Publications 2020

(1) Investigation of the Oxidation Behavior of Graphene/Ge(001) Versus Graphene/Ge(110) Systems
F. Akhtar, J. Dabrowski, M. Lisker, Y. Yamamoto, A. Mai, Ch. Wenger, M. Lukosius
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 12(2), 3188 (2020)
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b18448, (Graphen)
The oxidation behavior of Ge(001) and Ge(110) surfaces underneath the CVD grown graphene films has been investigated experimentally and interpreted on the basis of ab initio calculations. Freshly grown samples were exposed to air for more than seven months and periodically monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The oxidation of Ge(110) started with incubation time of several days, during which the oxidation rate was supposedly exponential. After an ultrathin oxide grew, the oxidation continued with a slow but constant rate. No incubation was detected for Ge(001). The oxide thickness was initially proportional to the square root of time. After two weeks the rate saturated at a value fourfold higher than that for Ge(110). We argue that after the initial phase, the oxidation is limited by the diffusion of oxidizing species through atomic-size openings at graphene domain boundaries and is influenced by the areal density and by the structural quality of the boundaries, whereby the latter determines the initial behavior. Prolonged exposure affected the surface topography and reduced the compressive strain in graphene, from ~ –0.15% to ~ 0.0% on Ge(001) and from ~ –1% to ~ –0.5% on Ge(110). In the last step, both the air-exposed samples were annealed in vacuum at 850⁰C. After annealing, the oxidation of Ge substrates through graphene was reversed by removing the oxygen atoms and thus restoring the original status of graphene/Ge systems. These findings might constitute an important step towards further optimization of graphene/Ge systems.

(2) Kinetic Monte Carlo Analysis of Data Retention in Al:HfO₂-based Resistive Random Access Memories
S. Aldana, E. Perez, F. Jimenez-Molinos, Ch. Wenger, J.B. Roldan
Semiconductor Science and Technology 35(11), 115012 (2020)
DOI: 10.1016/j.mee.2019.05.004, (Total Resilience)
Kinetic Monte Carlo RRAM simulations are used to understand different retention experiments performed at several temperatures. The physics behind resistive switching allows to explain experimental results, in particular the degradation of the conductive filaments with temperature. It is observed that competing mechanisms control resistive switching in this type of experiments and the thermal dependencies involved are key to explain the measurements. Besides, the simulation approach allows to analyze the existence of percolation paths in the device dielectric and the conductive filament density and compactness. Finally, the key physical mechanisms are detected and some clues related to the retention performance and possible technology improvements are unveiled.

(3) Kinetic Monte Carlo Analysis of Data Retention in Al:HfO₂-based Resistive Random Access Memories
S. Aldana, E. Perez, F. Jimenez-Molinos, Ch. Wenger, J.B. Roldan
Semiconductor Science and Technology 35(11), 115012 (2020)
DOI: 10.1016/j.mee.2019.05.004, (NeuroMem)
Kinetic Monte Carlo RRAM simulations are used to understand different retention experiments performed at several temperatures. The physics behind resistive switching allows to explain experimental results, in particular the degradation of the conductive filaments with temperature. It is observed that competing mechanisms control resistive switching in this type of experiments and the thermal dependencies involved are key to explain the measurements. Besides, the simulation approach allows to analyze the existence of percolation paths in the device dielectric and the conductive filament density and compactness. Finally, the key physical mechanisms are detected and some clues related to the retention performance and possible technology improvements are unveiled.

(4) High-Mobility Epitaxial Graphene on Ge/Si(100) Substrates
J. Aprojanz, P. Rosenzweig, T.T. Nhung Nguyen, H. Karakachian, K. Küster, U. Starke, M. Lukosius, G. Lippert, A. Sinterhauf, M. Wenderoth, A.A. Zakharov, C. Tegenkamp
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 12(38), 43065 (2020)
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c10725, (Graphen)
Graphene was shown to reveal intriguing properties of its relativistic two dimensional electron gas, however, its implementation to microelectronic applications is missing to date. In this work, we present a comprehensive study of epitaxial graphene on technologically relevant and CMOScompatible Ge(100) epilayers grown on Si(100) substrates. Crystalline graphene monolayer structures were grown by means of chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Using angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy and in-situ surface transport measurements we demonstrate their metallic character both in momentum and real space. Despite numerous crystalline imperfections, e.g. grain boundaries and strong corrugation, as compared to epitaxial graphene on SiC(0001), charge carrier mobilities of 1*E4 cm2/Vs were obtained at room temperature, which is a result of the quasi-charge neutrality within the graphene monolayers on germanium and not dependent on the presence of an interface oxide. The interface roughness due to the facet structure of the Ge(100) epilayer, formed during the CVD growth of graphene, can be reduced via subsequent in-situ annealing up to 850°C coming along with an increase of the mobility by 30%. The formation of a Ge(100)-(2x1) structure demonstrates the weak interaction and effective delamination of graphene from the Ge/Si(100) substrate.

(5) Disentangling Elastic and Inelastic Scattering Pathways in the Intersubband Electron Dynamics of N-Type Ge/SiGe Quantum Fountains
L. Bagolini, M. Montanari, L. Persichetti, L. Di Gaspare, G. Capellini, M. Ortolani, M. De Seta, M. Virgilio
Physical Review B 101(24), 245302 (2020)
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.101.245302, (FLASH)
n -type Ge/SiGe quantum wells have been suggested as a promising platform for the realization of a Si-compatible THz laser. Focusing on this material system, we have developed a numerical model to describe the intersubband carrier dynamics which restores the equilibrium after pulsed optical excitation in asymmetric coupled Ge/SiGe quantum wells. We take into account inelastic and elastic scattering processes and investigate different quantum-well geometries, doping densities, and excitation regimes. In this configuration space, we disentangle the effect on the overall dynamics of each scattering channel and provide intersubband relaxation times, finding larger values with respect to III-V based materials, thanks to the weaker electron-phonon coupling with respect to III-V compounds. Finally, the model is used to study and optimize the population inversion between the first- and second-excited subband levels and to assess its dependence on the lattice temperature, providing a sound theoretical framework to guide forthcoming experiments.

(6) Controlling the Relaxation Mechanism of Low Strain Si_1-xGe_x/Si(001) Layers and Reducing the Threading Dislocation Density by Providing a Preexisting Dislocation Source
L. Becker, P. Storck, T. Schulz, M.H. Zoellner, L. Di Gaspare, F. Rovaris, A. Marzegalli, F. Montalenti, M. De Seta, G. Capellini, G. Schwalb, T. Schroeder, M. Albrecht
Journal of Applied Physics 128(21), 215305 (2020)
DOI: 10.1063/5.0032454, (SiGe TAPES3)
Strain relaxed Si_1−xGe_x buffer layers on Si(001) can be used as virtual substrates for the growth of both strained Si and strained SiGe, which are suitable materials for sub-7 nm CMOS devices due to their enhanced carrier mobility. For industrial applications, the threading dislocation density (TDD) has to be as low as possible. However, a reduction of the TDD is limited by the balance between dislocation glide and nucleation as well as dislocation blocking. The relaxation mechanism of low strain Si_0.98Ge_0.02 layers on commercial substrates is compared to substrates with a predeposited SiGe backside layer, which provides threading dislocations at the edge of the wafer. It is shown that by the exploitation of this reservoir, the critical thickness for plastic relaxation is reduced and the formation of misfit dislocation bundles can be prevented. Instead, upon reaching the critical thickness, these preexisting dislocations simultaneously glide unhindered from the edge of the wafer toward the center. The resulting dislocation network is free of thick dislocation bundles that cause pileups, and the TDD can be reduced by one order of magnitude.

(7) Influence of Temperature on Growth of Graphene on Germanium
A.P. Becker, Ch. Wenger, J. Dabrowski
Journal of Applied Physics 128(4), 045310 (2020)
DOI: 10.1063/5.0003234, (Graphen)


(8) Electron Transport Across Vertical Silicon/MoS₂/Graphene Heterostructures: Towards Efficient Emitter Diodes for Graphene Base Hot Electron Transistors
M. Belete, O. Engström, S. Vaziri, G. Lippert, M. Lukosius, S. Kataria, M.C. Lemme
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 12(8), 9656 (2020)
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b21691, (Graphen)
Heterostructures comprising of silicon, molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) and graphene are investigated with respect to the vertical current conduction mechanism. The measured current-voltage (I-V) characteristics exhibit temperature dependent asymmetric current, indicating thermally activated charge carrier transport. The data is compared and fitted to a current transport model that confirms thermionic emission as the responsible transport mechanism across the devices. Theoretical calculations in combination with the experimental data suggest that the heterojunction barrier from Si to MoS₂ is linearly temperature dependent for T = 200 to 300 K with a positive temperature coefficient. The temperature dependence may be attributed to a change in band gap difference between Si and MoS₂, strain at the Si/MoS₂ interface or different electron effective masses in Si and MoS₂, leading to a possible entropy change stemming from variation in density of states as electrons move from Si to MoS₂. The low barrier formed between Si and MoS₂ and the resultant thermionic emission demonstrated here makes the present devices potential candidates as the emitter diode of graphene-base hot electron transistors for future high-speed electronics.

(9) Strong Electron-Phonon Interaction in 2D Vertical Homovalent III-V Singularities
L. Chen, O. Skibitzki, L. Pedesseau, A. Letoublon, J. Stervinou, R. Bernard, C. Levallois, R. Piron, M. Perrin, M.A. Schubert, A. Moreac, O. Durand, T. Schroeder, N. Bertru, J. Even, Y. Leger, C. Cornet
ACS Nano 14(10), 13127 (2020)
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c04702
Highly polar materials are usually preferred over weakly polar ones to study strong electron-phonon interactions and its fascinating properties. Here, we report on the achievement of simultaneous confinement of charge carriers and phonons at the vicinity of a 2D vertical homovalent singularity (antiphase boundary, (APB)) in an (In, Ga)P/SiGe/Si sample. The impact of the electron-phonon interaction on the photoluminescence processes is then clarified, by combining transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, ab initio calculations, Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence experiments. 2D localization and layer group symmetry properties of homovalent electronic states and phonons are studied by first principles methods, leading to the prediction of a type II band alignment between the APB and the surrounding semiconductor matrix. A Huang-Rhys factor of 8 is finally experimentally determined for the APB emission line, underlining that a large and unusually strong electron-phonon coupling can be achieved by 2D vertical quantum confinement in an undoped III-V semiconductor. This work extends the concept of electron-phonon interaction to 2D vertically buried III-V homovalent nanoobjects and therefore provides different approaches for material designs, vertical carrier transport, heterostructure design on silicon and device applications with weakly polar semiconductors.

(10) Terahertz Absorption-Saturation and Emission from Electron-Doped Germanium Quantum Wells
C. Ciano, M. Virgilio, L. Bagolini, L. Baldassare, A. Pashkin, M. Helm, M. Montanari, L. Persichtetti, L. Di Gaspare, G. Capellini, D.J. Paul, G. Scalari, J. Faist, M. De Seta, M. Ortolani
Optics Express 28(5), 7245 (2020)
DOI: 10.1364/OE.381471, (FLASH)
We study radiative relaxation at terahertz frequencies in n-type Ge/SiGe quantum wells, optically pumped with a terahertz free electron laser. Two wells coupled through a tunneling barrier are designed to operate as a three-level laser system with non-equilibrium population generated by optical pumping around the 1→3 intersubband transition at 10 THz. The non-equilibrium subband population dynamics are studied by absorption-saturation measurements and compared to a numerical model. In the emission spectroscopy experiment, we observed a photoluminescence peak at 4 THz, which can be attributed to the 3→2 intersubband transition with possible contribution from the 2→1 intersubband transition. These results represent a step towards silicon-based integrated terahertz emitters.

(11) Electron-Phonon Coupling in N-Type Ge Two-Dimensional Systems
C. Ciano, L. Persichetti, M. Montanari, L. Di Gaspare, G. Capellini, L. Baldassarre, M. Ortolani, A. Pashkin, M. Helm, S. Winnerl, M. Virgilio, M. De Seta
Physical Review B 102(20), 205302 (2020)
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.102.205302, (FLASH)
Electron-optical phonon interaction is the dominant energy-loss mechanism in low-dimensional Ge/SiGe heterostructures and represents a key parameter for the design and realization of electronic and optoelectronic devices based on this material system compatible with the mainstream Si complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology. Here we investigate the intersubband relaxation dynamics of n -type Ge/SiGe multiquantum wells with different symmetry and design by means of single-color pump-probe spectroscopy. By comparing the experimental differential transmittance data as a function of the pump-probe delay with numerical calculations based on an energy-balance rate-equation model, we could quantify an effective value for the optical phonon deformation potential describing the electron-phonon coupling in two-dimensional Ge-based systems. We found nonradiative relaxation times longer than 20 ps even in samples having intersubband energy separations larger than the optical phonon energy, evidencing the presence of a less effective electron-phonon coupling with respect to that estimated in bulk Ge.

(12) Electron Population Dynamics in Optically Pumped Asymmetric Coupled Ge/SiGe Quantum Wells: Experiment and Models
C. Ciano, M. Virgilio, L. Bagolini, L. Baldassarre, A. Rossetti, A. Pashkin, M. Helm, M. Montanari, L. Persichetti, L. Di Gaspare, G. Capellini, D.J. Paul, G. Scalari, J. Faist, M. De Seta, M. Ortolani
Photonics 7(1), 2 (2020)
DOI: 10.3390/photonics7010002, (FLASH)
n-type doped Ge quantum wells with SiGe barriers represent a promising heterostructure system for the development of radiation emitters in the terahertz range such as electrically pumped quantum cascade lasers and optically pumped quantum fountain lasers. The nonpolar lattice of Ge and SiGe provides electron–phonon scattering rates that are one order of magnitude lower than polar GaAs. We have developed a self-consistent numerical energy-balance model based on a rate equation approach which includes inelastic and elastic inter- and intra-subband scattering events and takes into account a realistic two-dimensional electron gas distribution in all the subband states of the Ge/SiGe quantum wells by considering subband-dependent electronic temperatures and chemical potentials. This full-subband model is compared here to the standard discrete-energy-level model, in which the material parameters are limited to few input values (scattering rates and radiative cross sections). To provide an experimental case study, we have epitaxially grown samples consisting of two asymmetric coupled quantum wells forming a three-level system, which we optically pump with a free electron laser. The benchmark quantity selected for model testing purposes is the saturation intensity at the 1→3 intersubband transition. The numerical quantum model prediction is in reasonable agreement with the experiments and therefore outperforms the discrete-energy-level analytical model, of which the prediction of the saturation intensity is off by a factor 3.

(13) Liquid Phase Exfoliated Indium Selenide Based Highly Sensitive Photodetectors
N. Curreli, M. Serri, D. Spirito, E. Lago, E. Petroni, B. Martín-García, A. Politano, B. Gürbulak, S. Duman, R. Krahne, V. Pellegrini, F. Bonaccorso
Advanced Functional Materials 30(13), 1908427 (2020)
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201908427
Layered semiconductors of the IIIA–VIA group have attracted considerable attention in (opto)electronic applications thanks to their atomically thin structures and their thickness‐dependent optical and electronic properties, which promise ultrafast response and high sensitivity. In particular, 2D indium selenide (InSe) has emerged as a promising candidate for the realization of thin‐film field effect transistors and phototransistors due to its high intrinsic mobility (>10² cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) and the direct optical transitions in an energy range suitable for visible and near‐infrared light detection. A key requirement for the exploitation of large‐scale (opto)electronic applications relies on the development of low‐cost and industrially relevant 2D material production processes, such as liquid phase exfoliation, combined with the availability of high‐throughput device fabrication methods. Here, a β polymorph of indium selenide (β‐InSe) is exfoliated in isopropanol and spray‐coated InSe‐based photodetectors are demonstrated, exhibiting high responsivity to visible light (maximum value of 274 A W⁻¹ under blue excitation 455 nm) and fast response time (15 ms). The devices show a gate‐dependent conduction with an n‐channel transistor behavior. Overall, this study establishes that liquid phase exfoliated β‐InSe is a valid candidate for printed high‐performance photodetectors, which is critical for the development of industrial‐scale 2D material‐based optoelectronic devices.

(14) Temperature-Driven Transformation of CsPbBr₃ Nanoplatelets into Mosaic Nanotiles in Solution through Self-Assembly
Z. Dang, B. Dhanabalan, A. Castelli, R. Dhall, K.C. Bustillo, D. Marchelli, D. Spirito, U. Petralanda, J. Shamsi, L. Manna, R. Krahne, M.P. Arciniegas
Nano Letters 20(3), 1808 (2020)
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b05036
Two-dimensional colloidal halide perovskite nanocrystals are promising materials for light-emitting applications. Recent studies have focused on nanoplatelets that are able to self-assemble and transform on solid substrates. However, the mechanism behind the process and the atomic arrangement of their assemblies remain unclear. Here, we present a detailed analysis of the transformation of self-assembled stacks of CsPbBr₃ nanoplatelets in solution over a period of a few months by using ex situ transmission electron microscopy and surface analysis. We demonstrate that the transformation mechanism can be understood as oriented attachment, proceeding through the following steps: (i) desorption of the ligands from the surfaces of the particles, causing the seamless atomic merging of nanoplatelet stacks into nanobelts; (ii) merging of neighboring nanobelts that form more extended nanoplates; and (iii) attachment of nanobelts and nanoplates, forming objects with an atomic structure that resembles a mosaic made of broken nanotiles. We reveal that aged nanobelts and nanoplates, which are mainly stabilized by amine/ammonium ions, link through a bilayer of CsBr, with the atomic columns of neighboring perovskite lattices shifted by a half-unit-cell, forming Ruddlesden–Popper planar faults. We also show, via in situ monitoring of the nanocrystal photoluminescence combined with transmission electron microscopy analysis, that the transformation is temperature driven and that it can take place within tens of minutes in solution and in spin-coated films. Understanding this process gives crucial information for the design and fabrication of perovskite materials, where control over the type and density of defects is desired, stimulating the development of perovskite nanocrystal structures with tailored electronic properties.

(15) Composition Analysis and Transition Energies of Ultrathin Sn-Rich GeSn Quantum Wells
I.A. Fischer, C.J. Clausen, D. Schwarz, P. Zaumseil, G. Capellini, M. Virgilio, M.C. da Silva Figueira, S. Birner, S. Koelling, P.M. Koenraad, M.R.S. Huang, C.T. Koch, T. Wendav, K. Busch, J. Schulze
Physical Review Materials 4(2), 024601 (2020)
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.4.024601, (Dfg-QWIP)
While GeSn alloys with high Sn content constitute direct group-IV semiconductors, their growth on Si remains challenging. The deposition of a few monolayers of pure Sn on Ge and their overgrowth with Ge using molecular beam epitaxy can be a means of obtaining Sn-rich quantum wells with very high Sn content while maintaining high crystal quality. Here, we provide structural and compositional information on such structures with very high accuracy. Based on our characterization results we theoretically predict transition energies and compare them with experimental results from photoluminescence measurements. Our results constitute the groundwork for tuning the molecular beam epitaxy based growth of Sn-rich quantum wells and dots for applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices.

(16) Design and Simulation of Losses in Ge/SiGe Terahertz Quantum Cascade Laser Waveguides
K. Gallacher, M. Ortolani, K. Rew, C. Ciano, L. Baldassarre, M. Virgilio, G. Scalari, J. Faist, L. Di Gaspare, M. De Seta, G. Capellini, T. Grange, S. Birner, D.J. Paul
Optics Express 28(4), 4786 (2020)
DOI: 10.1364/OE.384993, (FLASH)
The waveguide losses from a range of surface plasmon and double metal waveguides for Ge/Si_1-xGe_x THz quantum cascade laser gain media are investigated at 4.79 THz (62.6 μm wavelength). Double metal waveguides demonstrate lower losses than surface plasmonic guiding with minimum losses for a 10 μm thick active gain region with silver metal of 21 cm⁻¹ at 300 K reducing to 14.5 cm⁻¹ at 10 K. Losses for silicon foundry compatible metals including Al and Cu are also provided for comparison and to provide a guide for gain requirements to enable lasers to be fabricated in commercial silicon foundries. To allow these losses to be calculated for a range of designs, the complex refractive index of a range of nominally undoped Si_1−xGe_x with x = 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9 and doped Ge heterolayers were extracted from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements between 0.1 and 10 THz and from 300 K down to 10 K. The results demonstrate losses comparable to similar designs of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum cascade laser plasmon waveguides indicating that a gain threshold of 15.1 cm⁻¹ and 23.8 cm⁻¹ are required to produce a 4.79 THz Ge/SiGe THz laser at 10 K and 300 K, respectively, for 2 mm long double metal waveguide quantum cascade lasers with facet coatings.

(17) Nanospectroscopy of a Single Patch Antenna Strongly Coupled to a Mid-Infrared Intersubband Transition in a Quantum Well
R. Gillibert, M. Malerba, D. Spirito, V. Giliberti, L. Li, A.G. Davies, E.H. Linfield, L. Baldassarre, R. Colombelli, M. Ortolani
Applied Physics Letters 117(10), 101104 (2020)
DOI: 10.1063/5.0018865
Scanning-probe-assisted mid-infrared nano-spectroscopy is employed to reveal the polaritonic dispersion of individual MIM (metal-insulator-metal) square patch-antennas whose modes can be strongly coupled to a mid-infrared intersubband transition. The patch antennas side length L sets the resonances between l = 5.5 mm and 12.5 mm. The active region consists of a highly-doped AlInAs / InGaAs / AlInAs single quantum well that presents an intersubband transition at 1180 cm^‑1 (l= 8.47 mm). When the patch antenna optical resonance approaches and matches the intersubband transition frequency (L∼1.8 µm) a clear anticrossing behavior – evidence of strong coupling - is observed in the near-field scattering phase spectra of individual antennas. The measured Rabi splitting is 4.5 THz. The near-field scattering spectra agree with the far-field absorption spectra acquired on arrays of identical antennas.

(18) Effective Reduction of the Programing Pulse Width in Al:HfO₂-based RRAM Arrays
O. Gonzalez Osorio, E. Perez, S. Dueñas, H. Castan, H. Garcia, Ch. Wenger
Proc. Joint International EUROSOI Workshop and International Conference on Ultimate Integration on Silicon (EUROSOI-ULIS 2019), (2020)
DOI: 10.1109/EUROSOI-ULIS45800.2019.9041880, (NeuroMem)

(19) Atomic-Scale Insights into Semiconductor Heterostructures: From Experimental Three-Dimensional Analysis of the Interface to a Generalized Theory of Interfacial Roughness Scattering
T. Grange, S. Mukherjee, G. Capellini, M. Montanari, L. Persichetti, L. Di Gaspare, S. Birner, A. Attiaoui, O. Moutanabbir, M. Virgilio, M. De Seta
Physical Review Applied 13(4), 044062 (2020)
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.13.044062, (FLASH)
In this manuscript, we develop a generalized theory for the scattering process produced by interface roughness on charge carriers and which is suitable for any semiconductor heterostructure. By exploiting our experimental insights into the three-dimensional atomic landscape of Ge/GeSi heterointerfaces obtained by atom probe tomography, we have been able to define the full set of interface parameters relevant to the scattering potential, including both the in-plane and axial correlation inside real diffuse interfaces. Our experimental findings indicate a partial coherence of the interface roughness along the growth direction within the interfaces. We show that it is necessary to include this feature, previously neglected by theoretical models, when heterointerfaces characterized by finite interface widths are taken into consideration. To show the relevance of our generalized scattering model in the physics of semiconductor devices, we implemented it in a non-equilibrium Green’s function simulation platform to assess the performance of a Ge/SiGe-based THz quantum cascade laser.

(20) Modeling of Plasmonic Semiconductor THz Antennas in Square and Hexagonal Array Arrangements
S. Gruessing, B. Witzigmann, F. Roemer, G. Capellini, C.A. Chavarin, W.M. Klesse, E. Hardt, J. Piehler, C. You, J. Flesch
Proc. SPIE Terahertz, RF, Millimeter, and Submillimeter-Wave Technology and Applications XIII (2020), 11279, 1127926 (2020)
DOI: 10.1117/12.2543553, (DFG Group 4 Plasmonics)

(21) Editors' Choice - Precipitation of Suboxides in Silicon, their Role in Gettering of Copper Impurities and Carrier Recombination
G. Kissinger, D. Kot, A. Huber, R. Kretschmer, T. Müller, A. Sattler
ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology 9(6), 064002 (2020)
DOI: 10.1149/2162-8777/aba0ce, (Future Silicon Wafers)
This paper describes a theoretical investigation of the phase composition of oxide precipitates and the corresponding emission of self-interstitials at the minimum of the free energy and their evolution with increasing number of oxygen atoms in the precipitates. The results can explain the compositional evolution of oxide precipitates and the role of self-interstitials therein. The formation of suboxides at the edges of SiO2 precipitates after reaching a critical size can explain several phenomena like gettering of Cu by segregation to the suboxide region and lifetime reduction by recombination of minority carriers in the suboxide. It provides an alternative explanation, based on minimized free energy, to the theory of strained and unstrained plates. A second emphasis was payed to the evolution of the morphology of oxide precipitates. Based on the comparison with results from scanning transmission electron microscopy the sequence of morphology evolution of oxide precipitates was deduced. It turned out that it is opposite to the sequence assumed until now.

(22) In-Plane Growth of Germanium Nanowires on Nanostructured Si(001)/SiO₂ Substrates
F. Lange, O. Ernst, T. Teubner, C. Richter, M. Schmidbauer, O. Skibitzki, T. Schroeder, P. Schmidt, T. Boeck
Nano Futures 4(3), 035006 (2020)
DOI: 10.1088/2399-1984/ab82a0
Germanium (Ge) nanowires (NWs) were grown in-plane on nano-structured Si(001)/SiO₂ substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using gold (Au) as the solvent. The site-selective NW growth was enabled by a rectangular array of gold droplets on silicon (Si) tips with an Au nuclei density below 0.25 μm⁻² on the surrounding silicon oxide (SiO₂). The initial growth of Ge NWs starting from Si–Au droplets with Si_xGe_1−x nucleation from ternary alloy is discussed from a thermodynamic point of view. The in-plane NW elongation occurred within ⟨110⟩ directions on the substrate and NWs were mainly bounded by two 55° inclined 111 facets and a less pronounced planar (001) top facet. Fully relaxed crystal lattices of Ge NWs were observed from two-dimensional reciprocal space maps of x-ray diffraction measurements.

(23) AC Electrokinetic Immobilization of Organic Dye Molecules
E.-M. Laux, Ch. Wenger, F.F. Bier, R. Hölzel
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 412, 3859 (2020)
DOI: 10.1007/s00216-020-02480-4, (BioBic)
The application of inhomogeneous AC electric fields for molecular immobilization is a very fast and simplemethod that does not require any adaptions to the molecule’s functional groups or charges.Here, themethod is applied to a completely new category of molecules: small organic fluorescence dyes, whose dimensions amount to only 1 nm or even less. The presented setup and the electric field parameters used allow immobilization of dye molecules on the whole electrode surface as opposed to pure dielectrophoretic applications, where molecules are attracted only to regions of high electric field gradients, i.e., to the electrode tips and edges. In addition to dielectrophoresis and AC electrokinetic flow, molecular scale interactions and electrophoresis at short time scales are discussed as further mechanisms leading to migration and immobilization of the molecules.

(24) Influence of Specific Forming Algorithms on the Device-to-Device Variability of Memristive Al-Doped HfO₂ Arrays
M.K. Mahadevaiah, E. Perez, Ch. Wenger
Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B 38(1), 013201 (2020)
DOI: 10.1116/1.5126936, (NeuroMem)
In this work, the influence of specific switching algorithms on device-to-device (D2D) variability of the forming process, in an integrated Al-doped HfO2 1T-1R 4 kbit RRAM array is investigated. The resistive devices are programmed by using two different algorithms: the incremental step pulse and verify algorithm (ISPVA) at different temperatures and the constant amplitude pulse and verify algorithm (CAPVA) at different voltage amplitudes. The stabilized forming currents of both algorithms are compared in terms of their distributions, yields and dispersions. The D2D distributions of the forming voltages of ISPVA and the forming times of CAPVA are fitted by Weibull distributions. The obtained Weibull parameters provide a link with the statistics governing the process. Finally, we discuss the importance of the ISPVA, CAPVA, temperature and voltage amplitudes to improve the reliability of the forming process.

(25) Near-Field Study of the Strong Coupling Between Intersubband Transitions in Quantum Wells and Single Patch Antenna Resonators in the Mid-Infrared
M. Malerba, R. Gillibert, V. Giliberti, L. Li, G.A. Davies, E.H. Linfield, D. Spirito, L. Baldassarre, R. Colombelli, M. Ortolani
45^th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz 2020), (2021)
DOI: 10.1109/IRMMW-THz46771.2020.9370768

(26) Temperature Dependence of Strain–Phonon Coefficient in Epitaxial Ge/Si(001): A Comprehensive Analysis
C.L. Manganelli, M. Virgilio, O. Skibitzki, M. Salvalaglio, D. Spirito, P. Zaumseil, Y. Yamamoto, M. Montanari, W.M. Klesse, G. Capellini
Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 51(6), 989 (2020)
DOI: 10.1002/jrs.5860
We investigate the temperature dependence of the Ge Raman mode strain–phonon coefficient in Ge/Si heteroepitaxial layers. By analyzing the temperature‐dependent evolution of both the Raman Ge─Ge line and of the Ge lattice strain, we obtain a linear dependence of the strain–phonon coefficient as a function of temperature. Our findings provide an efficient method for capturing the temperature‐dependent strain relaxation mechanism in heteroepitaxial systems. Furthermore, we show that the rather large variability reported in the literature for the strain–phonon coefficient values might be due to the local heating of the sample due to the excitation laser used in μ‐Raman experiments.

(27) Kafka-ML: Connecting the Data Stream with ML/AI Frameworks
Ch. Martin, P. Langendörfer, P.S. Zarrin, M. Díaz, B. Rubio
zu finden unter: https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.04105
(Total Resilience)
Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have a dependency on data sources to train, improve and make predictions through their algorithms. With the digital revolution and current paradigms like the Internet of Things, this information is turning from static data into continuous data streams. However, most of the ML/AI frameworks used nowadays are not fully prepared for this revolution. In this paper, we proposed Kafka-ML, an open-source framework that enables the management of TensorFlow ML/AI pipelines through data streams (Apache Kafka). Kafka-ML provides an accessible and user-friendly Web User Interface where users can easily define ML models, to then train, evaluate and deploy them for inference. Kafka-ML itself and its deployed components are fully managed through containerization technologies, which ensure its portability and easy distribution and other features such as fault-tolerance and high availability. Finally, a novel approach has been introduced to manage and reuse data streams, which may lead to the (no) utilization of data storage and file systems.

(28) Dielectrophoretic Immobilization of Yeast Cells using CMOS Integrated Microfluidics
H. Matbaechi Ettehad, P.S. Zarrin, R. Hölzel, Ch. Wenger
Micromachines 11(5), 501 (2020)
DOI: 10.3390/mi11050501, (BioBic)
This paper presents a dielectrophoretic system for the immobilization and separation of live and dead cells. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a promising and efficient investigation technique for the development of novel lab-on-a-chip devices, which characterizes cells or particles based on their intrinsic and physical properties. Using this method, specific cells can be isolated from their medium carrier or the mixture of cell suspensions (e.g., separation of viable cells from non-viable cells). Main advantages of this method, which makes it favorable for disease (blood) analysis and diagnosis applications are, the preservation of the cell properties during measurements, label-free cell identification, and low set up cost. In this study, we validated the capability of CMOS integrated microfluidic devices for the manipulation and characterization of live and dead yeast cells using dielectrophoretic forces. This approach successfully trapped live yeast cells and purified them from dead cells. Numerical simulations based on a two-layer model for yeast cells flowing in the channel was used to predict the trajectories of the cells with respect to their dielectric properties, varying excitation voltage, and frequency.

(29) Growth of Ge/SiGe Quantum Cascade Heterostructures
M. Montanari, L. Persichetti, C. Ciano, L. Di Gaspare, M. Virgilio, G. Capellini, M.H. Zoellner, O. Skibitzki, G. Scalari, D.J. Paul, T. Grange, S. Birner, O. Moutanabbir, S. Mukherjee, L. Baldassarre, M. Ortolani, M. De Seta
Proc. 8^th International Symposium on Control of Semiconductor Interfaces (ISCSI 2019), 71 (2020)
(FLASH)

(30) Programming Pulse Width Assessment for Reliable and Low-Energy Endurance Performance in Al:HfO₂-based RRAM Arrays
E. Perez, O.G. Ossorio, S. Dueñas, H. Castan, H. Garcia, Ch. Wenger
Electronics (MDPI) 9(5), 864 (2020)
DOI: 10.3390/electronics9050864, (Total Resilience)
The reduction of the pulse width used during the programming of RRAM devices is crucial in order to accomplish fast low-energy switching operations. In this work, several pulse width values between 10 μs and 50 ns were evaluated by using the incremental step pulse with verify algorithm (ISPVA) on Al-doped HfO₂ 4 kbit RRAM arrays. 1k endurance cycles were initially performed to assess the switching stability. Both conductive levels and voltages needed for switching showed a remarkable good behavior along the 1k reset/set cycles regardless the pulse width considered. Nevertheless, the distributions of voltages as well as the amount of energy required to perform the switching operations were definitely impacted by the change of the pulse width. In addition, the data retention, after the endurance test, was evaluated at 150 ^oC for 100 hours. Only an extremely slight increase on the degradation rate of 1 μA after 100 hours was reported between samples programmed by using pulse widths of 10 μs and 50 ns. Finally, an endurance performance of 200k cycles without any degradation was achieved on 128 RRAM devices by using programming pulses of 100 ns width.

(31) Programming Pulse Width Assessment for Reliable and Low-Energy Endurance Performance in Al:HfO₂-based RRAM Arrays
E. Perez, O.G. Ossorio, S. Dueñas, H. Castan, H. Garcia, Ch. Wenger
Electronics (MDPI) 9(5), 864 (2020)
DOI: 10.3390/electronics9050864, (NeuroMem)
The reduction of the pulse width used during the programming of RRAM devices is crucial in order to accomplish fast low-energy switching operations. In this work, several pulse width values between 10 μs and 50 ns were evaluated by using the incremental step pulse with verify algorithm (ISPVA) on Al-doped HfO₂ 4 kbit RRAM arrays. 1k endurance cycles were initially performed to assess the switching stability. Both conductive levels and voltages needed for switching showed a remarkable good behavior along the 1k reset/set cycles regardless the pulse width considered. Nevertheless, the distributions of voltages as well as the amount of energy required to perform the switching operations were definitely impacted by the change of the pulse width. In addition, the data retention, after the endurance test, was evaluated at 150 ^oC for 100 hours. Only an extremely slight increase on the degradation rate of 1 μA after 100 hours was reported between samples programmed by using pulse widths of 10 μs and 50 ns. Finally, an endurance performance of 200k cycles without any degradation was achieved on 128 RRAM devices by using programming pulses of 100 ns width.

(32) Behavioral Modeling of Multilevel HfO₂-based Memristors for Neuromorphic Circuit Simulation
A.J. Perez-Avila, G. González-Cordero, E. Perez, E. Perez-Bosch Quesada, M.K. Mahadevaiah, Ch. Wenger, J.B. Roldan, F. Jimenez-Molinos
Proc. 35^th Conference on Design of Circuits and Integrated Systems (DCIS 2020), (2020)
DOI: 10.1109/DCIS51330.2020.9268652

(33) N-Type Ge/SiGe Multi-Quantum Wells for THz Light Emission: High Quality Growth and Material Parameter Calibration
L. Persichetti, C. Ciano, M. Montanari, L. Baldassare, L. Di Gaspare, A. Pashkin, M. Helm, O. Skibitzki, M.H. Zoellner, G. Capellini, M. Ortolani, M. Virgilio, M. De Seta
ECS Meeting Abstracts MA2020-02(24), 1711 (2020)
DOI: 10.1149/MA2020-02241711mtgabs, (FLASH)

(34) Intersubband Transition Engineering in the Conduction Band of Asymmetric Coupled Ge/SiGe Quantum Wells
L. Persichetti, M. Montanari, C. Ciano, L. Di Gaspare, M. Ortolani, L. Baldassarre, M.H. Zoellner, S. Mukherjee, O. Moutanabbir, G. Capellini, M. Virgilio, M. De Seta
Crystals (MDPI) 10(3), 179 (2020)
DOI: 10.3390/cryst10030179, (FLASH)
n-type Ge/SiGe asymmetric coupled quantum wells represent the building block of a variety of nanoscale quantum devices, including recently proposed designs for a silicon-based THz quantum cascade laser. In this paper, we combine structural and spectroscopic experiments on 20-module superstructures, each featuring two Ge wells coupled through a Ge-rich SiGe tunnel barrier, as a function of the geometry parameters of the design and the P dopant concentration. Through a comparison of THz spectroscopic data with numerical calculations of intersubband optical absorption resonances, we demonstrated that it is possible to tune, by design, the energy and the spatial overlap of quantum confined subbands in the conduction band of the heterostructures. The high structural/interface quality of the samples and the control achieved on subband hybridization are promising starting points towards a working electrically pumped light-emitting device.

(35) Evaluation of the Sensitivity of RRAM Cells to Optical Fault Injection Attacks
D. Petryk, Z. Dyka, E. Perez, M.K. Mahadevaiah, I. Kabin, Ch. Wenger, P. Langendörfer
Proc. 23^rd EUROMICRO Conference on Digital System Design (DSD 2020), Special Session: Architecture and Hardware for Security Applications (AHSA), 238 (2020)
DOI: 10.1109/DSD51259.2020.00047, (RESCUE)

(36) Tailoring the Switching Dynamics in Yttrium Oxide-Based RRAM Devices by Oxygen Engineering: From Digital to Multi-Level Quantization toward Analog Switching
S. Petzold, E. Piros, R. Eilhardt, A. Zintler, T. Vogel, N. Kaiser, A. Radetinac, P. Komissinskiy, E. Jalaguier, E. Nolot, Ch. Charpin-Nicolle, Ch. Wenger, L. Molina-Luna, E. Miranda, L. Alff
Advanced Electronic Materials 6(11), 2000439 (2020)
DOI: 10.1002/aelm.202000439, (NeuroMem)
This work investigates the transition from digital to gradual or analog resistive switching in yttrium oxide‐based resistive random‐access memory devices. It is shown that this transition is determined by the amount of oxygen in the functional layer. A homogeneous reduction of the oxygen content not only reduces the electroforming voltage, allowing for forming‐free devices, but also decreases the voltage operation window of switching, thereby reducing intra‐device variability. The most important effect as the dielectric becomes substoichiometric by oxygen engineering is that more intermediate (quantized) conduction states are accessible. A key factor for this reproducibly controllable behavior is the reduced local heat dissipation in the filament region due to the increased thermal conductivity of the oxygen depleted layer. The improved accessibility of quantized resistance states results in a semi‐gradual switching both for the set and reset processes, as strongly desired for multi‐bit storage and for an accurate definition of the synaptic weights in neuromorphic systems. A theoretical model based on the physics of mesoscopic structures describing current transport through a nano‐constriction including asymmetric potential drops at the electrodes and non‐linear conductance quantization is provided. The results contribute to a deeper understanding on how to tailor materials properties for novel memristive functionalities.

(37) Role of Oxygen Defects in Conductive-Filament Formation in Y₂O₃-Based Analog RRAM Devices as Revealed by Fluctuation Spectroscopy
E. Piros, M. Lonsky, S. Petzold, A. Zintler, S.U. Sharath, T. Vogel, N. Kaiser, R. Eilhardt, L. Molina-Luna, Ch. Wenger, J. Müller, L. Alff
Physical Review Letters 14(3), 034029 (2020)
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevApplied.14.034029, (NeuroMem)
Low-frequency noise in Y₂O₃-based resistive random-access memory devices with analog switching is studied at intermediate resistive states and as a function of dc cycling. A universal 1/f ^α-type behavior is found, with a frequency exponent of α ≈ 1.2 that is independent of the applied reset voltage or the device resistance and is attributed to the intrinsic abundance of oxygen vacancies unique to the structure of yttria. Remarkably, the noise magnitude in the high resistive state systematically decreases through dc training. This effect is attributed to the stabilization of the conductive filament via the consumption of oxygen vacancies, thus reducing the number of active fluctuators in the vicinity of the filament.

(38) Enhanced Thermal Stability of Yttrium Oxide-Based RRAM Devices with Inhomogeneous Schottky-Barrier
E. Piros, S. Petzold, A. Zintler, N. Kaiser, T. Vogel, R. Eilhardt, Ch. Wenger, L. Molina-Luna, L. Alff
Applied Physics Letters 117(1), 013504 (2020)
DOI: 10.1063/5.0009645, (NeuroMem)
This work addresses the thermal stability of bipolar resistive switching in yttrium oxide-based resistive random access memory revealed through the temperature dependence of the DC switching behavior. The operation voltages, current levels, and charge transport mechanisms are investigated at 25 ° 25 ° C, 85 ° 85 ° C, and 125 ° 125 ° C, and show overall good temperature immunity. The set and reset voltages, as well as the device resistance in both the high and low resistive states, are found to scale inversely with increasing temperatures. The Schottky-barrier height was observed to increase from approximately 1.02 eV at 25 ° 25 ° C to approximately 1.35 eV at 125 ° 125 ° C, an uncommon behavior explained by interface phenomena.

(39) Impact of Local Structure on Halogen Ion Migration in Layered Methylammonium Copper Halide Memory Devices
A. Ray, B. Martín-García, A. Martinelli, D. Spirito, F. Locardi, D. Altamura, C. Giannini, M. Prato, L. Manna, A.L. Abdelhady
Journal of Materials Chemistry A: Materials for Energy and Sustainability 8(34), 17516 (2020)
DOI: 10.1039/D0TA06248K
Ion migration is associated with hysteresis observed in halide perovskite-based solar cells and light-emitting diodes, however, it is crucial for their effective performance in memory devices. In the halide perovskites field, a direct link between the average/local structure and the preferred ion migration hopping pathway has yet to be established. Herein, we utilize the solvent acidolysis crystallization technique to grow various halide-deficient methylammonium copper halide crystals where perovskite-type layers are found. Through synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and pair distribution function (PDF) analyses, we identify the halogen vacancy site in the copper halide octahedra, the octahedra tilting, and the thermal vibrations of the atoms around their average positions. We correlate the variations in these parameters to the hysteresis observed in the current-voltage curves and subsequently to the ON/OFF ratios of proof-of-concept memory devices fabricated using inert Pt electrodes. Furthermore, our best ON/OFF ratio of ~10 from our Pb-free devices compares well to the results obtained from two-dimensional Pb-based devices utilizing inert electrodes.

(40) Investigation of the Surface Electronic Structure of Bulk ZnGa₂O₄
F. Reichmann, J. Dabrowski, Z. Galazka, W.M. Klesse, M. Mulazzi
Proc. SPIE Oxide-based Materials and Devices XI (2020), 11281, 112810V (2020)
DOI: 10.1117/12.2551056

(41) Metastable CdTe@HgTe Core@Shell Nanostructures Obtained by Partial Cation Exchange Evolve into Sintered CdTe Films upon Annealing
I. Rosina, B. Martín-García, D. Spirito, Z. Dang, G. Gariano, S. Marras, M. Prato, R. Krahne, L. De Trizio, L. Manna
Chemistry of Materials 32(7), 2978 (2020)
DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.9b05281
Partial Hg²⁺ → Cd²⁺ cation exchange (CE) reactions were exploited to transform colloidal CdTe nanocrystals (NCs, 4–6 nm in size) into CdTe@HgTe core@shell nanostructures. This was achieved by working under a slow CE rate, which limited the exchange to the surface of the CdTe NCs. In such nanostructures, when annealed at mild temperatures (as low as 200 °C), the HgTe shell sublimated or melted and the NCs sintered together, with the concomitant desorption of their surface ligands. At the end of this process, the annealed samples consisted of ligand-free CdTe sintered films containing an amount of Hg²⁺ that was much lower than that of the starting CdTe@HgTe NCs. For example, the CdTe@HgTe NCs that initially contained 10% of Hg²⁺, after being annealed at 200 °C were transformed to CdTe sintered films containing only traces of Hg²⁺ (less than 1%). This procedure was then used to fabricate a proof-of-concept CdTe-based photodetector exhibiting a photoresponse of up to 0.5 A/W and a detectivity of ca. 9 × 10⁴ Jones under blue light illumination. Our strategy suggests that CE protocols might be exploited to lower the overall costs of production of CdTe thin films employed in photovoltaic technology, which are currently fabricated at high temperatures (above 350 °C), using post-process ligand-stripping steps.

(42) Toward a Reliable Synaptic Simulation using Al-Doped HfO₂ RRAM
S. Roy, G. Niu, Q. Wang, Y. Wang, Y. Zhang, H. Wu, S. Zhai, P. Shi, S. Song, Z. Song, Z.-G. Ye, Ch. Wenger, T. Schroeder, Y.-H. Xie, X. Meng, W. Luo, W. Ren
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 12(9), 10648 (2020)
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b21530, (NeuroMem)
The potential in a synaptic simulation for neuromorphic computation has revived the research interest of resistive random access memory (RRAM). However, novel applications require reliable multilevel resistive switching (RS), which still represents a challenge. We demonstrate in this work the achievement of reliable HfO₂-based RRAM devices for synaptic simulation by performing the Al doping and the postdeposition annealing (PDA). Transmission electron microscopy and operando hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results reveal the positive impact of Al doping on the formation of oxygen vacancies. Detailed I–V characterizations demonstrate that the 16.5% Al doping concentration leads to better RS properties of the device. In comparison with the other reported results based on HfO₂ RRAM, our devices with 16.5% Al-doping and PDA at 450 °C show better reliable multilevel RS (∼20 levels) performance and an increased on/off ratio. The 16.5% Al:HfO₂ sample with PDA at 450 °C shows good potentiation/depression characteristics with low pulse width (10 μs) along with a good On/Off ratio (>1000), good data retention at room temperature, and high temperature and good program/erase endurance characteristics with a pulse width of 50 ns. The synapse features including potentiation, depression, and spike time-dependent plasticity were successfully achieved using optimized Al-HfO₂ RRAM devices. Our results demonstrate the beneficial effects of Al doping and PDA on the enhancement of the performances of RRAM devices for the synaptic simulation in neuromorphic computing applications.

(43) Measuring Oxygen and Bulk Microdefects in Silicon
H. Savin, G. Kissinger, V.-M. Airaksinen
Handbook of Silicon Based MEMS Materials and Technologies, 3rd Edition, Editors: M. Tilli, M. Paulasto-Krockel, M. Petzold, H. Theuss, T. Motooka, V. Lindroos, Chapter 37. Measuring Oxygen and Bulk Microdefects in Silicon, Elsevier, 775 (2020) 
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-817786-0.00037-2, (Future Silicon Wafers)

(44) Ge(Sn) Nano-Island/Si Heterostructure Photodetectors with Plasmonic Antennas
V. Schlykow, C.L. Manganelli, F. Römer, C. Clausen, L. Augel, J. Schulze, J. Katzer, M.A. Schubert, B. Witzigmann, T. Schroeder, G. Capellini, I.A. Fischer
Nanotechnology 31(34), 345203 (2020)
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ab91ef
We report on photodetection in deep subwavelength Ge(Sn) nano-islands on Si nano-pillar substrates, in which self-aligned nano-antennas in the Al contact metal are used to enhance light absorption by means of local surface plasmon resonances. The impact of parameters such as substrate doping and device geometry on the measured responsivities are investigated and our experimental results are supported by simulations of the three-dimensional distribution of the electromagnetic fields. Comparatively high optical responsivities of about 0.1 A W⁻¹ are observed as a consequence of the excitation of localized surface plasmons, making our nano-island photodetectors interesting for applications in which size reduction is essential.

(45) A Comprehensive Study of Charge Transport in Au-Contacted Graphene on Ge/Si(001)
A. Sinterhauf, S. Bode, M. Auge, M. Lukosius, G. Lippert, H. Hofsäss, M. Wenderoth
Applied Physics Letters 117(2), 023104 (2020)
DOI: 10.1063/5.0013802, (Graphen)
We investigate the electronic transport properties of Au-contacted graphene on Ge/Si(001). Kelvin probe force microscopy at room temperature with additionally applied electric transport field is used to gain a comprehensive understanding of macroscopic transport measurements. In particular, we analyze the contact pads including the transition region, perform local transport measurements in pristine graphene/Germanium, and explore the role of the semiconducting Germanium substrate. We connect the results from these local scale measurements with the macroscopic performance of the device. We find that a graphene sheet on a 2 μm Ge film carries approximately 10% of the current flowing through the device. Moreover, we show that an electronic transition region forms directly adjacent to the contact pads. This transition region is characterized by a width of > 100 μm and a strongly increased sheet resistance acting as the bottleneck for charge transport. Based on Rutherford backscattering of the contact pads, we suggest that the formation of this transition region is caused by diffusion.

(46) Reduction of Threading Dislocation Density Beyond the Saturation Limit by Optimized Reverse Grading
O. Skibitzki, M.H. Zoellner, F. Rovaris, M.A. Schubert, Y. Yamamoto, L. Persichetti, L. Di Gaspare, M. De Seta, R. Gatti, F. Montalenti, G. Capellini
Physical Review Materials 4(10), 103403 (2020)
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.4.103403, (FLASH)
The threading dislocation density (TDD) in plastically relaxed Ge/Si(001) heteroepitaxial films is commonly observed to progressively decrease with their thickness, owing to mutual annihilation. However, there exists a saturation limit, known as the geometrical limit, beyond which a further decrease of the TDD in the Ge film is hindered. Here, we show that such limit can be overcome in SiGe/Ge/Si heterostructures thanks to the beneficial role of the second interface. Indeed, we show that Si_0.06 Ge_0.94 /Ge/Si(001) films display a TDD remarkably lower than the saturation limit of Ge/Si(001). Such result is interpreted with the help of Dislocation Dynamics simulations. The reduction of TDD is attributed to the enhanced mobility acquired by pre-existing threading dislocations after bending at the new interface to release the strain in the upper layer. Importantly, we demonstrate that the low TDD achieved in Si_0.06 Ge_0.94 /Ge/Si layers is preserved also when a second, relaxed Ge layer is subsequently deposited. This makes the present reverse-grading technique of direct interest also for achieving a low TDD in pure-Ge films.

(47) Nano- and Microscale Apertures in Metal Films Fabricated by Colloidal Lithography with Perovskite Nanocrystals
D. Spirito, J. Shamsi, M. Imran, Q.A. Akkermann, L. Manna, R. Krahne
Nanotechnology 31(18), 185304 (2020)
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ab70f7
We demonstrate patterning of metal surfaces based on lift-off of perovskite nanocrystals that enables the fabrication of nanometer-size features without the use of resist-based nanolithography. The perovskite nanocrystals act as templates for defining the shape of the apertures in metal layers, and we exploit the variety of sizes and shapes that can be controlled in the colloidal synthesis to demonstrate the fabrication of nanoholes, nanogaps and guides with size smaller than the wavelength of light in the visible spectrum. The process can be readily integrated with standard lithography and etching techniques for the creation of more complex structures.

(48) Atomic-Scale Patterning of Arsenic in Silicon by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
T.J.Z. Stock, O. Warschkow, P.C. Constantinou, J. Li, S. Fearn, E. Crane, E.V.S. Hofmann, A. Kölker, D.R. McKenzie, S.R. Schofield, N.J. Curson
ACS Nano 14(3), 3316 (2020)
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b08943
Over the last two decades, prototype devices for future classical and quantum technologies have been fabricated using scanning tunneling microscopy and hydrogen resist lithography to position phosphorus atoms in silicon with atomic-scale precision. Despite these successes, phosphine remains the only dopant precursor molecule to have been demonstrated as compatible with the hydrogen resist lithography technique. The potential benefits of atomic-scale placement of alternative dopant species have, until now, remained unexplored. In this work, we demonstrate the successful fabrication of atomic-scale structures of arsenic-in-silicon. Using a scanning tunneling microscope tip, we pattern a monolayer hydrogen mask to selectively place arsenic atoms in the Si(001) surface using arsine as the precursor molecule. We fully elucidate the surface chemistry and reaction pathways of arsine on Si(001), revealing significant differences to phosphine. We explain how these differences result in enhanced surface immobilization and in-plane confinement of arsenic atoms compared to phosphorus, and a dose-rate independent arsenic saturation density of 0.24±0.04 monolayers. Finally, we demonstrate the successful encapsulation of arsenic delta-layers using silicon molecular beam epitaxy, and find electrical characteristics that are competitive with equivalent structures of phosphorus. Arsenic delta-layers are also found to offer improvement in the out-of-plane confinement compared to similarly prepared phosphorus layers, while still retaining >90% carrier activation and sheet resistances of 1.5 kΩ/square, These excellent characteristics of arsenic represent opportunities to enhance existing capabilities of atomic-scale fabrication of dopant structures in silicon, and are particularly important for three-dimensional devices, where vertical control of the position of device components is critical.

(49) Carbon Related Hillock Formation and its Impact on the Optoelectronic Properties of GaN/AlGaN Heterostructures Grown on Si(111)
H. Tetzner, P. Sana, W.M. Klesse, G. Capellini, M.A. Schubert, S.B. Thapa, P. Storck, T. Schroeder, M.H. Zoellner
Applied Physics Letters 116(25), 252101 (2020)
DOI: 10.1063/5.0005484, (GaN HEMT)
The integration of GaN on Si as large scale substrate still faces many hurdles. Besides the large difference in lattice constant and the high thermal mismatch existing between GaN and Si, spiral hillock growth phenomena are common problems in the development of thick GaN layers. In this work, hexagonal hillocks were observed on GaN/AlGaN high-electron-mobility transistor heterostructures grown on Si(111) by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The presence of these morphological and structural defects is attributed to the presence of localized contamination at the AlN/Si interface. These carbon-based defects cause highly defective regions in the AlN seed layer and propagating through all the AlGaN buffer layers, inducing the formation of V-shaped pits at the lower AlGaN interfaces. In hillock regions of the wafers, Raman spectroscopy indicates disturbed two dimensional electron gas characteristics resulting from GaN/AlGaN interface roughness and a decreased amount of free carriers in the potential well. Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy reveals Ga accumulation inside the V-pits and in nanopipes below, which is responsible for defective areas in GaN and following increased GaN growth rate resulting in hillock formation. Photoluminescence measurements confirm the presence of Ga-rich material reducing the inherent Gallium vacancy concentration. Here, the reduced amount of Ga-vacancies acting as shallow acceptor suppress the ultra-violet luminescence band from donor-acceptor pair transition.

(50) Nanocrystals of Lead Chalcohalides: A Series of Kinetically Trapped Metastable Nanostructures
S. Toso, Q.A. Akkerman, B. Martín-García, M. Prato, J. Zito, I. Infante, Z. Dang, A. Moliterni, C. Giannini, E. Bladt, I. Lobato, J. Ramade, S. Bals, J. Buha, D. Spirito, E. Mugnaioli, M. Gemmi, L. Manna
Journal of the American Chemical Society 142(22), 10198 (2020)
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c03577
We report the colloidal synthesis of a series of surfactant-stabilized lead chalcohalide nanocrystals. Our work is mainly focused on Pb₄S₃Br₂, a chalco-halide phase unknown to date that does not belong to the ambient-pressure PbS – PbBr₂ phase diagram. The Pb₄S₃Br₂ nanocrystals herein feature a remarkably narrow size distribution (with a size dispersion as low as 5%) a good size tunability (from 7 to ∼30 nm), an indirect bandgap, photoconductivity (responsivity = 4 ± 1 mA/W) and stability for months under air. A crystal structure is proposed for this new material by combining the information from 3D electron diffraction and electron tomography of a single nanocrystal, X-Ray powder diffraction and density functional theory calculations. Such a structure is closely related to that of the recently discovered high-pressure chalcohalide Pb₄S₃I₂ phase, and indeed we were able to extend our synthesis scheme to Pb₄S₃I₂ colloidal nanocrystals, whose structure matches the one that has been published for the bulk. Finally, we could also prepare nanocrystals of Pb₃S₂Cl₂, which proved to be a structural analogue of the recently reported bulk Pb₃Se₂Br₂ phase. It is remarkable that one high-pressure structure (for Pb₄S₃I₂) and two metastable structures that had not yet been reported (for Pb₄S₃Br₂ and Pb₃S₂Cl₂) can be prepared on the nanoscale by wet-chemical approaches. This highlights the important role of colloidal chemistry in the discovery of new materials and motivates further exploration into metal chalcohalides nanocrystals.

(51) Microwave and Millimeter Wave Sensors for Industrial, Scientific and Medical Applications in BiCMOS Technology
J. Wessel, K. Schmalz, R.K. Yadav, P.S. Zarrin, F.I. Jamal, D. Wang, G. Fischer
Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Radio-Frequency Integration Technology (RFIT 2020), 290 (2020)
DOI: 10.1109/RFIT49453.2020.9226229, (Nexgen)

(52) Microwave and Millimeter Wave Sensors for Industrial, Scientific and Medical Applications in BiCMOS Technology
J. Wessel, K. Schmalz, R.K. Yadav, P.S. Zarrin, F.I. Jamal, D. Wang, G. Fischer
Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Radio-Frequency Integration Technology (RFIT 2020), 290 (2020)
DOI: 10.1109/RFIT49453.2020.9226229, (DFG-THz LoC)

(53) Microwave and Millimeter Wave Sensors for Industrial, Scientific and Medical Applications in BiCMOS Technology
J. Wessel, K. Schmalz, R.K. Yadav, P.S. Zarrin, F.I. Jamal, D. Wang, G. Fischer
Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Radio-Frequency Integration Technology (RFIT 2020), 290 (2020)
DOI: 10.1109/RFIT49453.2020.9226229, (BioBic)

(54) Microwave and Millimeter Wave Sensors for Industrial, Scientific and Medical Applications in BiCMOS Technology
J. Wessel, K. Schmalz, R.K. Yadav, P.S. Zarrin, F.I. Jamal, D. Wang, G. Fischer
Proc. IEEE International Symposium on Radio-Frequency Integration Technology (RFIT 2020), 290 (2020)
DOI: 10.1109/RFIT49453.2020.9226229, (PlaqueCharM)

(55) Nickel and Nickel-Platinum Silicide for BiCMOS Devices
D. Wolansky, J.-P. Blaschke, J. Drews, T. Grabolla, B. Heinemann, T. Lenke, H. Rücker, S. Schulze, M.A. Schubert, H.-P. Stoll, M.H. Zoellner, U. Richter, D. Deyo
ECS Transactions 98(5), 351 (2020)
DOI: 10.1149/09805.0351ecst, (Taranto)
The world’s fastest SiGe HBT was presented by Heinemann et al. at IEDM 2016, which was achieved among other measures by NiSi application. The BiCMOS integration of such HBTs requires a careful NiSi adjustment with respect to MOSFET leakage currents. The goal of this paper is to find out a NiSi or NiPtSi process, which results in low R_S to increase f_max without degradation of MOSFET leakage currents. An f_max rise is demonstrated by a reduction of NiSi or NiPtSi R_S to 4 Ω.  A further R_S lowering to 1.6 Ω with a corresponding f_max increase was achieved by NiSi layers formed by two-step 300/450°C anneals, which generate elevated MOSFET leakage currents. They can be inhibited for NiSi formed by 200/450°C anneals at the expense of elevated R_S. NiPtSi significantly suppresses silicide pipes to the MOSFET channel even for 300/450°C anneals and is a promising choice for upcoming BiCMOS technologies.

(56) Nickel and Nickel-Platinum Silicide for BiCMOS Devices
D. Wolansky, J.-P. Blaschke, J. Drews, T. Grabolla, B. Heinemann, T. Lenke, H. Rücker, S. Schulze, M.A. Schubert, H.-P. Stoll, M.H. Zoellner, U. Richter, D. Deyo
Proc. 9^th International SiGe, Ge, & Related Compounds: Materials, Processing, and Devices Symposium (ECS Meeting 2020), 1749 (2020)
DOI: 10.1149/MA2020-02241749mtgabs, (Taranto)
The world’s fastest SiGe HBT was presented by Heinemann et al. at IEDM 2016, which was achieved among other measures by NiSi application. The BiCMOS integration of such HBTs requires a careful NiSi adjustment with respect to MOSFET leakage currents. The goal of this paper is to find out a NiSi or NiPtSi process, which results in low R_S to increase f_max without degradation of MOSFET leakage currents. An f_max rise is demonstrated by a reduction of NiSi or NiPtSi R_S to 4 Ω.  A further R_S lowering to 1.6 Ω with a corresponding f_max increase was achieved by NiSi layers formed by two-step 300/450°C anneals, which generate elevated MOSFET leakage currents. They can be inhibited for NiSi formed by 200/450°C anneals at the expense of elevated R_S. NiPtSi significantly suppresses silicide pipes to the MOSFET channel even for 300/450°C anneals and is a promising choice for upcoming BiCMOS technologies.
 

(57) Threading Dislocation Reduction of Ge by Introducing a SiGe/Ge Superlattice
Y. Yamamoto, C. Corley, M.A. Schubert, M.H. Zoellner, B. Tillack
ECS Transactions 98(5), 185 (2020)
DOI: 10.1149/09805.0185ecst
The influence of introducing a SiGe / Ge superlattice (SL) between Ge layers and Si substrate for the sake of the reduction of the threading dislocation density (TDD) without additional annealing is investigated. In the case of 2.8 μm thick Ge directly grown on Si, the TDD at the surface is 7.6×10^-8 cm^-2. A slight TDD reduction is observed by introducing a Si_0.2Ge_0.8 / Ge SL between the Si substrate and the Ge layer. By inserting 5, 10 and 20 cycles of Si_0.2Ge_0.8 / Ge, the TDD is reduced to 7.1×10^-8, 5.9×10,^-8 and 5.3×10^-8 cm^-2, respectively. The lateral lattice parameters of these SLs are ~5.656Å, which is a smaller value compared to that of bulk Ge, indicating plastic relaxation by misfit dislocation (MD) formation. Further TDD reduction is realized with increasing Si concentration in the SiGe / Ge SL without changing the cycle of the SL. However, surface roughening due to pit formation occurs if the Si concentration in the SL is higher than 50% because of increased strain at the interfaces between SiGe and Ge. With increasing SiGe and Ge thickness ratio in the SL layer and maintaining periodicity and cycles, the TDD is reduced to 2.8×10^-8 cm^-2 without degrading the surface roughness. This improvement is related to a relaxation of the SiGe/Ge SL by plastic deformation.

(58) Threading Dislocation Reduction of Ge by Introducing SiGe / Ge Superlattice
Y. Yamamoto, C. Corley, M.A. Schubert, M.H. Zoellner, B. Tillack
Proc. ECS PRiME Meeting 2020, Symposium: SiGe, Ge, and Related Compounds: Materials, Processing and Devices, abstr. (2020)

(59) Ge/SiGe Multiple Quantum Well Fabrication by Reduced-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition
Y. Yamamoto, O. Skibitzki, M.A. Schubert, M. Scuderi, F. Reichmann, M.H. Zoellner, M. De Seta, G. Capellini, B. Tillack
Japanese Journal of Applied Physics Pt. 1 59(SG), SGGK 10 (2020)
DOI: 10.7567/1347-4065/ab65d0, (FLASH)
In this paper we deposit structures comprising a stack of 10 periods made of 15-nm-thick Ge multiple quantum wells (MQWs) enclosed in a 15-nm-thick Si_0.2Ge_0.8 barrier on SiGe virtual substrates (VSs) featuring different Ge content in the 85%–100% range to investigate the influence of heteroepitaxial strain on Si_0.2Ge_0.8 and Ge growth. With increasing Ge concentration of the VS, the growth rate of Si_0.2Ge_0.8 in the MQWs increases. Si incorporation into the Si_0.2Ge_0.8 layer also becomes slightly higher. However, almost no influence of the growth rate is observed for Ge growth in the MQWs. We argue that increased tensile strain promotes the Si reaction at the surface. In the case of Si_0.2Ge_0.8 growth on Ge, we observe a smeared interface due to Ge segregation during the growth. Furthermore, we observe that the interface width increases with increasing Ge concentration of the VS. We attribute this observation to the increased segregation of Ge driven by increased strain energy accumulated in the Si_0.2Ge_0.8 layers. We also observe that the MQW layer "filters out" threading dislocations formed in the VS.

(60) Analogue Pattern Recognition with Stochastic Switching Binary CMOS-Integrated Memristive Devices
F. Zahari, E. Perez, M.K. Mahadevaiah, H. Kohlstedt, Ch. Wenger, M. Ziegler
Scientific Reports 10, 14450 (2020)
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-71334-x, (NeuroMem)
Biological neural networks outperform todays computer technology in terms of power consumption and computing speed when associative tasks, like pattern recognition, are to be solved. The analogue and massive parallel in-memory computing in biology differs strongly with conventional transistor electronics using the von Neumann architecture. Therefore, novel bio-inspired computing architectures are recently highly investigated in the area of neuromorphic computing. Here, memristive devices, which serve as non-volatile resistive memory, are used to emulate the plastic behaviour of biological synapses. In particular, CMOS integrated resistive random access memory (RRAM) devices are promising candidates to extend conventional CMOS technology in neuromorphic systems. However, dealing with the inherent stochasticity of the resistive switching effect can be  challenging for network performance. In this work, the probabilistic switching is exploited to emulate stochastic plasticity with fully CMOS integrated binary RRAM devices. Two different RRAM technologies with different device variabilities are investigated in detail and their use in a stochastic artificial neural network (StochANN) to solve the MINST pattern recognition task is examined. A mixed-signal implementation with hardware synapses and software neurons as well as numerical simulations show the proposed concept of stochastic computing is able to handle analogue data with binary memory cells.

(61) Neuromorphic On-Chip Recognition of Saliva Samples of COPD and Healthy Controls using Memristive Devices
P.S. Zarrin, F. Zahari, M.K. Mahadevaiah, E. Perez, H. Kohlstedt, Ch. Wenger
Scientific Reports 10, 19742 (2020)
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76823-7, (EXASENS)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a life-threatening lung disease, affecting millions of people worldwide. Implementation of Machine Learning (ML) techniques is crucial for the effective management of COPD in home-care environments. However, shortcomings of cloud-based ML tools in terms of data safety and energy efficiency limit their integration with low-power medical devices. To address this, energy efficient neuromorphic platforms can be used for the hardware-based implementation of ML methods. Therefore, a memristive neuromorphic platform is presented in this paper for the on-chip recognition of saliva samples of COPD patients and healthy controls. The results of its performance evaluations showed that the digital neuromorphic chip is capable of recognizing unseen COPD samples with accuracy and sensitivity values of 89% and 86%, respectively. Integration of this technology into personalized healthcare devices will enable the better management of chronic diseases such as COPD.

(62) Implementation of Siamese-Based Few-Shot Learning Algorithms for the Distinction of COPD and Asthma Subjects
P.S. Zarrin, Ch. Wenger
Proc. 29^th International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks (ICANN 2020), in: Information and Communications Security, Springer, LNCS 12396, 431 (2020)
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-61609-0_34, (Total Resilience)

(63) Neuromorphic On-Chip Recognition of Saliva Samples of COPD and Healthy Controls using Memristive Devices
P.S. Zarrin, F. Zahari, M.K. Mahadevaiah, E. Perez, H. Kohlstedt, Ch. Wenger
Scientific Reports 10, 19742 (2020)
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76823-7, (RRAM (Resistive RAM))
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a life-threatening lung disease, affecting millions of people worldwide. Implementation of Machine Learning (ML) techniques is crucial for the effective management of COPD in home-care environments. However, shortcomings of cloud-based ML tools in terms of data safety and energy efficiency limit their integration with low-power medical devices. To address this, energy efficient neuromorphic platforms can be used for the hardware-based implementation of ML methods. Therefore, a memristive neuromorphic platform is presented in this paper for the on-chip recognition of saliva samples of COPD patients and healthy controls. The results of its performance evaluations showed that the digital neuromorphic chip is capable of recognizing unseen COPD samples with accuracy and sensitivity values of 89% and 86%, respectively. Integration of this technology into personalized healthcare devices will enable the better management of chronic diseases such as COPD.

(64) Neuromorphic On-Chip Recognition of Saliva Samples of COPD and Healthy Controls using Memristive Devices
P.S. Zarrin, F. Zahari, M.K. Mahadevaiah, E. Perez, H. Kohlstedt, Ch. Wenger
Scientific Reports 10, 19742 (2020)
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76823-7, (NeuroMem)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a life-threatening lung disease, affecting millions of people worldwide. Implementation of Machine Learning (ML) techniques is crucial for the effective management of COPD in home-care environments. However, shortcomings of cloud-based ML tools in terms of data safety and energy efficiency limit their integration with low-power medical devices. To address this, energy efficient neuromorphic platforms can be used for the hardware-based implementation of ML methods. Therefore, a memristive neuromorphic platform is presented in this paper for the on-chip recognition of saliva samples of COPD patients and healthy controls. The results of its performance evaluations showed that the digital neuromorphic chip is capable of recognizing unseen COPD samples with accuracy and sensitivity values of 89% and 86%, respectively. Integration of this technology into personalized healthcare devices will enable the better management of chronic diseases such as COPD.

(65) Epileptic Seizure Detection using a Neuromorphic-Compatible Deep Spiking Neural Network
P.S. Zarrin, R. Zimmer, Ch. Wenger, T. Masquelier
Proc. International Work-Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering (IWBBIO 2020), in: Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics, Springer, LNBI 12108, 389 (2020)
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-45385-5_34, (Total Resilience)

(66) In-Vitro Classification of Saliva Samples of COPD Patients and Healthy Controls using Machine Learning Tools
P.S. Zarrin, N. Roeckendorf, Ch. Wenger
IEEE Access 8, 168053 (2020)
DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3023971, (Total Resilience)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a life-threatening lung disease and a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although a curative therapy has yet to be found, permanent monitoring of biomarkers that reflect the disease progression plays a pivotal role for the effective management of COPD. The accurate examination of respiratory tract fluids like saliva is a promising approach for staging the disease and predicting its upcoming exacerbations in a Point-of-Care (PoC) environment. Nonetheless, this approach is only feasible by concurrent consideration of patients' demographic and medical parameters. Therefore, Machine Learning (ML) tools are necessary for the comprehensive recognition of COPD in a PoC setting. As a result, the objective of this work was to implement ML tools on the data acquired from characterizing saliva samples of COPD patients and healthy controls for classification purposes. First, a permittivity biosensor was used to characterize dielectric properties of saliva samples and, subsequently, ML tools were applied on the acquired data for classification. The XGBoost gradient boosting algorithm provided a high classification accuracy of 91.25%, making it a promising model for COPD recognition. Integration of this model on a neuromorphic chip, in the future, will enable the real-time detection of COPD in PoC, with low energy consumption and high patient privacy.

(67) In-Vitro Classification of Saliva Samples of COPD Patients and Healthy Controls using Machine Learning Tools
P.S. Zarrin, N. Roeckendorf, Ch. Wenger
IEEE Access 8, 168053 (2020)
DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3023971, (EXASENS)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a life-threatening lung disease and a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although a curative therapy has yet to be found, permanent monitoring of biomarkers that reflect the disease progression plays a pivotal role for the effective management of COPD. The accurate examination of respiratory tract fluids like saliva is a promising approach for staging the disease and predicting its upcoming exacerbations in a Point-of-Care (PoC) environment. Nonetheless, this approach is only feasible by concurrent consideration of patients' demographic and medical parameters. Therefore, Machine Learning (ML) tools are necessary for the comprehensive recognition of COPD in a PoC setting. As a result, the objective of this work was to implement ML tools on the data acquired from characterizing saliva samples of COPD patients and healthy controls for classification purposes. First, a permittivity biosensor was used to characterize dielectric properties of saliva samples and, subsequently, ML tools were applied on the acquired data for classification. The XGBoost gradient boosting algorithm provided a high classification accuracy of 91.25%, making it a promising model for COPD recognition. Integration of this model on a neuromorphic chip, in the future, will enable the real-time detection of COPD in PoC, with low energy consumption and high patient privacy.