Analysis of temperature dependence of silicon-on-insulator thermo-optic attenuator

The temperature dependence of silicon-on-insulator thermo-optic attenuators is analysed, which originates from the temperature dependence of characteristics of multimode interference. The attenuator depth and power consumption are independent of temperature while the insertion loss depends on the temperature heavily. The variation of the insertion loss decreases from 4.3 dB to 1 dB as the temperature increases from 273 K to 343 K.

Novel folding 8x8 silicon-based optical matrix switch with tapered waveguides and self-aligned corner mirrors

Novel folding 8 x 8 matrix switches based on silicon on insulator were demonstrated. In the design, single-mode rib waveguides and multimode interferences are connected by optimized tapered waveguides to reduce the mode coupling loss between the two types of waveguides. The self-aligned method was applied to the key integrated turning mirrors for perfect positions and low loss of them. A mixed etching process including inductively coupled plasma and chemical etching was employed to etch waveguides and mirrors, respectively. The compact size of the device is only 20 x 3.2 mm(2). The switch element with high switching speed and low power consumption is presented in the matrix. The average insertion loss of the matrix is about -21 dB, and the excess loss of one mirror is measured of -1.4 dB. The worst crosstalk is larger than 21 dB. Experimental results illuminate that some of the main characteristics of optical matrix switches are. developed in the modified design, which is in accord with theoretic analyses.

Silicon light emitting devices in CMOS technology

Two silicon light emitting devices with different structures are realized in standard 0.35 mu m complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. They operate in reverse breakdown mode and can be turned on at 8.3 V. Output optical powers of 13.6 nW and 12.1 nW are measured at 10 V and 100 mA, respectively, and both the calculated light emission intensities are more than 1 mW/Cm-2. The optical spectra of the two devices are between 600-790 nm with a clear peak near 760 nm..

Self-assembling of submicrometer three-dimensional photonic crystals in concave microzones etched on silicon substrates

By vertical sedimentation and oblique titration, silica microspheres were grown in different shapes of concave microzones that were etched on a (100) p-silicon substrate. Through scanning electron microscope observation and optical reflective spectra measurement, sedimentation of microspheres in those microzones was compared. An index was introduced to judge the efficiency of sedimentation. The comparison demonstrates that regular hexagons and triangles facilitate the growth of photonic crystals the most. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America

Nanoinstabilities as revealed by shrinkage of nanocavities in silicon during irradiation

While the thermodynamic nonequilibrium properties of nanoparticles are being extensively studied, the thermodynamic nonequilibrium properties of their counterpart: nanocavities, however, are less noticed. Here, we systematically review and comprehensively model the recently published results on the newly-found thermodynamic nonequilibriurn properties of nanocavities in covalently bound materials during energetic beam irradiation. We also review and model the thermodynamic nonequilibrium properties of nanoparticles. The review and modelling not only demonstrates the novel nonequilibriurn properties of such an open-volume nanostructure during external excitation but also gives a deep insight into the nonequilibrium thermodynamics of amorphous structures and the difference in the behaviours of defects in crystalline and in amorphous silicon. Especially, the review and modelling leads to two new concepts:anti-symmetry relation between a nanoparticle and a nanocavity；energetic beam induced-soft mode and lattice instability in condensed matter；which reveals that structure of a condensed matter would be unstable not only at nanosize scale but also at a nanotime scale in general. It is also reveals that such nanoinstabilities would be more pronounced in an amorphous structure than in a crystalline structure.

Structure dependence of mode edges in photonic crystal waveguide with silicon on insulator

The mode edges of photonic crystal waveguide with triangular lattice based on a silicon-on-insulator slab are investigated by combination of the effective index method and two-dimensional plane wave expansion method. The variations of waveguide-mode edges with structure parameters of photonic crystal are deduced. When the ratio of the radius of air holes to the lattice constrant, r/Lambda, is fixed and the lattice constant of photonic crystal, Lambda, increases, the waveguide-mode edges shift to longer wavelengths. When Lambda is fixed and r/Lambda increases, the waveguide-mode edges shift to shorter wavelengths. Additionally, when r/Lambda and Lambda are both fixed, the radius of the two-row air holes adjacent to the waveguide increases, the waveguide-mode edges shift to shorter wavelengths.

High quality microcrystalline Si films by hydrogen dilution profile

Novel hydrogen dilution profiling (HDP) technique was developed to improve the uniformity in the growth direction of mu c-Si:H thin films prepared by hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). It was found that the high H dilution ratio reduces the incubation layer from 30 nm to less than 10 nm. A proper design of hydrogen dilution profiling improves the uniformity of crystalline content, X-c, in the growth direction and restrains the formation of micro-voids as well. As a result the compactness of mu c-Si:H films with a high crystalline content is enhanced and the stability of mu c-Si:H thin film against the oxygen diffusion is much improved. Meanwhile the HDP mu c-Si:H films exhibit the low defect states. The high nucleation density from high hydrogen dilution at early stage is a critical parameter to improve the quality of mu c-Si:H films. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

A two-dimensional photonic crystal slab mirror with silicon on insulator for wavelength 1.3 mu m

A concrete two-dimensional photonic crystal slab with triangular lattice used as a mirror for the light at wavelength 1.3 mu m with a silicon-on-insulator (Sol) substrate is designed by the three-dimensional plane wave expansion method. For TE-like modes, the bandgap in the F-K direction is from 1087nm to 1559nm. The central wavelength in the bandgap is about 1.3 mu m, hence the incident light at wavelength 1.3 mu m will be strongly reflected. Experimentally, such a photonic crystal slab is fabricated on an SOI substrate by the combination of EBL and ICP etching. The measurement of its transmission characteristics shows the bandgap edge in a longer wavelength is about 1540mn. The little discrepancy between the experimental data and the theoretical values is mainly due to the size discrepancy of the fabricated air holes.

Nanocrystalline silicon films with high conductivity and the application for PIN solar cells

Intrinsic nanocrystalline silicon films (nc-Si:H) were prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method. Films' microstructures and characteristics were studied with Raman spectroscopy and Atom Force Microscope (AFM). The electronic conductivity of nc-Si:H films was found to be 4.9 x 10(0)Omega(-1) cm(-1), which was one order of magnitude higher than the reported 10(-3)-10(-1)Omega(-1)cm(-1). And PIN solar cells with nc-Si:H film as intrinsic thin-layer (ITO/n(+)-nc-Si:H/i-nc-Si:H/p-c-Si/Ag) were researched. The cell's performances were measured, the open-circuit voltage V-oc was 534.7 mV, short-circuit current I-sc was 49.24 mA (3 cm(2)) and fill factor FF was 0.4228. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of vertically aligned ZnO nanorod-nanowall junction arrays on a ZnO-coated silicon substrate

Arrays of vertically well-aligned ZnO nanorod-nanowall junctions have been synthesized on an undoped ZnO-coated silicon substrate by a carbothermal reduction and vapour phase transport method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) show that the nanostructures are well-oriented with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of the as-prepared ZnO nanostructure reveals a dominant near-band-edge (NBE) emission peak and a weak deep level (DL) emission, which demonstrates its good optical properties. Temperature-dependent PL spectra show that both the intensity of NBE and DL emissions increased with decreasing temperature. The NBE emission at 3.27 eV is identified to originate from the radiative free exciton recombination. The possible growth mechanism of ZnO nanorod-nanowall junctions is also proposed.

Shrinkage of nanocavities in silicon during electron beam irradiation

An internal shrinkage of nanocavity in silicon was in situ observed under irradiation of energetic electron on electron transmission microscopy. Because there is no addition of any external materials to cavity site, a predicted nanosize effect on the shrinkage was observed. At the same time, because there is no ion cascade effect as encountered in the previous ion irradiation-induced nanocavity shrinkage experiment, the electron irradiation-induced instability of nanocavity also provides a further more convincing evidence to demonstrate the predicted irradiation-induced athermal activation effect. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Near infrared photoluminescence from Yb,Al Co-implanted SiO2 films on silicon

Intense room-temperature near infrared (NIR) photoluminescence (980 nm and 1032 nm) is observed from Yb,Al co-implanted SiO2 films on silicon. The optical transitions occur between the F-2(5/2) and F-2(7/2) levels of Yb3+ in SiO2. The additional Al-implantation into SiO2 films can effectively improve the concentration quenching effect of Yb3+ in SiO2. Photoluminescence exitation sprectroscopy shows that the NIR photoluminescence is due to the non-radiative energy transfer from Al-implantation-induced non-bridging oxygen hole defects in SiO2 to Yb3+ in the Yb-related luminescent complexes. It is believed that the defect-mediated luminscence of rare-earth ions in SiO2 is very effective.

A micromachined SiO2/silicon probe for neural signal recordings

The development of an implantable five channel microelectrode array is presented for neural signal recordings. The detailed fabrication process is outlined with four masked used. The SEM images show that the probe shank is 1.2mm long, 100 mu m wide and 30 mu m thick with the recording sites spaced 200 mu m apart for good signal isolation. The plot of the single recording site impedance versus frequency is shown by test in vitro and the ompedence declines with the increasing frequency. Experiment in vivo using this probe is under way.

Crack control in GaN grown on silicon (111) using In doped low-temperature AlGaN interlayer by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

The effects of In doped low-temperature (LT) AlGaN interlayer on the properties of GaN/Si(111) by MOCVD have been investigated. Using In doping LT-interlayer can decrease the stress sufficiently for avoiding crack formation in a thick (2.0 mu m) GaN layer. Significant improvement in the crystal and optical properties of GaN layer is also achieved. In doping is observed to reduce the stress in AlGaN interlayer measured by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD). It can provide more compressive stress to counteract tensile stress and reduce crack density in subsequent GaN layer. Moreover, as a surfactant, indium is observed to cause an enhanced PL intensity and the narrowed linewidths of PL and XRD spectra for the LT-interlayer. Additionally, the crystal quality of GaN layer is found to be dependent on the growth parameters of underneath In-doped LT-AlGaN interlayer. The optimal parameters, such as TMIn flow rate, TMAl flow rates and thickness, are achieved to obtain nearly 2.0 mu m thick crack free GaN film with advanced optical and crystal properties. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Light-induced changes in diphasic nanocrystalline silicon films and solar cells

A series of diphasic nanocrystalline silicon films and solar cells was prepared using different hydrogen dilution ratios of silane by very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (VHF-PECVD). It was observed that after light soaking the open circuit voltage (V-oc) of the diphasic solar cells increased, while that of amorphous silicon solar cells decreased. Raman scattering spectroscopy was performed on the series of diphasic silicon films before and after light soaking. It was found that after light soaking the nanostruclures in the diphasic nanocrystalline silicon films were changed. Both the grain sizes and grain volume fraction reduced, while the grain boundary components increased. These results provide experimental evidence for the conjecture that the light-induced increase in V-oc of the diphasic nanocrystalline solar cells might be induced by the changes in the nanostructure of the intrinsic layer. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.