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The mechanism of single event transients in indium phosphide heterojunction bipolar transistors are studied with different laser energy, collector and irradiation positions based on a pulsed laser experiment. The area of the depletion region neutralized by the laser track determines the area of the funnel region, and affects the total charges collected by collector QTotal. The total charge collection consists of the charge collected in the depletion region, the charges collected in funnel region, and the diffusion charges. The larger the area of the neutralized depletion region, the larger the area of the funnel region, thus, the more electron–hole pairs would be collected. The influence of laser energy, collector bias and irradiation positions on total charge collection is studied and discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The InAs/AlSb heterostructures with step-graded GaAsxSb1 − x metamorphic buffer layers grown on Si substrates by molecular beam epitaxy are studied. The step-graded GaAsxSb1 − x metamorphic buffer layers are used to relax the strain and block defects at each interface of the layers. Meanwhile, adding Sb to GaAs is also beneficial to suppressing the formation of dislocations in the subsequent materials. The influences of the growth temperature of the step-graded GaAsxSb1 − x metamorphic buffer layer on the electron mobility and surface topography are investigated for a series of samples. Based on the atomic force microscopy (AFM), high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD), reciprocal space map (RSM), and Hall measurements, the crystal quality and composition of GaAsxSb1 − x layer are seen to strongly depend on growth temperature while keeping the Ga growth rate and V/III ratio constant. The results show that the highest electron mobility is 10270 cm2/V·s and the roughness is 4.3 nm for the step-graded GaAsxSb1 − x metamorphic buffer layer grown at a temperature of 410 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hysteresis current–voltage (I–V) characteristics are often observed in a highly non-ideal (n > 2) as-deposited nickel (Ni)/4H-SiC Schottky contact. However, we find that this kind of hysteresis effect also exists in an as-deposited Ni/n-type 4H-SiC Schottky structure even if the ideality factor (n) is less than 1.2. The hysteresis I–V characteristics is studied in detail in this paper by using the various measurements including the hysteresis I–V, sequential I–V sweeping, cycle I–V, constant reverse voltage stress (CRVS). The results show that the hysteresis I–V characteristics are strongly dependent on the sweeping voltage and post-deposition annealing (PDA). The high temperature PDA (800 °C) can completely eliminate this hysteresis. Meanwhile, the magnitude of the hysteresis effect is shown to decrease in the sequential I–V sweeping measurement, which is attributed to the fact that the electrons tunnel from the 4H-SiC to the localized states at the Ni/n-type 4H-SiC interface. It is found that the application of the reverse bias stress has little effect on the emission of those trapped electrons. And a fraction of the trapped electrons will be gradually released with the time under the condition of air and with no bias. The possible physical charging mechanism of the interface traps is discussed on the basis of the experimental findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simulation on the degradation of 4H-SiC Schottky detector was carried out using ISE TCAD, and the limit of the drift-diffusion analytical model was discussed. Two independent defect levels, rather than a pair of specific carrier lifetime, were induced to describe Z1/2 defects in simulation to calculate the charge collection efficiency versus bias voltage. Comparison between our calculation and the reported experimental results shows that an acceptable agreement was achieved, proving the feasibility of regarding Z1/2 defect as two individual defect levels. Such a treatment can simplify the simulation and may help to further investigate the detector degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-dimensional electrical SiC MOS interface model including interface and near-interface traps is established based on the relevant tunneling and interface Shockley–Read–Hall model. The consistency between simulation results and measured data in the different temperatures shows that this interface model can accurately describe the capture and emission performance for near-interface oxide traps, and can well explain the hysteresis-voltage response with increasing temperature, which is intensified by the interaction between deep oxide traps and shallow oxide traps. This also indicates that the near-interface traps result in an increase of threshold-voltage shift in SiC MOSFET with increasing temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an efficient thermal analysis method is presented for large scale compound semiconductor integrated circuits based on a heterojunction bipolar transistor with considering the change of thermal conductivity with temperature. The influence caused by the thermal conductivity can be equivalent to the increment of the local temperature surrounding the individual device. The junction temperature for each device can be efficiently calculated by the combination of the semi-analytic temperature distribution function and the iteration of local temperature with high accuracy, providing a temperature distribution for a full chip. Applying this method to the InP frequency divider chip and the GaAs analog to digital converter chip, the computational results well agree with the results from the simulator COMSOL and the infrared thermal imager respectively. The proposed method can also be applied to thermal analysis in various kinds of semiconductor integrated circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effect of triangle structure defects in a 180-μm-thick as-grown n-type 4H-SiC homoepitaxial layer on the carrier lifetime is quantitatively analyzed, which is grown by a horizontal hot-wall chemical vapor deposition reactor. By microwave photoconductivity decay lifetime measurements and photoluminescence measurements, the results show that the average carrier lifetime of as-grown epilayer across the whole wafer is 2.59 μs, while it is no more than 1.34 μs near a triangle defect (TD). The scanning transmission electron microscope results show that the triangle structure defects have originated from 3C-SiC polytype and various types of as-grown stacking faults. Compared with the as-grown stacking faults, the 3C-SiC polytype has a great impact on the lifetime. The reduction of TD is essential to increasing the carrier lifetime of the as-grown thick epilayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near-interface oxide traps (NIOTs) in 4H–SiC metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) structures fabricated with and without annealing in NO are systematically investigated in this paper. The properties of NIOTs in SiC MOS structures prepared with and without annealing in NO are studied and compared in detail. Two main categories of the NIOTs, the “slow” and “fast” NIOTs, are revealed and extracted. The densities of the “fast” NIOTs are determined to be and for the N2 post oxidation annealing (POA) sample and NO POA sample, respectively. The densities of “slow” NIOTs are and for the NO POA sample and N2 POA sample, respectively. It is found that the NO POA process only can significantly reduce “slow” NIOTs. However, it has a little effect on “fast” NIOTs. The negative and positive constant voltage stresses (CVS) reveal that electrons captured by those “slow” NIOTs and bulk oxide traps (BOTs) are hardly emitted by the constant voltage stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the influence of CoFeB/MgO interface on tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR), different structures of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are successfully prepared by the magnetron sputtering technique and characterized by atomic force microscopy, a physical property measurement system, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The experimental results show that TMR of the CoFeB/Mg/MgO/CoFeB structure is evidently improved in comparison with the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB structure because the inserted Mg layer prevents Fe-oxide formation at the CoFeB/MgO interface, which occurs in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB MTJs. The inherent properties of the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB, CoFeB/Fe-oxide/MgO/CoFeB and CoFeB/Mg/MgO/CoFeB MTJs are simulated by using the theories of density functions and non-equilibrium Green functions. The simulated results demonstrate that TMR of CoFeB/Fe-oxide/MgO/CoFeB MTJs is severely decreased and is only half the value of the CoFeB/Mg/MgO/CoFeB MTJs. Based on the experimental results and theoretical analysis, it is believed that in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB MTJs, the interface oxidation of the CoFeB layer is the main reason to cause a remarkable reduction of TMR, and the inserted Mg layer may play an important role in protecting Fe atoms from oxidation, and then increasing TMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al2O3 and HfO2 thin films are separately deposited on n-type InAlAs epitaxial layers by using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The interfacial properties are revealed by angle-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AR-XPS). It is demonstrated that the Al2O3 layer can reduce interfacial oxidation and trap charge formation. The gate leakage current densities are 1.37 × 10−6 A/cm2 and 3.22 × 10−6 A/cm2 at +1 V for the Al2O3/InAlAs and HfO2/InAlAs MOS capacitors respectively. Compared with the HfO2/InAlAs metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitor, the Al2O3/InAlAs MOS capacitor exhibits good electrical properties in reducing gate leakage current, narrowing down the hysteresis loop, shrinking stretch-out of the C–V characteristics, and significantly reducing the oxide trapped charge (Qot) value and the interface state density (Dit). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate a unique super-V-shaped structure (SVSS) on the C-face of 3C/4H-SiC heteroepitaxial films. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical images reveal that two low protruding straight lines of an SVSS join at a common higher protruding point. Transmission electron microscopy images determine that the protruding point is induced by polycrystalline nucleation, and straight lines are found to be 3C crystals without any specific defects. High-resolution AFM reveals that the directions of the SVSSs are strongly related to step-flow. It is believed that the straight lines are caused by redundant adatoms gathering and crystallizing when they meet and deviate around the protruding point defect on their original migration path. The effects of step-flow and anti-step-flow in the formation of SVSSs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, 1.2 kV, 3.3 kV, and 5.0 kV class 4H–SiC power Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) are fabricated with three N-type drift layer thickness values of 10 μm, 30 μm, and 50 μm, respectively. The avalanche breakdown capabilities, static and transient characteristics of the fabricated devices are measured in detail and compared with the theoretical predictions. It is found that the experimental results match well with the theoretical calculation results and are very close to the 4H–SiC theoretical limit line. The best achieved breakdown voltages (BVs) of the diodes on the 10 μm, 30 μm, and 50 μm epilayers are 1400 V, 3320 V, and 5200 V, respectively. Differential specific-on resistances (Ron−sp) are 2.1 mΩ ·cm2, 7.34 mΩ·cm2, and 30.3 mΩ·cm2, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An innovative mobile sensing system has been developed to non-intrusively monitor the manual pipe gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process. The system consists of a projective torch held by a welder, and a sensory helmet on the welder’s head. The three-dimensional (3D) weld pool surface is effectively measured in real-time as the welder performs the weld despite the movements of the torch and the helmet. In this study, the sensing system is first analyzed by numerical simulations in which the adjustment boundaries of the torch and helmet, i.e. their translation and orientation ranges, for effective sensing have been determined. Then, the sensing system is further evaluated using a simulation platform in which the movements of the helmet/welder’s head is mimicked by a tripod head with 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF), and a convex spherical mirror with a comparable size of a typical weld pool in a GTAW process is applied as a weld pool substitute. The effectiveness of the proposed system is validated by successfully capturing laser reflections from the mirror without great constraints on the welder’s movements of the torch and the helmet. Based on the analysis of the spatial relations among the torch, the helmet and the weld pool, an innovative real-time algorithm is proposed to reconstruct the 3D weld pool surface. The effectiveness and robustness of the algorithm have been verified by accurately reconstructing the convex spherical mirror surface despite the movements of the torch and the helmet in the simulation platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the normally-off N-channel lateral 4H–SiC metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFFETs) have been fabricated and characterized. A sandwich- (nitridation–oxidation–nitridation) type process was used to grow the gate dielectric film to obtain high channel mobility. The interface properties of 4H–SiC/SiO2 were examined by the measurement of HF I–V, G–V, and C–V over a range of frequencies. The ideal C–V curve with little hysteresis and the frequency dispersion were observed. As a result, the interface state density near the conduction band edge of 4H–SiC was reduced to 2 × 1011 eV−1·cm−2, the breakdown field of the grown oxides was about 9.8 MV/cm, the median peak field-effect mobility is about 32.5 cm2·V−1·s−1, and the maximum peak field-effect mobility of 38 cm2·V−1·s−1 was achieved in fabricated lateral 4H–SiC MOSFFETs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The HfO2/Al2O3 double layer has been deposited by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique to a InAlAs epitaxial layer. The chemical composition at the interface was revealed by angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrical properties of the ALD-HfO2/Al2O3/InAlAs metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitor have been investigated and compared with those of the ALD-HfO2/InAlAs capacitor. It is demonstrated that the insertion of the Al2O3 layer can decrease interfacial oxidation and trap charge formation. Compared with the HfO2/InAlAs capacitor, the HfO2/Al2O3/InAlAs capacitor exhibits better electrical properties with reduced hysteresis and decreasing stretch-out of the capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics, and the oxide trapped charge (Qot) value is significantly decreased after inserting the Al2O3 interlayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We produced epitaxial graphene under a moderate pressure of 4 mbar (about 400 Pa) at temperature 1600 °C. Raman spectroscopy and optical microscopy were used to confirm that epitaxial graphene has taken shape continually with slight thickness variations and regularly with a centimeter order of magnitude on 4H-SiC (0001) substrates. Then using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy, we analyzed the chemical compositions and estimated the layer number of epitaxial graphene. Finally, an atomic force microscope and a scanning force microscope were used to characterize the morphological structure. Our results showed that under 4-mbar pressure, epitaxial graphene could be produced on a SiC substrate with a large area, uniform thickness but a limited morphological property. We hope our work will be of benefit to understanding the formation process of epitaxial graphene on SiC substrate in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the theoretical analysis of the 4H-SiC Schottky-barrier diodes (SBDs) with field plate termination, 4H-SiC SBD with semi-insulating polycrystalline silicon (SIPOS) FP termination has been fabricated. The relative dielectric constant of the SIPOS dielectric first used in 4H-SiC devices is 10.4, which is much higher than that of the SiO2 dielectric, leading to benefitting the performance of devices. The breakdown voltage of the fabricated SBD could reach 1200 V at leakage current 20 μA, about 70% of the theoretical breakdown voltage. Meanwhile, both of the simulation and experimental results show that the length of the SIPOS FP termination is an important factor for structure design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sequencing amplification fragments produced using simple-sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs pchgms2 and UDP96008 in 'Dayezhugan' japanese apricot showed that SSRs obtained included a microsatellite locus originally identified in peach. The microsatellite sequence homogeneity between UDP96008 in japanese apricot in this study and UDP96008 in the peach in GenBank was 98%. Twenty-four japanese apricot genotypes originating in diverse geographic areas had been identified with 14 SSR primer pairs developed in different species of Prunus. In total, 129 alleles were obtained and per primer pairs detected 2.5 alleles on the average. The results from cluster analysis showed that the genetic distance between 'Nanhong' and 'Zhonghong' was the closest, and cultivars from China and from Japan could not be separated completely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate effects of perirenal space blocking (PSB) on gastrointestinal function in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP)., Methods: Forty patients with SAP were randomly allocated to receive PSB or no PSB (NPSB). All the SAP patients received specialized medical therapy (SMT). Patients in the PSB group received PSB + SMT when hospitalized and after diagnosis, whereas patients in the NPSB group only received SMT. A modified gastrointestinal failure (GIF) scoring system was used to assess the gastrointestinal function in SAP patients after admission. Pain severity (visual analog scale, 0 to 100) was monitored every 24 h for 72 h., Results: Modified GIF score decreased in both groups during the 10-d study period. The median score decrease was initially significantly greater in the PSB group than in the NPSB group after PSB was performed. During the 72-h study period, pain intensity decreased in both groups. The median pain decrease was significantly greater in the PSB group than in the NPSB group at single time points. Patients in the PSB group had significantly lower incidences of hospital mortality, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and pancreatic infection, and stayed in the intensive care unit for a shorter duration. However, no difference in terms of operation incidence was found between the two groups., Conclusion: PSB could ameliorate gastrointestinal dysfunction or failure during the early stage of SAP. Moreover, PSB administration could improve prognosis and decrease the mortality of SAP patients.