A cryogenic probe station for physics and device studies of cycling excitation process (CEP)

Abstract

We propose to acquire a cryogenic probe station system to investigate temperaturedependent properties of a newly discovered physical mechanism: cycling excitation process (CEP).The program is currently supported by the Office of Naval Research under Dr. Ravindra Athale.The cryogeneic probe station allows precise control of a wide temperature range (from <10K toover 400K) for characterization of the material and device properties. The system is equipped withlow noise and high frequency probes to support cryogenic wafer-scaled testing, thus greatlyincreasing the efficiency of experiment and reducing the parasitic effects due to packaging. Thelatter is particularly important for investigation of the intrinsic gain-bandwidth product and noiseproperties of the CEP devices. The system also provides a clear optical window and easy lightaccess to the device under test, facilitating the measurements of quantum efficiency,photoresponsivity, material absorption coefficient, light emission efficiency and spectroscopicstudies.Devices using the CEP effect show highly promising properties, including high amplificationfactor under low bias, intrinsic stability, and ultralow noise. These unique properties areparticularly attractive to many DoD applications such as sensing, imaging, and communications.The preliminary experimental results and theoretical analyses have indicated that the CEP effectis likely a phonon mediated process. One of the most unique characteristics is that phonon mayplay a positive role in the device~s low noise and inherent stability, which is in sharp contrast withthe usually negative roles phonons play in all other semiconductor devices. Using the proposedsystem, we will be able to conduct accurate measurements under different temperatures andmagnetic fields (the CEP effect is predicted to be spin dependent too) to develop a more completephysical model for this new phenomenon. A correct and thorough understanding of the CEP effectwill enable many device applications of DoD interest.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Sep 30, 2016
Source ID
N000141612716

Entities

People

  • Yu-Hwa Lo

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy
  • University of California, San Diego

Tags

Readers

  • Acoustics.
  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.
  • Thermal Physics or Thermal Science.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Quantum Computing