Electro-optic metal–insulator–semiconductor–insulator–metal Mach-Zehnder plasmonic modulator

The performance of a CMOS-compatible electro-optic Mach-Zehnder plasmonic modulator is investigated using electromagnetic and carrier transport simulations. Each arm of the Mach-Zehnder device comprises a metal–insulator–semiconductor–insulator–metal (MISIM) structure on a buried oxide substrate. Quantum mechanical effects at the oxide/semiconductor interfaces were considered in the calculation of electron density profiles across the structure, in order to determine the refractive index distribution and its dependence on applied bias. This information was used in finite element simulations of the electromagnetic modes within the MISIM structure in order to determine the Mach-Zehnder arm lengths required to achieve destructive interference and the corresponding propagation loss incurred by the device. Both inversion and accumulation mode devices were investigated, and the layer thicknesses and height were adjusted to optimise the device performance. A device loss of <8 dB is predicted for a MISIM structure with a 25 nm thick silicon layer, for which the device length is <3 μm, and <5 dB loss is predicted for the limiting case of a 5 nm thick silicon layer in a 1.2 μm long device: in both cases, the maximum operating voltage is 7.5 V.     

Metal–insulator transition in Si–MOS structures

A survey is presented on recent investigations of the metal-to-insulator transition in two-dimensional systems with special emphasis on n-Si–MOS structures. Experimental facts are presented and the currently open questions on the nature of this transition are addressed.     

A wire-form emitter metal–insulator–semiconductor tunnel junction

Physical effects arising due to change of configuration of a MIS system from planar to cylindrical, are theoretically analyzed. Attention is paid to the voltage partitioning and all the components of tunneling current. A simple simulation model is developed enabling prediction of the band diagram details and calculation of the currents. The trends expected with decreasing system radius are elucidated. Cylindrical geometry can be faced with when quantum wire is used as an electron emitter. Similar form may also be roughly attributed to an edge region of conventional MIS capacitors.     

Electrohydrodynamic direct-writing of conductor–insulator–conductor multi-layer interconnection

A multi-layer interconnection structure is a basic component of electronic devices, and printing of the multi-layer interconnection structure is the key process in printed electronics. In this work, electrohydrodynamic direct-writing （EDW） is utilized to print the conductor-insulator--conductor multi-layer ~nterconne~ction structure. Silver ink is chosen to print the conductor pattern, and a polyvinylpyrrolidone （PVP） solution is util~zed to f~bricate the insulator layer between the bottom and top conductor patterns. The influences of EDW process parameters on the line width of the printed conductor and insulator patterns are studied systematically. The obtained ~es~l~s show that the line width of the printed structure increases with the increase of the flow rate, but decreases with the increase of applied voltage and PVP content in the solution. The average resistivity values of the bottom and top silver conductor tracks are determined to be 1.34 × 10-7 Ω.m and 1.39×10-7 Ω.m, respectively. The printed PVP layer between the two conductor tracks is well insulated, which can meet the insulation requirement of the electronic devices. This study offers an alternative, fast, and cost-effective method of fabricating conductor-insulator-conductor multi-layer interconnections in the electronic industry.     

Properties of metal–insulator–metal waveguide loop reflector

A new type and easy-to-fabricate metal–insulator–metal(MIM) waveguide reflector based on Sagnac loop is designed and investigated.The transfer matrix theoretical model for the transmission of electric fields in the reflector is established,and the properties of the reflector are studied and analyzed.The simulation results indicate that the reflectivity strongly depends on the coupling splitting ratio determined by the coupling length.Accordingly, different reflectivities can be realized by varying the coupling length.For an optimum coupling length of 750 nm, the 3-dB reflection bandwidth of the MIM waveguide reflector is as wide as 1.5 μm at a wavelength of 1550 nm, and the peak reflectivity and isolation are 78%and 23 dB, respectively.     

Hydrogen interaction with GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor diodes

Interaction mechanism of hydrogen with GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) diodes is investigated, focusing on the metal/semiconductor interfaces. For MIS Pt-GaN diodes with a SiO₂ dielectric, the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics reveal that hydrogen changes the conduction mechanisms from Fowler–Nordheim tunneling to Poole–Frenkel emission. In sharp contrast, Pt-Si_xN_y-GaN diodes exhibit Poole–Frenkel emission in nitrogen and do not show any change in the conduction mechanism upon exposure to hydrogen. The capacitance–voltage (C–V) study suggests that the work function change of the Schottky metal is not responsible mechanism for the hydrogen sensitivity.     

The Andreev conductance in superconductor–insulator–normal metal structures

The Andreev subgap conductance at 0.08–0.2 K in thin-film superconductor (aluminum)–insulator–normal metal (copper, hafnium, or aluminum with iron-sublayer-suppressed superconductivity) structures is studied. The measurements are performed in a magnetic field oriented either along the normal or in the plane of the structure. The dc current–voltage (I–U) characteristics of samples are described using a sum of the Andreev subgap current dominating in the absence of the field at bias voltages U < (0.2–0.4)Δ_c/e (where Δ_c is the energy gap of the superconductor) and the single-carrier tunneling current that predominates at large voltages. To within the measurement accuracy of 1–2%, the Andreev current corresponds to the formula \({I_n} + {I_s} = {K_n}\tanh \left( {{{eU} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{eU} {2k{T_{eff}}}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {2k{T_{eff}}}}} \right) + {K_s}{{\left( {{{eU} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{eU} {{\Delta _c}}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {{\Delta _c}}}} \right)} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{\left( {{{eU} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{eU} {{\Delta _c}}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {{\Delta _c}}}} \right)} {\sqrt {1 - {{eU} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{eU} {{\Delta _c}}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {{\Delta _c}}}} }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\sqrt {1 - {{eU} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{eU} {{\Delta _c}}}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {{\Delta _c}}}} }}\) following from a theory that takes into account mesoscopic phenomena with properly selected effective temperature T _eff and the temperature- and fieldindependent parameters K _n and K _s (characterizing the diffusion of electrons in the normal metal and superconductor, respectively). The experimental value of K _n agrees in order of magnitude with the theoretical prediction, while K _s is several dozen times larger than the theoretical value. The values of T _eff in the absence of the field for the structures with copper and hafnium are close to the sample temperature, while the value for aluminum with an iron sublayer is several times greater than this temperature. For the structure with copper at T = 0.08–0.1 K in the magnetic field B_|| = 200–300 G oriented in the plane of the sample, the effective temperature T _eff increases to 0.4 K, while that in the perpendicular (normal) field B _⊥ ≈ 30 G increases to 0.17 K. In large fields, the Andreev conductance cannot be reliably recognized against the background of single- carrier tunneling current. In the structures with hafnium and in those with aluminum on an iron sublayer, the influence of the magnetic field is not observed.     

Effects of gamma irradiation on electrical parameters of metal–insulator–semiconductor structure with silicon nitride interfacial insulator layer

The effects of gamma irradiation on electrical parameters of Au/Si₃N₄/n-Si (MIS) structure were investigated by using the capacitance–voltage (C–V) and conductance–voltage (G/ω–V) measurements. The MIS structure was irradiated using gamma-radiation source at a dose rate of 0.69?kGy/h. The C–V and G/ω–V measurements were carried out at a total dose range of 0–100?kGy for five different frequencies (1, 10, 100, 500 and 1000?kHz). The obtained results showed that the C and G/ω values decrease with the increasing radiation dose due to the irradiation-induced defects at the interface. Also, the observed decrease in the C and G/ω values with the increasing frequency was explained on the basis of interface states (N_ss). The values of series resistance (R_s) increase with the increasing radiation dose. To obtain the real capacitance and conductance of the capacitor, the measured values of C and G/ω were corrected to eliminate the effect of series resistance. The values of N_ss were determined by using the conductance method and were decreased with the increasing radiation dose.     

Unusual metal–insulator transition in disordered ferromagnetic films

We present a theoretical interpretation of recent data on the conductance near and farther away from the metal–insulator transition in thin ferromagnetic Gd films of thickness b≈2$b\approx 2$–10 nm. For increasing sheet resistances a dimensional crossover takes place from d=2 to d  =3 dimensions, since the large phase relaxation rate caused by scattering of quasiparticles off spin wave excitations renders the dephasing length L_??b$L_{?}?b$ at strong disorder. The conductivity data in the various regimes obey fractional power-law or logarithmic temperature dependence. One observes weak localization and interaction induced corrections at weaker disorder. At strong disorder, near the metal–insulator transition, the data show scaling and collapse onto two scaling curves for the metallic and insulating regimes. We interpret this unusual behavior as proof of two distinctly different correlation length exponents on both sides of the transition.     

Corrugated-enhanced second harmonic generation in metal–insulator–metal plasmonic waveguides

Nonlinear effects such as second-harmonic generation (SHG) are important for applications such as switching and wavelength conversion. In this study, the generation of second harmonic in metal–insulator–metal (MIM) plasmonic waveguides was investigated for both symmetric and asymmetric structures. Symmetric means that the metals at the top and bottom of the dielectric layer are the same and asymmetric means that the metals at the top and bottom of the dielectric layer are different. Two different structures are considered here as plasmonic waveguide for generation of second harmonic and analyzed using finite-difference time domain method. Besides the structure has grating on both sides for more coupling between photons and plasmons. The wavelength duration of grating per length unit (number of grooves) will be optimized to reach the highest second harmonic generation. To perform this optimization, the wavelength of operation λ = 458 nm is considered. It was shown that field enhancement in symmetric MIM waveguides can result in enhancement of SHG magnitude compared to the literature values and asymmetric device results in more than two orders of magnitude enhancement in SHG compared to symmetric structure. It is also shown that the electric field of second harmonic depends on the thickness of crystal (insulator). So, its thickness is optimized to achieve the highest electric field.     

Metal–insulator transition in boron-doped amorphous carbon films

Boron-doped amorphous graphite-like carbon (GLC) films have been prepared with different boron concentrations. Electrical transport measurements in the temperature range 1.3–300?K on the films shows a doping-induced metal–insulator (MI) transition. On the metallic side of the transition, the experimental data are interpreted in terms of weak localization and the effect of electron–electron interactions. Data on the insulator side of transition are analyzed in terms of hopping conduction. Critical behaviour is observed near the transition, with the resistivity obeying a power-law temperature dependence.     

On the metal–insulator transition in vanadium dioxide

The conductivity σ of vanadium dioxide (VO₂) drops at a metal–insulator transition by four orders of magnitude due to the structural change between tetragonal and monoclinic crystals. In order to elucidate this conductivity drop, we introduce the semiclassical equation of motion to describe the dynamics of the conduction electron (wave packet), where the existence of a k-vector k is prerequisite for the conduction. We showed that the periodicity using the non-orthogonal bases does not legitimize the electron dynamics in solids. The theory suggests that the decrease in the dimensionality of the k-vectors due to the structural change is the cause of the conductivity drop.     

Tunneling conductance oscillations in spin–orbit coupled metal–insulator–superconductor junctions

The tunneling conductance for a device consisting of a metal–insulator–superconductor (MIS) junction is studied in presence of Rashba spin–orbit coupling (RSOC) via an extended Blonder–Tinkham–Klapwijk formalism. We find that the tunneling conductance as a function of an effective barrier potential that defines the insulating layer and lies intermediate to the metallic and superconducting electrodes, displays an oscillatory behavior. The tunneling conductance shows high sensitivity to the RSOC for certain ranges of this potential, while it is insensitive to the RSOC for others. Additionally, when the period of oscillations is an odd multiple of a certain value of the effective potential, the conductance spectrum as a function of the biasing energy demonstrates a contrasting trend with RSOC, compared to when it is not an odd multiple. The explanations for the observation can be found in terms of a competition between the normal and Andreev reflections. Similar oscillatory behavior of the conductance spectrum is also seen for other superconducting pairing symmetries, thereby emphasizing that the insulating layer plays a decisive role in the conductance oscillations of a MIS junction. For a tunable Rashba coupling, the current flowing through the junction can be controlled with precision.     

Evidence for insulator–metal transition in amorphous chalcogenide Se–Ge–Te films

The temperature dependence of the dc conductivity and thermoelectric power was determined for five different amorphous chalcogenide Se–Ge–Te films, with Ge?=?3.0–22?at.%, Se?=?0–97?at.% and Te?=?0–97?at.%. The films were prepared by thermal evaporation of GeSe₄, GeTe₄ and GeSe₂Te₂ quenched bulk materials. Values of the activation energy calculated from the temperature dependence of both electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power showed a decrease with increasing Ge content in the Se–Ge films as well as with replacement of Te for Se in the Se–Ge–Te films. The results showed an Anderson transition, with the conductivity showing insulating behaviour on the Ge–Se side to metallic behaviour at the binary composition Ge–Te. The radius of localization was obtained for the different compositions investigated. The wave function associated with the charge carriers at the composition Ge_3.3Te_96.7 is non-localized. A minimum metallic conductivity of 237?±?5?(Ω?cm)^?1 was found.     

A surface-plasmon-polariton wavelength splitter based on a metal–insulator–metal waveguide

A surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) wavelength splitter based on a metal–insulator–metal waveguide with multiple teeth is proposed. Using the transfer-matrix method, a plasmonic band gap is identified in the multiple-toothed structure, and the splitting wavelength of the SPP splitter can be easily adapted by adjusting the widths of the teeth and the gaps. The proposed wavelength splitter is further verified through finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations, in which SPPs with incident wavelengths of 756 nm and 892 nm are successfully split and guided in opposite directions in the waveguide, with extinction ratios of 30 dB and 29 dB, respectively.     

Magnetic field induced insulator–metal crossover in underdoped cuprates

Within the charge-spin separation fermion-spin theory, the influence of a strong external magnetic field on the normal state transport of the underdoped cuprates is discussed. It is shown that when superconductivity in the underdoped cuprates is suppressed in the presence of a strong external magnetic field, the system reveals a low temperature normal state insulator–metal crossover. It is also shown that this striking insulator–metal crossover behavior is intriguingly related to the antiferromagnetic correlation.     

Quasiparticle cooling using a topological insulator–superconductor hybrid junction

In this work, we investigate the thermoelectric properties of a hybrid junction realised coupling surface states of a three-dimensional topological insulator with a conventional s-wave superconductor. We focus on the ballistic devices and study the quasiparticle flow, carrying both electric and thermal currents, adopting a scattering matrix approach based on conventional Blonder–Tinkham–Klapwijk formalism. We calculate the cooling efficiency of the junction as a function of the microscopic parameters of the normal region (i.e. the chemical potential, etc.). The cooling power increases when moving from a regime of Andreev specular-reflection to a regime where Andreev retro-reflection dominates. Differently from the case of a conventional N/S interface, we can achieve efficient cooling of the normal region, without including any explicit impurity scattering at the interface, to increase normal reflection.     

New design of triplexer based on metal–insulator–metal plasmonic ring resonators

In this work, we propose a new design of all-optical triplexer based on of metal–insulator–metal（MIM） plasmonic waveguide structures and ring resonators. By adjusting the radii of ring resonators and the gap distance, certain wavelengths can be filtered out and the crosstalk of each channel can also be reduced. The numerical results show that the proposed MIM plasmonic waveguide structure can really function as an optical triplexer with respect to the three wavelengths, that is, 1310, 1490, and 1550 nm, respectively. It can be widely used as the fiber access network element for multiplexer–demultiplexer wavelength selective in fiber-to-the-home communication systems with transmission efficiency higher than 90%. It can also be a potential key component in the applications of the biosensing systems.     

Reflective plasmonic waveplates based on metal–insulator–metal subwavelength rectangular annular arrays

We propose and present a quarter-wave plate using metal–insulator–metal (MIM) structure with sub-wavelength rectangular annular arrays (RAA) patterned in the upper Au film. It is found that by manipulating asymmetric width of the annular gaps along two orthogonal directions, the reflected amplitude and phase of the two orthogonal components can be well controlled via the RAA metasurface tuned by the MIM cavity effect, in which the localized surface plasmon resonance dip can be flattened with the cavity length. A quarter-wave plate has been realized through an optimized design at 1.55 μm, in which the phase difference variation of less than 2% of the π/2 between the two orthogonal components can be obtained in an ultra-wide wavelength range of about 130 nm, and the reflectivity is up to ∼90% within the whole working wavelength band. It provides a great potential for applications in advanced nanophotonic devices and integrated photonic systems.     

Band-stop optical nanofilters with split-ring resonators based on metal–insulator–metal structure

Novel band-stop filters with circular split-ring resonators based on the metal–insulator–metal(MIM) structure are presented, with their transmission properties of SPPs propagating through the filter simulated by the finite-difference timedomain(FDTD) method. The variation of the gap of the split ring can affect the transmission characteristics, i.e., the transmission spectrum of SPPs exhibiting a shift, which is useful for modulating the filter. Linear and nonlinear media are used in the resonator respectively. By varying the refractive index of the linear medium, the transmission properties can be changed obviously, and the effect caused by changing the incident intensity with a nonlinear medium is similar.Several resonant modes that are applicable can be enhanced by changing the position of the gap of the split ring. Thus, the transmission properties can be modulated by adjusting the size of the gap, varying the refractive index, and changing the incident intensity of the input light. These methods may play significant roles in applications of optical integrated circuits and nanostructural devices.