High Performance Thermistor Based on Si_1−xGe_x/Si Multi Quantum Wells

Abstract

This letter represents a prototype of an intrinsic thermistor based on silicon-germanium/silicon (Si <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1-x</sub> Ge <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">x</sub> /Si) multi quantum wells with varying Ge concentration in SiGe wells. Experimental results of the thermistor prototype are provided in terms of temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and noise constant (K <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1/f</sub> ). The prototype with 50% Ge in SiGe wells exhibited an outstanding TCR of -5.5 %/K accompanied by a K <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1/f</sub> of 5.8 × 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-13</sup> for 25 μm × 25 μm and 3.4 × 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-15</sup> for 200 μm × 200 μm pixel size, showing the concurrent achievement of a very high TCR and a low 1/f noise performance.