Structural and Dynamical Properties of Potassium Dodecahydro-monocarba-closo-dodecaborate: KCB[subscript 11]H[subscript 12]
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The discovery of ferroelectricity in hafnium zirconium oxide (HfxZr 1−x O2) and related fluorite materials has spurred interest in ferroelectric devices suitable for integration with silicon integrated circuits (ICs), especially those that can be embedded in the back-end-of-line (BEOL) process. More recently, ferroelectricity has been found in wurtzite aluminum nitride-based materials, such as scandium and boron-doped aluminum nitride (Al 1−x ScxN and Al 1−x BxN). Although these materials currently have undesirably large coercive electric fields, and small breakdown electric field-to-coercive electric field ratio, their low processing temperatures and large remanent polarization offer intriguing possibilities for device applications. Furthermore, we report ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FeFETs) with a 15 nm thick Al0.88B0.12N layer and an 11 nm ZnO semiconductor channel, achieving a memory window >1 V and switching voltages ( V switch ) <±10 V.
Two dimensional detectors have been important in astronomy since the earliest days of the science. Recently, the requirements for greater photometric accuracy, sensitivity and spectral coverage have driven the search for better imaging devices. Electron beam readout devices with a variety of target materials and intensification schemes, including the SEC and silicon vidicons, have been used successfully. The CCD as an image detector has several potential advantages over electron beam readout devices; low noise, simple construction and geometric stability are among them.
III-V arsenide-nitride semiconductor are disclosed. Group III elements are combined with group V elements, including at least nitrogen and arsenic, in concentrations chosen to lattice match commercially available crystalline substrates. Epitaxial growth of these III-V crystals results in direct bandgap materials, which can be used in applications such as light emitting diodes and lasers. Varying the concentrations of the elements in the III-V materials varies the bandgaps, such that materials emitting light spanning the visible spectra, as well as mid-IR and near-UV emitters, can be created. Conversely, such material can be used to create devices that acquire light and convert the light to electricity, for applications such as full color photodetectors and solar energy collectors. The growth of the III-V material can be accomplished by growing thin layers of elements or compounds in sequences that result in the overall lattice match and bandgap desired.
Fluorocarbons resist formation of adherent deposits. Promising coating materials reduce soiling of solar photovoltaic modules and possibly solar thermal collectors. Contaminating layers of various degrees of adherence form on surfaces of devices, partially blocking incident solar energy, reducing output power. Loose soil deposits during dry periods but washed off by rain. New coatings help prevent formation of more-adherent, chemically and physically bonded layers rain alone cannot wash away.
The unprecedented demand for sophisticated, self-powered, compact, ultrafast, cost-effective, and broadband light sensors for a myriad of applications has spurred a lot of research, precipitating in a slew of studies over the last decade. Apart from the photosensing ability of an active element in the light sensor, the device architecture is crucial in terms of photoinduced charge carrier generation and separation. Since the inception of graphene and the subsequent research growth in the atomically thin 2D materials, researchers have developed and adapted different families of 2D materials and device architectures, including single element 2D, 0D/2D, 2D/2D, 1D/2D stacked structures, and so on. Here this review discusses the recent reports on the light-sensing properties of various 2D materials, their heterostructures, and characteristics applicable to the ultraviolet-near infrared (UV-NIR), short-wave IR (SWIR), mid-wave IR (MWIR), long-wave IR (LWIR), and terahertz (THz) spectral ranges. It highlights the novelty of the burgeoning field, the heightened activity at the boundaries of engineering and materials science, particularly in the generation of charge carriers, their separation, and extraction, and the increased understanding of the underpinning science through modern experimental approaches. Devices based on the simultaneous effects of the pyro-phototronic effect (PPE) and the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect, the photothermoelectric effect (PTE)-assisted photodetectors (PDs), waveguide-integrated silicon-2D PDs, metal-2D-metal PDs, and organic material PDs are examined rigorously. Theoretical treatment utilizing various computational approaches to investigate 2D materials and heterostructures for photodetection applications is also briefly discussed. At the end, current challenges and solutions to enhance the figures of merit of photodetectors are proposed.
The performance of superconducting quantum circuits for quantum computing has advanced tremendously in recent decades; however, a comprehensive understanding of relaxation mechanisms does not yet exist. In this work, we utilize a multimode approach to characterizing energy losses in superconducting quantum circuits, with the goals of predicting device performance and improving coherence through materials, process, and circuit design optimization. Using this approach, we measure significant reductions in surface and bulk dielectric losses by employing a tantalum-based materials platform and annealed sapphire substrates. With this knowledge we predict the relaxation times of aluminum- and tantalum-based transmon qubits, and find that they are consistent with experimental results. We additionally optimize device geometry to maximize coherence within a coaxial tunnel architecture, and realize on-chip quantum memories with single-photon Ramsey times of 2.0 – 2.7 ms, limited by their energy relaxation times of 1.0 – 1.4 ms. These results demonstrate an advancement towards a more modular and compact coaxial circuit architecture for bosonic qubits with reproducibly high coherence.
2D materials find promising applications in next-generation devices, however, large-scale, low-defect, and reproducible synthesis of 2D materials remains a challenging task. Here, to assist in the selection of suitable substrates for the synthesis of as-yet hypothetical 2D materials, we have developed an open-source high-throughput workflow package, Hetero2d, that searches for low-lattice mismatched substrate surfaces for any 2D material and determines the stability of these 2D-substrate heterostructures using density functional theory (DFT) simulations. Hetero2d automates the generation of 2D-substrate heterostructures, the creation of DFT input files, the submission and monitoring of computational jobs on supercomputing facilities, and the storage of relevant parameters alongside the post-processed results in a MongoDB database. We demonstrate the capability of Hetero2d in identifying stable 2D-substrate heterostructures for four 2D materials, namely 2H-MoS 2 , 1T- and 2H-NbO 2 , and hexagonal-ZnTe, considering 50 cubic elemental substrates. We find Cu, Hf, Mn, Nd, Ni, Pd, Re, Rh, Sc, Ta, Ti, V, W, Y, and Zr substrates sufficiently stabilize the formation energies of these 2D materials, with binding energies in the range of ~0.1–0.6 eV/atom. Upon examining the z-separation, the charge transfer, and the electronic density of states at the 2D-substrate interface, we find a covalent type bonding at the interface which suggests that these substrates can be used as contact materials for the 2D materials. Hetero2d is available on GitHub as an open-source package under the GNU license.
Topotactic phase transition between metallic, perovskite SrFeO 3 and insulating, Brownmillerite SrFeO 2.5 has been extensively studied due to the potential applications in resistive switching devices for neuromorphic computing. However, its practical utilization as memristors has been hindered by the structural instability of SrFeO 3 , which is often ascribed to the generation of oxygen vacancies to form SrFeO 3-δ . Here we reveal the dominating defects generated in SrFeO 3 epitaxial thin films are atomic scale gaps as a result of interfacial strain. Our correlated time- and strain-dependent measurements show that tensile strained SrFeO 3 films form vertical, nanoscale gaps that are SrO-rich, which are accountable for the observed metal-to-insulator transition over time. While compressively strained or small lattice mismatched SrFeO 3 films mainly yield horizontal gaps with a smaller impact on the in-plane transport. The atomic scale origin of such defects and their impact on device performance need to be further understood in order to integrate phase change materials in oxide electronics.
An apparatus denoted a swab device has been developed as a convenient means of acquiring samples of contaminants from surfaces and suspending the samples in liquids. (Thereafter, the liquids can be dispensed, in controlled volumes, into scientific instruments for analysis of the contaminants.) The swab device is designed so as not to introduce additional contamination and to facilitate, simplify, and systematize the dispensing of controlled volumes of liquid into analytical instruments. The swab device is a single apparatus into which are combined all the equipment and materials needed for sampling surface contamination. The swab device contains disposable components stacked together on a nondisposable dispensing head. One of the disposable components is a supply cartridge holding a sufficient volume of liquid for one complete set of samples. (The liquid could be clean water or another suitable solvent, depending on the application.) This supply of liquid is sealed by Luer valves. At the beginning of a sampling process, the user tears open a sealed bag containing the supply cartridge. A tip on the nondisposable dispensing head is engaged with a Luer valve on one end of the supply cartridge and rotated, locking the supply cartridge on the dispensing head and opening the valve. The swab tip includes a fabric swab that is wiped across the surface of interest to acquire a sample. A sealed bag containing a disposable dispensing tip is then opened, and the swab tip is pushed into the dispensing tip until seated. The dispensing head contains a piston that passes through a spring-loaded lip seal. The air volume displaced by this piston forces the liquid out of the supply cartridge, over the swab, and into the dispensing tip. The piston is manually cycled to enforce oscillation of the air volume and thereby to cause water to flow to wash contaminants from the swab and cause the resulting liquid suspension of contaminants to flow into the dispensing tip. After several cycles to ensure adequate mixing, liquid containing the suspended contaminant sample is dispensed. The disposable components are then removed from the dispensing head, which may then be reused with a fresh set of disposable components.
Electronic devices that exploit electrical switching of physical properties of thin films of perovskite materials (especially colossal magnetoresistive materials) have been invented. Unlike some related prior devices, these devices function at room temperature and do not depend on externally applied magnetic fields. Devices of this type can be designed to function as sensors (exhibiting varying electrical resistance in response to varying temperature, magnetic field, electric field, and/or mechanical pressure) and as elements of electronic memories. The underlying principle is that the application of one or more short electrical pulse(s) can induce a reversible, irreversible, or partly reversible change in the electrical, thermal, mechanical, and magnetic properties of a thin perovskite film. The energy in the pulse must be large enough to induce the desired change but not so large as to destroy the film. Depending on the requirements of a specific application, the pulse(s) can have any of a large variety of waveforms (e.g., square, triangular, or sine) and be of positive, negative, or alternating polarity. In some applications, it could be necessary to use multiple pulses to induce successive incremental physical changes. In one class of applications, electrical pulses of suitable shapes, sizes, and polarities are applied to vary the detection sensitivities of sensors. Another class of applications arises in electronic circuits in which certain resistance values are required to be variable: Incorporating the affected resistors into devices of the present type makes it possible to control their resistances electrically over wide ranges, and the lifetimes of electrically variable resistors exceed those of conventional mechanically variable resistors. Another and potentially the most important class of applications is that of resistance-based nonvolatile-memory devices, such as a resistance random access memory (RRAM) described in the immediately following article, Electrically Variable Resistive Memory Devices (MFS-32511-1).
Ruddlesden–Popper phase quasi-2-D organolead halide perovskites like n-butylammonium methylammonium lead iodide (nBA-MAPI) exhibit improved moisture stability over typical 3-D perovskite materials, making them exciting for use in a variety of applications such as photovoltaic (PV) devices. This improved stability is the result of a unique disproportionation-based degradation mechanism that protects the bulk of the nBA-MAPI from extensive damage through the formation of a protective, low-n surface layer. In addition to this surface layer, nBA-MAPI films also exhibit the dynamic growth of micrometer-scale crystallites and cracks at the surface of the film, unique and potentially important byproducts of quasi-2-D perovskite disproportionation. Here, we present a detailed study of these crystallites using several analytical techniques including photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), confocal fluorescence microscopy (CFM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) combined with time-of-flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), and others in an effort to better understand the relationship between material disproportionation and crystallite growth. Our results show that the crystallites form after exposure to humid air and confirm that they are composed of low-n phases of nBA-MAPI. The crystallites are found to extend into the interior of the film and exhibit continued growth while exposed to moisture over 72 h. This growth is accompanied by both a decrease in the bulk 2-D phase and an increase in a 3-D-like phase in the surface PL spectra, indicating that the crystallites are likely a product of moisture-driven disproportionation. Importantly, similar crystallites are also observed to form within model PV devices, indicating that such processes must be accounted for when designing future devices containing materials like nBA-MAPI.
In-situ measurement of LiNbO 3 based surface acoustic wave (SAW) crystal resonator device under irradiation was demonstrated and used to characterize the impact of radiation on physical properties of this material. The resonant frequency of the SAW device was monitored as the output power of the reactor was varied. Upon step increase of the reactor power, a gradual shift in the device’s resonant frequency was observed. This frequency shift initially exhibits a linear growth and eventually reaches an equilibrium value proportional to the reactor power. The observed behavior can be attributed to two competing processes: increase of temperature due to gamma heating or accumulation of irradiation induced defects. In both cases, the response is attributed to changes in the physical properties of LiNbO 3 , particularly the elastic constants. This demonstrated ability to measure materials properties under irradiation is attractive for development of sensors and performing materials science under irradiation.
In order to impose adequate contamination control requirements in the selection of Wide Field Planetary Camera (WFPC) materials and to develop a data base of potential optical degradation of the WFPC charge-couple device window, the outgassing properties of WFPC materials and the collected volatile condensed material (CVCM) effects on MgF2 transmittance were measured. Changes in the transmittance were monitored in the wavelength region from 115 nm to 300 nm for selected CVCM thicknesses up to 150 nm. The outgassing properties of reemitted CVCM were also studied.
Photon absorption, and thus current generation, is hindered in conventional thin-film solar cell designs, including quantum well structures, by the limited path length of incident light passing vertically through the device. Optical scattering into lateral waveguide structures provides a physical mechanism to increase photocurrent generation through in-plane light trapping. However, the insertion of wells of high refractive index material with lower energy gap into the device structure often results in lower voltage operation, and hence lower photovoltaic power conversion efficiency. The voltage output of an InGaAs quantum well waveguide photovoltaic device can be increased by employing a III-V material structure with an extended wide band gap emitter heterojunction. Analysis of the light IV characteristics reveals that non-radiative recombination components of the underlying dark diode current have been reduced, exposing the limiting radiative recombination component and providing a pathway for realizing solar-electric conversion efficiency of 30% or more in single junction cells.
Photon absorption, and thus current generation, is hindered in conventional thin-film solar cell designs, including quantum well structures, by the limited path length of incident light passing vertically through the device. Optical scattering into lateral waveguide structures provides a physical mechanism to increase photocurrent generation through in-plane light trapping. However, the insertion of wells of high refractive index material with lower energy gap into the device structure often results in lower voltage operation, and hence lower photovoltaic power conversion efficiency. The voltage output of an InGaAs quantum well waveguide photovoltaic device can be increased by employing a III-V material structure with an extended wide band gap emitter heterojunction. Analysis of the light IV characteristics reveals that non-radiative recombination components of the underlying dark diode current have been reduced, exposing the limiting radiative recombination component and providing a pathway for realizing solar-electric conversion efficiency of 30% or more in single junction cells.
Material, design, and manufacturing studies to improve glass passivation of semiconductor devices