This study describes a strategy for developing ultra-high-responsivity broadband Si-based photodetectors (PDs) using ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs). The ZnO NRAs grown by a low-temperature hydrothermal method with large growth area and high growth rate absorb the photons effectively in the UV region and provide refractive index matching between Si and air for the long-wavelength region, leading to 3 and 2 orders of magnitude increase in the responsivity of Si metal-semiconductor-metal PDs in the UV and visible/NIR regions, respectively. Significantly enhanced performances agree with the theoretical analysis based on the finite-difference time-domain method. These results clearly demonstrate that Si PDs combined with ZnO NRAs hold high potential in next-generation broadband PDs.

We demonstrate solar-blind photodetectors (PDs) by employing AlN thin films on Si(100) substrates with excellent temperature tolerance and radiation hardness. Even at a bias higher than 200 V the AlN PDs on Si show a dark current as low as ~ 1 nA. The working temperature is up to 300°C and the radiation tolerance is up to 1013 cm−2 of 2-MeV proton fluences for AlN metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) PDs. Moreover, the AlN PDs show a photoresponse time as fast as ~ 110 ms (the rise time) and ~ 80 ms (the fall time) at 5 V bias. The results demonstrate that AlN MSM PDs hold high potential in next-generation deep ultraviolet PDs for use in harsh environments.

Highly c-axis oriented heteroepitaxial aluminum nitride (AlN) films were grown on epitaxial cubic silicon carbide (3C–SiC) layers on Si (100) substrates using alternating current reactive magnetron sputtering at temperatures between approximately 300–450 °C. The AlN films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscopy. A two-port surface acoustic wave device was fabricated on the AlN/3C–SiC/Si composite structure, and an expected Rayleigh mode exhibited a high acoustic velocity of 5200 m/s. The results demonstrate the potential of utilizing AlN films on epitaxial 3C–SiC layers to create piezoelectric resonant devices.

Mixed-mode BIST enhances test efficiency of digital circuits by combining the advantages of both pseudorandom and deterministic patterns. In order to apply the deterministic patterns, most traditional methods need to store some test data in external testers or on-chip memory. In this paper we present a novel mixed-mode BIST technique by which all deterministic patterns can be generated on chip in real time and thus requiring no storage device. By appropriately connecting some internal nets of the circuit under test to the inputs of the circuit, together with a set of pseudo-random patterns, this BIST scheme can reach full fault coverage in a very short time. Experimental results show that all irredundant stuck-at faults in each of the ISCAS85 benchmarks can be detected in less than 1000 test cycles with no storage space required.