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Now showing 1 - 10 of 30
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    Strain Engineered Electrically Pumped SiGeSn Microring Lasers on Si
    (Washington, DC : ACS, 2022) Marzban, Bahareh; Seidel, Lukas; Liu, Teren; Wu, Kui; Kiyek, Vivien; Zoellner, Marvin Hartwig; Ikonic, Zoran; Schulze, Joerg; Grützmacher, Detlev; Capellini, Giovanni; Oehme, Michael; Witzens, Jeremy; Buca, Dan
    SiGeSn holds great promise for enabling fully group-IV integrated photonics operating at wavelengths extending in the mid-infrared range. Here, we demonstrate an electrically pumped GeSn microring laser based on SiGeSn/GeSn heterostructures. The ring shape allows for enhanced strain relaxation, leading to enhanced optical properties, and better guiding of the carriers into the optically active region. We have engineered a partial undercut of the ring to further promote strain relaxation while maintaining adequate heat sinking. Lasing is measured up to 90 K, with a 75 K T0. Scaling of the threshold current density as the inverse of the outer circumference is linked to optical losses at the etched surface, limiting device performance. Modeling is consistent with experiments across the range of explored inner and outer radii. These results will guide additional device optimization, aiming at improving electrical injection and using stressors to increase the bandgap directness of the active material.
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    Enhanced thermal stability of yttrium oxide-based RRAM devices with inhomogeneous Schottky-barrier
    (Melville, NY : American Inst. of Physics, 2020) Piros, Eszter; Petzold, Stefan; Zintler, Alexander; Kaiser, Nico; Vogel, Tobias; Eilhardt, Robert; Wenger, Christian; Molina-Luna, Leopoldo; Alff, Lambert
    This work addresses the thermal stability of bipolar resistive switching in yttrium oxide-based resistive random access memory revealed through the temperature dependence of the DC switching behavior. The operation voltages, current levels, and charge transport mechanisms are investigated at 25 °C, 85 °C, and 125 °C, and show overall good temperature immunity. The set and reset voltages, as well as the device resistance in both the high and low resistive states, are found to scale inversely with increasing temperatures. The Schottky-barrier height was observed to increase from approximately 1.02 eV at 25 °C to approximately 1.35 eV at 125 °C, an uncommon behavior explained by interface phenomena. © 2020 Author(s).
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    A comprehensive study of charge transport in Au-contacted graphene on Ge/Si(001)
    (Melville, NY : American Inst. of Physics, 2020) Sinterhauf, Anna; Bode, Simeon; Auge, Manuel; Lukosius, Mindaugas; Lippert, Gunther; Hofsäss, Hans-Christian; Wenderoth, Martin
    We investigate the electronic transport properties of Au-contacted graphene on Ge/Si(001). Kelvin probe force microscopy at room temperature with an additionally applied electric transport field is used to gain a comprehensive understanding of macroscopic transport measurements. In particular, we analyze the contact pads including the transition region, perform local transport measurements in pristine graphene/Germanium, and explore the role of the semiconducting Germanium substrate. We connect the results from these local scale measurements with the macroscopic performance of the device. We find that a graphene sheet on a 2 μm Ge film carries approximately 10% of the current flowing through the device. Moreover, we show that an electronic transition region forms directly adjacent to the contact pads. This transition region is characterized by a width of >100 μm and a strongly increased sheet resistance acting as the bottleneck for charge transport. Based on Rutherford backscattering of the contact pads, we suggest that the formation of this transition region is caused by diffusion. © 2020 Author(s).
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    Modulation Linearity Characterization of Si Ring Modulators
    (Washington, DC : OSA, 2021) Jo, Youngkwan; Mai, Christian; Lischke, Stefan; Zimmermann, Lars; Choi, Woo-Young
    Modulation linearity of Si ring modulators (RMs) is investigated through the numerical simulation based on the coupled-mode theory and experimental verification. Numerical values of the key parameters needed for the simulation are experimentally extracted. Simulation and measurement results agree well. With these, the influence of input optical wavelength and power on the Si RM linearity are characterized.
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    Design and performance analysis of integrated focusing grating couplers for the transverse-magnetic TM00 mode in a photonic BiCMOS technology
    (London : Biomed Central, 2020) Georgieva, Galina; Voigt, Karsten; Peczek, Anna; Mai, Christian; Zimmermann, Lars
    Focusing grating couplers for the excitation of the fundamental transverse-magnetic (TM) mode in integrated silicon photonic waveguides are designed and characterized under the boundary conditions of a photonic BiCMOS foundry. Two types of waveguide geometries are considered – a nanowire and a rib waveguide. Wafer-scale experimental results for nanowire TM grating couplers are in excellent agreement with numerical investigations and demonstrate a robust behavior on the wafer. The mean coupling loss and the 3s interval are -3.9 ± 0.3 dB. The on wafer variation is three times lower than for the fundamental transverse-electric (TE) polarization. Similarly, the coupling in rib waveguides is examined as well. The results indicate that the rib waveguides require a modified geometry when designed for TM. In general, the nanowire waveguide type is more suitable for TM coupling, showing a stable and repeatable performance. © 2020, The Author(s).
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    A physical origin of cross-polarization and higher-order modes in two-dimensional (2D) grating couplers and the related device performance limitations
    (Bristol : IOP Publishing, 2021) Georgieva, Galina; Voigt, Karsten; Seiler, Pascal M.; Mai, Christian; Petermann, Klaus; Zimmermann, Lars
    We explore scattering effects as the physical origin of cross-polarization and higher-order modes in silicon photonic 2D grating couplers (GCs). A simplified analytical model is used to illustrate that in-plane scattering always takes place, independent of grating geometry and design coupling angle. Experimental investigations show furthermore that grating design parameters are especially related to the modal composition of both the target- and the cross-polarization. Scattering effects and the associated cross-polarization and higher-order modes are indicated as the main reason for the higher 2D GC insertion loss compared to standard 1D GCs. In addition, they can be responsible for a variable 2D GC spectrum shape, bandwidth and polarization dependent loss.
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    Optimization of Multi-Level Operation in RRAM Arrays for In-Memory Computing
    (Basel : MDPI, 2021) Pérez, Eduardo; Pérez-Ávila, Antonio Javier; Romero-Zaliz, Rocío; Mahadevaiah, Mamathamba Kalishettyhalli; Pérez-Bosch Quesada, Emilio; Roldán, Juan Bautista; Jiménez-Molinos, Francisco; Wenger, Christian
    Accomplishing multi-level programming in resistive random access memory (RRAM) arrays with truly discrete and linearly spaced conductive levels is crucial in order to implement synaptic weights in hardware-based neuromorphic systems. In this paper, we implemented this feature on 4-kbit 1T1R RRAM arrays by tuning the programming parameters of the multi-level incremental step pulse with verify algorithm (M-ISPVA). The optimized set of parameters was assessed by comparing its results with a non-optimized one. The optimized set of parameters proved to be an effective way to define non-overlapped conductive levels due to the strong reduction of the device-to-device variability as well as of the cycle-to-cycle variability, assessed by inter-levels switching tests and during 1 k reset-set cycles. In order to evaluate this improvement in real scenarios, the experimental characteristics of the RRAM devices were captured by means of a behavioral model, which was used to simulate two different neuromorphic systems: an 8 × 8 vector-matrix-multiplication (VMM) accelerator and a 4-layer feedforward neural network for MNIST database recognition. The results clearly showed that the optimization of the programming parameters improved both the precision of VMM results as well as the recognition accuracy of the neural network in about 6% compared with the use of non-optimized parameters.
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    Programming Pulse Width Assessment for Reliable and Low-Energy Endurance Performance in Al:HfO2-Based RRAM Arrays
    (Basel : MDPI AG, 2020) Pérez, Eduardo; Ossorio, Óscar González; Dueñas, Salvador; Castán, Helena; García, Héctor; Wenger, Christian
    A crucial step in order to achieve fast and low-energy switching operations in resistive random access memory (RRAM) memories is the reduction of the programming pulse width. In this study, the incremental step pulse with verify algorithm (ISPVA) was implemented by using different pulse widths between 10 μ s and 50 ns and assessed on Al-doped HfO 2 4 kbit RRAM memory arrays. The switching stability was assessed by means of an endurance test of 1k cycles. Both conductive levels and voltages needed for switching showed a remarkable good behavior along 1k reset/set cycles regardless the programming pulse width implemented. Nevertheless, the distributions of voltages as well as the amount of energy required to carry out the switching operations were definitely affected by the value of the pulse width. In addition, the data retention was evaluated after the endurance analysis by annealing the RRAM devices at 150 °C along 100 h. Just an almost negligible increase on the rate of degradation of about 1 μ A at the end of the 100 h of annealing was reported between those samples programmed by employing a pulse width of 10 μ s and those employing 50 ns. Finally, an endurance performance of 200k cycles without any degradation was achieved on 128 RRAM devices by using programming pulses of 100 ns width.
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    Modeling Photodetection at the Graphene/Ag2S Interface
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Spirito, Davide; Martín-García, Beatriz; Mišeikis, Vaidotas; Coletti, Camilla; Bonaccorso, Francesco; Krahne, Roman
    Mixed-dimensional systems host interesting phenomena that involve electron and ion transport along or across the interface, with promising applications in optoelectronic and electrochemical devices. Herein, a heterosystem consisting of a graphene monolayer with a colloidal Ag2S nanocrystal film atop, in which both ions and electrons are involved in photoelectrical effects, is studied. An investigation of the transport at the interface in different configurations by using a phototransistor configuration with graphene as a charge-transport layer and semiconductor nanocrystals as a light-sensitive layer is performed. The key feature of charge transfer is investigated as a function of gate voltage, frequency, and incident light power. A simple analytical model of the photoresponse is developed, to gain information on the device operation, revealing that the nanocrystals transfer electrons to graphene in the dark, but the opposite process occurs upon illumination. A frequency-dependence analysis suggests a fractal interface between the two materials. This interface can be modified using solid-state electrochemical reactions, leading to the formation of metallic Ag particles, which affect the graphene properties by additional doping, while keeping the photoresponse. Overall, these results provide analytical tools and guidelines for the evaluation of coupled electron/ion transport in hybrid systems.
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    Electron Population Dynamics in Optically Pumped Asymmetric Coupled Ge/SiGe Quantum Wells: Experiment and Models
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Ciano, Chiara; Virgilio, Michele; Bagolini, Luigi; Baldassarre, Leonetta; Rossetti, Andrea; Pashkin, Alexej; Helm, Manfred; Montanari, Michele; Persichetti, Luca; Di Gaspare, Luciana; Capellini, Giovanni; Paul, Douglas J.; Scalari, Giacomo; Faist, Jèrome; De Seta, Monica; Ortolani, Michele
    n-type doped Ge quantum wells with SiGe barriers represent a promising heterostructure system for the development of radiation emitters in the terahertz range such as electrically pumped quantum cascade lasers and optically pumped quantum fountain lasers. The nonpolar lattice of Ge and SiGe provides electron-phonon scattering rates that are one order of magnitude lower than polar GaAs. We have developed a self-consistent numerical energy-balance model based on a rate equation approach which includes inelastic and elastic inter-and intra-subband scattering events and takes into account a realistic two-dimensional electron gas distribution in all the subband states of the Ge/SiGe quantum wells by considering subband-dependent electronic temperatures and chemical potentials. This full-subband model is compared here to the standard discrete-energy-level model, in which the material parameters are limited to few input values (scattering rates and radiative cross sections). To provide an experimental case study, we have epitaxially grown samples consisting of two asymmetric coupled quantum wells forming a three-level system, which we optically pump with a free electron laser. The benchmark quantity selected for model testing purposes is the saturation intensity at the 1!3 intersubband transition. The numerical quantum model prediction is in reasonable agreement with the experiments and therefore outperforms the discrete-energy-level analytical model, of which the prediction of the saturation intensity is off by a factor 3. © 2019 by the authors.