This book covers high-transition temperature (Tc) s-wave superconductivity and the neighboring Mott insulating phase in alkali-doped fullerides. The author presents (1) a unified theoretical description of the phase diagram and (2) a nonempirical calculation of Tc. For these purposes, the author employs an extension of the DFT+DMFT (density-functional theory + dynamical mean-field theory). He constructs a realistic electron-phonon-coupled Hamiltonian with a newly formulated downfolding method. The Hamiltonian is analyzed by means of the extended DMFT. A notable aspect of the approach is that it requires only the crystal structure as a priori knowledge. Remarkably, the nonempirical calculation achieves for the first time a quantitative reproduction of the experimental phase diagram including the superconductivity and the Mott phase. The calculated Tc agrees well with the experimental data, with the difference within 10 K. The book provides details of the computational scheme, which can also be applied to other superconductors and other phonon-related topics. The author clearly describes a superconducting mechanism where the Coulomb and electron -phonon interactions show an unusual cooperation in the superconductivity thanks to the Jahn-Teller nature of the phonons.

This book presents an unconventional approach for implementing chipless radiofrequency identification (RFID) systems and related sensors. Contrary to most state-of-the-art chipless-RFID systems, the proposed approach is based on time domain and the tags are read through near field. The book discusses different aspects of these chipless-RFID systems, including tag and reader design, strategies to enhance the data density and capacity, tag programming and erasing, tag implementation in plastic and paper substrates, and synchronous tag reading, among others. A tolerance analysis and validation of the different systems, as well as prospective applications, are also included. The book also offers a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in chipless-RFID technology, including a comparative analysis, which is extended also to chip-based RFID systems. Readers are expected to be familiar with RF/microwave engineering technology. Besides master's and postgraduate students, the book is intended for researchers in the field of radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology, and may be of interest for engineers working in the areas of wireless communications, automatic identification, security, authentication, microwave and wireless sensors, as well as those dealing with internet of things (IoT) and smart systems.

Despite the recent development and interest in the photonics of metallic wire structures, the relatively simple concepts and physics often remain obscured or poorly explained to those who do not specialize in the field. Electromagnetic Behaviour of Metallic Wire Structures provides a clear and coherent guide to understanding these phenomena without excessive numerical calculations. Including both background material and detailed derivations of the various different formulae applied, Electromagnetic Behaviour of Metallic Wire Structures describes how to extend basic circuit theory relating to voltages, currents, and resistances of metallic wire networks to include situations where the currents are no longer spatially uniform along the wire. This lays a foundation for a deeper understanding of the many new phenomena observed in meta-electromagnetic materials. Examples of applications are included to support this new approach making Electromagnetic Behaviour of Metallic Wire Structures a comprehensive and self-contained volume suitable for use by specialists, non-specialist, researchers and professionals in other relevant fields and even students.

This textbook sets out to enable readers to understand fundamental aspects underlying quantum macroscopic phenomena in solids, primarily through the modern experimental techniques and results. The classic independent-electrons approach for describing the electronic structure in terms of energy bands helps explain the occurrence of metals, insulators and semiconductors. It is underlined that superconductivity and magnetism can only be understood by taking into account the interactions between electrons. The text recounts the experimental observations that have revealed the main properties of the superconductors and were essential to track its physical origin. While fundamental concepts are underlined, those which are required to describe the high technology applications, present or future, are emphasized as well. Problem sets involve experimental approaches and tools which support a practical understanding of the materials and their behaviour.

The book is devoted to the problem of microgeometry properties and anisotropy relations in modern piezo-active composites. These materials are characterized by various electromechanical properties and remarkable abilities to convert mechanical energy into electric energy and vice versa. Advantages of the performance of the composites are discussed in the context of the orientation effects, first studied by the authors for main connectivity patterns and with due regard to a large anisotropy of effective piezoelectric coefficients and electromechanical coupling factors. The novelty of the book consists in the systematization results of orientation effects, the anisotropy of piezoelectric properties and their role in forming considerable hydrostatic piezoelectric coefficients, electromechanical coupling factors and other parameters in the composites based on either ferroelectric ceramic or relaxor-ferroelectric single crystals.

Offering thorough coverage of atomic layer deposition (ALD), this book moves from basic chemistry of ALD and modeling of processes to examine ALD in memory, logic devices and machines. Reviews history, operating principles and ALD processes for each device.

This book represents a significant advance in our understanding of the synthesis and properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials. The author's work breaks new ground in the understanding of a number of 2D crystals, including atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides, graphene, and their heterostructures, that are technologically important to next-generation electronics. In addition to critical new results on the direct growth of 2D heterostructures, it also details growth mechanisms, surface science, and device applications of "epi-grade" 2D semiconductors, which are essential to low-power electronics, as well as for extending Moore's law. Most importantly, it provides an effective alternative to mechanically exfoliate 2D layers for practical applications.

Active RC filters were first applied in the late 1950s. Since then, there has been a rapid development in both theoretical research and practical realization methods, as witnessed by the appearance of some 3,000 publications on active RC filters. This abundance of literature has, however, caused a great deal of confusion for non-specialist engineers. In order to solve a problem of filter design, a prolonged study is usually needed in order to make the correct choice between a wide variety of filter structures. Furthermore, most publications are intended to solve detailed problems for experts in the field, with little useful contribution for practising electrical engineers.
Now, with the aid of this book, the designer can find the structure and circuit elements of a specified active RC filter with relatively few calculations. Moreover, the filter thus designed will have transfer characteristics within the specified tolerances, and will comprise the least expensive (i.e. highest tolerance) components.

This book offers an extensive introduction to the extremely rich and intriguing field of spin-related phenomena in semiconductors. In this second edition, all chapters have been updated to include the latest experimental and theoretical research. Furthermore, it covers the entire field: bulk semiconductors, two-dimensional semiconductor structures, quantum dots, optical and electric effects, spin-related effects, electron-nuclei spin interactions, Spin Hall effect, spin torques, etc. Thanks to its self-contained style, the book is ideally suited for graduate students and researchers new to the field.

This book presents the latest techniques for characterization, modeling and design for nano-scale non-volatile memory (NVM) devices. Coverage focuses on fundamental NVM device fabrication and characterization, internal state identification of memristic dynamics with physics modeling, NVM circuit design and hybrid NVM memory system design-space optimization. The authors discuss design methodologies for nano-scale NVM devices from a circuits/systems perspective, including the general foundations for the fundamental memristic dynamics in NVM devices. Coverage includes physical modeling, as well as the development of a platform to explore novel hybrid CMOS and NVM circuit and system design. * Offers readers a systematic and comprehensive treatment of emerging nano-scale non-volatile memory (NVM) devices; * Focuses on the internal state of NVM memristic dynamics, novel NVM readout and memory cell circuit design and hybrid NVM memory system optimization; * Provides both theoretical analysis and practical examples to illustrate design methodologies; * Illustrates design and analysis for recent developments in spin-toque-transfer, domain-wall racetrack and memristors.

For upper-level undergraduate students, and first-year graduate students in materials science, metallurgy, electrical engineering, and applied physics.;This Third Edition is the result of a thorough re-examination of the entire text, incorporating suggestions and corrections by students and professors who have used the text. Explanations and descriptions have been expanded, and additional information has beeen added on high Tc, superconductors, diamond films, "buckminsterfullerene", and thin magnetic materials. Adopted by more than 20 colleges and universities, this text has proven to be a solid introduction to the electrical, optical, and magnetic properties of materials.;It contains comprehensive coverage of electronic properties in metals, semiconductors, and insulators at a fundamental level; stresses the use of wave properties as an integrating theme for the discussion of phonons, photons, and electrons; includes a complete set of illustrative problems along with exercises and answers; and features a careful indication of both Gaussian and SI unit systems.

This book, "Integrated Chemical Microsensor Systems in CMOS Technology," provides a comprehensive treatment of the highly interdisciplinary field of CMOS chemical microsensor systems. It is targeted at students, scientists and engineers who are interested in gaining an introduction to the field of chemical sensing since all the necessary fundamental knowledge is included. However, as it provides detailed information on all important issues related to the realization of chemical microsensors in CMOS technology, it also addresses experts well familiar with the field.

After a brief introduction, the fundamentals of chemical sensing are presented. Fabrication and processing steps that are commonly used in the semiconductor industry are then detailed followed by a short description of the microfabrication techniques, and of the CMOS substrate and materials. Thereafter, a comprehensive overview of semiconductor-based and CMOS-based transducer structures for chemical sensors is given. CMOS-technology is then introduced as platform technology, which enables the integration of these microtransducers with the necessary driving and signal conditioning circuitry on the same chip. In a next section, the development of monolithic multisensor arrays and fully developed microsystems with on-chip sensor control and standard interfaces is described. A short section on packaging shows that techniques from the semiconductor industry can be applied to chemical microsensor packaging. The book concludes with a brief outlook on future developments, such as the realization of more complex integrated microsensor systems and methods to interface biological materials, such as cells, with CMOS microelectronics.

This book describes the fascinating recent advances made concerning the chaos, stability and instability of semiconductor lasers, and discusses their applications and future prospects in detail. It emphasizes the dynamics in semiconductor lasers by optical and electronic feedback, optical injection, and injection current modulation. Applications of semiconductor laser chaos, control and noise, and semiconductor lasers are also demonstrated. Semiconductor lasers with new structures, such as vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers and broad-area semiconductor lasers, are intriguing and promising devices. Current topics include fast physical number generation using chaotic semiconductor lasers for secure communication, development of chaos, quantum-dot semiconductor lasers and quantum-cascade semiconductor lasers, and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers. This fourth edition has been significantly expanded to reflect the latest developments. The fundamental theory of laser chaos and the chaotic dynamics in semiconductor lasers are discussed, but also for example the method of self-mixing interferometry in quantum-cascade lasers, which is indispensable in practical applications. Further, this edition covers chaos synchronization between two lasers and the application to secure optical communications. Another new topic is the consistency and synchronization property of many coupled semiconductor lasers in connection with the analogy of the dynamics between synaptic neurons and chaotic semiconductor lasers, which are compatible nonlinear dynamic elements. In particular, zero-lag synchronization between distant neurons plays a crucial role for information processing in the brain. Lastly, the book presents an application of the consistency and synchronization property in chaotic semiconductor lasers, namely a type of neuro-inspired information processing referred to as reservoir computing.

TiO2 Nanotube Arrays: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications is the first book to provide an overview of this rapidly growing field. Vertically oriented, highly ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays are unique and easily fabricated materials with an architecture that demonstrates remarkable charge transfer as well as photocatalytic properties. This volume includes an introduction to TiO2 nanotube arrays, as well as a description of the material properties and distillation of the current research. Applications considered include gas sensing, heterojunction solar cells, water photoelectrolysis, photocatalytic CO2 reduction, as well as several biomedical applications. Written by leading researchers in the field, TiO2 Nanotube Arrays: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications is a valuable reference for chemists, materials scientists and engineers involved with renewable energy sources, biomedical engineering, and catalysis, to cite but a few examples.

The book gives an overview of the state-of-the-art in SigmaDelta design and of the challenges for future realizations. It provides an understanding of the fundamental power efficiency of SigmaDelta converters. In addition, it presents an analysis of the power consumption in the decimation filter. Understanding these power/performance trade-offs, it becomes clear that straight-forward digitization of a conditioning channel, i.e. exchanging analog for digital conditioning, comes at a major power penalty.

Using the nano metric resolution of atomic force microscopy techniques, this work explores the rich fundamental physics and novel functionalities of domain walls in ferroelectric materials, the nano scale interfaces separating regions of differently oriented spontaneous polarization. Due to the local symmetry-breaking caused by the change in polarization, domain walls are found to possess an unexpected lateral piezoelectric response, even when this is symmetry-forbidden in the parent material. This has interesting potential applications in electromechanical devices based on ferroelectric domain patterning. Moreover, electrical conduction is shown to arise at domain walls in otherwise insulating lead zirconate titanate, the first such observation outside of multiferroic bismuth ferrite, due to the tendency of the walls to localize defects. The role of defects is then explored in the theoretical framework of disordered elastic interfaces possessing a characteristic roughness scaling and complex dynamic response. It is shown that the heterogeneous disorder landscape in ferroelectric thin films leads to a breakdown of the usual self-affine roughness, possibly related to strong pinning at individual defects. Finally, the roles of varying environmental conditions and defect densities in domain switching are explored and shown to be adequately modelled as a competition between screening effects and pinning.

Micro/nano-mechanical systems are a crucial part of the modern world providing a plethora of sensing and actuation functionalities used in everything from the largest cargo ships to the smallest hand-held electronics; from the most advanced scientific and medical equipment to the simplest household items. Over the past few decades, the processes used to produce these devices have improved, supporting dramatic reductions in size, but there are fundamental limits to this trend that require a new production paradigm. The 2004 discovery of graphene ushered in a new era of condensed matter physics research, that of two-dimensional materials. Being only a few atomic layers thick, this new class of materials exhibit unprecedented mechanical strength and flexibility and can couple to electric, magnetic and optical signals. Additionally, they can be combined to form van der Waals heterostructures in an almost limitless number of ways. They are thus ideal candidates to reduce the size and extend the capabilities of traditional micro/nano-mechanical systems and are poised to redefine the technological sphere. This thesis attempts to develop the framework and protocols required to produce and characterise micro/nano-mechanical devices made from two-dimensional materials. Graphene and its insulating analogue, hexagonal boron nitride, are the most widely studied materials and their heterostructures are used as the test-bed for potential device architectures and capabilities. Interlayer friction, electro-mechanical actuation and surface reconstruction are some of the key phenomena investigated in this work.

This book reviews the current state-of-the art of single layer silicene up to thicker silicon nanosheets, and their structure, properties and potential applications. Silicene is a newly discovered material that is one atomic layer think. It is a two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterial that is classified as a nanosheet, which has large lateral dimensions up to micrometres, but thicknesses of only nanometres or less. Silicon nanosheets are currently a very 'hot' area of research. The unique properties and morphology of such materials make them ideal for a variety of applications, including electronic devices, batteries and sensors. 2D nanosheets of silicon can be considered as analogues of graphene. As silicon is already the major component of electronic devices, the significance of nanosheets composed of silicon is that they can be more easily integrated into existing electronic devices. Furthermore, if 2D nanostructured Si can be implemented into such devices, then their size could be reduced into the nano-regime, providing unique properties different from bulk Si that is currently employed. The book is written for researchers and graduate students.

"Integrated 60GHz RF Beamforming in CMOS "describes new concepts and design techniques that can be used for 60GHz phased array systems. First, general trends and challenges in low-cost high data-rate 60GHz wireless system are studied, and the phased array technique is introduced to improve the system performance. Second, the system requirements of phase shifters are analyzed, and different phased array architectures are compared. Third, the design and implementation of 60GHz passive and active phase shifters in a CMOS technology are presented. Fourth, the integration of 60GHz phase shifters with other key building blocks such as low noise amplifiers and power amplifiers are described in detail. Finally, this book describes the integration of a 60GHz CMOS amplifier and an antenna in a printed circuit-board (PCB) package.

This book discusses the development of Fano-based techniques and reveals the characteristic properties of various wave processes by studying interference phenomena. It explains that the interaction of discrete (localized) states with a continuum of propagation modes leads to Fano interference effects in transmission, and explores novel coherent effects such as bound states in the continuum accompanied by collapse of Fano resonance. Originating in atomic physics, Fano resonances have become one of the most appealing phenomena of wave scattering in optics, microwaves, and terahertz techniques. The generation of extremely strong and confined fields at a deep subwavelength scale, far beyond the diffraction limit, plays a central role in modern plasmonics, magnonics, and in photonic and metamaterial structures. Fano resonance effects take advantage of the coupling of these bound states with a continuum of radiative electromagnetic waves. With their unique physical properties and unusual combination of classical and quantum structures, Fano resonances have an application potential in a wide range of fields, from telecommunication to ultrasensitive biosensing, medical instrumentation and data storage. Including contributions by international experts and covering the essential aspects of Fano-resonance effects, including theory, modeling and design, proven and potential applications in practical devices, fabrication, characterization and measurement, this book enables readers to acquire the multifaceted understanding required for these multidisciplinary challenges.

Nonlinear optical (NLO) phenomena such as frequency conversion have played a key role in the development of photonic technologies. This thesis reports a detailed study of the molecular response of a large variety of push-pull organic compounds using the Second Harmonic Generation technique, which will serve as a starting point for the investigation at the macroscopic scale of azobenzene-based liquid crystalline polymeric films and their blends with highly efficient NLO
chromophores. These materials are designed with the aim of exploiting their photoadressability in order to tailor their nonlinear behaviour. The magnitude and symmetry of their NL response was successfully controlled via light irradiation and thermal treatments. Moreover, as a specific application, the recording of efficient NLO gratings was achieved.

This book covers the topic of vibration energy harvesting using piezoelectric materials. Piezoelectric materials are analyzed in the context of their electromechanical coupling, heterogeneity, microgeometry and interrelations between electromechanical properties. Piezoelectric ceramics and composites based on ferroelectrics are advanced materials that are suitable for harvesting mechanical energy from vibrations using inertial energy harvesting which relies on the resistance of a mass to acceleration and kinematic energy harvesting which couples the energy harvester to the relative movement of different parts of a source. In addition to piezoelectric materials, research efforts to develop optimization methods for complex piezoelectric energy harvesters are also reviewed. The book is important for specialists in the field of modern advanced materials and will stimulate new effective piezotechnical applications.

This book presents the current knowledge about nonlinear localized travelling excitations in crystals. Excitations can be vibrational, electronic, magnetic or of many other types, in many different types of crystals, as silicates, semiconductors and metals. The book is dedicated to the British scientist FM Russell, recently turned 80. He found 50 years ago that a mineral mica muscovite was able to record elementary charged particles and much later that also some kind of localized excitations, he called them quodons, was also recorded. The tracks, therefore, provide a striking experimental evidence of quodons existence. The first chapter by him presents the state of knowledge in this topic. It is followed by about 18 chapters from world leaders in the field, reviewing different aspects, materials and methods including experiments, molecular dynamics and theory and also presenting the latest results. The last part includes a personal narration of FM Russell of the deciphering of the marks in mica. It provides a unique way to present the science in an accessible way and also illustrates the process of discovery in a scientist's mind.

This book explains physics under the operating principles of semiconductor lasers in detail based on the experience of the author, dealing with the first manufacturing of phase-shifted DFB-LDs and recent research on transverse modes. The book also bridges a wide gap between journal papers and textbooks, requiring only an undergraduate-level knowledge of electromagnetism and quantum mechanics, and helps readers to understand journal papers where definitions of some technical terms vary, depending on the paper. Two definitions of the photon density in the rate equations and two definitions of the phase-shift in the phase-shifted DFB-LD are explained, and differences in the calculated results are indicated, depending on the definitions. Readers can understand the physics of semiconductor lasers and analytical tools for Fabry-Perot LDs, DFB-LDs, and VCSELs and will be stimulated to develop semiconductor lasers themselves.

Combining ready-to-use programs, design formulas, design theory and optimization algorithms for linear microwave circuits, this book contains source code for the various programs cited in the text. A special floppy disk that contains the source code is available.