Harmonic balance simulation of the influence of component uniformity and reliability on the performance of a Josephson traveling wave parametric amplifier

A Josephson traveling wave parametric amplifier(JTWPA),which is a quantum-limited amplifier with high gain and large bandwidth,is the core device of large-scale measurement and control systems for quantum computing.A typical JTWPA consists of thousands of Josephson junctions connected in series to form a transmission line and hundreds of shunt LC resonators periodically loaded along the line for phase matching.Because the variation of these capacitors and inductors can be detrimental to their high-frequency characteristics,the fabrication of a JTWPA typically necessitates precise processing equipment.To guide the fabrication process and further improve the design for manufacturability,it is necessary to understand how each electronic component affects the amplifier.In this paper,we use the harmonic balance method to conduct a comprehensive study on the impact of nonuniformity and fabrication yield of the electronic components on the performance of a JTWPA.The results provide insightful and scientific guidance for device design and fabrication processes.

Electrical properties and structural optimization of GaN/InGaN/GaN tunnel junctions grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The InGaN films and GaN/InGaN/GaN tunnel junctions(TJs)were grown on GaN templates with plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy.As the In content increases,the quality of InGaN films grown on GaN templates decreases and the surface roughness of the samples increases.V-pits and trench defects were not found in the AFM images.p++-GaN/InGaN/n++-GaN TJs were investigated for various In content,InGaN thicknesses and doping concentration in the InGaN insert layer.The InGaN insert layer can promote good interband tunneling in GaN/InGaN/GaN TJ and significantly reduce operating voltage when doping is sufficiently high.The current density increases with increasing In content for the 3 nm InGaN insert layer,which is achieved by reducing the depletion zone width and the height of the potential barrier.At a forward current density of 500 A/cm^(2),the measured voltage was 4.31 V and the differential resistance was measured to be 3.75×10^(−3)Ω·cm^(2)for the device with a 3 nm p++-In_(0.35)Ga_(0.65)N insert layer.When the thickness of the In_(0.35)Ga_(0.65)N layer is closer to the“balanced”thickness,the TJ current density is higher.If the thickness is too high or too low,the width of the depletion zone will increase and the current density will decrease.The undoped InGaN layer has a better performance than n-type doping in the TJ.Polarization-engineered tunnel junctions can enhance the functionality and performance of electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Palladium single atoms from melting nanoparticles on WO_(3-x) for boosted hydrogen evolution reaction

Surface-supported isolated atoms in single-atom catalysts(SACs)grant maximum utilization of metals in heterogeneous catalysis.Herein,we report a feasible pyrolysis strategy to synthesize Pd single atoms by thermally melting Pd nanoparticles on an oxygen-vacancy-rich tungsten-oxide matrix at reduction atmosphere.Near ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to monitor the formation of zero-valence Pd single atoms and the increased metallic feature of WO_(3-x)substrate.Accordingly,the as-obtained zero-valence Pd single-atom catalyst exhibits a markedly boosted HER activity with a low overpotential(η_(10)=70 mV)at the current density of 10 mA/cm2and a small Tafel slope(b=68 mV/dec),nearly 150 mV and a 3,0-fold enhancement than those of Pd nanoparticles(η_(10)=220 mV,b=133 mV/dec)under the same conditions.In addition,quasi in situ XPS results suggest the hydrogen spillover effect is more likely to occur on Pd single atoms during the electrochemical process.Our work may pave an interesting route for the rational design of highly-efficient single-atom catalysts,and the elucidation of corresponding enhanced reaction mechanisms by the utilization of advanced characterization techniques.

Hollow Gradient-Structured Iron-Anchored Carbon Nanospheres for Enhanced Electromagnetic Wave Absorption

In the present paper,a microwave absorber with nanoscale gradient structure was proposed for enhancing the electromagnetic absorption performance.The inorganic-organic competitive coating strategy was employed,which can effectively adjust the thermodynamic and kinetic reactions of iron ions during the solvothermal process.As a result,Fe nanoparticles can be gradually decreased from the inner side to the surface across the hollow carbon shell.The results reveal that it offers an outstanding reflection loss value in combination with broadband wave absorption and flexible adjustment ability,which is superior to other relative graded distribution structures and satisfied with the requirements of lightweight equipment.In addition,this work elucidates the intrinsic microwave regulation mechanism of the multiscale hybrid electromagnetic wave absorber.The excellent impedance matching and moderate dielectric parameters are exhibited to be the dominative factors for the promotion of microwave absorption performance of the optimized materials.This strategy to prepare gradient-distributed microwave absorbing materials initiates a new way for designing and fabricating wave absorber with excellent impedance matching property in practical applications.

Suitable contacting scheme for evaluating electrical properties of GaN-based p-type layers

A suitable contacting scheme for p-(Al)GaN facilitating quick feedback and accurate measurements is proposed in this study.22 nm p^(+)-GaN followed by 2 nm p-In_(0.2)Ga_(0.8)N was grown on p-type layers by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition.Samples were then cut into squares after annealing and contact electrodes using In balls were put at the corners of the squares.Good linearity between all the electrodes was confirmed inⅠ–Ⅴcurves during Hall measurements even with In metal.Serval samples taken from the same wafer showed small standard deviation of~4%for resistivity,Hall mobility and hole concentration.The influence of contact layer on the electrical characteristics of bulk p-type layers was then investigated by step etching technique using inductively coupled plasma etching and subsequent Hall-effect measurements.Identical values could be obtained consistently when a 28 nm non-conductive layer thickness at the surface was taken into account.Therefore,the procedures for evaluating the electrical properties of GaN-based p-type layers just using In balls proposed in this study are shown to be quick and useful as for the other conventionalⅢ–Ⅴmaterials.

Lithium Ion Batteries Operated at-100℃

Enabling lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)to operate in a wider temperature range,e.g.,as low or high as possible or capable of both,is an urgent need and shared goal.Here we report,for the first time,a low-temperature electrolyte consisting of traditional ethylene carbonate,methyl acetate,butyronitrile solvents,and 1 M LiPF_(6) salt,attributed to its very low freezing point(T_(f)=-126.3℃)and high ion conductivity at extremely low temperatures(0.21 m S/cm at-100℃),successfully extends the service temperature of a practical 9.6 Ah LIB down to-100℃(49.6%capacity retention compared to that at room temperature),which is the lowest temperature reported for practical cells so far as we know,and is lower than the lowest natural temperature(-89.2℃)recorded on earth.Meanwhile,the high-temperature performance of lithium-ion batteries is not affected.The capacity retention is 88.2%and 83.4%after 800 cycles at 25℃and 45℃,respectively.The progress also makes LIB a proper power supplier for space vehicles in astronautic explorations.

Electroluminescence explored internal behavior of carriers in InGaAsP single-junction solar cell

The internal behaviors of carriers in InGaAsP single-junction solar cell are investigated by using electroluminescence(EL) measurements. Two emission peaks can be observed in current-dependent electroluminescence spectra at low temperatures, and carrier localization exists for both peaks under low excitation. The trends of power index α extracted from excitation-dependent EL spectra at different temperatures imply that there exists a competition between Shockley–Read–Hall recombination and Auger recombination. Auger recombination becomes dominant at high temperatures, which is probably responsible for the lower current density of InGaAsP solar cell. Besides, the anomalous “S-shape” tendency with the temperature of band-edge peak position can be attributed to potential fluctuation and carrier redistribution, demonstrating delocalization, transfer, and redistribution of carriers in the continuum band-edge. Furthermore, the strong reduction of activation energy at high excitations indicates that electrons and holes escaped independently, and the faster-escaping carriers are holes.

Homoepitaxial growth of (100) Si-doped β-Ga_(2)O_(3) films via MOCVD

Homoepitaxial growth of Si-doped β-Ga_(2)O_(3) films on semi-insulating(100) β-Ga_(2)O_(3) substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD) is studied in this work. By appropriately optimizing the growth conditions, an increasing diffusion length of Ga adatoms is realized, suppressing 3D island growth patterns prevalent in(100) β-Ga_(2)O_(3) films and optimizing the surface morphology with [010] oriented stripe features. The slightly Si-doped β-Ga_(2)O_(3) film shows smooth and flat surface morphology with a root-mean-square roughness of 1.3 nm. Rocking curves of the(400) diffraction peak also demonstrate the high crystal quality of the Si-doped films. According to the capacitance–voltage characteristics, the effective net doping concentrations of the films are 5.41 × 10~(15) – 1.74 × 10~(20) cm~(-3). Hall measurements demonstrate a high electron mobility value of 51cm~2/(V·s), corresponding to a carrier concentration of 7.19 × 10~(18) cm~(-3) and a high activation efficiency of up to 61.5%. Transmission line model(TLM) measurement shows excellent Ohmic contacts and a low specific contact resistance of 1.29 × 10~(-4) Ω·cm~2 for the Si-doped film, which is comparable to the Si-implanted film with a concentration of 5.0 × 10~(19) cm~(-3), confirming the effective Si doing in the MOCVD epitaxy.

Study of enhancement-mode GaN pFET with H plasma treated gate recess

This letter showcases the successful fabrication of an enhancement-mode(E-mode)buried p-channel GaN fieldeffect-transistor on a standard p-GaN/AlGaN/GaN-on-Si power HEMT substrate.The transistor exhibits a threshold voltage(VTH)of−3.8 V,a maximum ON-state current(ION)of 1.12 mA/mm,and an impressive ION/IOFF ratio of 10^(7).To achieve these remarkable results,an H plasma treatment was strategically applied to the gated p-GaN region,where a relatively thick GaN layer(i.e.,70 nm)was kept intact without aggressive gate recess.Through this treatment,the top portion of the GaN layer was converted to be hole-free,leaving only the bottom portion p-type and spatially separated from the etched GaN surface and gateoxide/GaN interface.This approach allows for E-mode operation while retaining high-quality p-channel characteristics.

Quantitative measurement of the charge carrier concentration using dielectric force microscopy

The charge carrier concentration profile is a critical factor that determines semiconducting material properties and device performance.Dielectric force microscopy(DFM)has been previously developed to map charge carrier concentrations with nanometer-scale spatial resolution.However,it is challenging to quantitatively obtain the charge carrier concentration,since the dielectric force is also affected by the mobility.Here,we quantitative measured the charge carrier concentration at the saturation mobility regime via the rectification effect-dependent gating ratio of DFM.By measuring a series of n-type GaAs and GaN thin films with mobility in the saturation regime,we confirmed the decreased DFM-measured gating ratio with increasing electron concentration.Combined with numerical simulation to calibrate the tip–sample geometry-induced systematic error,the quantitative correlation between the DFM-measured gating ratio and the electron concentration has been established,where the extracted electron concentration presents high accuracy in the range of 4×10^(16)–1×10^(18)cm^(-3).We expect the quantitative DFM to find broad applications in characterizing the charge carrier transport properties of various semiconducting materials and devices.

Evolution of microstructure, stress and dislocation of AlN thick film on nanopatterned sapphire substrates by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

A crack-free AlN film with 4.5 μm thickness was grown on a 2-inch hole-type nano-patterned sapphire substrates(NPSSs) by hydride vapor phase epitaxy(HVPE). The coalescence, stress evolution, and dislocation annihilation mechanisms in the AlN layer have been investigated. The large voids located on the pattern region were caused by the undesirable parasitic crystallites grown on the sidewalls of the nano-pattern in the early growth stage. The coalescence of the c-plane AlN was hindered by these three-fold crystallites and the special triangle void appeared. The cross-sectional Raman line scan was used to characterize the change of stress with film thickness, which corresponds to the characteristics of different growth stages of AlN. Threading dislocations(TDs) mainly originate from the boundary between misaligned crystallites and the c-plane AlN and the coalescence of two adjacent c-plane AlN crystals, rather than the interface between sapphire and AlN.

One-step wet-spinning assembly of twisting-structured graphene/carbon nanotube fiber supercapacitor

Graphene fiber-based supercapacitors hold great promise as flexible energy-storage devices. However, simultaneously achieving high ion-transport ability in electrode and electrolyte layer, which is crucial for realizing the high electrochemical performance, still remains challenging. Here, a facile and effective strategy to solve the problem was proposed by developing a twisting-structured graphene/carbon nanotube(CNT) fiber supercapacitor via one-step wet-spinning process with customized multi-channel spinneret.The remarkable structure features of the resulting fiber supercapacitor with wrinkled and thin electrolyte layer, and well-developed porosity of fiber electrode favored the rapid infiltration and transport of electrolyte ions inside the electrode, as well as between electrode and electrolyte, thus boosting high specific capacitance of 187.6 mF cm^(-2) and energy density of 30.2 μWh cm^(-2), and featuring long cycling life(93%capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles) and excellent flexibility. Moreover, the specific capacitance and energy density could be further improved to 267.2 m F cm^(-2) and 66.8 μWh cm^(-2), respectively, when Mn O2 was incorporated into the fiber.

Fabrication and characterization of vertical GaN Schottky barrier diodes with boron-implanted termination

The vertical GaN-on-GaN Schottky barrier diode with boron-implanted termination was fabricated and characterized.Compared with the Schottky barrier diode(SBD)without boron-implanted termination,this SBD effectively improved the breakdown voltage from 189 V to 585 V and significantly reduced the reverse leakage current by 10^5 times.In addition,a high Ion/Ioff ratio of ~10^8 was achieved by the boron-implanted technology.We used Technology Computer Aided Design(TCAD)to analyze reasons for the improved performance of the SBD with boron-implanted termination.The improved performance of diodes may be attributed to that B+could confine free carriers to suppress electron field crowding at the edge of the diode,which could improve the breakdown voltage and suppress the reverse leakage current.

Calcium-Doped Boron Nitride Aerogel Enables Infrared Stealth at High Temperature Up to 1300℃

Boron nitride(BN)aerogels,composed of nanoscale BN building units together with plenty of air in between these nanoscale building units,are ultralight ceramic materials with excellent thermal/electrical insulation,great chemical stability and high-temperature oxidation resistance,which offer considerable advantages for various applications under extreme conditions.However,previous BN aerogels cannot resist high temperature above 900℃ in air atmosphere,and hightemperature oxidation resistance enhancement for BN aerogels is still a great challenge.Herein,a calcium-doped BN(Ca-BN)aerogel with enhanced high-temperature stability(up to~1300℃ in air)was synthesized by introducing Ca atoms into crystal structure of BN building blocks via high-temperature reaction between calcium phosphate and melamine diborate architecture.Such Ca-BN aerogels could resist the burning of butane flame(~1300℃)and keep their megashape and microstructure very well.Furthermore,Ca-BN aerogel serves as thermal insulation layer,together with Al foil serving as both low-infrared-emission layer and high-infrared-reflection layer,forming a combination structure that can effectively hide high-temperature target(heated by butane flame).Such successful chemical doping of metal element into crystal structure of BN may be helpful in the future design and fabrication of advanced BN aerogel materials,and further extending their possible applications to extremely high-temperature environments.

Ni/Pd-based ohmic contacts to p-GaN through p-InGaN/p^(+)-GaN contacting layers

Specific contact resistance to p-GaN was measured for various structures of Ni/Pd-based metals and thin(20-30 nm thick)p-InGaN/p^(+)-GaN contacting layers.The effects of surface chemical treatment and annealing temperature were ex-amined.The optimal annealing temperature was determined to be 550°C,above which the sheet resistance of the samples de-graded considerably,suggesting that undesirable alloying had occurred.Pd-containing metal showed~35%lower com-pared to that of single Ni.Very thin(2-3.5 nm thick)p-InGaN contacting layers grown on 20-25 nm thick p^(+)-GaN layers exhib-ited one to two orders of magnitude smaller values of compared to that of p^(+)-GaN without p-InGaN.The current density de-pendence of,which is indicative of nonlinearity in current-voltage relation,was also examined.The lowest achieved through this study was 4.9×10^(-5)Ω·cm^(2)@J=3.4 kA/cm^(2).

Stable Lithium-Carbon Composite Enabled by Dual-Salt Additives

Lithium metal is regarded as the ultimate negative electrode material for secondary batteries due to its high energy density.However,it suffers from poor cycling stability because of its high reactivity with liquid electrolytes.Therefore,continuous efforts have been put into improving the cycling Coulombic efficiency(CE)to extend the lifespan of the lithium metal negative electrode.Herein,we report that using dual-salt additives of LiPF_(6) and LiNO_(3) in an ether solvent-based electrolyte can significantly improve the cycling stability and rate capability of a Li-carbon(Li-CNT)composite.As a result,an average cycling CE as high as 99.30% was obtained for the Li-CNT at a current density of 2.5 mA cm^(-2) and an negative electrode to positive electrode capacity(N/P)ratio of 2.The cycling stability and rate capability enhancement of the Li-CNT negative electrode could be attributed to the formation of a better solid electrolyte interphase layer that contains both inorganic components and organic polyether.The former component mainly originates from the decomposition of the LiNO_(3) additive,while the latter comes from the LiPF_(6)-induced ring-opening polymerization of the ether solvent.This novel surface chemistry significantly improves the CE of Li negative electrode,revealing its importance for the practical application of lithium metal batteries.

High-loading Co-doped NiO nanosheets on carbon-welded carbon nanotube framework enabling rapid charge kinetic for enhanced supercapacitor performance

Developing high power and energy supercapacitors(SCs)is a long-pursued goal for the application in transportation and energy storage station.Herein,a rationally-designed Co-doped nickel oxide nanosheets@carbon-welded carbon nanotube foam(Co-doped NiO@WCNTF)as freestanding electrode is successfully prepared for high power and energy SCs.The WCNTF framework with high specific surface area provides three dimensional highly conductive network for fast charge transport and ensures high loading of active materials(9.2 mg/cm2).Moreover,porous Co-doped NiO nanosheets uniformly anchored on the WCNTF framework enable rapid charge kinetics due to the high intrinsic conductivity of Co-doped Ni O nanosheets and their good contact with conductive WCNTF substrate.As a result,the unique integrated electrode with 3D architecture exhibits an ultrahigh specific capacitance of 11.45 F/cm2 at 5 mA/cm2,outstanding rate capability(11.45 F/cm2 at 5 mA/cm2 and a capacitance retention of 86.2%at 30 mA/cm2)and good cycling stability,suggesting great potential for high performance supercapacitor.

Dual-wavelength ultraviolet photodetector based on vertical(Al,Ga)N nanowires and graphene

Due to the wide application of UV-A(320 nm–400 nm)and UV-C(200 nm–280 nm)photodetectors,dual-wavelength(UV-A/UV-C)photodetectors are promising for future markets.A dual-wavelength UV photodetector based on vertical(Al,Ga)N nanowires and graphene has been demonstrated successfully,in which graphene is used as a transparent electrode.Both UV-A and UV-C responses can be clearly detected by the device,and the rejection ratio(R254 nm/R450 nm)exceeds35 times at an applied bias of-2 V.The short response time of the device is less than 20 ms.Furthermore,the underlying mechanism of double ultraviolet responses has also been analyzed systematically.The dual-wavelength detections could mainly result from the appropriate ratio of the thicknesses and the enough energy band difference of(Al,Ga)N and Ga N sections.

Short-wavelength infrared InAs/GaSb superlattice hole avalanche photodiode

We demonstrate two short-wavelength infrared avalanche photodiodes based on InAs/GaSb superlattice grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition.The difference between the two devices,namely,p+n-n+and p+nn-n+,is that the p+nn-n+device possesses an additional middle-doped layer to separate the multiplication region from the absorption region.By properly controlling the electric field distribution in the p+nn-n+device,an electric field of 906 kV/cm has been achieved,which is 2.6 times higher than that in the p+n-n+device.At a reverse bias of-0.1 V at 77 K,both devices show a 100%cut-off wavelength of 2.25μm.The p+n-n+and p+nn-n+show a dark current density of 1.5×10^-7 A/cm^2 and 1.8×10^-8 A/cm^2,and a peak responsivity about 0.35 A/W and 0.40 A/W at 1.5μm,respectively.A maximum multiplication gain of 55 is achieved in the p+nn-n+device while the value is only less than 2 in the p+n-n+device.Exponential nature of the gain characteristic as a function of reverse bias confirms a single carrier hole dominated impact ionization.

Self-powered solar-blind photodiodes based on EFG-grown(100)-dominant β-Ga_(2)O_(3) substrate

We report the edge-defined-film-fed(EFG)-grown β-Ga_(2)O_(3)-based Schottky photodiodes.The device has a reverse leakage current of ~nA and a rectified ratio of ~10^(4) at ±5 V.In addition,the photodiode detector shows a dark current of 0.3 pA,a photo-responsivity(R) of 2.875 mA/W,a special detectivity(D*) of 10^(10) Jones,and an external quantum efficiency(EQE) of 1.4% at zero bias,illustrating a self-powered operation.This work may advance the development of the Ga_(2)O_(3)-based Schottky diode solar-blind photodetectors.