MEMS devices are found in many of today’s electronic devices and systems, from air-bag sensors in cars to smart phones, embedded systems, etc. Increasingly, the reduction in dimensions has led to nanometer-scale devices, called NEMS. The plethora of applications on the commercial market speaks for itself, and especially for the highly precise manufacturing of silicon-based MEMS and NEMS. While this is a tremendous achievement, silicon as a material has some drawbacks, mainly in the area of mechanical fatigue and thermal properties. Silicon carbide (SiC), a well-known wide-bandgap semiconductor whose adoption in commercial products is experiening exponential growth, especially in the power electronics arena. While SiC MEMS have been around for decades, in this Special Issue we seek to capture both an overview of the devices that have been demonstrated to date, as well as bring new technologies and progress in the MEMS processing area to the forefront. Thus, this Special Issue seeks to showcase research papers, short communications, and review articles that focus on: (1) novel designs, fabrication, control, and modeling of SiC MEMS and NEMS based on all kinds of actuation mechanisms; and (2) new developments in applying SiC MEMS and NEMS in consumer electronics, optical communications, industry, medicine, agriculture, space, and defense.

Silicon (Si) technologies provide an excellent platform for the design of microsystems where photonic and microelectronic functionalities are monolithically integrated on the same substrate. In recent years, a variety of passive and active Si photonic devices have been developed, and among them, photodetectors have attracted particular interest from the scientific community. Si photodiodes are typically designed to operate at visible wavelengths, but, unfortunately, their employment in the infrared (IR) range is limited due to the neglectable Si absorption over 1100 nm, even though the use of germanium (Ge) grown on Si has historically allowed operations to be extended up to 1550 nm. In recent years, significant progress has been achieved both by improving the performance of Si-based photodetectors in the visible range and by extending their operation to infrared wavelengths. Near-infrared (NIR) SiGe photodetectors have been demonstrated to have a “zero change” CMOS process flow, while the investigation of new effects and structures has shown that an all-Si approach could be a viable option to construct devices comparable with Ge technology. In addition, the capability to integrate new emerging 2D and 3D materials with Si, together with the capability of manufacturing devices at the nanometric scale, has led to the development of new device families with unexpected performance. Accordingly, this Special Issue of Micromachines seeks to showcase research papers, short communications, and review articles that show the most recent advances in the field of silicon photodetectors and their respective applications.

Recently, some SiC power devices such as Schottky-barrier diodes (SBDs), metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistors (MOSFETs), junction FETs (JFETs), and their integrated modules have come onto the market. However, to stably supply them and reduce their cost, further improvements for material characterizations and those for device processing are still necessary. This book abundantly describes recent technologies on manufacturing, processing, characterization, modeling, and so on for SiC devices. In particular, for explanation of technologies, I was always careful to argue physics underlying the technologies as much as possible. If this book could be a little helpful to progress of SiC devices, it will be my unexpected happiness.

Graphene Based Biomolecular Electronic Devices outlines the fundamental concepts related to graphene and electronics, along with a description of various advanced and emerging applications of graphene-based bioelectronics. The book includes coverage of biosensors, energy storage devices such as biofuel cells, stretchable and flexible electronics, drug delivery systems, tissue engineering, and 3D printed graphene in bioelectronics. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, it explores the synergy produced due to charge transfer between biomolecules and graphene and will help the reader understand the promising bioelectronic applications of graphene-based devices. Graphene has applications in semiconductor electronics, replacing the use of traditional silicon-based devices due to its semi-metallic nature and tuneable energy band gap properties. The tuning of electron transfer with redox properties of biomolecules could potentially lead to the development of miniaturized bioelectronic devices. Thus, graphene, with its unique sensing characteristics, has emerged as an attractive material to produce biomolecular electronic devices. - Explains advanced and emerging techniques for creating graphene-based bioelectronic devices - Outlines the fundamental concepts of graphene-based bio-integrated systems - Addresses the major challenges in creating graphene-based bioelectronic devices on a mass scale

Comprehensive Materials Processing, Thirteen Volume Set provides students and professionals with a one-stop resource consolidating and enhancing the literature of the materials processing and manufacturing universe. It provides authoritative analysis of all processes, technologies, and techniques for converting industrial materials from a raw state into finished parts or products. Assisting scientists and engineers in the selection, design, and use of materials, whether in the lab or in industry, it matches the adaptive complexity of emergent materials and processing technologies. Extensive traditional article-level academic discussion of core theories and applications is supplemented by applied case studies and advanced multimedia features. Coverage encompasses the general categories of solidification, powder, deposition, and deformation processing, and includes discussion on plant and tool design, analysis and characterization of processing techniques, high-temperatures studies, and the influence of process scale on component characteristics and behavior. Authored and reviewed by world-class academic and industrial specialists in each subject field Practical tools such as integrated case studies, user-defined process schemata, and multimedia modeling and functionality Maximizes research efficiency by collating the most important and established information in one place with integrated applets linking to relevant outside sources

Silicon-Based Hybrid Nanoparticles: Fundamentals, Properties, and Applications focuses on the fundamental principles and promising applications of silicon-based hybrid nanoparticles in nanoelectronics, energy storage/conversion, catalysis, sensors, biomedicine, environment and imaging. This book is an important reference source for materials scientists and engineers who are seeking to understand more about the major properties and applications of silicon-based hybrid nanoparticles. As the hybridization of silicon nanoparticles with other semiconductors or metal oxides nanoparticles may exhibit superior features, when compared to lone, individual nanoparticles, this book provides the latest insights. In addition, the silicon/iron oxide hybrid nanoparticles also possess excellent fluorescence, super-paramagnetism, and biocompatibility that can be effectively used for the diagnostic imaging system in vivo. Similarly, gold-silicon nanohybrids could be used as highly efficient near-infrared hyperthermia agents for cancer cell destruction. - Outlines the major thermal, electrical, optical, magnetic and toxic properties of silicon-based hybrid nanoparticles - Describes major applications in energy, environmental science and catalysis - Assesses the major challenges to manufacturing silicon-based nanostructured materials on an industrial scale