This thesis details the significant progress made in improving the performance of organic transistors and the network conductivity of carbon nanotubes. The first section investigates organic semiconductor nucleation and growth on the most common dielectric surface used to fabricate organic thin film transistors. The nucleation and growth of the semiconductor was determined to be a critical factor affecting the device performance. Excellent dielectric modification layers, which promote desirable semiconductor growth leading to high conductivity were identified, and a technologically relevant deposition technique was developed to fabricate high quality dielectric modification layers over large areas. This may represent an important step towards the realization of large area organic circuity. In the final section, lessons learned from studying organic semiconductor nucleation and growth were utilized to improve the conductivity of carbon nanotube networks. Selective nucleation of materials at the junctions between nanotubes in the network significantly decreased the network's sheet resistance. The resulting networks may be promising candidates for transparent electrodes with a variety of optoelectronic applications.

Owing to their high-power density, long life and environmental compatibility, supercapacitors are emerging as one of the promising storage technologies but with challenges around energy and power requirements for specific applications. This book focusses on supercapacitors including details on classification, charge storage mechanisms, related kinetics, and thermodynamics. Materials used as electrodes, electrolytes and separators, and procedures followed, characterization methods and modeling are covered along with emphasis on related applications. Features: Provides an in-depth look at supercapacitors, including their working concepts, and design. Reviews detailed explanation of various characterization and modeling techniques. Give special focus to the application of supercapacitors in major areas of environmental as well as social importance. Covers Cyclic Voltammetry, Charging-Discharging Curves, and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy as characterization techniques. Includes a detailed chapter on historical perspectives on evolution of supercapacitors. This book aims at researchers, and graduate students in materials science and engineering, nanotechnology, chemistry in batteries, and physics.

This book offers a complete overview of photonic-enhanced materials from material development to a final photonic biomedical application. It includes fundamental, applied, and industrial photonics. The authors cover synthesis, the modification and the processing of a variety of (bio)polymers including thermoplasts (e.g. polyesters) and hydrogels (e.g. proteins and polysaccharides) for a plethora of applications in the field of optics and regenerative medicine.

Provides understanding of the device architecture, electrode design, and pros-cons of classical supercapacitors Explains material design in the context of electrochemical energy storage Covers state-of-the-art quantum supercapacitor and technological challenges Describes advanced version of supercapacitor devices describing macro-to-micro scale devices and applications at different scales Include details of challenges and outline of future designs

This book discusses theoretical and experimental advances in metamaterial structures, which are of fundamental importance to many applications in microwave and optical-wave physics and materials science. Metamaterial structures exhibit time-reversal and space-inversion symmetry breaking due to the effects of magnetism and chirality. The book addresses the characteristic properties of various symmetry breaking processes by studying field-matter interaction with use of conventional electromagnetic waves and novel types of engineered fields: twisted-photon fields, toroidal fields, and magnetoelectric fields. In a system with a combined effect of simultaneous breaking of space and time inversion symmetries, one observes the magnetochiral effect. Another similar phenomenon featuring space-time inversion symmetries is related to use of magnetoelectric materials. Cross-coupling of the electric and magnetic components in these material structures, leading to the appearance of new magnetic modes with an electric excitation channel - electromagnons and skyrmions - has resulted in a wealth of strong optical effects such as directional dichroism, magnetochiral dichroism, and rotatory power of the fields. This book contains multifaceted contributions from international leading experts and covers the essential aspects of symmetry-breaking effects, including theory, modeling and design, proven and potential applications in practical devices, fabrication, characterization and measurement. It is ideally suited as an introduction and basic reference work for researchers and graduate students entering this field.

This book is an introduction to a rapidly developing field of modern theoretical physics - the theory of quantum transport at nanoscale. The theoretical methods considered in the book are in the basis of our understanding of charge, spin and heat transport in nanostructures and nanostructured materials and are widely used in nanoelectronics, molecular electronics, spin-dependent electronics (spintronics) and bio-electronics. The book is based on lectures for graduate and post-graduate students at the University of Regensburg and the Technische Universitat Dresden (TU Dresden). The first part is devoted to the basic concepts of quantum transport: Landauer-Buttiker method and matrix Green function formalism for coherent transport, Tunneling (Transfer) Hamiltonian and master equation methods for tunneling, Coulomb blockade, vibrons and polarons. The results in this part are obtained as possible without sophisticated techniques, such as nonequilibrium Green functions, which are considered in detail in the second part. A general introduction into the nonequilibrium Green function theory is given. The approach based on the equation-of-motion technique, as well as more sophisticated one based on the Dyson-Keldysh diagrammatic technique are presented. The main attention is paid to the theoretical methods able to describe the nonequilibrium (at finite voltage) electron transport through interacting nanosystems, specifically the correlation effects due to electron-electron and electron-vibron interactions.

This book addresses the rapidly developing class of solar cell materials and designed to provide much needed information on the fundamental principles of these materials, together with how these are employed in photovoltaic applications. A special emphasize have been given for the space applications through study of radiation tolerant solar cells. This book present a comprehensive research outlining progress on the synthesis, fabrication and application of solar cells from fundamental to device technology and is helpful for graduate students, researchers, and technologists engaged in research and development of materials.

Authored by many of the world's leading experts on high-Tc superconductivity, this volume presents a panorama of ongoing research in the field, as well as insights into related multifunctional materials. The contributions cover many different and complementary aspects of the physics and materials challenges, with an emphasis on superconducting materials that have emerged since the discovery of the cuprate superconductors, for example pnictides, MgB2, H2S and other hydrides. Special attention is also paid to interface superconductivity. In addition to superconductors, the volume also addresses materials related to polar and multifunctional ground states, another class of materials that owes its discovery to Prof. Muller's ground-breaking research on SrTiO3.

This book describes the basic physical principles of techniques to generate and ultrashort pulse lasers and applications to ultrafast spectroscopy of various materials covering chemical molecular compounds, solid-state materials, exotic novel materials including topological materials, biological molecules and bio- and synthetic polymers. It introduces non-linear optics which provides the basics of generation and measurement of pulses and application examples of ultrafast spectroscopy to solid state physics. Also it provide not only material properties but also material processing procedures. The book describes also details of the world shortest visible laser and DUV lasers developed by the author's group. It is composed of the following 12 Sections: The special features of this book is that it is written by a single author with a few collaborators in a systematic way. Hence it provides a comprehensive and systematic description of the research field of ultrashort pulse lasers and ultrafast spectroscopy. Generation of ultrashort pulses in deep ultraviolet to near infrared Generation of ultrashort pulses in terahertz Carrier envelope phase (CEP) Simple NLO processes with a few colors Multi-color involved NLO processes Multi-color ultrashort pulse generation NLO materials NLO processes in time-resolved spectroscopy Low dimension materials Conductors and superconductors Chemical reactions and material processing Photobiological reactions

* Covers topics such as fundamentals of sensors and their working principles * Details recent materials and technologies used for flexible and wearable sensors * Covers emerging applications

This book describes new trends in the nanoscience of isotopic materials science. Assuming a background in graduate condensed matter physics and covering the fundamental aspects of isotopic materials science from the very beginning, it equips readers to engage in high-level professional research in this area. The books main objective is to provide insight into the question of why solids are the way they are, either because of how their atoms are bonded with one another, because of defects in their structure, or because of how they are produced or processed. Accordingly, it explores the science of how atoms interact, connects the results to real materials properties, and demonstrates the engineering concepts that can be used to produce or improve semiconductors by design. In addition, it shows how the concepts discussed are applied in the laboratory. The book addresses the needs of researchers, graduate students and senior undergraduate students alike. Although primarily written for materials science audience, it will be equally useful to those teaching in electrical engineering, materials science or even chemical engineering or physics curricula. In order to maintain the focus on materials concepts, however, the book does not burden the reader with details of many of the derivations and equations nor does it delve into the details of electrical engineering topics.

Thin films are widely used in the electronic device industry. As the trend for miniaturization of electronic devices moves into the nanoscale domain, the reliability of thin films becomes an increasing concern. Building on the author's previous book, Electronic Thin Film Science by Tu, Mayer and Feldman, and based on a graduate course at UCLA given by the author, this new book focuses on reliability science and the processing of thin films. Early chapters address fundamental topics in thin film processes and reliability, including deposition, surface energy and atomic diffusion, before moving onto systematically explain irreversible processes in interconnect and packaging technologies. Describing electromigration, thermomigration and stress migration, with a closing chapter dedicated to failure analysis, the reader will come away with a complete theoretical and practical understanding of electronic thin film reliability. Kept mathematically simple, with real-world examples, this book is ideal for graduate students, researchers and practitioners.

Silicon-on-Insulator Technology: Materials to VLSI, 2nd Edition describes the different facets of SOI technology. SOI chips are now commercially available and SOI wafer manufacturers have gone public. SOI has finally made it out of the academic world and is now a big concern for every major semiconductor company. SOI technology has indeed deserved serious recognition: high-temperature (400 DegreesC), extremely rad-hard (500 Mrad(Si)), high-density (16 Mb, 0.9-volt DRAM), high-speed (several GHz) and low-voltage (0.5 V) SOI circuits have been demonstrated. Strategic choices in favor of the use of SOI for low-voltage, low-power portable systems have been made by several major semiconductor manufacturers. Silicon-on-Insulator Technology: Materials to VLSI, 2nd Edition presents a complete and state-of-the-art review of SOI materials, devices and circuits. SOI fabrication and characterization techniques, SOI device processing, the physics of the SOI MOSFET as well as that of SOI other devices, and the performances of SOI circuits are discussed in detail. The SOI specialist will find this book invaluable as a source of compiled references covering the different aspects of SOI technology. For the non-specialist, the book serves as an excellent introduction to the topic with detailed, yet simple and clear explanations. Silicon-on-Insulator Technology: Materials to VLSI, 2nd Edition is recommended for use as a textbook for classes on semiconductor device processing and physics. The level of the book is appropriate for teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Silicon-on-Insulator Technology: Materials to VLSI, 2nd Edition includes the new materials, devices, and circuit concepts which have been devised since the publication of the first edition. The circuit sections, in particular, have been updated to present the performances of SOI devices for low-voltage, low-power applications, as well as for high-temperature, smart-power, and DRAM applications. The other sections, such as those describing SOI materials, the physics of the SOI MOSFET and other devices have been updated to present the state of the art in SOI technology.

Less than a decade ago, lead halide perovskite semiconductors caused a sensation: Solar cells exhibiting astonishingly high levels of efficiency. Recently, it became possible to synthesize nanocrystals of this material as well. Interestingly; simply by controlling the size and shape of these crystals, new aspects of this material literally came to light. These nanocrystals have proven to be interesting candidates for light emission. In this thesis, the recombination, dephasing and diffusion of excitons in perovskite nanocrystals is investigated using time-resolved spectroscopy. All these dynamic processes have a direct impact on the light-emitting device performance from a technology point of view. However, most importantly, the insights gained from the measurements allowed the author to modify the nanocrystals such that they emitted with an unprecedented quantum yield in the blue spectral range, resulting in the successful implementation of this material as the active layer in an LED. This represents a technological breakthrough, because efficient perovskite light emitters in this wavelength range did not exist before.

System-on-a-Chip (SOC) integrated circuits composed of embedded cores are now commonplace. Nevertheless, there remain several roadblocks to rapid and efficient system integration. Test development is seen as a major bottleneck in SOC design and manufacturing capabilities. Testing SOCs is especially challenging in the absence of standardized test structures, test automation tools, and test protocols. In addition, long interconnects, high density, and high-speed designs lead to new types of faults involving crosstalk and signal integrity.

SOC (System-on-a-Chip) Testing for Plug and Play Test Automation is an edited work containing thirteen contributions that address various aspects of SOC testing.

SOC (System-on-a-Chip) Testing for Plug and Play Test Automation is a valuable reference for researchers and students interested in various aspects of SOC testing.

Polycrystalline SiGe has emerged as a promising MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems) structural material since it provides the desired mechanical properties at lower temperatures compared to poly-Si, allowing the direct post-processing on top of CMOS. This CMOS-MEMS monolithic integration can lead to more compact MEMS with improved performance. The potential of poly-SiGe for MEMS above-aluminum-backend CMOS integration has already been demonstrated. However, aggressive interconnect scaling has led to the replacement of the traditional aluminum metallization by copper (Cu) metallization, due to its lower resistivity and improved reliability. Poly-SiGe for MEMS-above-CMOS sensors demonstrates the compatibility of poly-SiGe with post-processing above the advanced CMOS technology nodes through the successful fabrication of an integrated poly-SiGe piezoresistive pressure sensor, directly fabricated above 0.13 m Cu-backend CMOS. Furthermore, this book presents the first detailed investigation on the influence of deposition conditions, germanium content and doping concentration on the electrical and piezoresistive properties of boron-doped poly-SiGe. The development of a CMOS-compatible process flow, with special attention to the sealing method, is also described. Piezoresistive pressure sensors with different areas and piezoresistor designs were fabricated and tested. Together with the piezoresistive pressure sensors, also functional capacitive pressure sensors were successfully fabricated on the same wafer, proving the versatility of poly-SiGe for MEMS sensor applications. Finally, a detailed analysis of the MEMS processing impact on the underlying CMOS circuit is also presented.

This book provides comprehensive coverage of the new wide-bandgap semiconductor gallium oxide (Ga2O3). Ga2O3 has been attracting much attention due to its excellent materials properties. It features an extremely large bandgap of greater than 4.5 eV and availability of large-size, high-quality native substrates produced from melt-grown bulk single crystals. Ga2O3 is thus a rising star among ultra-wide-bandgap semiconductors and represents a key emerging research field for the worldwide semiconductor community. Expert chapters cover physical properties, synthesis, and state-of-the-art applications, including materials properties, growth techniques of melt-grown bulk single crystals and epitaxial thin films, and many types of devices. The book is an essential resource for academic and industry readers who have an interest in, or plan to start, a new R&D project related to Ga2O3.

This text discusses sigma- delta- type function circuits, peak detecting function circuits, and peak sampling function circuits in a detailed manner. It further covers all the function circuits designed by using the basic principles of the six building blocks: integrator, the 555 timer integrated circuit, switch, low pass fi lter, peak detector, and sample and hold circuit. It is a useful reference text for senior undergraduate and graduate students in the fi elds of electrical engineering and electronics and communication engineering. This book is accompanied by teaching resources, including a solution manual for the instructors. * Discusses function circuits such as multipliers, dividers, and multiplier cum dividers using the 555 timer. * Explains how function circuits are developed with a simple integrator and the 555 timer. * Extends the applications of 555 timers to perform in function circuits. * Covers important topics such as monostable multivibrator, inverting amplifi er, and peak responding divider. * Presents function circuit conversion such as multiplier to square root and divider to a multiplier. This comprehensive book covers the design of function circuits with the help of 555 timer integrated circuits in a single volume. It further discusses how derived function circuits are implemented with integrator, comparator, low pass fi lter, peak detector, and sample and hold circuits.

This book covers many advances in the subjects of nano-optics and nano photonics. The author describes the principle and technical schematics of common methods for breaking through the optical diffraction limit and focuses on realizing optical super-resolution with nonlinear effects of thin film materials. The applications of nonlinear optical super-resolution effects in nano-data storage, nanolithography, and nano-imaging are also presented. This book is useful to graduate students majoring in optics and nano science and also serves as a reference book for academic researchers, engineers, technical professionals in the fields of super-resolution optics and laser techniques, nano-optics and nano photonics, nano-data storage, nano imaging, micro/nanofabrication and nanolithography and nonlinear optics.

Fast and Effective Embedded Systems Design is a fast-moving introduction to embedded systems design, applying the innovative ARM mbed and its web-based development environment. Each chapter introduces a major topic in embedded systems, and proceeds as a series of practical experiments, adopting a "learning through doing" strategy. Minimal background knowledge is needed to start. C/C++ programming is applied, with a step-by-step approach which allows you to get coding quickly. Once the basics are covered, the book progresses to some "hot" embedded issues - intelligent instrumentation, wireless and networked systems, digital audio and digital signal processing. In this new edition all examples and peripheral devices are updated to use the most recent libraries and peripheral devices, with increased technical depth, and introduction of the "mbed enabled" concept. Written by two experts in the field, this book reflects on the experimental results, develops and matches theory to practice, evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the technology and techniques introduced, and considers applications in a wider context. New Chapters on: Bluetooth and ZigBee communication Internet communication and control, setting the scene for the 'Internet of Things' Digital Audio, with high-fidelity applications and use of the I2S bus Power supply, and very low power applications The development process of moving from prototyping to small-scale or mass manufacture, with a commercial case study.

Introduces fundamentals of nanomaterials from renewable resources, including processing and characterization Covers nanomaterials for applications in food and packaging, including nanocellulose, lignin- and chitosan-based nanomaterials, and nanostarch Discusses applications in energy conservation, such as supercapacitors, electrolyte membranes, energy storage devices, and insulation Describes environmental uses such as water remediation and purification and oil spill clean-ups Highlights advantages and challenges in commercialization of green nanoparticle-based materials

This highly interdisciplinary thesis reports on two innovative photonic biosensors that combine multiple simultaneous measurements to provide unique insights into the activity and structure of surface immobilized biological molecules. In addition, it presents a new silicon photonic biosensor that exploits two cascaded resonant sensors to provide two independent measurements of a biological layer immobilized on the surface. By combining these two measurements, it is possible to unambiguously quantify the density and thickness of the molecular layer; here, the approach's ability to study molecular conformation and conformational changes in real time is demonstrated. The electrophotonic biosensor integrates silicon photonics with electrochemistry into a single technology. This multi-modal biosensor provides a number of unique capabilities that extend the functionality of conventional silicon photonics. For example, by combining the complementary information revealed by simultaneous electrochemical and photonic measurements, it is possible to provide unique insights into on-surface electrochemical processes. Furthermore, the ability to create electrochemical reactions directly on the silicon surface provides a novel approach for engineering the chemical functionality of the photonic sensors. The electrophotonic biosensor thus represents a critical advance towards the development of very high-density photonic sensor arrays for multiplexed diagnostics.

Transformation electromagnetics is a systematic design technique for optical and electromagnetic devices that enables novel wave-material interaction properties. The associated metamaterials technology for designing and realizing optical and electromagnetic devices can control the behavior of light and electromagnetic waves in ways that have not been conventionally possible. The technique is credited with numerous novel device designs, most notably the invisibility cloaks, perfect lenses and a host of other remarkable devices. Transformation Electromagnetics and Metamaterials: Fundamental Principles and Applications presents a comprehensive treatment of the rapidly growing area of transformation electromagnetics and related metamaterial technology with contributions on the subject provided by a collection of leading experts from around the world. On the theoretical side, the following questions will be addressed: "Where does transformation electromagnetics come from?," "What are the general material properties for different classes of coordinate transformations?," "What are the limitations and challenges of device realizations?," and "What theoretical tools are available to make the coordinate transformation-based designs more amenable to fabrication using currently available techniques?" The comprehensive theoretical treatment will be complemented by device designs and/or realizations in various frequency regimes and applications including acoustic, radio frequency, terahertz, infrared, and the visible spectrum. The applications encompass invisibility cloaks, gradient-index lenses in the microwave and optical regimes, negative-index superlenses for sub-wavelength resolution focusing, flat lenses that produce highly collimated beams from an embedded antenna or optical source, beam concentrators, polarization rotators and splitters, perfect electromagnetic absorbers, and many others. This book will serve as the authoritative reference for students and researchers alike to the fast-evolving and exciting research area of transformation electromagnetics/optics, its application to the design of revolutionary new devices, and their associated metamaterial realizations.

Polymer electrolytes are electrolytic materials that are widely used in batteries, fuel cells and other applications such as supercapacitors, photoelectrochemical and electrochromic devices. Polymer electrolytes: Fundamentals and applications provides an important review of this class of ionic conductors, their properties and applications. Part one reviews the various types of polymer electrolyte compounds, with chapters on ceramic polymer electrolytes, natural polymer-based polymer electrolytes, composite polymer electrolytes, lithium-doped hybrid polymer electrolytes, hybrid inorganic-organic polymer electrolytes. There are also chapters on ways of characterising and modelling polymer electrolytes. Part two discusses applications such as solar cells, supercapacitors, electrochromic and electrochemical devices, fuel cells and batteries. With its distinguished editors and international team of contributors, Polymer electrolytes: Fundamentals and applications is a standard reference for all those researching and using polymer electrolytes in such areas as battery and fuel cell technology for automotive and other applications.