|
Step-down DC/DC converter
BackgroundThe 48V power architecture is one of the more recently introduced architecture to improve computer power supply efficiency. However, conversion from 48V to 12V or down to ~1V needed by the CPU is a grand challenge. Efficiency and footprint are the key drivers as the converter is placed on the motherboard. Previous methods include Buck, Switch...
Published: 1/13/2021
|
Inventor(s): Qin Huang, Qingyun Huang
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Physical sciences > Semiconductor, Physical sciences > Computer hardware
|
|
Wafer alignment with AFM metrology
BackgroundOne of the major challenges in nanoscale manufacturing is defect control. Optical inspection is not an option at the nanoscale level due to the diffraction limit of light, and without inspection high scrap rates can occur. One solution to this problem is inline metrology using atomic force microscopes (AFM). Single chip MEMS based AFMs have...
Published: 1/13/2021
|
Inventor(s): Michael Cullinan, Andrew Duenner, Tsung-Fu Yao
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Physical sciences > Testing equipment, Physical sciences > Semiconductor
|
|
Broad access to nanoscale technologies
BackgroundMiniaturization, or “small tech,” has revolutionized the world we live in today. It has transformed computers from gigantic rooms to the size of our palms, changed displays from being too bulky to carry to being wrappable like a plastic sheet, and allowed sensors to be ubiquitously present in our everyday lives, to name a few....
Published: 1/12/2021
|
Inventor(s): S.V. Sreenivasan, Shrawan Singhal, Ovadia Abed, Lawrence Dunn, Aseem Sayal
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Physical sciences > Semiconductor, Physical sciences > Testing equipment
|
|
Selective reduction of metal oxides
BackgroundIn the microelectronics industry, nanoscale features are patterned using photolithography, a process in which a transparent mask is used to transfer patterns onto a light-sensitive chemical photoresist on a substrate. The chemical change in the resist enables unwanted material to be etched so that the underlying layer can be patterned. While...
Published: 1/11/2021
|
Inventor(s): Roger Bonnecaze, Meghali Chopra, Sonali Chopra, Jeremy Binagia, Bryce Edmondson, John Ekerdt
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Physical sciences > Semiconductor
|
|
Scandium nitride magnetic tunnel junction
BackgroundSpin transfer torque-magnetic random-access memory (STT-MRAM) has relied on MgO tunnel barrier based magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) since the discovered improvements over Al2O3 a decade ago. However, MgO presents growth challenges hindering wide use and acceptance. Small pinholes in the barrier provide a path for electrical conduction, suppressing...
Published: 1/12/2021
|
Inventor(s): Jean Incorvia, Daniel Marshall, Suyogya Karki
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Physical sciences > Semiconductor
|
|
Enhanced room-temperature mid-IR LEDs with integrated semiconductor ‘metals’
BackgroundThe mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelength range (~2-20 μm) is of vital importance for a range of sensing, security and defense, and fundamental science applications. Mid-infrared optical sources have historically fallen into two primary categories: simple thermal sources and coherent, laser sources of light. The former consist solely of a hot...
Published: 1/11/2021
|
Inventor(s): Daniel Wasserman, Seth Bank, Andrew Briggs, Leland Nordin
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Physical sciences > Semiconductor
|
|
STO/LAO quantum well structures
Background Electro-optic modulators play a key role in global communications and data transfer infrastructure. Most notably, they form the basis for optical transceiver technologies which connect high-throughput data centers to long-haul fiber optic communications lines. Due to rapidly expanding global data demands, the performance of such devices,...
Published: 12/20/2020
|
Inventor(s): Alexander Demkov, John Ortmann, Jr., Agham-Bayan Posadas
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Physical sciences > Semiconductor > Photonics, Physical sciences > Semiconductor
|
|
Large Pockels coefficient in BaTiO3 (BTO) devices
BackgroundThe explosion of global data rates has led to an increased reliance on optical transceiver technologies for high-throughput data centers and high-performance computing. Photonic integrated circuits improve the performance of optical technologies and reduce their cost. Many key elements in photonic integrated circuits, such as modulators and...
Published: 12/18/2020
|
Inventor(s): Alexander Demkov, John Ortmann, Jr., Marc Reynaud, Agham-Bayan Posadas, Margaret Duncan
Keywords(s): Photonics
Category(s): Physical sciences > Semiconductor
|
|
Ultra thin IR detector
BackgroundStrained layer superlattices (SLSs) have attracted significant attention as potential light absorbers for infrared (IR) photodetector applications. Such semiconductor-based structures provide effective band gaps across mid-wave to long-wave IR that are tunable by control of layer thicknesses and material composition. Of particular interest...
Published: 12/14/2020
|
Inventor(s): Daniel Wasserman
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Physical sciences > Computer hardware, Physical sciences > Semiconductor
|
|
Time-domain capacitance-to-digital converter with zoom-in SAR
BackgroundTwo technologies are touched upon below—an energy-efficient comparator followed by a time domain two-step capacitance-to-digital converter. Comparators bridge the analog and digital world. A low-power, low-noise comparator is critical for analog-to-digital converters. A comparator consists of a pre-amp followed by a latch. Dynamic comparators,...
Published: 12/11/2020
|
Inventor(s): Nan Sun, Xiyuan Tang
Keywords(s): Capacitance-to-digital converter
Category(s): Physical sciences > Semiconductor
|
