Si/SiGe heterostructures: from material and physics to devices and circuits
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a review of the material properties, growth techniques, band structure and the main electronic devices of the Si/SiGe heterostructure system, in particular, the important device technologies in mainstream microelectronics.
Abstract: Silicon germanium (SiGe) has moved from being a research material to accounting for a small but significant percentage of manufactured semiconductor devices. This percentage is predicted to increase substantially as SiGe begins to be used in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology in the future to substantially improve performance. It is the development of Si/SiGe heterostructures which has enabled band structure and strain engineering allowing Si/SiGe to be used in many different ways to improve conventional microelectronic device performance along with allowing new concepts to be explored. This paper presents a review of the material properties, growth techniques, band structure and the main electronic devices of the Si/SiGe heterostructure system. In particular, the important device technologies in mainstream microelectronics of the SiGe heterostructure bipolar transistor (HBT) and strained-Si CMOS will be reviewed before future device and optoelectronics concepts are explored.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present progress in optical detector technology of focal plane arrays during the past twenty years and present the outlook for near-future trends in optical detectors technologies, including CdZnTe detectors, AlGaN photodiodes, visible CCD and CMOS imaging systems, HgCdTe heterostructure photododes, quantum well AlGaAs/GaAs photoresistors, and thermal detectors.
226 citations
TL;DR: Though electroabsorption modulators with large reverse bias have substantial energy penalties from photocurrent dissipation, it is argued that modulator diodes with thin depletion regions and operating in small reverse and/or forward bias could have little or no photocurrent energy penalty, even conceivably being more energy-efficient than an ideal loss-less modulator.
Abstract: We analyze energy consumption in optical modulators operated in depletion and intended for low-power interconnect applications. We include dynamic dissipation from charging modulator capacitance and net energy consumption from absorption and photocurrent, both in reverse and small forward bias. We show that dynamic dissipation can be independent of static bias, though only with specific kinds of bias circuits. We derive simple expressions for the effects of photocurrent on energy consumption, valid in both reverse and small forward bias. Though electroabsorption modulators with large reverse bias have substantial energy penalties from photocurrent dissipation, we argue that modulator diodes with thin depletion regions and operating in small reverse and/or forward bias could have little or no such photocurrent energy penalty, even conceivably being more energy-efficient than an ideal loss-less modulator.
211 citations
TL;DR: The stain film that results from the etching of poly- or single-crystalline Si is composed of a porous network of nanocrystalline silicon as discussed by the authors, which can be obtained by exercising control over the composition of the etchant.
Abstract: Recent advances in the production of Si nanostructures from electroless etching are reviewed, including stain etching, metal-assisted etching and chemical vapour etching. A brief review of the explosion in applications of porous silicon over the past 18 months is also given. The stain film that results from the etching of (poly- or single-)crystalline Si is composed of a porous network of nanocrystalline silicon. Few mechanistic studies of electroless etching have been performed, but the more extensively studied anodic etching of silicon in fluoride solutions provides many clues as to how porous films are formed. Intriguing recent results have shown that control over the properties of the film can be obtained by exercising control over the composition of the etchant.
159 citations
TL;DR: Basic Principles to Advanced Applications Michele Amato,*, Maurizia Palummo,*,‡ Riccardo Rurali,* and Stefano Ossicini.
Abstract: Basic Principles to Advanced Applications Michele Amato,*,† Maurizia Palummo,*,‡ Riccardo Rurali,* and Stefano Ossicini* †Institut d’Electronique Fondamentale, UMR8622, CNRS, Universite ́ Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay, France ‡European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility (ETSF), Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita ̀ di Roma, “Tor Vergata”, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Roma, Italy Institut de Cieǹcia de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB−CSIC), Campus de Bellaterra, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain “Centro S”, CNR-Istituto di Nanoscienze, Via Campi 213/A, 41125 Modena, Italy Dipartimento di Scienze e Metodi dell’Ingegneria, Centro Interdipartimentale En&Tech, Universita ̀ di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via Amendola 2 Pad. Morselli, I-42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy
144 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the suitability of the Green\char21{}Kubo method for predicting the thermal conductivity of nanocomposites is assessed by studying model Lennard-Jones superlattices.
Abstract: The suitability of the Green\char21{}Kubo method for predicting the thermal conductivity of nanocomposites is assessed by studying model Lennard-Jones superlattices. Good agreement is found when comparing the predicted cross-plane thermal conductivities to independent predictions from the direct method. The link between the superlattice unit cell design and the thermal conductivity tensor is then explored. We find that complex, multilayered unit cell designs can reduce the cross-plane thermal conductivity by 17% compared to the minimum value predicted for superlattices with only two layers in the unit cell. These results suggest new directions that can be explored for reducing thermal conductivity, which is desirable in applications such as designing materials for thermoelectric energy conversion.
143 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a quantum cascade laser consisting of a gain region (14) consisting of several layers (20) each including: alternating strata of a first type (28) defining each AllnAs quantum barrier and strata with injection barriers interposed between two of the layers.
Abstract: The invention concerns a quantum cascade laser comprising in particular a gain region (14) consisting of several layers (20) each including: alternating strata of a first type (28) defining each an AllnAs quantum barrier and strata of a second type (28) defining each an InGaAs quantum barrier, and injection barriers (22), interposed between two of the layers (20). The layers of the gain region (14) form each an active zone extending from one to the other of the injection barriers (22) adjacent thereto. The strata (26, 28) are dimensioned such that: each of the wells comprises, in the presence of an electric field, at least a first upper subband, a second median subband, and a third lower subband, and the probability of an electron being present in the first subband is highest in the proximity of one of the adjacent injection barriers, in the second subband in the median part of the zone and in the third subband in the proximity of the other adjacent barriers. The laser is formed by a succession of active zones and injection barriers, without interposition of a relaxation zone.
3,910 citations
Book•
IBM1
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the intricate interdependencies and subtle tradeoffs between various practically important device parameters, and also provide an in-depth discussion of device scaling and scaling limits of CMOS and bipolar devices.
Abstract: Learn the basic properties and designs of modern VLSI devices, as well as the factors affecting performance, with this thoroughly updated second edition. The first edition has been widely adopted as a standard textbook in microelectronics in many major US universities and worldwide. The internationally-renowned authors highlight the intricate interdependencies and subtle tradeoffs between various practically important device parameters, and also provide an in-depth discussion of device scaling and scaling limits of CMOS and bipolar devices. Equations and parameters provided are checked continuously against the reality of silicon data, making the book equally useful in practical transistor design and in the classroom. Every chapter has been updated to include the latest developments, such as MOSFET scale length theory, high-field transport model, and SiGe-base bipolar devices.
2,680 citations
TL;DR: A monolithic terahertz injection laser that is based on interminiband transitions in the conduction band of a semiconductor (GaAs/AlGaAs) heterostructure is reported, which is very promising for extending the present laser concept to continuous-wave and high-temperature operation, which would lead to implementation in practical photonic systems.
Abstract: Semiconductor devices have become indispensable for generating electromagnetic radiation in everyday applications. Visible and infrared diode lasers are at the core of information technology, and at the other end of the spectrum, microwave and radio-frequency emitters enable wireless communications. But the terahertz region (1-10 THz; 1 THz = 10(12) Hz) between these ranges has remained largely underdeveloped, despite the identification of various possible applications--for example, chemical detection, astronomy and medical imaging. Progress in this area has been hampered by the lack of compact, low-consumption, solid-state terahertz sources. Here we report a monolithic terahertz injection laser that is based on interminiband transitions in the conduction band of a semiconductor (GaAs/AlGaAs) heterostructure. The prototype demonstrated emits a single mode at 4.4 THz, and already shows high output powers of more than 2 mW with low threshold current densities of about a few hundred A cm(-2) up to 50 K. These results are very promising for extending the present laser concept to continuous-wave and high-temperature operation, which would lead to implementation in practical photonic systems.
2,425 citations
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: In this article, a monolithic terahertz injection laser that is based on interminiband transitions in the conduction band of a semiconductor (GaAs/AlGaAs) heterostructure is presented.
Abstract: Semiconductor devices have become indispensable for generating electromagnetic radiation in everyday applications. Visible and infrared diode lasers are at the core of information technology, and at the other end of the spectrum, microwave and radio-frequency emitters enable wireless communications. But the terahertz region (1-10 THz; 1 THz = 10(12) Hz) between these ranges has remained largely underdeveloped, despite the identification of various possible applications--for example, chemical detection, astronomy and medical imaging. Progress in this area has been hampered by the lack of compact, low-consumption, solid-state terahertz sources. Here we report a monolithic terahertz injection laser that is based on interminiband transitions in the conduction band of a semiconductor (GaAs/AlGaAs) heterostructure. The prototype demonstrated emits a single mode at 4.4 THz, and already shows high output powers of more than 2 mW with low threshold current densities of about a few hundred A cm(-2) up to 50 K. These results are very promising for extending the present laser concept to continuous-wave and high-temperature operation, which would lead to implementation in practical photonic systems.
2,132 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the transport properties of a finite superlattice from the tunneling point of view have been computed for the case of a limited number of spatial periods or a relatively short electron mean free path.
Abstract: We have computed the transport properties of a finite superlattice from the tunneling point of view. The computed I‐V characteristic describes the experimental cases of a limited number of spatial periods or a relatively short electron mean free path.
1,996 citations