The role of high doping levels and the interfacial structure on the junction behavior between n-type silicon microwires and the conducting polymer, PEDOT:PSS, was investigated using tungsten probes, an established technique for Ohmic contact to individual microwires. The resistance and the doping density of carriers as a function of length along each microwire as well as the junction resistance between individual microwires and the conducting polymer were characterized by making Ohmic contact to microwires. The junction between highly-doped n-Si microwires and the conducting polymer had relatively symmetric current-voltage characteristics and a significantly lower junction resistance as compared to low-doped microwires. The current-voltage response of junctions formed between the polymer and low-doped microwires, which still incorporated the metal catalyst used in the growth process, was also studied. Junctions incorporating copper at the interface had similar current-voltage characteristics to those observed for the highly-doped microwire, while junctions incorporating gold exhibited significantly lower resistances

Integrated photoelectrochemical water splitting with sunlight is one possible solution to growing global energy needs. Integration of catalysts, photoabsorbers and a membrane require low barriers to charge dissipation if a free standing device structure is to be achieved. The n-type/PEDOT:PSS junction has be identified as the major resistive component and constitutes a large barrier to charge dissipation. In this thesis, the modification of the interface between n-type Si/PEDOT:PSS was achieved by growing a highly – doped region at the contact between the wire and the membrane to reduce voltage loss at the junction from 300 mV to 130 mV. In addition, modification of the surface using a thiophene moiety is observed to decrease the voltage loss from 300 mV to 30 mV. Formation of an insulating silicon oxide on the methyl functionalized surface of the microwires identified a need for characterization of planar silicon samples representative of the sides of the microwires. Si (110), (211) and (111) crystal faces were functionalized with a methyl group and showed different resistance to oxidation. The Si (111) surface was the most resistant while the Si (211) surface was observed to be the least resistant to ambient oxidation.

A combination of magnetic sensors with magnetic nanoparticles offers a promising approach for highly sensitive, simple, and rapid detection of cancer cells and biomolecules. The challenge facing the field of magnetic biosensing is the development of low-cost devices capable of superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID)-like field sensitivity at room temperature. In another area of interest, improving the sensitivity of existing electromagnetic field sensors for microwave energy sensing applications is an important and challenging task. In this dissertation, we have explored the excellent magnetoimpedance and microwave absorption responses of soft ferromagnetic amorphous ribbons and microwires for the development of high-performance magnetic biodetectors and microwave energy sensors. We have developed the effective approaches to improve the magnetoimpedance response of Co65Fe4Ni2Si15B14 amorphous ribbons by tuning their dimension and/or coating them with thin layers of CoFe2O4. Coating amorphous and crystalline CoFe2O4 films on the ribbon surface have opposite impacts on the magnetoimpedance response. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is shown to be a novel in-situ annealing and coating method for improving the magnetoimpedance response of the soft ferromagnetic amorphous ribbons for advanced sensor applications. The magnetoimpedance responses are also enhanced in multi-microwire systems relative to their single microwires. We have introduced a new method of combining the magnetoresistance (MR), magnetoreactance (MX), and magnetoimpedance (MI) effects of a soft ferromagnetic amorphous ribbon to develop an integrated biosensor with enhanced sensitivity and tunable frequency. While existing MI biosensors have limited sensitivities, we show that by exploiting the MR and MX effects it is possible to improve the sensitivity of the biosensor by up to 50% and 100%, respectively. The MX-based approach shows the most sensitive detection of superparamagnetic (Fe3O4) nanoparticles at low concentrations, demonstrating a sensitivity level comparable to that of a SQUID-based biosensor. Unlike a SQUID, however, the proposed MX technique is cryogen-free and operates at room temperature, providing a promising avenue to the development of low-cost highly sensitive biosensors. We have further improved the detection sensitivity of the MI and MX biosensors by patterning the sensing (ribbon) surface with nano/micro-sized holes, using the etching or focused ion beam (FIB) technique. These biosensors have been successfully employed to detect and quantify various bioanalytes, such as Curcumin-type anticancer drugs, bovine serum albumen (BSA) proteins, and Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cancer cells that have taken up the surface-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Since Fe3O4 nanoparticles are widely used as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents, our biosensing technique can also be used as a new, low-cost, fast and easy pre-detection method before MRI. Finally, we have developed a new method of using a soft ferromagnetic glass-coated amorphous microwire as a microwave absorber for fabrication of a fiber Bragg grating-based microwave energy sensor with improved sensitivity and less perturbation of the microwave field. As compared to a similar approach that uses gold to absorb electromagnetic radiation, the microwire yields a device with greater sensitivity (~10 times at f = 3.25 GHz) relative to the perturbation of the microwave field. A correlation between the magnetic softness and microwave absorption in the microwires has been established, paving the way to improve the performance of the microwave energy sensor by tailoring their soft magnetic properties.

Magnetic refrigeration based on the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) is a promising alternative to conventional gas compression based cooling techniques. Understanding impacts of reduced dimensionality on the magnetocaloric response of a material such as Gadolinium (Gd) or its alloys is essential in optimizing the performance of cooling devices, which is also the overall goal of this thesis. We have determined, in the first part of the thesis, that laminate structures of pure Gd produced by magnetron sputtering have several disadvantages. The target material (pure Gd), ultra-high vacuum components, and the electrical energy it takes to run the manufacturing process are all very costly. To produce quality films requires a time and energy consuming chamber preparation (gettering) to produce films with a relative cooling power (RCP) of an order of magnitude smaller (~70 J/kg) than can be obtained with Gd-alloy microwires (~800 J/kg). The increased surface area for an array of wires as compared to a laminate structure allows for more efficient heat transfer. For all of these reasons, we turned the focus onto Gd-alloy microwires. In the latter part of this thesis, we have discussed the Gd-alloy microwires as a function of magnetocaloric parameters of magnetic entropy change, adiabatic temperature change, and refrigerant capacity (RC). We have demonstrated two effective methods for improving the RC of the microwires through creating novel biphase nanocrystalline/amorphous structures via thermal annealing and directly from adjusted melt-extraction. Through studying the effects of chemical doping, as well as studying arrays of microwires with a range of Curie temperature (TC) values, we have designed a new magnetic bed structure that has potential applications as a cooling device for micro-electro-mechanical systems and energy-conversion devices.

The domain wall dynamics is used in many spintronic devices based on the uniaxial ferromagnetic wires to transport and store information. Therefore, the domain wall velocity is one of the main parameters that determine the operation speed of these devices. Recently, a big attention is being paid to amorphous glass-coated microwires due to the very high domain wall velocities that reach up to 20 km/s. In this work, the fast domain wall propagation in amorphous glass-coated microwires was found in the presence of two main factors: (i) relatively low magnetic anisotropy, (ii) complex geometry of magnetic anisotropies given by internal distribution of mechanical stresses. The domain wall dynamics was examined in amorphous glass-coated microwires of reduced diameter down to 1 μm. It was shown, that the domain wall dynamics in these wires is the same as in wires of bigger diameter. It proves that the high domain wall velocities in microwires are not the effect of microwire diameter value. The direct observation of the surface domain wall structure by use of MOKE microscope confirmed that the domain wall is inclined relatively to the main axis. A new method for magneto-optical observation of the samples with cylindrical geometry was proposed. The inclined structure of the domain wall was found to be partially responsible for the high apparent domain wall velocity measured by the Sixtus-Tonks method in microwires.

La dynamique des paroi de domaine est utilisée dans de nombreux dispositifs de spintronique basés sur des micro et nanofils magnétiques pour la transmission et le stockage de l'information. La vitesse de la paroi de domaine est donc un des paramètres qui déterminent la vitesse de fonctionnement de ces dispositifs. Actuellement, un accent considérable est mis sur la compréhension de l'origine des grandes vitesses parois de domaines dans les microfils, qui peuvent atteindre 20 km/s. Dans ce travail, des fortes vitesses de parois ont été trouvées en présence de deux principaux facteurs: (i) une valeur relativement faible de l'anisotropie magnétique, et (ii) une distribution complexe de l'anisotropie magnétique due aux contraintes internes. En outre, la dynamique d'une paroi de domaine a été étudiée pour les échantillons à diamètre réduit, jusqu'à 1 μm. Il a été démontré que la dynamique d'une paroi de domaine est la même que dans les échantillons plus épais, ce qui confirme que les vitesses élevées ne sont pas seulement liées à la taille des microfils. L'observation directe de la structure de surface des parois de domaines par microscopie MOKE confirmé la forme de la paroi de domaine inclinée par rapport à l'axe du fil. Une nouvelle méthode a été proposée pour effectuer des observations sur des échantillons cylindriques. La structure inclinée de la paroi de domaine est jugée en partie responsable des valeurs élevées de vitesse apparente des parois de domaines mesurées par la méthode Sixte-Tonks dans ces microfils. / The domain wall dynamics is used in many spintronic devices based on the uniaxial ferromagnetic wires to transport and store information. Therefore, the domain wall velocity is one of the main parameters that determine the operation speed of these devices. Recently, a big attention is being paid to amorphous glass-coated microwires due to the very high domain wall velocities that reach up to 20 km/s. In this work, the fast domain wall propagation in amorphous glass-coated microwires was found in the presence of two main factors: (i) relatively low magnetic anisotropy, (ii) complex geometry of magnetic anisotropies given by internal distribution of mechanical stresses. The domain wall dynamics was examined in amorphous glass-coated microwires of reduced diameter down to 1 μm. It was shown, that the domain wall dynamics in these wires is the same as in wires of bigger diameter. It proves that the high domain wall velocities in microwires are not the effect of microwire diameter value. The direct observation of the surface domain wall structure by use of MOKE microscope confirmed that the domain wall is inclined relatively to the main axis. A new method for magneto-optical observation of the samples with cylindrical geometry was proposed. The inclined structure of the domain wall was found to be partially responsible for the high apparent domain wall velocity measured by the Sixtus-Tonks method in microwires. / Dynamika doménovej steny sa používa v mnohých spintronických zariadeniach na báze tenkých magnetických drôtoch na prenos a uchovávanie informácie. Rýchlosť doménovej steny je preto jedným z parametrov, ktoré určujú operačnú rýchlosť týchto zariadení. V súčasnosti je kladený značný dôraz na pochopenie pôvodu veľkých rýchlostí doménovej steny v mikrodrôtoch, kde rýchlosti dosahujú až 20 km/s. Veľké rýchlosti doménovej steny v mikrodrôtoch boli v tejto práci nájdené v prítomnosti dvoch faktorov: (i) relatívne nízka hodnota magnetickej anizotropie a (ii) zložitá distribúcia magnetických anizotropií daných vnútornými pnutiami. Navyše, dynamika doménovej steny bola študovaná aj na vzorkách s redukovaným priemerom až do 1 μm. Bolo ukázané, že dynamika doménovej steny je v týchto drôtoch rovnaká ako je tomu v hrubších vzorkách, čo potvrdzuje, že vysoké rýchlosti nie sú len efektom rozmeru amorfných, sklom potiahnutých mikrodrôtoch. Priame pozorovania povrchovej štruktúry doménovej steny pomocou MOKE mikroskopu potvrdili naklonený tvar doménovej steny vzhľadom na os drôtu. Bola navrhnutá nová metóda na vykonávanie magneto-optických pozorovaní valcových vzoriek. Naklonený tvar doménovej steny bol nájdený ako jeden z faktorov umožňujúcich zdanlivo veľké rýchlosti doménovej steny meraných Sixtusovou-Tonkosvou metódou na mikrodrôtoch.

The scientific studies associated with material engineering and device miniaturization are the core concepts for future technology innovation. The exploring and tailoring of material properties of amorphous magnetic microwires, recently, have revealed remarkable high sensitive magnetic field sensitivity down to the picoTesla regime at room temperature. This superior magnetometer is highly promising for active sensing and real-time monitoring building block for modern industrial devices and healthcare applications. The low-field, high sensitivity regime of the GMI response over a wide frequency range (1 MHz - 1 GHz) in the Co-rich melt-extracted microwires was optimized through novel Joule annealing methods (single- and multi-step current annealing techniques). Optimization of current value through multi-step current annealing (MSA) from 20 mA to 100 mA for 10 minutes is the key to improving the GMI ratio, and its field sensitivity up to 760% and 925%/Oe at f ≈ 20 MHz. The respective GMI ratio and field sensitivity are 1.75 times and 17.92 times higher than those of the as-prepared counterpart. The employment of the MSA technique successfully enhances the surface domain structures of the Co-rich microwires. This alternative tailoring method is suitable for improving the GMI sensitivity for a small field detection. The high sensitive response of the GMI to a weak magnetic field is highly promising for biomedical sensing applications. Real-time monitoring of position, motion, and rotation of a non-stationary object is crucial for product packaging, conveying, tracking, and safety compliance in industrial applications. The effectiveness of current sensing technology is limited by sensing distance and messy environments. A new class of high-frequency GMI-based sensor was designed and fabricated using the optimal Co-rich microwire. The impedance spectrum from the optimal sensing element showed a high GMI ratio and high field sensitivity response at low magnetic fields. The GMI sensor based longitudinal effect was found to be more sensitive than the commercially available Gaussmeters. The practical utility of the high sensitivity of the miniaturized sensor at weak magnetic fields for far-off distance monitoring of position, speed and gear rotating was demonstrated. This GMI-based sensor is highly promising for real-time position detection, oscillatory motion monitoring, and predictive failure of a rotating gear for industrial applications. Monitoring the rate of respiration and its pattern is crucial to assessing an individual’s health or progression of an illness, creating a pressing need for fast, reliable and cost-effective monitors. A new sensor based on a magnetic coil, which is made of Co-rich melt-extracted microwire for the detection of small magnetic fields was fabricated. The 3 mm diameter coil is wound from a Co-rich magnetic microwire. Unlike some typical solenoids, the MMC is sensitive to small magnetic fields due to a significant change in impedance attributed to the high-frequency giant magneto-impedance (GMI) effect. An application of the MMC sensor for the detection of a position-varying source of a small magnetic field (~0.01 – 10 Oe) in real-time bio-mechanical movement monitoring in human was demonstrated. This newly developed MMC magneto-LC resonance technology is highly promising for active respiratory motion monitoring, eye movement detection and other biomedical field sensing applications.

The trend to high I/O density, performance and miniaturization at low cost is driving the industry towards shrinking interposer design rules, requiring a new set of packaging technologies. Low-CTE packages from silicon, glass and low-CTE organic substrates enable high interconnection density, high reliability and integration of system components. However, the large CTE mismatch between the package and the board presents reliability challenges for the board-level interconnections. Novel stress-relief structures that can meet reliability requirements along with electrical performance while meeting the cost constraints are needed to address these challenges. This thesis focuses on a comprehensive methodology starting with modeling, design, fabrication and characterization to validate such stress-relief structures. This study specifically explores SMT-compatible stress-relief microwire arrays in thin polymer carriers as a unique and low-cost solution for reliable board-level interconnections between large low-CTE packages and printed wiring boards. The microwire arrays are pre-fabricated in ultra-thin carriers using low-cost manufacturing processes such as laser vias and copper electroplating, which are then assembled in between the interposer and printed wiring board (PWB) as stress-relief interlayers. The microwire array results in dramatic reduction in solder stresses and strains, even with larger interposer sizes (20 mm × 20 mm), at finer pitch (400 microns), without the need for underfill. The parallel wire arrays result in low resistance and inductance, and therefore do not degrade the electrical performance. The scalability of the structures and the unique processes, from micro to nanowires, provides extendibility to finer pitch and larger package sizes. Finite element method (FEM) was used to study the reliability of the interconnections to provide guidelines for the test vehicle design. The models were built in 2.5D geometries to study the reliability of 400 µm-pitch interconnections with a 100 µm thick, 20 mm × 20 mm silicon package that was SMT-assembled onto an organic printed wiring board. The performance of the microwire array interconnection is compared to that of ball grid array (BGA) interconnections, in warpage, equivalent plastic strain and projected fatigue life. A unique set of materials and processes was used to demonstrate the low-cost fabrication of microwire arrays. Copper microwires with 12 µm diameter and 50 µm height were fabricated on both sides of a 50 µm thick, thermoplastic polymer carrier using dryfilm based photolithography and bottom-up electrolytic plating. The copper microwire interconnections were assembled between silicon interposer and FR-4 PWB through SMT-compatible process. Thermal mechanical reliability of the interconnections was characterized by thermal cycling test from -40°C to 125°C. The initial fatigue failure in the interconnections was identified at 700 cycles in the solder on the silicon package side, which is consistent with the modeling results. This study therefore demonstrated a highly-reliable and SMT-compatible solution for board-level interconnections between large low-CTE packages and printed wiring board.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Glass covered microwires are materials with soft magnetic properties suitable to several technological applications, specially in magnetic sensors. The main feature of these wires, with negative magnetostriction, it is the magnetic domain structure, which are studied in several research centers. In this work it was developed an AC susceptometer capable to operate at room temperature at different applied fields and stress and another one to operate in cryogenic temperatures. The AC susceptibility technique carry out information either about the dynamic magnetic processes as the dissipative one that occur into the samples. In particular, microwires samples with nominal composition of Co68.25Fe4.25Si12.5B15 were studied. These Co-rich microwires exhibit the bamboo-like domain structure, meaning an axially magnetized core surrounded by a circumferentially magnetized shell. The AC susceptibility study on these samples give us information as, for example, that with the increase of the applies stress, there is an increase of the volume of the circumferentially magnetized shell at expenses of the inner core volume. It was also verified that, the magnetic behavior with the reduction of the temperature is similar to that observed when the microwires are axially stressed. This fact is due to the competition between the maganetoelastic and magnetostatic energies. / Microfios amorfos recobertos por vidro são materiais com propriedades magnéticas macias adequadas para várias aplicações tecnológicas, especialmente sensores magnéticos. Uma das principais características desses microfios com magnetostricção negativa é a sua estrutura de domínios magnéticos, que é alvo de diversos estudos em centros de pesquisa pelo mundo. Nesse trabalho foi desenvolvido e construído um susceptômetro para medidas de susceptibilidade magnética AC em temperatura ambiente e um outro para operar em temperaturas criogênicas. Para o caso de materiais magnéticos, a técnica de susceptibilidade AC traz informações de relevância sobre os processos de magnetização, como a dinâmica dos momentos magnéticos e processos dissipativos que ocorrem no interior da amostra. Em particular, foram estudadas amostras de microfios amorfos recobertos por vidro com composição nominal de Co68.25Fe4.25Si12.5B15. Esses microfios amorfos ricos em cobalto exibem uma estrutura de domínios magnéticos denominada como bamboo, estrutura essa que corresponde a um núcleo magnetizado longitudinalmente envolto por um domínios magnetizados circunferencialmente. O estudo da susceptibilidade magnética trouxe informações de relevância sobre essas amostras, onde conseguimos constatar principalmente que com o aumento da tensão mecânica externa, há um aumento volumétrico dos domínios com magnetização circunferencial as custas do volume do núcleo magnetizado axialmente. Verificou-se ainda com esse estudo, que esses microfios exibem um comportamento magnético em função da temperatura muito parecido com o comportamento magnético frente a tensão mecânica externa. Isso é fruto de uma competição entre as energias magnetoelástica e magnetostática, que são as principais energias envolvidas nesses materiais.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Amorphous glass-coated microwires are materials with soft magnetic properties suitable for various technological applications, mainly magnetic sensors. One of the outstanding properties of microwires with positive magnetostriction is the magnetic bi-stability, that means, the inversion of the magnetization is done by one magnetic domain wall displacement along the wire. In this work it was developed a system to determine the domain wall speed in microwires and studied its dynamic. Particularly, were studied the relation between domain wall speed, magnetic field and magnetoelastic anisotropy in Fe77;5Si7;5B15 microwires. It has been verified that the main source of domain wall damping is the eddy-currents and spin relaxation, both with a strong relation with the magnetoelastic energy. The magnetoelastic energy is changed by the axial applied stress which, by its time, modifies the damping mechanisms. It was also verified that the domain wall damping present different behavior at low (mainly eddy-currents) and high applied stress (spin relaxation). / Microfios amorfos recobertos por vidro são materiais com propriedades magnéticas macias adequadas para várias aplicações tecnológicas, especialmente sensores magnéticos. Uma das propriedades interessantes dos microfios com magnetostricção positiva é a biestabilidade magnética, cuja inversão da magnetização se dá pela propagação de uma parede de domínio ao longo do material. Nesse trabalho foi desenvolvido um sistema para a determinação da velocidade de uma parede de domínio em microfios e estudada a dinâmica dessa parede. Em particular, foram estudadas as relações entre velocidade da parede de domínio, campo magnético e anisotropia magnetoelástica em microfios amorfos com composição nominal de Fe77;5Si7;5B15. Verificouse que os principais mecanismos de amortecimento das paredes de domínio têm origem nas microcorrentes de Foucault (eddy-currents) e na relaxação de spins, ambas com forte dependência da energia magnetoelástica. A energia magnetoelástica varia com a aplicação de uma tensão axial ao fio influenciando os mecanismos de amortecimento. Verificou-se também que a variação do amortecimento efetivo das paredes de domínio com a tensão tem comportamentos distintos a baixas (eddy-currents) e altas tensões aplicadas (relaxação de spin).