Diamond for Electronics: Materials, Processing and Devices

Progress in power electronic devices is currently accepted through the use of wide bandgap materials (WBG). Among them, diamond is the material with the most promising characteristics in terms of breakdown voltage, on-resistance, thermal conductance, or carrier mobility. However, it is also the one with the greatest difficulties in carrying out the device technology as a result of its very high mechanical hardness and smaller size of substrates. As a result, diamond is still not considered a reference material for power electronic devices despite its superior Baliga’s figure of merit with respect to other WBG materials. This review paper will give a brief overview of some scientific and technological aspects related to the current state of the main diamond technology aspects. It will report the recent key issues related to crystal growth, characterization techniques, and, in particular, the importance of surface states aspects, fabrication processes, and device fabrication. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of diamond devices with respect to other WBG materials are also discussed.

Review of the Yb3+:ScBO3 Laser Crystal Growth, Characterization, and Laser Applications

Passive Q-switching is an effective approach for generating pulsed lasers, owing to its compact and additional modulation-free design. However, to compare favorably with active Q-switching and multi-stage amplification, the output energy needs to be enhanced for practical applications. Kramers Ytterbium ion (Yb3+)-doped borate crystals, with their excellent energy storage capacity, have been proven to be high-potential laser gain mediums for achieving pulsed lasers with moderate and high output energy using passive Q-switching technology. In this study, the growth, characterization, and laser generation of one Yb3+-doped borate crystal, the Yb3+:ScBO3 crystal, are systematically reviewed. The continuous-wave and passive Q-switching laser characteristics are presented in detail, and the self-pulsations derived from intrinsic ground-state reabsorption are also demonstrated. The specific characteristics and experiments confirm the potential of the Yb3+:ScBO3 crystal for future pulsed laser applications with moderate or even high energy output.

Review of Single-Phase Magnetoelectric Multiferroic Thin Film and Process

Advance in the growth and characterization of multiferroic thin film promises new device application such as next generation memory, nanoelectronics and energy harvesting. In this review, we provide a brief overview of recent progress in the growth, characterization and understanding of thin-film multiferroics. Driven by the development of thin film growth techniques, the ability to produce high quality multiferroic thin films offers researchers access to new phase and understanding of these materials. We discuss that epitaxial strain and atomic-level engineering of chemistry determine the muliferroic thin film properties. We then discuss the new structures and properties of non-equilibrium phases which is stabilized by strain engineering.