We propose a novel all-optical sampling method using nonlinear polarization rotation in a semiconductor optical amplifier.A rate-equation model capable of describing the all-optical sampling mechanism is presented in this paper.Based on this model,we investigate the optimized operating parameters of the proposed system by simulating the output intensity of the probe light as functions of the input polarization angle,the phase induced by the polarization controller,and the orientation of the polarization beam splitter.The simulated results show that we can obtain a good linear slope and a large linear dynamic range,which is suitable for all-optical sampling.The operating power of the pump light can be less than 1mW.The presented all-optical sampling method can potentially operate at a sampling rate up to hundreds GS/s and needs low optical power.
Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) serves as an indispensable process for achieving global planarization in semiconductor manufacturing, especially as integrated circuit (IC) technology advances to sub-7 nm nodes, where atomic-level surface flatness becomes crucial. Silica abrasives, which account for over 90% of the abrasive market in advanced CMP processes, operate not through simple mechanical grinding but through a key "chemical-mechanical synergistic" mechanism: chemically softening the wafer surface, then mechanically removing the softened layer to expose a new surface, which is further softened and removed, repeating this cycle to produce a smooth wafer. Despite their prevalence, conventional silica abrasives still face challenges, including relatively low material removal rate (MRR), a tendency to agglomerate, leading to poor dispersion and surface defects, and limitations in achieving ultimate surface uniformity. Significant progress has been made to address these issues. Development has progressed from simple spherical particles to complex structural designs (such as mesoporous, hollow, and raspberry-shaped structures) to enhance slurry transport and mechanical action. Surface chemical modifications (e.g., using amino or polymer groups) can improve dispersion stability and reduce scratching. Furthermore, composites with other materials (e.g., ceria, polymers) and precise control of particle size distribution are key to enhancing performance. These innovative approaches have yielded significant performance gains. State-of-the-art slurries have demonstrated the ability to achieve surface roughness below 0.1 nm RMS. The development of silica abrasives is increasingly focused on sustainability and smart manufacturing. A prominent direction is the design of biodegradable abrasives that disintegrate after use, thereby simplifying post-chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) cleanup and minimizing environmental impact—an approach fully aligned with green manufacturing principles. This review systematically summarizes the progress of silica abrasives for CMP over the past 60 years. This summary provides theoretical insights and forward-looking strategies to overcome the current limitations of abrasive technology. We believe this review will be helpful in advancing the field of CMP abrasives towards next-generation semiconductor manufacturing.
Currently, the global 5G network, cloud computing, and data center industries are experiencing rapid development. The continuous growth of data center traffic has driven the vigorous progress in high-speed optical transceivers for optical interconnection within data centers. The electro-absorption modulated laser (EML), which is widely used in optical fiber communications, data centers, and high-speed data transmission systems, represents a high-performance photoelectric conversion device. Compared to traditional directly modulated lasers (DMLs), EMLs demonstrate lower frequency chirp and higher modulation bandwidth, enabling support for higher data rates and longer transmission distances. This article introduces the composition, working principles, manufacturing processes, and applications of EMLs. It reviews the progress on advanced indium phosphide (InP)-based EML devices from research institutions worldwide, while summarizing and comparing data transmission rates and key technical approaches across various studies.
The optical properties of polypyrrole (Ppy) thin films upon 2 MeV electron beam irradiation changes with different doses. The induced changes in the optical properties for Ppy thin films were studied in the visible range 300 to 800 nm at room temperature. The optical band gap of the pristine Ppy was found to be 2.19 eV and it decreases up to 1.97 eV for a 50 kGy dose of 2 MeV electron beam. The refractive index dispersion of the samples obeys the single oscillator model. The obtained results suggest that electron beam irradiation changes the optical parameters of Ppy thin films.
Silicon photonics is an emerging competitive solution for next-generation scalable data communications in different application areas as high-speed data communication is constrained by electrical interconnects. Optical interconnects based on silicon photonics can be used in intra/inter-chip interconnects, board-to-board interconnects, short-reach communications in datacenters, supercomputers and long-haul optical transmissions. In this paper, we present an overview of recent progress in silicon optoelectronic devices and optoelectronic integrated circuits(OEICs) based on a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible process, and focus on our research contributions. The silicon optoelectronic devices and OEICs show good characteristics, which are expected to benefit several application domains, including communication, sensing, computing and nonlinear systems.
The AC-electronic and dielectric properties of different phthalocyanine films (ZnPc, CuPc, FePc, and H2Pc) were investigated over a wide range of temperature. Both real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant (ε=ε1-iε2) were found to be influenced by temperature and frequency. Qualitatively the behavior was the same for those compounds; however, the central atom, film thickness, and the electrode type play an important role in the variation of their values.The relaxation time, τ, was strongly frequency-dependent at all temperatures and low frequencies, while a weak dependency is observed at higher frequencies. The relaxation activation energy was derived from the slopes of the fitted lines of ln τ and the reciprocal of the temperature (1/T). The values of the activation energy were accounted for the hopping process at low temperatures, while a thermally activated conduction process was dominant at higher temperatures.The maximum barrier height, Wm, was found to be temperature and frequency dependent for all phthalocyanine compounds. The value Wm depends greatly on the nature of the central atom and electrode material type. The correlated barrier hopping model was found to be the appropriate mechanism to describe the charge carrier's transport in phthalocyanine films.
Flexible and wearable optoelectronic devices have been developing to a new stage due to their unique capacity for the possibility of a variety of wearable intelligent electronics, including bendable smartphones, foldable touch screens and antennas, paper-like displays, and curved and flexible solid-state lighting devices. Before extensive commercial applications, some issues still have to be solved for flexible and wearable optoelectronic devices. In this regard, this review concludes the newly emerging flexible substrate materials, transparent conductive electrodes, device architectures and light manipulation methods. Examples of these components applied for various kinds of devices are also summarized. Finally, perspectives about the bright future of flexible and wearable electronic devices are proposed.
The downscaling of logic devices has posed numerous engineering and manufacturing challenges in copper (Cu) interconnections. The primary failure modes of Cu filling defects are narrow top openings and discontinuous Cu seeds on sidewalls. This study investigates the influence and mechanism of layout on Cu filling defects. Dense line wires with uneven local layouts are prone to defects, which is attributed to the altered distribution of additives in electrochemical plating (ECP), leading to differences in bottom-up filling behavior. It is demonstrated that large-sized metal conductor regions adjacent to dense line wires adsorb substantial amounts of suppressor, resulting in sparse current density in these areas. Given the fixed total local current density, the sparseness of current density in adjacent regions inevitably diverts more current lines to the dense line wire areas. The excessive current density exceeds the local redistribution capacity of additives, causing premature sealing of trench tops and the formation of void defects. A low-current plating process significantly mitigates these defects but may compromise the protective capability of the Cu seed. Additionally, the perimeter density of the layout serves as an effective evaluation index.
Although perovskite solar cells containing methylamine cation can show high power conversion efficiency, stability is a concern. Here, methylamine-free perovskite material CsxFA1–xPbI3 was synthesized by a one-step method. In addition, we incorporated smaller cadmium ions into mixed perovskite lattice to partially replace Pb ions to address the excessive internal strain in perovskite structure. We have found that the introduction of Cd can improve the crystallinity and the charge carrier lifetime of perovskite films. Consequently, a power conversion efficiency as high as 20.59% was achieved. More importantly, the devices retained 94% of their initial efficiency under 1200 h of continuous illumination.
