This book deals with basic aspects of polymer electronics and optoelectronics. There is an enormous world-wide effort both in basic scientific research as well as in industrial development in the area of organic electronics. It is becoming increasingly clear that, if devices based on organic materials are ever going to have a significant relevance beyond being a cheap replacement for inorganic semiconductors, there will be a need to understand interface formation, film growth and functionality. A control of these aspects will allow the realisation of totally new device concepts exploiting the enormous flexibility inherent in organic chemistry. In this book we focus on oligomeric/molecular films as we believe that the control of molecular structures and interfaces provides highly defined systems which allow, on the one hand the study of the basic physics and on the other hand to find the important parameters necessary to improve organic devices.

Diluted magnetic semiconductors, or semimagnetic semiconductors, seemed for a while to be one of those research topics whose glory (i. e. , the period of most ext- sive research) belongedalready to the past. This particularlyapplied to "traditional" diluted magnetic semiconductors, i. e. , substitutional alloys of either II-VI or IV-VI semiconductors with transition metal ions. Fortunately, a discovery, in the beg- ning of the nineties [1,2], of ferromagnetic ordering in III-V DMSs with critical temperatures reaching 170 K has renewed and greatly intensi ed an interest in those materials. This was, at least partially, related to expectations that their Curie temperatures can be relatively easily brought to room temperature range through a clearly delineatedpath and,partially,due to the great successes, also commercial,of metallic version of spintronics, which earned its founders the Nobel Prize in 2007. The semiconductor version of spintronics has attracted researchers also because of hopes to engage it in efforts to construct quantum information processing devices. While these hopes and expectations are not fully realized yet, the effort is going on. As a goodexampleof recentachievements,new resultson quantumdotsconta- ing a single magnetic ion should be mentioned. A great progress has been achieved in studies of excitonic states in such quantum dots, so far limited to InAs/GaAs [3,4] and CdTe/ZnTe [5,6] material systems and to Manganese as the magnetic ion. Furthermore, in the II-VI QDs, rst results on the optical control of the Mn spin states havebeenexperimentallydemonstrated[7-9]andtheoreticallyanalyzed[10]; the studies of Mn spin dynamics and control in III-V QDs will certainly follow.

219 8. 2 Sensors 221 8. 3 Physical Sensors 222 8. 3. 1 Electrical Sensing Means 223 8. 3. 2 Magnetic Field Methods 231 8. 3. 3 Optical Methods 232 8. 4 Chemical Sensors 241 8. 4. 1 Electrical Gas and Chemical Sensors 243 8. 4. 2 Guided-Optics Intrinsic Chemical Sensors 246 8. 4. 3 Extrinsic Chemical Sensors 250 8. 4. 4 Polymer Waveguide Chemical Sensors 251 8. 4. 5 Surface Plasmon Chemical Sensors 252 8. 4. 6 Indicator-Mediated Extrinsic Sensing 253 8. 4. 7 Optical Biosensors 256 8. 4. 8 Ultrasonic Gas and Chemical Sensors 257 8. 4. 9 Intelligent Sensors 258 8. 5 Connections/Links and Wiring 258 8. 5. 1 Optical Links 260 8. 5. 2 Requirement on the Processing Unit/Intelligence 262 8. 6 Actuators 263 8. 7 Signal Processing/Computing 264 8. 7. 1 Implicit Computation 266 8. 7. 2 Explicit Computation 267 8. 8 References 274 Subject Index 279 Micro-Actuators (Electrical, Magnetic, Thermal, Optical, Mechanical, and Chemical) It has become quite apparent that sensors and actuators are the main bottleneck of the modem information processing and control systems. Microprocessors and computers used to be the main limiting element in most information processing systems. But thanks to the enonnous progress in the microelectronics industry, most information analysis tasks can be processed in real time. The data has to be acquired by the processor in some form and processed and used to produce some useful function in the real world.

This book presents selected papers from the fourth edition of the GraphX conference series, GraphITA 2015. Its content range from fundamentals to applications of graphene and other 2D material such as silicene, BN and MoS2. The newest technological challenges in the field are described in this book, written by worldwide known scientists working with 2D materials.The chapter 'Morphing Graphene-Based Systems for Applications: Perspectives from Simulations' is published open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.

This book systematically discusses the modeling and application of transfer manipulation for flexible electronics packaging, presenting multiple processes according to the geometric sizes of the chips and devices as well as the detailed modeling and computation steps for each process. It also illustrates the experimental design of the equipment to help readers easily learn how to use it. This book is a valuable resource for scholars and graduate students in the research field of microelectronics.

Device and Circuit Cryogenic Operation for Low Temperature Electronics is a first in reviewing the performance and physical mechanisms of advanced devices and circuits at cryogenic temperatures that can be used for many applications. The first two chapters cover bulk silicon and SOI MOSFETs. The electronic transport in the inversion layer, the influence of impurity freeze-out, the special electrical properties of SOI structures, the device reliability and the interest of a low temperature operation for the ultimate integration of silicon down to nanometer dimensions are described. The next two chapters deal with Silicon-Germanium and III-V Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors, as well as III-V High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMT). The basic physics of the SiGe HBT and its unique cryogenic capabilities, the optimization of such bipolar devices, and the performance of SiGe HBT BiCMOS technology at liquid nitrogen temperature are examined. The physical effects in III-V semiconductors at low temperature, the HEMT and HBT static, high frequency and noise properties, and the comparison of various cooled III-V devices are also addressed. The next chapter treats quantum effect devices made of silicon materials. The major quantum effects at low temperature, quantum wires, quantum dots as well as single electron devices and applications are investigated. The last chapter overviews the performances of cryogenic circuits and their applications. The low temperature properties and performance of inverters, multipliers, adders, operational amplifiers, memories, microprocessors, imaging devices, circuits and systems, sensors and read-out circuits are analyzed. Device and Circuit Cryogenic Operation for Low Temperature Electronics is useful for researchers, engineers, Ph.D. and M.S. students working in the field of advanced electron devices and circuits, new semiconductor materials, and low temperature electronics and physics.

This book contains the selected papers of the Sixth International Workshop on Medical and Service Robots (MESROB 2018), held in Cassino, Italy, in 2018. The main topics of the workshop include: design of medical devices, kinematics and dynamics for medical robotics, exoskeletons and prostheses, anthropomorphic hands , therapeutic robots and rehabilitation, cognitive robots, humanoid and service robots, assistive robots and elderly assistance, surgical robots, human-robot interfaces, haptic devices, and medical treatments.

This book illustrates original pathways to manipulate light at the nanoscale by means of surface electromagnetic waves (here, Bloch surface waves, BSWs) on planar dielectric multilayers, also known as one-dimensional photonic crystals. This approach is particularly valuable as it represents an effective alternative to the widely exploited surface plasmon paradigm. After a brief overview on the fundamentals of BSWs, several significant applications of BSW-sustaining structures are described. Particular consideration is given to the propagation, guiding, and diffraction of BSW-coupled radiation. Further, the interaction of organic emitters with BSWs on planar and corrugated multilayers is investigated, including fluorescence beaming in free space. To provide greater insight into sensing applications, an illustrative example of fluorescent microarray-based detection is presented. The book is intended for scientists and researchers working on photon management opportunities in fields such as biosensing, optical circuitry, and lighting.

This book is devoted to nonmetal-to-metal transitions. The original ideas of Mott for such a transition in solids have been adapted to describe a broad variety of phenomena in condensed matter physics (solids, liquids, and fluids), in plasma and cluster physics, as well as in nuclear physics (nuclear matter and quark-gluon systems). The book gives a comprehensive overview of theoretical methods and experimental results of the current research on the Mott effect for this wide spectrum of topics. The fundamental problem is the transition from localized to delocalized states which describes the nonmetal-to-metal transition in these diverse systems. Based on the ideas of Mott, Hubbard, Anderson as well as Landau and Zeldovich, internationally respected scientists present the scientific challenges and highlight the enormous progress which has been achieved over the last years. The level of description is aimed to specialists in these fields as well as to young scientists who will get an overview for their own work. A common feature of all contribution is the extensive discussion of bound states," i.e. their formation and dissolution due to medium effects. This applies to atoms and molecules in plasmas, fluids, and small clusters, excitons in semiconductors, or nucleons, deuterons, and alpha-particles in nuclear matter. In this way, the transition from delocalized to localized states and vice versa can be described on a common level."

This book presents an innovative concept for the realization of sensors based on a planar metamaterial microwave array and shows their application in biomedical analysis and treatment. The sensors are able to transduce the dielectric properties of materials in their direct vicinity into an electric signal. The specific array organization permits a simultaneous analysis of several materials using a single readout signal or a relative characterization of one material where information about its spatial distribution can be extracted. Two applications of the designed sensors are described here: the first is a cytological screening using micro fluidic technology, which shows that the sensors may be integrated into lab-on-chip technologies; the second application regards the use of the sensor in both the analysis and treatment of organic tissues. The developed sensor is able not only to screen the tissues for abnormalities, but also, by changing the applied signals, to perform thermal ablation and treat the abnormalities in a highly focused way. Thus, the research described in this book represents a considerable advancement in the field of biomedical microwave sensing.

Ambient intelligence is the vision of a technology that will become invisibly embedded in our natural surroundings, present whenever we need it, enabled by simple and effortless interactions, attuned to all our senses, adaptive to users and context-sensitive, and autonomous. High-quality information access and personalized content must be available to everybody, anywhere, and at any time. This book addresses ambient intelligence used to support human contacts and accompany an individual's path through the complicated modern world. From the technical standpoint, distributed electronic intelligence is addressed as hardware vanishing into the background. Devices used for ambient intelligence are small, low-power, low weight, and (very importantly) low-cost; they collaborate or interact with each other; and they are redundant and error-tolerant. This means that the failure of one device will not cause failure of the whole system. Since wired connections often do not exist, radio methods will play an important role for data transfer. This book addresses various aspects of ambient intelligence, from applications that are imminent since they use essentially existing technologies, to ambitious ideas whose realization is still far away, due to major unsolved technical challenges.

The first comprehensive text on microhotplate-based chemical sensor systems in CMOS-technology covers all aspects of successful sensor prototyping: theoretical considerations for modelling, controller- and system design, simulation of circuits and microsensors, design considerations, microfabrication, packaging and testing. A whole family of metal-oxide based microsensor systems with increasing complexity is presented, including fully integrated sensor arrays. This represents one of the first examples of integrated nanomaterials, microtechnology and embedded circuitry.

A discussion of recently developed experimental methods for noise research in nanoscale electronic devices, conducted by specialists in transport and stochastic phenomena in nanoscale physics. The approach described is to create methods for experimental observations of noise sources, their localization and their frequency spectrum, voltage-current and thermal dependences. Our current knowledge of measurement methods for mesoscopic devices is summarized to identify directions for future research, related to downscaling effects.

The directions for future research into fluctuation phenomena in quantum dot and quantum wire devices are specified. Nanoscale electronic devices will be the basic components for electronics of the 21st century. From this point of view the signal-to-noise ratio is a very important parameter for the device application. Since the noise is also a quality and reliability indicator, experimental methods will have a wide application in the future.

Liquid Crystal Display Drivers deals with Liquid Crystal Displays from the electronic engineering point of view and is the first expressively focused on their driving circuits. After introducing the physical-chemical properties of the LC substances, their evolution and application to LCDs, the book converges to the examination and in-depth explanation of those reliable techniques, architectures, and design solutions amenable to efficiently design drivers for passive-matrix and active-matrix LCDs, both for small size and large size panels. Practical approaches regularly adopted for mass production but also emerging ones are discussed. The topics treated have in many cases general validity and found application also in alternative display technologies (OLEDs, Electrophoretic Displays, etc.).

To handle many standards and ever increasing bandwidth requirements, large number of filters and switches are used in transceivers of modern wireless communications systems. It makes the cost, performance, form factor, and power consumption of these systems, including cellular phones, critical issues. At present, the fixed frequency filter banks based on Film Bulk Acoustic Resonators (FBAR) are regarded as one of the most promising technologies to address performance -form factor-cost issues. Even though the FBARs improve the overall performances the complexity of these systems remains high. Attempts are being made to exclude some of the filters by bringing the digital signal processing (including channel selection) as close to the antennas as possible. However handling the increased interference levels is unrealistic for low-cost battery operated radios. Replacing fixed frequency filter banks by one tuneable filter is the most desired and widely considered scenario. As an example, development of the software based cognitive radios is largely hindered by the lack of adequate agile components, first of all tuneable filters. In this sense the electrically switchable and tuneable FBARs are the most promising components to address the complex cost-performance issues in agile microwave transceivers, smart wireless sensor networks etc. Tuneable Film Bulk Acoustic Wave Resonators discusses FBAR need, physics, designs, modelling, fabrication and applications. Tuning of the resonant frequency of the FBARs is considered. Switchable and tuneable FBARs based on electric field induced piezoelectric effect in paraelectric phase ferroelectrics are covered. The resonance of these resonators may be electrically switched on and off and tuned without hysteresis. The book is aimed at microwave and sensor specialists in the industry and graduate students. Readers will learn about principles of operation and possibilities of the switchable and tuneable FBARs, and will be given general guidelines for designing, fabrication and applications of these devices.

The information revolution of the twentieth century was brought about by microelectronics based on a simple and common material, silicon. Although silicon will continue to be of central importance in the next century, carbon, silicon's upstairs neighbor in the periodic table, will also be of great impor tance in future technology. Carbon has more flexible bonding and hence has various unique physical, chemical and biological properties. It has two types of bonding, sp3 and sp2, in diamond and graphite, respectively. The existence of the latter, "7r-electron bonding," is responsible for carbon's versatile tal ents. Those materials having extended 7r-electron clouds are called '7r-electron materials'. They include graphite, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes and various carbonaceous materials. They may be called "supercarbon" because of their fabulous multiformity and versatile properties. This volume is a status report on the synthesis, properties and appli cations of 7r-electron materials, representing an updated proceedings of the International Workshop on 7r-Electron Materials held at the Northwestern University, 'Evanston, Illinois, USA, August 13-14,1996. The Workshop was organized jointly by the Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST) and the Materials Research Center at the Northwestern University (NWU) in order to provide an opportunity for scientists and engineers to meet and dis cuss the latest advances in this field and in commemoration of the Yoshimura 7r-Electron Materials Project, one of Japan's national projects in the JST's ERATO (Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology) program."

This book describes innovative design solutions for radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and antennas. Focusing mainly on passive ultra-high-frequency (UHF)-RFID tag antennas, it examines novel approaches based on the use of metamaterial-inspired resonators and other resonant structures as radiating elements. It also offers an exhaustive analysis of the radiation properties of several metamaterial-inspired resonators such as the split ring resonator (SRR) and related structures. Further, it discusses in detail an innovative technology for the RFID tagging of optical discs, which has demonstrated a significant improvement over the state of the art and resulted in a patent. By covering the entire research cycle of theory, design/simulation and fabrication/evaluation of RFID tags and antennas, while also reporting on cutting-edge technologies, the book provides graduate students, researchers and practitioners alike with a comprehensive and timely overview of RFID systems, and a closer look at several radiating structures.

This book is an introduction to the fundamentals of emerging non-volatile memories and provides an overview of future trends in the field. Readers will find coverage of seven important memory technologies, including Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FeRAM), Ferromagnetic RAM (FMRAM), Multiferroic RAM (MFRAM), Phase-Change Memories (PCM), Oxide-based Resistive RAM (RRAM), Probe Storage, and Polymer Memories. Chapters are structured to reflect diffusions and clashes between different topics. Emerging Non-Volatile Memories is an ideal book for graduate students, faculty, and professionals working in the area of non-volatile memory. This book also: Covers key memory technologies, including Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FeRAM), Ferromagnetic RAM (FMRAM), and Multiferroic RAM (MFRAM), among others. Provides an overview of non-volatile memory fundamentals. Broadens readers' understanding of future trends in non-volatile memories.

This thesis examines a novel class of flexible electronic material with great potential for use in the construction of stretchable amplifiers and memory elements. Most remarkably the composite material produces spontaneous oscillations that increase in frequency when pressure is applied to it. In this way, the material mimics the excitatory response of pressure-sensing neurons in the human skin. The composites, formed of silicone and graphitic nanoparticles, were prepared in several allotropic forms and functionalized with naphthalene diimide molecules. A systematic study is presented of the negative differential resistance (NDR) region of the current-voltage curves, which is responsible for the material's active properties. This study was conducted as a function of temperature, graphite filling fraction, scaling to reveal the break-up of the samples into electric field domains at the onset of the NDR region, and an electric-field induced metal-insulator transition in graphite nanoparticles. The effect of molecular functionalization on the miscibility threshold and the current-voltage curves is demonstrated. Room-temperature and low-temperature measurements were performed on these composite films under strains using a remote-controlled, custom-made step motor bench.

The principal aim of this NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) "Nanostructured and Advanced Materials for Applications in Sensor, Optoelectronic and Photovoltaic Technology" was to present a contemporary overview of the field of nanostructured and advanced electronic materials. Nanotechnology is an emerging scientific field receiving significant worldwide attention. On a nanometer scale, materials or structures may possess new and unique physical properties. Some of these are now known to the scientific community, but there may well be many properties not yet known to us, rendering it as a fascinating area of research and a suitable subject for a NATO ASI. Yet another aspect of the field is the possibility for creating meta-stable phases with unconventional properties and the ultra-miniaturization of current devices, sensors, and machines. Such nanotechnological and related advanced materials have an extremely wide range of potential applications, viz. nanoscale electronics, sensors, optoelectronics, photonics, nano-biological systems, na- medicine, energy storage systems, etc. This is a wide-ranging subject area and therefore requires the formation of multi-disciplinary teams of physicists, chemists, materials scientists, engineers, molecular biologists, pharmacologists, and others to work together on the synthesis and processing of materials and structures, the understanding of their physical properties, the design and fabrication of devices, etc. Hence, in formulating our ASI, we adopted an int- disciplinary approach, bringing together recognised experts in the various fields while retaining a level of treatment accessible to those active in specific individual areas of research and development.

The motion of electrons in superconductors seems to exceed our imagination based on daily experience with Newtonian mechanics. This book shows that the classical concepts, such as the balance of forces acting on electrons, are useful for understanding superconductivity. The electrostatic field plays a natural part in this balance as it mediates forces between electrons at long distances.

This monograph solely investigates the Debye Screening Length (DSL) in semiconductors and their nano-structures. The materials considered are quantized structures of non-linear optical, III-V, II-VI, Ge, Te, Platinum Antimonide, stressed materials, Bismuth, GaP, Gallium Antimonide, II-V and Bismuth Telluride respectively. The DSL in opto-electronic materials and their quantum confined counterparts is studied in the presence of strong light waves and intense electric fields on the basis of newly formulated electron dispersion laws that control the studies of such quantum effect devices. The suggestions for the experimental determination of 2D and 3D DSL and the importance of measurement of band gap in optoelectronic materials under intense built-in electric field in nano devices and strong external photo excitation (for measuring photon induced physical properties) have also been discussed in this context. The influence of crossed electric and quantizing magnetic fields on the DSL and the DSL in heavily doped semiconductors and their nanostructures has been investigated. This monograph contains 150 open research problems which form the integral part of the text and are useful for both PhD students and researchers in the fields of solid-state sciences, materials science, nano-science and technology and allied fields in addition to the graduate courses in modern semiconductor nanostructures.

BiCMOS Technology and Applications, Second Edition provides a synthesis of available knowledge about the combination of bipolar and MOS transistors in a common integrated circuit - BiCMOS. In this new edition all chapters have been updated and completely new chapters on emerging topics have been added. In addition, BiCMOS Technology and Applications, Second Edition provides the reader with a knowledge of either CMOS or Bipolar technology/design a reference with which they can make educated decisions regarding the viability of BiCMOS in their own application. BiCMOS Technology and Applications, Second Edition is vital reading for practicing integrated circuit engineers as well as technical managers trying to evaluate business issues related to BiCMOS. As a textbook, this book is also appropriate at the graduate level for a special topics course in BiCMOS. A general knowledge in device physics, processing and circuit design is assumed. Given the division of the book, it lends itself well to a two-part course; one on technology and one on design. This will provide advanced students with a good understanding of tradeoffs between bipolar and MOS devices and circuits.

The application of quantitative reliability evaluation in electric power sys tems has now evolved to the point at which most utilities use these techniques in one or more areas of their planning, design, and operation. Most of the techniques in use are based on analytical models and resulting analytical evaluation procedures. Improvements in and availability of high-speed digi tal computers have created the opportunity to analyze many of these prob lems using stochastic simulation methods and over the last decade there has been increased interest in and use made of Monte Carlo simulation in quantitative power system reliability assessment. Monte Carlo simulation is not a new concept and recorded applications have existed for at least 50 yr. However, localized high-speed computers with large-capacity storage have made Monte Carlo simulation an available and sometimes preferable option for many power system reliability applications. Monte Carlo simulation is also an integral part of a modern undergrad uate or graduate course on reliability evaluation of general engineering systems or specialized areas such as electric power systems. It is hoped that this textbook will help formalize the many existing applications of Monte Carlo simulation and assist in their integration in teaching programs. This book presents the basic concepts associated with Monte Carlo simulation."

This book presents the state of the art in surface wrinkling, including current and future potential applications in biomedicine, tissue engineering, drug delivery, microfluidic devices, and other promising areas. Their use as templates, flexible electronics, and supports with controlled wettability and/or adhesion for biorelated applications demonstrate how the unique characteristics of wrinkled interfaces play a distinguishing and remarkable role. The fabrication approaches employed to induce wrinkle formation and the potential to fine-tune the amplitude and period of the wrinkles, their functionality, and their final morphology are thoroughly described. An overview of the main applications in which these buckled interfaces have already been employed or may have an impact in the near future is included. Presents a detailed description of the physical phenomena and strategies occurring at polymer surfaces to produce wrinkled surface patterns; Examines the different methodologies to produce morphology-controlled wrinkled surface patterns by means of physical and chemical treatment methods; Provides clear information on current and potential applications in flexible electronics and biomaterials, which are leading the use of these materials.