The present invention provides stretchable, and optionally printable, semiconductors and electronic circuits capable of providing good performance when stretched, compressed, flexed or otherwise deformed. Stretchable semiconductors and electronic circuits of the present invention preferred for some applications are flexible, in addition to being stretchable, and thus are capable of significant elongation, flexing, bending or other deformation along one or more axes. Further, stretchable semiconductors and electronic circuits of the present invention may be adapted to a wide range of device configurations to provide fully flexible electronic and optoelectronic devices.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/311/5758/208.full.pdf

Stretchable form of single crystal silicon for high performance electronics on rubber substrates

The present invention provides methods, systems and system components for transferring, assembling and integrating features and arrays of features having selected nanosized and/or microsized physical dimensions, shapes and spatial orientations. Methods of the present invention utilize principles of ‘soft adhesion’ to guide the transfer, assembly and/or integration of features, such as printable semiconductor elements or other components of electronic devices. Methods of the present invention are useful for transferring features from a donor substrate to the transfer surface of an elastomeric transfer device and, optionally, from the transfer surface of an elastomeric transfer device to the receiving surface of a receiving substrate. The present methods and systems provide highly efficient, registered transfer of features and arrays of features, such as printable semiconductor element, in a concerted manner that maintains the relative spatial orientations of transferred features.

Pattern Transfer Printing by Kinetic Control of Adhesion to an Elastomeric Stamp

The present invention provides device components geometries and fabrication strategies for enhancing the electronic performance of electronic devices based on thin films of randomly oriented or partially aligned semiconducting nanotubes. In certain aspects, devices and methods of the present invention incorporate a patterned layer of randomly oriented or partially aligned carbon nanotubes, such as one or more interconnected SWNT networks, providing a semiconductor channel exhibiting improved electronic properties relative to conventional nanotubes-based electronic systems.

Medium scale carbon nanotube thin film integrated circuits on flexible plastic substrates

Part I: Background and Fundamentals Introduction, Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, University of Notre Dame Scaling of Micromechanical Devices, William Trimmer, Standard MEMS, Inc., and Robert H. Stroud, Aerospace Corporation Mechanical Properties of MEMS Materials, William N. Sharpe, Jr., Johns Hopkins University Flow Physics, Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, University of Notre Dame Integrated Simulation for MEMS: Coupling Flow-Structure-Thermal-Electrical Domains, Robert M. Kirby and George Em Karniadakis, Brown University, and Oleg Mikulchenko and Kartikeya Mayaram, Oregon State University Liquid Flows in Microchannels, Kendra V. Sharp and Ronald J. Adrian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Juan G. Santiago and Joshua I. Molho, Stanford University Burnett Simulations of Flows in Microdevices, Ramesh K. Agarwal and Keon-Young Yun, Wichita State University Molecular-Based Microfluidic Simulation Models, Ali Beskok, Texas A&M University Lubrication in MEMS, Kenneth S. Breuer, Brown University Physics of Thin Liquid Films, Alexander Oron, Technion, Israel Bubble/Drop Transport in Microchannels, Hsueh-Chia Chang, University of Notre Dame Fundamentals of Control Theory, Bill Goodwine, University of Notre Dame Model-Based Flow Control for Distributed Architectures, Thomas R. Bewley, University of California, San Diego Soft Computing in Control, Mihir Sen and Bill Goodwine, University of Notre Dame Part II: Design and Fabrication Materials for Microelectromechanical Systems Christian A. Zorman and Mehran Mehregany, Case Western Reserve University MEMS Fabrication, Marc J. Madou, Nanogen, Inc. LIGA and Other Replication Techniques, Marc J. Madou, Nanogen, Inc. X-Ray-Based Fabrication, Todd Christenson, Sandia National Laboratories Electrochemical Fabrication (EFAB), Adam L. Cohen, MEMGen Corporation Fabrication and Characterization of Single-Crystal Silicon Carbide MEMS, Robert S. Okojie, NASA Glenn Research Center Deep Reactive Ion Etching for Bulk Micromachining of Silicon Carbide, Glenn M. Beheim, NASA Glenn Research Center Microfabricated Chemical Sensors for Aerospace Applications, Gary W. Hunter, NASA Glenn Research Center, Chung-Chiun Liu, Case Western Reserve University, and Darby B. Makel, Makel Engineering, Inc. Packaging of Harsh-Environment MEMS Devices, Liang-Yu Chen and Jih-Fen Lei, NASA Glenn Research Center Part III: Applications of MEMS Inertial Sensors, Paul L. Bergstrom, Michigan Technological University, and Gary G. Li, OMM, Inc. Micromachined Pressure Sensors, Jae-Sung Park, Chester Wilson, and Yogesh B. Gianchandani, University of Wisconsin-Madison Sensors and Actuators for Turbulent Flows. Lennart Loefdahl, Chalmers University of Technology, and Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, University of Notre Dame Surface-Micromachined Mechanisms, Andrew D. Oliver and David W. Plummer, Sandia National Laboratories Microrobotics Thorbjoern Ebefors and Goeran Stemme, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden Microscale Vacuum Pumps, E. Phillip Muntz, University of Southern California, and Stephen E. Vargo, SiWave, Inc. Microdroplet Generators. Fan-Gang Tseng, National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan Micro Heat Pipes and Micro Heat Spreaders, G. P. "Bud" Peterson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Microchannel Heat Sinks, Yitshak Zohar, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Flow Control, Mohamed Gad-el-Hak, University of Notre Dame) Part IV: The Future Reactive Control for Skin-Friction Reduction, Haecheon Choi, Seoul National University Towards MEMS Autonomous Control of Free-Shear Flows, Ahmed Naguib, Michigan State University Fabrication Technologies for Nanoelectromechanical Systems, Gary H. Bernstein, Holly V. Goodson, and Gregory L. Snider, University of Notre Dame Index

The MEMS Handbook

Due to the unprecedented growth in wireless applications over the past decade, development of low-cost solutions for RF and microwave communication systems has become of great importance. This practical new book is the first comprehensive treatment of lumped elements, which are playing a critical role in the development of the circuits that make these cost-effective systems possible. The books offers you an in-depth understanding of the different types of RF and microwave circuit elements, including inductors, capacitors, resistors, transformers, via holes, airbridges, and crossovers. Supported with over 220 equations and more than 200 illustrations, it covers the practical aspects of each element in exceptional detail. No other single volume treats this subject matter in such depth. From materials, fabrication, and analyses - to design, modeling, and physical, electrical, and thermal applications, this unique resource offers you complete coverage of the critical topics you need understand for your work in the field. Offering the most comprehensive, up-to-date body of knowledge on lumped elements, the book is an indispensable professional reference and serves as an excellent text for senior undergraduate and graduate-level courses in RF and microwave circuit design.

Lumped Elements for RF and Microwave Circuits

This paper presents the 15nm FinFET-based Open Cell Library (OCL) and describes the challenges in the methodology while designing a standard cell library for such advanced technology node The 15nm OCL is based on a generic predictive state-of-the-art technology node The proposed cell library is intended to provide access to advanced technology node for universities and other research institutions, in order to design digital integrated circuits and also to develop cell-based design flows, EDA tools and associated algorithms Developing a 15nm standard cell library brings out design challenges which are not present in previous technology nodes Some of these challenges include double-patterning for both metal and poly layers, a very restrictive set of physical design rules, and the demand for lithography-friendly patterns This paper discusses the development of the library considering the challenges associated with advanced technology nodes

Open Cell Library in 15nm FreePDK Technology

A new micromachined planar spiral inductor, with the strips suspended individually, has been fabricated in standard GaAs high electron-mobility transistor monolithic-microwave integrated-circuit technology through maskless front-side bulk micromachining. The electronic compatibility, the use of industrial integrated-circuit production lines, the straightforward and low-cost additional procedure for structure releasing, and the very short etching time required are the principal features related to such a novel inductor structure. Moreover, the air-gap layer created underneath the device and between the strips significantly reduces shunt and fringing parasitic capacitances, consequently increasing the performance and operating frequency range. Experimental measurements, carried out up to 15 GHz, before and after micromachining, showed for a 12-nH inductor an increase of the maximum Q factor from 5 (at 3 GHz) to about 20 (at 7 GHz), while the self-resonant frequency was shifted from 5 to 13 GHz. Furthermore, a structure with two interleaved spiral inductors, in a 1:1 transformer-like configuration, was also fabricated, and its performance verified in order to demonstrate the promising performance improvements provided by the proposed device. Finally, heating and mechanical characteristics associated with freestanding microstructures are briefly evaluated using finite-element method simulations.

/pdf/micromachined-microwave-planar-spiral-inductors-and-21snh0abk4.pdf

Micromachined microwave planar spiral inductors and transformers

III–V micromachined devices for microsystems

Front-side bulk micromachining based on 0.2 μm GaAs HEMT MMIC technology is presented. Several chemical solutions have been used to perform the etching procedure characterization in respect to the obtained vertical profiles. It has been verified that citric acid solution is the most appropriate selective etchant to build suspended GaAs/AlGaAs mesa-shaped structures, while both H 3 PO 4 and NH 4 OH based anisotropic systems seem to be the most suitable for the free-standing triangular prism-shaped structures. Moreover, all these three solutions could be applied to suspend only metal and intermetallic materials. Etch rates as well as cross-section profiles were obtained. Furthermore, the compatibility of the etching procedure with the integrated electronics and the pad metallization has been successfully tested. The features and applications linked to the obtained structures are also discussed.

Bulk micromachining characterization of 0.2 μm HEMT MMIC technology for GaAs MEMS design

This paper introduces a new algorithm for Boolean factoring. The proposed approach is based on a novel synthesis paradigm, functional composition, which performs synthesis by associating simpler sub-solutions with minimum costs. The method constructively controls characteristics of final and intermediate functions, allowing the adoption of secondary criteria other than the number of literals for optimization. This multi-objective factoring algorithm presents interesting features and advantages when compared to previous works.

Renato P. Ribas

Papers

Open Cell Library in 15nm FreePDK Technology

Micromachined microwave planar spiral inductors and transformers

III–V micromachined devices for microsystems

Bulk micromachining characterization of 0.2 μm HEMT MMIC technology for GaAs MEMS design

Boolean factoring with multi-objective goals