This study presents a detailed fabrication method, together with validation, discussion, and analysis, for state-of-the-art silicon carbide (SiC) etching of vertical and bevelled structures by using inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) for microelectronic applications. Applying different gas mixtures, a maximum bevel angle of 87° (almost vertical), large-angle bevels ranging from 40° to 80°, and small-angel bevels ranging from 7° to 17° were achieved separately using distinct gas mixtures at different ratios. We found that SF6 with additive O2 was effective for vertical etching, with a best etching rate of 3050 Å/min. As for the large-angle bevel structures, BCl3 + N2 gas mixtures show better characteristics, exhibiting a controllable and large etching angle range from 40° to 80° through the adjustment of the mixture ratio. Additionally, a Cl2 + O2 mixture at different ratios is applied to achieve a small-angel bevels ranging from 7° to 17°. A minimum bevel angel of approximately 7° was achieved under the specific volume of 2.4 sccm Cl2 and 3.6 sccm O2. These results can be used to improve performance in various microelectronic applications including MMIC via holes, PIN diodes, Schottky diodes, JFETs’ bevel mesa, and avalanche photodiode fabrication.
The mouse model is an important research tool in neurosciences to examine brain function and diseases with genetic perturbation in different brain regions. However, the limited techniques to map activated brain regions under specific experimental manipulations has been a drawback of the mouse model compared to human functional brain mapping. Here, we present a functional brain mapping method for fast and robust in vivo brain mapping of the mouse brain. The method is based on the acquisition of high density electroencephalography (EEG) with a microarray and EEG source estimation to localize the electrophysiological origins. We adapted the Fieldtrip toolbox for the source estimation, taking advantage of its software openness and flexibility in modeling the EEG volume conduction. Three source estimation techniques were compared: Distribution source modeling with minimum-norm estimation (MNE), scanning with multiple signal classification (MUSIC), and single-dipole fitting. Known sources to evaluate the performance of the localization methods were provided using optogenetic tools. The accuracy was quantified based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The mean detection accuracy was high, with a false positive rate less than 1.3% and 7% at the sensitivity of 90% plotted with the MNE and MUSIC algorithms, respectively. The mean center-to-center distance was less than 1.2 mm in single dipole fitting algorithm. Mouse microarray EEG source localization using microarray allows a reliable method for functional brain mapping in awake mouse opening an access to cross-species study with human brain.
An In-rich Au-In bonding system has been developed to transfer vertical light-emitting diodes (VLEDs) from a sapphire to a graphite substrate and enable them to survive under n-ohmic contact treatment at 350 °C. The bonding temperature is 210 °C, and three intermetallic compounds are detected: AuIn, AuIn2, and γ phase. As a result, the remelting temperature increases beyond the theoretical value of 450 °C according to the Au-In binary phase diagram. In fact, reliability testing showed that joints obtained by rapid thermal annealing at 400 °C for 1 min survived whereas those obtained at 500 °C for 1 min failed. Finally, a GaN-based blue VLED was transferred to the graphite substrate by means of the proposed bonding method, and its average light output power was measured to be 386.6 mW (@350 mA) after n-ohmic contact treatment. This wafer-level bonding technique also shows excellent potential for high-temperature packing applications.
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