Progress towards photonic crystal quantum cascade laser

The work describes recent progress in the design, simulation, implementation and characterisation of photonic crystal (PhC) GaAs-based quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). The benefits of applying active PhC confinement around a QCL cavity are explained, highlighting a route to reduced threshold current operation. Design of a suitable PhC has been performed using published bandgap maps; simulation results of this PhC show a wide, high reflectivity stopband. Implementation of the PhC for the device is particularly difficult, requiring a very durable metallic dry etch mask, high performance dry etching and a low damage epilayer-down device mounting technique. Preliminary shallow etched PhC QCLs demonstrated the viability of current injection through the metal etch mask and the device mounting technique. Development of the etch mask and dry etching have demonstrated a process suitable for the manufacture of deep etched PhC structures. All the necessary elements for implementing deep etched PhC QCLs have now been demonstrated, allowing for the development of high performance devices

Integration of a resonant tunneling diode and an optical communications laser

We report on the first integration of a resonant tunneling diode and an optical communications laser operating at around 1.5 /spl μm. We demonstrate its low-frequency bistable operation and model its electrical characteristics

50-nm self-aligned and 'standard' T-gate InP pHEMT comparison: the influence of parasitics on performance at the 50-nm node

Continued research into the development of III-V high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), specifically the minimization of the device gate length, has yielded the fastest performance reported for any three terminal devices to date. In addition, more recent research has begun to focus on reducing the parasitic device elements such as access resistance and gate fringing capacitance, which become crucial for short gate length device performance maximization. Adopting a self-aligned T-gate architecture is one method used to reduce parasitic device access resistance, but at the cost of increasing parasitic gate fringing capacitances. As the device gate length is then reduced, the benefits of the self-aligned gate process come into question, as at these ultrashort-gate dimensions, the magnitude of the static fringing capacitances will have a greater impact on performance. To better understand the influence of these issues on the dc and RF performance of short gate length InP pHEMTs, the authors present a comparison between In0.7Ga0.3As channel 50-nm self-aligned and "standard" T-gate devices. Figures of merit for these devices include transconductance greater than 1.9 S/mm, drive current in the range 1.4 A/mm, and fT up to 490 GHz. Simulation of the parasitic capacitances associated with the self-aligned gate structure then leads a discussion concerning the realistic benefits of incorporating the self-aligned gate process into a sub-50-nm HEMT syste

Semiconductor device for generating an oscillating voltage

A semiconductor device which displays an oscillating voltage due to the creation of charge domains which includes a plurality of semiconductor layers and at least two electrodes spaced from one another in the direction of the layers, an upper of which has a composition and/or dimensions predetermined so that a charge therein balances a depletion from a surface charge of the upper layer on application of a potential difference across said electrodes. The electrodes may be in contact solely with the upper layer. A method of manufacturing the device is also provided

50-nm T-gate metamorphic GaAs HEMTs with f_T of 440 GHz and noise figure of 0.7 dB at 26 GHz

GaAs-based transistors with the highest f/sub T/ and lowest noise figure reported to date are presented in this letter. A 50-nm T-gate In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As/In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As metamorphic high-electron mobility transistors (mHEMTs) on a GaAs substrate show f/sub T/ of 440 GHz, f/sub max/ of 400 GHz, a minimum noise figure of 0.7 dB and an associated gain of 13 dB at 26 GHz, the latter at a drain current of 185 mA/mm and g/sub m/ of 950 mS/mm. In addition, a noise figure of below 1.2 dB with 10.5 dB or higher associated gain at 26 GHz was demonstrated for drain currents in the range 40 to 470 mA/mm at a drain bias of 0.8 V. These devices are ideal for low noise and medium power applications at millimeter-wave frequencies

A planar Gunn diode operating above 100 GHz

We show the experimental realization of a 108-GHz planar Gunn diode structure fabricated in GaAs/AlGaAs. There is a considerable interest in such devices since they lend themselves to integration into millimeter-wave and terahertz integrated circuits. The material used was grown by molecular beam epitaxy, and devices were made using electron beam lithography. Since the frequency of oscillation is defined by the lithographically controlled anode-cathode distance, the technology shows great promise in fabricating single chip terahertz sources

Generation of ultrashort electrical pulses in semiconductor waveguides

We report a novel device capable of generating ultrashort electrical pulses on a coplanar waveguide (CPW) by means of optical rectification. The device consists of a completely passive GaAs-based optical waveguide, which is velocity matched to a CPW line. Optical pulses are injected into the device and electrical pulses are collected at the output. Experimental results obtained in the laboratory show the potential of this device for high speed optical-to-electrical conversion

Fabrication And Welding Skills Required For Employment Of University Students In Rivers State: A Tool For Curbing Electoral Malpractice In Nigeria

This study focused on the assessment of fabrication and welding skills required for employment of university students in Rivers State used as a tool in curbing electoral malpractice in Nigeria. A descriptive survey design guided the study. The population comprised 24 Fabrication and Welding (FW) lecturers and Instructors in the owned Universities (Rivers State University lecturers and Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in Rivers State) (i. e. FW lecturers 16 and Instructors 8). No sampling was done as the population was manageable. Two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated for the study. A questionnaire titled “Fabrication and Welding Skills Required for Employment of University Students in Rivers State: A Tool for Curbing Electoral Malpractice in Nigeria (FWSNEATCEMN)" was developed to elicit responses from the respondents. The instrument was validated by three experts in the fields of Vocational and Technology Education and Training and Political Science Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha Reliability coefficient which yielded 0.86 and 0.87 respectively. Statistical Mean was used to answer the research questions while standard deviation was used to determine the homogeneity in the responses of the respondent and z-test was used to test the hypotheses. The study found that fabrication skills are required for employment of university students in Rivers State used as a tool in curbing electoral malpractice in Nigeria. The study also showed that fabrication skills are required for employment of university students in Rivers State used as a tool in curbing electoral malpractice in Nigeria. Among the recommendations in the study are:  TVET institution’s administrators should ensure that there is a synergy between TVET institutions and industries during training to ensure that students acquire fabrication skills needed for employment: A tool for curbing electoral malpractice in Nigeria, and TVET institutions should ensure that students undergo their industrial attachment in related and allied industries to ensure that students acquire welding skills needed for employment: A tool for curbing electoral malpractice in Nigeria

Q-switched laser damage of infrared nonlinear materials

Q-switched laser-damage thresholds have been determined for six materials (proustite – Ag3AsS3, pyrargyrite – Ag3SbS3, cinnabar – HgS, silver thiogallate – AgGaS2, tellurium – Te, and gallium arsenide – GaAs) of interest for nonlinear optics in the medium infrared. Four TEM00 mode lasers were employed with outputs at wavelengths of 694 nm, 1.06, 2.098, and 10.6 µm. Damage has been found to be confined to the surface of the crystals and occurs for radiation intensities between 3 and 75 MW/cm2. Particular care is needed in the cutting and polishing of tellurium crystals if a high-damage threshold is to be achieved

Design, fabrication, and characterization of deep-etched waveguide gratings

One-dimensional (1-D) deep-etched gratings on a specially grown AlGaAs wafer were designed and fabricated. The gratings were fabricated using state-of-the-art electron beam lithography and high-aspect-ratio reactive ion etching (RIE) in order to achieve the required narrow deep air slots with good accuracy and reproducibility. Since remarkable etch depths (up to 1.5 /spl mu/m), which completely cut through the waveguide core layer, have been attained, gratings composed of only five periods (and, thus, shorter than 6 /spl mu/m) have a bandgap larger than 100 nm. A defect was introduced by increasing the width of the central semiconductor tooth to create microcavities that exhibit a narrow transmission peak (less than 7 nm) around the wavelength of 1530 nm. The transmission spectra between 1460 and 1580 nm have been systematically measured, and the losses have been estimated for a set of gratings, both with and without a defect, for different periods and air slot dimensions. Numerical results obtained via a bidirectional beam propagation code allowed the evaluation of transmissivity, reflectivity, and diffraction losses. By comparing experimental results with the authors' numerical findings, a clear picture of the role of the grating's geometric parameters in determining its spectral features and diffractive losses is illustrated