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- Title
- An uncooled mid-wave infrared detector based on optical response of laser-doped silicon carbide.
- Creator
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Lim, Geunsik, Kar, Aravinda, Coffey, Kevin, Vaidyanathan, Raj, Dhere, Neelkanth, Likamwa, Patrick, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This dissertation focuses on an uncooled Mid-Wave Infra-Red (MWIR) detector was developed by doping an n-type 4H-SiC with Ga using the laser doping technique. 4H-SiC is one of the polytypes of crystalline silicon carbide, a wide bandgap semiconductor. The dopant creates an energy level of 0.30 eV, which was confirmed by optical spectroscopy of the doped sample. This energy level corresponds to the MWIR wavelength of 4.21 um. The detection mechanism is based on the photoexcitation of electrons...
Show moreThis dissertation focuses on an uncooled Mid-Wave Infra-Red (MWIR) detector was developed by doping an n-type 4H-SiC with Ga using the laser doping technique. 4H-SiC is one of the polytypes of crystalline silicon carbide, a wide bandgap semiconductor. The dopant creates an energy level of 0.30 eV, which was confirmed by optical spectroscopy of the doped sample. This energy level corresponds to the MWIR wavelength of 4.21 um. The detection mechanism is based on the photoexcitation of electrons by the photons of this wavelength absorbed in the semiconductor. This process modifies the electron density, which changes the refraction index and, therefore, the reflectance of the semiconductor is also changed. The change in the reflectance, which is the optical response of the detector, can be measured remotely with a laser beam such as a He-Ne laser. This capability of measuring the detector response remotely makes it a wireless optical detector. The variation of refraction index was calculated as a function of absorbed irradiance based on the reflectance data for the as-received and doped samples. A distinct change was observed for the refraction index of the doped sample, indicating that the detector is suitable for applications at 4.21 um wavelength. The Ga dopant energy level in the substrate was confirmed by optical absorption spectroscopy. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) of the doped samples revealed an enhancement in the solid solubility of Ga in the substrate when doping is carried out by increasing the number of laser scans. Higher dopant concentration increases the number of holes in the dopant energy level, enabling photoexcitation of more electrons from the valence band by the incident MWIR photons. The detector performance improves as the dopant concentration increases from 1.15(&)#215;1019 to 6.25(&)#215;10^20 cm^-3. The detectivity of the optical photodetector is found to be 1.07(&)#215;10^10 cm?Hz^1/2/W for the case of doping with 4 laser passes. The noise mechanisms in the probe laser, silicon carbide MWIR detector and laser power meter affect the performance of the detector such as the responsivity, noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) and detectivity. For the MWIR wavelength 4.21 and 4.63 um, the experimental detectivity of the optical photodetector of this study is found to be 1.07(&)#215;10^10 cm?Hz^1/2/W, while the theoretical value is 2.39(&)#215;10^10 cm?Hz^1/2/W. The values of NETD are found to be 404.03 and 15.48 mK based on experimental data for an MWIR radiation source of temperature 25(&)deg;C and theoretical calculation respectively.The doped SiC also has a capability of gas detection since gas emission spectra are in infrared range. Similarly, the sensor is based on the semiconductor optics principle, i.e., an energy gap is created in a semiconductor by doping it with an appropriate dopant to ensure that the energy gap matches with an emission spectral line of the gas of interest. Specifically four sensors have been fabricated by laser doping four quadrants of a 6H-SiC substrate with Ga, Al, Sc and P atoms to detect CO2, NO, CO and NO2 gases respectively. The photons, which are emitted by the gas, excite the electrons in the doped sample and consequently change the electron density in various energy states. This phenomenon affects the refraction index of the semiconductor and, therefore, the reflectivity of the semiconductor is altered by the gas. The optical response of this semiconductor sensor is the reflected power of a probe beam, which is a He-Ne laser beam in this study. The CO2, NO, CO and NO2 gases change the refraction indices of Ga-, Al-, Sc- and Al-doped 6H-SiC, respectively, more prominently than the other gases tested in this study. Hence these doped 6H-SiC samples can be used as CO2, NO, CO and NO2 gas sensors respectively.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005519, ucf:50310
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005519
- Title
- Electrode Integration of Nanostructured Metal and Metal Oxide Materials Based on in-situ Growth Methods for Environmental Sensors.
- Creator
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Wang, Xiaochen, Cho, Hyoung Jin, Fang, Jiyu, Chen, Quanfang, Lee, Woo Hyoung, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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In the past decades, increased human population and activities have introduced a large amount of pollutants into the environment. Various types of conventional analytical instruments were used for monitoring the emitted chemicals with low detection limit, high accuracy, and discrimination power. However, many of these methods are laboratory-based owing to sample collection, transportation, extraction, and purification steps. To make real-time on-site monitoring possible, miniaturized sensors...
Show moreIn the past decades, increased human population and activities have introduced a large amount of pollutants into the environment. Various types of conventional analytical instruments were used for monitoring the emitted chemicals with low detection limit, high accuracy, and discrimination power. However, many of these methods are laboratory-based owing to sample collection, transportation, extraction, and purification steps. To make real-time on-site monitoring possible, miniaturized sensors with various integrated elements were developed. One of the most well-known strategies is to utilize nanostructured materials with enhanced sensing properties for those devices. For a majority of the current state of art devices, the synthesis of nanostructured materials and device integration are done separately, that is, (")synthesis first and then integration(") approach which involves two separate process steps. However, this approach comes with some disadvantages such as misalignment, contamination, as well as disconnection between nanomaterials and electrodes.To overcome the aforementioned technical challenge, several synthesis methods were developed and validated for in-situ integration of nanostructured metal and metal oxide materials for environmental sensors in this work. The electroplating technique combined with photolithography was used to make the predefined metal electrodes. Then, with subsequent post-treatments, nanostructured metals and metal oxides could be produced in-situ and directly integrated in the electrodes without any extra transfer process steps.In the process of developing a phosphate sensor, nanofibrous Co electrodes were fabricated by pulsed electroplating of Co-Cu alloy and dealloying the Cu component. A linear potentiometric response to phosphate in the 10-5 to 10-2 M concentration range was obtained which validated the sensor's function. A mechanism based on mixed potential response was proposed to elucidate the Co electrode behavior in aqueous solutions with varying pH conditions and optimum pH ranges for working devices were proposed.In addition to the alloying and dealloying method, the template assisted electroplating method was also investigated. A nanoporous Co-Cu electrode fabricated by electroplating through a sacrificial glass fiber template was obtained. A linear amperometric response to phosphate with suppressed oxygen interference was achieved in a 10-5 to 10-2 M concentration range of phosphate. An analysis of the cyclic voltammetry characterization results provided a direction for further exploring an optimized electrode polarization potential range for suppressing oxygen interference while maintaining a good sensitivity to phosphate. Based on this result, we improved the fabrication process with another template: in-situ hydrothermally grown ZnO nanoflakes on the electrode surface, as a template for uniform nanostructured Co electroplating. The cyclic voltammetry characterization of the fabricated electrode showed an amperometric response in the range of 10-6 to 10-2 M of phosphate where the limit of detection (LOD) was enhanced compared with the previous work.For the flammable gas sensor development, the in-situ oxidation of Cu was utilized to form nanowires for sensing electrode fabrication. Multiple CuO nanowires were synthesized in-situ on the electroplated interdigitated Cu electrodes on a hotplate at 500 ? in air. The nanowires were successfully integrated as a sensing element into the device, forming bridges between two electrodes. The sensor's behavior was characterized by a current-voltage measurement. Simple processing parameters could be utilized for controlling the electrode morphologies and determining the characteristics of contacts - Schottky or Ohmic - at the electrode interface. A hypothesis was proposed to explain the transition phenomenon between Schottky and Ohmic contact modes, providing an important baseline for future device design and fabrication. Finally, the fabricated sensor was tested for a flammable gas detection using saturated ethanol vapor at room temperature, which implicates a low power consumption gas sensor without elevating the sensor temperature unlike traditional gas sensors.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0007139, ucf:52312
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007139
- Title
- Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Cryogenic Liquid and Hydrogen Gas Sensors.
- Creator
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Fisher, Brian, Malocha, Donald, Gong, Xun, Likamwa, Patrick, Richie, Samuel, Youngquist, Robert, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This research was born from NASA Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) need for passive, wireless and individually distinguishable cryogenic liquid and H2 gas sensors in various facilities. The risks of catastrophic accidents, associated with the storage and use of cryogenic fluids may be minimized by constant monitoring. Accidents involving the release of H2 gas or LH2 were responsible for 81% of total accidents in the aerospace industry. These problems may be mitigated by the implementation of a...
Show moreThis research was born from NASA Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) need for passive, wireless and individually distinguishable cryogenic liquid and H2 gas sensors in various facilities. The risks of catastrophic accidents, associated with the storage and use of cryogenic fluids may be minimized by constant monitoring. Accidents involving the release of H2 gas or LH2 were responsible for 81% of total accidents in the aerospace industry. These problems may be mitigated by the implementation of a passive (or low-power), wireless, gas detection system, which continuously monitors multiple nodes and reports temperature and H2 gas presence. Passive, wireless, cryogenic liquid level and hydrogen (H2) gas sensors were developed on a platform technology called Orthogonal Frequency Coded (OFC) surface acoustic wave (SAW) radio frequency identification (RFID) tag sensors. The OFC-SAW was shown to be mechanically resistant to failure due to thermal shock from repeated cycles between room to liquid nitrogen temperature. This suggests that these tags are ideal for integration into cryogenic Dewar environments for the purposes of cryogenic liquid level detection. Three OFC-SAW H2 gas sensors were simultaneously wirelessly interrogated while being exposed to various flow rates of H2 gas. Rapid H2 detection was achieved for flow rates as low as 1ccm of a 2% H2, 98% N2 mixture. A novel method and theory to extract the electrical and mechanical properties of a semiconducting and high conductivity thin-film using SAW amplitude and velocity dispersion measurements were also developed. The SAW device was shown to be a useful tool in analysis and characterization of ultrathin and thin films and physical phenomena such as gas adsorption and desorption mechanisms.?
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004536, ucf:49258
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004536
- Title
- NON-SILICON MICROFABRICATED NANOSTRUCTURED CHEMICAL SENSORS FOR ELECTRIC NOSE APPLICATION.
- Creator
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Gong, Jianwei, Chen, Quanfang, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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A systematic investigation has been performed for "Electric Nose", a system that can identify gas samples and detect their concentrations by combining sensor array and data processing technologies. Non-silicon based microfabricatition has been developed for micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) based gas sensors. Novel sensors have been designed, fabricated and tested. Nanocrystalline semiconductor metal oxide (SMO) materials include SnO2, WO3 and In2O3 have been studied for gas sensing...
Show moreA systematic investigation has been performed for "Electric Nose", a system that can identify gas samples and detect their concentrations by combining sensor array and data processing technologies. Non-silicon based microfabricatition has been developed for micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) based gas sensors. Novel sensors have been designed, fabricated and tested. Nanocrystalline semiconductor metal oxide (SMO) materials include SnO2, WO3 and In2O3 have been studied for gas sensing applications. Different doping material such as copper, silver, platinum and indium are studied in order to achieve better selectivity for different targeting toxic gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide etc. Fundamental issues like sensitivity, selectivity, stability, temperature influence, humidity influence, thermal characterization, drifting problem etc. of SMO gas sensors have been intensively investigated. A novel approach to improve temperature stability of SMO (including tin oxide) gas sensors by applying a temperature feedback control circuit has been developed. The feedback temperature controller that is compatible with MEMS sensor fabrication has been invented and applied to gas sensor array system. Significant improvement of stability has been achieved compared to SMO gas sensors without temperature compensation under the same ambient conditions. Single walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) has been studied to improve SnO2 gas sensing property in terms of sensitivity, response time and recovery time. Three times of better sensitivity has been achieved experimentally. The feasibility of using TSK Fuzzy neural network algorithm for Electric Nose has been exploited during the research. A training process of using TSK Fuzzy neural network with input/output pairs from individual gas sensor cell has been developed. This will make electric nose smart enough to measure gas concentrations in a gas mixture. The model has been proven valid by gas experimental results conducted.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- CFE0000377, ucf:46328
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000377
- Title
- UNDERSTANDING THE LOW TEMPERATURE ELECTRICAL PROPERTIESOF NANOCRYSTALLINE SNO2 FOR GAS SENSOR APPLICATIONS.
- Creator
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Drake, Christina, Seal, Sudipta, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Nanocrystalline metal/metal oxide is an important class of transparent and electronic materials due to its potential use in many applications, including gas sensors. At the nanoscale, many of the phenomena observed that give nanocrystalline semiconducting oxide enhanced performance as a gas sensor material over other conventional engineering materials is still poorly understood. This study is aimed at understanding the low temperature electrical and chemical properties of nanocrystalline SnO2...
Show moreNanocrystalline metal/metal oxide is an important class of transparent and electronic materials due to its potential use in many applications, including gas sensors. At the nanoscale, many of the phenomena observed that give nanocrystalline semiconducting oxide enhanced performance as a gas sensor material over other conventional engineering materials is still poorly understood. This study is aimed at understanding the low temperature electrical and chemical properties of nanocrystalline SnO2 that makes it suitable for room temperature gas detectors. Studies were carried out in order to understand how various synthesis methods affect the surfaces on the nano-oxides, interactions of a target gas (in this study hydrogen) with different surface species, and changes in the electrical properties as a function of dopants and grain size. A correlation between the surface reactions and the electrical response of doped nanocrystalline metal-oxide-semiconductors exposed to a reducing gas is established using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy attached to a specially built custom designed catalytic cell. First principle calculations of oxygen vacancy concentrations from absorbance spectra are presented. FTIR is used for effectively screening of these nanostructures for gas sensing applications. The effect of processing temperature on the microstructural evolution and on the electronic properties of nanocrystalline trivalent dopedSnO2 is also presented. This study includes the effect of dopants (In and Ce) on the growth of nano-SnO2, as well as their effects on the electronic properties and gas sensor behavior of the nanomaterial at room temperature. Band bending affects are also investigated for this system and are related to enhanced low temperature gas sensing. The role and importance of oxygen vacancies in the electronic and chemical behavior of surface modified nanocrystalline SnO2 are explored in this study. A generalized explanation for the low temperature gas sensor behavior of nanocrystalline oxide is presented that can be generalized to other nano-oxide systems and be useful in specific engineering of other nanomaterials. Deeper understanding of how nano-oxides react chemically and electronically would be extremely beneficial to issues present in current low cost, low temperature sensor technology. Ability to exactly monitor and then engineer the chemistry of nanostructures in the space charge region as well as the surface is also of great significance. Knowledge of the mechanisms responsible for enhanced sensor response in this material system could viably be applied to other material systems for sensor applications.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2007
- Identifier
- CFE0001668, ucf:47214
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001668
- Title
- Chemical Vapor Deposition Growth of Large Area 2D MoS2 Layers: Layer Orientation Control, Heterostructure Integration, And Applications for Stretchable Sensors.
- Creator
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Islam, Md. Ashraful, Jung, YeonWoong, Sundaram, Kalpathy, Yuan, Jiann-Shiun, Roy, Tania, Cho, Hyoung Jin, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Two-dimensional (2D)-layered MoS2 layers have exhibited a broad set of unusual and superior material properties unattainable in any traditional bulk materials, drawing significant research interests nowadays. For instance, they present excellent semiconducting properties accompanying high carrier mobility and large current ON/OFF ratio as well as extensive in-plane strain limit and thickness, projecting high suitably for emerging flexible and stretchable electronics. Such properties and...
Show moreTwo-dimensional (2D)-layered MoS2 layers have exhibited a broad set of unusual and superior material properties unattainable in any traditional bulk materials, drawing significant research interests nowadays. For instance, they present excellent semiconducting properties accompanying high carrier mobility and large current ON/OFF ratio as well as extensive in-plane strain limit and thickness, projecting high suitably for emerging flexible and stretchable electronics. Such properties and applications strongly depend on the physical orientation and chemical composition of constituent 2D layers. 2D MoS2 layers chemically grown in two distinct orientations, e.g., horizontal alignment for electronics and optoelectronics, and vertical alignment for electrochemical and sensing applications. Moreover, 2D heterostructure layers composed of vertically stacked dissimilar 2D TMDs held via weak van der Waals (vdW) attractions offer unique 2D/2D interfaces, envisioned to display exotic material properties, unattainable in their monocomponent counterparts. However, the underlying principle of their layer orientation-controlled growth and integrations are not well suited for scalable production, leaving their projected technological opportunities far from being realized for various novel applications. Herein, I study various aspects of 2D MoS2 layers that were studied from their large-area layer-orientation controlled growth and heterostructures integration to applications in stretchable electronic devices. I developed a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) synthesis, which can grow large-area ((>) cm2) 2D MoS2 layers in a layer-controlled manner and investigated their underlying growth mechanism. I then developed a viable transfer approach of the as-grown 2D layers and integrated them into secondary target substrates to realize a new type of 2D MoS2-layers based heterostructures. To further extend their layer-controlled CVD growth and integration approach, a high-performance stretchable 2D MoS2-based electrical sensors were demonstrated on the elastomeric substrates with unconventional structural layouts. This study paves the way to explore this emerging atomically-thin material in realizing a wide range of unusual device and technologies which have been foreseen to be impossible otherwise.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- Identifier
- CFE0007820, ucf:52812
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007820
- Title
- Modeling and Spray Pyrolysis Processing of Mixed Metal Oxide Nano-Composite Gas Sensor Films.
- Creator
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Khatami, Seyed Mohammad Navid, Ilegbusi, Olusegun, Deng, Weiwei, Kassab, Alain, Coffey, Kevin, Divo, Eduardo, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The role of sensor technology is obvious in improvement and optimization of many industrial processes. The sensor films, which are considered the core of chemical sensors, have the capability to detect the presence and concentration of a specific chemical substance. Such sensor films achieve selectivity by detecting the interaction of the specific chemical substance with the sensor material through selective binding, adsorption and permeation of analyte. This research focuses on development...
Show moreThe role of sensor technology is obvious in improvement and optimization of many industrial processes. The sensor films, which are considered the core of chemical sensors, have the capability to detect the presence and concentration of a specific chemical substance. Such sensor films achieve selectivity by detecting the interaction of the specific chemical substance with the sensor material through selective binding, adsorption and permeation of analyte. This research focuses on development and verification of a comprehensive mathematical model of mixed metal oxide thin film growth using spray pyrolysis technique (SPT). An experimental setup is used to synthesize mixed metal oxide films on a heated substrate. The films are analyzed using a variety of characterization tools. The results are used to validate the mathematical model. There are three main stages to achieve this goal: 1) A Lagrangian-Eulerian method is applied to develop a CFD model of atomizing multi-component solution. The model predicts droplet characteristics in flight, such as spatial distribution of droplet size and concentration. 2) Upon reaching the droplets on the substrate, a mathematical model of multi-phase transport and chemical reaction phenomena in a single droplet is developed and used to predict the deposition of thin film. The various stages of droplet morphology associated with surface energy and evaporation are predicted. 3) The processed films are characterized for morphology and chemical composition (SEM, XPS) and the data are used to validate the models as well as investigate the influence of process parameters on the structural characteristics of mixed metal oxide films. The structural characteristics are investigated of nano structured thin films comprising of ZnO, SnO2, ZnO+In2O3 and SnO2+In2O3 composites. The model adequately predicts the size distribution and film thickness when the nanocrystals are well-structured at the controlled temperature and concentration.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFE0005817, ucf:50048
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005817
- Title
- DESIGN AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NOVELDEVICES FOR NEW GENERATION OF ELECTROSTATICDISCHARGE (ESD) PROTECTION STRUCTURES.
- Creator
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SALCEDO, Javier, Liou, Juin, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The technology evolution and complexity of new circuit applications involve emerging reliability problems and even more sensitivity of integrated circuits (ICs) to electrostatic discharge (ESD)-induced damage. Regardless of the aggressive evolution in downscaling and subsequent improvement in applications' performance, ICs still should comply with minimum standards of ESD robustness in order to be commercially viable. Although the topic of ESD has received attention industry-wide, the...
Show moreThe technology evolution and complexity of new circuit applications involve emerging reliability problems and even more sensitivity of integrated circuits (ICs) to electrostatic discharge (ESD)-induced damage. Regardless of the aggressive evolution in downscaling and subsequent improvement in applications' performance, ICs still should comply with minimum standards of ESD robustness in order to be commercially viable. Although the topic of ESD has received attention industry-wide, the design of robust protection structures and circuits remains challenging because ESD failure mechanisms continue to become more acute and design windows less flexible. The sensitivity of smaller devices, along with a limited understanding of the ESD phenomena and the resulting empirical approach to solving the problem have yielded time consuming, costly and unpredictable design procedures. As turnaround design cycles in new technologies continue to decrease, the traditional trial-and-error design strategy is no longer acceptable, and better analysis capabilities and a systematic design approach are essential to accomplish the increasingly difficult task of adequate ESD protection-circuit design. This dissertation presents a comprehensive design methodology for implementing custom on-chip ESD protection structures in different commercial technologies. First, the ESD topic in the semiconductor industry is revised, as well as ESD standards and commonly used schemes to provide ESD protection in ICs. The general ESD protection approaches are illustrated and discussed using different types of protection components and the concept of the ESD design window. The problem of implementing and assessing ESD protection structures is addressed next, starting from the general discussion of two design methods. The first ESD design method follows an experimental approach, in which design requirements are obtained via fabrication, testing and failure analysis. The second method consists of the technology computer aided design (TCAD)-assisted ESD protection design. This method incorporates numerical simulations in different stages of the ESD design process, and thus results in a more predictable and systematic ESD development strategy. Physical models considered in the device simulation are discussed and subsequently utilized in different ESD designs along this study. The implementation of new custom ESD protection devices and a further integration strategy based on the concept of the high-holding, low-voltage-trigger, silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) (HH-LVTSCR) is demonstrated for implementing ESD solutions in commercial low-voltage digital and mixed-signal applications developed using complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS) technologies. This ESD protection concept proposed in this study is also successfully incorporated for implementing a tailored ESD protection solution for an emerging CMOS-based embedded MicroElectroMechanical (MEMS) sensor system-on-a-chip (SoC) technology. Circuit applications that are required to operate at relatively large input/output (I/O) voltage, above/below the VDD/VSS core circuit power supply, introduce further complications in the development and integration of ESD protection solutions. In these applications, the I/O operating voltage can extend over one order of magnitude larger than the safe operating voltage established in advanced technologies, while the IC is also required to comply with stringent ESD robustness requirements. A practical TCAD methodology based on a process- and device- simulation is demonstrated for assessment of the device physics, and subsequent design and implementation of custom P1N1-P2N2 and coupled P1N1-P2N2//N2P3-N3P1 silicon controlled rectifier (SCR)-type devices for ESD protection in different circuit applications, including those applications operating at I/O voltage considerably above/below the VDD/VSS. Results from the TCAD simulations are compared with measurements and used for developing technology- and circuit-adapted protection structures, capable of blocking large voltages and providing versatile dual-polarity symmetric/asymmetric S-type current-voltage characteristics for high ESD protection. The design guidelines introduced in this dissertation are used to optimize and extend the ESD protection capability in existing CMOS/BiCMOS technologies, by implementing smaller and more robust single- or dual-polarity ESD protection structures within the flexibility provided in the specific fabrication process. The ESD design methodologies and characteristics of the developed protection devices are demonstrated via ESD measurements obtained from fabricated stand-alone devices and on-chip ESD protections. The superior ESD protection performance of the devices developed in this study is also successfully verified in IC applications where the standard ESD protection approaches are not suitable to meet the stringent area constraint and performance requirement.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- CFE0001213, ucf:46942
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001213
- Title
- Fabrication and Study of Graphene-Based Nanocomposites for Sensing and Energy Applications.
- Creator
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McInnis, Matthew, Zhai, Lei, Yestrebsky, Cherie, Zou, Shengli, Blair, Richard, Chen, Quanfang, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Graphite is an allotrope of carbon made up of atomically thin sheets, each covalently bound together, forming a ?-conjugated network. An individual layer, called graphene, has extraordinary electrical, thermal and physical properties that provide the opportunity for innovating new functional composites. Graphene can be produced directly on a metallic substrate by chemical vapor deposition or by chemical oxidation of graphite, forming a stable aqueous suspension of graphene oxide (GO), which...
Show moreGraphite is an allotrope of carbon made up of atomically thin sheets, each covalently bound together, forming a ?-conjugated network. An individual layer, called graphene, has extraordinary electrical, thermal and physical properties that provide the opportunity for innovating new functional composites. Graphene can be produced directly on a metallic substrate by chemical vapor deposition or by chemical oxidation of graphite, forming a stable aqueous suspension of graphene oxide (GO), which allows for convenient solution processing techniques. For the latter, after thermal or chemical reduction, much of the properties of the starting graphene re-emerge due to the reestablishment of ?-conjugation. The ?-conjugated basal plane of graphene has been shown to influence the crystallization of ?-conjugated polymers, providing thermodynamically strong nucleation sites through the relatively strong ?-? interactions. These polymers can homocrystallize into 1-D filaments, but when nucleated from graphene, the orientation and geometry can be controlled producing hierarchical structures containing an electrical conductor decorated with wires of semi-conducting polymer. The resulting structures and crystallization kinetics of the conjugated polymer, poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) nucleated by graphene was studied. Further, field-effect transistors were developed using graphene as both the electrodes and the polymer crystallization surface to directly grow P3HT nanowires as the active material. This direct crystallization technique lead to higher charge mobility and higher on-off ratios, and this result was interpreted in terms of the morphology and polymer-graphene interface.Besides these thin-film technologies, neat GO suspensions can be lyophilized to produce monolithic, free-standing aerogels and then reduced to produce an electrically conductive porous material with a surface area greater than 1000 m2/g. The present research focuses on functionalizing the aerogel surfaces with metal nanoparticles to increase electrical conductivity and to impart functionality. Functionalization was carried out by adding a metal salt as a precursor and a chelating agent to inhibit GO flocculation. The GO and metal salt were simultaneously reduced to form rGO aerogels homogeneously loaded with metal nanoparticles. The size and distribution of these nanoparticles was controlled by concentration and chelating agent identity and abundance. Optimum aerogel formulations were used as a functioning and reversible conductometric hydrogen gas sensor and as an anode in an asymmetric supercapacitor with excellent properties.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2015
- Identifier
- CFE0006227, ucf:51066
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006227