Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of organic molecular glasses and solution processable materials embedded between two electrodes were studied to find materials possessing high charge-carrier mobilities and to design organic memory devices. The comparison studies between TOF, FET and SCLC measurements confirm the validity of using analyses of I-V characteristics to determine the mobility of organic semiconductors. Hexaazatrinaphthylene derivatives tri-substituted by electron withdrawing groups were characterized as potential electron transporting molecular glasses. The presence of two isomers has important implications for film morphology and effective mobility. The statistical isomer mixture of hexaazatrinaphthylene derivatized with pentafluoro-phenylmethyl ester is able to form amorphous films, and electron mobilities with the range of 10 E cm2/Vs are observed in their I-V characteristics. Single-layer organic memory devices consisting of a polymer layer embedded between an Al electrode and ITO modified with Ag nanodots (Ag-NDs) prepared by a solution-based surface assembly demonstrated a potential capability as nonvolatile organic memory device with high ON/OFF switching ratios of 104. This level of performance could be achieved by modifying the ITO electrodes with some Ag-NDs that act as trapping sites, reducing the current in the OFF state. Based upon the observed electrical characteristics, the currents of the low-resistance state can be attributed to a tunneling through low-resistance pathways of metal particles originating from the metal top electrode in the organic layer and that the high-resistance state is controlled by charge trapping by the metal particles including Ag-NDs. In an alternative approach, complex films of AgNO3: hexaazatrinaphthylene derivatives were studied as the active layers for all-solution processed and air-stable organic memory devices. Rewritable memory effects were observed in the devices comprised of a thin polymer dielectric layer deposited on the bottom electrode, the complex film, and a conducting polymer film as the top electrode. The electrical characteristics indicate that the accumulation of Ag+ ions at the interface of the complex film and the top electrode may contribute to the switching effect.

During recent years the thickness of the gate oxide has been reduced considerably. The progressive miniaturization of devices has caused several phenomena to emerge such as quasi-breakdown, direct tunneling and stress induced leakage currents. Such phenomena significantly modify the performance of the scaled-down MOSFETs. As a part of this research work, an effort has been made to study the performance and characteristics of the thin Gate oxide for MOSFETs and Tunnel Oxide for Floating Gate (FG) MOS devices. The exponential dependence of tunnel current on the oxide-electric field causes some critical problems in process control. A very good process control is therefore required. This can be achieved by finding out the exact value of F-N tunneling parameter. This research work also is an effort of finding an accurate value for parameter B and its dependence on the oxide thickness as the device are scaled down to a level where the probability of Direct Tunneling mechanism gains more prominence. A fully automated Low Current Measurement workstation with noise tolerance as low as 10-15 A was set up as a part of this research. C-V and I-V curves were analyzed to extract, determine and investigate the oxide thickness dependence of F-N parameter B. For oxide thickness in the range10~13 nm, the parameter B ranged between 260 and 267. Thus it can be said that it is not sensitive to the change in oxide thickness in this range. However it was noticed that for thickness around 7nm wide variety of results were obtained for the Fowler-Nordheim parameter B (B ranged from 260 to 454). This can be attributed to the enhancement in the leakage current due to the direct tunneling. Hence to have tight control over VT for a NVM, new algorithms need to be developed for even better process control for oxide thickness in the range of 7 nm and below.

A Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) diode is a high frequency device used for energy harvesting purpose in the RECTENNA. The main objective of this thesis work is to design, fabricate and characterize a thin-film MIM diode. A key issue associated in this research work is the development MIM diode with nanometer thin insulator region. The reason for the development of MIM diode is to rectify a wide spectrum of AC signal to usable DC power. In this thesis work, a planar MIM diode with Aluminum/Aluminum-Oxide/Gold has been fabricated. The thickness of the insulator region obtained was about 3nm. The Metal and insulator depositions were done by sputtering and plasma oxidation, respectively. I-V Characteristics of the diode was measured by making use of in-house set-up and 70% of the devices on a single wafer yielded with better result. Most of the I-V curves obtained were highly non-linear and asymmetric. Based on the I-V measurement, the logarithmic derivative of I vs. V was plotted and the tunneling behavior was also observed.

Photodetectors are used in many applications such as digital and thermal cameras or in solar panels. They can also be designed to detect the omnipresent high-energy radiation/particles, and for radiation imaging in biomedical applications. Novel nanostructures offer significant advantages compared to traditional designs for the realization of fast, sensitive, compact and cheap sensors and efficient solar cells. Examples of such nanostructures include quantum dots (QDs), quantum wells (QWs) and NW arrays. This thesis is devoted to experimental investigations of effects of high-energy (1 MeV) protons on the optical and electrical performance of InP/InAsP NW-based QDiscs-in wire photodetectors. The proton-induced degradation of the optical performance has been studied by means of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) photocurrent spectroscopy. The spectrally resolved photocurrent (PC) and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics were measured at low temperature (5 K and 77K) and at room temperature (300K) before and after 1 MeV proton irradiation under vacuum conditions with fluences ranging from 1.0×1012–3.0×1013 cm-2. The particle radiation exposure has been done in the Ion Beam Accelerator at the Department of Nuclear Physics Department at Lund University. Considering both PC and I-V characteristics, it was found that the devices were sensitive to all proton irradiation at all fluences. In general, the PC intensity significantly increased after radiation for all fluences, however, a week after exposure the PC and dark current gradually recovered. At 3×1012 p/cm2 fluence level, it was figured out that photocurrent which attributed to QDiscs disappeared for a couple of days after exposure, however, over time and gradually, those started to manifest again even at low and room temperatures, causing radiation-induced changes in device parameters to be time-dependent; however, it was not recorded any signals related to QDiscs at fluence of 3×1013 p/cm2. Substantial changes in the dark I-V characteristics, as well as increases in the dark current, are observed after irradiation. The influence of proton irradiation on light and dark current characteristics also indicated that NW structures are a good potential candidate for radiation harsh-environment applications. It was also observed a significant increase in dark current after the radiation for all devices, however, by applying the voltage to the photodetectors, the PC and I-V characteristics gradually being to diminish, which may be attributed to an annealing process.

A numerical model have been developed in order to describe and achieve deeper understanding of experimentally obtained I-V curves from Cu2O/ZnO p-n heterojunctions for potential use as future solar cell material. The model was created using the simulation software COMSOL Multiphysics® and their semiconductor module. To experimentally study the samples two approaches were taken: (1) macro-electrical measurements and (2) local I-V measurements using conductive AFM. The final model is one-dimensional, time dependent and with the ability to study photovoltaic effects of samples with different layer thickness at different voltage ramping speeds and different light irradiance. The model is also able to study the effects of using different contact materials by treating the contacts as ideal Schottky contacts. The dynamic behavior of a Cu_2O/ZnO heterojunction was studied by considering the systems response to a voltage step and the effect of changing the voltage ramping speed. The output from the step response, the current as a function of time, is varying a short time after a step has occurred before settling on to a steady value. The response also shows an overshoot of the current in the direction of the voltage step and the final steady value depends on whether the junction is conducting or not. The effects of this behavior on the shape of the I-V curves are witnessed when studying the different voltage ramping speeds. The voltage is ramped from 2 V to -2 V and back again for different speeds (V/s). The I-V curves have different shapes when sweeping the voltage in different directions and the magnitude increases with increasing speed. The photovoltaic effects were studied by applying different light irradiances. The behavior of the model agrees well with the theory for an ideal diode solar cell. An investigation was done of how the work function of the metal in contact with the Cu_2O affects the shape of the I-V curve under dark and illuminated conditions. The metal work function was changed from 4.5 eV to 6.5 eV in steps of 0.4 eV and does not affect the shape of the I-V curves much in dark after increasing it above 4.5 eV. The effects are more visible under illuminated conditions where a "step"-behavior appears for the lower values of the work function. Only one of the physical samples show a noticeable light effect. The macro-electrical measurement on this sample is compared with simulated results and are in qualitative agreement with each other. The agreement between the local electrical measurements and the simulated results is not as good with the current model.

No description available.

Le carbure de silicium (SiC) semble être actuellement le candidat le plus viable des semi-conducteurs à large bande interdite pour remplacer le silicium (Si) dans un avenir proche. En raison de ses propriétés intrinsèques, le SiC permet de développer des dispositifs à semi-conducteurs aux caractéristiques supérieures offrant de grandes améliorations de performances, et se traduisant également par des conceptions plus efficaces et compactes dans diverses applications de l'électronique de puissance. Les MOSFET de 1,2 kV SiC, de loin les composants les plus répandus de la famille pour équiper les sources de puissance, ont rapidement été déployés pour remplacer les modules IGBT Si en raison de leur résistance à l'état passant faible et de leurs excellentes performances de commutation dans toutes les plages de température. Cependant, encore à un stade précoce de développement, les MOSFET SiC présentent leurs problèmes techniques et économiques propres, lesquels problèmes ont freiné leur expansion en électronique de puissance. La caractérisation et la modélisation, en particulier l'état de fonctionnement du MOSFET SiC, ont été examinées dans le cadre de cette thèse afin de mettre en lumière les spécificités et les conséquences qui en découlent sur la conception des convertisseurs de puissance. C’est ainsi qu’une méthodologie de caractérisation statique pour les MOSFET à haute tension a été développée. Les caractéristiques ont été mesurées par méthodes appropriées permettant à la température de la jonction de rester constante pendant la mesure. Les résultats expérimentaux ont été analysés et comparés à ceux relatifs aux dispositifs conventionnels en Si. Ensuite, un nouveau modèle compact du module MOSFET SiC a été mis au point sur le logiciel Saber pour des simulations orientées circuit. Ce modèle prend en compte les phénomènes physiques observés, notamment les effets des pièges d’interface, le comportement JFET intrinsèque, le canal court et la température. En tant que version modifiée de Shichman Hodges, le modèle utilise un nombre raisonnable de paramètres d’ajustement, lesquels sont principalement extraits par identification des courbes de données expérimentales à l’aide d’un logiciel d’optimisation, et pour les autres étant basés sur les données disponibles dans la fiche technique du composant étudié. Finalement, nous avons abordé la caractérisation électro-thermique des MOSFET de SiC. Pour remédier à la présence de pièges d'interface, des bancs de test dédiés ont été développés pour la mesure de la température MOSFET au SiC sur la base du TSEP. Une simulation par éléments finis 3D (FEM) est réalisée pour étudier la distribution thermique à l'intérieur du module. En comparant avec les expériences, le modèle électro-thermique a été validé avec une précision acceptable. / Silicon carbide (SiC) has actively been emerged as the most viable candidate of the wide band gap (WBG) semiconductors to replace silicon (Si) in the near future. Due to its inherent properties, SiC enables the development of new generation semiconductor devices that offer great performance improvements, resulting in more efficient and compact designs in various power electronics applications. The 1.2 kV SiC MOSFETs, which are by far the most important devices in the SiC family, have been quickly used as the replacement of Si IGBTs in many applications due to their superior characteristics. However, at an early stage of development, SiC MOSFETs come with their own list of technical and economic issues which have somehow limited their widespread implementation for power electronics applications. The characterization and modeling, in particular on-state of the SiC MOSFET, have been investigated in this dissertation to develop insight of the unique characteristics along with the effects on the design of power converters. In such a way, the characterization test benches for high voltage power MOSFETs have been developed. The device is characterized using appropriate methods, which allows the junction temperature to remain constant during the measurement. The characteristics are then analyzed and compared to these of Si counterpart to provide further understanding of SiC MOSFETs. Subsequently, a novel compact model has been developed for circuit simulation, taking into account physical phenomena including interface traps, short-channel, intrinsic JFET and temperature effects. As a modified version of the Shichman Hodges, the model employs a few adjustment parameters, which are mostly derived from curve fitting of experimental data, using optimization tool software. The proposed model with fairly simple current equation thus is expedient to represent the DC behavior of power MOSFET for a wide range of operation conditions. In the end, the thermal characterization of SiC MOSFETs is examined. The on-resistance has been proposed as a temperature-sensitive electrical parameter (TSEP) to estimate the junction temperature. In the presence of the interface traps, the dedicated test benches have been developed for SiC MOSFET temperature measurement based on TSEP. 3D Finite element (FEM) simulation is performed to investigate thermal distribution inside the module. By comparing with the experiments, the electro-thermal model is validated with acceptable accuracy.

A measurement system is to be presented, which is used to obtain the I-V characteristics of a solar cell and to track its temperature during irra-diation before mounting it into a complete array/module. This project presents both the design and implementation of an Electronic load for testing the solar cell under field conditions of 10000 W/m^2, which is able to provide current versus voltage and power versus voltage charac-teristics of a solar cell using a software based model developed in Lab-VIEW. An efficient water cooling method which includes a heat pipe array system is also suggested. This thesis presents the maximum power tracking of a solar cell and the corresponding voltage and current values. In addition, the design of the clamp system provides an easy means of replacing the solar cell during testing.Keywords: Solar cell, Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET), I-V characteristics, cooling system, solar cell clamp system, LabVIEW, Graphical User Interface (GUI).

The studies covered in this dissertation concentrate on the various forms of diamond films synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, including microwave CVD and hot filament CVD. According to crystallinity and grain size, a variety of diamond forms primarily including microcrystalline (most commonly referred to as polycrystalline) and nanocrystalline diamond films, diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were successfully synthesized. The as-grown diamond films were optimized by changing deposition pressure, volume of reactant gas hydrogen (H2) and carrier gas argon (Ar) in order to get high-quality diamond films with a smooth surface, low roughness, preferred growth orientation and high sp3 bond contents, etc. The characterization of diamond films was carried out by metrological and analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman spectroscopy. The results of characterization served as feedback to optimize experimental parameters, so as to improve the quality of diamond films. A good understanding of the diamond film properties such as mechanical, electrical, optical and biological properties, which are determined by the qualities of diamond films, is necessary for the selection of diamond films for different applications. The nanocrystalline diamond nanowires grown by a combination of vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method and CVD method in two stages, and the graphene grown on silicon substrate with nickel catalytic thin film by single CVD method were also investigated in a touch-on level.

Quantum dots exhibit strongly size-dependent optical and electrical properties. The ability to join the dots into complex assemblies creates many opportunities for scientific discovery. This motivated our present research work on QDIPs, DWELLs, and graphene like QDs. The intention of this research was to study the size dependent achievements of QDIPs, DWELLs, and graphene like QDs with those of competitive technologies, with the emphasis on the material properties, device structure, and their impact on the device performance. In this dissertation four research studies pertaining to optical properties of quantum dot and dot-in-a-well infrared photodetectors, I-V characteristics of graphene quantum dots, and energy and spin texture of germanene quantum dots are presented. Improving self-assembled QD is a key issue in the increasing the absorption and improving the performance. In the present research work, an ideal self-assembled QD structure is analyzed theoretically with twenty-hole levels (Intraband optical transitions within the valence band) and twenty-electron energy levels (DWELL). Continuing the efforts to study self-assembled QDs we extended our work to graphene like quantum dots (graphene and germanene) to study the electronic transport properties. We study numerically the intraband optical transitions within the valence band of InxGa1-xAs/GaAs pyramidal quantum dots. We analyze the possibility of tuning of corresponding absorption spectra by varying the size and composition of the dots. Both ‘x ’ and the size of the quantum dot base are varied. We have found that the absorption spectra of such quantum dots are more sensitive to the in-plane incident light. We present numerically obtained absorption optical spectra of n-doped InAs/In0.15Ga0.85As/GaAs quantum dot-in-a-well systems. The absorption spectra are mainly determined by the size of the quantum dot and have weak dependence on the thickness of the quantum well and position of the dot in a well. The dot-in-a-well system is sensitive to both in-plane and out-of-plane polarizations of the incident light with much stronger absorption intensities for the in-plane-polarized light. We also present theoretically obtained I-V characteristics of graphene quantum dots, which are realized as a small piece of monolayer graphene. We describe graphene within the nearest-neighbor tight-binding model. The current versus the bias voltage has typical step-like shape, which is due to discrete energy spectrum of the quantum dot. The current through the dot system also depends on the position of the electrodes relative to the quantum dot. In relation to graphene quantum dots, we present our study of buckled graphene-like materials, like germanene and silicene. We consider theoretically germanene quantum dot, consisting of 13, 27, and 35 germanium atoms. Due to strong spin-orbit interaction and buckled structure of the germanene layer, the direction of the spin of an electron in the quantum dot depends on both the electron energy and external perpendicular electric field. With variation of energy, the direction of spin changes by approximately 4.50. Application of external electric field results in rotation of electron spin by approximately 0.50, where the direction of rotation depends on the electron energy.