Optical, photo-acoustic and electrical switching studies of amorphous GeS2 thin films

This paper reports optical, photo-acoustic and electrical switching investigations of GeS2 amorphous thin films of different thicknesses, deposited on glass substrates in vacuum. The Tauc parameter (B (1/2)) and Urbach energy (E (U)) have been determined from the transmittance spectra, to understand the changes in structural disorder; it is found that B (1/2) increases whereas E (U) decreases as the thickness of the films increases. Based on the results, it is suggested that bond re-arrangement, i.e. transformation from homopolar bonds to heteropolar bonds, takes place with increase in thickness. The thermal diffusivity values of GeS2 thin films also show the presence of a chemically ordered network in the GeS2 thin films. Further, it is found that these films exhibit memory-type electrical switching. The observed variation in the switching voltages has been understood on the basis of increase in chemical order.

Enhancement in threshold voltage with thickness in memory switch fabricated using GeSe1.5S0.5 thin films

Investigations on the electrical switching, structural, optical and photoacoustic analysis have been undertaken on chalcogenide GeSe1.5S0.5 thin films of various thicknesses prepared by vacuum evaporation technique. The decrease of band gap energy with increase in film thickness has been explained using the `density of states model'. The structural units of the films are characterized using Raman spectroscopy and the deconvoluted Raman peaks obtained from Gaussian fit around 188 cm(-1), 204 cm(-1) and 214 cm(-1) favors Ge-chalcogen tetrahedral units forming corner and edge sharing tetrahedra. All the thin films samples have been exhibited memory-type electrical switching behavior. An enhancement in the threshold voltages of GeSe1.5S0.5 thin films have been observed with increase in film thickness. The thickness dependence of switching voltages provide an insight into the switching mechanism and it is explained by the Joule heating effect. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Interface Treatment on the Fatigue Behavior of Shape Memory Alloy Reinforced Polymer Composites

Interfacial properties of Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) reinforced polymer matrix composites can be enhanced by improving the interfacial bonding. This paper focuses on studying the interfacial stresses developed in the SMA-epoxy interface due to various laser shot penning conditions. Fiber-pull test-setup is designed to understand the role of mechanical bias stress cycling and thermal actuation cycling. Phase transformation is tracked over mechanical and thermal fatigue cycles. A micromechanics based model developed earlier based on shear lag in SMA and energy based consistent homogenization is extended here to incorporate the stress-temperature phase diagram parameters for modeling fatigue.

Growth and characteristics of amorphous Sb2Se3 thin films of various thicknesses for memory switching applications

Thin films of different thicknesses in the range of 200-720 nm have been deposited on glass substrates at room temperature using thermal evaporation technique. The structural investigations revealed that the as-deposited films are amorphous in nature. The surface roughness of the films shows an increasing trend at higher thickness of the films. The surface roughness of the films shows an increasing trend at higher thickness of the films. Interference fringes in the transmission spectra of these films suggest that the films are fairly smooth and uniform. The optical absorption in Sb2Se3 film is described using indirect transition and the variation in band gaps is explained on the basis of defects and disorders in the chalcogenide systems. Raman spectrum confirms the increase of orderliness with film thickness. From the I-V characteristics, a memory type switching is observed whose threshold voltage increases with film thickness. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical interconnection for neural networks by use of a self-imaging function

A grating-lens combination unit is developed to form a scaling self-transform function that can self-image on scale. Then an array of many such grating-lens units is used for the optical interconnection of a two-dimensional neural network, and experiments are carried out. We find that our idea is feasible, the optical interconnection system is simple, and optical adjustment is easy. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.

Compact parallel optical modified-signed-digit arithmetic-logic array processor with electron-trapping device

A compact two-step modified-signed-digit arithmetic-logic array processor is proposed. When the reference digits are programmed, both addition and subtraction can be performed by the same binary logic operations regardless of the sign of the input digits. The optical implementation and experimental demonstration with an electron-trapping device are shown. Each digit is encoded by a single pixel, and no polarization is included. Any combinational logic can be easily performed without optoelectronic and electro-optic conversions of the intermediate results. The system is compact, general purpose, simple to align, and has a high signal-to-noise ratio. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America.

One-step digit-set-restricted modified signed-digit adder using an incoherent correlator based on a shared content-addressable memory

An efficient one-step digit-set-restricted modified signed-digit (MSD) adder based on symbolic substitution is presented. In this technique, carry propagation is avoided by introducing reference digits to restrict the intermediate carry and sum digits to {1,0} and {0,1}, respectively. The proposed technique requires significantly fewer minterms and simplifies system complexity compared to the reported one-step MSD addition techniques. An incoherent correlator based on an optoelectronic shared content-addressable memory processor is suggested to perform the addition operation. In this technique, only one set of minterms needs to be stored, independent of the operand length. (C) 2002 society or Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Efficient two-step digit-set-restricted modified signed-digit algorithm based on optoelectronic shared content-addressable memory

A two-step digit-set-restricted modified signed-digit (MSD) adder based on symbolic substitution is presented. In the proposed addition algorithm, carry propagation is avoided by using reference digits to restrict the intermediate MSD carry and sum digits into {(1) over bar ,0} and {0, 1}, respectively. The algorithm requires only 12 minterms to generate the final results, and no complementarity operations for nonzero outputs are involved, which simplifies the system complexity significantly. An optoelectronic shared content-addressable memory based on an incoherent correlator is used for experimental demonstration. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Efficient two-step digit-set-restricted modified signed-digit algorithm based on optoelectronic shared content-addressable memory

A two-step digit-set-restricted modified signed-digit (MSD) adder based on symbolic substitution is presented. In the proposed addition algorithm, carry propagation is avoided by using reference digits to restrict the intermediate MSD carry and sum digits into {(1) over bar ,0} and {0, 1}, respectively. The algorithm requires only 12 minterms to generate the final results, and no complementarity operations for nonzero outputs are involved, which simplifies the system complexity significantly. An optoelectronic shared content-addressable memory based on an incoherent correlator is used for experimental demonstration. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Read-only memory disk with AgOx and AgInSbTe superresolution mask layer

Two novel read-only memory (ROM) disks, one with an AgOx mask layer and the other with an AgInSbTe mask layer, are proposed and studied. The AgOx and the AgInSbTe films sputtered on the premastered substrates with pit depths of 50 nm and pit lengths (space) of 380 nm are studied by atomic force microscopy. Disk readout measurement is carried out using a dynamic setup with a laser wavelength of 632.8 nm and an object lens numerical aperture (NA) of 0.40. Results show that the superresolution effect happens only at a suitable oxygen flow ratio for the AgOx ROM disk. The best superresolution readout effect is achieved at an oxygen flow ratio of 0.5 with the smoothest film surface. Compared with the AgOx ROM disk, the AgInSbTe ROM disk has a much smoother film surface and better superresolution effect. A carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) of above 40 dB can be obtained at an appropriate readout power and readout velocity. The readout CNR of both the AgOx and AgInSbTe ROM disks have a nonlinear dependence on the readout power. The superresolution readout mechanisms for these ROM disks are analyzed and compared as well. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Read-only memory disk with AgOx super-resolution mask layer

A novel read-only memory (ROM) disk with an AgOx mask layer was proposed and studied in this letter. The AgOx films sputtered on the premastered substrates, with pits depth of 50 nm and pits length of 380 nm, were studied by an atomic force microscopy. The transmittances of these AgOx films were also measured by a spectrophotometer. Disk measurement was carried out by a dynamic setup with a laser wavelength of 632.8 nm and a lens numerical aperture (NA) of 0.40. The readout resolution limit of this setup was λ/(4NA) (400 nm). Results showed that the super-resolution readout happened only when the oxygen flow ratios were at suitable values for these disks. The best super-resolution performance was achieved at the oxygen flow ratio of 0.5 with the smoothest film surface. The super-resolution readout mechanism of these ROM disks was analyzed as well.

Read-only memory disk with AgOx and AgInSbTe superresolution mask layer

Two novel read-only memory (ROM) disks, one with an AgOx mask layer and the other with an AgInSbTe mask layer, are proposed and studied. The AgOx and the AgInSbTe films sputtered on the premastered substrates with pit depths of 50 nm and pit lengths (space) of 380 nm are studied by atomic force microscopy. Disk readout measurement is carried out using a dynamic setup with a laser wavelength of 632.8 nm and an object lens numerical aperture (NA) of 0.40. Results show that the superresolution effect happens only at a suitable oxygen flow ratio for the AgOx ROM disk. The best superresolution readout effect is achieved at an oxygen flow ratio of 0.5 with the smoothest film surface. Compared with the AgOx ROM disk, the AgInSbTe ROM disk has a much smoother film surface and better superresolution effect. A carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) of above 40 dB can be obtained at an appropriate readout power and readout velocity. The readout CNR of both the AgOx and AgInSbTe ROM disks have a nonlinear dependence on the readout power. The superresolution readout mechanisms for these ROM disks are analyzed and compared as well. (c) 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Temperature dependence of thermal properties of Ag8In14Sb55Te23 phase-change memory materials

The dependence of thermal properties of Ag8In14Sb55Te23 phase-change memory materials in crystalline and amorphous states on temperature was measured and analyzed. The results show that in the crystalline state, the thermal properties monotonically decrease with the temperature and present obvious crystalline semiconductor characteristics. The heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity decrease from 0.35 J/g K, 1.85 mm(2)/s, and 4.0 W/m K at 300 K to 0.025 J/g K, 1.475 mm(2)/s, and 0.25 W/m K at 600 K, respectively. In the amorphous state, while the dependence of thermal properties on temperature does not present significant changes, the materials retain the glass-like thermal characteristics. Within the temperature range from 320 K to 440 K, the heat capacity fluctuates between 0.27 J/g K and 0.075 J/g K, the thermal diffusivity basically maintains at 0.525 mm(2)/s, and the thermal conductivity decreases from 1.02 W/m K at 320 K to 0.2 W/m K at 440 K. Whether in the crystalline or amorphous state, Ag8In14Sb55Te23 are more thermally active than Ge2Sb2Te5, that is, the Ag8In14Sb55Te23 composites bear stronger thermal conduction and diffusion than the Ge2Sb2Te5 phase-change memory materials.