Terahertz and Microwave Detection Using Metallic Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising nanomaterials for high frequency applications due to their unique physical characteristics. CNTs have a low heat capacity, low intrinsic capacitance, and incredibly fast thermal time constants. They can also exhibit ballistic transport at low bias, for both phonons and electrons, as evident by their fairly long mean free paths. However, despite the great potential they present, the RF behavior of these nanostructures is not completely understood. In order to explore this high frequency regime we studied the microwave (MW) and terahertz (THz) response of individual and bundled single wall nanotube based devices. This thesis is an experimental study which attempts to understand the high frequency characteristics of metallic single walled carbon nanotubes, and to develop an ultra-fast and sensitive direct THz detector. First, the appropriate high frequency detector background is introduced. CNTs previously measured behavior draws similarities to two types of detectors: diode and bolometer. Therefore, our CNT devices are geared towards those designs. Second the fabrication process of devices is reviewed. UV lithography is used to pattern THz coupling log periodic antennas, on top of which CNTs are deposited by using a dielectrophoretic process. Third, the fabricated devices are tested at DC, MW, and THz frequencies. All of these measurements are done as a function of temperature, power, and frequency. Finally, the physical processes that give rise to the diode and bolometric detections at MW and THz detection at different temperatures and under different bias regimes (i.e. low and high) are explained

Hysteresis-Free Nanosecond Pulsed Electrical Characterization of Top-Gated Graphene Transistors

We measure top-gated graphene field effect transistors (GFETs) with nanosecond-range pulsed gate and drain voltages. Due to high-k dielectric or graphene imperfections, the drain current decreases ~10% over time scales of ~10 us, consistent with charge trapping mechanisms. Pulsed operation leads to hysteresis-free I-V characteristics, which are studied with pulses as short as 75 ns and 150 ns at the drain and gate, respectively. The pulsed operation enables reliable extraction of GFET intrinsic transconductance and mobility values independent of sweep direction, which are up to a factor of two higher than those obtained from simple DC characterization. We also observe drain-bias-induced charge trapping effects at lateral fields greater than 0.1 V/um. In addition, using modeling and capacitance-voltage measurements we extract charge trap densities up to 10^12 1/cm^2 in the top gate dielectric (here Al2O3). Our study illustrates important time- and field-dependent imperfections of top-gated GFETs with high-k dielectrics, which must be carefully considered for future developments of this technologyComment: to appear in IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices (2014

Ultra-low contact resistance in graphene devices at the Dirac point

Contact resistance is one of the main factors limiting performance of short-channel graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs), preventing their use in low-voltage applications. Here we investigated the contact resistance between graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and different metals, and found that etching holes in graphene below the contacts consistently reduced the contact resistance, down to 23 Omega . mu m with Au contacts. This low contact resistance was obtained at the Dirac point of graphene, in contrast to previous studies where the lowest contact resistance was obtained at the highest carrier density in graphene (here 200 Omega . mu m was obtained under such conditions). The 'holey' Au contacts were implemented in GFETs which exhibited an average transconductance of 940 S m(-1) at a drain bias of only 0.8 V and gate length of 500 nm, which out-perform GFETs with conventional Au contacts

Nanoscale Phase Change Memory with Graphene Ribbon Electrodes

Phase change memory (PCM) devices are known to reduce in power consumption as the bit volume and contact area of their electrodes are scaled down. Here, we demonstrate two types of low-power PCM devices with lateral graphene ribbon electrodes: one in which the graphene is patterned into narrow nanoribbons and the other where the phase change material is patterned into nanoribbons. The sharp graphene "edge" contacts enable switching with threshold voltages as low as ~3 V, low programming currents (<1 {\mu}A SET, <10 {\mu}A RESET) and ON/OFF ratios >100. Large-scale fabrication with graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition also enables the study of heterogeneous integration and that of variability for such nanomaterials and devices.Comment: submitted to Applied Physics Letter

A graphical tool for designing interactive video cognitive rehabilitation therapies

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) has become one of the most common causes of neurological disability in developed countries. Cognitive disorders result in a loss of independence and therefore patients? quality of life. Cognitive rehabilitation aims to promote patients? skills to achieve their highest degree of personal autonomy. New technologies such as interactive video, whereby real situations of daily living are reproduced within a controlled virtual environment, enable the design of personalized therapies with a high level of generalization and a great ecological validity. This paper presents a graphical tool that allows neuropsychologists to design, modify, and configure interactive video therapeutic activities, through the combination of graphic and natural language. The tool has been validated creating several Activities of Daily Living and a preliminary usability evaluation has been performed showing a good clinical acceptance in the definition of complex interactive video therapies for cognitive rehabilitation

Dysfunctional 3D model based on structural and neuropsychological information

Acquired brain injury (ABI) 1-2 refers to any brain damage occurring after birth. It usually causes certain damage to portions of the brain. ABI may result in a significant impairment of an individuals physical, cognitive and/or psychosocial functioning. The main causes are traumatic brain injury (TBI), cerebrovascular accident (CVA) and brain tumors. The main consequence of ABI is a dramatic change in the individuals daily life. This change involves a disruption of the family, a loss of future income capacity and an increase of lifetime cost. One of the main challenges in neurorehabilitation is to obtain a dysfunctional profile of each patient in order to personalize the treatment. This paper proposes a system to generate a patient s dysfunctional profile by integrating theoretical, structural and neuropsychological information on a 3D brain imaging-based model. The main goal of this dysfunctional profile is to help therapists design the most suitable treatment for each patient. At the same time, the results obtained are a source of clinical evidence to improve the accuracy and quality of our rehabilitation system. Figure 1 shows the diagram of the system. This system is composed of four main modules: image-based extraction of parameters, theoretical modeling, classification and co-registration and visualization module

2D-Tasks for Cognitive Rehabilitation

Neuropsychological Rehabilitation is a complex clinic process which tries to restore or compensate cognitive and behavioral disorders in people suffering from a central nervous system injury. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Biomedical Engineering play an essential role in this field, allowing improvement and expansion of present rehabilitation programs. This paper presents a set of cognitive rehabilitation 2D-Tasks for patients with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). These tasks allow a high degree of personalization and individualization in therapies, based on the opportunities offered by new technologies

Leveraging natural history biorepositories as a global, decentralized, pathogen surveillance network

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic reveals a major gap in global biosecurity infrastructure: a lack of publicly available biological samples representative across space, time, and taxonomic diversity. The shortfall, in this case for vertebrates, prevents accurate and rapid identification and monitoring of emerging pathogens and their reservoir host(s) and precludes extended investigation of ecological, evolutionary, and environmental associations that lead to human infection or spillover. Natural history museum biorepositories form the backbone of a critically needed, decentralized, global network for zoonotic pathogen surveillance, yet this infrastructure remains marginally developed, underutilized, underfunded, and disconnected from public health initiatives. Proactive detection and mitigation for emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) requires expanded biodiversity infrastructure and training (particularly in biodiverse and lower income countries) and new communication pipelines that connect biorepositories and biomedical communities. To this end, we highlight a novel adaptation of Project ECHO’s virtual community of practice model: Museums and Emerging Pathogens in the Americas (MEPA). MEPA is a virtual network aimed at fostering communication, coordination, and collaborative problem-solving among pathogen researchers, public health officials, and biorepositories in the Americas. MEPA now acts as a model of effective international, interdisciplinary collaboration that can and should be replicated in other biodiversity hotspots. We encourage deposition of wildlife specimens and associated data with public biorepositories, regardless of original collection purpose, and urge biorepositories to embrace new specimen sources, types, and uses to maximize strategic growth and utility for EID research. Taxonomically, geographically, and temporally deep biorepository archives serve as the foundation of a proactive and increasingly predictive approach to zoonotic spillover, risk assessment, and threat mitigation

Hysteresis-Free Nanosecond Pulsed Electrical Characterization of Top-Gated Graphene Transistors

Abstract-We measure top-gated graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) with nanosecond-range pulsed gate and drain voltages. Due to high-κ dielectric or graphene imperfections, the drain current decreases by ∼10% over timescales of ∼10 μs, consistent with charge trapping mechanisms. The pulsed operation leads to hysteresis-free I-V characteristics that are studied with pulses as short as 75 and 150 ns at the drain and gate, respectively. The pulsed operation enables reliable extraction of GFET intrinsic transconductance and mobility values independent of sweep direction, which are up to a factor of two higher than those obtained from simple dc characterization. We also observe drain-bias-induced charge trapping effects at lateral fields greater than 0.1 V/μm. In addition, using modeling and capacitance-voltage measurements, we extract trap densities up to 10 12 cm −2 in the top-gate dielectric (here Al 2 O 3 ). This study illustrates important time-and field-dependent imperfections of top-gated GFETs with high-κ dielectrics, which must be carefully considered for future developments of this technology