This thesis is primarily concerned with the evaluation and comparison of the dielectric behaviour of materials which may find application as substrates in microelectronic high-performance packaging. In the introductory chapter the factors governing the choice of the most suitable dielectric substrate for compatibility with silicon technology are reviewed; it is shown that in addition to good dielectric properties the thermal conductivity is important if high power packages are required together with the ability to obtain good matching of thermal expansion coefficients. This is followed by a survey of the present theories of dielectric behaviour with special emphasis on the Universal law of dielectric response and its applicability to oxide and glass ceramics which exhibit hopping conductivity. The experimental methods for the measurement of dielectric parameters are outlined in Chapter 3 which includes an account of techniques developed for studying materials only available as powders. The three substrate systems studied were aluminium oxide, aluminium nitride and glass-on-molybdenum and in the case of the two former materials a range of both pure and impure specimens were examined both in single crystal and sintered polycrystalline form. The detailed experimental results are presented and discussed in the three succeeding chapters for each of the materials in turn; these results include the values of permittivity and dielectric loss, measured over a frequency range of 5 x 10(^2) Hz to 1 x 10(^7) Hz, the temperature variation of permittivity both in the low temperature (85K to 293k) and high temperature (20ºC to about 600ºC) regions and the d.c. and a.c. conductivity in the high temperature range. In their pure form each of these materials would be suitable as a substrate, having permittivities at room temperature of ϵ ' (_s) = 10.2 for polycrystalline Al(_2)(^0)(_3), ϵ' (_s) = 9.2 for polycrystalline AlN (which has a thermal conductivity of about one-hundred times that of alumina) and ϵ' (_s) - 6.5 for glass-on-molybdenum and dielectric losses in the region of tan δ - 10(^-3). The effect of impurities is shown to be very significant leading in all cases to some increase in permittivity and a much larger increase in dielectric loss. The measurements made on powders are given and discussed in Chapter 7. In the studies on the powders used as starting materials for the manufacture of substrates it was shown that by making measurements at low temperature (77K) the effects of intergranular space charge polarization could be overcome yielding information valuable for quality control of impurity content; measurements made on powders of some high temperature oxide superconducting materials are also given. The final chapter, Chapter 8, summarises the overall conclusions of the research and makes some suggestions for future work.

This work investigates the design, system integration, optimization, and evaluation of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) active matrix flat panel imagers (AMFPI) for bio-medical applications. Here, two hybrid active pixel sensor (H-APS) designs are introduced that improve the dynamic range while maintaining the desirable attributes of high speed and low noise readout. Also presented is a systematic approach for noise analysis of thin film transistors (TFT) and pixel circuits in which circuit analysis techniques and TFT noise models are combined to evaluate circuit noise performance. We also explore different options of system integration and present measurement results of a high fill-factor (HFF) array with segmented photodiode.

This work investigates the design, system integration, optimization, and evaluation of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) active matrix flat panel imagers (AMFPI) for bio-medical applications. Here, two hybrid active pixel sensor (H-APS) designs are introduced that improve the dynamic range while maintaining the desirable attributes of high speed and low noise readout. Also presented is a systematic approach for noise analysis of thin film transistors (TFT) and pixel circuits in which circuit analysis techniques and TFT noise models are combined to evaluate circuit noise performance. We also explore different options of system integration and present measurement results of a high fill-factor (HFF) array with segmented photodiode.

No / This letter investigates the feasibility of designing a high gain on-chip antenna on silicon technology for subterahertz applications over a wide-frequency range. High gain is achieved by exciting the antenna using an aperture fed mechanism to couple electromagnetics energy from a metal slot line, which is sandwiched between the silicon and polycarbonate substrates, to a 15-element array comprising circular and rectangular radiation patches fabricated on the top surface of the polycarbonate layer. An open ended microstrip line, which is orthogonal to the metal slot-line, is implemented on the underside of the silicon substrate. When the open ended microstrip line is excited it couples the signal to the metal slot-line which is subsequently coupled and radiated by the patch array. Measured results show the proposed on-chip antenna exhibits a reflection coefficient of less than-10 dB across 0.290-0.316 THz with a highest gain and radiation efficiency of 11.71 dBi and 70.8%, respectively, occurred at 0.3 THz. The antenna has a narrow stopband between 0.292 and 0.294 THz. The physical size of the presented subterahertz on-chip antenna is 20 × 3.5 × 0.126 mm3.

Compte tenu de la multiplication des standards dans le domaine des télécommunications,l’accordabilité au sein des systèmes est devenue une priorité en termes d’intégration et de coût.Un seul circuit accordable doit ainsi permettre d’adresser plusieurs normes. Dans la gamme deshyperfréquences, en technologie planaire, la fonction accordable (filtre ou antenne) estactuellement un dispositif passif distribué sur lequel sont reportés un ou plusieurs élémentsd’accords. Il est ainsi possible de faire varier au moins une des caractéristiques du dispositif(fréquence centrale et/ou bande passante pour les filtres et fréquence de résonance, diagrammede rayonnement ou mode de polarisation pour les antennes). Le circuit passif étant distribué, pourassurer la propagation de l’onde, un matériau diélectrique faible pertes est généralement utilisé.Cependant, l’ajout d’éléments d’accord engendre des pertes et des perturbations liées au report ducomposant (éléments parasites au niveau de l’interconnexion et des discontinuités composantd’accord-dispositif passif, et de la mise en boitier du composant reporté). Enfin, cette manière deréaliser des fonctions accordables rend peu flexible la conception (dimensions et localisation ducomposant d’accord) et la fabrication (perçage et métallisation pour les vias).Dans ce contexte, nous proposons de co-concevoir des fonctions hyperfréquences accordablessur un substrat semi-conducteur sur lequel il est à la fois possible de réaliser le composantd’accord et le dispositif passif distribué. Cette co-conception du circuit passif et de son élémentd’accord permet d’éliminer toutes les contraintes liées au report de composant, au perçage de viamétallique et apporte une grande flexibilité au niveau du dimensionnement de la zone dopée. Eneffet, elles peuvent être soit localisées soit distribuées. Toutefois, ce concept nécessite que lesupport semi-conducteur soit à la fois compatible à la propagation de l’onde et à la réalisation del’élément d’accord. Ces travaux de thèse ont permis de lever ce verrou en proposant descompromis permettant la réalisation de composants accordables validés par des démonstrateurssur technologie silicium.Au cours de ces travaux, une ligne de transmission micro-ruban et un composant d’accord de typeswitch ont été co-conçus. De très bonnes performances, validées par la mesure, ont été obtenues.De plus, une démarche de co-simulation a été proposée pour prendre en compte les effets semiconducteursdans la simulation électromagnétique.Le concept ayant été validé, il a été ensuite appliqué à des dispositifs accordables relativementsimples afin de montrer le potentiel de cette démarche (en termes de performances et de flexibilitéde conception), tels que des filtres accordables, des guides d’ondes de type SIW (SubstrateIntegrated Waveguide) reconfigurables ou encore des antennes accordables en fréquence. Cestravaux font également apparaître de nombreuses perspectives pour la réalisation de nouvellestopologies de filtres accordables (filtres SIW, interdigités…), d’antennes accordables (enfréquence, en diagramme de rayonnement…) ou de déphaseurs. Enfin, un potentiel a été identifiépour de nouvelles topologies de fonctions accordables en continu à base de jonction de typediodes varactors (composants à capacités variables). / Given the proliferation of standards in telecommunication systems, tunability is becoming a priorityboth in terms of integration and cost. A single tunable circuit needs to be able to work according toseveral different standards. Nowadays, a tunable function (filter or antenna) in planar technology isa passive distributed device to which some active tuning elements are soldered. At least onecharacteristic of the device can therefore be varied (the central frequency and/or the bandwidth inthe case of a filter; or the resonant frequency, radiating pattern or polarization mode in the case ofan antenna). Because passive devices are distributed in order to propagate the electromagneticwave, they are often designed on a dielectric substrate to minimize losses. However, the additionof tuning elements causes some additional losses and disturbances (some parasitic effects canarise due to the packaging or the interconnection and discontinuities between active and passiveparts). Finally, these tunable functions reduce the flexibility of the design (due to the size andlocalization of the active tuning elements) and manufacturing (due to drilling and via metallization).In this context, we propose to co-design tunable microwave functions on a semiconductorsubstrate on which it is possible to build both the tunable element and the passive distributedcomponent. This co-design between the passive and active parts removes the constraints relatedto the tuning elements and drilling of via holes. The concept offers a greater flexibility with regard tothe size of doped areas, allowing them to be either localized or distributed. However, this approachrequires the substrate to be compatible with the propagation of the electromagnetic field and withthe design of the tunable element. The work of this thesis makes it possible to overcome suchobstacles by proposing some tradeoffs allowing the design and the manufacture of tunablemicrowave components in silicon technology, which have been validated by demonstrator circuits.During this work, a microstrip transmission line and a switch were co-designed. Goodperformances were obtained both in simulations and measurements. Moreover, a co-simulationapproach is proposed to take into account the semiconductor effects in electromagneticsimulations.Once validated, this concept was applied to other relatively simple tunable devices to show thepotential of this approach (in terms of performances and design flexibility). Applications includedtunable filters, reconfigurable waveguides (such as SIW: Substrate Integrated Waveguides) andfrequency-tunable antennas. This study showed promising results for the design of new tunablefilter topologies (SIW filters, coupled-line filters), tunable antennas (in resonant frequency orradiation pattern) and phase shifters. Finally, the approach shows potential for continuous tunablefunctions based on varactor diodes (with capacitance variation).

L’objectif du présent travail a été de concevoir et de fabriquer des dispositifs sur silicium pour convertir de l’énergie thermique en une énergie électrique en utilisant le changement de phase liquide-gaz dans le but de générer une variation subite de pression suivie d’une conversion d’énergie mécanique vers une énergie électrique à l’aide d’un piézoélectrique. La construction des dispositifs a dû rester simple, avec des matériaux courants et en respectant des limites dimensionnelles. Empreinte inférieure à un diamètre de 20 mm et une épaisseur en dessous des 2 mm.Les prototypes fabriqués sont composés de 3 plaques en silicium, contenant une chambre d’évaporation, une chambre de condensation et un canal réunissant les deux. Un transducteur piézoélectrique a été reporté sur la chambre de condensation et assure l’étanchéité ainsi que la génération d’énergie électrique.Le processus de conception inclut plusieurs étapes, dont la définition de la géométrie et du type de fluide de travail utilisé en tant qu’agent thermique. Le travail effectué a permis de sélectionner le type de piézoélectrique, sa taille ainsi que sa méthode d’intégration. Une étude a également été conduite pour déterminer la méthode optimale d’assemblage des plaques en silicium.La réalisation pratique des dispositifs a été orientée vers la sélection des meilleurs procédés technologiques pour la fabrication des structures. Toutes les expériences ont été conduites en salle blanche avec utilisation de l’oxydation humide, la photolithographie, la gravure KOH, ainsi que d’une technique d’assemblage des plaques silicium avec utilisation de la résine SU-8 comme couche intermédiaire. En plus, quelques outils spécifiques ont été conçus lors du présent travail, pour faciliter la fabrication des dispositifs, dont un système sous vide dédié à l’assemblage des plaques en silicium.Les dispositifs ont été testés afin d’établir leur mécanisme d’oscillation thermique ainsi que leurs propriétés électriques. L’influence tu taux de remplissage et de la température de surface chaude sur le signal en sortie ont également été étudiées. Le calcul de l’énergie générée a aussi été effectué. Dans la dernière partie de l’étude, des étapes d’optimisation pour les dispositifs développés dans le présent travail sont proposées. / The goal of the present work was to design and fabricate a fully silicon oscillating device that converts thermal energy into electricity, applying phenomena of liquid to gas phase-change and piezoelectricity. It should be characterized by simplicity of construction, small size, and ease of manufacture. The diameter should not exceed 2 cm, while the thickness should be within 2 mm.The device was composed of three Si wafers comprising evaporation and condensing chambers, and the channel connecting these two elements. A PZT-based transducer mounted on top of the structure was applied to ensure energy conversion.The design process included the establishment of the device geometry, the type of the working fluid enclosed inside the system, a type, size and assembly technique of a piezoelectric element, as well as a bonding method of several silicon elements of the device.The practical realization of the designed prototypes was aimed at selecting the most suitable technological processes for structure fabrication. All the experiments had been performed in a clean room environment and employed wet oxidation, photolithography, a well-known, easily available wet chemical etching in KOH solution, and a silicon bonding technique with the use of SU-8 photoresist as an intermediate layer. Additionally, during the practical work a few tools have been designed and developed to enhance the device fabrication, amongst which a vacuum pump dedicated to bond the three silicon wafers as structural elements of the prototypesThe fabricated prototypes were tested in terms of oscillation mechanism and electrical properties. The influence of the filling ratio and the hot temperature value on the generated signal was established. Additionally, the power range of the prototypes has been evaluated. In the last part of the study, optimization steps for the devices developed in the present work have been proposed.

La montée en fréquence jusqu'à 60 GHz dans la bande de fréquences millimétriques, qui devrait permettre des débits supérieurs de l'ordre de 5 à 7 Gb/s environ, a été la réponse aux exigences croissantes des systèmes de télécommunication haut débit. Cette montée nécessite la réalisation de circuits actifs ou passifs plus intégrés avec de hautes performances.Dans ce travail de thèse, nous utilisons la technologie LGP (Ligne de Goubau Planaire) à 60 GHz : un ruban métallique est placé sur un diélectrique sans plan de masse dans le cas des circuits planaires, nous utilisons un diélectrique composé d'une bicouche (une couche de silicium haut résistivité au-dessus d'une couche de verre) en prenant en compte le plateau métallique du banc de mesure dans les simulations.Pour montrer l'efficacité de cette technologie à 60 GHz, plusieurs circuits passifs ont été développés et caractérisés: des lignes de transmission (qui ont montré de très faibles pertes, ainsi qu'un facteur de qualité Q très élevé), des transitions coplanaire/LGP, des filtres à base de résonateurs en boucle carrée ouverte, et un filtre passe-bas à saut d'impédance.Les mesures en concordance avec les résultats de simulations électromagnétiques et électriques ont validé l'utilisation de la technologie LGP pour la réalisation de filtres passe-bande et passe-bas à 60GHz / The rise in frequency band till 60 GHz in millimeter frequency-band, which should provide high data rate up to 5 or 7 Gb/s, has been the response to the increasing demands for high data rate telecommunication systems. This rising in frequency spectrum requires active or passive circuits more integrated with high performances.In this work we use the PGL technology (Planar Goubau Line) at 60 GHz: a metal strip deposited on a dielectric substrate without ground plane, the dielectric in our case is a bilayer substrate (High Resistivity silicon over Glass), we take into account in the simulations the measure bench metal plate.To show the efficiency of PGL technology at 60 GHz, several passive circuits have been fabricated and characterized: Transmission Lines (of low transmission losses with high quality factor Q), Coplanar/ PGL transition, filters based on square open-loop resonators, and a stepped impedance low pass filter.The agreement between the measurement and simulations validate this technology for the fabrication of low-pass and bandpass filters

The main objectives of this thesis were to develop a lowtemperature PECVD process suitable for optoelectronicintegration, and to optimize silica glass composition forUV-induced modifications of a refractive index in PECVDfabricated planar devices. The most important achievement isthe successful development of a low temperature silicadeposition, which for the first time makes it is possible tofabricate good quality low loss integrated components whilekeeping the temperature below 250oC during the entirefabrication process. Two strong absorption peaks thatappear at1.5 mm communication window due to N-H and Si-H bonds have beencompletely eliminated by process optimization. This openspossibilities for monolithic integration with other,temperature sensitive devices, such as semiconductor lasers anddetectors, or polymer-based structures on the common siliconplatform. PECVD technology for low loss amorphous silicon inapplication to SiO2/Si based photonic crystal structures hasbeen also optimized to remove hydrogen incorporated during thedeposition process, responsible for the porosity of thedeposited material and creation of similar to silica absorptionbands. Change of the refractive index of germanium doped silicaunder UV irradiation is commonly used for fabrication of UVinduced fiber Bragg gratings. Here we describe our achievementsin fabrication of fiber Bragg gratings and their application todistributed sensor systems. Recently we have built up a laserlab for UV treatment in application to planar technology. Wehave demonstrated the high photosensitivity of PECVD depositedGe-doped glasses (not thermally annealed) even without hydrogenloading, leading to a record transmission suppression of 47dBin a Bragg grating photoinduced in a straight buried channelwaveguide. We have also used a UV induced refractive indexchange to introduce other device modifications or functions,such as phase shift, wavelength trimming and control ofpolarization birefringence.The developed low temperature technology and the UVprocessing form a unique technology platform for development ofnovel integrated functional devices for optical communicationsystems. A substantial part of the thesis has been devoted tostudying different plasma deposition parameters and theirinfluence on the optical characteristics of fabricatedwaveguides to find the processing window giving the besttrade-off between the deposition rate,chamber temperatureduring the process, optical losses and presence of absorptionbands within the interesting wavelength range. The optimalconditions identified in this study are low pressure (300-400mTorr), high dilution of silane in nitrous oxide and high totalflow (2000 sccm), low frequency (380 KHz) RF source and high RFpower levels (800-1000 W). The thesis provides better understanding of the plasmareactions during the deposition process. RF Power is the keyparameter for increasing the rate of surface processes so as toaccommodate each atomic layer in the lowest energy statepossible. All the process conditions which favor a moreenergetic ion bombardment (i.e. low pressure, low frequency andhigh power) improve the quality of the material, making it moredense and similar to thermal oxide, but after a certain pointthe positive trend with increasing power saturates. As theenergy of the incoming ion increases, a competing effect setsin at the surface: ion induced damage and resputtering. Finally, the developed technologies were applied for thefabrication of some test and new concept devices for opticalcommunication systems including multimode interference (MMI)-based couplers/splitters, state-of-the-art arrayed waveguidegrating-based multi/ demultiplexers, the first Bragg gratingassisted MMI-based add-drop multiplexer, as well as moreresearch oriented devices such as a Mach-Zehnder switch basedon silica poling and a Photonic Crystal-based coupler. <b>Keywords:</b>silica-on-silicon technology, PECVD, plasmadeposition, photonic integrated circuits, planar waveguidedevices, UV Bragg gratings, photosensitivity, arrayed waveguidegratings, multimode interference couplers, add-dropmultiplexers.

The last two decades have witnessed a large increase in capacity in telecommunication systems, thanks to the development of high bandwidth, fiber optic based networks. Nevertheless the continuing growth of Internet data traffic, fuelled by the development of numerous services like on-line commerce, video on demand, large audio/video files downloads, demands for a significant increase in the ability of the network nodes to manage incoming and outcoming data streams effectively and fast. The different functionalities that are needed include add/drop channel multiplexing, routing, signal reshaping and retiming, electrical/optical and optical/electrical conversion. This has stimulated a large effort towards the investigation of technologies for opto-electronic integration at a wafer level, in order to cope with all the required operations, while limiting overall costs. Among the different approaches proposed, one of the most promising is the “Silicon optical bench”, which relies on the well established VLSI technology for the microelectronics part and on planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) made either with silica-on-silicon waveguide technology (low index contrast) of amorphous silicon technology (high index contrast) on the integrated optics side. This thesis presents the development of new techniques and methodologies utilized in photonic device fabrication, which can be used to facilitate integration of temperature sensitive elements. The process is based on low temperature, plasma assisted, thick film deposition. First, a low temperature (300°C) deposition process based on Plasma assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition (PACVD) for the fabrication of silica based Planar Lightwave Circuits (PLC) is developed. The low thermal budget lends itself to monolithic integration with devices fabricated with different technologies. Absorption bands at around the wavelengths 1.48µm and 1.51µm caused by N-H and Si-H bonds within the material, respectively, had previously been thought to be intrinsic to the PACVD deposition method, when using N2O as oxidant gas of SiH4 and the other dopant precursors. The traditional method to eliminate these absorption bands was high temperature (&gt;1000°C) annealing that seriously hinders device integration. An important achievement in this thesis is the improved suppression of these two absorption bands while keeping the whole fabrication temperature below 300°C and also having a high deposition rate. A complete fabrication process for silica planar lightwave circuits was also developed, by optimising the photolithography and etching step. Finally the effect of dopants like Ge and B on the optical properties of the deposited silica glass was investigated, with particular emphasis to the photosensitive properties of the material upon illumination in the near UV. UV trimming is shown to be a versatile method to selectively control polarization birefringence of devices. Transmission dips of above 50dB were achieved in photo-induced gratings in low temperature deposited B-Ge codoped waveguide cores, without the need for hydrogen loading or other sensitisation techniques. The application of a high refractive index like amorphous silicon is addressed for the realization of efficient Bragg reflectors, either as vertical cavity laser mirrors or as dispersive element for planar waveguides used in highly selective co-directional coupler filters. Applications of amorphous silicon as core material for photonic crystal devices are also shown. The investigations carried out in this thesis show that PACVD technology can provide low-loss and UV sensitive material suitable for realizing a variety of low cost integrated devices for future all optical networks. / QC 20101004

<p>The main objectives of this thesis were to develop a lowtemperature PECVD process suitable for optoelectronicintegration, and to optimize silica glass composition forUV-induced modifications of a refractive index in PECVDfabricated planar devices. The most important achievement isthe successful development of a low temperature silicadeposition, which for the first time makes it is possible tofabricate good quality low loss integrated components whilekeeping the temperature below 250oC during the entirefabrication process. Two strong absorption peaks thatappear at1.5 mm communication window due to N-H and Si-H bonds have beencompletely eliminated by process optimization. This openspossibilities for monolithic integration with other,temperature sensitive devices, such as semiconductor lasers anddetectors, or polymer-based structures on the common siliconplatform. PECVD technology for low loss amorphous silicon inapplication to SiO2/Si based photonic crystal structures hasbeen also optimized to remove hydrogen incorporated during thedeposition process, responsible for the porosity of thedeposited material and creation of similar to silica absorptionbands.</p><p>Change of the refractive index of germanium doped silicaunder UV irradiation is commonly used for fabrication of UVinduced fiber Bragg gratings. Here we describe our achievementsin fabrication of fiber Bragg gratings and their application todistributed sensor systems. Recently we have built up a laserlab for UV treatment in application to planar technology. Wehave demonstrated the high photosensitivity of PECVD depositedGe-doped glasses (not thermally annealed) even without hydrogenloading, leading to a record transmission suppression of 47dBin a Bragg grating photoinduced in a straight buried channelwaveguide. We have also used a UV induced refractive indexchange to introduce other device modifications or functions,such as phase shift, wavelength trimming and control ofpolarization birefringence.The developed low temperature technology and the UVprocessing form a unique technology platform for development ofnovel integrated functional devices for optical communicationsystems.</p><p>A substantial part of the thesis has been devoted tostudying different plasma deposition parameters and theirinfluence on the optical characteristics of fabricatedwaveguides to find the processing window giving the besttrade-off between the deposition rate,chamber temperatureduring the process, optical losses and presence of absorptionbands within the interesting wavelength range. The optimalconditions identified in this study are low pressure (300-400mTorr), high dilution of silane in nitrous oxide and high totalflow (2000 sccm), low frequency (380 KHz) RF source and high RFpower levels (800-1000 W).</p><p>The thesis provides better understanding of the plasmareactions during the deposition process. RF Power is the keyparameter for increasing the rate of surface processes so as toaccommodate each atomic layer in the lowest energy statepossible. All the process conditions which favor a moreenergetic ion bombardment (i.e. low pressure, low frequency andhigh power) improve the quality of the material, making it moredense and similar to thermal oxide, but after a certain pointthe positive trend with increasing power saturates. As theenergy of the incoming ion increases, a competing effect setsin at the surface: ion induced damage and resputtering.</p><p>Finally, the developed technologies were applied for thefabrication of some test and new concept devices for opticalcommunication systems including multimode interference (MMI)-based couplers/splitters, state-of-the-art arrayed waveguidegrating-based multi/ demultiplexers, the first Bragg gratingassisted MMI-based add-drop multiplexer, as well as moreresearch oriented devices such as a Mach-Zehnder switch basedon silica poling and a Photonic Crystal-based coupler.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>silica-on-silicon technology, PECVD, plasmadeposition, photonic integrated circuits, planar waveguidedevices, UV Bragg gratings, photosensitivity, arrayed waveguidegratings, multimode interference couplers, add-dropmultiplexers.</p>