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This book discusses two silicon biosensors: an electrochemical sensor – the Electrolyte Insulator Silicon Capacitor (EISCAP), and a mechanical resonant cantilever sensor. The author presents the principle and the technology behind the device fabrication and miniaturization, stable and reproducible functionalization protocols for bioreceptor immobilization, and the measurement and the data analysis for extracting the best performance from these sensors.EISCAP sensors, used for the estimation of triglycerides and urea, have been improved through the use of micromachining processes. The miniaturization brought out advantages as well as challenges which are discussed in this book, resulting in a prototype mini-EISCAP with a readout circuit for fast and accurate estimation of triglycerides. The author also reports on the sensitivity improvements in the estimation of triglycerides and urea obtained with the polycrystalline silicon cantilever and its measurements in liquidmedia.The book is ideal for materials scientists and engineers working in the field of biosensors and MicroElectroMechanical systems (MEMS) and their optimizations, as well as researchers with biochemical or biomedical expertise, in order to have a fresh and updated review on the last progresses reached with EISCAPs and cantilever sensors.

This book discusses the processing and properties of silicene, including the historical and theoretical background of silicene, theoretical predictions, the synthesis and experimental properties of silicene and the potential applications and further developments. It also presents other similar monolayer materials, like germanene and phosphorene. Silicene, a new silicon allotrope with a graphene-like, honeycomb structure, has recently attracted considerable interest, because its topology affords it the same remarkable electronic properties as those of graphene. Additionally, silicene may have the potential advantage of being easily integrated in current Si-based nano/micro-electronics, offering novel technological applications.Silicene was theoretically conjectured a few years ago as a stand-alone material. However, it does not exist in nature and had to be synthesized on a substrate. It has since been successfully synthesized and multi-layer silicene structures are already being discussed. Within just a few years, silicene is now on the brink of technological applications in electronic devices.

Silicon. The evolution and development of humanity are commonly charac­ terized by the key words Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age; that is, characterized by materials. Curse or benefit to mankind? The discovery and utilization of semiconductors, particularly of silicon, revolutionized our liv­ ing conditions, society, social life, and maxims in a few years, even more than what happened during all the material-specified periods before. Per­ haps, one day, our descendants will call the period at whose beginning we live the Silicon Age. However, to be correct, the present period is character­ ized of the discovery and development of a whole bunch of new materials and their utilization. These materials are new alloys, ceramics, the plastics and synthetics produced by organic chemistry, composites, biomaterials, and the materials of microelectronics, nanotechnology, and space science. The materi­ als of microelectronics are silicon, other elemental semiconductors, compound semiconductors, and organic semiconductors. With regard to the interdepen­ dences of these materials and their utilization, silicon plays a central role as one of the base materials for electronics. Have we lived in the Silicon Age for only half a century and already jumped into a new age of synthetic organic materials for electronics? We do not know. The first intensive work on silicon started more than 50 years ago. One of the European semiconductor laboratories was installed by the industry in a centuries-old, little countryside castle in Pretzfeld, in the north-east of Bavaria, Germany.

This book is volume II of a series of books on silicon photonics. It gives a fascinating picture of the state-of-the-art in silicon photonics from a component perspective. It presents a perspective on what can be expected in the near future. It is formed from a selected number of reviews authored by world leaders in the field, and is written from both academic and industrial viewpoints. An in-depth discussion of the route towards fully integrated silicon photonics is presented. This book will be useful not only to physicists, chemists, materials scientists, and engineers but also to graduate students who are interested in the fields of micro- and nanophotonics and optoelectronics.

Quantum size effects are becoming increasingly important in microelectronics, as the dimensions of the structures shrink laterally towards 100 nm and vertically towards 10 nm. Advanced device concepts will exploit these effects for integrated circuits with novel or improved properties. Keeping in mind the trend towards systems on chip, this book deals with silicon-based quantum devices and focuses on room-temperature operation. The basic physical principles, materials, technological aspects, and fundamental device operation are discussed in an interdisciplinary manner. It is shown that silicon-germanium (SiGe) heterostructure devices will play a key role in realizing silicon-based quantum electronics.

This methodic manual presents a survey of the form-related and functional elements of the bulk silicon microtechnique. It gives a systematic description of simple shape elements and of elements for mechanical, fluidic and optical applications. This manual includes practical instructions for the use of the relevant techniques and an extensive collection of examples for the support of the search for applications via photographs, drawings and references. It serves as a valuable guide to the design of etch masks and processes while summarizing the important properties of silicon, especially aiming at producers of sensors and microtechnical components, as well as producers of components of precision engineering and optical applications.