Papers by Author: Guang Gui Cheng

Abstract: This paper presents an experimental investigation of microstructure and piezoresistive properties of phosphorus-doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) thin films. The phosphorus-doped nc-Si:H thin films (5% doping ratio of PH₃ to SiH₄) were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique. The microstructure and surface morphology of the deposited thin films was characterized and analyzed with Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The piezoresistive properties of the deposited thin films were investigated with a designed four-point bending-based evaluation system. In addition, the influence of temperature on the piezoresistive properties of these thin films was evaluated with the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) measurements from room temperature up to 80°C. The experimental results show that phosphorus-doped nc-Si:H thin films prepared by PECVD technique are a two-phase material that constitutes of nanocrystalline silicon and amorphous silicon, and they present a granular structure composed of homogeneously scattered nanoclusters formed by nanocrystalline silicon grains (6nm). Moreover, phosphorus-doped nc-Si:H thin films exhibit negative GF at room temperature and show good thermal stability from room temperature up to 80°C, and the value of GF and TCR is about-31 and-509ppm/°C, respectively. These features could make phosphorus-doped nc-Si:H thin films act as a promising material for piezoresistive-based MEMS sensor.

Abstract: Inspection and measurement for the sheet resistance and resistivity play a pivotal role in the semiconductor industry. In this study, a high-accuracy measurement system for sheet resistance of thin films was designed based on dual-measurement with four-point probe method. The measurement system was composed of a special switching circuit, a digital output module, Keithley 2400 SourceMeter, and a computer running LabVIEW. The special switching circuit designed based on the multiplexer played an important role in current probes and voltage probes automatic switching under the control of virtual instrumentation software LabVIEW and National instruments digital output module hardware NI 9401. Keithley 2400 SourceMeter controlled by LabVIEW was used for two-times high-precision voltage measurement. Van der Pauw correction factor were calculated based on the results of the two-times voltage measurement. Then the sheet resistance of thin films was calculated by LabVIEW softwares powerful computing. The experimental results show that the designed and developed system can meet the needs of fast on-line measurement of thin films sheet resistance with a wide range, and moreover, the accuracy of measurements and the level of automatization have been dramatically improved compared to the conventional measurement system.

Abstract: Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to explore the fluid flows in parallel-plate nanochannels. A “channel moving” pressure-driven model is utilized to study the planar Poiseuille flows. Considering the slip boundary conditions, relationships among the pressure gradient, mean flow velocity and the channel width are investigated to couple the atomistic regime to continuum. The results show that the mean flow velocity almost linearly increases with the increase of the pressure gradient. The slope of the linear relationship between the pressure gradient and the mean flow velocity is nonlinearly decreased with increasing the channel width. The results indicate that the approximate accuracy is reduced with decreasing the channel width while the pressure-driven flows confined in nanochannels are approximately described by the Navier-Stokes equations.

Abstract: We report on a novel method for measurement of the strain in microcantilever, and a contactless measurement system for strain in microcantilever is designed and implemented based on position sensitive detector (PSD) using optical lever method. To verify the validity and accuracy of the results from measurement, a finite element model of the uniform strength microcantilever has been developed to simulate mechanical behavior in microcantilever based on finite element method (FEM). The results show that results obtained from FEM and measurement based on PSD show excellent agreement. This work has provided a novel and more effective method for measurement of the strain in microcantilever.

Abstract: A numerical study on the convective heat transfer characteristics of Cu-water nanofluid under the laminar flow condition was performed. The results show that the convective heat transfer coefficient increases with the increase of the volume fraction of the nanoparticles and the Reynolds number. There is a significant difference between the numerical simulation result and the result calculated from the Shah equation in the entrance region, but a small difference in full development areas. The numerical results agree well with that obtained from the Xuan equation when the Reynolds number and the volume fraction of the nanoparticles are small, but the errors between them increase as the increase of the Reynolds number and the volume fraction of nanoparticles.

Abstract: In this paper, conducting polypyrrole (PPy) films doped with p-toluene solfonate (pTS) was electrochemically synthesized. The chemical groups of the sample were analysed by FT-IR, an in situ nanotribolab system together with the four-probe instrument were employed to investigate the mechanical and conductivity of the prepared films. The surface morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It demonstrates that the dopant anion was doped into the PPy while the overoxidation did not occur during the polymerization. The conductivity of PPy film is stable, during indentation, different loads were applied and hardness, elastic modulus were obtained. SEM images showed that the film is uniform. The characteristic microstructure of polypyrrole, the cauliflower-like, is appeared and the film is compact and homogeneous.

Abstract: In this paper a twin-island structure in piezoresistive pressure sensor based on MEMS technology has been presented, and a finite element mechanical model has been developed to simulate the static mechanical behavior of this twin-island structure sensor chip, especially the stress distributions in diaphragm of the sensor chip, which has a vital significance on piezoresistive pressure sensors’ sensitivity. The possible impacts of twin-island’s location and twin-island’s width on the stress distributions, as well as the maximum value of compressive stress and tensile stress, have been investigated based on numerical simulation with Finite Element Method (FEM). The simulation results show that twin-island’s location has great effect on the stress distributions in sensor chips’ diaphragms and the sensitivity of piezoresistive pressure sensors, compared with the twin-island’s width.

Abstract: In this paper, a micromixer used in micro thermo photovoltaic system (MTPV system) is simulated and fabricated. The optimal structure parameters were investigated by computational fluent dynamical software (CFD)，during the simulation, three main parameters n,τ and δ were introduced to studied on the influence of the mixing intensity . The simulation results show that the number of the static elements added in the mixing channel n should be more than 4, the side-length of the static elements should be half of the channel’s width and the static elements should be equidistant and interlaced distribution.

Abstract: Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) films were deposited on glass substrates using Radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition(RF-PECVD)from a B2H6/SiH4/H2 gas mixtures. In this paper, we mainly changed the Borane-Silane flow rate ratio (β), while other parameters were kept constant. Raman spectrum and X-ray diffraction were employed to investigate the micro-structure of the films, and the indentations were used to measure the mechanical characters (the Young’s modulus (E) and hardness (H)). The Raman spectrum showed that, withβincreasing the crystalline fraction decreased, which indicated that more boron doped might not be propitious to the formation of crystalline of the thin films. XRD spectrum revealed that the films have a remarkably preferential orientation. The analysis of the Young’s modulus and hardness by TriboIndenter nano system suggested that the increase inβhad concernful effects in the decrease of E and H values, so we can control the mechanical characters of the thin films by means of changing the doped concentrations. In view of these results, it may be concluded that the use of lowβconditions might lead to growth of nc-Si:H films with high crystallinity, and as well high Young’s modulus and hardness.

Abstract: Boron-doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) thin films were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Microstructures of these films were characterized and analyzed by Raman spectrum and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Thickness and resistivity of these films was measured by high-resolution profilometer and four-point probe respectively. The impact of annealing on boron-doped nc-Si:H thin films’ resistivity and the relationship between resistivity and microstructure were investigated. The results show that annealing and the annealing temperature have great impact on resistivity of nc-Si:H thin films as a result of microstructures changing after annealing. Resistivity of nc-Si:H thin films decreases after annealing, but it rises with the increasing annealing temperature in the range of 250°C to 400°C.