Fabrizio Palma

The technology transfer of terahertz wireless communication from research laboratories to commercial applications is a global strategic achievement currently pursued to match the ever-increasing demand for high-speed communication. The use of commercial integrated electronics for the detection of THz waves is an intriguing challenge which has enticed great interest in the scientific research community. Rapid progress in this field has led to the exploitation of THz direct detection using standard CMOS technology based on the so-called self-mixing effect. Our research, stemming out of a collaboration between Sapienza University of Rome and STMicroelectronics company, is focused on the complete design process of a THz rectifier, realized using 50 nm ST B55 CMOS technology. In this paper, we report the optimization process of a case-study receiver, aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of direct demodulation of the transmitted OOK signal. A relatively limited bandwidth extension is considered since the device will be included in a system adopting a radiation source with a limited band. The design refers to a specific technology, the 60 nm MOS in B55X ST; nevertheless, the proposed optimization procedure can be applied in principle to any MOS device. Several aspects of the rectification process and of the receiver design are investigated by combining different numerical simulation methodologies. The direct representation of the rectification effect through the equivalent circuit of the detector is provided, which allows for the investigation of the detector–amplifier coupling, and the computation of output noise equivalent power. Numerical results are presented and used as the basis for the optimization of the receiver parameters.

Metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) have proven to be effective devices for rectifying electromagnetic radiation at extremely high frequencies, approximately 1 THz. This paper presents a new interpretation of the THz rectification process in the structure of an MOS transistor. The rectification depends on the nonlinear effect of the carrier dynamics. The paper shows that the so-called self-mixing effect occurs within the interface region between the source and the channel. The basic tool used numerical TCAD simulations, which offer a direct interpretation of different aspects of this interaction. The complex, 2D effect is examined in terms of its basic aspects by comparing the MOS structure with a simplified case study structure. We demonstrate that a contribution to the output-rectified voltage detectable at the drain arises from the charging of the drain well capacitance due to the diffusion of excess electrons from the self-mixing interaction occurring at the source barrier. In addition, the paper provides a quantitative description of the rectification process through the definition of the output equivalent circuit, offering a new perspective for the design of detection systems.

THz detection in a silicon structure can be an effective instrument not only for image detection, and material and gas sensing, but also for communications. Next-generation 6G communications assume the possibility of achieving a large-band transmission, using free space propagation with THz carriers. This possibility relies on the availability of an effective, low-cost detector technology. THz detection by self-mixing can provide an effective amplitude demodulation of the incoming carrier, with antennas directly fabricated on the chip. In this case, the speed of the detectors represents a crucial point in the definition of the bandwidth whereby several GHz are indeed required by the communication systems. The self-mixing process is intrinsically very fast, since it depends on the non-linear interaction of the radiation with the majority carriers inside the semiconductor structure. In this paper, we evaluate analytically the time dependence of the onset of the rectified voltage. A potential propagation along the detector channel follows the self-mixing rectification, accompanied by the charging of the parasitic capacitances of the structure. A numerical simulator can easily evaluate the delay due to this propagation along the structure, but the transient of the true origin of the signal, i.e., the establishment of the self-mixing voltage, at the current time, can be only inferred by analytical approach. In this work, we use the model developed for the THz rectification in the depletion region of an MOS capacitance to develop a transient model of the formation of the characteristic self-mixing charge dipole, and of the generation of the rectified potential. Subsequently, we show by TCAD simulations the propagation of the effect on the semiconductor structure, which surrounds the rectifying barrier, and evaluate the overall time response of a detector.

Nano- or microdevices, enabling simultaneous, long-term, multisite, cellular recording and stimulation from many excitable cells, are expected to make a strategic turn in basic and applied cardiology (particularly tissue engineering) and neuroscience. We propose an innovative approach aiming to elicit bioelectrical information from the cell membrane using an integrated circuit (IC) bearing a coating of nanowires on the chip surface. Nanowires grow directly on the backend of the ICs, thus allowing on-site amplification of bioelectric signals with uniform and controlled morphology and growth of the NWs on templates. To implement this technology, we evaluated the biocompatibility of silicon and zinc oxide nanowires (NWs), used as a seeding substrate for cells in culture, on two different primary cell lines. Human cardiac stromal cells were used to evaluate the effects of ZnO NWs of different lengths on cell behavior, morphology and growth, while BV-2 microglial-like cells and GH4-C1 neuroendocrine-like cell lines were used to evaluate cell membrane–NW interaction and contact when cultured on Si NWs. As the optimization of the contact between integrated microelectronics circuits and cellular membranes represents a long-standing issue, our technological approach may lay the basis for a new era of devices exploiting the microelectronics’ sensitivity and “smartness” to both improve investigation of biological systems and to develop suitable NW-based systems available for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

The contact between integrated microelectronics circuits and cellular membrane represented a great issue which research tried to solve in the last years. This achievement could open a huge field of device and systems, bringing the sensitivity and intelligence of microelectronics toward the biological systems. We describe an innovative approach to gain the electric sensing of the membrane by covering the chip contact surface with a carpet of nanowires, in particular silicon and zinc oxide nanowires. Both material ensures low invasiveness toward the biological samples. The nanowires growth is with ICs, allowing on-site amplification of bioelectric signals. We report our preliminary results showing biocompatibility and neutrality of silicon and zinc oxide nanowires used as seeding substrate for cells in culture.

We present the study of a new structure for integrated rectifier, realized with standard CMOS technology, suitable to detect the terahertz radiation, at room temperature. The structure consists of a capacitive rectenna, designed as a patch antenna realized with the last metal layer of the CMOS process. A whisker reaches the gate of a MOS-FET transistor from the antenna, obtained with a standard via. Rectification can be obtained by the self-mixing effect occurring into the plasma waves generate in the substrate, underneath the gate. The proposed solution can be integrated with existing imaging systems, since it does not requires scaling toward very narrow and costly technological node.

The use of a metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOS-FET) permits the rectification of electromagnetic radiation by employing integrated circuit technology. However, obtaining a high-efficiency rectification device requires the assessment of a physical model capable of providing a qualitative and quantitative explanation of the processes involved. For a long time, high-frequency detection based on MOS technology was explained using plasma wave detection theory. In this paper, we review the rectification mechanism in light of high-frequency numerical simulations, showing features never examined until now. The results achieved substantially change our understanding of terahertz (THz) rectification in semiconductors, and can be interpreted by the model based on the self-mixing process in the device substrate, providing a new and essential tool for designing this type of detector.

Metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitance within field effect transistors are of great interest in terahertz (THz) imaging, as they permit high-sensitivity, high-resolution detection of chemical species and images using integrated circuit technology. High-frequency detection based on MOS technology has long been justified using a mechanism described by the plasma wave detection theory. The present study introduces a new interpretation of this effect based on the self-mixing process that occurs in the field effect depletion region, rather than that within the channel of the transistor. The proposed model formulates the THz modulation mechanisms of the charge in the potential barrier below the oxide based on the hydrodynamic semiconductor equations solved for the small-signal approximation. This approach explains the occurrence of the self-mixing process, the detection capability of the structure and, in particular, its frequency dependence. The dependence of the rectified voltage on the bias gate voltage, substrate doping, and frequency is derived, offering a new explanation for several previous experimental results. Harmonic balance simulations are presented and compared with the model results, fully validating the model’s implementation. Thus, the proposed model substantially improves the current understanding of THz rectification in semiconductors and provides new tools for the design of detectors.