Vol 45, No 2 (2016)

Techniques for fabricating nanomechanical diamond systems and their use in modern micro- and nanoelectronics are reviewed. The primary focus is the experimental techniques for controlling the quantum state of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond by mechanical actions. Optimization of the working characteristics of diamond resonators is discussed.

It is shown that multiwalled carbon nanotubes can be grown on the catalytic surface of a Co–Ti–N alloy with low (~10 at %) cobalt content by the conventional method of chemical deposition from acetylene. Adding nitrogen to the composition of the Co–Ti contributes the formation of the TiN compound and extrusion of Co onto the surface where it makes a catalytic effect for CNT growth. It was found that the tubes begin growth at a temperature of 400°C. It is shown by studies using Raman spectroscopy that the quality of CNT improves with increasing temperature.

The basic properties in the Schottky-barrier photodiodes (SBPDs) can be reduced to photon absorption in the silicide layer and internal photoemission of charge carriers from a metal to a semiconductor. Therefore, the quantum efficiency and photoresponse of these photodiodes (PDs) are primarily determined by electronic and optical processes in the metal silicide rather than in the semiconductor. This implies that, to a first approximation, the SBPD photoresponse is independent of semiconductor parameters such as the doping level, degree of compensation of impurities, and minority-carrier lifetime. The main reasons for photoresponse nonuniformity in multielement detector arrays are thereby ruled out.

A technology for fabricating multifunction monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) based on gallium nitride (GaN) heterostructures, which operate at the frequency range up to 100 GHz (the Ka, V, and W bands), is developed. Power amplifier (PA) MMICs operating at 90 GHz are fabricated using the coplanar technology with the gain coefficient being up to 15 dB and the specific output power exceeding 500 mW/mm. In addition, microstrip technology with the use of the polymer dielectric and grounding metallization over the wafer surface without through holes in the substrate is approved. The parameters of the MMICs for multifunction single-chip transmit-receive modules (TRMs), as well as the parameters of the MMICs for intermediate-frequency amplifiers (IFAs), voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs), low noise amplifiers (LNAs), PAs, and balanced mixers operating in the Ka and V bands (up to 70 GHz), which are fabricated using the proposed technology, are presented.

The use of new technological components in integrated circuits allowed achieving a high parts density, low power consumption, as well as close association of memory and logic in the computing modules. The article describes the implementation of a branching prediction device based on memristors and spintronic threshold elements to use optimal the computing resources of the processor. Use of the local analog computing allowed realizing the module architecture carrying out a branching algorithm with the ability to specify the acceptable accuracy. Through comparative analysis with digital implementation of a neural algorithm, the proposed approach permits us to increase the energy efficiency significantly and reduce the hardware resources with a comparable accuracy of prediction and performance.