Experimental clarification of orientation dependence of germanium PMOSFETs with AlzO3/GeOx/Ge gate stack

An extensive and complete experimental investigation with a full layout design of the channel direction was carried out for the first time to clarify the orientation dependence of germanium p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors （PMOSFETs）. By comparison of gate trans-conductance, drive current, and hole mobility, we found that the performance trend with the substrate orientation for Ge PMOSFET is （110）〉（111） ~ （100）, and the best channel direction is （110）/[110]. Moreover, the （110） device performance was found to be easily degraded as the channel direction got off from the [ 110] orientation, while （100） and （111） devices exhibited less channel orientation dependence. This experimental result shows good matching with the simulation reports to give a credible and significant guidance for Ge PMOSFET design.     

Performance of La203/InA1N/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors

We report on the performance of La203/InA1N/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor high electron mobility transistors （MOSHEMTs） and InA1N/GaN high electron mobility transistors （HEMTs）. The MOSHEMT presents a maximum drain current of 961 mA/mm at Vgs = 4 V and a maximum transconductance of 130 mS/mm compared with 710 mA/mm at Vgs = 1 V and 131 mS/mm for the HEMT device, while the gate leakage current in the reverse direction could be reduced by four orders of magnitude. Compared with the HEMT device of a similar geometry, MOSHEMT presents a large gate voltage swing and negligible current collapse.     

Structural properties of a-SiO_x:H films studied by an improved infrared-transmission analysis method

An improved method of fitting point-by-point is proposed to determine the absorption coefficient from infrared(IR)transmittance. With no necessity of empirical correction factors, the absorption coefficient can be accurately determined for the films with thin thicknesses. Based on this method, the structural properties of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide materials(a-SiOx:H) are investigated. The oxygen-concentration-dependent variation of the Si–O–Si and the Si–H related modes in a-SiOx:H materials is discussed in detail.     

Mechanical properties an undercut evaluated resonance test and of silicon nanobeams with by combining the dynamic finite element analysis

Mechanical properties of silicon nanobeams are of prime importance in nanoelectromechanical system applications. A numerical experimental method of determining resonant frequencies and Young＇s modulus of nanobeams by combining finite element analysis and frequency response tests based on an electrostatic excitation and visual detection by using a laser Doppler vibrometer is presented in this paper. Silicon nanobeam test structures are fabricated from silicon-oninsulator wafers by using a standard lithography and anisotropic wet etching release process, which inevitably generates the undercut of the nanobeam clamping. In conjunction with three-dimensional finite element numerical simulations incorporating the geometric undercut, dynamic resonance tests reveal that the undercut significantly reduces resonant frequencies of nanobeams due to the fact that it effectively increases the nanobeam length by a correct value △L, which is a key parameter that is correlated with deviations in the resonant frequencies predicted from the ideal Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and experimentally measured data. By using a least-square fit expression including △L, we finally extract Young＇s modulus from the measured resonance frequency versus effective length dependency and find that Young＇s modulus of a silicon nanobeam with 200-nm thickness is close to that of bulk silicon. This result supports that the finite size effect due to the surface effect does not play a role in the mechanical elastic behaviour of silicon nanobeams with thickness larger than 200 nm.     

Breakdown characteristics of AIGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes fabricated on a silicon substrate

In this work, the breakdown characteristics of AlGaN/GaN planar Schottky barrier diodes （SBDs） fabricated on the silicon substrate are investigated. The breakdown voltage （BV） of the SBDs first increases as a function of the anodeto-cathode distance and then tends to saturate at larger inter-electrode spacing. The saturation behavior of the BV is likely caused by the vertical breakdown through the intrinsic GaN buffer layer on silicon, which is supported by the post-breakdown primary leakage path analysis with the emission microscopy. Surface passivation and field plate termination are found effective to suppress the leakage current and enhance the BV of the SBDs. A high BV of 601 V is obtained with a low on-resistance of 3.15 mΩ·cm^2.     

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

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.     

Forward and reverse electron transport properties across a CdS/Si multi-interface nanoheterojunction

The electron transport behavior across the interface plays an important role in determining the performance of op- toelectronic devices based on heterojunctions. Here through growing CdS thin film on silicon nanoporous pillar array, an untraditional, nonplanar, and multi-interface CdS/Si nanoheterojunction is prepared. The current density versus voltage curve is measured and an obvious rectification effect is observed. Based on the fitting results and model analyses on the forward and reverse conduction characteristics, the electron transport mechanism under low forward bias, high forward bias, and reverse bias are attributed to the Ohmic regime, space-charge-limited current regime, and modified Poole-Frenkel regime respectively. The forward and reverse electrical behaviors are found to be highly related to the distribution of inter- facial trap states and the existence of localized electric field respectively. These results might be helpful for optimizing the preparing procedures to realize high-performance silicon-based CdS optoelectronic devices.     

High-efficiency focusing grating coupler with optimized ultra-short taper

A novel high-efficiency focusing non-uniform grating coupler is proposed to couple light into or off silicon photonic chips for large-scale silicon photonic integration. This kind of grating coupler decreases the transition length of the linking taper between the grating and the single-mode waveguide by at least 80%. The radian of the grating lines and the size of the taper are optimized to improve the coupling efficiency. An experimental coupling efficiency of ~ 68% at 1556.24 nm is obtained after optimization and the whole size of the grating is 12 μm × 30 μm, with a very short taper transition of ~15 μm long.     

On-chip optical pulse shaper for arbitrary waveform generation

We propose and demonstrate a silicon-on-insulator(SOI) on-chip optical pulse shaper based on four-tap finite impulse response. Due to different width designs in phase region of each tap, the phase differences for all taps are controlled by an external thermal source, resulting in an optical pulse shaper. We further demonstrate optical arbitrary waveform generation based on the optical pulse shaper assisted by an optical frequency comb injection. Four different optical waveforms are generated when setting the central wavelengths at 1533.78 nm and 1547.1 nm and setting the thermal source temperatures at 23℃ and 33℃, respectively. Our scheme has distinct advantages of compactness, capability for integrating with electronics since the integrated silicon waveguide is employed.     

Fabrication of pillar-array superhydrophobic silicon surface and thermodynamic analysis on the wetting state transition

Textured silicon （Si） substrates decorated with regular microscale square pillar arrays of nearly the same side length, height, but different intervals are fabricated by inductively coupled plasma, and then silanized by self-assembly octadecyl- trichlorosilane （OTS） film. The systematic water contact angle （CA） measurements and micro/nanoscale hierarchical rough structure models are used to analyze the wetting behaviors of original and silanized textured Si substrates each as a function of pillar interval-to-width ratio. On the original textured Si substrate with hydrophilic pillars, the water droplet possesses a larger apparent CAs （〉 90~） and contact angle hysteresis （CAH）, induced by the hierarchical roughness of microscale pil- lar arrays and nanoscale pit-like roughness. However, the silanized textured substrate shows superhydrophobicity induced by the low free energy OTS overcoat and the hierarchical roughness of microscale pillar arrays, and nanoscale island-like roughness. The largest apparent CA on the superhydrophobic surface is 169.8~. In addition, the wetting transition of a gently deposited water droplet is observed on the original textured substrate with pillar interval-to-width ratio increasing. Furthermore, the wetting state transition is analyzed by thermodynamic approach with the consideration of the CAH effect. The results indicate that the wetting state changed from a Cassie state to a pseudo-Wenzel during the transition.     

Estimation of pulsed laser-induced single event transient in a partially depleted silicon-on-insulator 0.18-μm MOSFET

In this paper, we investigate the single event transient(SET) occurring in partially depleted silicon-on-insulator(PDSOI) metal–oxide–semiconductor(MOS) devices irradiated by pulsed laser beams. Transient signal characteristics of a 0.18-μm single MOS device, such as SET pulse width, pulse maximum, and collected charge, are measured and analyzed at wafer level. We analyze in detail the influences of supply voltage and pulse energy on the SET characteristics of the device under test(DUT). The dependences of SET characteristics on drain-induced barrier lowering(DIBL) and the parasitic bipolar junction transistor(PBJT) are also discussed. These results provide a guide for radiation-hardened deep sub-micrometer PDSOI technology for space electronics applications.     

Photoelectric characteristics of silicon P–N junction with nanopillar texture:Analysis of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Silicon nanopillars are fabricated by inductively coupled plasma(ICP) dry etching with the cesium chloride(CsCl)islands as masks originally from self-assembly. Wafers with nanopillar texture or planar surface are subjected to phosphorus(P) diffusion by liquid dopant source(POCl3) at 870℃ to form P–N junctions with a depth of 300 nm. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) is used to measure the Si 2p core levels of P–N junction wafer with nanopillar texture and planar surface. With a visible light excitation, the P–N junction produces a new electric potential for photoelectric characteristic, which causes the Si 2p core level to have a energy shift compared with the spectrum without the visible light.The energy shift of the Si 2p core level is-0.27 eV for the planar P–N junction and-0.18 eV for the nanopillar one. The difference in Si 2p energy shift is due to more space lattice defects and chemical bond breaks for nanopillar compared with the planar one.     

Large energy-loss straggling of swift heavy ions in ultra-thin active silicon layers

Monte Carlo simulations reveal considerable straggling of energy loss by the same ions with the same energy in fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) devices with ultra-thin sensitive silicon layers down to 2.5 nm. The absolute straggling of deposited energy decreases with decreasing thickness of the active silicon layer. While the relative straggling increases gradually with decreasing thickness of silicon films and exhibits a sharp rise as the thickness of the silicon film descends below a threshold value of 50 nm, with the dispersion of deposited energy ascending above ±10%. Ion species and energy dependence of the energy-loss straggling are also investigated. For a given beam, the dispersion of deposited energy results in large uncertainty on the actual linear energy transfer (LET) of incident ions, and thus single event effect (SEE) responses, which pose great challenges for traditional error rate prediction methods.     

Hybrid device for acoustic noise reduction and energy harvesting based on a silicon micro-perforated panel structure

A kind of hybrid device for acoustic noise reduction and vibration energy harvesting based on the silicon micro- perforated panel （MPP） resonant structure is investigated in the article. The critical parts of the device include MPP and energy harvesting membranes. They are all fabricated by means of silicon micro-electro-mechanical systems （MEMS） tech- nology. The silicon MPP has dense and accurate micro-holes. This noise reduction structure has the advantages of wide band and higher absorption coefficients. The vibration energy harvesting part is formed by square piezoelectric membranes arranged in rows. ZnO material is used as it has a good compatibility with the fabrication process. The MPP, piezo- electric membranes, and metal bracket are assembled into a hybrid device with multifunctions. The device exhibits good performances of acoustic noise absorption and acoustic-electric conversion. Its maximum open circuit voltage achieves 69.41 mV.     

First-Principles Calculations of Atomic and Electronic Properties of T1 and In on Si（111）

The atomic and electronic structures of T1 and In on Si（111） surfaces are investigated using the firstprinciples total energy calculations. Total energy optimizations show that the energetically favored structure is 1/3 ML T1 adsorbed at the T4 sites on Si（111） surfaces. The adsorption energy difference of one T1 adatom between （√3 × √3） and （1 × 1） is less than that of each In adatom. The DOS indicates that TI 6p and Si 3p electrons play a very important role in the formation of the surface states. It is concluded that the bonding of TI adatoms on Si（111） surfaces is mainly polar covalent, which is weaker than that of In on Si（111）. So T1 atom is more easy to be migrated than In atom in the same external electric field and the structures of T1 on Si（111） is prone to switch between （√3 × √3） and （1 × 1）.     

Quantum confinement and surface chemistry of 0.8–1.6 nm hydrosilylated silicon nanocrystals

In the framework of density functional theory(DFT), we have studied the electronic properties of alkene/alkynehydrosilylated silicon nanocrystals(Si NCs) in the size range from 0.8 nm to 1.6 nm. Among the alkenes with all kinds of functional groups considered in this work, only those containing –NH2and –C4H3S lead to significant hydrosilylationinduced changes in the gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital(HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital(LUMO) of an Si NC at the ground state. The quantum confinement effect is dominant for all of the alkenehydrosilylated Si NCs at the ground state. At the excited state, the prevailing effect of surface chemistry only occurs at the smallest(0.8 nm) Si NCs hydrosilylated with alkenes containing –NH2and –C4H3S. Although the alkyne hydrosilylation gives rise to a more significant surface chemistry effect than alkene hydrosilylation, the quantum confinement effect remains dominant for alkyne-hydrosilylated Si NCs at the ground state. However, at the excited state, the effect of surface chemistry induced by the hydrosilylation with conjugated alkynes is strong enough to prevail over that of quantum confinement.     

Characteristics of dual-frequency capacitively coupled SF_6/O_2 plasma and plasma texturing of multi-crystalline silicon

Due to it being environmentally friendly, much attention has been paid to the dry plasma texturing technique serving as an alternative candidate for multicrystalline silicon(mc-Si) surface texturing. In this paper, capacitively coupled plasma(CCP) driven by a dual frequency(DF) of 40.68 MHz and 13.56 MHz is first used for plasma texturing of mc-Si with SF6/O2gas mixture. Using a hairpin resonant probe and optical emission techniques, DF-CCP characteristics and their influence on mc-silicon surface plasma texturing are investigated at different flow rate ratios, pressures, and radio-frequency(RF)input powers. Experimental results show that suitable plasma texturing of mc-silicon occurs only in a narrow range of plasma parameters, where electron density n9e must be larger than 6.3 × 10cm-3and the spectral intensity ratio of the F atom to that of the O atom([F]/[O]) in the plasma must be between 0.8 and 0.3. Out of this range, no cone-like structure is formed on the mc-silicon surface. In our experiments, the lowest reflectance of about 7.3% for mc-silicon surface texturing is obtained at an [F]/[O] of 0.5 and ne of 6.9 × 109cm-3.     

Dynamic investigation of the finite dissolution of silicon particles in aluminum melt with a lower dissolution limit

The finite dissolution model of silicon particles in the aluminum melt is built and calculated by the finite difference method, and the lower dissolution limit of silicon particles in the aluminum melt is proposed and verified by experiments, which could be the origin of microinhomogeneity in aluminum-silicon melts. When the effects of curvature and interface reaction on dissolution are not considered; the dissolution rate first decreases and later increases with time. When the effects of curvature and interface reaction on dissolution are considered, the dissolution rate first decreases and later increases when the interface reaction coefficient （k） is larger than 10 1, and the dissolution rate first decreases and later tends to be constant when k is smaller than 10-3. The dissolution is controlled by both diffusion and interface reaction when k is larger than 10-3, while the dissolution is controlled only by the interface reaction when k is smaller than 10-4.     

Reduction of the phosphorus contamination for plasma deposition of p-i-n microcrystalline silicon solar cells in a single chamber

This paper investigates several pretreatment techniques used to reduce the phosphorus contamination between solar cells. They include hydrogen plasma pretreatment, deposition of a p-type doped layer, i-a-Si:H or μc-Si:H covering layer between solar cells. Their effectiveness for the pretreatment is evaluated by means of phosphorus concentration in films, the dark conductivity of p-layer properties and cell performance.     

Design consideration and fabrication of 1.2-kV 4H-SiC trenched-and-implanted vertical junction field-effect transistors

We present the design consideration and fabrication of 4H-SiC trenched-and-implanted vertical junction field-effect transistors （TI-VJFETs）. Different design factors, including channel width, channel doping, and mesa height, are con- sidered and evaluated by numerical simulations. Based on the simulation result, normally-on and normally-off devices are fabricated. The fabricated device has a 12 μm thick drift layer with 8 × 10^15 cm^-3 N-type doping and 2.6 μm channel length. The normally-on device shows a 1.2 kV blocking capability with a minimum on-state resistance of 2.33 mΩ.cm2, while the normally-off device shows an on-state resistance of 3.85 mΩ.cm2. Both the on-state and the blocking performances of the device are close to the state-of-the-art values in this voltage range.