"Molecular Modeling and Multiscaling Issues for Electronic Material Applications" provides a snapshot on the progression of molecular modeling in the electronics industry and how molecular modeling is currently being used to understand material performance to solve relevant issues in this field. This book is intended to introduce the reader to the evolving role of molecular modeling, especially seen through the eyes of the IEEE community involved in material modeling for electronic applications. Part I presents the role that quantum mechanics can play in performance prediction, such as properties dependent upon electronic structure, but also shows examples how molecular models may be used in performance diagnostics, especially when chemistry is part of the performance issue. Part II gives examples of large-scale atomistic methods in material failure and shows several examples of transitioning between grain boundary simulations (on the atomistic level)and large-scale models including an example of the use of quasi-continuum methods that are being used to address multiscaling issues. Part III is a more specific look at molecular dynamics in the determination of the thermal conductivity of carbon-nanotubes. Part IV covers the many aspects of molecular modeling needed to understand the relationship between the molecular structure and mechanical performance of materials. Finally, Part V discusses the transitional topic of multiscale modeling and recent developments to reach the submicronscale using mesoscale models, including examples of direct scaling and parameterization from the atomistic to the coarse-grained particle level.
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This book is concerned with polymeric hydrogels, which are considered as one of the most promising types of new polymer-based materials. Each chapter in this book describes a selected class of polymeric hydrogels, such as superabsorbent hybrid nanohydrogels, conducting polymer hydrogels, polysaccharide-based or protein-based hydrogels, or gels based on synthetic polymers. In this way, the book also addresses some of the fascinating properties and applications of polymeric hydrogels: they are three-dimensional, hydrophilic, polymeric networks that can absorb, swell and retain large quantities of water or aqueous fluids. In combination with metal nanoparticles, nanofibrils or nanowhiskers, which may be embedded in the gels, they find widespread applications, ranging from agriculture, and waste water treatment, over electronics, to pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Applications mentioned in this book include electro sensors, capacitors, electromechanical actuators, and even artificial muscles.

Reviewing the development of optical fibre lasers and amplifiers over the past few years, this book is a compilation of chapters written by several contributors. Chapter 1 presents an overview and an historical introduction to the field. Chapter 2 is theoretical and introduces the concepts of energy levels and of lasing. Chapter 3 then discusses the fabrication of rare-earth doped optical fibres whilst chapter 4 covers the spectroscopy of rare-earth dopants in these fibres. Chapter 5 emphasizes the practical aspects of the laser amplifier. Chapter 6 moves on to the operation of erbium amplifiers in optical systems and a comparison is made here with other alternatives amplifying devices. Chapter 7 reviews work on fibre laser oscillators made in silica fibre, while chapter 8 covers similar work using fluoride glass fibres, an alternative glass host. Chapter 9 describes Q-switching and mode-locking in fibre lasers, and finally chapter 10 examines future prospects for these devices and discusses potential developments such as distributed fibre amplifiers, soliton propagation and the general use of fibre lasers in optical sensors.

Covers the statistical analysis and optimization issues arising due to increased process variations in current technologies.

Comprises a valuable reference for statistical analysis and optimization techniques in current and future VLSI design for CAD-Tool developers and for researchers interested in starting work in this very active area of research.

Written by author who lead much research in this area who provide novel ideas and approaches to handle the addressed issues

This book presents written versions of selected invited lectures from the spring meeting of the Arbeitskreis Festkorperphysik of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft which was held from 27 to 31 March 2006 in Dresden, Germany. Many topical talks given at the numerous symposia are included. Most of these were organized collaboratively by several of the divisions of the Arbeitskreis. The book presents, to some extent, the status of the field of solid-state physics in 2006 not only in Germany but also internationally.

The book develops a comprehensive understanding of the surface impedance of the oxide high-temperature superconductors in comparison with the conventional superconductor Nb3Sn. Linear and nonlinear microwave responses are treated separately, both in terms of models, theories or numerical approaches and in terms of experimental results. The theoretical treatment connects fundamental aspects of superconductivity to the specific high-frequency properties. The experimental data review the state of the art, as reported by many international groups. The book describes further the main features of appropriate preparation, handling, mounting, and refrigeration techniques, and finally discusses possible applications in passive and active microwave devices.

The book presents a comprehensive survey of the thermoballistic approach to charge carrier transport in semiconductors. This semi-classical approach, which the authors have developed over the past decade, bridges the gap between the opposing drift-diffusion and ballistic models of carrier transport. While incorporating basic features of the latter two models, the physical concept underlying the thermoballistic approach constitutes a novel, unifying scheme. It is based on the introduction of "ballistic configurations" arising from a random partitioning of the length of a semiconducting sample into ballistic transport intervals. Stochastic averaging of the ballistic carrier currents over the ballistic configurations results in a position-dependent thermoballistic current, which is the key element of the thermoballistic concept and forms the point of departure for the calculation of all relevant transport properties. In the book, the thermoballistic concept and its implementation are developed in great detail and specific examples of interest to current research in semiconductor physics and spintronics are worked out.

This book provides an in-depth, comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of the subject of plasma charging damage in modern VLSI circuit manufacturing. It is written for beginners as well as practitioners. For beginners, this book presents an easy-to-follow, unified explanation of various charging-damage phenomena, the goal being to provide them with a solid foundation for taking on real damage problems encountered in VLSI manufacturing. For practitioners, it can help bridge the gap between disciplines by providing all of the necessary background materials in one place.Drawing on the author's wide range of experience in plasma science, processing technologies, device physics and reliability physics, the text includes information on: - plasma and mechanisms of plasma damage;- wear-out and breakdown of thin gate-oxides;- the impact of processing equipment on damage;- methods of damage measurement;- damage management; - gate-oxide scaling.

We have reached the double conclusion: that invention is choice, that this choice is imperatively governed by the sense of scientific beauty. Hadamard (1945), Princeton University Press, by permission. The great majority of all sources and amplifiers of microwave energy, and all devices for receiving or detecting microwaves, use a semiconductor active element. The development of microwave semiconductor devices, de scribed in this book, has proceeded from the simpler, two-terminal, devices such as GUNN or IMPATT devices, which originated in the 1960s, to the sophisticated monolithic circuit MESFET three-terminal active elements, of the 1980s and 1990s. The microwave field has experienced a renais sance in electrical engineering departments in the last few years, and much of this growth has been associated with microwave semiconductor devices. The University of Massachusetts has recently developed a well recognized program in microwave engineering. Much of the momentum for this pro gram has been provided by interaction with industrial companies, and the influx of a large number of industry-supported students. This program had a need for a course in microwave semiconductor devices, which covered the physical aspects, as well as the aspects of interest to the engineer who incorporates such devices in his designs. It was also felt that it would be im portant to introduce the most recently developed devices (HFETs, HBTs, and other advanced devices) as early as possible."

Traditionally, Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools have been used to create the nominal design of an integrated circuit (IC), such that the circuit nominal response meets the desired performance specifications. In reality, however, due to the disturbances ofthe IC manufacturing process, the actual performancesof the mass produced chips are different than those for the nominal design. Even if the manufacturing process were tightly controlled, so that there were little variations across the chips manufactured, the environmentalchanges (e. g. those oftemperature, supply voltages, etc. ) would alsomakethe circuit performances vary during the circuit life span. Process-related performance variations may lead to low manufacturing yield, and unacceptable product quality. For these reasons, statistical circuit design techniques are required to design the circuit parameters, taking the statistical process variations into account. This book deals with some theoretical and practical aspects of IC statistical design, and emphasizes how they differ from those for discrete circuits. It de scribes a spectrum of different statistical design problems, such as parametric yield optimization, generalized on-target design, variability minimization, per formance tunning, and worst-case design. The main emphasis of the presen tation is placed on the principles and practical solutions for performance vari ability minimization. It is hoped that the book may serve as an introductory reference material for various groups of IC designers, and the methodologies described will help them enhance the circuit quality and manufacturability. The book containsseven chapters."

Physical properties and models of electronic structure are analyzed for a new class of high-TC superconductors which belong to iron-based layered compounds. Despite their variable chemical composition and differences in the crystal structure, these compounds possess similar physical characteristics, due to electron carriers in the FeAs layers and the interaction of these carriers with fluctuations of the magnetic order. A tremendous interest towards these materials is explained by the prospects of their practical use. In this monograph, a full picture of the formation of physical properties of these materials, in the context of existing theory models and electron structure studies, is given. The book is aimed at a broad circle of readers: physicists who study electronic properties of the FeAs compounds, chemists who synthesize them and specialists in the field of electronic structure calculations in solids. It is helpful not only to researchers active in the fields of superconductivity and magnetism, but also for graduate and postgraduate students and all those who would like to get acquaintained with this vivid area of the materials science.

This book covers the theoretical background, experimental methods and implementation details to engineer for communication and imaging application, terahertz devices using metamaterials, in mainstream semiconductor foundry processes. This book will provide engineers and physicists an authoritative reference to construct such devices with minimal background. The authors describe the design and construction of electromagnetic (EM) devices for terahertz frequencies (108-1010 cycles/sec) using artificial materials that are a fraction of the wavelength of the incident EM wave, resulting in an effective electric and magnetic properties (permittivity and permeability) that are unavailable in natural materials.

Recent years have seen silicon integrated circuits enter into an increasing number of technical and consumer applications, until they now affect everyday life, as well as technical areas. Polycrystalline silicon has been an important component of silicon technology for nearly two decades, being used first in MOS integrated circuits and now becoming pervasive in bipolar circuits, as well. During this time a great deal of informa tion has been published about polysilicon. A wide range of deposition conditions has been used to form films exhibiting markedly different properties. Seemingly contradictory results can often be explained by considering the details of the structure formed. This monograph is an attempt to synthesize much of the available knowledge about polysilicon. It represents an effort to interrelate the deposition, properties, and applications of polysilicon so that it can be used most effectively to enhance device and integrated-circuit perfor mance. As device performance improves, however, some of the proper ties of polysilicon are beginning to restrict the overall performance of integrated circuits, and the basic limitations of the properties of polysili con also need to be better understood to minimize potential degradation of circuit behavior."

Low-Grade Thermal Energy Harvesting: Advances in Thermoelectrics, Materials, and Emerging Applications provides readers with fundamental and key concepts surrounding low-grade thermal energy conversion while also reviewing the latest research directions. The book covers the most promising and emerging technologies for low-grade heat recovery, harvesting and conversion, including wearable thermoelectrics and organic thermoelectrics. Each chapter includes key materials, principles, design and fabrication strategies for low-grade heat recovery. Special attention on emerging materials such as organic composites, 2D materials and nanomaterials are also included. The book emphasizes materials and device structures that enable the powering of wearable electronics and consumer electronics. The book is suitable for materials scientists and engineers in academia and R&D in manufacturing, industry, energy and electronics.

An international team of experts describes the optical and electronic properties of semiconductors and semiconductor nanostructures at picosecond and femtosecond time scales. The contributions cover the latest research on a wide range of topics. In particular they include novel experimental techniques for studying and characterizing nanostructure materials. The contributions are written in a tutorial way so that not only researchers in the field but also researchers and graduate students outside the field can benefit.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the development, current state, and future prospects of wide bandgap semiconductor materials and related optoelectronics devices. With 901 references, 333 figures and 21 tables, this book will serve as a one-stop source of knowledge on wide bandgap semiconductors and related optoelectronics devices.

The book presents the modeling and control of hydrogen-air PEM fuel cells, including simultaneous estimation of the parameters and states, fuzzy cluster modeling, SPM-based predictive control and advanced fuzzy control. MATLAB/Simulink-based modeling and control programs are discussed in detail. With simulations and experiments, it is an essential reference for both scientists and industrial engineers.

This book covers different aspects of the physics of iron-based superconductors ranging from the theoretical, the numerical and computational to the experimental ones. It starts from the basic theory modeling many-body physics in Fe-superconductors and other multi-orbital materials and reaches up to the magnetic and Cooper pair fluctuations and nematic order. Finally, it offers a comprehensive overview of the most recent advancements in the experimental investigations of iron based superconductors.

The Physical Electronics Department of SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute) has been pioneering the development of devices fabricated to submicron tolerances for well over 20 years. In 1961, a landmark paper on electron-beam lithography and its associated technologies was published by K. R. Shoulderst (then at SRI), which set the stage for our subsequent efforts in this field. He had the foresight to believe that the building of such small devices was actually within the range of human capabilities. As a result of this initial momentum, our experience in the technologies associated with microfabrication has become remarkably comprehensive, despite the relatively small size of our research activity. We have frequently been asked to deliver seminars or provide reviews on various aspects of micro fabrication. These activities made us aware of the need for a comprehensive overview of the physics of microfabrication. We hope that this book will fill that need."

Authored by leading experts from around the world, the three-volume Handbook of Nanostructured Thin Films and Coatings gives scientific researchers and product engineers a resource as dynamic and flexible as the field itself. The first two volumes cover the latest research and application of the mechanical and functional properties of thin films and coatings, while the third volume explores the cutting-edge organic nanostructured devices used to produce clean energy.

This third volume, Organic Nanostructured Thin Film Devices and Coatings for Clean Energy, addresses various aspects of the processing and properties of organic thin films, devices, and coatings for clean energy applications. Topics covered include:

• Thin-film solar cells based on the use of polycrystalline thin-film materials
• Anodized titania nanotube array and its application in dye-sensitized solar cells
• Progress and challenges associated with photovoltaic applications of silicon nanocrystalline materials
• Semiconductive nanocomposite films for clean environment
• Thin-coating technologies and applications in high-temperature solid oxide fuel cells
• Nanoscale organic molecular thin films for information memory applications

A complete resource, this handbook provides the detailed explanations that newcomers need, as well as the latest cutting-edge research and data for experts. Covering a wide range of mechanical and functional technologies, including those used in clean energy, these books also feature figures, tables, and images that will aid research and help professionals acquire and maintain a solid grasp of this burgeoning field.

The Handbook of Nanostructured Thin Films and Coatings is composed of this volume and two others:

Nanostructured Thin Films and Coatings, Functional Properties

Nanostructured Thin Films and Coatings, Mechanical Properties

This book analyses different A/D-converter architectures with an emphasis on the maximum achievable power efficiency. It also provides an accessible overview of the state-of-the art in calibration techniques for Nyquist A/D converters. The calibration techniques presented are applicable to other analog-to-digital systems, such as those applied in integrated receivers. They allow implementation without introducing a speed or power penalty.

This seriesofbooks, which is publishedattherateofaboutoneper year, addresses fundamental problems in materialsscience.Thecontents coverabroadrangeoftopicsfromsmallclustersofatomstoengineering materials and involve chemistry, physics, materials science, and engineering,withlengthscalesrangingfromAngstromsuptomillimeters. Theemphasis is on basic scienceratherthan on applications. Each book focuses on a single areaofcurrent interest and brings together leading experts to give an up-to-date discussion oftheir work and the workof others. Each articlecontainsenough references thattheinterestedreader can access the relevant literature. Thanks are given to the Center for Fundamental Materials Research at Michigan State University for supportingthisseries. M.F.Thorpe,SeriesEditor E-mail:[email protected] EastLansing,Michigan,November2002 v PREFACE ThisvolumerecordsinvitedlecturesgivenattheNewThermoelectric(TE)Materials Workshopheld inTraverseCity,MichiganfromAugust17-21,2002.Thethemeofthe workshop was Chemistry, PhysicsandMaterials ScienceofThermoelectric Materials: Beyond Bismuth Telluride. The objective of this symposium was threefold. First, to examine and assess the ability of solid state chemistry to produce new generation materials for TE applications. Second, to rationalize and predict the charge and heat transportpropertiesofpotentialcandidatesandhypotheticalsystemsthroughsolidstate theoryandexperiment.Third,toidentifyandprioritizeresearchneededtoreachvarious levelsofrequirementsintermsofZTandtemperature.Theseobjectiveswereaddressed by a series of invited talks and discussions by leading experts from academia, governmentlaboratories,andindustry. Thereweretwenty-twoinvitedandeightposterpresentations inthe workshop.Out ofthese,sixteeninvitedpresentationsarerepresentedinthisvolume.Theycoverawide range of subjects, starting from synthesis (based on different strategies) and characterizationofnovel materials to acareful studyoftheir transport properties and electronicstructure.Topicsaddressingtheissueofmakingnew materialsare: synthetic search for new materials (di Salvo et aI.) and synthetic strategies based on phase homologies (Kanatzidis). The different classes of materials covered are: bismuth nanowires (Dresselhausetal.), unconventional high-temperaturethermoelectrics, boron carbides (Aselage et aI.) , layered cobalt oxides (Fujii et aI.), early transition metal antimonides(KleinkeetaI.),skutterudites(Uher),andclathratethermoelectrics(Nolas).

Semiconductor materials have been studied intensively since the birth of silicon technology more than 50 years ago. The ability to physically and chemically t- lor their properties with precision is the key factor responsible for the electronic revolution in our society over the past few decades. Semiconductor material s- tems (like silicon and GaAs-related materials) have now matured and found well established applications in electronics, optoelectronics, and several other ?elds. Other materials such as III-Nitrides were developed later, in response to needs that the above mentioned semiconductors were unable to ful?ll. The properties of I- nitrides (AlN, GaN InN, and related alloy systems) make them an excellent choice for ef?cient light emitters in the visible as well as the UV region, UV detectors, and for a variety of electronic device such as high frequency unipolar power devices. There was a major upsurgein the research of the GaN material system around1970.

This book describes the characterization of liquid crystal materials at microwave frequencies and the usage of these materials in reconfigurable planar antennas and in their electrical tunable components. It reports for the first time the realization of a two-dimensional electronic beam steering antenna and polarization agile planar antennas with liquid crystal display technology. It gives a detailed description of all the theoretical analyses, modeling and design methods that were involved in the realization of these devices as well as their validation using measurement of demonstrative prototypes. This book also shows that low profile, low cost, high gain, electronic beam steering and polarization agile antennas can be fabricated in larger sizes by using existing automated liquid crystal display manufacturing techniques. The innovative ideas and method described in this work represent a considerable advancement in the field of electronically reconfigurable antennas based on liquid crystal technology and are expected to draw significant interest in the future. Such antennas may become important, for example, in mobile terminals integrated into the body of laptops (in the cover) or of automobiles (in the rooftop), ships or boats, for which flat, low-profile and low-cost antennas are required.

Silicon on Insulator is more than a technology, more than a job, and more than a venture in microelectronics; it is something different and refreshing in device physics. This book recalls the activity and enthu siasm of our SOl groups. Many contributing students have since then disappeared from the SOl horizon. Some of them believed that SOl was the great love of their scientific lives; others just considered SOl as a fantastic LEGO game for adults. We thank them all for kindly letting us imagine that we were guiding them. This book was very necessary to many people. SOl engineers will certainly be happy: indeed, if the performance of their SOl components is not always outstanding, they can now safely incriminate the relations given in the book rather than their process. Martine, Gunter, and Y. S. Chang can contemplate at last the amount of work they did with the figures. Our SOl accomplices already know how much we borrowed from their expertise and would find it indecent to have their detailed contri butions listed. Jean-Pierre and Dimitris incited the book, while sharing their experience in the reliability of floating bodies. Our families and friends now realize the SOl capability of dielectrically isolating us for about two years in a BOX. Our kids encouraged us to start writing. Our wives definitely gave us the courage to stop writing. They had a hard time fighting the symptoms of a rapidly developing SOl allergy."