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At least 163 records · Page 9

Fast chemistry in ion wakes

A common aspect of the models of such processes as track formation and induced desorption of molecular ions is the requirement that the electronic excitation have a sufficiently long lifetime (of the order of picoseconds) so that energy can be transferred to atomic motion. Attention is called to several phenomena recently observed indicating that atomic motion/chemical rearrangement can occur even when the electronic excitation is shorter lived (of the order of femtoseconds). Two such processes, which are also induced by MeV ion bombardment, are track damage in heavily doped compound semiconductors and greatly enhanced adhesion of metal films to metallic and semiconducting substrates. Since neither of these effects can easily be accommodated within the existing theoretical models, it is thought possible that an even richer variety of ion-induced effects will be discovered.

Tombrello, T. A.↗

Thermosetting Phthalocyanine Polymers

Group of phthalocyanine polymers resist thermal degradation. Polymers expected semiconducting. Principal applications probably in molded or laminated parts that have to withstand high temperatures. Polymers made from either of two classes of monomer: Bisphthalonitriles with imide linkages or Bisphthalonitriles with ester-imide linkages.

Fohlen, G.↗

Cold electronics: An overview

Generally speaking, several roles are seen for low temperatures in electronics: As a means of extracting better performance from existing technology, avoiding expense and delay required for the advances in design or fabrication which would be needed to achieve the same performance at room temperature. As a necessity in the quest for improved performance, to counteract detrimental effects which arises as technology is pushed to extremes. As an opportunity to take advantage of effects made available by low temperature operation, and to develop new devices based on them. The electronic devices and circuits considered are those based on semiconductivity. Superconductive devices and circuits are not included.

Kirschman, R.↗

Microwave-enhanced thin-film deposition

The deposition of semiconducting and insulating thin films at low temperatures using microwave technology was explored. The method of plasma formations, selection of a power source, the design of the microwave plasma cavity, the microwave circuitry, impedance matching, plasma diagnostics, the deposition chamber and the vacuum system were studied.

Chitre, S.↗

Zone leveling and solution growth of complex compound semiconductors in space

A research program on complex semiconducting compounds and alloys was completed that addressed the growth of single crystals of CdSe(y)Te(1-y), Zn(x)Cd(1-x)Te, Mn(x)Cd(1-x)Te, InP(y)As(1-y) and CuInSe2 and the measurement of fundamental physico-chemical properties characterizing the above materials. The purpose of this ground based research program was to lay the foundations for further research concerning the growth of complex ternary compound semiconductors in a microgravity environment.

Bachmann, K. J.↗

The barium iron ruthenium oxide system

In the system BaFe(1-x)Ru(x)O(3-y), three phases, separated by immiscibility gaps, are present: an Fe-rich phase (x = 0 to 0.75) with hexagonal BaTiO3 structure (6H; sequence (hcc)2), a Ru-rich phase (x = 0.9) of hexagonal 4H-type (sequence (hc)2), and the pure Ru compounds BaRuO3 with rhombohedral 9R structure (sequence (hhc)3). By vibrational spectroscopic investigations in the 6H phase a transition from n-type semiconduction (Fe-rich compounds with complete O lattice) can be detected. The 4H and 9R stacking polytypes are good, metal-like conductors. The lattice parameters are given.

Kemmler-Sack, S.↗

Mercury's magnetic field - A thermoelectric dynamo?

Permanent magnetism and conventional dynamo theory are possible but problematic explanations for the magnitude of the Mercurian magnetic field. A new model is proposed in which thermoelectric currents driven by temperature differences at a bumpy core-mantle boundary are responsible for the (unobserved) toroidal field, and the helicity of convective motions in a thin outer core (thickness of about 100 km) induces the observed poloidal field from the toroidal field. The observed field of about 3 x 10 to the -7th T can be reproduced provided the electrical conductivity of Mercury's semiconducting mantle approaches 1000/ohm per m. This model may be testable by future missions to Mercury because it predicts a more complicated field geometry than conventional dynamo theories. However, it is argued that polar wander may cause the core-mantle topography to migrate so that some aspects of the rotational symmetry may be reflected in the observed field.

Stevenson, D. J.↗

Synthesis, electrical and thermal conductivities, and potential applications of graphite fluoride fibers

Graphite fluoride fibers can be produced by fluorinating pristine or intercalated graphite fibers. The higher the degree of graphitization of the fibers, the higher the temperature needed to reach the same degree of fluorination. Structural damage during high temperature fluorination can be reduced or eliminated by pretreating the fibers with bromine and/or fluorine. The electrical resistivity of the fibers was in the 0.01 to 10 to the 11th ohm-cm range. The thermal conductivity of these fibers ranged from 5 to 75 W/m-K, which is much larger than the thermal conductivity of glass (1.1 W/m-K), the commonly used fiber in epoxy composites. A composite made from graphite fluoride fibers and epoxy or PTFE may be highly thermally conducting and electrically insulating or semiconducting. The electrically insulating product may be used as heat sinks for electrical or electronic instruments.

Hung, Ching-Cheh↗

High data rate Reed-Solomon encoding and decoding using VLSI technology

Presented as an implementation of a Reed-Solomon encode and decoder, which is 16-symbol error correcting, each symbol is 8 bits. This Reed-Solomon (RS) code is an efficient error correcting code that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will use in future space communications missions. A Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) implementation of the encoder and decoder accepts data rates up 80 Mbps. A total of seven chips are needed for the decoder (four of the seven decoding chips are customized using 3-micron Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconduction (CMOS) technology) and one chip is required for the encoder. The decoder operates with the symbol clock being the system clock for the chip set. Approximately 1.65 billion Galois Field (GF) operations per second are achieved with the decoder chip set and 640 MOPS are achieved with the encoder chip.

Miller, Warner↗

Silicon carbide - Progress in crystal growth

Recent progress in the development of two processes for producing large-area high-quality single crystals of SiC is described: (1) a modified Lely process for the growth of the alpha polytypes (e.g., 6H SiC) initially developed by Tairov and Tsvetkov (1978, 1981) and Ziegler et al. (1983), and (2) a process for the epitaxial growth of the beta polytype on single-crystal silicon or other substrates. Growth of large-area cubic SiC on Si is described together with growth of defect-free beta-SiC films on alpha-6H SiC crystals and TiC lattice. Semiconducting qualities of silicon carbide crystals grown by various techniques are discussed.

Powell, J. Anthony↗

Making A Superconductive Thin Film

Experimental fabrication process results in superconductive thin film of YBa2Cu3O7 ("123" phase of Y/Ba/Cu/O) on substrate of green semiconducting Y2BaCuO5 (the "211" phase). Film becomes superconductive below transition temperature (Tc) of 93 K. Superconducting material to be deposited on substrate. Material then annealed in oxygen at 950 degree C for 6 h, followed by slow cooling in furnace. At this point, material had a Tc of 96 K. Transition to superconductivity at 93 K very sharp. Estimated critical current density 350 A/cm2.

Wu, Maw-Kuen↗

Sequentially evaporated thin Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductor films: Composition and processing effects

Thin films of YBa2Cu3O(7-beta) have been grown by sequential evaporation of Cu, Y, and BaF2 on SrTiO3 and MgO substrates. The onset temperatures were as high as 93 K while T sub c was 85 K. The Ba/Y ratio was varied from 1.9 to 4.0. The Cu/Y ratio was varied from 2.8 to 3.4. The films were then annealed at various times and temperatures. The times ranged from 15 min to 3 hr, while the annealing temperatures used ranged from 850 C to 900 C. A good correlation was found between transition temperature (T sub c) and the annealing conditions; the films annealed at 900 C on SrTiO3 had the best T sub c's. There was a weaker correlation between composition and T sub c. Barium poor films exhibitied semiconducting normal state resistance behavior while barium rich films were metallic. The films were analyzed by resistance versus temperature measurements and scanning electron microscopy. The analysis of the films and the correlations are reported.

Valco, George J.↗

Approaches toward a blue semiconductor laser

Possible approaches for obtaining semiconductor diode laser action in the blue region of the spectrum are surveyed. A discussion of diode lasers is included along with a review of the current status of visible emitters, presently limited to 670 nm. Methods are discussed for shifting laser emission toward shorter wavelengths, including the use of II-IV materials, the increase in the bandgap of III-V materials by addition of nitrogen, and changing the bandstructure from indirect to direct by incorporating interstitial atoms or by constructing superlattices. Non-pn-junction injection methods are surveyed, including avalanche breakdown, Langmuir-Blodgett diodes, heterostructures, carrier accumulation, and Berglund diodes. Prospects of inventing new multinary semiconducting materials are discussed, and a number of novel materials described in the literature are tabulated. New approaches available through the development of quantum wells and superlattices are described, including resonant tunneling and the synthesis of arbitrary bandgap materials through multiple quantum wells.

Ladany, I.↗

Highly automated optical characterization with FTIR spectrometry

The procedure for evaluating the characteristics of II-VI semiconducting infrared sensor materials with a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer system will be discussed. While the method of mapping optical characteristics with a spectrometer has been employed previously, this system is highly automated compared to other systems where the optical transmission data are obtained using a FTIR system with a small stationary aperture in the optical path and moving the specimen behind the aperture. The hardware and software, including an algorithm developed for extracting cut-on wavelengths of spectra, as well as several example results, are described to illustrate the advanced level of the system. Additionally, data from transverse slices and longitudinal wafers of the aforementioned semiconductors will be used to show the accuracy of the system in predicting trends in materials such as shapes of growth interfaces and compositional uniformity.

Perry, G. L. E.↗

Fluorinated graphite fibers as a new engineering material: Promises and challenges

Pitch based graphitized carbon fibers with electrical resistivity of 300 micro-Ohm/cm were brominated and partially debrominated to 18 percent bromine at room temperature, and then fluorinated at 300 to 450 C, either continuously or intermittently for several cycles. In addition, on fluorine and titanium fluoride intercalated fiber sample was fluorinated at 270 C from the same fiber source. The mass and conductivity of the brominated-debrominated then fluorinated fibers (with fluorine-to-carbon atom ratio of 0.54 or higher) stabilized at room temperature air in a few days. However, at 200 C, these values decreased rapidly and then more slowly, throughout a 2-week test period. The electrically insulative or semiconductive fibers were found to be compatible with epoxy and have the fluorine-to-carbon atom ratio of 0.65 to 0.68, thermal conductivity of 5 to 24 W/m-K, electrical resistivity of 10(exp 4) to 10(exp 11) Ohm/cm, tensile strength of 70 to 150 ksi, Young's modulus of 20 to 30 msi, and CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) values of 7 ppm/deg C. Data of these physical property values are preliminary. However, it is concluded that these physical properties can be tailor-made. They depend largely on the fluorine content of the final products and the intercalant in the fibers before fluorination, and, to a smaller extent, on the fluorination temperature histogram.

Hung, Ching-Cheh↗

General upper bound on single-event upset rate

A technique of predicting an upper bound on the rate at which single-event upsets due to ionizing radiation occur in semiconducting memory cells is described. The upper bound on the upset rate, which depends on the high-energy particle environment in earth orbit and accelerator cross-section data, is given by the product of an upper-bound linear energy-transfer spectrum and the mean cross section of the memory cell. Plots of the spectrum are given for low-inclination and polar orbits. An alternative expression for the exact upset rate is also presented. Both methods rely only on experimentally obtained cross-section data and are valid for sensitive bit regions having arbitrary shape.

Chlouber, Dean↗

Possibilities for LWIR detectors using MBE-grown Si(/Si(1-x)Ge(x) structures

Traditionally, long wavelength infrared (LWIR) detection in Si-based structures has involved either extrinsic Si or Si/metal Schottky barrier devices. Molecular beam epitaxially (MBE) grown Si and Si/Si(1-x)Ge(x) heterostructures offer new possibilities for LWIR detection, including sensors based on intersubband transitions as well as improved conventional devices. The improvement in doping profile control of MBE in comparison with conventional chemical vapor deposited (CVD) Si films has resulted in the successful growth of extrinsic Si:Ga, blocked impurity-band conduction detectors. These structures exhibit a highly abrupt step change in dopant profile between detecting and blocking layers which is extremely difficult or impossible to achieve through conventional epitaxial growth techniques. Through alloying Si with Ge, Schottky barrier infrared detectors are possible, with barrier height values between those involving pure Si or Ge semiconducting materials alone. For both n-type and p-type structures, strain effects can split the band edges, thereby splitting the Schottky threshold and altering the spectral response. Measurements of photoresponse of n-type Au/Si(1-x)Ge(x) Schottky barriers demonstrate this effect. For intersubband multiquntum well (MQW) LWIR detection, Si(1-x)Ge(x)/Si detectors grown on Si substrates promise comparable absorption coefficients to that of the Ga(Al)As system while in addition offering the fundamental advantage of response to normally incident light as well as the practical advantage of Si-compatibility. Researchers grew Si(1-x)Ge(x)/Si MQW structures aimed at sensitivity to IR in the 8 to 12 micron region and longer, guided by recent theoretical work. Preliminary measurements of n- and p-type Si(1-x)Ge(x)/Si MQW structures are given.

Hauenstein, Robert J.↗