for Use in a KrF Excimer Laser System

CERN Document Server

Gentile, C A; Hartfield, J W; Hawryluk, R J; Hegeler, F; Heitzenroeder, P J; Jun, C H; Ku, L P; Lamarche, P H; Myers, M C; Parker, J J; Parsells, R F; Payen, M; Raftopoulos, S; Sethian, J D

2002-01-01

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), in collaboration with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), is currently investigating various novel materials (single crystal silicon, , and ) for use as electron-beam transmission windows in a KrF excimer laser system. The primary function of the window is to isolate the active medium (excimer gas) from the excitation mechanism (field-emission diodes). Chosen window geometry must accommodate electron energy transfer greater than 80% (750 keV), while maintaining structural integrity during mechanical load (1.3 to 2.0 atm base pressure differential, approximate 0.5 atm cyclic pressure amplitude, 5 Hz repetition rate) and thermal load across the entire hibachi area (approximate 0.9 W centre dot cm superscript ''-2''). In addition, the window must be chemically resistant to attack by fluorine free-radicals (hydrofluoric acid, secondary). In accordance with these structural, functional, and operational parameters, a 22.4 mm square silicon prototype window, coated w...

Thin PZT-Based Ferroelectric Capacitors on Flexible Silicon for Nonvolatile Memory Applications

KAUST Repository

Ghoneim, Mohamed T.

2015-04-24

A flexible version of traditional thin lead zirconium titanate ((Pb1.1Zr0.48Ti0.52O3)-(PZT)) based ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) on silicon shows record performance in flexible arena. The thin PZT layer requires lower operational voltages to achieve coercive electric fields, reduces the sol-gel coating cycles required (i.e., more cost-effective), and, fabrication wise, is more suitable for further scaling of lateral dimensions to the nano-scale due to the larger feature size-to-depth aspect ratio (critical for ultra-high density non-volatile memory applications). Utilizing the inverse proportionality between substrate\\'s thickness and its flexibility, traditional PZT based FeRAM on silicon is transformed through a transfer-less manufacturable process into a flexible form that matches organic electronics\\' flexibility while preserving the superior performance of silicon CMOS electronics. Each memory cell in a FeRAM array consists of two main elements; a select/access transistor, and a storage ferroelectric capacitor. Flexible transistors on silicon have already been reported. In this work, we focus on the storage ferroelectric capacitors, and report, for the first time, its performance after transformation into a flexible version, and assess its key memory parameters while bent at 0.5 cm minimum bending radius.

Fabrication of detectors and transistors on high-resistivity silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holland, S.

1988-06-01

A new process for the fabrication of silicon p-i-n diode radiation detectors is described. The utilization of backside gettering in the fabrication process results in the actual physical removal of detrimental impurities from critical device regions. This reduces the sensitivity of detector properties to processing variables while yielding low diode reverse-leakage currents. In addition, gettering permits the use of processing temperatures compatible with integrated-circuit fabrication. P-channel MOSFETs and silicon p-i-n diodes have been fabricated simultaneously on 10 kΩ/centerreverse arrowdot/cm silicon using conventional integrated-circuit processing techniques. 25 refs., 5 figs

Integrated reconfigurable photonic filters based on interferometric fractional Hilbert transforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Sima, C; Cai, B; Liu, B; Gao, Y; Yu, Y; Gates, J C; Zervas, M N; Smith, P G R; Liu, D

2017-10-01

In this paper, we present integrated reconfigurable photonic filters using fractional Hilbert transformers (FrHTs) and optical phase tuning structure within the silica-on-silicon platform. The proposed structure, including grating-based FrHTs, an X-coupler, and a pair of thermal tuning filaments, is fabricated through the direct UV grating writing technique. The thermal tuning effect is realized by the controllable microheaters located on the two arms of the X-coupler. We investigate the 200 GHz maximum bandwidth photonic FrHTs based on apodized planar Bragg gratings, and analyze the reflection spectrum responses. Through device integration and thermal modulation, the device could operate as photonic notch filters with 5 GHz linewidth and controllable single sideband suppression filters with measured 12 dB suppression ratio. A 50 GHz instantaneous frequency measuring system using this device is also schematically proposed and analyzed with potential 3 dB measurement improvement. The device could be configured with these multiple functions according to need. The reconfigurable structure has great potential in ultrafast all-optical signal processing fields.

Polymer-based stress sensor with integrated readout

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thaysen, Jacob; Yalcinkaya, Arda Deniz; Vettiger, P.

2002-01-01

softer than silicon and that a gold resistor is easily incorporated in SU-8, we have proven that a SU-8-based cantilever sensor is almost as sensitive to stress changes as the silicon piezoresistive cantilever. First, the surface stress sensing principle is discussed, from which it can be shown......, noise and device failure. The characterization shows that there is a good agreement between the expected and the obtained performance....

Optimization and validation of highly selective microfluidic integrated silicon nanowire chemical sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Ehfaed, Nuri. A. K. H.; Bathmanathan, Shillan A. L.; Dhahi, Th S.; Adam, Tijjani; Hashim, Uda; Noriman, N. Z.

2017-09-01

The study proposed characterization and optimization of silicon nanosensor for specific detection of heavy metal. The sensor was fabricated in-house and conventional photolithography coupled with size reduction via dry etching process in an oxidation furnace. Prior to heavy metal heavy metal detection, the capability to aqueous sample was determined utilizing serial DI water at various. The sensor surface was surface modified with Organofunctional alkoxysilanes (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES) to create molecular binding chemistry. This has allowed interaction between heavy metals being measured and the sensor component resulting in increasing the current being measured. Due to its, excellent detection capabilities, this sensor was able to identify different group heavy metal species. The device was further integrated with sub-50 µm for chemical delivery.

Effects of slag-based silicon fertilizer on rice growth and brown-spot resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Dongfeng; Song, Alin; Fan, Fenliang; Li, Zhaojun; Liang, Yongchao

2014-01-01

It is well documented that slag-based silicon fertilizers have beneficial effects on the growth and disease resistance of rice. However, their effects vary greatly with sources of slag and are closely related to availability of silicon (Si) in these materials. To date, few researches have been done to compare the differences in plant performance and disease resistance between different slag-based silicon fertilizers applied at the same rate of plant-available Si. In the present study both steel and iron slags were chosen to investigate their effects on rice growth and disease resistance under greenhouse conditions. Both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to examine the effects of slags on ultrastructural changes in leaves of rice naturally infected by Bipolaris oryaze, the causal agent of brown spot. The results showed that both slag-based Si fertilizers tested significantly increased rice growth and yield, but decreased brown spot incidence, with steel slag showing a stronger effect than iron slag. The results of SEM analysis showed that application of slags led to more pronounced cell silicification in rice leaves, more silica cells, and more pronounced and larger papilla as well. The results of TEM analysis showed that mesophyll cells of slag-untreated rice leaf were disorganized, with colonization of the fungus (Bipolaris oryzae), including chloroplast degradation and cell wall alterations. The application of slag maintained mesophyll cells relatively intact and increased the thickness of silicon layer. It can be concluded that applying slag-based fertilizer to Si-deficient paddy soil is necessary for improving both rice productivity and brown spot resistance. The immobile silicon deposited in host cell walls and papillae sites is the first physical barrier for fungal penetration, while the soluble Si in the cytoplasm enhances physiological or induced resistance to fungal colonization.

Superhydrophobic SERS substrates based on silicon hierarchical nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xuexian; Wen, Jinxiu; Zhou, Jianhua; Zheng, Zebo; An, Di; Wang, Hao; Xie, Weiguang; Zhan, Runze; Xu, Ningsheng; Chen, Jun; She, Juncong; Chen, Huanjun; Deng, Shaozhi

2018-02-01

Silicon nanostructures have been cultivated as promising surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates in terms of their low-loss optical resonance modes, facile functionalization, and compatibility with today’s state-of-the-art CMOS techniques. However, unlike their plasmonic counterparts, the electromagnetic field enhancements induced by silicon nanostructures are relatively small, which restrict their SERS sensing limit to around 10-7 M. To tackle this problem, we propose here a strategy for improving the SERS performance of silicon nanostructures by constructing silicon hierarchical nanostructures with a superhydrophobic surface. The hierarchical nanostructures are binary structures consisted of silicon nanowires (NWs) grown on micropyramids (MPs). After being modified with perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFOT), the nanostructure surface shows a stable superhydrophobicity with a high contact angle of ˜160°. The substrate can allow for concentrating diluted analyte solutions into a specific area during the evaporation of the liquid droplet, whereby the analytes are aggregated into a small volume and can be easily detected by the silicon nanostructure SERS substrate. The analyte molecules (methylene blue: MB) enriched from an aqueous solution lower than 10-8 M can be readily detected. Such a detection limit is ˜100-fold lower than the conventional SERS substrates made of silicon nanostructures. Additionally, the detection limit can be further improved by functionalizing gold nanoparticles onto silicon hierarchical nanostructures, whereby the superhydrophobic characteristics and plasmonic field enhancements can be combined synergistically to give a detection limit down to ˜10-11 M. A gold nanoparticle-functionalized superhydrophobic substrate was employed to detect the spiked melamine in liquid milk. The results showed that the detection limit can be as low as 10-5 M, highlighting the potential of the proposed superhydrophobic SERS substrate in

Study of shape evaluation for mask and silicon using large field of view

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Ryoichi; Mito, Hiroaki; Shinoda, Shinichi; Toyoda, Yasutaka

2010-09-01

We have developed a highly integrated method of mask and silicon metrology. The aim of this integration is evaluating the performance of the silicon corresponding to Hotspot on a mask. It can use the mask shape of a large field, besides. The method adopts a metrology management system based on DBM (Design Based Metrology). This is the high accurate contouring created by an edge detection algorithm used in mask CD-SEM and silicon CD-SEM. Currently, as semiconductor manufacture moves towards even smaller feature size, this necessitates more aggressive optical proximity correction (OPC) to drive the super-resolution technology (RET). In other words, there is a trade-off between highly precise RET and mask manufacture, and this has a big impact on the semiconductor market that centers on the mask business. As an optimal solution to these issues, we provide a DFM solution that extracts 2-dimensional data for a more realistic and error-free simulation by reproducing accurately the contour of the actual mask, in addition to the simulation results from the mask data. On the other hand, there is roughness in the silicon form made from a mass-production line. Moreover, there is variation in the silicon form. For this reason, quantification of silicon form is important, in order to estimate the performance of a pattern. In order to quantify, the same form is equalized in two dimensions. And the method of evaluating based on the form is popular. In this study, we conducted experiments for averaging method of the pattern (Measurement Based Contouring) as two-dimensional mask and silicon evaluation technique. That is, observation of the identical position of a mask and a silicon was considered. The result proved its detection accuracy and reliability of variability on two-dimensional pattern (mask and silicon) and is adaptable to following fields of mask quality management. •Discrimination of nuisance defects for fine pattern. •Determination of two-dimensional variability of

Integrated programmable photonic filter on the silicon -on- insulator platform

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liao, Shasha; Ding, Yunhong; Peucheret, Christophe

2014-01-01

We propose and demonstrate a silicon - on - insulator (SOI) on - chip programmable filter based on a four - tap finite impulse response structure. The photonic filter is programmable thanks to amplitude and phase modulation of each tap controlled by thermal heater s. We further demonstrate...... the tunability of the filter central wavelength, bandwidth and variable passband shape. The tuning range of the central wavelength is at least 42% of the free spectral range. The bandwidth tuning range is at least half of the free spectral range. Our scheme has distinct advantages of compactness, capability...

Athermal Photonic Devices and Circuits on a Silicon Platform

Science.gov (United States)

Raghunathan, Vivek

In recent years, silicon based optical interconnects has been pursued as an effective solution that can offer cost, energy, distance and bandwidth density improvements over copper. Monolithic integration of optics and electronics has been enabled by silicon photonic devices that can be fabricated using CMOS technology. However, high levels of device integration result in significant local and global temperature fluctuations that prove problematic for silicon based photonic devices. In particular, high temperature dependence of Si refractive index (thermo-optic (TO) coefficient) shifts the filter response of resonant devices that limit wavelength resolution in various applications. Active thermal compensation using heaters and thermo-electric coolers are the legacy solution for low density integration. However, the required electrical power, device foot print and number of input/output (I/O) lines limit the integration density. We present a passive approach to an athermal design that involves compensation of positive TO effects from a silicon core by negative TO effects of the polymer cladding. In addition, the design rule involves engineering the waveguide core geometry depending on the resonance wavelength under consideration to ensure desired amount of light in the polymer. We develop exact design requirements for a TO peak stability of 0 pm/K and present prototype performance of 0.5 pm/K. We explore the material design space through initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) of 2 polymer cladding choices. We study the effect of cross-linking on the optical properties of a polymer and establish the superior performance of the co-polymer cladding compared to the homo-polymer. Integration of polymer clad devices in an electronic-photonic architecture requires the possibility of multi-layer stacking capability. We use a low temperature, high density plasma chemical vapor deposition of SiO2/SiN x to hermetically seal the athermal. Further, we employ visible light for

A Forward Silicon Strip System for the ATLAS HL-LHC Upgrade

CERN Document Server

Wonsak, S; The ATLAS collaboration

2012-01-01

The LHC is successfully accumulating luminosity at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV this year. At the same time, plans are rapidly progressing for a series of upgrades, culminating roughly eight years from now in the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) project. The HL-LHC is expected to deliver approximately five times the LHC nominal instantaneous luminosity, resulting in a total integrated luminosity of around 3000 fb-1 by 2030. The ATLAS experiment has a rather well advanced plan to build and install a completely new Inner Tracker (IT) system entirely based on silicon detectors by 2020. This new IT will be made from several pixel and strip layers. The silicon strip detector system will consist of single-sided p-type detectors with five barrel layers and six endcap (EC) disks on each forward side. Each disk will consist of 32 trapezoidal objects dubbed “petals”, with all services (cooling, read-out, command lines, LV and HV power) integrated into the petal. Each petal will contain 18 silicon sensors grouped in...

Silicon Nano fabrication by Atomic Force Microscopy-Based Mechanical Processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyake, Sh.; Wang, M.; Kim, J.

2014-01-01

This paper reviews silicon nano fabrication processes using atomic force microscopy (AFM). In particular, it summarizes recent results obtained in our research group regarding AFM-based silicon nano fabrication through mechanochemical local oxidation by diamond tip sliding, as well as mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical processing using an electrically conductive diamond tip. Microscopic three-dimensional manufacturing mainly relies on etching, deposition, and lithography. Therefore, a special emphasis was placed on nano mechanical processes, mechanochemical reaction by potassium hydroxide solution etching, and mechanical and electrical approaches. Several important surface characterization techniques consisting of scanning tunneling microscopy and related techniques, such as scanning probe microscopy and AFM, were also discussed.

Joining and Integration of Silicon Nitride Ceramics for Aerospace and Energy Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, M.; Asthana, R.

2009-01-01

Light-weight, creep-resistant silicon nitride ceramics possess excellent high-temperature strength and are projected to significantly raise engine efficiency and performance when used as turbine components in the next-generation turbo-shaft engines without the extensive cooling that is needed for metallic parts. One key aspect of Si3N4 utilization in such applications is its joining response to diverse materials. In an ongoing research program, the joining and integration of Si3N4 ceramics with metallic, ceramic, and composite materials using braze interlayers with the liquidus temperature in the range 750-1240C is being explored. In this paper, the self-joining behavior of Kyocera Si3N4 and St. Gobain Si3N4 using a ductile Cu-based active braze (Cu-ABA) containing Ti will be presented. Joint microstructure, composition, hardness, and strength as revealed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Knoop microhardness test, and offset compression shear test will be presented. Additionally, microstructure, composition, and joint strength of Si3N4/Inconel 625 joints made using Cu-ABA, will be presented. The results will be discussed with reference to the role of chemical reactions, wetting behavior, and residual stresses in joints.

Additive advantage in characteristics of MIMCAPs on flexible silicon (100) fabric with release-first process

KAUST Repository

Ghoneim, Mohamed T.

2013-11-20

We report the inherent increase in capacitance per unit planar area of state-of-the art high-κ integrated metal/insulator/metal capacitors (MIMCAPs) fabricated on flexible silicon fabric with release-first process. We methodically study and show that our approach to transform bulk silicon (100) into a flexible fabric adds an inherent advantage of enabling higher integration density dynamic random access memory (DRAM) on the same chip area. Our approach is to release an ultra-thin silicon (100) fabric (25 μm thick) from the bulk silicon wafer, then build MIMCAPs using sputtered aluminium electrodes and successive atomic layer depositions (ALD) without break-ing the vacuum of a high-κ aluminium oxide sandwiched between two tantalum nitride layers. This result shows that we can obtain flexible electronics on silicon without sacrificing the high density integration aspects and also utilize the non-planar geometry associated with fabrication process to obtain a higher integration density compared to bulk silicon integration due to an increased normalized capacitance per unit planar area. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Enhanced four-wave mixing in graphene-silicon slow-light photonic crystal waveguides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Hao; Gu, Tingyi; McMillan, James F.; Wong, Chee Wei; Petrone, Nicholas; Zande, Arend van der; Hone, James C.; Yu, Mingbin; Lo, Guoqiang; Kwong, Dim-Lee; Feng, Guoying; Zhou, Shouhuan

2014-01-01

We demonstrate the enhanced four-wave mixing of monolayer graphene on slow-light silicon photonic crystal waveguides. 200-μm interaction length, a four-wave mixing conversion efficiency of −23 dB is achieved in the graphene-silicon slow-light hybrid, with an enhanced 3-dB conversion bandwidth of about 17 nm. Our measurements match well with nonlinear coupled-mode theory simulations based on the measured waveguide dispersion, and provide an effective way for all-optical signal processing in chip-scale integrated optics.

Ultracompact high-efficiency polarising beam splitter based on silicon nanobrick arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Guoxing; Liu, Guogen; Kenney, Mitchell Guy; Li, Zile; He, Ping'an; Li, Song; Ren, Zhi; Deng, Qiling

2016-03-21

Since the transmission of anisotropic nano-structures is sensitive to the polarisation of an incident beam, a novel polarising beam splitter (PBS) based on silicon nanobrick arrays is proposed. With careful design of such structures, an incident beam with polarisation direction aligned with the long axis of the nanobrick is almost totally reflected (~98.5%), whilst that along the short axis is nearly totally transmitted (~94.3%). More importantly, by simply changing the width of the nanobrick we can shift the peak response wavelength from 1460 nm to 1625 nm, covering S, C and L bands of the fiber telecommunications windows. The silicon nanobrick-based PBS can find applications in many fields which require ultracompactness, high efficiency, and compatibility with semiconductor industry technologies.

PREFACE: E-MRS 2012 Spring Meeting, Symposium M: More than Moore: Novel materials approaches for functionalized Silicon based Microelectronics

Science.gov (United States)

Wenger, Christian; Fompeyrine, Jean; Vallée, Christophe; Locquet, Jean-Pierre

2012-12-01

More than Moore explores a new area of Silicon based microelectronics, which reaches beyond the boundaries of conventional semiconductor applications. Creating new functionality to semiconductor circuits, More than Moore focuses on motivating new technological possibilities. In the past decades, the main stream of microelectronics progresses was mainly powered by Moore's law, with two focused development arenas, namely, IC miniaturization down to nano scale, and SoC based system integration. While the microelectronics community continues to invent new solutions around the world to keep Moore's law alive, there is increasing momentum for the development of 'More than Moore' technologies which are based on silicon technologies but do not simply scale with Moore's law. Typical examples are RF, Power/HV, Passives, Sensor/Actuator/MEMS or Bio-chips. The More than Moore strategy is driven by the increasing social needs for high level heterogeneous system integration including non-digital functions, the necessity to speed up innovative product creation and to broaden the product portfolio of wafer fabs, and the limiting cost and time factors of advanced SoC development. It is believed that More than Moore will add value to society on top of and beyond advanced CMOS with fast increasing marketing potentials. Important key challenges for the realization of the 'More than Moore' strategy are: perspective materials for future THz devices materials systems for embedded sensors and actuators perspective materials for epitaxial approaches material systems for embedded innovative memory technologies development of new materials with customized characteristics The Hot topics covered by the symposium M (More than Moore: Novel materials approaches for functionalized Silicon based Microelectronics) at E-MRS 2012 Spring Meeting, 14-18 May 2012 have been: development of functional ceramics thin films New dielectric materials for advanced microelectronics bio- and CMOS compatible

Last Advances in Silicon-Based Optical Biosensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrián Fernández Gavela

2016-02-01

Full Text Available We review the most important achievements published in the last five years in the field of silicon-based optical biosensors. We focus specially on label-free optical biosensors and their implementation into lab-on-a-chip platforms, with an emphasis on developments demonstrating the capability of the devices for real bioanalytical applications. We report on novel transducers and materials, improvements of existing transducers, new and improved biofunctionalization procedures as well as the prospects for near future commercialization of these technologies.

Last Advances in Silicon-Based Optical Biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández Gavela, Adrián; Grajales García, Daniel; Ramirez, Jhonattan C; Lechuga, Laura M

2016-02-24

We review the most important achievements published in the last five years in the field of silicon-based optical biosensors. We focus specially on label-free optical biosensors and their implementation into lab-on-a-chip platforms, with an emphasis on developments demonstrating the capability of the devices for real bioanalytical applications. We report on novel transducers and materials, improvements of existing transducers, new and improved biofunctionalization procedures as well as the prospects for near future commercialization of these technologies.