Remarkable Resistance Change in Plasma Oxidized TiOx/TiNx Film for Memory Application

We report the experimental phenomenon of large resistance change in plasma oxidized TiOx/TiNx film fabricated on W bottom-electrode-contact （W-BEC） array. The W-BEC in diameter 26Ohm is fabricated by a 0.18μm CMOS technology, and the TiOx/TiNx cell array is formed by rf magnetron sputtering and reactive ion etching. In current-voltage （I- V） measurement for current-sweeping mode, large snap-back of voltage is observed, which indicates that the sample changes from high-resistance state （HRS） to low-resistance state （LRS）. In the I-V measurement for voltage-sweeping mode, large current collapse is observed, which indicates that the sample changes from LRS to HRS. The current difference between HRS and LRS is about two orders. The threshold current and voltage for the resistance change is about 5.0- 10^-5 A and 2.5 V, respectively. The pulse voltage can also change the resistance and the pulse time is as shorter as 30 ns for the resistance change. These properties of TiOx/TiNx film are comparable to that of conventional phase-change material, which makes it possible for RRAM application.     

Finite element modelling of a rotating piezoelectric ultrasonic motor

The evaluation of the performance of ultrasonic motors as a function of input parameters such as the driving frequency, voltage input and pre-load on the rotor is of key importance to their development and is here addressed by means of a finite element three-dimensional model. First the stator is simulated as a fully deformable elastic body and the travelling wave dynamics is accurately reproduced; secondly the interaction through contact between the stator and the rotor is accounted for by assuming that the rotor behaves as a rigid surface. Numerical results for the whole motor are finally compared to available experimental data.     

Large piezoelectric effects in charged, heterogeneous fluoropolymer electrets

Large piezoelectric d₃₃ coefficients around 600 pC/N are found in corona-charged non-uniform electrets consisting of elastically “soft” (microporous polytetrafluoroethylene PTFE) and “stiff” (perfluorinated cyclobutene PFCB) polymer layers. The piezoelectric activity of the two-layer fluoropolymer stack exceeds the d₃₃ coefficient of the ferroelectric ceramic lead zirconate titanate (PZT) by more than a factor of two and that of the ferroelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) by a factor of 20. Soft piezoelectric materials may become interesting for a large number of sensor and transducer applications, in areas such as security systems, medical diagnostics, and nondestructive testing. Accepted: 9 November 1999 / Published online: 3 December 1999     

Theoretical and experimental research on a disk-type non-contact ultrasonic motor

We developed a disk-type non-contact ultrasonic motor based on B22 vibration mode. The rotors of SU-8 photoresist are fabricated by the UV-LIGA process to control their shapes and thicknesses. So the structures of them are optimized by the experiments. It is found that the revolution speed of disk-type non-contact ultrasonic motor not only depends on the vibration amplitude of the stator, but also the weight and construction of the rotors. The maximum revolution speed of the optimal rotor is 3569 rpm at the input voltage of 20 V and the driving frequency of 45.6 kHz. The exciting principle of traveling wave is presented with theoretical equations. The electric signals applied to the piezoelectric ceramic are designed by the principle. The natural frequency and corresponding vibration mode are calculated and analyzed using finite element method. It is shown that experimental results are in good agreement with simulation, which verifies the effectiveness of the finite element model. Moreover, the levitation distance between the stator and rotor is measured by a CCD laser displacement transducer.     

Study on the mechanisms of photoinduced carriers separation and recombination for Fe-TiO2 photocatalysts

The iron(III)-ion doped TiO₂ (Fe³⁺-TiO₂) with different doping Fe³⁺ content were prepared via a sol-gel method. The as-prepared Fe³⁺-TiO₂ nanoparticles were investigated by means of surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS), field-induced surface photovoltage spectroscopy (FISPS), and the photoelectrochemical properties of Fe³⁺-TiO₂ catalysts with different Fe³⁺ content are performed by electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) as well as photocatalytic degradation of RhB are studied under illuminating. Based on the experiment results, the mechanism of photoinduced carriers separation and recombination of Fe³⁺-TiO₂ was revealed: that is, the Fe³⁺ captures the photoinduced electrons, inhibiting the recombination of photoinduced electron-hole pairs, this favors to the photocatalytic reaction at low doping concentration (Fe/Ti ≤ 0.03 mol%); while Fe³⁺ dopant content exceeds 0.03 mol%, Fe₂O₃ became the recombination centers of photoinduced electrons and holes because of that the interaction of Fe₂O₃ with TiO₂ leads to that the photoinduced electrons and holes of TiO₂ transfer to Fe₂O₃ and recombine quickly, which is unfavorable to the photocatalytic reaction.     

Modification of alumina barrier-layer through re-anodization in an oxalic acid solution with fluoride additives

A new simple method for modification of the porous alumina barrier-layer is described and characterized by the voltammetric, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The method is based on re-anodization of porous alumina under galvanostatic conditions in the anodizing bath that, in addition to conventional anodization solution components, contains fluoride salts: (NH₄)₂SiF₆ or NH₄F. During first few minutes of alumina re-anodization, the sharp drop of anodizing voltage was observed, which is indicative of chemical/electrochemical transformations of the alumina barrier-layer. As a result, the scalloped structure of the barrier-layer changes drastically, becoming smooth and finely grained. Upon re-anodization, a significant loss of insulating ability of the barrier-layer and considerable increase in its capacitance were observed, while the variation of the constant phase element was found to be consistent with the oxide film morphology transformations observed by microscopy techniques. All these changes intensify with fluoride concentration increase. Curiously, (NH₄)₂SiF₆ exhibited about three-fold stronger effect on the barrier-layer properties than NH₄F, thus allowing us to hypothesize about possible chemical break up of SiF₆²⁻ anion and the formation of the AlF₃ phase inside the alumina pores.     

Improved determination of phosphorus contamination during ion implantation by SRP and simulations

Experimental determination of phosphorous cross-contamination during antimony implantation is presented. As a suitable structure for this experiment, a buried layer was employed which is created by implanting antimony followed by a long diffusion process. The implanted samples were analysed by SIMS and spreading resistance (SRP) methods. SRP method has been improved by applying a correction for the carrier spilling effect. A conversion chart for p-n junction depth dependence on phosphorus doping has been calculated by program SUPREM-IV. Comparison of SRP and SIMS methods has shown that SRP method can be used for monitoring the phosphorus cross-contamination and can be easily implemented as an in-line monitor and present an alternative to expensive and time consuming SIMS analysis.     

Simulation of Temperature-Dependent Resistivity for Manganite La1/3Ca2/3MnO3

The resistivity of the heavy-doped La1/3Ca2/3MnO3 （LCMO） is simulated using a random resistor network model, based on a phase separation scenario. The simulated results agree well with the reported experimental data, showing a transition from a charge-disordered （CDO） state embedded with a few ferromagnetic （FM） metallic clusters to a charge-ordered （CO） state, corresponding to the transition from a high-temperature paramagnetic （PM） insulating state to a low-temperature antiferromagnetic （AF） insulating state. Furthermore, we find that the number of AF/CO clusters increases with decreasing temperature, and the clusters start to connect to each other around 250K, which causes percolating in the system. The results further verify that phase separation plays a crucial role in the electrical conductivity of LCMO.     

Determination of phosphorus contamination during antimony implantation by measurement and simulation

Experimental determination of phosphorus cross-contamination during antimony implantation is presented. As a suitable structure for this experiment, a buried layer was employed which is created by implanting antimony followed by a long diffusion process. The samples implanted in different implanters were analysed by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), four-point probe and spreading resistance methods. The obtained results were compared with those calculated by program SUPREM-IV. Methods that can and cannot be used to determine phosphorus contamination during antimony implantation and to estimate the fluence of phosphorus being co-implanted with antimony are described in detail.     

High Speed and Ultra-Low-Power Phase Change Line Cell Memory Based on SiSb Thin Films with Nanoscale Gap of Electrodes Less Than 100nm

Si16Sbs4-based line cell phase change random access memory （PCRAM）, in which the Si16Sbs4 phase change line is contacted by TiN electrodes with a nanoscale gap, is fabricated by electron beam lithography. The lowest current and measured pulse width for RESET operation are 115 μA and 18 ns, respectively. The measured shortest pulse width for recrystallization is 110ns, with applied pulse amplitude of 1.5 V. SET and RESET currents for line cells with different line lengths are determined. Endurance of 106 cycles with a resistance ratio of above 800 has been achieved.     

Capacitance of Organic Schottky Diodes Based on Copper Phthalocyanine （CuPc）

The capacitance of an organic Schottky diode based on copper phthalocyanine （CuPc） is investigated. Based on the organic small-signal equivalent model established, we calculate the reverse capacitance CMetal Of the organic Schottky diode with different kinds of metal cathodes （Mg, Al, Au）. It is found that the reverse capacitance of the organic Schottky diode shows behavior as CMg 〉 CAl 〉 CAu at the same frequency, and according to our analysis, the reverse Schottky junction capacitance Cj is expected to have little effect on the reverse capacitance of the organic Schottky diode, and the space-charge limited current capacitance Us is considered to dominate the reverse capacitance, which limits the improvement of frequency characteristics of organic Schottky diodes.     

Artificial Modulation of Ferroelectric Thin Films into Antiferroelectric through H+ Implantation for High-Density Charge Storage

Hydrogen ions are implanted into Pb（Zro.3Tio.7）03 1014 ions/cm^2. Pseudo-antiferroelectric behaviour in thin films at the energy of 40keV with a flux of 5 x the implanted thin films is observed, as confirmed by the measurements of polarization versus electric hysteresis loops and capacitance versus voltage curves. X-ray diffrac- tion patterns show the film structures before and after H＋ implantation both to be perovskite of a tetragonal symmetry. These findings indicate that hydrogen ions exist as stable dopants within the films. It is believed that the dopants change domain-switching behaviour via the boundary charge compensation. Meanwhile, time dependence of leakage current density after time longer than lOs indicates the enhancement of the leakage cur- rent nearly in one order for the implanted film, but the current at time shorter than i s is mostly the same as that of the original film without the ionic implantation. The artificial tailoring of the antiferroelectric behaviour through H＋ implantation in ferroelectric thin films is finally proven to be achievable for the device application of high-density charge storage.     

On the Intrinsic Concordance between the Wide Scattering Feature of Synchronized Flow and the Empirical Spacing Distributions

We discuss the intrinsic concordance between the wide scattering feature of density-flow plot and the empirical spazing distributions for traffic flows. It is shown that by choosing a proper threshold parameter, the boundaries of truncated spacing distributions could well determine the envelope of the 2D region of synchronized flow.     

Humidity effect on electrical properties of layered α-zirconium phosphate

The electrical properties of alkali ions exchanged zirconium hydrogen phosphate Zr(HPO₄)₂·H₂O (α-ZrP) are investigated by impedance spectroscopy technique. Cole-cole plots are used to describe the characteristic changes of electrical properties with relative humidity. The evaluated bulk resistance from the equivalent circuit shows exponential dependence of relative humidity. The surface protons of layered (α-ZrP) contribute to electrical conduction. The largest sensitivity is obtained for K ion exchanged systems.     

Reversible Resistance Switching Effect in Amorphous Ge1Sb4Te7 Thin Films without Phase Transformation

We demonstrate a reversible resistance switching effect that does not rely on amorphous-crystalline phase transformation in a nanoscale capacitor-like cell using Ge1Sb4Te7 films as the working material. The polarity and amplitude of the applied electric voltage switches the cell resistance between low- and high-resistance states, as revealed in the current-voltage characteristics of the film by conductive atomic force microscopy （CAFM）. This reversible SET/RESET switching effect is induced by voltage pulses and their polarity. The change of electrical resistance due to the switching effect is approximately two orders of magnitude.     

A Small Signal Equivalent Circuit Model for Resonant Tunnelling Diode

We report a resonant tunnelling diode （RTD） small signal equivalent circuit model consisting of quantum capacitance and quantum inductance. The model is verified through the actual InAs/In0.53Ga0.47As/AlAs RTD fabricated on an InP substrate. Model parameters are extracted by fitting the equivalent circuit model with ac measurement data in three different regions of RTD current-voltage （I-V） characteristics. The electron lifetime, representing the average time that the carriers remain in the quasibound states during the tunnelling process, is also calculated to be 2.09ps.     

Oxygen-defects-related dielectric response in CaCu3Ti4O12 ceramics

A 10 mm thickness columned CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ ceramic was fabricated by the conventional solid-state reaction method and the dielectric properties of different parts in ceramic had been investigated. For the sample close to the surface, only one Debye-type relaxation around 10⁷ Hz was observed at room temperature. However, for the sample close to the core, another relaxation peak was observed at about 10⁴ Hz. The results were explained in terms of the equivalent circuit model by showing in the impedance spectroscopy. Moreover, it was introduced that the low-frequency dielectric relaxation is associated with the electrode-sample contact effect based on varying sample thickness and an annealing treatment in the nitrogen atmospheres.     

A Feasible Approach to Optical--Electrical Hybrid Data Storage Using Phase Change Material

We present our experimental results supporting optical-electrical hybrid data storage by optical recording and electrical reading using Ge2Sb2Te5as recording medium. The sheet resistance of laser-irradiated Ge2Sb2 Te5 films exhibits an abrupt change of four orders of magnitude （from 107 to 10^3 Ω/sq） with increasing laser power, current-voltage curves of the amorphous area and the laser-crystallized dots, measured by a conductive atomic force microscope （C-AFM）, show that their resistivities are 2. 725 and 3.375 × 10^-3 Ω, respectively, the surface current distribution in the films also shows high and low resistance states. All these results suggest that the laser-recorded bit can be read electrically by measuring the change of electrical resistivity, thus making opticalelectrical hybrid data storage possible.     

Measurement of noise associated with model transformer cores

The performance of a transformer core may be considered in terms of power loss and by the noise generated by the core, both of which should be minimised. This paper discusses the setting up of a suitable system for evaluation of noise in a large model transformer core (500 kV A) and issues associated with noise measurement. The equivalent continuous sound pressure level (LAeq) was used as a measure of the A-weighted sound level and measurements were made in the range 16 Hz–25 kHz for various step lap core configurations. The selection of optimum sound insulation materials between core and ground support and for enclosing the transformer is essential for minimisation of background noise. Core clamping pressure must be optimised in order to minimise noise. The use of two laminations per layer instead of one leads to an increase in noise arising from the core. Provided care is taken in building the core, good reproducibility of results can be obtained for analysis.     

Thickness-shear modes and magnetoelastic waves in a longitudinally magnetized ferromagnetic plate

Magnetoelastic (ME) waves and thickness-shear modes in the ferromagnetic plate are studied. Coupled vibrations of magnetization and shear elastic deformations excited simultaneously by a variable magnetic field propagate in two mutually perpendicular directions: parallel and normal to a surface. For parameters characteristic of isotropic ferromagnet with the sample magnetization and Zeeman field parallel to the surface, resonant frequencies of shear modes are computed and their dispersion law is examined. It is shown that the dependence of dimensional resonances frequencies on wave number k_z of ME wave propagating along saturating field direction occurs. The possibility of excitation of ME waves with different k_z explains multimode character of thickness ME resonances.