Kristen N. Parrish

On-chip integrated antenna structures in CMOS for 60 GHz WPAN systems

This paper presents several on-chip antenna structures that may be fabricated with standard CMOS technology for use at millimeter wave frequencies. On-chip antennas for wireless personal area networks (WPANs) promise to reduce interconnection losses and greatly reduce wireless transceiver costs, while providing unprecedented flexibility for device manufacturers. This paper presents the current state of research in on-chip integrated antennas, highlights several pitfalls and challenges for on-chip design, modeling, and measurement, and proposes several antenna structures that derive from the microwave microstrip and amateur radio art. This paper also describes an experimental test apparatus for performing measurements on RFIC systems with on-chip antennas developed at The University of Texas at Austin.

25 GHz Embedded-Gate Graphene Transistors with High-K Dielectrics on Extremely Flexible Plastic Sheets

Despite the widespread interest in graphene electronics over the past decade, high-performance graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) on flexible substrates have been rarely achieved, even though this atomic sheet is widely understood to have greater prospects for flexible electronic systems. In this article, we report detailed studies on the electrical and mechanical properties of vapor synthesized high-quality monolayer graphene integrated onto flexible polyimide substrates. Flexible graphene transistors with high-k dielectric afforded intrinsic gain, maximum carrier mobilities of 3900 cm(2)/V·s, and importantly, 25 GHz cutoff frequency, which is more than a factor of 2.5 times higher than prior results. Mechanical studies reveal robust transistor performance under repeated bending, down to 0.7 mm bending radius, whose tensile strain is a factor of 2-5 times higher than in prior studies. In addition, integration of functional coatings such as highly hydrophobic fluoropolymers combined with the self-passivation properties of the polyimide substrate provides water-resistant protection without compromising flexibility, which is an important advancement for the realization of future robust flexible systems based on graphene.

Impact of contact resistance on the transconductance and linearity of graphene transistors

Interest in graphene device physics and technology has been growing rapidly, especially for very high frequency transistor applications. However, the predicted intrinsic performance has not been fully realized due to impurity and parasitic issues introduced in device fabrication. Through a self-consistent model, we show that the normalized contact resistance has an exponentially detrimental impact on the peak transconductance, which is a defining transistor parameter. In addition, we reveal that very high current-gate voltage linearity or input invariant transconductance can be achieved in the limit of negligible contact resistances, a desirable feature for linear electronic systems.

Three-Gigahertz Graphene Frequency Doubler on Quartz Operating Beyond the Transit Frequency

We demonstrate a 500-nm graphene frequency doubler with a record 3-GHz bandwidth, exceeding the device transit frequency by 50%, a previously unobserved result in graphene, indicating that graphene multiplier devices might be useful beyond their transit frequency. The maximum conversion gain of graphene ambipolar frequency doublers is determined to approach a near lossless value in the quantum capacitance limit. In addition, the experimental performance of graphene transistor frequency detectors is demonstrated, showing responsivity of 25.2 μA/μW. The high-frequency performance of these gigahertz devices is enabled by top-gate device fabrication using synthesized graphene transferred onto low capacitance, atomically smooth quartz substrates, affording carrier mobilities as high as 5000 cm2/V ·s.

High-Performance Current Saturating Graphene Field-Effect Transistor With Hexagonal Boron Nitride Dielectric on Flexible Polymeric Substrates

Graphene transistors using hexagonal boron nitride as the gate dielectric are implemented on mechanically flexible polyimide films. Current saturation is observed for the first time in graphene transistors on a plastic substrate. An atomically smooth insulating surface is achieved with the proposed capture-release process and two-step annealing process, resulting in subnanometer surface roughness. The device shows strong electrical performance: Extracted mobility exceeds 2300 cm2/V·s for both electron and hole transport, and drive current is over 300 μS/μm. This transport symmetry affords frequency doublers with high spectral purity and a conversion gain of - 29.5 dB and output power of -22.2 dBm, representing the highest performance for graphene transistors on flexible substrates.

Multi-finger flexible graphene field effect transistors with high bendability

Highly bendable graphene field-effect transistors are fabricated on polyimide films. The device offers robust performance against various conditions including immersion in liquids, and dynamic loading tests, which are hazardous to conventional electronics. Bendability of the sample is tested with the bending radius of down to 1.3u2009mm; the devices remain fully functional with less than 8.7% reduction and no reduction in the electron and hole mobility after repeated bending tests, respectively. Multi-finger electrodes are implemented on flexible substrates to enhance its current drive. Silicon-nitride passivation offers efficient chemical protection over diverse liquids and robust mechanical protection against impacts.

An exactly solvable model for the graphene transistor in the quantum capacitance limit

We explore the ultimate behavior of the graphene transistor in the quantum capacitance limit. The quantum capacitance formulation allows for an exactly solvable model, and the ideal assumptions provide an upper bound on performance, including peak currents of 1u2009mA/μm with mobilities as low as 2000u2009cm2/Vu2009s for channel length of 1u2009μm, as well as linearly increasing transconductance not observed in conventional transistors. A negative differential resistance is predicted under certain conditions, with a maximum peak-to-valley-current ratio of 4. Finally, the effects of oxide scaling are elucidated and the oxide capacitances required for quantum capacitance limited behavior are quantified.

Even-odd symmetry and the conversion efficiency of ideal and practical graphene transistor frequency multipliers

The conversion efficiency of field-effect transistors with even-odd symmetry is elucidated in this work. From symmetry considerations, this work reveals that even symmetry, due to electron-hole symmetry in graphene, affords efficient even-harmonic multiplication. Odd symmetry, associated with linear charge transport, affords suppression of odd-harmonic signals. For the ideal symmetric transistor multiplier, conversion efficiency with relatively large power gain is achievable, while for practical graphene transistors, the efficiency can be substantially less than unity due to non-idealities such as contact resistance, high impurity densities, and low gate capacitance. In the quantum capacitance limit of graphene transistor, near-lossless conversion efficiency is available.

On-Chip Integrated Antenna Structures in CMOS for 60 GHz WPAN Systems

We present several on-chip antenna structures that may be fabricated with standard CMOS technology for use at millimeter wave frequencies. On-chip antennas for wireless personal area networks (WPANs) promise to reduce interconnection losses and greatly reduce wireless transceiver costs, while providing unprecedented flexibility for device manufacturers. We present the current state of research in on-chip integrated antennas, highlight several pitfalls and challenges for on-chip design, modeling, and measurement, and propose several antenna structures that derive from the microwave and HF communication fields. We also describe an experimental test apparatus for performing measurements on RFIC systems with on-chip antennas at The University of Texas at Austin.

State-of-the-art graphene transistors on hexagonal boron nitride, high-k, and polymeric films for GHz flexible analog nanoelectronics

We report graphene field-effect transistors on hexagonal boron nitride, high-k, and polymeric films featuring state-of-the-art electrical and mechanical properties on flexible substrates. The record electrical performance includes the highest ON current (~0.3mA/μm), the first demonstration of current saturation on flexible films and intrinsic gain, and the highest conversion gain flexible graphene frequency doubler. Extrinsic transit frequency of 2.23GHz, and maximum frequency of 1.15GHz are also achieved. In addition, robust electrical response down to 0.7mm mechanical bending radius is realized.