Ferroelectric and high dielectric permittivity films are currently being investigated in view of their use as gate dielectrics in MIS structures. Along with the suppression of tunnelling currents at small gate thickness, they provide a memory function to MIS structures, which can be used in non-volatile memory applications. In this work we report fabrication and characterization of novel metal-ferroelectric-amorphous silicon structures. The structures consist of glass/ITO substrates coated with PZT 20/80 films (sol-gel) followed by an active layer (i-a-SiC:H, deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)). A strong capacitance hysteresis is observed in C-V curves in electron accumulation region (VG > 0), accompanied with a large increase in the capacitance of ferroelectric-semiconductor structures at low frequencies. Threshold voltage for electron accumulation is about 10 V being dependent on the ferroelectric polarization switching. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

In this paper we report results of nanocrystalline p-doped silicon films produced by hot wire chemical vapour deposition technique with Ta filaments, using a pre-mixed gas containing silane, diborane, methane, helium and hydrogen. The data obtained show that the films produced exhibit good optoelectronic properties and show a surface morphology dependent on the filament temperature and hydrogen dilution. The increase in the filament temperature, keeping constant the hydrogen dilution (87%), promotes the preferential growth of the crystals in the {220} direction, giving rise to a pyramidal-like surface structure. This behaviour is observed by the SEM micrographs as well as by the micro-Raman and X-ray diffraction analyses. On the other hand, using a constant filament temperature, the increase in the hydrogen dilution contributes to an increase in both {111} and {220} diffraction peaks. Thus, by combining both filament temperature and hydrogen dilution the film surface can be controlled from a smooth to a pyramidal-like structure, without decreasing the crystalline fraction of the films. The structure and morphology is also reflected in the stability of the electrical dark conductivity. We observe that this property depends on the temperature range of the measurements and on the exposition time of films to the atmospheric conditions. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

This work analyse mainly the dissociation mechanism of the gas during the hot wire (HW) and hot wire plasma-assisted (HWPA) processes used to produce hydrogenated carbon films and silicon-carbide, using ethylene and silane as gas sources. The results show that ethylene is better decomposed by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) than HW process. The data also show that the HWPA leads to a better carbon © incorporation than HW processes, when silicon carbide alloys are produced and, that the presence of atomic hydrogen (H) is beneficial for all processes. That is, the presence of the plasma and H lead to the formation of higher C radicals such as methylsilane (CH3SiH3), ethylsilane (C2H5SiH3) and silorane (C2H4SiH2), whose contributions are enhanced as the fraction of ethylene (Feth) in the gas mixture increases. © 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

The periplasmic hydrogenase of Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenbourough) is an all Fe-containing hydrogenase. It contains two ferredoxin type [4Fe-4S] clusters, termed the F clusters, and a catalytic H cluster. Recent X-ray crystallographic studies on two Fe hydrogenases revealed that the H cluster is composed of two sub-clusters, a [4Fe-4S] cluster ([4Fe-4S]H) and-a binuclear Fe cluster ([2Fe]H), bridged by a cysteine sulfur. The aerobically purified D. vulgaris hydrogenase is stable in air. It is inactive and requires reductive activation. Upon reduction, the enzyme becomes sensitive to O(2) indicating that the reductive activation process is irreversible. Previous EPR investigations showed that upon reoxidation (under argon) the H cluster exhibits a rhombic EPR signal that is not seen in the as-purified enzyme, suggesting a conformational change in association with the reductive activation. For the purpose of gaining more information on the electronic properties of this unique H cluster and to understand further the reductive activation process, variable-temperature and variable-field Mossbauer spectroscopy has been used to characterize the Fe-S clusters in D. vulgaris hydrogenase poised at different redox states generated during a reductive titration, and in the GO-reacted enzyme. The data were successfully decomposed into spectral components corresponding to the F and H clusters,and characteristic parameters describing the electronic and magnetic properties of the F and H clusters were obtained. Consistent with the X-ray crystallographic results, the spectra of the H cluster can be understood as originating from an exchange coupled [4Fe-4S] - [2Fe] system. In particular, detailed analysis of the data reveals that the reductive activation begins with reduction of the [4Fe-4S]H cluster from the 2+ to the If state, followed by transfer of the reducing equivalent from the [4Fe-4S]H subcluster to the binuclear [2Fe]H subcluster. The results also reveal that binding of exogenous CO to the H cluster affects significantly the exchange coupling between the [4Fe-4S]H and the [2Fe]H subclusters. Implication of such a CO binding effect is discussed.

A nonlinear DC servomotor model with friction, saturation, backlash and motor starting voltage is presented in this paper. Traditionally the position of a servo is controlled with a PD-controller. In the presence of disturbance, PID control results with overshoot and long recovery time. In simulations, the integral time of the controller is modified to fasten the recovery time. To control the position of the servomotor is proposed a Hybrid Control Architecture using a nonlinear PID controller and a Fuzzy PID controller. Simulation results with the Hybrid Controller are presented.

Results are presented concerning the morphological and structural characteristics exhibited by the Cu-Sn-Cu system to be used in electronic lead-free soldering processes, under different process temperatures and pressures. The results show that the Cu3Sn or Cu6Sn5 phases needed to supply the thermal, mechanical and electrical stability to the joints formed require Sn layers (either electrodeposited or by using preforms) whose thickness depends on the process temperature used. For process temperatures of 533 K the thickness of the Sn layer should be above 20 μm, while for process temperatures of 573 K, the Sn thickness required is reduced to 10 μm. The joints formed support shear stresses above 12 MPa, as required by electronic standards. Apart from that, microcracks start appearing if an excess of Sn is used during the soldering operation. The set of tests performed indicates that this new joint is quite promising to substitute the conventional solder process applied to power diodes.