Research on graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) has mainly relied on devices fabricated using electron-beam lithography for pattern generation, a method that has known problems with polymer contaminants. GFETs fabricated via photo-lithography suffer even worse from other chemical contaminations, which may lead to strong unintentional doping of the graphene. In this letter, we report on a scalable fabrication process for reliable GFETs based on ordinary photo-lithography by eliminating the aforementioned issues. The key to making this GFET processing compatible with silicon technology lies in a two-in-one process where a gate dielectric is deposited by means of atomic layer deposition. During this deposition step, contaminants, likely unintentionally introduced during the graphene transfer and patterning, are effectively removed. The resulting GFETs exhibit current-voltage characteristics representative to that of intrinsic non-doped graphene. Fundamental aspects pertaining to the surface engineering employed in this work are investigated in the light of chemical analysis in combination with electrical characterization.
By pretreating the substrate of a graphene field-effect transistor (G-FET), a stable unipolar transfer characteristic, instead of the typical V-shape ambipolar behavior, has been demonstrated. This behavior is achieved through functionalization of the SiO2/Si substrate that changes the SiO2 surface from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, in combination with postdeposition of an Al2O3 film by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Consequently, the back-gated G-FET is found to have increased apparent hole mobility and suppressed apparent electron mobility. Furthermore, with addition of a top-gate electrode, the G-FET is in a double-gate configuration with independent top- or back-gate control. The observed difference in mobility is shown to also be dependent on the top-gate bias, with more pronounced effect at higher electric field. Thus, the combination of top and bottom gates allows control of the G-FET's electron and hole mobilities, i.e., of the transfer behavior. Based on these observations, it is proposed that polar ligands are introduced during the ALD step and, depending on their polarization, result in an apparent increase of the effective hole mobility and an apparent suppressed effective electron mobility.
This letter reports on a systematic investigation of sputter induced damage in graphene caused by low energy Ar+ ion bombardment. The integral numbers of ions per area (dose) as well as their energies are varied in the range of a few eV's up to 200 eV. The defects in the graphene are correlated to the dose/energy and different mechanisms for the defect formation are presented. The energetic bombardment associated with the conventional sputter deposition process is typically in the investigated energy range. However, during sputter deposition on graphene, the energetic particle bombardment potentially disrupts the crystallinity and consequently deteriorates its properties. One purpose with the present study is therefore to demonstrate the limits and possibilities with sputter deposition of thin films on graphene and to identify energy levels necessary to obtain defect free graphene during the sputter deposition process. Another purpose is to disclose the fundamental mechanisms responsible for defect formation in graphene for the studied energy range.
This paper presents the use of graphene as a diffusion barrier to a eutectic Ga-In-Sn alloy, i.e., galinstan, for electrical contacts in electronics. Galinstan is known to be incompatible with many conventional metals used for electrical contacts. When galinstan is in direct contact with Al thin films, Al is readily dissolved leading to the formation of Al oxides present on the surface of the galinstan droplets. This reaction is monitored ex situ using several material analysis methods as well as in situ using a simple circuit to follow the time-dependent resistance variation. In the presence of a multilayer graphene diffusion barrier, the Al-galinstan reaction is effectively prevented for galinstan deposited by means of drop casting. When deposited by spray coating, the high-impact momentum of the galinstan droplets causes damage to the multilayer graphene and the Al-galinstan reaction is observed at some defective spots. Nonetheless, the graphene barrier is likely to block the formation of Al oxides at the Al/galinstan interface leading to a stable electrical current in the test circuit.
High-fidelity analysis of translocating biomolecules through nanopores demands shortening the nanocapillary length to a minimal value. Existing nanopores and capillaries, however, inherit a finite length from the parent membranes. Here, nanocapillaries of zero depth are formed by dissolving two superimposed and crossing metallic nanorods, molded in polymeric slabs. In an electrolyte, the interface shared by the crossing fluidic channels is mathematically of zero thickness and defines the narrowest constriction in the stream of ions through the nanopore device. This novel architecture provides the possibility to design nanopore fluidic channels, particularly with a robust 3D architecture maintaining the ultimate zero thickness geometry independently of the thickness of the fluidic channels. With orders of magnitude reduced biomolecule translocation speed, and lowered electronic and ionic noise compared to nanopores in 2D materials, the findings establish interfacial nanopores as a scalable platform for realizing nanofluidic systems, capable of single-molecule detection.
The currently dominant thermoelectric (TE) materials used in low to medium temperature range contain Tellurium that is rare and mild-toxic. Silicon is earth abundant and environment friendly, but it is characterized by a poor TE efficiency with a low figure of merit, ZT. In this work, we report that ZT of amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin films can be enhanced by 7 orders of magnitude, reaching similar to 0.64 +/- 0.13 at room temperature, by means of arsenic ion implantation followed by low-temperature dopant activation. The dopant introduction employed represents a highly controllable doping technique used in standard silicon technology. It is found that the significant enhancement of ZT achieved is primarily due to a significant improvement of electrical conductivity by doping without crystallization so as to maintain the thermal conductivity and Seebeck coefficient at the level determined by the amorphous state of the silicon films. Our results open up a new route towards enabling a-Si as a prominent TE material for cost-efficient and environment-friendly TE applications at room temperature.
Significant influence on the thermal stability of polyaniline (PANI) in the presence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is reported. By means of in-situ rapid mixing approach, water-dispersible nanofibrillar PANI and composites, consisting of MWCNTs uniformly coated with PANI in the state of emeraldine salt, with a well-defined core-shell heterogeneous structure, were prepared. The de-protonation process in PANI occurs at a lower temperature under the presence of MWCNTs on the polyaniline composite upon thermal treatment. However, it is found that the presence of MWCNTs significantly enhances the thermal stability of PANI's backbone upon exposure to laser irradiation, which can be ascribed to the core-shell heterogeneous structure of the composite of MWCNTs and PANI, and the high thermal conductivity of MWCNTs.
Carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) have been synthesized by laser ablation of polycrystalline graphite in water using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) with a width of 8 ns. Structural and mesoscopic characterization of the CNPs in the supernatant by Raman spectroscopy provide evidence for the presence of mainly two ranges of particle sizes: 1-5 nm and 10-50 nm corresponding to amorphous carbon and graphite NPs, respectively. These results are corroborated by complementary characterization using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In addition, large (10-100 mu m) graphite particles removed from the surface are essentially unmodified (in structure and topology) by the laser as confirmed by Raman analysis.
The tactile peripheral nervous system innervating human hands, which is essential for sensitive haptic exploration and dexterous object manipulation, features overlapped receptive fields in the skin, arborization of peripheral neurons and many-to-many synaptic connections. Inspired by the structural features of the natural system, we report a supersensitive artificial slowly adapting tactile afferent nervous system based on the triboelectric nanogenerator technology. Using tribotronic transistors in the design of mechanoreceptors, the artificial afferent nervous system exhibits the typical adapting behaviours of the biological counterpart in response to mechanical stimulations. The artificial afferent nervous system is self-powered in the transduction and event-driven in the operation. Moreover, it has inherent proficiency of neuromorphic signal processing, delivering a minimum resolvable dimension two times smaller than the inter-receptor distance which is the lower limit of the dimension that existing electronic skins can resolve. These results open up a route to scalable neuromorphic skins aiming at the level of human?s exceptional perception for neurorobotic and neuroprosthetic applications.
A novel Zn-doped Al2O3 (ZAO) layer prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used as the charge storage medium in an In-Ga-Zn-O thin-film-transistor memory. The gate insulating stack of Al2O3/ZAO/Al2O3 is assembled in a single ALD step, and is found to possess a high electron storage capacity due to very deep defect levels. The memory device shows a threshold voltage shift as large as 6.38 V after a +15V/1 ms programming pulse, and quite good charge retention. Once programmed, the memory can be only light erased. The underlying mechanisms are discussed with the assistance of density functional theory calculations.
This paper reports on a two-terminal silicon nanoribbon (SiNR) field-effect pH sensor operated in electrolyte. Observed experimentally and confirmed by modeling, the sensor is activated by self-gating with a gate bias set by the potential difference of the two terminals. The effect of this gate bias on the SiNR conductance is modulated by the potential drop over the electrical double layer (EDL) established on the SiNR surface, similarly to the threshold voltage modulation by EDL in a three-terminal SiNR field-effect transistor with an independent gate electrode. The potential drop over EDL is determined by the pH value of the electrolyte.
Current instability is observed for silicon nanowire field-effect transistors operating in electrolytes with Pt gate electrodes. A comparative study involving an Ag/AgCl-reference gate electrode reveals that the effect results from a drift in the potential at the Pt-electrode/electrolyte interface. In a phosphate buffer saline of pH 7.4, the stabilization of the potential of the Pt electrode was found to require approximately 1000 s. A concurrent potential drift, with a comparable time constant, occurring at the electrolyte/oxidized-nanowire interface rendered a complex device current response which complicated the interpretation of the results.
Electric response to pH variations is employed to investigate Si nanoribbon field-effect transistors (SiNRFETs) operating in electrolyte with different gate configurations. For devices with a concluding gate electrode for direct metal electrolyte contact, a well-defined electrode reaction leading to a stable electrode potential is essential for retaining a stable electrical potential of the electrolyte. However, noble metals such as Pt do not meet the stability requirement and consequently bring severe distortions to the electronic response. For devices with an insulated gate electrode relying on the principle of capacitive gate coupling, the capacitance between the gate electrode and the electrolyte should be made much larger than the gate capacitance established between the SiNR and the electrolyte. In this case, an efficient gate control as well as a high stability against external disturbances can be ensured. Further studies show that surface charging of the gate insulator is the main cause responsible for the pH response of the SiNRFETs. Hence, devices with different gate configurations give rise to a comparable pH sensitivity.
The transfer characteristics of back-gate silicon nanowire/nanoribbon (NW/NR) transistors measured in electrolyte exhibit a significantly higher on-current and a steeper subthreshold behavior than measured in air. Simulation results show that the gate capacitance for a NW/NR of a trapezoidal cross-section immersed in water is significantly higher than that exposed to air. Electrostatics simulations further show that for NWs/NRs with small widths, carriers are mainly accumulated at the two side-edges when they are immersed in water. Even the top surface of the NWs/NRs sees more accumulated carriers than the bottom one does; the latter is in fact located closest to the back-gate. These observations suggest that the interface properties at the side-edges and the top surface are crucial for NW/NR transistors to achieve high sensitivity when performing real-time sensing experiments in electrolyte. Finally, the sensitivity of back-gate NW/NR field-effect transistors to charge changes in electrolyte is found to have a weak dependence on the NW/NR width when the doping concentration is below 10(17) cm(-3). For higher NW/NR doping concentrations, narrower NWs/NRs are more sensitive.
The unique electronic properties of graphene are exploited for field-effect sensing in both capacitor and transistor modes when operating the sensor device in electrolyte. The device is fabricated using large-area graphene thin films prepared by means of layer-by-layer stacking. Although essentially the same device, its operation in the capacitor mode is found to yield more information than in the transistor mode. The capacitor sensor can simultaneously detect the variations of surface potential and electrical-double-layer capacitance at the graphene/electrolyte interface when altering the ion concentration. The capacitor-mode operation further facilitates studies of the molecular binding-adsorption kinetics by monitoring the capacitance transient
The sensitivity of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) based nanoscale sensors is ultimately limited by noise induced by carrier trapping/detrapping processes at the gate oxide/semiconductor interfaces. We have designed a Schottky junction gated silicon nanowire field-effect transistor (SiNW-SJGFET) sensor, where the Schottky junction replaces the noisy oxide/semiconductor interface. Our sensor exhibits significantly reduced noise, 2.1×10-9 V2µm2/Hz at 1 Hz, compared to reference devices with the oxide/semiconductor interface operated at both inversion and depletion modes. Further improvement can be anticipated by wrapping the nanowire by such a Schottky junction thereby eliminating all oxide/semiconductor interfaces. Hence, a combination of the low-noise SiNW-SJGFET sensor device with a sensing surface of the Nernstian response limit holds promises for future high signal-to-noise ratio sensor applications.
Silicon nanowire (SiNW) field-effect transistors (SiNWFETs) are of great potential as a high-sensitivity charge sensor. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of an SiNWFET sensor is ultimately limited by the intrinsic device noise generated by carrier trapping/detrapping processes at the gate oxide/silicon interface. This carrier trapping/detrapping-induced noise can be significantly reduced by replacing the noisy oxide/silicon interface with a Schottky junction gate (SJG) on the top of the SiNW. In this paper, we present a tri-SJG SiNWFET (Tri-SJGFET) with the SJG formed on both the top surface and the two sidewalls of the SiNW so as to enhance the gate control over the SiNW channel. Both experiment and simulation confirm that the additional sidewall gates in a narrow Tri-SJGFET indeed can confine the conduction path within the bulk of the SiNW channel away from the interfaces and significantly improve the immunity to the traps at the bottom buried oxide/silicon interface. Therefore, the optimal low-frequency noise performance can be achieved without the need for any substrate bias. This new gating structure holds promises for further development of robust SiNWFET-based charge sensors with low noise and low operation voltage.
An integrated sensor chip with silicon nanowire ion-sensitive field-effect transistors for simultaneous and selective detection of both molecular and elemental ions in a single sample solution is demonstrated. The sensing selectivity is realized by functionalizing the sensor surface with tailor-made mixed-matrix membranes (MMM) incorporated with specific ionophores for the target ions. A biomimetic container molecule, named metal-organic supercontainer (MOSC), is selected as the ionophore for detection of methylene blue (MB+), a molecular ion, while a commercially available Na-ionophore is used for Na+, an elemental ion. The sensors show a near-Nernstian response with 56.4â¯Â±â¯1.8â¯mV/dec down to a concentration limit of âŒ1â¯ÎŒM for MB+ and 57.9â¯Â±â¯0.7â¯mV/dec down to âŒ60â¯ÎŒM for Na+, both with excellent reproducibility. Extensive control experiments on the MB+ sensor lead to identification of the critical role of the MOSC molecules in achieving a stable and reproducible potentiometric response. Moreover, the MB+-specific sensor shows remarkable selectivity against common interfering elemental ions in physiological samples, e.g., H+, Na+, and K+. Although the Na+-specific sensor is currently characterized by insufficient immunity to the interference by MB+, the root cause is identified and remedies generally applicable for hydrophobic molecular ions are discussed. River water experiments are also conducted to prove the efficacy of our sensors.
Hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) has been used as a negative tone resist in electron beam lithography to define sub-10 nm patterns. The spontaneous polymerization in HSQ usually called aging in this context, sets a restricted period of time for a vendor-warranted use in patterning such small features with satisfactory line-edge roughness (LER). Here, we study the effect of HSQ aging on sensitivity and LER by focusing on exposing line patterns of 10 nm width in various structures. The results show that the 10 nm lines are easily achievable and the LER of the patterned lines remains unaltered even with HSQ that is stored 10 months beyond the vendor-specified expiration date. However, an increasingly pronounced decrease with time of the threshold electron dose (D-th), below which the line width would become less than 10 nm, is observed. After the HSQ expiration for 10 months, the 10 nm lines can be manufactured by reducing D-th to a level that is technically manageable with safe margins. In addition, the inclusion of a prebaldng step at 220 degrees C to accelerate the aging process results in a further reduced D-th for the 10 nm lines and thereby leads to a shortened writing time. The time variation of D-th with respect to the vendor-specified production date of HSQ is found to follow an exponential function of time and can be associated to the classical nucleation-growth polymerization process in HSQ.
Semiconducting amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) films are integrated with an Al2O3/Pt-nanocrystals/ Al2O3 gate-stack to form UV-erasable thin-film transistor (TFT) memory. The threshold voltage (V-th), sub-threshold swing, I-ON/I-OFF ratio, and effective electron mobility of the fabricated devices are 2.1 V, 0.39 V/decade, similar to 10(6), and 8.4 cm(2)/V.s, respectively. A positive V-th shift of 2.25 V is achieved after 1-ms programming at 10 V-th, whereas a negative V-th shift as large as 3.48 V is attained after 5-s UV erasing. In addition, a 10-year memory window of 2.56 V is extrapolated at room temperature. This high-performance a-IGZO TFT memory is suitable for optical touch-panel applications.
Temporal changes in electrical resistance of a nanopore sensor caused by translocating target analytes are recorded as a sequence of pulses on current traces. Prevalent algorithms for feature extraction in pulse-like signals lack objectivity because empirical amplitude thresholds are user-defined to single out the pulses from the noisy background. Here, we use deep learning for feature extraction based on a bipath network (B-Net). After training, the B-Net acquires the prototypical pulses and the ability of both pulse recognition and feature extraction without a priori assigned parameters. The B-Net is evaluated on simulated data sets and further applied to experimental data of DNA and protein translocation. The B-Net results are characterized by small relative errors and stable trends. The B-Net is further shown capable of processing data with a signal-to-noise ratio equal to 1, an impossibility for threshold-based algorithms. The B-Net presents a generic architecture applicable to pulse-like signals beyond nanopore currents.
Pulse-like signals are ubiquitous in the field of single molecule analysis, e.g., electrical or optical pulses caused by analyte translocations in nanopores. The primary challenge in processing pulse-like signals is to capture the pulses in noisy backgrounds, but current methods are subjectively based on a user-defined threshold for pulse recognition. Here, we propose a generalized machine-learning based method, named pulse detection transformer (PETR), for pulse detection. PETR determines the start and end time points of individual pulses, thereby singling out pulse segments in a time-sequential trace. It is objective without needing to specify any threshold. It provides a generalized interface for downstream algorithms for specific application scenarios. PETR is validated using both simulated and experimental nanopore translocation data. It returns a competitive performance in detecting pulses through assessing them with several standard metrics. Finally, the generalization nature of the PETR output is demonstrated using two representative algorithms for feature extraction.
There is a rising demand for low temperature polysilicon TFT these years due to the rapidly increasing market of high resolution display panels. In this paper, both low temperature microwave annealing and laser annealing were used to crystallize amorphous silicon film on glass substrate. It is found that both methods had successfully transferred the amorphous silicon into polysilicon according to Raman spectra results. The microwave crystallized polysilicon had smaller grain size and lower tensile stress than the laser crystallized one. After implantation and activation of BF2 and P, sheet resistance values of the BF2-implanted microwave crystallized samples were similar to that of laser crystallized ones. However, for the P implanted samples, the microwave crystallized samples had two to three magnitude higher sheet resistance compared with the laser crystallized ones.
Though microwave annealing appears to be very appealing due to its unique features, lacking an in-depth understanding and accurate model hinder its application in semiconductor processing. In this paper, the physics-based model and accurate calculation for the microwave annealing of silicon are presented. Both thermal effects, including ohmic conduction loss and dielectric polarization loss, and non-thermal effects are thoroughly analyzed. We designed unique experiments to verify the mechanism and extract relevant parameters. We also explicitly illustrate the dynamic interaction processes of the microwave annealing of silicon. This work provides an in-depth understanding that can expedite the application of microwave annealing in semiconductor processing and open the door to implementing microwave annealing for future research and applications.
The Schottky junction source/drain structure has great potential to replace the traditional p/n junction source/drain structure of the future ultra-scaled metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), as it can form ultimately shallow junctions. However, the effective Schottky barrier height (SBH) of the Schottky junction needs to be tuned to be lower than 100 meV in order to obtain a high driving current. In this paper, microwave annealing is employed to modify the effective SBH of NiSi on Si via boron or arsenic dopant segregation. The barrier height decreased from 0.4–0.7 eV to 0.2–0.1 eV for both conduction polarities by annealing below 400 °C. Compared with the required temperature in traditional rapid thermal annealing, the temperature demanded in microwave annealing is ~60 °C lower, and the mechanisms of this observation are briefly discussed. Microwave annealing is hence of high interest to future semiconductor processing owing to its unique capability of forming the metal/semiconductor contact at a remarkably lower temperature.
This letter presents a proof-of-concept process for tunable, self-limiting growth of ultrathin epitaxial NiSi2 films on Si (100). The process starts with metal sputter-deposition, followed by wet etching and then silicidation. By ionizing a fraction of the sputtered Ni atoms and biasing the Si substrate, the amount of Ni atoms incorporated in the substrate after wet etching can be controlled. As a result, the thickness of the NiSi2 films is increased from 4.7 to 7.2 nm by changing the nominal substrate bias from 0 to 600 V. The NiSi2 films are characterized by a specific resistivity around 50 mu Omega cm.
Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) in monolayer form have attracted a great deal of attention for electronic and optical applications. Compared to mechanical exfoliation and chemical synthesis, laser thinning is a novel and unique “on-demand” approach to fabricate monolayers or pattern desired shapes with high controllability and reproducibility. Its successful demonstration motivates a further exploration of the dynamic behaviour of this local thinning process. Here, we present an in-situ study of void formation by laser irradiation with the assistance of temporal Raman evolution. In the analysis of time-dependent Raman intensity, an empirical formula relating void size to laser power and exposure time is established. Void in thinner MoS2 flakes grows faster than in thicker ones as a result of reduced sublimation temperature in the two-dimensional (2D) materials. Our study provides useful insights into the laser-thinning dynamics of 2D TMDCs and guidelines for an effective control over the void formation.
Schottky-barrier source/drain (SB-S/D) presents a promising solution to reducing parasitic resistance for device architectures such as fully depleted UTB, trigate, or FinFET. In this letter, a low-temperature process (<= 700 degrees C) with PtSi-based S/D is examined for the fabrication of n-type UTB and trigate FETs on SOI substrate (t(si) = 30 nm). Dopant segregation with As was used to achieve the n-type behavior at implantation doses of 1 (.) 10(15) and 5. 10(15) cm(-2). Similar results were found for UTB devices with both doses, but trigate devices with the larger dose exhibited higher on currents and smaller process variation than their lower dose counterparts.
A room-temperature polymer-assisted transfer process is developed for large-area, single-layer graphene grown by means of chemical vapor deposition (CVD). This process leads to transferred graphene layers free of polymer contamination. The absence of polymer residues boosts the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of the CVD graphene with gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) deposited atop by evaporation. The SERS enhancement of the CVD graphene reaches similar to 120 for the characteristic 2D peak of graphene, the highest enhancement factor achieved to date, when the Au NPs are at the threshold of percolation. Our simulation supported by experiment suggests that the polymer residues persistently present on the graphene transferred by the conventional polymer-assisted method are equivalent to an ultrathin film of less than 1 nm thickness. The presence of polymer residues drastically reduces SERS due to the separation of the Au NPs from the underlying graphene. The scalability of CVD graphene opens up for the possibility of graphene-based SERS sensors.
Sensing biomolecules in electrolytes of high ionic strength has been a difficult challenge for field-effect transistor-based sensors. Here, we present a graphene-based transistor sensor that is capable of detection of antibodies against protein p53 in electrolytes of physiological ionic strength without dilution. As these molecules are much larger than the Debye screening length at physiological ionic strengths, this paper proves the concept of detection beyond the Debye length. The measured signal associated with the expected specific binding of the antibodies to p53 is concluded to result from resistance changes at the graphene-electrolyte interface, since a sensor responding to resistance changes rather than charge variations is not limited by Debye screening. The conclusion with changes in interface resistance as the underlying phenomena that lead to the observed signal is validated by impedance spectroscopy, which indeed shows an increase of the total impedance in proportion to the amounts of bound antibodies. This finding opens up a new route for electrical detection of large-size and even neutral biomolecules for biomedical detection applications with miniaturized sensors.
As a two-dimensional material with high charge carrier mobility, graphene may offer ultrahigh sensitivity in biosensing. To realize this, the first step is to functionalize the graphene. This is commonly done by using 1-pyrenebutyric acid (PBA) as a linker for biornolecules. However, the adsorption of PBA on graphene remains poorly understood despite reports of successful biosensors functionalized via this route. Here, the PBA adsorption on graphene is characterized through a combination of Raman spectroscopy, ab initio calculations, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The PBA molecules are found to form a self-assembled monolayer on graphene, the formation of which is self-limiting and Langmuirian. Intriguingly, in concentrated solutions, the PBA molecules are found to stand up and stack horizontally with their edges contacting the graphene surface. This morphology could facilitate a surface densely populated with carboxylic functional groups. Spectroscopic analyses show that the monolayer saturates at 5.3 PBA molecules per nm(2) and measures similar to 0.7 nm in thickness. The morphology study of this PBA monolayer sheds light on the pi-pi stacking of small-molecule systems on graphene and provides an excellent base for optimizing functionalization procedures.
This letter presents a systematic study of how the substrate bias (Vsub) modulation affects the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics and low-frequency noise (LFN) of lateral bipolar junction transistors (LBJTs) fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator(SOI) substrate. The current gain (β) of npn LBJTs at low base voltage can be greatly improved bya positive Vsub as a result of enhanced electron injection into the base near the buried oxide (BOX)/silicon interface. However, an excessive positive Vsub may also adversely affect the LFN performance by amplifying the noise generated as a result of carrier trapping and detrapping at that interface. Our results provide a practical guideline for improving both β and the overall noise performance when using our LBJT as a local signal amplifier.
This paper presents a comprehensive study of symmetric lateral bipolar junction transistors (LBJTs) fabricated on SOI substrate using a CMOS-compatible process; LBJTs find many applications including being a local signal amplifier for silicon-nanowire sensors. Our LBJTs are characterized by a peak gain (β) over 50 and low-frequency noise two orders of magnitude lower than what typically is of the SiO 2 /Si interface for a MOSFET. β is found to decrease at low base current due to recombination in the space charge region at the emitter-base junction and at the surrounding SiO 2 /Si interfaces. This decrease can be mitigated by properly biasing the substrate.
A dual-bandgap photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell with two semiconductors stacked in tandem is a widely adopted concept to capture a large fraction of the solar spectrum for water splitting. While two photons are theoretically needed to produce one H2 molecule using single-bandgap PEC cells, four photons are generally required for one H2 molecule in the dual-bandgap cells because of an unavoidable charge recombination at the solid-solid interface. Here, triboelectric effects are exploited in the form of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) to allow for the generation of one H2 molecule at the expenses of two photons in a dual-bandgap device using an array of core/shell p-type silicon/anatase-TiO2 nanowires as photoelectrode. The TENG, that converts mechanical energy to electricity, efficiently suppresses the charge recombination at the interface and significantly increases the energy of the photo-generated carriers required for the simultaneous water reduction and oxidation. The synergy of photoexcitation and triboelectrics results in a rate of hydrogen production in a neutral Na2SO4 electrolyte around 150 times higher than that of the counterpart, i.e., the device in the absence of TENG. Furthermore, the TENG-induced enhancement in the PEC water splitting remains substantial even when the solar power density is reduced to 20 mW/cm2.
To enhance the morphological stability of NiGe, a material of interest as a source drain-contact in Ge-based field effect transistors, Ta or W, is added as either an interlayer or a capping layer. The efficacy of this Ta or W addition is evaluated with pure NiGe as a reference. While interlayers increase the NiGe formation temperature, capping layers do not retard the NiGe formation. Regardless of the initial position of Ta or W, the morphological stability of NiGe against agglomeration can be improved by up to 100 °C. The improved thermal stability can be ascribed to an inhibited surface diffusion, owing to Ta or W being located on top of NiGe after annealing, as confirmed by means of transmission electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, and atom probe tomography. The latter also shows a 0.3 at. % solubility of Ta in NiGe at 450 °C, while no such incorporation of W is detectable.
The authors have studied the reaction between a Ge (100) substrate and thin layers of Ni ranging from 2 to 10 nm in thickness. The formation of metal-rich Ni5Ge3 was found to precede that of the monogermanide NiGe by means of real-time in situ x-ray diffraction during ramp-annealing and ex situ x-ray pole figure analyses for phase identification. The observed sequential growth of Ni5Ge3 and NiGe with such thin Ni layers is different from the previously reported simultaneous growth with thicker Ni layers. The phase transformation from Ni5Ge3 to NiGe was found to be nucleationcontrolled for Ni thicknesses < 5 nm, which is well supported by thermodynamic considerations. Specifically, the temperature for the NiGe formation increased with decreasing Ni (rather Ni5Ge3) thickness below 5 nm. In combination with sheet resistance measurement and microscopic surface inspection of samples annealed with a standard rapid thermal processing, the temperature range for achieving morphologically stable NiGe layers was identified for this standard annealing process. As expected, it was found to be strongly dependent on the initial Ni thickness.
High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) is an emerging thin film deposition technology that provides a highly ionized flux of sputtered species. This makes HiPIMS attractive for metal filling of nanosized holes for highly scaled semiconductor devices. In this work, HiPIMS filling with Cu and Co is investigated. We show that the quality of the hole filling is determined mainly by the fraction of ions in the deposited flux and their energy. The discharge waveforms alone are insufficient to determine the ionization of the metal flux. The experimental results are in a good agreement with Monte-Carlo simulations using the measured flux characteristics. Based on the simulations, strategies to improve the filling are discussed.
Ultrathin Co films deposited on SiO2 with conductivities exceeding that of Cu are demonstrated. Ionized deposition implemented by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) is shown to result in smooth films with large grains and low resistivities, namely, 14 mu Omega cm at a thickness of 40 nm, which is close to the bulk value of Co. Even at a thickness of only 6 nm, a resistivity of 35 mu Omega cm is obtained. The improved film quality is attributed to a higher nucleation density in the Co-ion dominated plasma in HiPIMS. In particular, the pulsed nature of the Co flux as well as shallow ion implantation of Co into SiO2 can increase the nucleation density. Adatom diffusion is further enhanced in the ionized process, resulting in a dense microstructure. These results are in contrast to Co deposited by conventional direct current magnetron sputtering where the conductivity is reduced due to smaller grains, voids, rougher interfaces, and Ar incorporation. The resistivity of the HiPIMS films is shown to be in accordance with models by Mayadas-Shatzkes and Sondheimer which consider grain-boundary and surface-scattering.
Stretchable electronics and soft robotics have shown unsurpassed features, inheriting remarkable functions from stretchable and soft materials. Electrically conductive and mechanically stretchable materials based on composites have been widely studied for stretchable electronics as electrical conductors using various combinations of materials. However, thermally tunable and stretchable materials, which have high potential in soft and stretchable thermal devices as interface or packaging materials, have not been sufficiently studied. Here, a mechanically stretchable and electrically insulating thermal elastomer composite is demonstrated, which can be easily processed for device fabrication. A liquid alloy is embedded as liquid droplet fillers in an elastomer matrix to achieve softness and stretchability. This new elastomer composite is expected useful to enhance thermal response or efficiency of soft and stretchable thermal devices or systems. The thermal elastomer composites demonstrate advantages such as thermal interface and packaging layers with thermal shrink films in transient and steady-state cases and a stretchable temperature sensor.
There is a need for thermal elastomer composites (TEC) which are stretchable, electrically insulating and easily processablefor soft and stretchable sensor or actuator systems as a thermal conductor or heat spreader at an interface or in a package.A novel TEC was made by embedding a gallium based liquid alloy (Galinstan) as a droplet in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS,Elastosil RT 601) matrix with a high speed mechanical mixing process.
Conventional thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are normally hard, rigid, and flat. However, most objects have curvy surfaces, which require soft and even stretchable TEGs for maximizing efficiency of thermal energy harvesting. Here, soft and stretchable TEGs using conventional rigid Bi2Te3 pellets metallized with a liquid alloy is reported. The fabrication is implemented by means of a tailored layer-by-layer fabrication process. The STEGs exhibit an output power density of 40.6 mu W/cm(2) at room temperature. The STEGs are operational after being mechanically stretched-and-released more than 1000 times, thanks to the compliant contact between the liquid alloy interconnects and the rigid pellets. The demonstrated interconnect scheme will provide a new route to the development of soft and stretchable energy-harvesting avenues for a variety of emerging electronic applications.