In this paper, recent progress of binary metal-oxide resistive switching random access memory (RRAM) is reviewed. The physical mechanism, material properties, and electrical characteristics of a variety of binary metal-oxide RRAM are discussed, with a focus on the use of RRAM for nonvolatile memory application. A review of recent development of large-scale RRAM arrays is given. Issues such as uniformity, endurance, retention, multibit operation, and scaling trends are discussed.

Metal–Oxide RRAM

International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors 2003の要求清浄度について － シリコンウエハ表面と雰囲気環境に要求される清浄度, 分析方法の現状について －

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~jmjornet/papers/2014/j1.pdf

Full length article: Terahertz band: Next frontier for wireless communications

Before the emergence of ultra-wideband (UWB) radios, widely used wireless communications were based on sinusoidal carriers, and impulse technologies were employed only in specific applications (e.g. radar). In 2002, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) allowed unlicensed operation between 3.1–10.6 GHz for UWB communication, using a wideband signal format with a low EIRP level (−41.3dBm/MHz). UWB communication systems then emerged as an alternative to narrowband systems and significant effort in this area has been invested at the regulatory, commercial, and research levels.

IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques and Antennas and Propagation Announce a Joint Special Issue on Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Technology

Hybrid silicon lasers based on bonded III–V layers on silicon are currently the best contenders for on-chip lasers for silicon photonics. On-chip silicon light sources are highly desired for use as electrical-to-optical converters in silicon-based photonics. Zhiping Zhou and Bing Yin of Peking University in China and Jurgen Michel of Massachusetts Institute of Technology assess the three main contenders for such light sources: erbium-based light sources, germanium-on-silicon lasers and III-V-based silicon lasers. They consider operating wavelength, pumping conditions, power consumption, thermal stability and fabrication process. The scientists regard the power efficiencies of electrically pumped erbium-based lasers as being too low and the threshold currents of germanium lasers as being too high. They conclude that III–V quantum dot lasers monolithically grown on silicon show the most promise for realizing on-chip lasers.

/pdf/on-chip-light-sources-for-silicon-photonics-ky23qv18q4.pdf

On-chip light sources for silicon photonics

Phosphorus (P) incorporation process during Si epitaxial growth by SiH 4 reaction in ultraclean low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and the electrical characteristics of the heavily P-doped epitaxial Si film on Si(1 0 0) have been investigated. Si layer growth on the P layer formed on Si(1 0 0) at 500 °C at SiH 4 partial pressure of 6 Pa is observed when the surface P amount becomes below 7×10 14  cm −2 . It is also found that about 1.1×10 14  cm −2 P atoms segregate onto the Si surface and the other desorbs. On the other hand, by lowering the Si growth temperature to 450 °C and increase in the SiH 4 partial pressure to 220 Pa, P incorporation occurs and about 1.5×10 14  cm −2 P atoms are buried at the initial position without segregation. By using the multiple atomic-layer doping technique, very low-resistive heavily P-doped epitaxial Si film on Si(1 0 0) can be formed with effective suppression of the electrically inactive P formation.

Formation of heavily P-doped Si epitaxial film on Si(1 0 0) by multiple atomic-layer doping technique

We investigate the effects of both X-ray and proton irradiation on a novel 200 GHz/90 GHz (npn/pnp) complementary SiGe:C HBT technology. The DC forward mode total dose tolerance of the pnp HBTs is shown to exceed that of the npn HBTs by a significant margin after being subjected to both 63-MeV proton and 10-keV X-ray sources, while the AC characteristics of both devices exhibit no degradation up to X-ray doses as high as 1.8 Mrad(SiO2). Pre- and post-irradiation results from a current feedback operational amplifier implemented in this technology and irradiated up to a dose of 1.8 Mrad(SiO2) are presented, showing no degradation in performance metrics under two low current density bias configurations.

The Effects of X-Ray and Proton Irradiation on a 200 GHz/90 GHz Complementary $(npn + pnp)$ SiGe:C HBT Technology

The paper presents two types of 122 GHz low-noise-amplifiers (LNA) fabricated in SiGe BiCMOS technology. The amplifier design takes advantage of a novel transmission line structure with thick metal ground-shield on top of the MMIC. The circuit is a two-stage cascode topology utilizing transmission lines for input, output and inter-stage matching. The amplifiers are designed for high gain, minimum noise figure and low power consumption. Measurements show a gain of 13.5 dB and a noise figure of 9.6 dB at 122 GHz. The power consumption is 52mW from a 3.5 Volt supply. The other version of the LNA with transformer coupling to the output instead of capacitive coupling has slightly lower gain. The amplifier is intended for the use in ISM-band radar and communication systems, wide-band communication systems and in radar imaging systems.

122 GHz low-noise-amplifier in sige technology

In this paper, the authors present a monolithically integrated W-band low-noise-amplifier realized in an 0.13μm SiGe BiCMOS technology. The design utilizes a two-stage cascode topology, with inductive emitter degeneration for simultaneous noise and power matching. The paper identifies critical design parameters, and presents careful modeling results. Measurement results show excellent agreement with the simulations, and the circuit achieves 20 dB gain and 4 dB noise figure up to 110 GHz. To the authors' knowledge, this demonstrates the best noise performance up to date on a silicon platform in this frequency range.

A 110 GHz LNA with 20dB gain and 4dB noise figure in an 0.13μm SiGe BiCMOS technology

CMOS-based neural tissue in-vivo recording chips with a purely capacitive interface are presented with 256 sites resp. 256 recording channels. A 3D post-CMOS ALD-based process allows to provide a highly efficient sensor dielectric and to realize a protective insulation layer for the non-active part of the fabricated devices. A simple interconnect-efficient sensor array topology is used. Electrical characterizations and in-vivo measurements with biological content reveal proper operation of the presented approach.

Bernd Tillack

Papers

Formation of heavily P-doped Si epitaxial film on Si(1 0 0) by multiple atomic-layer doping technique

The Effects of X-Ray and Proton Irradiation on a 200 GHz/90 GHz Complementary $(npn + pnp)$ SiGe:C HBT Technology

122 GHz low-noise-amplifier in sige technology

A 110 GHz LNA with 20dB gain and 4dB noise figure in an 0.13μm SiGe BiCMOS technology

CMOS-compatible purely capacitive interfaces for high-density in-vivo recording from neural tissue