We have investigated the structure and interfacial structure of two types of high-k dielectric thin films on Si using combined experimental and theoretical approaches. In the Hf-based high- k dielectrics, the crystallinity of three films, pure HfO2, Y-incorporated HfO2 and Al-incorporated HfO2, is examined by transmission electron diffraction (TED), and the local coordination symmetries of the Hf atoms in the films are revealed by the profile of electron energy-loss near-edge structure (ELNES) taken at oxygen K-edge. These ELNES spectra are then simulated using real-space multiple-scattering (RSMS) method. We find a good agreement between the experimental and the simulated result of pure HfO2. The incorporation of Y indeed stabilizes HfO 2 to a cubic structure, but it also contributes to possible lattice distortion and creation of complex defect states, causing discrepancies between the experimental and the simulated result. As a comparison, the local coordination symmetry of Hf is largely degraded upon the incorporation of Al, which not only amorphorizes HfO2, but also introduces significantly amount of O vacancies in the film. We have further investigated the interfacial structures of HfO2 and Al-incorporated HfO2 thin films on Si using spatially resolved ELNES, which a series of the oxygen K-edge spectra is acquired when a 0.3 nm electron probe scanning across the film/Si interface. We find that interfaces are not atomically sharp, and variation in the local coordination symmetry of Hf atoms lasts for a couple of monolayers for both the HfO2 and the Al-incorporated HfO2 samples. Annealing of the HfO2 film in the oxygen environment leads to the formation of a thick SiO2/SiOx stack layer in-between the original HfO2 and the Si substrate. As a comparison, the interfacial stability is significantly improved by incorporating Al into the HfO 2 film to form HfAlO, which effectively reduces/eliminates the interfacial silicon oxide formation during the oxygen annealing process. The interfacial structure of SiTiO3 (STO) dielectric and Si is significant different from that between Hf-based dielectric and Si, as the crystalline STO is epitaxially grown on the Si. Together with the high resolution high-angle annular-dark-field (HAADF) image, the spatially resolved ELNES acquired across the STO/Si interface reveal an amorphous interfacial region of 1-2 monolayer thickness, which is lack of Sr, but contains Ti, Si, and O. Based on these experimental evidences, we propose a classical molecular dynamic (MD) interface model, in which the STO is connected to Si by a distorted Ti-O layer and a complex Si-O layer. The simulated results, based on the MD interface model, generally agree with the experimental results, disclosing a gradual change of the local atomic coordination symmetry and possible defect incorporation at the interface. / Wang, Xiaofeng = Si衬底上高k介电薄膜的结构研究 / 王晓峰. / Adviser: Li Quan. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-11, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-112). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Wang, Xiaofeng = Si chen di shang gao k jie dian bo mo de jie gou yan jiu / Wang Xiaofeng.

Liang Tak-keung. / "June 2004." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

This thesis describes the development and demonstration of a new technique for the fabrication of well-defined quantum dots in a bulk silicon substrate, for potential applications such as quantum computation in coupled quantum dots. Hall characterisation was performed on double-gated mesaMetal-Oxide- Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, for the purpose of silicon quantum dots in etched nanowires on SOI. Carrier density and mobility results are presented, demonstrating top- and backgate control over the two inversion layers created at the upper and lower surfaces of the superficial silicon mesa. A new technique is developed enabling effective depletion gating of quantum dots in a bulk silicon substrate. A lower layer of aluminium gates is defined using electron beam lithography; the surface of these gates is oxidised using a plasma oxidation technique; and a further layer of aluminium gates is deposited. The lower gates form tunable tunnel barriers in the narrow inversion layer channel created by the upper MOSFET gate. The two layers of gates are electrically isolated by the localised layer of aluminium oxide. Low-temperature transport spectroscopy has been performed in both the many electron (∼100 electrons) and the few electron (∼10 electrons) regimes.Excited states in the bias spectroscopy provide evidence of quantum confinement. Preliminary temperature and magnetic field dependence data are presented. These results demonstrate that depletion gates are an effective technique for defining quantum dots in silicon. Furthermore, the demonstration of the first silicon radio-frequency single electron transistor is reported. The island is again defined by electrostatically tunable tunnel barriers in a narrow channel field effect transistor. Charge sensitivities of better than 10μe/√Hz are demonstrated at MHz bandwidth. These results establish that silicon may be used to fabricate fast, sensitive electrometers.

Microelectronics has enjoyed great success in the past century. As the technology node progresses, the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor scaling has already reached a wall, and serious challenges in high-bandwidth interconnects and fast-speed signal processing arise. The incorporation of photonics to microelectronics provides potential solutions. The theme of this thesis is focused on the novel applications of travelling-wave microresonators such as microdisks and microrings for the on-chip optical interconnects and signal processing. Challenges arising from these applications including theoretical and experimental ones are addressed. On the theoretical aspect, a modified version of coupled mode theory is offered for the TM-polarization in high index contrast material systems. Through numerical comparisons, it is shown that our modified coupled mode theory is more accurate than all the existing ones. The coupling-induced phase responses are also studied, which is of critical importance to coupled-resonator structures. Different coupling structures are studied by a customized numerical code, revealing that the phase response of symmetric couplers with the symmetry about the wave propagating direction can be simply estimated while the one of asymmetric couplers is more complicated. Mode splitting and scattering loss, which are two important features commonly observed in the spectrum of high-Q microresonators, are also investigated. Our review of the existing analytical approaches shows that they have only achieved partial success. Especially, different models have been proposed for several distinct regimes and cannot be reconciled. In this thesis, a unified approach is developed for the general case to achieve a complete understanding of these two effects. On the experimental aspect, we first develop a new fabrication recipe with a focus on the accurate dimensional control and low-loss performance. HSQ is employed as the electron-beam resist, and the lithography and plasma etching steps are both optimized to achieve vertical and smooth sidewalls. A third-order temperature-insensitive coupled-resonator filter is designed and demonstrated in the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform, which serves as a critical building block element in terabit/s on-chip networks. Two design challenges, i.e., a broadband flat-band response and a temperature-insensitive design, are coherently addressed by employing the redundant bandwidth of the filter channel caused by the dispersion as thermal guard band. As a result, the filter can accommodate 21 WDM channels with a data rate up to 100 gigabit/s per wavelength channel, while providing a sufficient thermal guard band to tolerate more than ±15°C temperature fluctuations in the on-chip environment. In this thesis, high-Q microdisk resonators are also proposed to be used as low-loss delay lines for narrowband filters. Pulley coupling scheme is used to selectively couple to one of the radial modes of the microdisk and also to achieve a strong coupling. A first-order tunable narrowband filter based on the microdisk-based delay line is experimentally demonstrated in an SOI platform, which shows a tunable bandwidth from 4.1 GHz to 0.47 GHz with an overall size of 0.05 mm². Finally, to address the challenges for the resonator-based delay lines encountered in the SOI platform, we propose to vertically integrate silicon nitride to the SOI platform, which can potentially have significantly lower propagation loss and higher power handling capability. High-Q silicon nitride microresonators are demonstrated; especially, microresonators with a 16 million intrinsic Q and a moderate size of 240 µm radius are realized, which is one order of magnitude improvement compared to what can be achieved in the SOI platform using the same fabrication technology. We have also successfully grown silicon nitride on top of SOI and a good coupling has been achieved between the silicon nitride and the silicon layers.

This thesis describes the development and demonstration of a new technique for the fabrication of well-defined quantum dots in a bulk silicon substrate, for potential applications such as quantum computation in coupled quantum dots. Hall characterisation was performed on double-gated mesaMetal-Oxide- Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, for the purpose of silicon quantum dots in etched nanowires on SOI. Carrier density and mobility results are presented, demonstrating top- and backgate control over the two inversion layers created at the upper and lower surfaces of the superficial silicon mesa. A new technique is developed enabling effective depletion gating of quantum dots in a bulk silicon substrate. A lower layer of aluminium gates is defined using electron beam lithography; the surface of these gates is oxidised using a plasma oxidation technique; and a further layer of aluminium gates is deposited. The lower gates form tunable tunnel barriers in the narrow inversion layer channel created by the upper MOSFET gate. The two layers of gates are electrically isolated by the localised layer of aluminium oxide. Low-temperature transport spectroscopy has been performed in both the many electron (∼100 electrons) and the few electron (∼10 electrons) regimes.Excited states in the bias spectroscopy provide evidence of quantum confinement. Preliminary temperature and magnetic field dependence data are presented. These results demonstrate that depletion gates are an effective technique for defining quantum dots in silicon. Furthermore, the demonstration of the first silicon radio-frequency single electron transistor is reported. The island is again defined by electrostatically tunable tunnel barriers in a narrow channel field effect transistor. Charge sensitivities of better than 10μe/√Hz are demonstrated at MHz bandwidth. These results establish that silicon may be used to fabricate fast, sensitive electrometers.

Thesis (doctoral)--Helsinki University of Technology, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Univ., Habil.-Schr.--Kiel, 1999. / Literaturverz. S. [297] - 323.

Thesis (M.App.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-91). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-91).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains x, 113 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 108-113).