A catalytic alloy approach for graphene on epitaxial SiC on silicon wafers

© Materials Research Society 2015. We introduce a novel approach to the synthesis of high-quality and highly uniform few-layer graphene on silicon wafers, based on solid source growth from epitaxial 3C-SiC films. Using a Ni/Cu catalytic alloy, we obtain a transfer-free bilayer graphene directly on Si(100) wafers, at temperatures potentially compatible with conventional semiconductor processing. The graphene covers uniformly a 2″ silicon wafer, with a Raman ID/IG band ratio as low as 0.5, indicative of a low defectivity material. The sheet resistance of the graphene is as low as 25 Ω/square, and its adhesion energy to the underlying substrate is substantially higher than transferred graphene. This work opens the avenue for the true wafer-level fabrication of microdevices comprising graphene functional layers. Specifically, we suggest that exceptional conduction qualifies this graphene as a metal replacement for MEMS and advanced on-chip interconnects with ultimate scalability

The potential of silicon carbide for memory applications: bridging the technological gap between data storage and data processing

Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EngineeringNo Full Tex

Irreversible event-based model for thermal emission of electrons from isolated traps

Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EngineeringFull Tex

Nonvolatile dynamic memories

This paper demonstrates that electronically passivated Si-Si02 interface enables the development of nonvolatilc dynamic memories. Experimental results on chargeretention iimes are presented to illustrate that the Si DRAMs would become nonvolatile memories if implemented into Sic. The disadvantages of the DRAM cell (ICIT), in terms of limited memory-capacity increase, are discussed to highlight the need for development of superior memory cells.Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EngineeringFull Tex

Particle-Based Device Modeling

The key concepts in standard device modeling, such as continuous carrier concentration and continuous current, are questionable when the average number of carriers is smaller than one electron or one hole. This is not a rare scenario because the average number of minority carriers in semiconductor devices is almost always smaller than one carrier. In this paper, we demonstrate that the carrier generation, recombination, thermionic emission, and tunneling can be modeled by equations developed for single-carrier events.No Full Tex

SiC power MOSFETs: The current status and the potential for future development

This paper reviews the advantages and the current status of commercially available SiC power MOSFETs, followed by an analysis of future trends and the potential for future development. Specifically, the review shows the advantages of the recently commercialized trench MOSFET structure and the potential for integration with SiC Schottky diodes to create fast MOSFETs. The current issues and the potential for future improvements in terms of low channel-carrier mobility and threshold-voltage drifts are also discussed.Griffith Sciences, School of Engineering and Built EnvironmentFull Tex

Silicon carbide as a material for mainstream electronics

SiC is emerging as the only semiconductor material other than silicon that can have electronically passivated surface to industrial standards. The surface passivation is the main reason for the dominance of silicon technology, but SiC has favorable bulk properties. This combination of factors raises the question whether SiC can play a role in mainstream electronics (integrated-circuit based complex systems). Addressing this question in this paper, it is concluded that SiC integration with silicon wafers is the most likely trigger of an evolutionary chain of investment and development steps, which has the potential to significantly influence future development of mainstream electronics.Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EngineeringNo Full Tex

The SiC-SiO2 Interface: A Unique Advantage of SiC as a Wide Energy-Gap Material

Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EngineeringNo Full Tex