Pulsed Bias Research Articles

Impact of Negative Gate Stress on the Reliability of p-GaN Gate HEMT Devices under Dynamic Switching Operation

Abstract In this study, we investigated the impact of single stress (negative gate bias stress) and combined stress (both negative gate bias stress and drain voltage stress) on the instability of the threshold voltage (VTH) on p-GaN gate HEMT devices during dynamic switching operation. The dynamic VTH shift during pulsed negative gate bias stress was investigated for the first time. The VTH exhibits an initial rapid increase upon the initiation of stress and a slight decrease with increasing stress time. For the applied stresses of VGS = -1/-2/-3 V, the VTH shift values were, respectively, 0.12/0.16/0.19 V at the stress time of 100 s. Under the stress of VGS = -3 V and VDS = 100 V, the shift value of VTH was 0.61 V. After the combined stress, the saturation and off-state leakage currents exhibited a significant reduction, with the latter decreasing by one order of magnitude after the reverse voltage stress. When only a negative gate bias stress is applied, the degradation of the device can recover quickly after the stress is removed. In contrast, the positive shift in VTH caused by the drain-voltage stress is difficult to recover. Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying the VTH shift mentioned above were explored. Under single-stress conditions, the shift in VTH is associated with shallow traps that trap electrons. Meanwhile, under the combined stress, the degradation of Vth was also affected by the deep-level traps.

Dynamically Stabilizing Oxygen Atoms in Silver Catalyst for Highly Selective and Durable CO2 Reduction Reaction

AbstractOxide derived catalyst displays outstanding catalytic activity and selectivity in electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR), in which, it is found that residue oxygen atoms play a pivotal role in regulating the catalyst's electronic structure and thus the CO2RR process. Unfortunately, the intrinsic thermodynamic instability of oxygen atoms in oxide derived catalyst under cathodic CO2RR potentials makes it unstable during continuous electrolysis, greatly hindering its practical industrial applications. In this work, we develop a pulsed‐bias technique that is able to dynamically stabilize the residue oxygen atoms in oxide derived catalyst during electrochemical CO2RR. As a result, the oxide derived catalyst under pulsed bias exhibits super catalytic stability in catalyzing electrochemical CO2RR, while keeping excellent catalytic activity and selectivity.

Coupled terahertz quantum cascade wire lasers

We present mutual optical coupling in terahertz (THz) quantum cascade wire laser arrays that are flip-chip bonded to a dielectric substrate. The mounting substrate is patterned for individual electrical contacting of each wire laser of the array. The resulting sandwich-like structure supports wire laser modes with a significant part propagating outside the cavity and mediates the long range coupling. The evanescent field part of the modes couples to the adjoining ridge, which, in turn, leads to mutual optical injection-locking between them. We demonstrate this effect for both geometrically similar and dissimilar wire lasers when biased in pulsed operation with temporally overlapping bias pulses. Finite element simulations confirm our measurement results. By applying time-shifted bias pulses to individual array elements, a controllable optical injection seeding of the wire cavity is achieved. We observe intensity modification of the laser modes with changing bias pulse overlap as a result of the injection locking. By choosing both the physical spacing of the laser ridges and the intensity of the seeding laser correctly, the relative intensities of the favored lasing modes are enhanced up to 95 percent. Understanding the coupling in THz wire laser arrays is important for future device improvements in terms of higher continuous-wave operating temperatures through better thermal dissipation, and higher output power and an improved far field due to controlled coupling of their modes.

Dynamically Stabilizing Oxygen Atoms in Silver Catalyst for Highly Selective and Durable CO2 Reduction Reaction.

Oxide derived catalyst displays outstanding catalytic activity and selectivity in electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR), in which, it is found that residue oxygen atoms play a pivotal role in regulating the catalyst's electronic structure and thus the CO2RR process. Unfortunately, the intrinsic thermodynamic instability of oxygen atoms in oxide derived catalyst under cathodic CO2RR potentials makes it unstable during continuous electrolysis, greatly hindering its practical industrial applications. In this work, we develop a pulsed-bias technique that is able to dynamically stabilize the residue oxygen atoms in oxide derived catalyst during electrochemical CO2RR. As a result, the oxide derived catalyst under pulsed bias exhibits super catalytic stability in catalyzing electrochemical CO2RR, while keeping excellent catalytic activity and selectivity.

Investigation of the Trapping and Detrapping Behavior by the On-State Resistance at Low Off-State Drain Bias in Schottky p-GaN Gate HEMTs

GaN power HEMTs enable the design of power electronic systems with highest efficiencies and reduced size. Despite strong advancements in device reliability, charge carrier trapping is still an important challenge. The applied methodology allows to characterize defects that cause the dynamic RDS,on in GaN power devices at product level with flexibility in duty cycle, number of pulses and mission profile. A pronounced trapping is observed for lateral GaN-on-Si HEMTs with Schottky p-GaN gate structure at low drain bias and long off-state pulses (> 100 ms). The effect is investigated by fast determination of the on-state resistance RDS,on under different trap capturing conditions: a) different drain bias b) off-state time and number of cycles c) variation of temperature. The trapping and detrapping effects are characterized and the activation energy is extracted from time constants. An elevated on-state resistance was present for up to 3 hours. The threshold voltage modification due to high drain bias does explain the significant RDS,on increase.

Performance evaluation of GaN etching using Cl2-based plasma with bias pulsing

Reducing plasma-induced damage (PID) is one of the most challenging goals for the fabrication of GaN-based MOS-HEMT. In this paper, we propose a performance evaluation of a Cl2-based etching chemistry using bias pulsing mode for GaN applications. The plasma-induced damage using bias pulsing has been compared to conventional reactive ion etching (RIE) and atomic layer etching (ALE) processes using sheet resistance (Rsheet) measurements. This pulsing mode showed low plasma-induced damage, similar to ALE. In addition, it keeps an acceptable GaN etching rate, showing that pulsing mode has potential for industrial applications.

Tailored high-temperature corrosion behavior of Cr coatings using high power impulse magnetron sputtering on ZIRLO alloys for accident-tolerant fuel application

To further enhance the oxidation resistance of Zirconium alloys during Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA), protective Cr coatings were deposited in synchronized pulse bias mode through high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). The results showed the weight gain of the Cr coatings with synchronized pulse bias was reduced by approximately 61.7 % compared to that of the Cr coatings without synchronized pulse bias after 90 min of steam oxidation at 1200 °C. This was mainly attributed to the formed intense (200) preferred orientation of the Cr coatings with synchronized pulse bias during deposition, accelerating the recrystallization growth of the residual Cr layer in a high-temperature steam environment, thereby reducing the rapid diffusion pathways for oxygen. Moreover, the synchronized pulse bias induced Cr grains refinement, favoring the formation of a more compact Cr2O3 scale, and therefore efficiently inhibiting the diffusion of external oxygen to the underlying alloy.

Controllable regulation of diamond nucleation and growth on GaN substrates through pulse bias duty ratio

GaN/AlN/diamond composite structures were prepared by the pulsed-DC bias-enhance nucleation (BEN) technique. Smooth diamond interface on GaN surface obtained for the first time by BEN technique. Different bias duty ratios (30%–70 %) can regulate the nucleation of diamond. The nucleation density increases and then decreases with the increase of duty ratio. The highest nucleation density was 1011 cm−2 which enough to grow a dense diamond layer on GaN. The effect of BEN treatment on the interface was investigated and some positive and negative results were obtained. After diamond deposition, GaN layer was protected by amorphous carbon and dielectric layers from hydrogen plasma, which implies that the BEN technique has the potential to be applied to grow diamond on GaN surfaces. A smooth and complete interfacial structure was obtained after diamond deposition. After the BEN treatment, 10 nm AlN layer was carbonized into an amorphous structure. BEN duty cycle can modulate GaN/AlN/diamond interface structure, which may reduce interfacial thermal conductivity. These results demonstrate the potential of BEN technique for diamond deposition on GaN substrates and provides a reference for further optimization.

Synaptic behavior in analog memristors based on green-synthesized ZnO nanoparticles

In this work, spherical-like ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized via avocado seed extract and calcined at 400 °C, which exhibited a hexagonal wurtzite structure with an average size of around 42 nm. The chemical states, organic residuals, and defects were confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The ZnO NPs-based memristors exhibited remarkably stable analog switching, over 300 continuous cycles, and a wide operating window of 400. Moreover, the asymmetry in the current observed was attributed to the self-rectifying nature of this device, comprising one analog memristor and one Schottky diode (1D–1R). By controlling the peak voltage to 4 V and applying 50 bias pulses, it was possible to effectively imitate the key features of synaptic behavior, including potentiation and depression, through current modulation.

Influence of synchronized pulse bias on the Microstructure and Properties of CrSiN nano-composite ceramic films deposited by MIS-HiPIMS

In this study, CrSiN nano-composite ceramic films with optimized structure were prepared at low temperature using MIS-HiPIMS technique, owing to improved utilization of the high ionization characteristic of HiPIMS under specially designed synchronized pulsed-bias working mode. The correlations of the synchronized pulsed-bias width, the chemical composition, microstructure evolution, mechanical properties and tribological behaviors were studied systematically. According to the results, the waveforms of the pulsed bias experienced obvious fluctuating periods, indicating fluctuating intensities of positive ions arrived at the substrates. Meanwhile, the fluctuating duration increased with increasing synchronized pulse-width, providing an effective way of adjusting the energetic-ion flux for improved bombardment of the growing film. Therefore, obvious microstructure refinement of the as-deposited CrSiN films had been achieved. Due to optimized ion bombardment, the CrSiN films evolved from a coarse and transgranular columnar structure to a more densified columnar structure with the mixture phases of hcp-Cr2N, fcc-CrN as well as a-Si3N4. Moreover, the hardness and elastic modulus of the CrSiN films were also elevated significantly, to the maximum values of 20.2 GPa and 348.3 GPa, respectively. Furthermore, with the best mechanical properties as well as the highest density, the optimized CrSiN film deposited at 400 μs also displayed the most excellent wear resistance, with the wear rate as low as 9.1 × 10−16 m3/N.m. This study not only proposes a method of optimizing the structure and tribological properties of CrSiN nano-composite ceramic films at relatively low temperature, and also enriches the property database of CrSiN films which could expand their application in fields involving thermal-sensitivity materials.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Cr films with different orientations before and after plasma nitriding

In this paper, the Cr films with preferred orientation evolution from (110) to (200) were deposited on the surface of austenitic stainless steel. These films were driven by a pulsed bias with different duty cycles from 20% to 80%, followed by a postnitriding process for 1 h using a hot wire plasma-enhanced magnetron sputtering system. XRD result showed Cr film had a body-centered cubic lattice structure, and the orientation transformed from (110) to (200) with the increase in the duty cycle. SEM and EDS measurements revealed that Cr film structured with columnar crystals could contribute to the continuous diffusion of nitrogen into austenite lattice. N atoms tended to diffuse along the (200) orientation of Cr films than the close-packed (110) orientation. As a result, the best wear resistance and adhesion strength were obtained when Cr film deposited at 80% duty cycle was nitrided, and the wear volume decreased by 95.7% compared with that before nitriding.

Excellent electrostatic control and gate reliability for breakdown enhanced AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with extreme permittivity BaTiO3

In this Letter, we investigated the electrostatic control capability and gate reliability of the BaTiO3 integrated AlGaN/GaN HEMTs. The fabricated HEMT exhibits a high peak maximum transconductance of 141 mS/mm, a large ON/OFF current ratio of 4.1 × 109, and a small subthreshold swing of 70.6 mV/dec, attributed to the gate leakage suppression and prominent gate coupling. These parameters demonstrate that the HEMT device with extreme permittivity BaTiO3 dielectric has the excellent electrostatic control capability. A high breakdown voltage of 1348 V was also achieved thanks to the screening of the negative gate image charges and the resulting improvement of electric field distribution by using double-layer BaTiO3 with the wrapped gate structure. Furthermore, gate bias step-stress and pulse I–V measurements show that the device exhibits a small VTH shift of 0.06 V at 2 V bias stress and a slight current collapse of ∼2.7% accompanied with a 6.0% RON increment at a quiescent drain bias VDSQ = 30 V, which benefits from the high quality of the dielectrics/AlGaN interface with Dit of 8.87 × 1012 eV−1/cm2. These findings elucidate the immense potential of extreme permittivity dielectrics engineering in achieving high-performance AlGaN/GaN power electronic devices.

Magnetic microscopy using Hall effect sensors biased with pulsed currents

In this article, we describe the programs for instrument control, data acquisition, and analysis developed to adapt a Scanning Magnetic Microscope for the Delta Mode technique. This adaptation led to the elimination of thermoelectric effects and introduced a novel approach to data acquisition during mapping by employing a pulsed current bias for Hall effect sensors. When comparing the adapted system to a commercial magnetometer, we observed average errors of 1.2 % in the measurement of saturation magnetization, utilizing a nickel sphere with 99 % purity. Furthermore, through a sample holder with three cylindrical cavities, we investigated a methodology to characterize samples at the microgram level with different magnetizations, simulating the interaction between the induced magnetic fields. The theoretical and experimental results emphasized the geometric possibilities in the design of a sample holder to estimate magnetizations of various samples simultaneously, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Scanning Magnetic Microscope with Delta Mode.

Spatially Extended Charge Density Wave Switching by Nanoscale Local Manipulation in a VTe2 Monolayer.

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide VTe2 exhibits multiple charge density wave (CDW) phases, mainly (4 × 4) and (4 × 1). Here we report facile dynamic and tens-of-nanometer scale switching between these CDW phases with gentle bias pulses in scanning tunneling microscopy. Bias pulses purposely stimulate a reversible random CDW symmetry change between the isotropic (4 × 4) and anisotropic (4 × 1) CDWs, as well as CDW phase slips and rotation. The switching threshold of ∼1.0 V is independent of bias polarity, and the switching rate varies linearly with the tunneling current. Density functional theory calculations indicate that a coherent CDW phase switching incurs an energy barrier of ∼2.0-3.0 eV per (4 × 4) unit cell. While there is a challenge in understanding the observed large-area CDW random fluttering, we provide some possible explanations. The ability to manipulate electronic CDW phases sheds new light on tailoring CDW properties on demand.

Deposition processes of superhard diamond-like carbon films co-adjusted by ion energy and ion flux in arc discharges

As a kind of protective material, Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) film can effectively improve the mechanical and tribological properties of the substrate surface. In DLC family, tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) with ultra-high hardness and excellent protective properties has been widely concerned in the field of hard protective materials. It is well known that the structure and properties of ta-C are strongly dependent on carbon plasma characteristics in the plasma environment. Therefore, it is extremely crucial to obtain the optimal process window of ta-C described by plasma micro-parameters with general significance. This paper proposed the Langmuir probe was used to diagnose the carbon plasma of the afterglow generated by arc evaporation, aiming to investigate the characteristics of carbon plasma and sheath. The effect of ion energy and ion flux adjusted by the pulse bias voltage and arc current on the sp3 hybrid bonds and hardness of DLC films was studied, aiming to find out which conditions satisfied the formation of ta-C. The results showed the microstructure and properties of DLC films were co-adjusted by ion energy and ion flux. When the carbon ions met the appropriate ion energy range (50–300 eV) and low ion flux (<8.99 × 1010 cm−2 s−1), the films tended to form ta-C structures with high sp3 bonds. However, under the condition of high ion energy and high ion flux, the structure of the films changed from sp3 bonds to sp2 bonds, resulting in the graphitization and formation of DLC films with high sp2 bonds. This work will provide new solutions to guide the design and acquisition of high-performance DLC films.

Stable photocurrent–voltage characteristics of perovskite single crystal detectors obtained by pulsed bias

Photocurrent–voltage characterization is a crucial method for assessing key parameters in x-ray or γ-ray semiconductor detectors, especially the carrier mobility lifetime product. However, the high biases during photocurrent measurements tend to cause severe ion migration, which can lead to the instability and inaccuracy of the test results. Given the mixed electronic–ionic characteristics, it is imperative to devise novel methods capable of precisely measuring photocurrent–voltage characteristics under high bias conditions, free from interference caused by ion migration. In this paper, pulsed bias is employed to explore the photocurrent–voltage characteristics of MAPbBr3 single crystals. The method yields stable photocurrent–voltage characteristics at a pulsed bias of up to 30 V, proving to be effective in mitigating ion migration. Through fitting the modified Hecht equation, we determined the mobility lifetime products of 1.0 × 10−2 cm2⋅V−1 for hole and 2.78 × 10−3 cm2⋅V−1 for electron. This approach offers a promising solution for accurately measuring the transport properties of carriers in perovskite.

EFFECT OF PULSED SUBSTRATE BIAS ON THE STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF NITRIDE COATINGS DEPOSITED BY FILTERED CATHODIC ARC PLASMA

The results of studies of nitride coatings deposited using a cathodic vacuum arc plasma source with a rectilinear type filter are presented. The effect of parameters of high voltage substrate bias pulses on the deposition rate, composition, structure and mechanical properties of coatings based on TiN and CrN, including multi-component ones with the additions of Al, Si, Zr, Y, Re, Nb, Hf, was analyzed. With different regimes of bias potential the formation of coatings with a nanocrystalline cubic structure (of the NaCl type) and close to stoichiometric nitrogen content and high hardness of 25…36 GPa is ensured. It was found that changing the amplitude, duration and frequency of pulses allows to effectively controlling the morphology, size of crystallites, texture and stress level in coatings, which effects their mechanical properties. The use of a pulse bias potential with an amplitude of 1…2 kV, a frequency of 10…20 kHz and duty cycle of 10…15% makes it possible to form a homogeneous dense nanostructure with a [110] or [100] texture, an optimal stress level 4…5 GPa and a smooth surface in coatings of different compositions. It is shown that such a structure provides improved resistance of coatings to various types of wear. Unequivocal correlations were not found between the hardness of the coatings, the modulus of elasticity and their wear.

Cross-ionization of the sputtered flux during hybrid high power impulse/direct-current magnetron co-sputtering

Time-resolved ion mass spectrometry is used to analyze the type and the energy of metal-ion fluxes during hybrid high-power impulse/direct-current magnetron co-sputtering (HiPIMS/DCMS) in Ar. The study focuses on the effect of HiPIMS plasma plumes on the cross-ionization of the material flux sputtered from the DCMS source. Al, Si, Ti, and Hf elemental targets are used to investigate the effect of the metal’s first ionization potential IPMe1 and mass on the extent of cross-ionization. It is demonstrated that the interaction with HiPIMS plasma results in the significant ionization of the material flux sputtered from the DCMS source. Experiments conducted with elements of similar mass but having different IPMe1 values, Si and Al (Si-HiPIMS/Al-DCMS and Al-HiPIMS/Si-DCMS) reveal that the ionization of the DCMS flux is favored if the sputtered element has lower ionization potential than the one operating in the HiPIMS mode. If elements having similar IPMe1 are used on both sources, the metal mass becomes a decisive parameter as evidenced by experiments involving Ti and Hf (Ti-HiPIMS/Hf-DCMS and Hf-HiPIMS/Ti-DCMS). In such a case, Ti+ fluxes during Hf-HiPIMS/Ti-DCMS may even exceed Hf+ fluxes from the HiPIMS cathode and are much stronger than Hf+ fluxes during Ti-HiPIMS/Hf-DCMS. The latter effect can be explained by the fact that heavier Hf+ ions require longer transit time from the ionization zone to the substrate, which effectively increases the probability of interaction between the Hf-HiPIMS plasma plume and the Ti-DCMS flux, thereby leading to higher Ti ionization. Thus, the common notion of low ionization levels associated with DCMS has to be revised if DCMS is used together with highly ionized plasmas such as HiPIMS operating at higher peak target currents. These results are particularly important for the film growth in the hybrid configuration with substrate bias pulses synchronized to specific ion types.

Low-Power Consumption IGZO Memristor-Based Gas Sensor Embedded in an Internet of Things Monitoring System for Isopropanol Alcohol Gas.

Low-power-consumption gas sensors are crucial for diverse applications, including environmental monitoring and portable Internet of Things (IoT) systems. However, the desorption and adsorption characteristics of conventional metal oxide-based gas sensors require supplementary equipment, such as heaters, which is not optimal for low-power IoT monitoring systems. Memristor-based sensors (gasistors) have been investigated as innovative gas sensors owing to their advantages, including high response, low power consumption, and room-temperature (RT) operation. Based on IGZO, the proposed isopropanol alcohol (IPA) gas sensor demonstrates a detection speed of 105 s and a high response of 55.15 for 50 ppm of IPA gas at RT. Moreover, rapid recovery to the initial state was achievable in 50 μs using pulsed voltage and without gas purging. Finally, a low-power circuit module was integrated for wireless signal transmission and processing to ensure IoT compatibility. The stability of sensing results from gasistors based on IGZO has been demonstrated, even when integrated into IoT systems. This enables energy-efficient gas analysis and real-time monitoring at ~0.34 mW, supporting recovery via pulse bias. This research offers practical insights into IoT gas detection, presenting a wireless sensing system for sensitive, low-powered sensors.

Ultraviolet-sensitive and power-efficient oxide phototransistor enabled by nanometer-scale thickness engineering of InZnO semiconductor and gate bias modulation

Amorphous oxide semiconductor photodetectors (PDs) are promising ultrasensitive and power-efficient ultraviolet (UV) PDs because they generate low dark current in the dark and exhibit high photoresponse under UV irradiation owing to their superior UV absorption and photocarrier transport characteristics. Herein, we demonstrate UV-sensitive and power-efficient oxide phototransistors through the nanometer-scale engineering of oxide semiconductors and appropriate modulation of gate bias conditions. The dark current and photocurrent of an oxide phototransistor exhibit a trade-off relationship in terms of the thickness of the oxide semiconductor film. Ultrathin InZnO is disadvantageous for fabricating UV-sensitive PDs because of its low photoresponse. In contrast, excessively thick InZnO is disadvantageous for fabricating power-efficient UV PDs owing to its high dark current. However, the InZnO film with an optimal film thickness of 8 nm can simultaneously provide the advantages of both ultrathin and excessively thick cases owing to its low intrinsic carrier concentration and sufficient UV absorption depth. Consequently, an InZnO phototransistor with high UV-sensing performance (Smax = 1.25 × 106), low-power operation capability (Idark = ∼10−13A), and excellent repeatability is realized by using an 8-nm-thick InZnO semiconductor and applying appropriate gate bias modulation (constant gate bias for maximized photosensitivity and temporal positive bias pulse for persistence photocurrent elimination).