This thesis presents and discusses recent optical low-temperature experiments on disordered NbN, granular Al thin-films, and the heavy-fermion compound CeCoIn5, offering a unified picture of quantum-critical superconductivity. It provides a concise introduction to the respective theoretical models employed to interpret the experimental results, and guides readers through in-depth calculations supplemented with supportive figures in order to both retrace the interpretations and span the bridge between experiment and state-of-the art theory.

This book deals with the study of superconductivity in systems with coexisting wide and narrow bands. It has been previously suggested that superconductivity can be enhanced in systems with coexisting wide and narrow bands when the Fermi level is near the narrow band edge. In this book, the authors study two problems concerning this mechanism in order to: (a) provide a systematic understanding of the role of strong electron correlation effects, and (b) propose a realistic candidate material which meets the ideal criteria for high-Tc superconductivity. Regarding the role of strong correlation effects, the FLEX+DMFT method is adopted. Based on systematic calculations, the pairing mechanism is found to be indeed valid even when the strong correlation effect is considered within the formalism. In the second half of the book, the authors propose a feasible candidate material by introducing the concept of the "hidden ladder" electronic structure, arising from the combination of the bilayer lattice structure and the anisotropic orbitals of the electrons. As such, the book contributes a valuable theoretical guiding principle for seeking unknown high-Tc superconductors.

In the rapidly developing information society there is an ever-growing demand for information-supplying elements or sensors. The technology to fabricate such sensors has grown in the past few decades from a skilful activity to a mature area of scientific research and technological development. In this process, the use of silicon-based techniques has appeared to be of crucial importance, as it introduced standardized (mass) fabrication techniques, created the possibility of integrated electronics, allowed for new transduction principles, and enabled the realization of micromechanical structures for sensing or actuation. Such micromechanical structures are particularly well-suited to realize complex microsystems that improve the performance of individual sensors. Currently, a variety of sensor areas ranging from optical to magnetic and from micromechanical to (bio)chemical sensors has reached a high level of sophistication. In this MESA Monograph the proceedings of the Dutch Sensor Conference, an initiative of the Technology Foundation (STW), held at the University of Twente on March 2-3, 1998, are compiled. It comprises all the oral and poster contributions of the conference, and gives an excellent overview of the state of the art of Dutch sensor research and development. Apart from Dutch work, the contributions of two external invited experts from Switzerland are included.

This book demonstrates how the new phenomena in the nanometer scale serve as the basis for the invention and development of novel nanoelectronic devices and how they are used for engineering nanostructures and metamaterials with unusual properties. It discusses topics such as superconducting spin-valve effect and thermal spin transport, which are important for developing spintronics; fabrication of nanostructures from antagonistic materials like ferromagnets and superconductors, which lead to a novel non-conventional FFLO-superconducting state; calculations of functional nanostructures with an exotic triplet superconductivity, which are the basis for novel nanoelectronic devices, such as superconducting spin valve, thin-film superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) and memory-elements (MRAM). Starting with theoretical chapters about triplet superconductivity, the book then introduces new ideas and approaches in the fundamentals of superconducting electronics. It presents various quantum devices based on the new theoretical approaches, demonstrating the enormous potential of the electronics of 21st century - spintronics. The book is useful for a broad audience, including researchers, engineers, PhD graduates, students and others wanting to gain insights into the frontiers of nanoscience.

This book mainly deals with SuperConducting Fault Current Limiter (SCFCL), mainly the resistive SCFCLs. It aims to further disseminate the technical knowledge of SCFCL in particular to electrical engineers. The SCFCL is a new component and tool to better design and to be used in existing and future electric grids, altering the conventional way of thinking and planning.

There is a growing demand for electronic signal processing at elevated temperatures. A number of approaches have been used to develop this capability. Silicon circuits could be developed and fabricated with an appropriate technology to cover increased temperature ranges. In a search for semiconductors with a wider energy gap to avoid leakage currents at high operating temperatures, one developed compound semiconductors such as GaAIAs on GaAs substrates. Efforts to use GaN are also useful, although difficult due to the lack of a suitable substrate material for lattice-matched epitaxial growth. Other work concerns electronic compo nent and circuit developments with SiC. Preliminary results have proved interesting. This book attempts to present the possibilities of such circuitry. Some of the solutions obtained so far are directly usable for the many applications where high environmental temperatures exist. Other concepts, particularly the more demanding ones, such as operation above 500 DegreesC, still need much more researching. This also concerns estimates of device lifetimes for con tinuous high temperature operation. This book may help the potential user of such circuitry to find a suitable solution. It should also stimulate more research groups to enter this demanding effort. And finally, it should stimulate a broad awareness of the need and the solutions for this type of electronics. That is why Part One is devoted to high temperature applications.

This book introduces readers to electric circuits with variable loads and voltage regulators. It defines invariant relationships for numerous parameters, and proves the concepts characterizing these circuits. Moreover, the book presents the fundamentals of electric circuits and develops circuit theorems, while also familiarizing readers with generalized equivalent circuits and using projective geometry to interpret changes in operating regime parameters. It provides useful expressions for normalized regime parameters and changes in them, as well as convenient formulas for calculating currents. This updated and extended third edition features new chapters on the use of invariant properties in two-port circuits, invariant energy characteristics for limited single-valued two-port circuits, and on testing projective coordinates. Given its novel geometrical approach to real electrical circuits, the book offers a valuable guide for engineers, researchers, and graduate students who are interested in basic electric circuit theory and the regulation and monitoring of power supply systems.

This book contains reviews of recent experimental and theoretical results related to nanomaterials. It focuses on novel functional materials and nanostructures in combination with silicon on insulator (SOI) devices, as well as on the physics of new devices and sensors, nanostructured materials and nano scaled device characterization. Special attention is paid to fabrication and properties of modern low-power, high-performance, miniaturized, portable sensors in a wide range of applications such as telecommunications, radiation control, biomedical instrumentation and chemical analysis. In this book, new approaches exploiting nanotechnologies (such as UTBB FD SOI, Fin FETs, nanowires, graphene or carbon nanotubes on dielectric) to pave a way between "More Moore" and "More than Moore" are considered, in order to create different kinds of sensors and devices which will consume less electrical power, be more portable and totally compatible with modern microelectronics products.

This volume contains the Proceedings of the International Conference on Simulation of Semiconductor Devices and Processes, SISPAD 01, held on September 5-7, 2001, in Athens. The conference provided an open forum for the presentation of the latest results and trends in process and device simulation. The trend towards shrinking device dimensions and increasing complexity in process technology demands the continuous development of advanced models describing basic physical phenomena involved. New simulation tools are developed to complete the hierarchy in the Technology Computer Aided Design simulation chain between microscopic and macroscopic approaches. The conference program featured 8 invited papers, 60 papers for oral presentation and 34 papers for poster presentation, selected from a total of 165 abstracts from 30 countries around the world. These papers disclose new and interesting concepts for simulating processes and devices.

This book is a practical guide to optical, optoelectronic, and semiconductor materials and provides an overview of the topic from its fundamentals to cutting-edge processing routes to groundbreaking technologies for the most recent applications. The book details the characterization and properties of these materials. Chemical methods of synthesis are emphasized by the authors throughout the publication. Describes new materials and updates to older materials that exhibit optical, optoelectronic and semiconductor behaviors; Covers the structural and mechanical aspects of the optical, optoelectronic and semiconductor materials for meeting mechanical property and safety requirements; Includes discussion of the environmental and sustainability issues regarding optical, optoelectronic, and semiconductor materials, from processing to recycling.

Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Power Devices: Materials, Physics, Design and Applications provides readers with a single resource on why these devices are superior to existing silicon devices. The book lays the groundwork for an understanding of an array of applications and anticipated benefits in energy savings. Authored by the Founder of the Power Semiconductor Research Center at North Carolina State University (and creator of the IGBT device), Dr. B. Jayant Baliga is one of the highest regarded experts in the field. He thus leads this team who comprehensively review the materials, device physics, design considerations and relevant applications discussed.

The present volume contains the written versions of most of the invited talks of the Spring Meeting of the Condensed Matter Physics section of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft held from March 25 to 29, 2002 in Regensburg, Germany. Also contained are those talks presented as part of the Symposia most of which were organized by several divisions in collaboration and covered a fascinating selection of topics of current interest. Thus this volume reflects the status of condensed matter physics in Germany in the year 2002. In particular, one notes a slight change in paradigms: from quantum dots and wires to spin transport and soft matter systems in the broadest sense. This seems to reflect the present general trend in physics. Nevertheless, a large portion of the invited papers concentrate on nanostructured matter.

This thesis extends our understanding of systems of independent electrons by developing a generalization of Bloch's Theorem which is applicable whenever translational symmetry is broken solely due to arbitrary boundary conditions. The thesis begins with a historical overview of topological condensed matter physics, placing the work in context, before introducing the generalized form of Bloch's Theorem. A cornerstone of electronic band structure and transport theory in crystalline matter, Bloch's Theorem is generalized via a reformulation of the diagonalization problem in terms of corner-modified block-Toeplitz matrices and, physically, by allowing the crystal momentum to take complex values. This formulation provides exact expressions for all the energy eigenvalues and eigenstates of the single-particle Hamiltonian. By precisely capturing the interplay between bulk and boundary properties, this affords an exact analysis of several prototypical models relevant to symmetry-protected topological phases of matter, including a characterization of zero-energy localized boundary excitations in both topological insulators and superconductors. Notably, in combination with suitable matrix factorization techniques, the generalized Bloch Hamiltonian is also shown to provide a natural starting point for a unified derivation of bulk-boundary correspondence for all symmetry classes in one dimension.

This book reports on the development and application of a new uniaxial pressure apparatus that is currently generating considerable interest in the field of materials physics. The author provides practical guidelines for performing such experiments, backed up by finite element simulations. Subsequently, the book reports on two uses of the device. In the first, high pressures are used to tune to a Van Hove singularity in Sr2RuO4, while the effects on the unconventional superconductivity and the normal state properties are investigated. In the second experiment, precise and continuous strain control is used to probe symmetry breaking and novel phase formation in the vicinity of a quantum critical point in Sr3Ru2O7.

In this book, the history of the concepts critical to the discovery and development of aluminum, its alloys and the anodizing process are reviewed to provide a foundation for the challenges, achievements, and understanding of the complex relationship between the aluminum alloy and the reactions that occur during anodic oxidation. Empirical knowledge that has long sustained industrial anodizing is clarified by viewing the process as corrosion science, addressing each element of the anodizing circuit in terms of the Tafel Equation. This innovative approach enables a new level of understanding and engineering control for the mechanisms that occur as the oxide nucleates and grows, developing its characteristic highly ordered structure, which impact the practical function of the anodic aluminum oxide.

This volume contains the proceedings of the 1998 International Conference on Simulation of Semiconductor Processes and Devices and provides an open forum for the presentation of the latest results and trends in modeling and simulation of semiconductor equipment, processes and devices. Topics include: * semiconductor equipment simulation * process modeling and simulation * device modeling and simulation of complex structures * interconnect modeling * integrated systems for process, device, circuit simulation and optimisation * numerical methods and algorithms * compact modeling and parameter extraction * modeling for RF applications * simulation and modeling of new devices (heterojunction based, SET's, quantum effect devices, laser based ...)

This book mainly introduces the basic theory and physical characteristics of photoelectric materials, the preparation technology of photoelectric components, the working principle, the latest application, the latest progress of photoelectric materials and devices technology and the correlation with other technologies. The content mainly involves the theoretical basis of photoelectric materials, micro-nano photoelectric materials and devices, semiconductor luminescent materials and devices, inorganic photoluminescence materials, LED packaging technology, transparent conductive materials, touch screen, display screen, solar cell materials and the basic principles and development trend of their applications. In particular, the book gives a systematic theoretical analysis of new photoelectric materials and devices, such as optoelectronic materials and devices, transparent conductive materials, and provides application examples.

Silicon photonics is currently a very active and progressive area of research, as silicon optical circuits have emerged as the replacement technology for copper-based circuits in communication and broadband networks. The demand for ever improving communications and computing performance continues, and this in turn means that photonic circuits are finding ever increasing application areas. This text provides an important and timely overview of the 'hot topics' in the field, covering the various aspects of the technology that form the research area of silicon photonics.

With contributions from some of the world's leading researchers in silicon photonics, this book collates the latest advances in the technology. "Silicon Photonics: the State of the Art" opens with a highly informative foreword, and continues to feature: the integrated photonic circuit;silicon photonic waveguides; photonic bandgap waveguides;mechanisms for optical modulation in silicon;silicon based light sources;optical detection technologies for silicon photonics;passive silicon photonic devices;photonic and electronic integration approaches;applications in communications and sensors.

"Silicon Photonics: the State of the Art" covers the essential elements of the entire field that is silicon photonics and is therefore an invaluable text for photonics engineers and professionals working in the fields of optical networks, optical communications, and semiconductor electronics. It is also an informative reference for graduate students studying for PhD in fibre optics, integrated optics, optical networking, microelectronics, or telecommunications.

Material synthesis by the transformation of organometallic compounds (precursors) by vapor deposition techniques such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been in the forefront of modern day research and development of new materials. There exists a need for new routes for designing and synthesizing new precursors as well as the application of established molecular precursors to derive tuneable materials for technological demands. With regard to the precursor chemistry, a most detailed understanding of the mechanistic complexity of materials formation from molecular precursors is very important for further development of new processes and advanced materials. To emphasize and stimulate research in these areas, this volume comprises a selection of case studies covering various key-aspects of the interplay of precursor chemistry with the process conditions of materials formation, particularly looking at the similarities and differences of CVD, ALD and nanoparticle synthesis, e.g. colloid chemistry, involving tailored molecular precursors.

Microcavities are semiconductor, metal, or dielectric structures providing optical confinement in one, two or three dimensions. At the end of the 20th century, microcavities have attracted attention due to the discovery of a strong exciton-light coupling regime allowing for the formation of superposition light-matter quasiparticles: exciton-polaritons. In the following century several remarkable effects have been discovered in microcavities, including the Bose-Einstein condensation of exciton-polaritons, polariton lasing, superfluidity, optical spin Hall and spin Meissner effects, amongst other discoveries. Currently, polariton devices exploiting the bosonic stimulation effects at room temperature are being developed by laboratories across the world. This book addresses the physics of microcavities: from classical to quantum optics, from a Boltzmann gas to a superfluid. It provides the theoretical background needed for understanding the complex phenomena in coupled light-matter systems, and it presents a broad overview of experimental progress in the physics of microcavities.

An up-to-date view of the various detector/emitter materials systems currently in use or being actively researched. The book is aimed at newcomers and those already working in the IR industry. It provides both an introductory text and a valuable overview of the entire field.

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

This thesis contains three breakthrough results in condensed matter physics. Firstly, broken reflection symmetry in the hidden-order phase of the heavy-fermion material URu2Si2 is observed for the first time. This represents a significant advance in the understanding of this enigmatic material which has long intrigued the condensed matter community due to its emergent long range order exhibited at low temperatures (the so-called "hidden order"). Secondly and thirdly, a novel collective mode (the chiral spin wave) and a novel composite particle (the chiral exciton) are discovered in the three dimensional topological insulator Bi2Se3. This opens up new avenues of possibility for the use of topological insulators in photonic, optoelectronic, and spintronic devices. These discoveries are facilitated by using low-temperature polarized Raman spectroscopy as a tool for identifying optically excited collective modes in strongly correlated electron systems and three-dimensional topological insulators.

An extrapolation of ULSI scaling trends indicates that minimum feature sizes below 0.1 mu and gate thicknesses of <3 nm will be required in the near future. Given the importance of ultrathin gate dielectrics, well-focused basic scientific research and aggressive development programs must continue on the silicon oxide, oxynitride, and high K materials on silicon systems, especially in the critical, ultrathin 1-3 nm regime. The main thrust of the present book is a review, at the nano and atomic scale, the complex scientific issues related to the use of ultrathin dielectrics in next-generation Si-based devices. The contributing authors are leading scientists, drawn from academic, industrial and government laboratories throughout the world, and representing such backgrounds as basic and applied physics, chemistry, electrical engineering, surface science, and materials science. Audience: Both expert scientists and engineers who wish to keep up with cutting edge research, and new students who wish to learn more about the exciting basic research issues relevant to next-generation device technology.