This work focuses on device design and process integration of high-performance Ge-based devices for CMOS applications and beyond. Here we addressed several key challenges towards Ge-based devices, such as, poor passivation, underperformance of nMOSFETs, and incompatibility of fragile Ge wafers for mass production. We simultaneously addressed the issues of bulk Ge and passivation for pMOSFETs, by fabricating Si-capped epitaxial Ge:C(C<0.5%) devices. Carbon improves the crystalline quality of the channel, while Si capping prevents GeOx formation, creates a quantum well for holes and thus improves mobility. Temperature-dependent characterization of these devices suggests that Si cap thickness needs to be optimized to ensure highest mobility. We developed a simple approach to grow GeO₂ by rapid thermal oxidation, which provides improved passivation, especially for nMOSFETs. The MOSCAPs with GeO₂ passivation show ~10× lower Dit (~8×10¹¹ cm⁻²eV⁻¹) than that of the HF-last devices. The Ge (111) nMOSFETs with GeO₂ passivation show ~2× enhancement in mobility (~715 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ at peak) and ~1.6× enhancement in drive current over control Si (100) devices. For improved n⁺/p junctions, we proposed a simple technique of rapid thermal diffusion from "spin-on-dopants" to avoid implantation damage during junction formation. These junctions show a high ION/IOFF ratio (~10⁵⁻⁶) and an ideality factor of ~1.03, indicating a low defect density, whereas, ion-implanted junctions show higher Ioff (by ~1-2 orders) and a larger ideality factor (~1.45). Diffusion-doped and GeO₂-passivated Ge(100) nMOSFETs show a high ION/IOFF ratio (~10⁴⁻⁵) , a low SS (111 mV/decade), and a high [mu]eff (679 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ at peak). Moreover, diffusion-doped Ge (111) nMOSFETs show even higher [mu]eff (970 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ at peak) that surpasses the universal Si mobility at low Eeff. For Beyond CMOS devices, we investigated Mn-doped Ge:C-on-Si (100), a novel Si-compatible ferromagnetic semiconductor. The investigation suggests that the magnetic properties of these films depend strongly on crystalline structure and Mn concentration. On a different approach, we developed LaOx/SiOx barrier for Spin-diodes that reduces contact resistance by ~10⁴, compared to Al₂O₃ controls and hence is more conducive for spin injection. These ferromagnetic materials and devices can potentially be useful for novel spintronic devices. / text

abstract: Semiconductor manufacturing economics necessitate the development of innovative device measurement techniques for quick assessment of products. Several novel electrical measurement techniques will be proposed for screening silicon device parameters. The studied parameters range from oxide reliability, and carrier lifetime in MOS capacitors to the power MOSFET reverse recovery. It will be shown that positive charge trapping is a dominant process when thick oxides are stressed through the ramped voltage test (RVT). Exploiting the physics behind positive charge generation/trapping at high electric fields, a fast I-V measurement technique is proposed that can be used to effectively distinguish the ultra-thick oxides' intrinsic quality at low electric fields. Next, two novel techniques will be presented for studying the carrier lifetime in MOS Capacitor devices. It will be shown that the deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) can be applied to MOS test structures as a swift mean for screening the generation lifetime. Recombination lifetime will also be addressed by introducing the optically-excited MOS technique as a promising tool. The last part of this work is devoted to the reverse recovery behavior of the body diode of power MOSFETs. The correct interpretation of the LDMOS reverse recovery is challenging and requires special attention. A simple approach will be presented to extract meaningful lifetime values from the reverse recovery of LDMOS body-diodes exploiting their gate voltage and the magnitude of the reverse bias. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Materials Science and Engineering 2015

New peripheral devices are being developed at an ever increasing rate. Before such accessories can be used in the UNIX environment (UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories), they must be able to communicate with the operating system. This involves writing a device driver for each device. In order to do this, very detailed knowledge is required of both the device to be integrated and the version of UNIX to which it will be attached. The process is long, detailed and prone to subtle problems and errors. This paper presents a menu-driven utility designed to simplify and accelerate the design and implementation of UNIX device drivers by freeing developers from many of the implementation specific low-level details.

Given the exponentially increasing number of connected devices to the network which will lead to a larger number of installed celluar towers and base stations that are in closer proximity to one another when compared to the current cellular network setup, and the increasing demand of higher data rates by end users, it becomes essential to investigate new methods that will more effectively mitigate the larger interference introduced by the more packed celluar grid and that result in higher data rates. This paper investigates using Device-to-Device communication where neighboring users can cooperate to mitigate the correlated interference they both receive, where one user acts as a relay and the other as the intended destination of a broadcast message sent by the source base station. The setup studied utalizes a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) scheme and a combined decode-forward and compress-forward relaying scheme. We show that this combined scheme outperforms the individual schemes for some channels and network setups, or reduces to either scheme when the combination does not offer any achievable rate gains. The performance of each scheme is measured with respect to the locations of the base station and the two devices, and to the capacity of the digital link between the users.

No / Enabling D2D communications over LTE-A networks can provide many benefits in terms of throughput, energy consumption, traffic load, and so on. It also enables new commercial services such as location-based advertising. For these reasons, D2D communications has become a hot topic in both the academic and industrial communities. However, many research works are focused on node discovery, radio resource management, and other aspects, while the issue of security is less addressed. In this article, we intend to provide an overview of the security architecture, threads, and requirements. Based on these requirements, we propose several potential solutions by reusing the existing security mechanisms. Promising topics related to secure D2D communications for future research are also discussed.

Endometriosis is a chronic disease that is thought to potentially begin at menarche and progress through a woman’s reproductive years. Adolescents with endometriosis present with dysmenorrhea and chronic pelvic pain. Endometriosis can be treated with medical and surgical management. Levonorgestrel intrauterine devices (LNG-IUD) are an effective option for medical management in adolescents. The primary objective of this study was to determine the rate of IUD insertion after laparoscopy for endometriosis in adolescents. The secondary objective was to compare the characteristics of the adolescent population with and without an IUD placed at the time of surgery. The medical records of 109 adolescent patients </= 21 years old were retrospectively reviewed for patient demographic information and surgical information. In our cohort, 36% of patients had an IUD placed at the time of laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis. Patients with an IUD placed at the time of surgery had a significantly higher BMI than patients who did not have an IUD placed (p = 0.004). The most reported symptoms were dysmenorrhea (77.1%) and chronic pelvic pain (94.5%). Patients with an IUD placed had higher rates of excision of endometriosis while patients who did not have an IUD placed had higher rates of ablation of endometriosis (p = 0.003, p = 0.05). Dysmenorrhea and pelvic pain are commonly reported by adolescent patients with endometriosis. LNG-IUDs are often placed at time of excision of endometriosis surgery for adolescents and further studies are warranted to see if they are effective in the long term postoperative medical management of adolescents who have completed surgery.

ITC/USA 2010 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Sixth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 25-28, 2010 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / When designing data transport systems, Telemetry and Communications engineers always face the risk that their chosen hardware will not be available or supported soon after the hardware has been installed. The best way to reduce this risk and ensure the longevity of the system is to select an open architecture standard that is supported by multiple manufacturers. This open architecture should also have the ability to be easily upgraded and provide for all of the features and flexibility that are required to be a reliable carrier-grade edge-device. The PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG) developed the MicroTCA open standard to address the specific needs of these Communications and Network System Engineers. This paper describes the MicroTCA architecture and how it can be applied as the ideal edge-device solution for Networked Telemetry Systems applications.

In this thesis a novel guidance method for a 3-degree-of-freedom robotic manipulator arm in 3 dimensions for Improvised Explosive Device (IED) disposal has been developed. The work carried out in this thesis combines existing methods to develop a technique that delivers advantages taken from several other guidance techniques. These features are necessary for the IED disposal application. The work carried out in this thesis includes kinematic and dynamic modelling of robotic manipulators, T-space to C-space conversion, and path generation using Graph Theory to produce a guidance technique which can plan a safe path through a complex unknown environment. The method improves upon advantages given by other techniques in that it produces a suitable path in 3-dimensions in close-proximity environments in real time with no a priori knowledge of the environment, a necessary precursor to the application of this technique to IED disposal missions. To solve the problem of path planning, the thesis derives the kinematics and dynamics of a robotic arm in order to convert the Euclidean coordinates of measured environment data into C-space. Each dimension in C-space is one control input of the arm. The Euclidean start and end locations of the manipulator end effector are translated into C-space. A three-dimensional path is generated between them using Dijkstra’s Algorithm. The technique allows for a single path to be generated to guide the entire arm through the environment, rather than multiple paths to guide each component through the environment. The robotic arm parameters are modelled as a quasi-linear parameter varying system. As such it requires gain scheduling control, thus allowing compensation of the non-linearities in the system. A Genetic Algorithm is applied to tune a set of PID controllers for the dynamic model of the manipulator arm so that the generated path can then be followed using a conventional path-following algorithm. The technique proposed in this thesis is validated using numerical simulations in order to determine its advantages and limitations.

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