Learning object segmentation from video data

This memo describes the initial results of a project to create a self-supervised algorithm for learning object segmentation from video data. Developmental psychology and computational experience have demonstrated that the motion segmentation of objects is a simpler, more primitive process than the detection of object boundaries by static image cues. Therefore, motion information provides a plausible supervision signal for learning the static boundary detection task and for evaluating performance on a test set. A video camera and previously developed background subtraction algorithms can automatically produce a large database of motion-segmented images for minimal cost. The purpose of this work is to use the information in such a database to learn how to detect the object boundaries in novel images using static information, such as color, texture, and shape. This work was funded in part by the Office of Naval Research contract #N00014-00-1-0298, in part by the Singapore-MIT Alliance agreement of 11/6/98, and in part by a National Science Foundation Graduate Student Fellowship.

Carbon Nanotube Growth Using Ni Catalyst in Different Layouts

Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes have been grown using Ni as catalyst by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system (PECVD) in various pre-patterned substrates. Ni was thermally evaporated on silicon substrates with anodized alumina mask prepared in different methods including 2 step anodization of porous alumina template and interference lithography assisted array of pores. The templates helped to define Ni nanodots inside the pores which in turn catalyzed the growth of carbon nanotubes inside the PECVD system at temperature of 700-750C using mixture of ammonia and acetylene gases. The resulting well-aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes were further investigated using SEM, TEM and Raman spectroscopy. The size, shape and structure of the grown carbon nanotubes were also discussed.

Characterization of ZnO Nanorods Grown on GaN Using Aqueous Solution Method

Uniformly distributed ZnO nanorods with diameter 70-100 nm and 1-2μm long have been successfully grown at low temperatures on GaN by using the inexpensive aqueous solution method. The formation of the ZnO nanorods and the growth parameters are controlled by reactant concentration, temperature and pH. No catalyst is required. The XRD studies show that the ZnO nanorods are single crystals and that they grow along the c axis of the crystal plane. The room temperature photoluminescence measurements have shown ultraviolet peaks at 388nm with high intensity, which are comparable to those found in high quality ZnO films. The mechanism of the nanorod growth in the aqueous solution is proposed. The dependence of the ZnO nanorods on the growth parameters was also investigated. While changing the growth temperature from 60°C to 150°C, the morphology of the ZnO nanorods changed from sharp tip (needle shape) to flat tip (rod shape). These kinds of structure are useful in laser and field emission application.

Defects in Self Assembled Colloidal Crystals

Colloidal self assembly is an efficient method for making 3-D ordered nanostructures suitable for materials such as photonic crystals and macroscopic solids for catalysis and sensor applications. Colloidal crystals grown by convective methods exhibit defects on two different scales. Macro defects such as cracks and void bands originate from the dynamics of meniscus motion during colloidal crystal growth while micro defects like vacancies, dislocation and stacking faults are indigenous to the colloidal crystalline structure. This paper analyses the crystallography and energetics of the microscopic defects from the point of view of classical thermodynamics and discusses the strategy for the control of the macroscopic defects through optimization of the liquid-vapor interface.

The Effect of Periodic Silane Burst on the Properties of GaN on Si (111) Substrates

The periodic silane burst technique was employed during metalorganic chemical vapor deposition of epitaxial GaN on AlN buffer layers grown on Si (111). Periodic silicon delta doping during growth of both the AlN and GaN layers led to growth of GaN films with decreased tensile stresses and decreased threading dislocation densities, as well as films with improved quality as indicated by x-ray diffraction, micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The possible mechanism of the reduction of tensile stress and the dislocation density is discussed in the paper.

Effects of Platinum on NiPtSiGe/n-SiGe and NiPtSi/n-Si Schottky Contacts

Solid phase reaction of NiPt/Si and NiPt/SiGe is one of the key issues for silicide (germanosilicide) technology. Especially, the NiPtSiGe, in which four elements are involved, is a very complex system. As a result, a detailed study is necessary for the interfacial reaction between NiPt alloy film and SiGe substrate. Besides using traditional material characterization techniques, characterization of Schottky diode is a good measure to detect the interface imperfections or defects, which are not easy to be found on large area blanket samples. The I-V characteristics of 10nm Ni(Pt=0, 5, 10 at.%) germanosilicides/n-Si₀/₇Ge₀.₃ and silicides/n-Si contact annealed at 400 and 500°C were studied. For Schottky contact on n-Si, with the addition of Pt in the Ni(Pt) alloy, the Schottky barrier height (SBH) increases greatly. With the inclusion of a 10% Pt, SBH increases ~0.13 eV. However, for the Schottky contacts on SiGe, with the addition of 10% Pt, the increase of SBH is only ~0.04eV. This is explained by pinning of the Fermi level. The forward I-V characteristics of 10nm Ni(Pt=0, 5, 10 at.%)SiGe/SiGe contacts annealed at 400°C were investigated in the temperature range from 93 to 300K. At higher temperature (>253K) and larger bias at low temperature (<253K), the I-V curves can be well explained by a thermionic emission model. At lower temperature, excess currents at lower forward bias region occur, which can be explained by recombination/generation or patches due to inhomogenity of SBH with pinch-off model or a combination of the above mechanisms.

Growth and Characterization of LiCoO₂ Thin Films for Microbatteries

LiCoO₂thin films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition on stainless steel and SiO₂/Si substrates. The film deposited at 600°C in an oxygen partial pressure of 100mTorr shows an excellent crystallinity, stoichiometry and no impurity phase present. Microstructure and surface morphology of thin films were examined using a scanning electron microscope. The electrochemical properties of the thin films were studied with cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques in the potential range 3.0-4.2 V. The initial discharge capacity of the LiCoO2 thin films deposited on the stainless steel and SiO₂/Si substrates reached 23 and 27 µAh/cm², respectively.

High Density Single Crystalline GaN Nanodot Arrays Fabricated Using Template-Assisted Selective Growth

High density, uniform GaN nanodot arrays with controllable size have been synthesized by using template-assisted selective growth. The GaN nanodots with average diameter 40nm, 80nm and 120nm were selectively grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on a nano-patterned SiO2/GaN template. The nanoporous SiO2 on GaN surface was created by inductively coupled plasma etching (ICP) using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template as a mask. This selective regrowth results in highly crystalline GaN nanodots confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The narrow size distribution and uniform spatial position of the nanoscale dots offer potential advantages over self-assembled dots grown by the Stranski–Krastanow mode.

Growth of ZnO Nanorods on GaN Using Aqueous Solution Method

Uniformly distributed ZnO nanorods with diameter 80-120 nm and 1-2µm long have been successfully grown at low temperatures on GaN by using the inexpensive aqueous solution method. The formation of the ZnO nanorods and the growth parameters are controlled by reactant concentration, temperature and pH. No catalyst is required. The XRD studies show that the ZnO nanorods are single crystals and that they grow along the c axis of the crystal plane. The room temperature photoluminescence measurements have shown ultraviolet peaks at 388nm with high intensity, which are comparable to those found in high quality ZnO films. The mechanism of the nanorod growth in the aqueous solution is proposed. The dependence of the ZnO nanorods on the growth parameters was also investigated. While changing the growth temperature from 60°C to 150°C, the morphology of the ZnO nanorods changed from sharp tip with high aspect ratio to flat tip with smaller aspect ratio. These kinds of structure are useful in laser and field emission application.

High Indium Concentration InGaN/GaN Grown on Sapphire Substrate by MOCVD

The InGaN system provides the opportunity to fabricate light emitting devices over the whole visible and ultraviolet spectrum due to band-gap energies E[subscript g] varying between 3.42 eV for GaN and 1.89 eV for InN. However, high In content in InGaN layers will result in a significant degradation of the crystalline quality of the epitaxial layers. In addition, unlike other III-V compound semiconductors, the ratio of gallium to indium incorporated in InGaN is in general not a simple function of the metal atomic flux ratio, f[subscript Ga]/f[subscript In]. Instead, In incorporation is complicated by the tendency of gallium to incorporate preferentially and excess In to form metallic droplets on the growth surface. This phenomenon can definitely affect the In distribution in the InGaN system. Scanning electron microscopy, room temperature photoluminescence, and X-ray diffraction techniques have been used to characterize InGaN layer grown on InN and InGaN buffers. The growth was done on c-plane sapphire by MOCVD. Results showed that green emission was obtained which indicates a relatively high In incorporation.

High Optical Quality Nanoporous GaN Prepared by Photoelectrochemical Etching

Nanoporous GaN films are prepared by UV assisted electrochemical etching using HF solution as an electrolyte. To assess the optical quality and morphology of these nanoporous films, micro-photoluminescence (PL), micro-Raman scattering, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques have been employed. SEM and AFM measurements revealed an average pore size of about 85-90 nm with a transverse dimension of 70-75 nm. As compared to the as-grown GaN film, the porous layer exhibits a substantial photoluminescence intensity enhancement with a partial relaxation of compressive stress. Such a stress relaxation is further confirmed by the red shifted E₂(TO) phonon peak in the Raman spectrum of porous GaN.

Nanocrystalline Ge Flash Memories: Electrical Characterization and Trap Engineering

Conventional floating gate non-volatile memories (NVMs) present critical issues for device scalability beyond the sub-90 nm node, such as gate length and tunnel oxide thickness reduction. Nanocrystalline germanium (nc-Ge) quantum dot flash memories are fully CMOS compatible technology based on discrete isolated charge storage nodules which have the potential of pushing further the scalability of conventional NVMs. Quantum dot memories offer lower operating voltages as compared to conventional floating-gate (FG) Flash memories due to thinner tunnel dielectrics which allow higher tunneling probabilities. The isolated charge nodules suppress charge loss through lateral paths, thereby achieving a superior charge retention time. Despite the considerable amount of efforts devoted to the study of nanocrystal Flash memories, the charge storage mechanism remains obscure. Interfacial defects of the nanocrystals seem to play a role in charge storage in recent studies, although storage in the nanocrystal conduction band by quantum confinement has been reported earlier. In this work, a single transistor memory structure with threshold voltage shift, Vth, exceeding ~1.5 V corresponding to interface charge trapping in nc-Ge, operating at 0.96 MV/cm, is presented. The trapping effect is eliminated when nc-Ge is synthesized in forming gas thus excluding the possibility of quantum confinement and Coulomb blockade effects. Through discharging kinetics, the model of deep level trap charge storage is confirmed. The trap energy level is dependent on the matrix which confines the nc-Ge.

Oblique Angle Deposition of Germanium Film on Silicon Substrate

The effect of flux angle, substrate temperature and deposition rate on obliquely deposited germanium (Ge) films has been investigated. By carrying out deposition with the vapor flux inclined at 87° to the substrate normal at substrate temperatures of 250°C or 300°C, it may be possible to obtain isolated Ge nanowires. The Ge nanowires are crystalline as shown by Raman Spectroscopy.

Poly-Si₁₋xGex Film Growth for Ni Germanosilicided Metal Gate

Scaling down of the CMOS technology requires thinner gate dielectric to maintain high performance. However, due to the depletion of poly-Si gate, it is difficult to reduce the gate thickness further especially for sub-65 nm CMOS generation. Fully silicidation metal gate (FUSI) is one of the most promising solutions. Furthermore, FUSI metal gate reduces gate-line sheet resistance, prevents boron penetration to channels, and has good process compatibility with high-k gate dielectric. Poly-SiGe gate technology is another solution because of its enhancement of boron activation and compatibility with the conventional CMOS process. Combination of these two technologies for the formation of fully germanosilicided metal gate makes the approach very attractive. In this paper, the deposition of undoped Poly-Si₁₋xGex (0 < x < 30% ) films onto SiO₂ in a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) system is described. Detailed growth conditions and the characterization of the grown films are presented.

Preliminary Characterisation of Low-Temperature Bonded Copper Interconnects for 3-D Integrated Circuits

Three dimensional (3-D) integrated circuits can be fabricated by bonding previously processed device layers using metal-metal bonds that also serve as layer-to-layer interconnects. Bonded copper interconnects test structures were created by thermocompression bonding and the bond toughness was measured using the four-point test. The effects of bonding temperature, physical bonding and failure mechanisms were investigated. The surface effects on copper surface due to pre-bond clean (with glacial acetic acid) were also looked into. A maximum average bond toughness of approximately 35 J/m² was obtained bonding temperature 300 C.