This thesis combines quantum electrical engineering with electron spin resonance, with an emphasis on unraveling emerging collective spin phenomena. The presented experiments, with first demonstrations of the cavity protection effect, spectral hole burning and bistability in microwave photonics, cover new ground in the field of hybrid quantum systems. The thesis starts at a basic level, explaining the nature of collective effects in great detail. It develops the concept of Dicke states spin-by-spin, and introduces it to circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED), applying it to a strongly coupled hybrid quantum system studied in a broad regime of several different scenarios. It also provides experimental demonstrations including strong coupling, Rabi oscillations, nonlinear dynamics, the cavity protection effect, spectral hole burning, amplitude bistability and spin echo spectroscopy.

Laser materials processing has made tremendous progress and is now at the forefront of industrial and medical applications. The book describes recent advances in smart and nanoscaled materials going well beyond the traditional cutting and welding applications. As no analytical methods are described the examples are really going into the details of what nowadways is possible by employing lasers for sophisticated materials processing giving rise to achievements not possible by conventional materials processing.

This book provides a comprehensive monograph on gate stacks in semiconductor technology. It covers the major latest developments and basics and will be useful as a reference work for researchers, engineers and graduate students alike. The reader will get a clear view of what has been done so far, what is the state-of-the-art and which are the main challenges ahead before we come any closer to a viable Ge and III-V MOS technology.

This book is based on nearly a decade of materials and electronics research at the leading research institution on the nitride topic in Europe. It is a comprehensive monograph and tutorial that will be of interest to graduate students of electrical engineering, communication engineering, and physics; to materials, device, and circuit engineers in research and industry; to all scientists with a general interest in advanced electronics.

Today's solar cell multi-GW market is dominated by crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafer technology, however new cell concepts are entering the market. One very promising solar cell design to answer these needs is the silicon hetero-junction solar cell, of which the emitter and back surface field are basically produced by a low temperature growth of ultra-thin layers of amorphous silicon. In this design, amorphous silicon (a-Si: H) constitutes both emitter" and base-contact/back surface field" on both sides of a thin crystalline silicon wafer-base (c-Si) where the electrons and holes are photogenerated; at the same time, a-Si: H passivates the c-Si surface. Recently, cell efficiencies above 23% have been demonstrated for such solar cells.

In this book, the editors present an overview of the state-of-the-art in physics and technology of amorphous-crystalline heterostructure silicon solar cells. The heterojunction concept is introduced, processes and resulting properties of the materials used in the cell andtheir heterointerfaces are discussed and characterization techniques and simulation tools are presented.

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This thesis focuses on two areas - the development of miniature plastic lasers that can be powered by LEDs, and the application of these lasers as highly sensitive sensors for vapours of nitroaromatic explosives (e.g. TNT). Polymer lasers are extremely compact visible lasers; the research described in the thesis is groundbreaking, driving forward the technology and physical understanding to allow these lasers to be routinely pumped by a single high-power LED. A notable advance in the work is the demonstration of nanoimprinted polymer lasers, which exhibit the world's lowest pump threshold densities by two orders of magnitude. The thesis also advances the application of these compact, novel lasers as highly sensitive detectors of explosive vapours, demonstrating that rapid detection can be achieved when microporous polymers are used. This work also demonstrates a prototype CMOS-based microsystem sensor for explosive vapours, exploiting a new detection approach.

High-level synthesis - also called behavioral and architectural-level synthesis - is a key design technology to realize systems on chip/package of various kinds, whether single or multi-processors, homogeneousor heterogeneous, for the emb- ded systems market or not. Actually, as technology progresses and systems become increasingly complex, the use of high-level abstractions and synthesis methods becomes more and more a necessity. Indeed, the productivityof designers increases with the abstraction level, as demonstrated by practices in both the software and hardware domains. The use of high-level models allows designers with systems, rather than circuit, backgroundto be productive, thus matching the trend of industry whichisdeliveringanincreasinglylargernumberofintegratedsystemsascompared to integrated circuits. The potentials of high-level synthesis relate to leaving implementation details to the design algorithms and tools, including the ability to determine the precise timing of operations, data transfers, and storage. High-level optimization, coupled with high-levelsynthesis, canprovidedesignerswith the optimalconcurrencystr- ture for a data ow and corresponding technological constraints, thus providing the balancing act in the trade-offbetween latency and resource usage. For complex s- tems, the design space exploration, i.e., the systematic search for the Pareto-optimal points, can only be done by automated high-level synthesis and optimization tools. Nevertheless, high-level synthesis has been showing a long gestation period. Despite early resultsin the 1980s, it is still not commonpracticein hardwaredes

This book explores the relationship between electronic correlations, dimensionality, inhomogeneities, and superconductivity in low-dimensional systems by studying single crystals of the quasi-one-dimensional Na2- Mo6Se6, composed of MoSe filaments weakly coupled by Na atoms and subject to intrinsic disorder ( > 0). It shows that the Na2- Mo6Se6 displays strong electronic correlations in its normal state, whereas a superconducting ground state emerges from Anderson localized electrons. Two novel behaviors of the superconducting state are observed: first, a disorder induced enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature; second, a reentrant phase coherence with increasing temperature, magnetic field, and current. It also analyzes the intrinsic properties of Na2- Mo6Se6 are analyzed to offer a thorough understanding of these phenomena. The emergence of superconductivity in such low-dimensional systems provides a fruitful playground to explore electronic order and correlations.

Quantum dots as nanomaterials have been extensively investigated in the past several decades from growth to characterization to applications. As the basis of future developments in the field, this book collects a series of state-of-the-art chapters on the current status of quantum dot devices and how these devices take advantage of quantum features. Written by 56 leading experts from 14 countries, the chapters cover numerous quantum dot applications, including lasers, LEDs, detectors, amplifiers, switches, transistors, and solar cells. "Quantum Dot Devices" is appropriate for researchers of all levels of experience with an interest in epitaxial and/or colloidal quantum dots. It provides the beginner with the necessary overview of this exciting field and those more experienced with a comprehensive reference source."

This book details the chemistry of visible light-induced photocatalysis using different classes of nanocomposites. Starting with a general introduction and explanation of basic principles and mechanisms of (visible) light-induced photocatalysis in the first two chapters (not omitting a plaidoyer for furthering research and development in this promising field), the following chapters detail the different types and classes of nanocomposites currently used in light-induced photocatalytic applications, including e.g. metal and mixed metal-oxide nanoparticles and -composites, nanoporous materials, polymeric and carbon-based nanocomposites. They explain the characteristics and importance of the different types of nanocomposites, as well as their synthesis and fabrication.In the end of the book an outlook on the unique applications of novel nanocomposites is offered, for example in water treatment and disinfection and removal of pollutants from wastewater, self-cleaning window panes based on photoactive materials, and many more. The book also addresses the challenges in present photocatalytic research, and therefore is a must-read for everybody interested in the developing field of nanocomposites and visible light-induced photocatalysis.

Due to the ever increasing electric fields in scaled CMOS devices, reliability is becoming a showstopper for further scaled technology nodes. Although several groups have already demonstrated functional Si channel devices with aggressively scaled Equivalent Oxide Thickness (EOT) down to 5A, a 10 year reliable device operation cannot be guaranteed anymore due to severe Negative Bias Temperature Instability.

This book focuses on the reliability of the novel (Si)Ge channel quantum well pMOSFET technology. This technology is being considered for possible implementation in next CMOS technology nodes, thanks to its benefit in terms of carrier mobility and device threshold voltage tuning. We observe that it also opens a degree of freedom for device reliability optimization. By properly tuning the device gate stack, sufficiently reliable ultra-thin EOT devices with a 10 years lifetime at operating conditions are demonstrated.

The extensive experimental datasets collected on a variety of processed 300mm wafers and presented here show the reliability improvement to be process - and architecture-independent and, as such, readily transferable to advanced device architectures as Tri-Gate (finFET) devices. We propose a physical model to understand the intrinsically superior reliability of the MOS system consisting of a Ge-based channel and a SiO2/HfO2 dielectric stack.

The improved reliability properties here discussed strongly support (Si)Ge technology as a clear frontrunner for future CMOS technology nodes."

This volume provides a comprehensive study of the field Reconfigurable Computing. It provides an entry point to the novice willing to move in the research field reconfigurable computing, FPGA and system on programmable chip design. The book can also be used as teaching reference for a graduate course in computer engineering, or as reference to advance electrical and computer engineers. It provides a very strong theoretical and practical background to the field of reconfigurable computing, from the early Estrin's machine to the very modern architecture like coarse-grained reconfigurable device and the embedded logic devices. Apart from the introduction and the conclusion, the main chapters of the book are Architecture of reconfigurable systems, Design and implementation, High-Level Synthesis for Reconfigurable Devices, Temporal placement, On-line and Dynamic Interconnection, Designing a reconfigurable application on Xilinx Virtex FPGA, System on programmable chip, Applications.

This fascinating book is a treatise on real space-age materials. It is a mathematical treatment of a novel concept in material science that characterizes the properties of dynamic materials-that is, material substances whose properties are variable in space and time. Unlike conventional composites that are often found in nature, dynamic materials are mostly the products of modern technology developed to maintain the most effective control over dynamic processes.

This comprehensive book makes the important technologies and mathematical concepts behind today's optical communications systems accessible and understandable to practicing and future electrical and communication engineers. Featuring nearly 400 figures and over 900 equations, the book provides the practical engineering details and mathematical tools necessary to analyze and design optical fiber systems.

This thesis examines electrode materials such as mesoporous carbons, manganese oxides, iron oxides and their nanohybrids with graphene. It also explores several of the key scientific issues that act as the governing principles for future development of supercapacitors, which are a promising class of high-efficiency energy storage devices for tackling a key aspect of the energy crisis. However, critical technical issues, such as the low energy density and reliability, need to be addressed before they can be extended to a wide range of applications with much improved performance. Currently available material candidates for the electrodes all have their disadvantages, such as a low specific capacitance or poor conductivity for transition metal oxide/hydroxide-based materials. This thesis addresses these important issues, and develops a high-performance, flexible asymmetric supercapacitor with manganese oxides/reduced graphene oxide as the positive electrode and iron oxide/reduced graphene oxide as the anode, which delivers a high energy density of 0.056 Wh cm-3.

The series Topics in Current Chemistry Collections presents critical reviews from the journal Topics in Current Chemistry organized in topical volumes. The scope of coverage is all areas of chemical science including the interfaces with related disciplines such as biology, medicine and materials science. The goal of each thematic volume is to give the non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience. Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field.

This thesis presents the latest findings on macroscopic-scale nanowire thin films composed of integrated nanowires. It introduces readers to essential synthesis and assembly strategies for the design and fabrication of high-quality nanowire thin films, and discusses their underlying principles in detail. The book highlights examples specific to well-aligned nanowire systems, and explores the applications of nanowire systems, including memory devices, flexible transparent electrodes, etc. The book offers a valuable resource for researchers and graduate students working in materials science, especially in nanowire device fabrication.

This book is focused on the study of physical mechanisms and device design for achieving high-performance infrared photodetection based on low-dimensional materials. Through theory analysis, material characterization and photo-electric measurements, it provides solutions to the trade-off problems which are commonly encountered in traditional infrared photodetectors and presents novel methods to improve the responsivity, detectivity and response speed. Researchers and scientists in the field of opto-electronic device can benefit from the book.

Presents information in a user-friendly, easy-access way so that the book can act as either a quick reference for more experienced engineers or as an introductory guide for new engineers and college graduates.

Fundamentals of Switching Theory and Logic Design discusses the basics of switching theory and logic design from a slightly alternative point of view and also presents links between switching theory and related areas of signal processing and system theory. Switching theory is a branch of applied mathematic providing mathematical foundations for logic design, which can be considered as a part of digital system design concerning realizations of systems whose inputs and outputs are described by logic functions.

Since scaling of CMOS is reaching the nanometer area serious limitations enforce the introduction of novel materials, device architectures and device concepts. Multi-gate devices employing high-k gate dielectrics are considered as promising solution overcoming these scaling limitations of conventional planar bulk CMOS. Variation Aware Analog and Mixed-Signal Circuit Design in Emerging Multi-Gate CMOS Technologies provides a technology oriented assessment of analog and mixed-signal circuits in emerging high-k and multi-gate CMOS technologies.

This book provides a single-source reference to the state-of-the art in tunneling field effect transistors (TFETs). Readers will learn the TFETs physics from advanced atomistic simulations, the TFETs fabrication process and the important roles that TFETs will play in enabling integrated circuit designs for power efficiency.