A 10-bit 205-MS/s 1.0- mm2 90-nm CMOS Pipeline ADC for Flat Panel Display Applications

This paper describes a 10-bit 205-MS/s pipeline analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for flat panel display applications with the techniques to alleviate the design limitations in the deep-submicron CMOS process. The switched source follower combined with a resistor-switch ladder eliminates the sampling switches and achieves high linearity for a large single-ended input signal. Multistage amplifiers adopting the complementary common-source topology increase the output swing range with lower transconductance variation and reduce the power consumption. The supply voltage for the analog blocks is provided by the low drop-out regulator for a high power-supply rejection ratio (PSRR) under the noisy operation environment. The pipeline stages of the ADC are optimized in the aspect of power consumption through the iterated calculation of the sampling capacitance and transconductance. The ADC occupies an active area of 1.0 mm² in a 90-nm CMOS process and achieves a 53-dB PSRR for a 100-MHz noise tone with the regulator and a 55.2-dB signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio for a 30-MHz 1.0-V_PP single-ended input at 205 MS/s. The ADC core dissipates 40 mW from a 1.0-V nonregulated supply voltage.     

Photoluminescence of ZnO nanowires grown on sapphire (1 1 2¯ 0) substrates

ZnO nanowires were fabricated on c-plane (0 0 0 1), a-plane (1 1 2¯ 0) sapphire, and boron doped p-type (1 0 0) Si substrates in vacuum furnace by simple physical vapor deposition. Room temperature photoluminescence spectra of the nanowires show the near band-edge emission and the deep-level green light emission. The ZnO nanowires formed on sapphire (1 1 2¯ 0) substrates exhibited enhancement on optical properties and better crystalline structures than those of nanowires grown on other substrates. The formation mechanism and the effect of substrate direction on structural and optical properties of the nanowires are discussed.     

A 9‐Bit 80‐MS/s CMOS Pipelined Folding A/D Converter with an Offset Canceling Technique

A 9‐bit 80‐MS/s CMOS pipelined folding analog‐to‐digital converter employing offset‐canceled preamplifiers and a subranging scheme is proposed to extend the resolution of a folding architecture. A fully differential dc‐decoupled structure achieves high linearity in circuit design. The measured differential nonlinearity and integral nonlinearity of the prototype are ×0.6 LSB and ×1.6 LSB, respectively.     

Photonic Crystal Palette of Binary Block Copolymer Blends for Full Visible Structural Color Encryption

Structural color (SC) arising from a periodically ordered self-assembled block copolymer (BCP) photonic crystal (PC) is useful for reflective-mode sensing displays owing to its capability of stimuli-responsive structure alteration. However, a set of PC inks, each providing a precisely addressable SC in the full visible range, has rarely been demonstrated. Here, a strategy for developing BCP PC inks with tunable structures is presented. This involves solution-blending of two lamellar-forming BCPs with different molecular weights. By controlling the mixing ratio of the two BCPs, a thin 1D BCP PC film is developed with alternating in-plane lamellae whose periodicity varies linearly from ≈46 to ≈91 nm. Subsequent preferential swelling of one-type lamellae with either solvent or non-volatile ionic liquid causes the photonic band gap of the films to red-shift, giving rise to full-visible-range SC correlated with the pristine nanostructures of the blended films in both liquid and solid states. The BCP PC palette of solution-blended binary solutions is conveniently employed in various coating processes, allowing facile development of BCP SC on the targeted surface. Furthermore, full-color SC paintings are realized with their transparent PC inks, facilitating low-power pattern encryption.     

Symmetrically glass-clad photonic crystal nanocavities with ultrahigh quality factors

We design and fabricate ultra-high-quality (Q) photonic nanocavities in a symmetrically glass-clad silicon (Si) two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal (PhC) structure. We theoretically investigate the dependence of the refractive index of the glass on the Q factors for asymmetric and symmetric structures. We show that the index-symmetric distribution of the glass is a critical factor to realize ultrahigh Q factors for glass-clad 2D PhC structures. We fabricate symmetrically glass-clad Si PhC nanocavities and achieve a record Q factor of 1×10(6), comparable with the highest Q factors of nanocavities in air-bridge structures.     

A physics-based GaAs PHEMT noise model for low drain bias operation using characteristic potential method

A new physics-based noise model of a GaAs PHEMT is developed using the characteristic potential method (CPM). The model calculates the intrinsic noise current sources using CPM. Combined with the extrinsic noise parameters extracted from the measured S-parameters, the model reproduces four noise parameters of the device accurately under low drain bias voltages without using any fitting parameters. The model is verified with a 0.2-/spl mu/m GaAs PHEMT and shows excellent agreement with the measurements for all the noise parameters up to a drain voltage of 1 V Also, the proposed method allows the simulation of the microscopic noise distribution and thus allows one to obtain a physical understanding of noise mechanisms inside the device.     

1,3‐Dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to methyl 3‐(p‐nitrobenzoyloxy)acrylate: Methyl 3‐(p‐nitrobenzoyloxy)acrylate as a methyl propiolate equivalent with reverse regioselectivity

3‐Aryl‐4‐methoxycarbonylisoxazoles were prepared from the reaction of a variety of substituted benzonitrile oxides with methyl 3‐(p‐nitrobenzoyloxy)acrylate in moderate to good yields.     

Waveguide tapering for beam-width control in a waveguide transducer

In a waveguide transducer that transmits an ultrasonic wave through a waveguide unit to a test structure, it is most preferred to send a non-dispersive ultrasonic wave of a narrow beam width. However, there is an unresolved conflict between the generation of the non- or less-dispersive wave and the transmission of a narrow-beam wave into a test structure. Among others, the thickness of the waveguide unit in a waveguide transducer is the key variable determining these two conflicting criteria, but the use of a uniformly-thick waveguide of any thickness cannot fulfill the two conflicting criteria simultaneously. In this study, we propose a specially-engineered tapered waveguide unit for the simultaneous satisfaction. An excitation unit is installed at the end of the thin region of the tapered waveguide and generates only the lowest non-dispersive shear-horizontal wave. Then the generated wave propagates through the tapered region of the waveguide unit and reaches the thick region of the waveguide with insignificant mode conversion to higher modes. If the tapered waveguide is used, the surviving lowest mode in the thick region of the waveguide is shown to carry most of the transmitted power and is finally propagated into a test structure. Because the beam size of the propagated wave and the thickness of the contacting waveguide region are inversely related, the thick contacting region of the tapered waveguide ensures narrow beam width. Numerical and experimental investigations were performed to check the effectiveness of the proposed waveguide-tapering approach.     

Controlling side-chain density of electron donating polymers for improving their packing structure and photovoltaic performance

A simple and efficient approach of controlling the side-chain density in the electron donating polymers has been demonstrated to tune their 3-D packing structure and HOMO level, which increases the hole mobility and V(oc) values, thus improving the solar cell performance.     

The application of Py-GC/MS for the catalytic upgrading of oil separated from summer food waste leachate

The catalytic cracking of oil fractions separated from summer food waste leachate was investigated over BEA zeolite and Al-SBA-15 catalysts. In this study, a mixture of food waste oil fractions and catalyst was directly introduced to pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), with the resulting vapor phase products being simultaneously analyzed. Various acid compounds, including oleic acid, produced by the non-catalytic pyrolysis of food waste leachate were reformed into valuable compounds, such as oxygenates, hydrocarbons, and aromatics. The BEA zeolite catalyst showed higher selectivity for hydrocarbon compounds, especially aromatics, within the gasoline range due to its superior cracking ability originating from its highly acidic sites. Conversely, the cracking performance of the Al-SBA-15 catalyst, possessing mild acidic sites, was lower than that of the BEA zeolite. Increasing the amount of Al-SBA-15 catalyst enhanced the cracking activity and resulted in higher selectivity for hydrocarbons.