Metal-insulator-metal (MIM) tunnel devices have been proposed for high speed applications such as hot electron transistors, IR detectors, optical rectennas for IR energy harvesting, and backplanes for LCDs. The majority of these applications require highly asymmetric and non-linear current versus voltage (I-V) behavior at low applied voltages and ultra-high frequencies....
Nucleation in atomic layer deposition (ALD) determines how many cycles are required to initiate growth and to form a continuous film. Nucleation has been exploited for the formation of nanoparticles, catalysts, and for area-selective ALD. Although sometimes overlooked or misrepresented in ALD reports, nucleation is also critical for multicomponent ALD...
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is an enabling technique for many new micro- and nanoscale technologies. The self-limiting surface chemical reactions by which ALD fundamentally operates give rise to uniquely high precision (atomic) control over deposited film thickness, uniformity over large areas, and conformality over complex and extreme topographies. One such...
Metal-insulator-metal (MIM) and dual-insulator MIM (MIIM) devices are used in rectennas, hot-electron transistors, single electron transistors, resistive random access memory (RRAM), and capacitors. The performance of these devices relies heavily on the energy barrier height at each metal-insulator interface. Thus, determination of the in-situ electron energy barrier at each interface...
In the first part of this work, thin films of Al₂O₃ deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD) are demonstrated to improve the thermal stability of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) aerogels. ALD is a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) like method in which sequential precursor exposures and self-limited surface reactions produce a conformal...
Back end of line (BEOL) metal-insulator-metal capacitors (MIMCAPs) have become a core passive component in modern integrated circuits. International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) projections for scaling of analog/mixed-signal MIMCAP applications require simultaneously increasing capacitance density while maintaining low leakage current density and low voltage nonlinearity (characterized by the quadratic...
Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), primarily indium doped tin oxide, have been widely used in numerous fields since decades ago, such as solar cells, displays, OLEDs and ‘smart windows’ etc. Owing to the scarcity of indium, there is a great demand for new alternative materials. Metal/insulator/metal (MIM) diodes are a critical...
As scaling of silicon (Si) based devices approaches fundamental limits, thin film metal-insulator-metal (MIM) tunnel diodes are attracting interest due to their potential for high speed operation. Because operation of these devices is based on tunneling, electrode / interfacial roughness is critical. Recently, it was shown that combining ultra-smooth bottom...
Diabetes is a pandemic that affects nearly 29.1 million Americans and the fourth leading cause of mortality in the US. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition which occurs due to little to no production of insulin by the pancreas. This form of diabetes requires constant monitoring of blood glucose...
Flexible electronics processing techniques were applied to integrate a glucose sensor with a hormone-delivery catheter in order to create a cheap and minimally invasive method for patients with type 1 diabetes to continually monitor and control their blood sugar levels. Ultimately, this work intends to move toward the development of...