Compensation in epitaxial cubic SiC films

Hall measurements on four n-type cubic SiC films epitaxially grown by chemical vapor deposition on SiC substrates are reported. The temperature dependent carrier concentrations indicate that the samples are highly compensated. Donor ionization energies, E sub D, are less than one half the values previously reported. The values for E sub D and the donor concentration N sub D, combined with results for small bulk platelets with nitrogen donors, suggest the relation E sub D (N sub D) = E sub D(O) - alpha N sub N sup 1/3 for cubic SiC. A curve fit gives alpha is approx 2.6x10/5 meV cm and E sub D (O) approx 48 meV, which is the generally accepted value of E sub D(O) for nitrogen donors in cubic SiC

Adhesion, friction, and wear of plasma-deposited thin silicon nitride films at temperatures to 700 C

The adhesion, friction, and wear behavior of silicon nitride films deposited by low- and high-frequency plasmas (30 kHz and 13.56 MHz) at various temperatures to 700 C in vacuum were examined. The results of the investigation indicated that the Si/N ratios were much greater for the films deposited at 13.56 MHz than for those deposited at 30 kHz. Amorphous silicon was present in both low- and high-frequency plasma-deposited silicon nitride films. However, more amorphous silicon occurred in the films deposited at 13.56 MHz than in those deposited at 30 kHz. Temperature significantly influenced adhesion, friction, and wear of the silicon nitride films. Wear occurred in the contact area at high temperature. The wear correlated with the increase in adhesion and friction for the low- and high-frequency plasma-deposited films above 600 and 500 C, respectively. The low- and high-frequency plasma-deposited thin silicon nitride films exhibited a capability for lubrication (low adhesion and friction) in vacuum at temperatures to 500 and 400 C, respectively

Ellipsometric study of InGaAs MODFET material

In(x)Ga(1-x)As based MODFET (modulation doped field effect transistor) material was grown by molecular beam epitaxy on semi-insulating InP substrates. Several structures were made, including lattice matched and strained layer InGaAs. All structures also included several layers of In(0.52)Al(0.48)As. Variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to characterize the structures. The experimental data, together with the calibration function for the constituent materials, were analyzed to yield the thickness of all the layers of the MODFET structure. Results of the ellipsometrically determined thicknesses compare very well with the reflection high energy electron diffraction in situ thickness measurements

Dielectric function of InGaAs in the visible

Measurements are reported of the dielectric function of thermodynamically stable In(x)Ga(1-x)As in the composition range 0.3 equal to or less than X = to or less than 0.7. The optically thick samples of InGaAs were made by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) in the range 0.4 = to or less than X = to or less than 0.7 and by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) for X = 0.3. The MBE made samples, usually 1 micron thick, were grown on semi-insulating InP and included a strain release structure. The MOCVD sample was grown on GaAs and was 2 microns thick. The dielectric functions were measured by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry in the range 1.55 to 4.4 eV. The data was analyzed assuming an optically thick InGaAs material with an oxide layer on top. The thickness of this layer was estimated by comparing the results for the InP lattice matched material, i.e., X = 0.53, with results published in the literature. The top oxide layer mathematically for X = 0.3 and X = 0.53 was removed to get the dielectric function of the bare InGaAs. In addition, the dielectric function of GaAs in vacuum, after a protective arsenic layer was removed. The dielectric functions for X = 0, 0.3, and 0.53 together with the X = 1 result from the literature to evaluate an algorithm for calculating the dielectric function of InGaAs for an arbitrary value of X(0 = to or less than X = to or less than 1) were used. Results of the dielectric function calculated using the algorithm were compared with experimental data

Study of InGaAs based MODFET structures using variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry

Variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to estimate the thicknesses of all layers within the optical penetration depth of InGaAs based MODFET structures. Strained and unstrained InGaAs channels were made by MBE on InP substrates and by MOCVD on GaAs substrates. In most cases, ellipsometrically determined thicknesses were within 10 percent of the growth calibration results. The MBE made InGaAs strained layers showed large strain effects, indicating a probable shift in the critical points of their dielectric function toward the InP lattice matched concentration

Mapping transcription mechanisms from multimodal genomic data

Background Identification of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) is an emerging area in genomic study. The task requires an integrated analysis of genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data and gene expression data, raising a new computational challenge due to the tremendous size of data. Results We develop a method to identify eQTLs. The method represents eQTLs as information flux between genetic variants and transcripts. We use information theory to simultaneously interrogate SNP and gene expression data, resulting in a Transcriptional Information Map (TIM) which captures the network of transcriptional information that links genetic variations, gene expression and regulatory mechanisms. These maps are able to identify both cis- and trans- regulating eQTLs. The application on a dataset of leukemia patients identifies eQTLs in the regions of the GART, PCP4, DSCAM, and RIPK4 genes that regulate ADAMTS1, a known leukemia correlate. Conclusions The information theory approach presented in this paper is able to infer the dependence networks between SNPs and transcripts, which in turn can identify cis- and trans-eQTLs. The application of our method to the leukemia study explains how genetic variants and gene expression are linked to leukemia.National Human Genome Research Institute (U.S.) (R01HG003354)National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U.S.) (U19 AI067854-05)National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (grant T32 HL007427-28)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant K99 LM009826

Characterization of Si (sub X)Ge (sub 1-x)/Si Heterostructures for Device Applications Using Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) characterization of several complex Si (sub X)Ge (sub 1-x)/Si heterostructures prepared for device fabrication, including structures for heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT), p-type and n-type heterostructure modulation doped field effect transistors, has been performed. We have shown that SE can simultaneously determine all active layer thicknesses, Si (sub X)Ge (sub 1-x) compositions, and the oxide overlayer thickness, with only a general knowledge of the structure topology needed a priori. The characterization of HBT material included the SE analysis of a Si (sub X)Ge (sub 1-x) layer deeply buried (600 nanometers) under the silicon emitter and cap layers. In the SE analysis of n-type heterostructures, we examined for the first time a silicon layer under tensile strain. We found that an excellent fit can be obtained using optical constants of unstrained silicon to represent the strained silicon conduction layer. We also used SE to measure lateral sample homogeneity, providing quantitative identification of the inhomogeneous layer. Surface overlayers resulting from prior sample processing were also detected and measured quantitatively. These results should allow SE to be used extensively as a non-destructive means of characterizing Si (sub X)Ge (sub 1-x)/Si heterostructures prior to device fabrication and testing

Sampling-based Algorithms for Optimal Motion Planning

During the last decade, sampling-based path planning algorithms, such as Probabilistic RoadMaps (PRM) and Rapidly-exploring Random Trees (RRT), have been shown to work well in practice and possess theoretical guarantees such as probabilistic completeness. However, little effort has been devoted to the formal analysis of the quality of the solution returned by such algorithms, e.g., as a function of the number of samples. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap, by rigorously analyzing the asymptotic behavior of the cost of the solution returned by stochastic sampling-based algorithms as the number of samples increases. A number of negative results are provided, characterizing existing algorithms, e.g., showing that, under mild technical conditions, the cost of the solution returned by broadly used sampling-based algorithms converges almost surely to a non-optimal value. The main contribution of the paper is the introduction of new algorithms, namely, PRM* and RRT*, which are provably asymptotically optimal, i.e., such that the cost of the returned solution converges almost surely to the optimum. Moreover, it is shown that the computational complexity of the new algorithms is within a constant factor of that of their probabilistically complete (but not asymptotically optimal) counterparts. The analysis in this paper hinges on novel connections between stochastic sampling-based path planning algorithms and the theory of random geometric graphs.Comment: 76 pages, 26 figures, to appear in International Journal of Robotics Researc

Characteristics of III-V Semiconductor Devices at High Temperature

This paper presents the development of III-V based pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors (PHEMT's) designed to operate over the temperature range 77 to 473 K (-196 to 200 C). These devices have a pseudomorphic undoped InGaAs channel that is sandwiched between an AlGaAs spacer and a buffer layer; gate widths of 200, 400, 1600, and 3200 micrometers; and a gate length of 2 micrometers. Measurements were performed at both room temperature and 473 K (200 C) and show that the drain current decreases by 30 percent and the gate current increases to about 9 microns A (at a reverse bias of -1.5 V) at the higher temperature. These devices have a maximum DC power dissipation of about 4.5 W and a breakdown voltage of about 16 V

An x-band peeled HEMT amplifier

A discrete peeled high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) device was integrated into a 10 GHz amplifier. The discrete HEMT device interconnects were made using photo patterned metal, stepping from the 10 mil alumina host substrate onto the 1.3 microns thick peeled GaAs HEMT layer, eliminating the need for bond wires and creating a fully integrated circuit. Testing of devices indicate that the peeled device is not degraded by the peel off step but rather there is an improvement in the quantum well carrier confinement. Circuit testing resulted in a maximum gain of 8.5 dB and a return loss minimum of -12 dB