338 research outputs found
Point Defects Investigation of High Energy Proton Irradiated SiC p+-i-n Diodes
No full textWe performed deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), in capacitance, constant capacitance and current mode, on 5 MeV proton irradiated 4H-SiC p+-i-n diodes. The study has revealed the presence of several majority and minority traps, ranging in the 0.4-1.6 eV below the conduction band edge and in the 0.4-1.5 eV above the valence band edge. We present a comparison of the results obtained with the three modes and discuss the nature of the detected traps, in the light of previous results found in the literature. At last, the impact of the irradiation on the minority carrier lifetime is evaluated by electrical measurements
Wide Bandgap Semiconductors for MEMS and Related Process Technologies
No full textVegeu mpresum1de1.pd
RTCVD synthesis of carbon nanotubes and their wafer scale integration into FET and sensor processes
No full textDescripció del recurs: el 1 setembre 2011Los nanotubos de carbono (CNTs, carbon nanotubes) son moléculas tubulares cuyo diámetro es de escala nanométrica y cuyas paredes están formadas por capas monoatómicas de carbono. Su estructura en combinación con su morfología unidimensional confieren unas propiedades muy especiales que hacen de los CNTs un material muy atractivo para el desarrollo de amplia gama de aplicaciones. En el marco de la micro y nanotecnología, los CNTs son un material muy prometedor para la fabricación de dispositivos y sistemas, por ejemplo, en el campo de la nanoelectrónica, los sensores o los sistemas nanoelectromecánicos (NEMS, del inglés nanoeletcromechanical systems). Sin embargo, dado que aún no se han estandarizado procesos para su síntesis controlada, su integración sigue siendo un reto. Esta tesis fue concebida para avanzar en la integración CNTs en distintos micro y nanodispositivos. El trabajo realizado aborda la ingeniería de procesos, el diseño de dispositivos, y la fabricación y la caracterización de esos dispositivos. Se plantearon dos objetivos principales. El primero fue el adquirir el conocimiento de la síntesis de CNTs mediante la técnica de depósito químico desde fase vapor por calentamiento rápido (RTCVD, rapid termal chemical vapour deposition) y desarrollar procesos para la síntesis de CNTs de una estructura concreta y en una determinada configuración. El segundo objetivo fue el desarrollo de procesos de fabricación para la integración de CNTs en dispositivos basados en diferentes tecnologías y con diferentes funcionalidades. A pesar de la problemática inherente al desarrollo de los procesos tecnológicos, se cumplieron la mayor parte de los objetivos inicialmente propuestos. La síntesis de CNTs se logró mediante catalizadores convencionales (principalmente hierro y níquel) y mediante catalizadores no convencionales (platino). Cabe destacar que los procesos de síntesis de CNTs fueron estandarizados a nivel de obleas de 4 pulgadas, tanto para configuraciones de baja densidad de CNTs monocapa (SWCNTs, single-walled carbon nanotubes) como para configuraciones de alta densidad de CNTs multicapa (MWCNTs, multi-walled carbon nanotubes), ya que la síntesis tradicionalmente se realiza a nivel de chip. En cuanto a la integración de CNTs, se optimizaron dos procesos principalmente. Por un lado, se desarrolló una tecnología para la fabricación masiva en oblea de transistores basados en SWCNTs. Mediante esta tecnología se logró la fabricación de 10.000 transistores funcionales en obleas de 4 pulgadas. Por otro lado, se integró gran densidad de MWCNTs sobre los electrodos metálicos de dispositivos que habían sido demostrados para detección bio-electroquímica. La caracterización de estos electrodos demostró que esta actualización de la tecnología mejora el rendimiento de la fabricación y las características electroquímicas de los electrodos respecto a los diseños anteriores. Los resultados presentados en esta tesis son un paso adelante para la Integración a muy gran escala (VLSI, very large system integration) de CNTs. Los procesos que se desarrollaron son de interés en el campo de la nanoelectrónica, en el campo de la bio-sensores electroquímicos, para la fabricación de dispositivos optoelectrónicos y para la fabricación de NEMS.Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are tubular molecules which diameters may be smaller than one nanometre and which walls are formed of single carbon atom layers that are arranged in a honey comb lattice. Because of their one dimensional aspect ratio and properties, which are conferred by their structural arrangement, CNTs are a very attractive material for a wide range of applications. In the frame of micro- and nanotechnology, CNTs have been demonstrated to be very promising for the fabrication of devices and systems for nanoelectronics, sensors or nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). However, standardised processes for their fully controlled synthesis and their successful integration into those systems are still challenging. This thesis was conceived to advance on the wafer scale integration of CNTs into micro- and nanodevices. Performed work dealt with process engineering, device design, device fabrication and device characterization. Two major goals were pursued: (i) to acquire the knowhow on the synthesis of CNTs by rapid thermal chemical vapour deposition (RTCVD) to develop recipes to synthesize certain in structure CNTs and certain in morphology CNT arrays, and (ii) the wafer scale integration of CNTs into devices with different functionalities and technological processes by conventional fabrication steps. Despite the inherent problematic of the technological process developments, most of the initially foreseen goals were fulfilled. The CNT synthesis was achieved by conventional (mainly iron and nickel) and by nonconventional (platinum) catalyst materials. It is remarkable how the CNT RTCVD synthesis processes were standardized at 4 inch wafer scale for either low density of single-walled (SW) CNT arrays or for dense, vertically aligned multi-walled (MW) CNT arrays, since the CNT synthesis is normally performed at chip level. Regarding the wafer scale integration of the CNTs, two main processes were optimised. On the one side, SWCNTs were integrated in the fabrication of CNT-FETs. This technology resulted in the fabrication of 10,000 functional CNT-FETs on 4 inch wafers in a sole fabrication process. Later on, the technology was upgraded for the fabrication of passivated CNT-FET devices for electrochemical sensing. On the other side, dense arrays of MWCNTs were integrated into devices based on metallic electrodes that had previously been demonstrated for bio-electrochemical sensing. These electrodes were demonstrated to improve the fabrication yield and the electrochemical characteristics with respect to the previous designs. Presented in this thesis results are a step forward to the Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) of CNTs. The developed processes are of interest in the field of nanoelectronics, in the field of bio-electrochemical sensing, for the fabrication of optoelectronic devices and for the fabrication NEMS
Method for exfoliating and transferring graphene from a doped silicon carbide substrate to another substrate
No full textLa presente invención se refiere a un procedimiento de exfoliación y transferencia de grafeno de un sustrato de carburo de silicio dopado a otro sustrato, donde dicho procedimiento se basa en su exfoliación inducida por el burbujeo de hidrógeno que se produce en la electrolisis del agua. [ES]The present invention relates to a method for exfoliating and transferring graphene from a doped silicon carbide substrate to another substrate, the method being based on exfoliation induced by hydrogen bubbles produced in the electrolysis of water. [EN]Peer reviewedConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER)A1 Solicitud de patente con informe sobre el estado de la técnic
Novel materials and processes for gate dielectrics on silicon carbide
No full textConsultable des del TDXTítol obtingut de la portada digitalitzadaThere is considerable evidence of the need for a semiconductor technology which exceeds the limitations imposed by silicon across a wide spectrum of industrial applications. Wide bandgap semiconductor, such as silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN) and diamond, offer the potential to overcome both the temperature and voltage blocking limitations of Si. SiC is nowadays the most attractive candidate, offering significant potential advantages at both high temperature and high voltage levels whilst benefiting from tractable materials technology. Moreover, SiC is the only that can be thermally oxidized to form a high quality native oxide (SiO2), which enables the fabrication of MOS based devices. However, very near the definitive emergence, the SiC technology needs to address two fundamental limitations: The price of the wafers and the poor SiC/SiO2 interface. The high density of imperfections encountered at the SiC/oxide interface represents a major obstacle in the development of functional SiC devices. The main efforts of this thesis have been directed to the detection and reduction of interface traps in the oxide/SiC interface. To achieve this demanding objective, two different ways have been contemplated: (1) Investigations have been carried out to improve the thermal oxidation or even to improve the formation of the interface with alternative techniques as nitridation or deposited oxides. (2) The classical insulator made up with SiO2 has been replaced by other innovative dielectrics. Innovative gate fabrication processes have been proposed in this thesis using deposited SiO2 gate oxides from PECVD with silane and TEOS as precursors. SiO2-TEOS deposited oxides are an alternative to thermal oxidation. 4H-SiC MOSFET with mobilities up to 38-45 cm2/Vs [(0001) face] and 216 cm2/Vs [(11-20) face] have been fabricated. We have demonstrated that the thermal oxidation of Ta2Si is a simple way to achieve a high-k dielectric on SiC (and on Si). We have fabricated one of the first well behaved high-k MOSFET on SiC with a mobility peak up to 45 cm2/Vs In the last section, a field-effect mobility model including Coulomb scattering at interface traps has been proposed fitting the experimental channel mobility of SiC MOSFETs and the device behavior depending on the density of interface traps, the substrate doping level and the temperature
Optimisation de l'implantation ionique et du recuit thermique pour SiC
No full textConsultable des del TDXTítol obtingut de la portada digitalitzad
Theoretical studies of defects in silicon carbide
No full textConsultable des del TDXTítol obtingut de la portada digitalitzadaCálculos de estructura electrónica han sido utilizados para el estudio de la estructura, de la difusividad y de la actividad eléctrica de defectos puntuales en carburo de silicio. En particular, se han considerado impurezas de tipo n y de tipo p, boro, nitrógeno y fósforo, juntas con defectos intrínsecos, como las vacantes del cristal. El proceso de transient enhanced diffusion del boro ha sido estudiado y se ha propuesto una descripción microscópica del mismo: el kick-out realizado por un auto-intersticial de silicio cercano ha resultado ser el responsable de la metaestabilidad del de otra forma altamente estable boro sustitucional. El mecanismo de difusión de la vacante de carbono y de silicio ha sido discutido y caracterizado; se ha demostrado que la vacante de carbono migra solamente a través de un mecanismo de difusión a los segundos vecinos, mientras que la vacante de silicio es metaestable con respecto a la formación del par vacante-antisito y entonces el camino de difusión será mediado por la formación de dicha configuración. El dopaje de tipo n en las condiciones de alta dosis obtenidas con nitrógeno y/o fósforo ha sido estudiado; se ha mostrado que la formación de complejos de nitrógenos eléctricamente inactivos hace que el fósforo sea la elección mas adecuada para obtener dopaje de tipo n bajo estas condiciones.Electronic structure calculations have been used to study the structure, the diffusivity and the electrical activity of point defects in silicon carbide. Particularly, p-type and n-type impurities have been considered, namely boron, nitrogen and phosphorus, together with intrinsic defects, specifically vacancies of the host crystal. The transient enhanced diffusion of boron have been approached and a microscopic picture of this process have been proposed; the kick-out operated by a nearby silicon self-interstitial have turned out to be the responsible of the induced metastability of the otherwise highly stable boron substitutional. The diffusion mechanism of the carbon and the silicon vacancy have been discussed and characterised; it has been shown that the carbon vacancy can only migrate by means of a second neighbour diffusion mechanisms, while the silicon vacancy is metastable with respect to the formation of a vacancy-antisite pair, and therefore the diffusion path will be mediated by the formation of such configuration. The n-type high-dose doping regime obtained with nitrogen and / or phosphorus have been studied; it has been demonstrated that the formation of electrically inactive nitrogen aggregate in the high-dose regime makes phosphorus the preferred choice to achieve n-type doping under such conditions
Bidirectional Modulation of Neuronal Cells Electrical and Mechanical Properties Through Pristine and Functionalized Graphene Substrates
No full text[Abstract] In recent years, the quest for surface modifications to promote neuronal cell interfacing and modulation has risen. This course is justified by the requirements of emerging technological and medical approaches attempting to effectively interact with central nervous system cells, as in the case of brain-machine interfaces or neuroprosthetic. In that regard, the remarkable cytocompatibility and ease of chemical functionalization characterizing surface-immobilized graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs) make them increasingly appealing for these purposes. Here, we compared the (morpho)mechanical and functional adaptation of rat primary hippocampal neurons when interfaced with surfaces covered with pristine single-layer graphene (pSLG) and phenylacetic acid-functionalized single-layer graphene (fSLG). Our results confirmed the intrinsic ability of glass-supported single-layer graphene to boost neuronal activity highlighting, conversely, the downturn inducible by the surface insertion of phenylacetic acid moieties. fSLG-interfaced neurons showed a significant reduction in spontaneous postsynaptic currents (PSCs), coupled to reduced cell stiffness and altered focal adhesion organization compared to control samples. Overall, we have here demonstrated that graphene substrates, both pristine and functionalized, could be alternatively used to intrinsically promote or depress neuronal activity in primary hippocampal cultures.This work was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under the Grant Agreements 785219 and 881603 of the Graphene Flagship. DS acknowledges the support of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 838902. MP as the recipient of the AXA Bionanotechnology Chair, is grateful to the AXA Research Fund for financial support. This work was performed under the Maria de Maeztu Units of Excellence Program from the Spanish State Research Agency-grant no. MDM-2017- 0720. AC thanks Xunta de Galicia for his research grant Atracción de Talento (no. ED431H 2020/17). GR acknowledges funding from RYC-2016-21412. HH acknowledges funding from Juan de la Cierva – Incorporación no. IJC-2018-037396-IXunta de Galicia; ED431H 2020/1
Planar edge terminations and related manufacturing process technology for high power 4H-SiC diodes
No full textConsultable des del TDXTítol obtingut de la portada digitalitzadaEls dispositius semiconductors de potència es requereixen per transmetre o rebre gairebé qualsevol tipus de senyal elèctrica i energia electromagnètica. En temps de constant augment del consum energètic i de la sensibilitat medi-ambiental, aquests petits dispositius poden dura a terme un gran paper. Un aspecte molt important és la elecció del material semiconductor. El carbur de silici (SiC) es un semiconductor de ample banda prohibida que té algunes de les propietats desitjades per a la reducció de pèrdues energètiques. Amb aquest material es poden fer servir regions conductores més fines sense disminuir el voltatge de ruptura gràcies al seu gran valor de camp elèctric de ruptura. Això es tradueix en caigudes de tensió en directe més petites, a més de permetre també una reducció en les pèrdues de commutació gracies a la petita quantitat de portadors que s'han de buidar després del blocatge en invers. A més a més, la amplia banda prohibida i la gran conductivitat tèrmica del SiC en comparació amb el silici permet al dispositius basats en SiC treballar amb densitats de corrent més altes i a més altes temperatures. El tamany i la complexitat del sistemes de potència es redueixen significativament amb components més petits i menors requeriments de sistemes de refredament. Aquesta tesi investiga el disseny, la fabricació i la caracterització de diodes bipolars, Schottky i JBS (Junction Barrier Rectifier) en SiC. S'ha desenvolupat una seqüència de processament basada en la tecnologia de processat de silici disponible a la sala blanca del CNM. A mesura que es millora la tecnologia del material, el paper del disseny de dispositius de potència en SiC esdevé més important. Específicament, per poder extraure totes les capacitats del SiC respecte a la tensió de ruptura es requereix una terminació perifèrica adequada del dispositiu per tal de reduir el fenomen de field crowding que es produeix a la perifèria de la unió principal i que redueix significativament el voltatge de ruptura ideal del dispositiu. Així doncs, un dels objectius principals d'aquesta tesi és el disseny i desenvolupament de terminacions altament efectives per a diodes planars de SiC. Al capítol segon es presenta el disseny i optimització de diferents tècniques de terminació mitjançant l'ús de simuladors numèrics comercials calibrats específicament per al 4H-SiC. La major atenció es centra en la terminació denominada JTE (Junction Termination Extension), i en una nova terminació desenvolupada durant aquest treball de tesi denominada «Floating guard rings assisted JTE», amb la qual s'ha aconseguit una gran eficàcia. La caracterització i l'anàlisi dels principals processos involucrats en la fabricació dels nostres dispositius es resumeix al capítol tercer, a on es detallen els processos de implantació iònica, recuit d'activació de les impureses i la formació dels contactes. Els resultats obtinguts es poden transferir directament a la fabricació de dispositius comercials de SiC. El capítol quart mostra la gran eficàcia que les nostres terminacions han demostrat en els diodes fabricats, especialment amb la nova estructura proposada. A més a més, també s'analitza el funcionament en invers dels diodes així com alguns aspectes tecnològics de segon ordre que habitualment no es tenen en compte però que nosaltres hem demostrat que poden ser de gran importància per al correcte funcionament dels dispositius. Finalment, el capítol cinquè dona a conèixer el funcionament en directe i a altes temperatures (fins a 300ºC) dels tres tipus de diodes fabricats: bipolars (PiN), Schottky i JBS.Power semiconductor devices are required whenever sending, transmitting or receiving almost any type of electrical and electromagnetic energy or signal/information. In times of escalating power consumption and increasing environmental awareness, these small electronic devices can play a big role. Of large importance is naturally the choice of semiconductor material. Silicon carbide (SiC) is a wide bandgap material that has some of the desired properties to reduce these losses. Short drift regions can be utilized without reducing the blocking voltage thanks to the extremely high electric field strength. This instantly leads to a smaller on-state voltage drop, but also a reduction in switching losses of the device due to the decreased amount of charge carriers that must be swept away after blocking. Moreover, the wide bandgap and high thermal conductivity of SiC compared to silicon allow higher current densities and higher operating temperatures of the devices. The size and complexity of power systems are significantly reduced with smaller components and reduced need for cooling systems. This thesis concerns the design, process integration, fabrication and evaluation of PiN, JBS and Schottky rectifiers in SiC. A process sequence has been developed based on the available silicon process technology in the CNM cleanroom environment.. As the material technology continues to improve, the role of SiC power device design is becoming more important. Specifically, to fully exploit the high reverse blocking capabilities of SiC, proper device edge termination is required to alleviate the device from the well known field crowding effect at the main junction edge that significantly decreases the theoretical one-dimensional breakdown voltage. Thus, one principal aim of this thesis is the design and development of high efficient edge terminations for high power planar SiC diodes. In Chapter 2, it will be presented the design and optimisation of various edge termination techniques using specific 4H-SiC calibrated numerical simulations. Main attention will be focused on junction termination extension techniques (JTE), and a novel edge termination structure namely «Floating guard rings assisted JTE» is presented with great blocking performances. Characterisation and analysis of the main processes involved in the fabrication of our high power diodes are reported in Chapter 3, including ion implantation, activation annealing and contact formation. The obtained results are directly applicable and focus on important problems in the fabrication of SiC power devices. Chapter 4 demonstrates the high blocking efficiency on our fabricated diodes of our previously designed edge terminations, specially that of the novel developed structure, and an analysis of the breakdown behaviour will be reported. Moreover, we also analyse secondary order design parameters, which are not usually considered but clearly important as our results will shown. Finally, Chapter 5 covers the current-voltage performance at high temperature operation, up to 300ºC, of the three different power rectifiers fabricated: PiN, JBS and Schottky
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