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We introduce a noncontact experiment method to estimate thermal conductivity of nanoscale thin films by fitting high spatial resolution thermoreflectance images of surface spot heating to a finite element simulated temperature distribution. The thin-film top surface is heated by a 1 μ m diameter focused, 825 nm wavelength laser spot. The surface temperature distribution in the excited sample is imaged by thermoreflectance microscopy with submicrometer spatial resolution and up to 10 mK temperature resolution. Thin-film thermal conductivity is extracted by fitting a measured surface temperature distribution to a 3D finite element temperature model. The method is demonstrated by estimating thermal conductivity for an isotropic thin-film metal (nickel, 60–260 nm) on a glass substrate. The fitted Ni thermal conductivity was 50 ± 5 W/m K, which is in good agreement with the literature. Also, we present a detailed finite element analysis for an anisotropic thin-film semiconductor sample to show how the method could be extended to estimate thermal conductivity of anisotropic thin films. Advantages of the new method are easy sample preparation (no top surface transducer film or integrated heater required), rapid in situ measurement, and application to a broad range of thin-film materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roll‐to‐Roll (R2R) manufacturing is changing how state‐of‐the‐art technology is made. Roll‐to‐Roll is part of a family of advanced scalable inline manufacturing techniques that make traditional and state‐of‐the‐art products at high yield and reduced cost. R2R manufacturing has grown rapidly and is fundamental to several advanced technologies such as functional materials and films, sensors for medicine, biology, and environment monitoring, energy harvesting devices, and flexible electronics. Advantages of R2R manufacturing include ease of machine design, adaptability to a wide range of additive processing methods, and very high throughput. To keep up with advances in R2R manufacturing, novel methods have emerged to measure important product metrics (thickness, roughness, conductivity) and monitor quality (uniformity, defects) inline and in real‐time. This review provides an overview of the state‐of‐the‐art for real‐time inline metrology and quality control in modern R2R manufacturing. The survey considers both established inline metrology techniques such as line‐scan imaging and reflectometry, and techniques recently adapted or that show promise for real‐time inline R2R metrology such as ellipsometry, hyper‐spectral imaging, and Raman spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electromigration (EM) is a phenomenon whereby the flow of current in metal wires moves the underlying atoms, potentially inducing electronic interconnect failures. The continued decrease in commercial lithographically defined feature sizes means that EM presents an increasing risk to the reliability of modern electronics. To mitigate these risks, it is important to look for novel mechanisms to extend lifetime without forfeiting miniaturization. Typically, only the overall increase in the interconnect resistance and failure voltage are characterized. However, if the current flows non-uniformly, spatially resolving the resulting hot spots during electromigration aging experiments may provide better insights into the fundamental mechanisms of this process. In this study, we focus on aluminum interconnects containing asymmetric reservoir and void pairs with contact pads on each end. Such reservoirs are potential candidates for self-healing. Thermoreflectance imaging was used to detect hot spots in electrical interconnects at risk of failure as the voltage was gradually increased. It reveals differential heating with increasing voltage for each polarity. We find that while current flow going from a constriction to a reservoir causes a break at the void, the identical structure with the opposite polarity can sustain higher current (J=21×106 A/cm2) and more localized joule heating and yet is more stable. Ultimately, a break takes place at the contact pad where the current flows from narrow interconnect to larger pads. In summary, thermoreflectance imaging with submicron spatial resolution provides valuable information about localized electromigration evolution and the potential role of reservoirs to create more robust interconnects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of a HfO2 or ZrO2 interlayer as a thermal bridge between a $\beta $ -Ga2O3 channel and a sapphire substrate was investigated using a $\beta $ -Ga2O3 nano-membrane FET as a test vehicle. A 35% less channel temperature increase was observed when a thin HfO2 or ZrO2 interlayer was inserted between the $\beta $ -Ga2O3 channel and the sapphire substrate compared to devices without interlayers. Phonon density of states (PDOS) mismatch can explain the improvement of the thermal boundary conductance (TBC). In the acoustic region, the PDOS of HfO2 or ZrO2 has about a 700% larger overlap area with the PDOS of $\beta $ -Ga2O3 compared to the PDOS of sapphire. This suggests that the insertion of a thermal bridge interlayer can provide a potential solution to the low thermal conductivity of $\beta $ -Ga2O3 and the self-heating effect of $\beta $ -Ga2O3-based FETs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Potentiometric Ion-selective Electrodes (ISE) are widely used in industrial and clinical settings. The simplicity and small footprint of ISE have encouraged their recent adoption as wearable/implantable sensors for personalized healthcare and precision agriculture, creating a new set of unique challenges absent in traditional ISE. In this paper, we develop a fundamental physics-based model to describe both steady-state and transient responses of ISE relevant for wearable/implantable sensors. The model is encapsulated in a “generalized Nernst formula” that explicitly accounts for the analyte density, time-dynamics of signal transduction, ion-selective membrane thickness, and other sensor parameters. The formula is validated numerically by self-consistent modeling of multispecies ion-transport and experimentally by interpreting the time dynamics and thickness dependence of thin-film solid-contact and graphene-based ISE sensors for measuring soil nitrate concentration. These fundamental results will support the accelerated development of ISE for wearable/implantable applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report back-end-of-line (BEOL) compatible indium-tin-oxide (ITO) transistors with ferroelectric (FE) Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) as gate insulator. A tunable high-density 2-D electron gas over 0.8 × 1014/cm2 is achieved at the HZO/ITO oxide/oxide interface because of the FE polarization, which is confirmed by I – V, positive up and negative down (PUND), and Hall measurements. Such high carrier density can be completely modulated and switched on and off by FE polarization switching, enabling high mobility ITO transistor with high ON-current and high ON/OFF ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanostructured transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) may be suitable replacements for transparent conductive oxides due to their optical, electrical, and mechanical properties. Because nanowire (NW) nanowire or tube–tube junctions are the transport bottlenecks in network-based conductors, understanding the properties of these junctions and their connectivity within the network is crucial to understanding and controlling electrical conduction through these networks. Quantifying local self-heating within the network can provide information on the coupled electrothermal response, local conduction pathways, and potential reliability. In this study, self-heating thermal transients within a silver NW network are characterized using high-resolution transient thermoreflectance imaging that provides high temporal (∼200 ns) and spatial (∼200 nm) resolution. The self-heating induced by an applied voltage pulse results in distinct temperature changes at microscopic hotspots formed at individual NW–NW junctions. For both heating and cooling cycles, thermal time constants less than $\text{1 }\mu {\text{s}}$ are observed at various hotspots. For a representative hotspot, line scans along two crossing NWs, taken at different time instants ranging from 0 to 2μs, show the temporal and spatial evolution of the temperature profile. We estimate the van der Waals force (∼−4.0244 N), contact width (∼5 nm), and interface thermal resistance (∼1.6 × 105K/W) between NWs and the underlying substrate. A heat transfer model that considers local power generated at a hotspot, local coupling between the NWs and substrate, heat conduction along the NWs and heat transfer into the substrate, is developed and used to interpret the experimental data. The heat transfer model and experimental temperature profile help to quantify the local power generated at the hotspot and the fraction of this power propagating along each wire. The ability to resolve the local self-heating with such temporal and spatial resolution uniquely enables understanding of electrothermal response and current pathways in the distributed conductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene-nanowire hybrid films have recently shown excellent performance as transparent conducting electrodes. However, due to their fundamental nonhomogeneity (grain boundaries, nanowire–nanowire junctions), self-heating induces hotspots along the co-percolating electrical conduction pathways. Although the steady-state characteristics of the hotspot temperature and location have been reported, the temporal response of the hotspots has not been studied in detail. In this paper, we use transient thermoreflectance imaging with high temporal resolution to quantify the transient characteristics of the hotspots. At local hotspots as well as nearby intermediate temperature regions, the temperature response in both heating and cooling phases exhibits two distinct time constants. We quantitatively determine the thermal time constants and associated amplitudes and show dependence of these parameters on distance from the contact. Based on solutions to heat diffusion equations, the short-time constant is attributed to the local self-heating within the hotspot region, and the long-time constant to diffusion of heat through the channel region. The knowledge of time evolution of hotspots and hence a more detailed understanding of the electrothermal conduction process through co-percolating networks could enable more reliable, advanced transparent conductors as well as one-dimensional/two-dimensional hybrid materials for other applications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We have demonstrated that depletion/enhancement-mode α-Ga2O3 on insulator field-effect transistors can achieve a record high drain current density of 1.5/1.0 A/mm by utilizing a highly doped α-Ga2O3 nano-membrane as the channel. α-Ga2O3 on insulator field-effect transistor (GOOI FET) shows a high on/off ratio of 1010 and low subthreshold slope of 150 mV/dec even with 300 nm thick SiO2. The enhancement-mode GOOI FET is achieved through surface depletion. An ultra-fast, high resolution thermo-reflectance imaging technique is applied to study the self-heating effect by directly measuring the local surface temperature. High drain current, low Rc, and wide bandgap make the α-Ga2O3 on insulator field-effect transistor a promising candidate for future power electronics applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroreflectance microscopy is demonstrated as a high-resolution, non-contact method to image dynamic charge distribution in integrated microsupercapacitor structures during fast voltage cycling. Electroreflectance camera images of a gold electrode H3PO4 polymer electrolyte microsupercapacitor reveal time varying charge distribution with submicron spatial resolution, millisecond time resolution, and electroreflectance resolution on the order of 500 nC cm−2. A model describing changes in the metal electrode's optical constants as a function of free electron concentration shows good agreement with measured electroreflectance. The proposed method can be used for sensitive, non-contact measurements of charge spatial distribution, and defect and performance characterization in electrode–electrolyte microdevices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This microsupercapacitor ageing study demonstrates the usefulness of the electroreflectance technique by quantifying local charge accumulation. Two separate devices with interdigitated electrodes were evaulated over a period of 4.1 million charge/discharge cycles. The key results are spatial mapping of charge accumulation in the gold electrodes derived from variation in the observed electrode reflectance. The nominal device exhibited little change in spatial distribution throughout the ageing cycle and serves as a comparison for the test device, which exhibited some nonuniform charge accumulation behavior. Further, an accelerated ageing test was completed by applying increasing voltage pulses up to 1.46 V to the device. Visual evidence of electrode ageing emerged in the reflectance distribution. An equivalent circuit model was developed to assess the evolution of individual circuit elements that correlate to the physical causes of ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gate-all-around (GAA) MOSFETs use multiple nanowires (NWs) to achieve target I\mathrm{{\scriptscriptstyle ON}} , along with excellent 3-D electrostatic control of the channel. Although the self-heating effect has been a persistent concern, the existing characterization methods, based on indirect measure of mobility and specialized test structures, do not offer adequate spatiotemporal resolution. In this paper, we develop an ultrafast high-resolution thermoreflectance (TR) imaging technique to: 1) directly observe the increase in local surface temperature of the GAA-FET with different number of NWs; 2) characterize/interpret the time constants of heating and cooling through high-resolution transient measurements; 3) identify critical paths for heat dissipation; and 4) detect in situ time-dependent breakdown of individual NW. Combined with the complementary approaches that probe the internal temperature of the NWs, the TR-images offer a high-resolution map of self-heating in the surround-gate devices with unprecedented precision, necessary for the validation of electrothermal models and the optimization of devices and circuits. In addition, we develop the simple compact model of the complex structure, which can explain experimental observations and can provide the internal temperature of the NWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transistors, sensors, and transparent conductors based on randomly assembled nanowire networks rely on multi-component percolation for unique and distinctive applications in flexible electronics, biochemical sensing, and solar cells. While conduction models for 1-D and 1-D/2-D networks have been developed, typically assuming linear electronic transport and self-heating, the model has not been validated by direct high-resolution characterization of coupled electronic pathways and thermal response. In this letter, we show the occurrence of nonlinear "super-Joule" self-heating at the transport bottlenecks in networks of silver nanowires and silver nanowire/single layer graphene hybrid using high resolution thermoreflectance (TR) imaging. TR images at the microscopic self-heating hotspots within nanowire network and nanowire/graphene hybrid network devices with submicron spatial resolution are used to infer electrical current pathways. The results encourage a fundamental reevaluation of transport models for network-based percolating conductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermoreflectance imaging with high spatial resolution is used to inspect self-heating distribution in active high power (4A) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor transistor arrays designed for high-frequency (MHz) operation. Peak temperature change and self-heating distribution is analyzed for both low- and high-dc bias cases and for different ambient die temperatures (296–373 K). Thermoreflectance images reveal temperature nonuniformity greater than a factor of two over the full area of the transistor arrays. Thermal nonuniformity is revealed to be strongly dependent on both bias level and ambient die temperature. Verification based on the fine grain power dissipation in the transistor array was performed using the R3D method for electrical simulation and power blurring for thermal simulation. Results demonstrate thermoreflectance imaging as an effective tool for fast submicrometer noncontact thermal characterization of active power devices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the high-speed transient thermo reflectance imaging for electronic devices.

Infrared (IR) imaging has become a viable tool for visualizing various chemical bonds in a specimen. The performance, however, is limited in terms of spatial resolution and imaging speed. Here, instead of measuring the loss of the IR beam, we use a pulsed visible light for high-throughput, widefield sensing of the transient photothermal effect induced by absorption of single mid-IR pulses. To extract these transient signals, we built a virtual lock-in camera synchronized to the visible probe and IR light pulses with precisely controlled delays, allowing submicrosecond temporal resolution determined by the probe pulse width. Our widefield photothermal sensing microscope enabled chemical imaging at a speed up to 1250 frames/s, with high spectral fidelity, while offering submicrometer spatial resolution. With the capability of imaging living cells and nanometer-scale polymer films, widefield photothermal microscopy opens a new way for high-throughput characterization of biological and material specimens.

The self-heating effect is a severe issue for high-power semiconductor devices, which degrades the electron mobility and saturation velocity, and also affects the device reliability. On applying an ultrafast and high-resolution thermoreflectance imaging technique, the direct self-heating effect and surface temperature increase phenomenon are observed on novel top-gate β-Ga 2 O 3 on insulator field-effect transistors. Here, we demonstrate that by utilizing a higher thermal conductivity sapphire substrate rather than a SiO 2 /Si substrate, the temperature rise above room temperature of β-Ga 2 O 3 on the insulator field-effect transistor can be reduced by a factor of 3 and thereby the self-heating effect is significantly reduced. Both thermoreflectance characterization and simulation verify that the thermal resistance on the sapphire substrate is less than 1/3 of that on the SiO 2 /Si substrate. Therefore, maximum drain current density of 535 mA/mm is achieved on the sapphire substrate, which is 70% higher than that on the SiO 2 /Si substrate due to reduced self-heating. Integration of β-Ga 2 O 3 channel on a higher thermal conductivity substrate opens a new route to address the low thermal conductivity issue of β-Ga 2 O 3 for power electronics applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.

This microsupercapacitor ageing study demonstrates the usefulness of the electroreflectance technique by quantifying local charge accumulation. Two separate devices with interdigitated electrodes were evaulated over a period of 4.1 million charge/discharge cycles. The key results are spatial mapping of charge accumulation in the gold electrodes derived from variation in the observed electrode reflectance. The nominal device exhibited little change in spatial distribution throughout the ageing cycle and serves as a comparison for the test device, which exhibited some nonuniform charge accumulation behavior. Further, an accelerated ageing test was completed by applying increasing voltage pulses up to 1.46 V to the device. Visual evidence of electrode ageing emerged in the reflectance distribution. An equivalent circuit model was developed to assess the evolution of individual circuit elements that correlate to the physical causes of ageing.

Electroreflectance microscopy is demonstrated as a high-resolution, non-contact method to image dynamic charge distribution in integrated microsupercapacitor structures during fast voltage cycling. Electroreflectance camera images of a gold electrode H3PO4 polymer electrolyte microsupercapacitor reveal time varying charge distribution with submicron spatial resolution, millisecond time resolution, and electroreflectance resolution on the order of 500 nC cm(-2). A model describing changes in the metal electrode's optical constants as a function of free electron concentration shows good agreement with measured electroreflectance. The proposed method can be used for sensitive, non-contact measurements of charge spatial distribution, and defect and performance characterization in electrode-electrolyte microdevices.