In the context of transistor size miniaturization the motivation of this work was focused on the fabrication process of planar double gate devices. We proposed in this work three process flows based on the use of buried mask which could allow the fabrication of self-aligned planar double gate transistors. The novel concept of buried mask consists into modifying the etch rate of a buried polysilicon or oxide layer. This etch rate modification being defined by ion implantation, etch stop or scacrificial zones aligned with the implantation mask can thus be fabricated. This technique solve the alignment of the front and back gate. Ion implantation causes damages to the implanted target, and is used to dope semiconductor material. If the implanted atoms have a small radii they can induce stress to the implanted lattice. These three consequences of ion implantation, damage, doping and stress are used to modify the etch rate of oxide and polysilicon. High etching selectivity are reached, which allow the fabrication of a localized buried sacrificial or etch stop zone, called buried mask. The definition of the buried mask being done by ion implantation, it opens the possibility to fabricate a buried mask aligned with the implantation mask. Although some more work has to be invested to fabricate planar double gate MOS using buried mask in polysilicon, this concept of buried mask, which could also be called anisotropic wet and vapor etching, is foreseen as a very promising technique in MEMS micromachining and for bio sensor applications.

Nanoporous GaN films are prepared by UV assisted electrochemical etching using HF solution as an electrolyte. To assess the optical quality and morphology of these nanoporous films, micro-photoluminescence (PL), micro-Raman scattering, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques have been employed. SEM and AFM measurements revealed an average pore size of about 85-90 nm with a transverse dimension of 70-75 nm. As compared to the as-grown GaN film, the porous layer exhibits a substantial photoluminescence intensity enhancement with a partial relaxation of compressive stress. Such a stress relaxation is further confirmed by the red shifted E₂(TO) phonon peak in the Raman spectrum of porous GaN. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

The research direction is to apply the precision machining and the micro-electroform technology on LCD back light module (BLM). The goal is to strengthen the BLM energy utility, increase the BLM brightness, and save the material cost. In experiments we adopted the ultra precise machining and the micro-electroform technology in the LGP mold processing in order to enhance the BLM brightness. Since both technologies are different from the commonly used etching processing way, therefore, this study will be aimed at the analysis on three different processing technology in LGP. Consider the general LGP reflecting surface as the etching way is the base-line data for BLM average brightness, the change of reflecting surface is the V-cut processing way. After injection the reflecting surface of LGP is convex V-cut that may increase 6% brightness in comparison with the etching way. However, the application of the micro-electroform way of injection the concave V-cut LGP may again promote 6% brightness in its optics performance. Therefore, the increase of micro-electroform processing, the BLM brightness promotes approximately 12% compared to the etching way. That may reduce the lens use of the BLM and achieve the economic efficiency in cost redution.

Piezoelectric actuators (PEA) hold the most promise for precision positioning applications due to their capability of producing extremely small displacements down to 10 pm (1 pm = 10-12 m) as well as their high stiffness and force output. The piezoelectric-driven stick-slip (PDSS) actuator, working on the friction-inertia concept, has the capacity of accomplishing an unlimited range of motion. It also holds the promises of simple configuration and low cost. On the other hand, the PDSS actuator has a relatively low efficiency and low loading capability, which greatly limits its applications. The purpose of this research is to improve the performance of the PDSS actuators by employing specially-designed working surfaces.<p> The working surfaces, referred as anisotropic friction (AF) surfaces in this study, can provide different friction forces depending on the direction of relative motion of the two surfaces, and are used in this research to accomplish the aforementioned purpose. To fabricate such surfaces, two nanostructure technologies are employed: hot filament chemical vapour deposition (HFCVD) and ion beam etching (IBE). The HFCVD is used to deposit diamond on silicon substrates; and the IBE is used to etch the diamond crystalloid with a certain angle with respect to the coating surface to obtain an unsymmetrical-triangle microstructure. <p> A PDSS actuator prototype containing the AF surfaces was developed in this study to verify the function of the AF surfaces and characterize the performance of PDSS actuators. The designed surfaces were mounted on the prototype; and the improvement in performance was characterized by conducting a set of experiments with both the normal isotropic friction (IF) surfaces and the AF surfaces, respectively. The results illustrate that the PDSS actuator with the AF surface has a higher efficiency and improved loading capability compared to the one with the IF surfaces.<p> A model was also developed to represent the displacement of the novel PDSS actuator. The dynamics of the PEA and the platform were approximated by using a second order dynamic system. The pre-sliding friction behaviour involved was investigated by modifying the LuGre friction model, in which six parameters (Note that three parameters are used in the LuGre model) were employed to represent the anisotropic friction. By combining the PEA mechanism model, the modified friction model, and the dynamics of end-effector, a model for the PDSS actuator with the AF surface was developed. The model with the identified parameters was simulated in MATLAB Simulink and the simulation results obtained were compared to the experimental results to verify the model. The comparison suggests that the model developed in this study is promising to represent the displacement of the novel PDSS actuators with AF surfaces.

Piezoelectric actuators (PEA) hold the most promise for precision positioning applications due to their capability of producing extremely small displacements down to 10 pm (1 pm = 10-12 m) as well as their high stiffness and force output. The piezoelectric-driven stick-slip (PDSS) actuator, working on the friction-inertia concept, has the capacity of accomplishing an unlimited range of motion. It also holds the promises of simple configuration and low cost. On the other hand, the PDSS actuator has a relatively low efficiency and low loading capability, which greatly limits its applications. The purpose of this research is to improve the performance of the PDSS actuators by employing specially-designed working surfaces.<p> The working surfaces, referred as anisotropic friction (AF) surfaces in this study, can provide different friction forces depending on the direction of relative motion of the two surfaces, and are used in this research to accomplish the aforementioned purpose. To fabricate such surfaces, two nanostructure technologies are employed: hot filament chemical vapour deposition (HFCVD) and ion beam etching (IBE). The HFCVD is used to deposit diamond on silicon substrates; and the IBE is used to etch the diamond crystalloid with a certain angle with respect to the coating surface to obtain an unsymmetrical-triangle microstructure. <p> A PDSS actuator prototype containing the AF surfaces was developed in this study to verify the function of the AF surfaces and characterize the performance of PDSS actuators. The designed surfaces were mounted on the prototype; and the improvement in performance was characterized by conducting a set of experiments with both the normal isotropic friction (IF) surfaces and the AF surfaces, respectively. The results illustrate that the PDSS actuator with the AF surface has a higher efficiency and improved loading capability compared to the one with the IF surfaces.<p> A model was also developed to represent the displacement of the novel PDSS actuator. The dynamics of the PEA and the platform were approximated by using a second order dynamic system. The pre-sliding friction behaviour involved was investigated by modifying the LuGre friction model, in which six parameters (Note that three parameters are used in the LuGre model) were employed to represent the anisotropic friction. By combining the PEA mechanism model, the modified friction model, and the dynamics of end-effector, a model for the PDSS actuator with the AF surface was developed. The model with the identified parameters was simulated in MATLAB Simulink and the simulation results obtained were compared to the experimental results to verify the model. The comparison suggests that the model developed in this study is promising to represent the displacement of the novel PDSS actuators with AF surfaces.

No description available.

The road map of the semiconductor industry has followed Moores Law over the past few decades. According to Moores Law the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) will double for a minimum component cost every two years. The features made in an IC are produced by photolithography. Industry is now producing devices at the 65 nm node, however, for every deceasing node size, both the materials and processes used are not only difficult but also expensive to develop. Ultimately, the feature size obtainable via photolithography is dependent on the wavelength used in the process. The limitations of photolithography will eventually make Moores Law unsustainable. Therefore, new methodologies of creating features in the semiconductor substrate are desired. Here we present a new way to make patterns in silicon (Si) and silicon dioxide (SiO2), molecular lithography. Individual molecules and polymers, in a monolayer, serves directly as the etch mask; eliminating the photolighographic size limitation of light at a specific wavelength. The Ohnishi- and Ring parameter suggests that cyclic carbon rich molecules have a high resistance towards the plasma process, used to create the features in the substrate. Therefore highly aromatic molecules were investigated as candidates for molecular lithography. A monolayer of poly cyclic hydrocarbons, fullerene containing polymer, and fullerene molecules were created using the versatile photochemistry of benzophenone as the linker between the substrate and the material. First, a chlorosilane benzophenone derivative was attached to the Si/SiO2 surface. A thin film of the desired material is then created on top of the silane benzophenone layer. Irradiation at ~350 nm excites the benzophenone and reacts with neighboring alkyl chains. After covalent attachment the non-bonded molecules are extracted from the surface using a Soxhlet apparatus. Self-assembly, molecular weight, and wetting properties of the material dictates the features shape and size. These features are then serving as an etchmask in a fluorine plasma. The organic etch resist is then removed either in an oxygen plasma or in a piranha solution. AFM analysis revealed that 3 to 4 nm wide defined structures were obtained using C96 as the etch mask. This is about ten times smaller then industry standards. Also a depth profile of 50 nm, which is the minimum feature depth used in industry, was created using a fullerene containing polymer as the etch mask. Directionality and control over the shape and sizes of the features are naturally critical for implementing this technology in device fabrication. Therefore, alignment of the materials used has also been examined. Monolayers of highly stable molecules has successfully been used as etch masks. Further research and development could implement molecular lithography in device fabrication. Self-assembly among other forces would dictate which materials could be used successfully as a molecular resist.

This aim of this dissertation is to fabrication microlens arrays (MLA) by silicon mold using dry etching technique and imprint on the PET substrate by direct imprinting microlens structures on Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates using Si molds.The MLA on PET substrates can be used to increase light emitting efficiency from OLED. The MLA was formed by first etching the silicon wafers using SF6 process gas in an RIE/ECR system using isotropic etching technique.The concave undercuts obtained after the dry etching was removed by wet-etching the wafer in HF and HNO3 solutions.Finally,the fabricated silicon mold was used to imprint the microlens structure on the PET substrates.The microlens array with 10 £gm and 25 £gm radius on PET substrate were successfully fabricated using the technique.The surface coverage of the MLA of beter than 90% was obtained. In addition,the outcoupling efficiency of an OLED can be increased using the MLA.The brightness enhancement factor of 1.67 was achieved using in the MLA comparision to the simulation result of 1.73.

Success of acid fracturing depends on uneven etching along the fracture surfaces caused by heterogeneities such as variations in local mineralogy and variations in leakoff behavior. The heterogeneities tend to create channeling characteristics, which provide lasting conductivity after fracture closure, and occur on a scale that is neither used in laboratory measurements of acid fracture conductivity, which use core samples that are too small to observe such a feature, nor in typical acid fracture simulations in which the grid block size is much larger than the scale of local heterogeneities. Acid fracture conductivity depends on fracture surface etching patterns. Existing acid fracture conductivity correlations are for random asperity distributions and do not consider the contribution of channels to the conductivity. An acid fracture conductivity correlation needs the average fracture width at zero closure stress. Existing correlations calculate average fracture width using dissolved rock equivalent width without considering the effect of reservoir characteristics. The purpose of this work is to develop an intermediate-scale acid fracture model with grid size small enough and the whole dimension big enough to capture local and macro heterogeneity effects and channeling characteristics in acid fracturing. The model predicts pressure field, flow field, acid concentration profiles, and fracture surface profiles as a function of acid contact time. By extensive numerical experiments with the model, we develop correlations of fracture conductivity and average fracture width at zero closure stress as a function of statistical parameters of permeability and mineralogy distributions. With the model, we analyzed the relationships among fracture surface etching patterns, conductivities, and the distributions of permeability and mineralogy. From result analysis, we found that a fracture with channels extending from the inlet to the outlet of the fracture has a high conductivity because fluid flow in deep channels needs a very small pressure drop. Such long and highly conductive channels can be created by acids if the formation has heterogeneities in either permeability or mineralogy, or both, with high correlation length in the direction of the fracture, which is the case in laminated formations.

The lithium tantalite [LiTaO3, abbreviated to LT] thin films were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by spin coating with sol-gel technology and various rapid thermal processing in this thesis. By changing the annealed layers and heating temperature(500~800¢J), the effects of various thermal treatments on the thin films growth and the related properties are studied. Besides, the dynamic response of pyroelectric IR detector using LiTaO3 films was studied. In addition, the detector with back side etching was achieved by the anisotropic wet etching of back silicon substrate. The comparisons of detectors with and without backside etching were also investigated. Experimental results reveal that the annealed layers will influence strongly on grain size, dielectricity, ferroelectricity and pyroelectricity of LT thin films. With the increase of the annealed layers, the grain size of LT thin film increases slightly, and highly c-axis orientated LT films can be obtained for the twelve annealed layers. From 4 to 12 annealed layers, the relative dielectric constant of LT thin film increases from 35 up to 65, the dielectric loss (tand) decreases from 0.00637 to 0.00324, the coercive field (Ec) decreases from 84.79KV/cm to 46.23KV/cm, the remnant polarization (Pr) increases from 2.54 mC/cm2 to 7.36 mC/cm2, and the pyroelctric coefficient (g) increases from 2.18&#x00B4;10-8 C/cm2K up to 5.71&#x00B4;10-8 C/cm2K. In addition, the results also show that the LT thin film possesses the largest figures of merit Fv (3.02¡Ñ10-10 Ccm/J) and Fm (4.08¡Ñ10-8 Ccm/J) at heating temperature of 700¢J with twelve annealed layers. The voltage responsivities (Rv) measured at 70 Hz exists a largest value of 8398 V/W with twelve annealed layers. The specific detectivity (D*) measured at 200 Hz has the maximum value of 1.1¡Ñ108 cmHz1/2/W with twelve annealed layers. The results show that LT12 pyroelectric thin film detector exists both the maximums of voltage responsivity and specific detecivity. Therefore, optimizing the conditions of this study, LT12 thin film will be the most suitable for IR detector application. Finally, the voltage responsivities (Rv) of LT thin film increases from 8398 V/W to 9537 V/W, and the specific detectivity (D*) increases from 1.1¡Ñ108 cmHz1/2/W to 2.67¡Ñ108 cmHz1/2/W after backside etching. The results show that the detectivity can be improved after backside etching.