The research presented herein represents an effort to combine the ultra-smooth surface of an amorphous metal thin film (AMTF) with a solution-processed dielectric synthesized via prompt inorganic condensation (PIC). Analysis of dielectric film quality is carried out via electrical measurements of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes. Anneals at 500 and 700 °C...
Amorphous oxide semiconductor (AOS) thin-film transistors (TFTs) constitute the central theme of this thesis. Within this theme, three primary areas of focus are pursued.
The first focus is the realization of a transparent three-stage ring oscillator with buffered output and an output frequency in the megahertz range. This leads to...
We developed a model to investigate the dielectric properties of the
BaTiO₃ − Bi(Zn₁/₂Ti₁/₂)O₃ (BT-BZT) solid solution, which is a relaxor ferroelectric and exhibits long range disorder. The model uses ab initio methods
to determine all polarization states for every atomic configuration of 2 x 2 x 2
supercells of...
This work is concerned with the modeling and analysis of lossy planar dielectric
optical waveguides. Loss mechanisms which affect propagation characteristics are
reviewed, and various representations of the propagation constant in the lossy case
are defined. Waveguide structures which are susceptable to absorption and/or to
leakage loss, in particular silicon-based...
Multiport network functions, such as impedance matrix
parameters and scattering parameters, of general multiple
coupled slab waveguides are derived in terms of the normal
mode parameters of the system. These characteristic normal
mode parameters include the propagation constants, the
modal impedances, and the eigenvector matrices. It is
shown that the...
The variegated aqueous chemistries of metal cations are applied to the design and synthesis of non-toxic solution precursors suitable for additive printing of large-area oxide electronics. Polycondensation behaviors of aqueous Al+3 and PO4 +3 are manipulated in the deposition of atomically smooth amorphous aluminum oxide phosphate (AlPO) dielectric films. AlPO...
Nanolaminate dielectrics combine two or more insulating materials in a many-layered film. These structures can be made to significantly outperform films composed of a single one of their constituent materials by adjusting the composition ratio, arrangement, and size of the component layers. In this work, atomic layer deposition (ALD) is...
Electrical energy storage devices are currently the main limiting factor in many electrical devices and with the increasing demands placed on electrical power over fossil fuels, high energy density materials are essential. Previous research by Huang et al. on bulk (1-x)Bi(Zn₁/₂Ti₁/₂)O₃-xABO₃ solid solution systems led to the discovery of an...
The aim of this research is to develop a fundamental understanding of the dominant defect species and the relevant defect equilibrium conditions for bismuth-containing perovskites to help guide the development of these materials for emerging applications. This is of paramount importance for many demanding applications, because ultimately the defect equilibria...
In this thesis the concept of inhomogeneous
dielectrics is demonstrated for various optical coating
applications. Compositionally-varying silicon oxynitride
(SiON) dielectric layers, with the refractive index
varying as a function of position, are grown by computer-controlled
plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition
(PECVD) using silane, nitrogen, and nitrous oxide reactant
gases. Compositionally graded...