As the thinnest material ever with high carrier mobility and saturation velocity, graphene is considered as a candidate for future high speed electronics. After pioneering research on graphene-based electronics at Georgia Tech, epitaxial graphene on SiC, along with other synthesized graphene, has been extensively investigated for possible applications in high frequency analog circuits. With a combined effort from academic and industrial research institutions, the best cut-off frequency of graphene radio-frequency (RF) transistors is already comparable to the best result of III-V material-based devices. However, the power gain performance of graphene transistors remained low, and the absence of a band gap inhibits the possibility of graphene in digital electronics. Aiming at solving these problems, this thesis will demonstrate the effort toward better high frequency power gain performance based on mono-layer epitaxial graphene on C-face SiC. Besides, a graphene/Si integration scheme will be proposed that utilizes the high speed potential of graphene electronics and logic functionality and maturity of Si-CMOS platform at the same time.

The prospect of producing nanometer channel-length thin film transistors (TFTs) for active matrix addressed pixelated arrays opens up new high-performance applications in which the most amenable device topology is the vertical thin film transistor (VTFT) in view of its small area. The previous attempts at fabricating VTFTs have yielded devices with a high drain leakage current, a low ON/OFF current ratio, and no saturation behaviour in the output current at high drain voltages, all induced by short channel effects. To overcome these adversities, particularly dominant as the channel length approaches the nano-scale regime, the reduction of the gate dielectric thickness is essential. However, the problems with scaling the gate dielectric thickness are the high gate leakage current and early dielectric breakdown of the insulator, deteriorating the device performance and reliability. A novel ultra-thin SiNx film suitable for the application as the gate dielectric of short channel TFTs and VTFTs is developed. The deposition is performed in a standard 13.56MHz PECVD system with silane and ammonia precursor gasses diluted in nitrogen. The deposited 50nm SiNx films demonstrate excellent electrical characteristics in terms of a leakage current of 0.1 nA/cm?? and a breakdown electric field of 5.6MV/cm. Subsequently, the state of the art performances of 0.5??m channel length VTFTs with 50 and 30nm thick SiNx gate dielectrics are presented in this thesis. The transistors exhibit ON/OFF current ratios over 10^9, the subthreshold slopes as sharp as 0.23 V/dec, and leakage currents in the fA range. More significantly, a high associated yield is obtained for the fabrication of these devices on 3-inch rigid substrates. Finally, to illustrate the tremendous potential of the VTFT for the large area electronics, a 2.2-inch QVGA AMOLD display with in-pixel VTFT-based driver circuits is designed and fabricated. An outstanding value of 56% compared to the 30% produced by conventional technology is achieved as the aperture ratio of the display. Moreover, the initial measurement results reveal an excellent uniformity of the circuit elements.

This thesis describes the development of antennas suitable for mobile coinmunication systems based on a dielectric rod antenna fed from circular waveguide. Pattern control of the antenna is implemented using a combination of Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) elements and metallic endcaps placed on the antenna Both linear and circular polarised feeds have been made for these antennas to ensure they are suitable for a wide range of applications. The suitability of the dominant and next, higher order, waveguide mode were investigated and conclusions drawn as to their suitability for this type of antenna. The antennas were extensively modelled using a commercial TLM based solver and the results of these simulations were compared to the comprehensive set of antenna pattern measurements and S-parameter measurements obtained for the prototype antennas.

The aim of doctoral dissertation „Grain Size Effect on Dielectric Properties of Ferroelectrics and Relaxors“ by Maksim Ivanov is to investigate, how grain size of ceramics and powders of a few ferroelectrics and relaxors influences macroscopic dielectric properties. The studied materials are powders of a relaxor PbMg⅓Nb⅔O3 (PMN), ceramics of a relaxor with a spontaneous phase transition PbSc½Nb½O3 (PSN), ceramics of a ferroelectric 0.36BiScO3-0.64PbTiO3, and ceramics of Ba2SnO4, which were compared to a better investigated BaSnO3. Investigations were performed in broad frequency (100 Hz – 55 GHz) and temperature (30 K – 1000 K) ranges. Experimental investigations and modelling showed, that bulk properties of relaxor materials are heavily influenced by polar nanoregions, but they do not fully determine them. Morphology of the material (i.e. grain size of ceramics) determines growth and interactions of the nanoregions, thus influencing bulk properties. Moreover, effective medium approximation can explain evolution of dielectric properties of ferroelectrics and relaxors only if dependence of bulk properties on grain size is known. The most interesting result is, that there exist polar entities in ferroelectrics, which are different from ferroelectric domains and are similar to polar nanoregions in relaxors. Their contribution to dielectric permittivity can be comparable to all other contributions. Dimensions of these entities depend on grain size in accordance with Kittel's law. / Maksimo Ivanovo daktaro disertacijos tema yra “Grūdų dydžio įtaka dielektrinėms feroelektrikų ir relaksorių savybėms”. Šio darbo tikslas yra ištirti, kaip keramikų ar miltelių grūdų dydis įtakoja makroskopiškai stebimas kelių feroelektrikų bei feroelektrinių relaksorių dielektrines savybes. Tirtos medžiagos yra klasikinio relaksoriuas PbMg⅓Nb⅔O3 (PMN) milteliai, relaksoriaus su savaiminiu feroelektriniu faziniu virsmu PbSc½Nb½O3 (PSN) keramikos, feroelektriko 0.36BiScO3-0.64PbTiO3 keramikos, bei Ba2SnO4 keramiką, kuri buvo palyginta su kiek labiau žinoma BaSnO3 keramika. Tyrimai buvo atlikti plačiame dažnių (100 Hz – 55 GHz) bei temperatūrų (30 K – 1000 K) intervaluose. Eksperimentiniai tyrimai bei modeliavimai parodė, kad polinės nanosritys labai stipriai įtakoja tūrines relaksorių savybes, tačiau jų neapsprendžia. Medžiagos morfologija (antai keramikų grūdų dydis) lemia nanosričių augimą bei tarpusavio sąveikas, tokiu būdų įtakojamos tūrinės savybės. Be to, efektyvios terpės aproksimacija gali paaiškinti feroelektrikų ir relaksorių dielektrinių savybių priklausomybę nuo grūdų dydžio tik, jei žinomas sąryšis tarp dydžio ir tūrinių savybių. Įdomiausia yra tai, kad feroelektrikuose yra objektų, kurie nėra feroelektriniai domenai ir yra panašūs į relaksorių polines nanosritis. Jų indėlis į dielektrinę skvarbą gali būti palyginamas su visų kitų procesų (pvz. domenų sienelių ir polinių modų) indėliais. Šių objektų dydis priklauso nuo grūdų dydžio pagal Kittel'io dėsnį.

Maksimo Ivanovo daktaro disertacijos tema yra “Grūdų dydžio įtaka dielektrinėms feroelektrikų ir relaksorių savybėms”. Šio darbo tikslas yra ištirti, kaip keramikų ar miltelių grūdų dydis įtakoja makroskopiškai stebimas kelių feroelektrikų bei feroelektrinių relaksorių dielektrines savybes. Tirtos medžiagos yra klasikinio relaksoriuas PbMg⅓Nb⅔O3 (PMN) milteliai, relaksoriaus su savaiminiu feroelektriniu faziniu virsmu PbSc½Nb½O3 (PSN) keramikos, feroelektriko 0.36BiScO3-0.64PbTiO3 keramikos, bei Ba2SnO4 keramiką, kuri buvo palyginta su kiek labiau žinoma BaSnO3 keramika. Tyrimai buvo atlikti plačiame dažnių (100 Hz – 55 GHz) bei temperatūrų (30 K – 1000 K) intervaluose. Eksperimentiniai tyrimai bei modeliavimai parodė, kad polinės nanosritys labai stipriai įtakoja tūrines relaksorių savybes, tačiau jų neapsprendžia. Medžiagos morfologija (antai keramikų grūdų dydis) lemia nanosričių augimą bei tarpusavio sąveikas, tokiu būdų įtakojamos tūrinės savybės. Be to, efektyvios terpės aproksimacija gali paaiškinti feroelektrikų ir relaksorių dielektrinių savybių priklausomybę nuo grūdų dydžio tik, jei žinomas sąryšis tarp dydžio ir tūrinių savybių. Įdomiausia yra tai, kad feroelektrikuose yra objektų, kurie nėra feroelektriniai domenai ir yra panašūs į relaksorių polines nanosritis. Jų indėlis į dielektrinę skvarbą gali būti palyginamas su visų kitų procesų (pvz. domenų sienelių ir polinių modų) indėliais. Šių objektų dydis priklauso nuo grūdų dydžio pagal Kittel'io dėsnį. / The aim of doctoral dissertation „Grain Size Effect on Dielectric Properties of Ferroelectrics and Relaxors“ by Maksim Ivanov is to investigate, how grain size of ceramics and powders of a few ferroelectrics and relaxors influences macroscopic dielectric properties. The studied materials are powders of a relaxor PbMg⅓Nb⅔O3 (PMN), ceramics of a relaxor with a spontaneous phase transition PbSc½Nb½O3 (PSN), ceramics of a ferroelectric 0.36BiScO3-0.64PbTiO3, and ceramics of Ba2SnO4, which were compared to a better investigated BaSnO3. Investigations were performed in broad frequency (100 Hz – 55 GHz) and temperature (30 K – 1000 K) ranges. Experimental investigations and modelling showed, that bulk properties of relaxor materials are heavily influenced by polar nanoregions, but they do not fully determine them. Morphology of the material (i.e. grain size of ceramics) determines growth and interactions of the nanoregions, thus influencing bulk properties. Moreover, effective medium approximation can explain evolution of dielectric properties of ferroelectrics and relaxors only if dependence of bulk properties on grain size is known. The most interesting result is, that there exist polar entities in ferroelectrics, which are different from ferroelectric domains and are similar to polar nanoregions in relaxors. Their contribution to dielectric permittivity can be comparable to all other contributions. Dimensions of these entities depend on grain size in accordance with Kittel's law.

Nanolaminate dielectrics combine two or more insulating materials in a many-layered film. These structures can be made to significantly outperform films composed of a single one of their constituent materials by adjusting the composition ratio, arrangement, and size of the component layers. In this work, atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used to fabricate pure-oxide and nanolaminate dielectrics based upon Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂. The relative performance of these dielectrics is investigated with respect to application as gate dielectrics for ZnSnO (ZTO) and InGaZnO (IGZO) amorphous-oxide-semiconductor (AOS) thin-film transistors (TFTs). AOS TFTs are promising candidates for commercial use in applications such as active-matrix displays and e-paper. It was found that the layer thickness, relative composition, and interfacial material all had an effect on TFT performance. Several variants of the Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ nanolaminate were found to exhibit superior properties to either Al₂O₃ or ZrO₂ alone. / Graduation date: 2011

Dielectric materials are used as spacers in antennas. The design of the dielectric determines the properties of the antenna. The insertion of high dielectric materials in a specific pattern into a low dielectric matrix material is one means to accomplish this. This thesis studies the means to insert metal cylinders (wire or nails) into polymer foams to produce such a material. Depending on the antenna properties desired, the patterns and number of nails varies tremendously. To decrease the manufacturing time and, therefore, the cost of creating these materials, an automatic machine capable of rapidly inserting wires to a predetermined pattern is developed. This thesis has two parts. In the first part, the ballistic impact of nails into foam is modeled. Experimental observations of the nails impacting the foam are used to verify the model. Penetration equations are developed to express the penetration capability of a nail into foam. All of this allows one to predict the forces required for a nail to be inserted into foam to a desired depth, thereby facilitating manufacture of these dielectric materials. In the second part, a fully automatic nail insertion device is designed, fabricated, and tested with the experimental tests used as control settings.

The main objective of this research is to fabricate and characterize an optically integrated interferometric sensor on standard silicon and silicon CMOS circuitry. An optical sensor system of this nature would provide the high sensitivity and immunity to electromagnetic interference found in interferometric based sensors in a lightweight, compact package capable of being deployed in a multitude of situations inappropriate for standard sensor configurations. There are several challenges involved in implementing this system. These include the development of a suitable optical emitter for the sensor system, the interface between the various optically embedded components, and the compatibility of the Si CMOS with heterogeneous integration techniques. The research reported outlines a process for integrating an integrated sensor on Si CMOS circuitry using CMOS compatible materials, integration techniques, and emitter components.

A new class of micromachined devices called thin-film piezoelectric-on-substrate (TPoS) resonators is introduced, and the performance of these devices in RF and sensor applications is studied. TPoS resonators benefit from high electromechanical coupling of piezoelectric transduction mechanism and superior acoustic properties of a substrate such as single crystal silicon. Therefore, the motional impedance of these resonators are significantly smaller compared to typical capacitively-transduced counterparts while they exhibit relatively high quality factor and power handling and can be operated in air. The combination of all these features suggests TPoS resonators as a viable alternative for current acoustic devices. In this thesis, design and fabrication methods to realize dispersed-frequency lateral-extensional TPoS resonators are discussed. TPoS devices are fabricated on both silicon-on-insulator and thin-film nanocrystalline diamond substrates. The performance of these resonators in simple and low-power oscillators is measured and compared. Furthermore, a unique coupling technique for implementation of high frequency filters is introduced in which dual resonance modes of a single resonant structure are coupled. The measured results of this work show that these filters are suitable candidates for single-chip implementation of multiple-frequency narrow-band filters with high out-of-band rejection in a small footprint.

[Truncated abstract] This thesis is split into two parts. In part one; A 50 K dual mode oscillator, the aim of the project was to build a 50 K precision oscillator with frequency stability on the order of 1014 from 1 to 100 seconds. A dual-mode temperature compensation technique was used that relied on a turning point in the frequency-temperature relationship of the difference frequency between two orthogonal whispering gallery modes in a single sapphire crystal. A cylindrical sapphire loaded copper cavity resonator was designed, modelled and built with a turning point in the difference frequency between an E-mode and H-mode pair at approximately 52.5 K . . . The frequencies and Q-factors of whispering spherical modes in the 3-12 GHz range in the fused silica resonator are measured at 6, 77 and 300 K and the Q-factor is used to determine the loss tangent at these temperatures. The frequency and Q-factor temperature dependence of the TM2,1,2 whispering gallery mode at 5.18 GHZ is used to characterise the loss tangent and relative permittivity of the fused silica from 4-300 K. Below 22 K the frequency-temperature dependence of the resonator was found to be consistent with the combined effects of the thermal properties of the dielectric and the influence of an unknown paramagnetic impurity, with a spin resonance frequency at about 138 ± 31 GHz. Below 8 K the loss tangent exhibited a 9th order power law temperature dependence, which may be explained by Raman scattering of Phonons from the paramagnetic impurity ions. A spherical Bragg reflector resonator made from multiple concentric dielectric layers loaded in a spherical cavity that enables confinement of field in the centre of the resonator is described. A set of simultaneous equations is derived that allow the calculation of the required dimensions and resonance frequency for such a resonator and the solution is confirmed using finite element analysis. A spherical Bragg reflector resonator is constructed using Teflon and free-space as the dielectric materials. A Q-factor of 22,000 at 13.87 GHz was measured and found to compare well with the design values.