NISTIR 6284

ELECTRONICS AND

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

LABORATORY

1999 PROGRAM PLAN

Electronics and Electrical

Engineering Laboratory

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Technology Administration

National Institute of Standards and

Technology

Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Laboratory

February 1999
EEEL SEEKS YOUR COMMENTS

The Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory (EEEL)

reviews its plans regularly to keep them focused on the most

important measurement needs of the U.S. electronics, electricalequipment, and electric-power industries. Comments on this

plan are invited and should be sent to the following address:

Robert E. Hebner, Acting Director

Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Building 220, Room B358

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-0001

Telephone: (301) 975-2220

FAX: (301) 975-4091

Internet: robert.hebner@nist.gov
NISTIR 6284

ELECTRONICS AND

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

LABORATORY

1999 PROGRAM PLAN

Electronics and Electrical

Engineering Laboratory

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Technology Administration

National Institute of Standards and

Technology

Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Laboratory

February 1999

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

William M. Daley, Secretary

TECHNOLOGY ADMINISTRATION

Gary R. Bachula, Acting Under Secretary for

Technology

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND

TECHNOLOGY

Raymond G. Kammer, Director
Bibliographic Information

Abstract

This program plan provides a detailed description of the important work that the Electronics and

Electrical Engineering Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology is

undertaking to provide measurement capability for U.S. industry. This measurement capability

underlies the development, manufacturing, marketing, and after-sales support of new products in

industry. The services provided by this program further U.S. economic growth and strengthen

U.S. competitiveness in international markets.

The Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory focuses on measurement capability needed

especially by the electronics industry, the electric-power industry, and the electrical-equipment

industry. This measurement capability also serves government, educational institutions, and the

public broadly, either as users of that capability or as customers for the products and services of

the supported industries.

Keywords

commercialization of technology; economic growth: electrical-equipment industry; electric-power

industry; electronics industry; international competitiveness; measurement capability; metrology

Ordering

Copies of this document are available from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port

Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161, at (800) 553-6847, or (703) 605-6000, or (703) 605-

6900 (fax), or orders@ntis.fedworld.gov (e-mail).

1997 Program Plan / Printed on January 28, 1999
PREFACE

This document is part of a set of planning documents developed by the Electronics and Electrical

Engineering Laboratory (EEEL). These planning documents cover five principal subjects, listed

here in the order in which they are employed in EEEL’s planning process: (1) assessments of

industry’s measurement needs, (2) strategic plan for responding; (3) program plan for realizing the

goals of the strategic plan through specific technical efforts (this document); (4) technical

accomplishments resulting from completed work; and (5) economic impact evaluations of those

accomplishments.

This program plan is composed of an overview followed by descriptions of the twelve programs

that EEEL addresses. The overview describes the mission, customers, deliverables, resources,

structure, and other basic dimensions of the overall EEEL effort in support of U.S. industry.

Additional details on these subjects are included in the strategic plan referred to above. Each of

the twelve programs described in the program plan, such as "semiconductors" or "optoelectronics",

is responsive to the measurement needs of a selected field of technology. Most of these fields of

technology are associated with specific product categories in industry. Other programs, such as

"electromagnetic compatibility" and "national electrical standards", are cross-cutting in nature

because they support many product categories. Each program is broken down into projects. The

projects may run for a few years or for many years, depending on their complexity and other

factors. The projects are described in detail. Project descriptions include objectives, background

information, resources, the specific tasks addressed, and the milestones required to complete these

tasks. These descriptions look both forward and backward in time in order to set the current work

in context.

iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

OVERVIEW ......................................................... 1

CUSTOMERS ................................................... 3

Electronics Industry ........................................... 3

Electric-Power Industry ......................................... 4

Electrical-Equipment Industry .................................... 4

Competitiveness .............................................. 5

DELIVERABLES ................................................. 5

Measurement Capability ........................................ 5

Technology Development ....................................... 6

Fundamental Research .......................................... 7

MEANS OF DELIVERY ............................................ 8

RESOURCES .................................................... 8

PLANNING ..................................................... 9

ORGANIZATION OF THIS PROGRAM PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

ORGANIZATION OF EEEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

ENDNOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

SEMICONDUCTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Office of Microelectronics Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Metrology for Nanoelectronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Optical Characterization Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Scanning-Probe Microscope Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Thin-Film Process Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Metrology for Simulation and Computer-Aided Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Metrology for Process and Tool Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Gate Dielectric and Interconnect Reliability Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Plasma Chemistry - Plasma Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

MAGNETICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Magnetic Recording Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Magnetic Instruments and Materials Characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Nanoprobe Imaging for Magnetic Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

SUPERCONDUCTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Superconductor Interfaces and Electrical Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

High Performance Sensors, Converters, and Mixers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Josephson Array Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Nanoscale Cryoelectronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

High-Tc Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Superconductor Standards and Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

LOW FREQUENCY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

AC-DC Difference Standards and Measurement Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Waveform Acquisition Devices and Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Waveform Synthesis and Impedance Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

iv
Measurements for Complex Electronic Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

RADIO FREQUENCY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

High-Speed Microelectronics Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Nonlinear Device Characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Power, Voltage, and Impedance Standards and Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Network Analysis and Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Noise Standards and Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Antenna Measurement Theory and Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Metrology for Antenna, Radar Cross Section and Space Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Electromagnetic Properties of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

OPTOELECTRONICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Dielectric Materials and Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Semiconductor Materials and Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Fiber and Discrete Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Integrated Optics Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Optical Fiber Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Optical Fiber Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

High Speed Source and Detector Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Laser Radiometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

VIDEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Video Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

POWER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Dielectrics Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Metrology for Electric Power Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

NATIONAL ELECTRICAL STANDARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Ohm and Farad Realization and Dissemination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Quantum Voltage and Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Standard EM Fields and Transfer Probe Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Emission and Immunity Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

ELECTRONIC DATA EXCHANGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Infrastructure for Integrated Electronics Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Infrastructure for Integrated Electronics Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

LAW ENFORCEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Enabling Technologies for Criminal Justice Practitioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

v
vi
OVERVIEW

CUSTOMERS ......................................... 3

Electronics Industry ................................. 3

Electric-Power Industry ............................... 4

Electrical-Equipment Industry .......................... 4

Competitiveness .................................... 5

DELIVERABLES ....................................... 5

Measurement Capability .............................. 5

Technology Development ............................. 6

Fundamental Research ............................... 7

MEANS OF DELIVERY .................................. 8

RESOURCES ......................................... 8

PLANNING ........................................... 9

ORGANIZATION OF THIS PROGRAM PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

ORGANIZATION OF EEEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

ENDNOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

1
2
OVERVIEW

EEEL’s mission is to promote U.S. economic growth by providing measurement capability of high

economic impact focused primarily on the critical needs of the U.S. electronics and electrical

industries, and their customers and suppliers.

This measurement capability promotes economic growth by improving the competitiveness of U.S.

industries. This capability is part of the national infrastructure that helps attract and retain businesses

and jobs in the United States. EEEL focuses on measurement capability that U.S. industries need but

cannot provide for themselves, for technical, economic, or other reasons. In particular, EEEL

provides the fundamental basis for all electrical measurements conducted in the United States.

CUSTOMERS

Because of EEEL’s primary focus on U.S. industry and its competitiveness, most of EEEL’s

customers are from industry. When EEEL last completed a comprehensive analysis of its customer

base, about 72 percent of EEEL’s customers were from U.S. industry. About 50 percent of the

industrial customers were large businesses with over 500 employees, 38 percent were small businesses

with 20 to 500 employees, and 12 percent were small businesses with fewer than 20 employees.

About 20 percent of the Fortune 500 companies were included in EEEL’s customers.1

EEEL’s customers also include: other government agencies (Federal, state, and local); educational

institutions; the research community, whether located in industry, government agencies, educational

institutions, or non-profit organizations broadly; and, indirectly, the general public through services

to the organizations already named. The measurement capability and other services that EEEL

provides to Federal, state, and local agencies help them to fulfill their many responsibilities in areas

such as defense, energy, transportation, communications, health, safety, environment, and law

enforcement. The characteristics of EEEL’s primary industry customers -- the electronics industry,

the electric-power industry, and the electrical-equipment industry -- are discussed below.

Electronics Industry

Among U.S. manufacturing industries, the electronics Table 1: LARGEST U.S. MANUFACTURING

INDUSTRIES (1995)

Industry Shipments Employment

($billions) (thousands)

Electronics2(a) 382 1,750

Automotive2(b) 340 937

Chemical2(c) 338 839

Petroleum Refining2(d) 131 70

Aerospace2(e) 95 483

industry is the largest employer with 1.7 million

people, as shown in Table 1. The electronics

industry, the automotive industry, and the chemical

industry are the three largest in shipments, each with

over $300 billion of product per year.2

The electronics industry produces a broad spectrum

of products. This spectrum is outlined in Table 2,

using a condensed version of the structure employed

by the industry itself through the Electronic Industries Alliance.3 In addition, electronic products are

built into the products of many other industries, including, for example, virtually all manufacturing

equipment, motor vehicles, and aerospace products. Thus, the electronics industry exerts

extraordinary influence on the performance of every other U.S. industry.

3
While the U.S. electronics industry is a strong one, it is Table 2: ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS

Electron Tubes

Passive Components

Solid-State Components

Consumer Products

television and other video

audio

mobile

home information

media

Telecommunications

commercial, industrial, military

broadcast, studio, and related

telephone and telegraph

Defense Communications

search and detection

navigation and guidance

Computers and Peripherals

computers

storage

input/output

terminals

Industrial Electronics

controls

processing

industrial process display and

control instrumentation

test and measuring equipment

Electromedical Electronics

battling for market share in increasingly competitive

international markets. There are several indicators of the

intensity of this competition. Those indicators suggest an

improving situation. U.S. shipments increased from 1995

to 1996 by 8 percent in nominal terms. Employment

increased, too, by 3 percent.4 Trade, for which we have

more recent data, showed an improvement, too. The

balance of trade for 1997 remained unfavorable, but was

improved over 1996. Specifically, for the nine broad

categories of electronic products shown in Table 2, the

balance of trade for 1997 was positive for six categories

and negative for three categories, an improvement of one

category relative to 1996.5

Electric-Power Industry

The U.S. electric-power industry is composed of the

electric utilities, both private and public, and the

independent suppliers of electricity. This industry is one

of the largest industries in the United States. Electricity

sales are $215 billion per year (1997), and the industry

employs 404 thousand people (1997).6 If the sales of the

electric-power industry are compared with the shipments

of the manufacturing industries in Table 1, those sales fall

between the third largest (chemical) and fourth largest

(petroleum refining).

At present the electric-power industry is undergoing major changes as it encounters deregulation and

domestic competition for the first time. These changes are giving rise to new measurement needs.7

An example of these changes is the emergence of transmission systems as common carriers, shared

by multiple and competing suppliers.

Electricity plays an essential role in the manufacture of the vast majority of products. In fact, about

1.3 percent of the value of the products of all manufacturing industries in the United States is

attributable to the cost of the electricity used in making them.8

Electrical-Equipment Industry

The U.S. electrical-equipment industry is smaller than the U.S. electronics industry and the U.S.

electric-power industry but is still quite large. EEEL has not estimated its size recently but expects

it to be the better part of $100 billion per year in 1999.9

The products of the electrical-equipment industry are outlined in Table 3, where they are arranged

by the basic services that they provide. Included in this outline, among other products, are all of the

electrical products used by the electric-power industry. Automobiles, too, rely heavily on electrical

equipment, accounting for perhaps 14 percent, by dollar value, of all electrical equipment shipped in

the United States.10

4
Like the electronics industry, the electrical-equipment industry Table 3: ELECTRICAL

PRODUCTS

Electrical Supply Equipment

generation

generators

transfer

transformers

insulation

wire

wiring devices

control

switchgear

relays and controls

storage

storage batteries

primary batteries

Electrical Conversion Equipment

motion

motors

light

lighting devices

heat

electrodes and spark elements

electrolytic action

electrolytic elements

is also struggling against strong competitors in many market

segments. This competition manifests itself both in small-scale

products, such as tiny electric motors, and in large-scale

products, such as electric-power generation and transmission

equipment.

Competitiveness

There are many factors that bear on the competitiveness of these

industries: social, economic, and technical. Among the

technical factors is the need for improved measurement

capability. NIST has been a major force in this area and will

continue to be. NIST’s assistance has been strongly demanded

by industry in many areas. An example is the additional

measurement capability that industry needs to meet conformity

requirements, such as electromagnetic compatibility, in order to

gain market access.

Simply stated, both the electronics industry and the electricalequipment industry are outstripping the measurement capability

required for international competitiveness. Affected are

important factors such as product performance, price, quality,

compatibility, time to market, and the implementation of new management strategies like concurrent

engineering and just-in-time manufacturing.

Similarly the electric-power industry needs new measurement capability to stream-line its generation

and delivery methods for electricity to cope with intensifying domestic competition and to realize the

aims of deregulation.

DELIVERABLES Table 4:

DELIVERABLES

Measurement Capability

absolute accuracy

reproducibility

materials reference data

Technology Development

Fundamental Research

EEEL provides three major classes of deliverables. They are listed in

Table 4 and are discussed below. EEEL provides measurement

capability needed to support the efforts of U.S. industry to improve its

competitiveness. EEEL engages in technology development and

fundamental research, and EEEL makes the findings available to

industry. Each of these categories of deliverables is discussed further

below.

Measurement Capability

EEEL focuses the largest part of its resources on the development and delivery of measurement

capability for two principal reasons:

Measurement capability has very high impact on U.S. industry because measurement capability

supports manufacturers in addressing so many of the challenges that they face in realizing

competitive products in the marketplace. A detailed discussion of the dependence of

5
competitiveness on measurement capability is provided in Chapter 1 of Measurements for

Competitiveness in Electronics.

11

NIST bears the official imprimatur of the U.S. Government as the lead agency for measurements.

EEEL focuses on developing measurement capability that is beyond the reach of the broad range of

individual companies. Thus, EEEL does not develop measurement capability that companies can

provide for themselves. Companies seek NIST’s help for several reasons:

The companies need NIST’s special technical capability for measurement development.

The companies need NIST’s acknowledged impartiality for diagnosing a measurement problem

affecting the industry broadly or for achieving adoption of a solution across the industry.

The companies cannot develop measurement capability needed by the industry broadly because

they cannot individually capture the returns of the cost of development.

Industry’s quality standards require that key measurements be traceable to the national

measurement reference standards that NIST maintains. This is a requirement of growing

importance in export markets.

The reasons for NIST’s involvement are reviewed in greater detail in Chapter 2 of Measurements for

Competitiveness in Electronics.

Within the area of measurement capability, EEEL places its highest priority on delivering absolute

accuracy. This emphasis reflects NIST’s unique role as the national reference laboratory for

measurements. Support for absolute accuracy may require a documented measurement method, a

special measurement device, a reference standard to assure the accuracy of the measurement method,

and a means of delivery such as a measurement assurance program or a calibration service.

EEEL places its second highest priority on delivering reproducible measurement capability.

Reproducible measurement capability provides consistent measurements but does not by itself assure

high absolute accuracy.

EEEL also develops reference data on the measured electronic properties of materials. EEEL

undertakes this work if NIST’s special measurement skills are needed for development, or if NIST’s

evaluation and imprimatur are needed for wide acceptance. However, when these special conditions

do not apply, EEEL prefers to provide industry with measurement capability that industry can use to

develop its own data, maximizing EEEL’s leverage.

Technology Development

EEEL regularly engages in technology development that directly supports its measurement mission.

For example, as part of developing or delivering new measurement capability, EEEL may find it

necessary to build a special instrument or an integrated circuit that embodies the new capability.

EEEL transfers the technology realized in that instrument or circuit to the private sector, along with

the associated measurement capability. Industry may modify the technology for incorporation in

commercial products. Also, EEEL sometimes develops technology used for analyzing measured data.

6
Examples include test strategies for complex electronic systems and expert-systems analyses for

semiconductor process lines.

EEEL engages in only limited technology development that extends beyond its measurement mission.

EEEL limits the fraction of its resources so applied to about 10 percent of the total. For a

technology-development project to be undertaken, it must offer unusually high impact. Also, there

must be specials reasons for EEEL to be the performer. For example, the project may have arisen

from a fortuitous discovery at NIST, or it may require facilities or capabilities available only at NIST.

There are important reasons why EEEL limits the technology development that it undertakes outside

of its measurement mission:

EEEL generally finds that measurement development has the highest impact among the

deliverables that it can provide.

EEEL’s funding level is far short of that required to meet all of the principal measurement needs

of the U.S. electronics, electric-power, and electrical equipment industries. Therefore, any

technology development undertaken outside of the measurement mission reduces the level of

measurement support that EEEL can provide to U.S. industry.

Other programs exist to fund technology development, and some have considerable resources.

Thus, the additional resources that EEEL could provide would not, in themselves, be significant.

Electronic data exchange is an example of a major technology-development project to which EEEL

and other parts of NIST are contributing. This is a national effort. The national goal is the

development of methods for codifying information to support multiple industrial needs. An important

application is specifying products for manufacturing. EEEL’s contributes objectivity to the broader

effort focused on developing improvements in the infrastructure used for marketing electronic

products. Even though this project is not focused on measurement development, EEEL’s role has a

measurement character: EEEL will develop methods for testing proposed schemes for data exchange.

Fundamental Research

EEEL defines fundamental research by the nature of the work conducted, not by the reason for

undertaking it:12

Fundamental research is the pursuit of the discovery or the understanding of the fundamental

phenomena of nature.

EEEL conducts considerable fundamental research as an integral part of many of its measurementdevelopment projects. This is not surprising, since new measurement capability is generally

developed at the leading edges of science and technology. Further, EEEL endeavors to maintain a

fundamental-research effort in every broad program area. Such research is an important means of

nucleating pathbreaking measurement capability. For example, EEEL laid the bases for the present

Josephson voltage standard with two successful theoretical inquiries: one on the interactions of series

arrays of Josephson junctions, and the other on chaos in Josephson junctions.

7
Most of the fundamental-research projects that EEEL pursues Table 5: MEANS OF DELIVERY

Communications FY 1998

publications 230

software requests 297

talks 228

consultations 2000

visits 250

visitors 375

meetings

contributors 41

attendees 3000

Joint Activities

standards organizations

staff participating 45

memberships 80

professional societies

memberships 140

cooperative research 150

consortia (incl. forming) 6

guest workers 89

Paid Services

custom measurement development

other agency contracts 105

cooperative research and

development agreements 11

standard reference materials

types available 22

number sold 236

calibration service customers 300

training

courses 9

attendees 300

are focused on topics likely to have outcomes benefitting

measurement development for U.S. industry. That is, EEEL

conducts directed fundamental research. EEEL does not

bound the amount of directed fundamental research that it

conducts to support its measurement mission. The amount

conducted is determined by the needs of the individual

projects pursued. For a given project, that amount may be

80 percent of project resources or next to nothing.

EEEL conducts some fundamental research that is not

focused on immediate measurement needs. The criteria for

identifying suitable projects are similar to those for

technology development: unusual opportunity for high

impact, and some special reason for EEEL to be the

performer. Examples include EEEL’s work on determining

values for the fundamental physical constants, such as the

fine-structure constant and the gyromagnetic ratio of the

proton.

MEANS OF DELIVERY

EEEL provides its deliverables by three principal means, as

Table 6: FY 1998 RESOURCES

Funds (in EEEL) $millions percent

NIST Funding 36.0 74

Other Agency Funding 8.4 17

Other Funding 4.6 9

total 49.0 100

Funds (outside EEEL) 7.5

Staff number percent

paid

full-time permanent 271 65

other 27 7

total paid 298 72

unpaid

guest researchers 51 12

other non-employees 67 16

total unpaid 117 28

total 415 100

shown in Table 5: communications, joint activities, and paid

services. FY 1998 levels of activity are shown in the table.

These means of delivery involve regular interactions with

industry, government agencies, and educational institutions.

The interactions are essential to planning as well as to

delivery. Over recent years, the levels of activity associated

with the various means of delivery have varied up and down

but generally not with distinct trends. Staff members are operating at capacity in terms of the number

of technology-transfer activities that they can

handle.

RESOURCES

EEEL’s funding and staff resources for FY 1998,

the most recently completed year, are shown in

Table 6. EEEL’s funding is shown in two major

categories: (1) the funds expended in EEEL, and

(2) the funds expended outside EEEL. This

second category represents the funds that EEEL

transfers to other NIST laboratories for work

supportive of its programs. For the funds

expended in EEEL, the "NIST Funding" is

provided by the Congress directly to NIST. The

"Other Agency Funding" is transferred to NIST by

other Federal agencies for the development of

8
measurement capability supporting their programs. The "Other Funding" comes from multiple

sources, including calibrations services provided to EEEL’s customers. The funds expended outside

EEEL but inside NIST are a combination of funds provided by the Congress directly to NIST and

funds provided by other Federal agencies.

PLANNING

EEEL’s planning process includes five Table 7: PUBLISHED PLANNING DOCUMENTS

Publication Typical Time

Document Interval Horizon

(years) (years)

needs assessments varies 10 forward

strategic plan 1 5 forward

program plan 1 3 backward, 2 forward

technical accomplishments 1 1 backward

impact studies varies 10-20 backward

principal steps. Each step is reflected in

one of the five types of published

documents shown in Table 7. Also

included there are the publication intervals

and time horizons currently applicable to

those documents.

The needs assessments identify the

principal measurement capability for

which industry needs NIST’s assistance. The electronics industry was examined in Measurements

for Competitiveness in Electronics in 1993. Since then EEEL has expanded upon this analysis by

conducting a number of additional assessments that maintain a current picture of the key needs for

the electronics industry. The electrical-power industry was examined in Measurement Support for

the U.S. Electric-Power Industry in the Era of Deregulation in 1997.13 Both studies were prepared

by EEEL in consultation with U.S. industry and other NIST laboratories.

The strategic plan describes the overall directions of EEEL’s programs in response to industry’s needs

and describes the most important planned outputs. The program plan (this document) implements the

strategic directions with specific program objectives and planned tasks. The program plan also

describes completed tasks extending backward typically three years. The technical-accomplishments

document describes selected accomplishments for the most recently completed year in a form suitable

for the general reader. The impact studies translate selected accomplishments into economic and

other terms and provide perspective helpful in planning new work.

Table 8 provides more information about the two types of planning documents published at varying

intervals: the measurement needs assessments and the impact studies. In addition, two key activities

that support assessing measurement needs are broken out separately: surveys of industry’s

measurement needs conducted by EEEL, and reviews of the measurement needs assessments by

industry. Table 8 shows the documents published in FY 1993 through FY 1998 and, also, the

documents contemplated for publication in FY 1999. A full list of all of the documents referenced

in Table 8 is contained in the endnote.14

As indicated in the key at the bottom of the Table 8, the assessments are marked "a". The review

is marked "r" in the table. Reviews may be conducted before or after the publication of the

assessment for a given technical field. If conducted afterward, the reviews contribute to the next

assessment for the named technical field. The surveys are marked "s" in the table. They may employ

a written questionnaire, telephone calls, or visits to gather information from industry’s technical and

managerial personnel. The impact studies are marked "i" in the table. Impact studies are sponsored

by EEEL or the NIST Program Office and are conducted with the assistance of external economists

and industry experts to determine how completed work has affected industry.

9
EEEL employs other mecha- Table 8: MEASUREMENT NEEDS AND

IMPACT DOCUMENTS

Fields Fiscal Year

’93 ’94 ’95 ’96 ’97 ’98 ’99

semiconductors a,s . . a,s . a,i

magnetics a......

superconductors ai.....

optoelectronics a,r . . . . . i

low frequency .......

radio frequency a.... i

computers .......

video r,a . . . . . .

power ..i.a..

Cross-Cutting Fields

national electrical standards . . . . . .i

electromagnetic compatibility r,a . r . s a .

electronic data exchange .......

____________

a =assessment of industry’s measurement needs

r =review of measurement needs assessment

s =survey of industry’s measurement needs

i =impact study

nisms to gather information

important for planning. These

mechanisms may or may not

result in published documents.

Among them are individual

contacts with industry

representatives by all staff

members, round-robin

measurement intercomparisons,

informal customer surveys, and

workshops. EEEL and other

laboratories at NIST also

participate in the development

of industry "roadmaps" that lay

out long-range plans for

technical progress and

improved competitiveness in

specific industries. The

roadmaps have implications for

needed measurement support

from NIST but address the specific needs to varying degrees. Examples of roadmaps important for

the electronics industry are these: (1) The National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (1997),

under the auspices of the Semiconductor Industry Association, which describes specific measurement

needs;15 (2) the Optoelectronic Technology Roadmap: Conclusions and Recommendations (October

1996), under the auspices of the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA), which

identifies the need for improved measurement capability;16 (3) the National Electronics

Manufacturing Technology Roadmaps (December 1996), under the auspices of the National

Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI), which identifies specific measurement needs, and a new

issue is planned for publication in FY 1999;17 and (4) the Optical Disk Storage Roadmap (June

1996), under the auspices of the National Storage Industry Consortium (NSIC) in collaboration with

OIDA, which addresses industry directions but not yet associated measurement needs;18 and (5)

Metrology for Optoelectronics, An OIDA Workshop Report (October 1998), which addresses specific

measurement needs.19

ORGANIZATION OF THIS PROGRAM PLAN

The fields of technology that EEEL presently addresses, or plans to address in future years, are shown

in Table 9. They provide the basis for the organization of this program plan. Each field of

technology is associated with a responsive EEEL program of the same name. This structure has the

advantage that it is readily accessible to the three supported industries and thus facilitates

communication with EEEL’s customers.

Almost all of these fields are seeing rapid advances in technology, in either product technology or

manufacturing technology, or both. They are all the subject of current or foreseeable intense

competitive pressures. They are increasingly interdependent technologies; success in any one of them

is generally tied to success in one or more of the others. Because of this interdependency, it is not

possible to create entirely separable fields to describe these technologies and the products made from

10
them. The arrangement in Table 9, however, has been Table 9: FIELDS SERVED (PRESENT

AND FUTURE)

Fields

semiconductors

silicon present

compound semiconductors present

magnetics

magnetic information storage present

magnetic sensing present

power materials future

superconductors

low temperature present

high temperature present

optoelectronics

lasers present

optical-fiber communications present

optical-fiber sensors present

optical information storage present

optical signal processing future

optical computing future

low frequency

alternating current present

direct current present

radio frequency

signal processing present

computing present

transmission present

computers future

video

vision (cameras) future

signal processing present

transmission present

information storage present

display present

power

generation future

transmission present

control present

storage future

conversion present

Cross-Cutting Fields

national electrical standards present

electromagnetic compatibility present

electronic data exchange present

found workable. In this scheme, products are

generally associated with the first applicable field on

the list, as described in the following several

paragraphs.

Four materials fields of technology lead the list. They

are semiconductors, magnetics, superconductors, and

optoelectronics. They focus on measurement support

provided for those materials and for discrete

components and integrated components that are most

conveniently classified by the key material from which

they are made.

Two frequency-based fields of technology follow.

They are low frequency and radio frequency. They

focus on measurement support for materials, discrete

components, integrated components, and equipment

that are most conveniently classified by the frequency

region employed.

The computer field of technology provides a location

for measurement support for equipment and systems

important to computers and their peripherals and

beyond the measurement support provided for

materials and components under other fields.

The video field of technology focuses on measurement

support for integrated components, equipment, and

systems that are specific to video and that are beyond

the broadly applicable component technologies

addressed in earlier entries in the table.

The power field of technology focuses on

measurement support for materials, equipment, and

systems of principal interest to the electric-power

industry and the electrical-equipment industry but also

to other industries, such as the automotive industry.

Finally, three cross-cutting fields are shown. The first

of these is national electrical standards. This field focuses on measurement reference standards for

the most fundamental dc (direct-current or zero-frequency) quantities, such as dc voltage, dc current,

and dc resistance. These standards enable achieving high levels of absolute accuracy in measuring

these quantities. They also provide reference values used to support the measurement of related ac

(alternating-current or above-zero-frequency) quantities up to very high frequencies. In this way, the

national electrical standards support the products of virtually all other fields of technology in the

table. These national electrical standards underpin the national measurement system for electrical

11
quantities. These standards also support U.S. participation in the determination of international

electrical standards.

The second cross-cutting field is electromagnetic compatibility. It addresses the measurement support

required to achieve two related purposes: reduced unwanted emissions of electromagnetic energy

from electronic and electrical products; and increased immunity of products to incoming

electromagnetic energy. By so doing, this field supports the products associated with virtually every

other field in the table.

The third and final cross-cutting field is electronic data exchange. It focuses on test methods for the

evaluation of data systems intended to support the development and manufacture of the products of

virtually all other fields of technology in the table. For example, the automated product descriptions

that are a part of electronic data exchange support the manufacturing of electronic and electrical

products.

EEEL provides some measurement support for all of the fields of technology marked "present" in

Table 9. EEEL sees a need to provide support for the several fields marked "future" in the table but

lacks the resources to launch significant programs.

EEEL collaborates with other NIST laboratories in providing needed support so that their special

skills in related technologies, such as chemistry and mechanical engineering, can be brought into the

service of the electronics, electrical-equipment, and electric-power industries. As with any industry,

these industries require a broader diversity of support than any one NIST laboratory can provide. As

a result EEEL engages in many collaborative activities with other NIST laboratories. The number

of such collaborations typically falls between 30 and 60 per year.

The pages that follow describe EEEL’s program plan in detail. The program plan is arranged by the

programs that correspond one-for-one to the fields of technology shown in Table 9. Each program

is composed of a number of projects. The projects are the fundamental building blocks of this

program plan. A full list of all of the projects is provided in Table 11 on page 15. Also, within the

plan, the page introducing each program indicates any changes in the project structure of that program

for 1999.

Descriptions of the projects begin on page 21. The descriptions cover objectives, background

information, resources, the specific tasks addressed, the milestones required to complete these tasks,

and accomplishments. These descriptions look both forward and backward in time in order to set the

current work in context.

ORGANIZATION OF EEEL

EEEL’s programs are implemented through the two offices and five divisions that comprise EEEL’s

organizational structure. A crosswalk from the programs to the organizational units principally

conducting them is shown Table 10. The table indicates that a given organizational unit may support

the programs associated with more than one field of technology. For example, the Electricity

Division supports the programs associated with five fields of technology directly. In addition, a given

program may be supported by more than one Division. That relationship is not shown in the table.

12
The five divisions in EEEL Table 10: CROSSWALK BETWEEN EEEL’S PROGRAMS AND

PRINCIPAL CONDUCTING ORGANIZATIONS

PROGRAMS:

FIELDS OF TECHNOLOGY

ORGANIZATIONS:

OFFICES AND DIVISIONS

Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

Office of Microelectronics Programs

Magnetics Electromagnetic Technology Division

Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

Low Frequency Electricity Division

Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Video Electricity Division

Power Electricity Division

National Electrical Standards Electricity Division

Electromagnetic Compatibility Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Electronic Data Exchange Electricity Division

Law Enforcement Office of Law Enforcement Standards

manage programs conducted

within their own

organizational units. The two

offices matrix manage

programs conducted across the

NIST Laboratories.

The first of the two offices is

the Office of Microelectronics

Programs (OMP). It manages

the NIST-wide National

Semiconductor Metrology

Program (NSMP), which is a

focused, matrix-managed

effort addressing those

measurement needs that the

industry has identified in its

National Technology Roadmap

for Semiconductors. This

office and the program it

manages are NIST funded.

NSMP projects are conducted

within EEEL and four other

NIST Laboratories: the

Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory, the

Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory, and the Physics Laboratory.

The second of the two offices is the Office of Law Enforcement Standards. It manages a NIST-wide

program in support of the criminal-justice community and also conducts some of the work of the

program. This program is funded entirely by three other Federal agencies: the National Institute of

Justice of the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the

U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Office of Management and Budget of the Executive

Office of the President. The program is conducted both within NIST and outside of NIST. Within

NIST, EEEL and five other NIST laboratories participate: the Building and Fire Research Laboratory,

the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, the Information Technology Laboratory, the

Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory, and the Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory.

Outside of NIST, the participants include Government agencies and research laboratories, universities,

and companies. International collaborations are also employed.

Table 12 on page 15 associates every project in this program plan with the EEEL organization

conducting it, including all five divisions and the two offices.

13
Table 11: EEEL PROGRAMS AND THEIR PROJECTS

PROGRAMS PROJECTS

SEMICONDUCTORS

NIST-Wide Semiconductor Programs

Metrology for Nanoelectronics

Optical Characterization Metrology

Scanning-Probe Microscope Metrology

Thin-Film Process Metrology

Metrology for Simulation and Computer-Aided Design

Metrology for Process and Tool Control

Gate Dielectric and Interconnect Reliability Metrology

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

Plasma Chemistry - Plasma Processing

MAGNETICS

Magnetic Recording Technology

Magnetic Instruments and Materials Characterization

Nanoprobe Imaging for Magnetic Technology

SUPERCONDUCTORS

Superconductor Interfaces and Electrical Transport

High Performance Sensors, Converters, and Mixers

Josephson Array Development

Nanoscale Cryoelectronics

High-Tc Electronics

Superconductor Standards and Technology

OPTOELECTRONICS

Dielectric Materials and Devices

Semiconductor Materials and Devices

Fiber and Discrete Components

Integrated Optics Metrology

Optical Fiber Sensors

Optical Fiber Metrology

High Speed Source and Detector Measurements

Laser Radiometry

LOW FREQUENCY

AC-DC Difference Standards and Measurement Techniques

Waveform Acquisition Devices and Standards

Waveform Synthesis and Impedance Metrology

Measurements for Complex Electronic Systems

RADIO FREQUENCY

High-Speed Microelectronics Metrology

Nonlinear Device Characterization

Power, Voltage, and Impedance Standards and Measurements

Network Analysis and Measurement

Noise Standards and Measurements

Antenna Measurement Theory and Application

Metrology for Antenna, Radar Cross Section and Space Systems

Electromagnetic Properties of Materials

VIDEO Video Technology

POWER Dielectrics Research

Metrology for Electric Power Systems

NATIONAL ELECTRICAL

STANDARDS

Ohm and Farad Realization and Dissemination

Quantum Voltage and Current

ELECTROMAGNETIC

COMPATIBILITY

Standard EM Fields and Transfer Probe Standards

Emission and Immunity Metrology

ELECTRONIC DATA EXCHANGE Infrastructure for Integrated Electronics Design

Infrastructure for Integrated Electronics Manufacturing

OFFICE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

STANDARDS Enabling Technologies for Criminal Justice Practitioners

14
Table 12: EEEL ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR PROJECTS

ORGANIZATIONS:

OFFICES AND DIVISIONS PROJECTS

SEMICONDUCTOR ELECTRONICS

DIVISION

Metrology for Nanoelectronics

Optical Characterization Metrology

Scanning-Probe Microscope Metrology

Thin-Film Process Metrology

Metrology for Simulation and Computer-Aided Design

Metrology for Process and Tool Control

Gate Dielectric and Interconnect Reliability Metrology

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

OFFICE OF MICROELECTRONICS

PROGRAMS NIST-Wide Semiconductor Programs

ELECTRICITY DIVISION

Plasma Chemistry - Plasma Processing

AC-DC Difference Standards and Measurement Techniques

Waveform Acquisition Devices and Standards

Waveform Synthesis and Impedance Metrology

Measurements for Complex Electronic Systems

Video Technology

Dielectrics Research

Metrology for Electric Power Systems

Ohm and Farad Realization and Dissemination

Quantum Voltage and Current

Infrastructure for Integrated Electronics Design

Infrastructure for Integrated Electronics Manufacturing

RADIO-FREQUENCY

TECHNOLOGY DIVISION

High Speed Microelectronics Metrology

Nonlinear Device Characterization

Power, Voltage, and Impedance Standards and Measurements

Network Analysis and Measurement

Noise Standards and Measurements

Antenna Measurement Theory and Application

Metrology for Antenna, Radar Cross Section and Space Systems

Electromagnetic Properties of Materials

Standard Electromagnetic Fields and Transfer Probe Standards

Emission and Immunity Metrology

ELECTROMAGNETIC

TECHNOLOGY DIVISION

Magnetic Recording Metrology

Magnetic Instruments and Materials Characterization

Nanoprobe Imaging for Magnetic Technology

Superconductor Interfaces and Electrical Transport

High-Performance Sensors, Converters, and Mixers

Josephson Array Development

Nanoscale Cryoelectronics

High-Tc Electronics

Superconductor Standards and Technology

OPTOELECTRONICS DIVISION

Dielectric Materials and Devices

Semiconductor Materials and Devices

Fiber and Discrete Components

Integrated Optics Metrology

Optical Fiber Sensors

Optical Fiber Metrology

High Speed Source and Detector Measurements

Laser Radiometry

OFFICE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT

STANDARDS Enabling Technologies for Criminal Justice Practitioners

15
ENDNOTES

1. EEEL’s most recent analysis of the composition of its customer base was conducted in 1991 and reflected

the preceding five-year period.

2. All shipments figures in the table are product data in current dollars. Product data reflect all products

classified in the named industry and sold by all industries. Employment figures are industry data.

Industry data reflect all products and services sold by establishments in the named industry, whether or

not the products are classified in that industry. There is some overlap in the products listed in the table.

Some electronic products are included in the automotive and aerospace industries. This overlap arises

because there is no set of codes in the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) System, on which all of

the figures in the table are based, that is devoted exclusively to the electronics industry. The superscripts

in the table refer to the notes that follow: (a) 1998 Electronic Market Data Book, Electronic Industries

Alliance, pp. 1-1 (1998). The data associated with (b), (c), (d), (e) come from the International Trade

Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce and are published in the Statistical Abstract of the

United States 1998, CD-COMP-ABSTR97 (March 1998): (b) the figures shown reflect both the motorvehicle bodies (Table No. 1462) and supporting parts industries (Table No. 1439); (c) Table No. 1416;

(d) Table No. 1428; and (e) Table No. 1463.

3. 1998 Electronic Market Data Book, Electronic Industries Alliance, p. 1-4 (1998).

4. 1998 Electronic Market Data Book, Electronic Industries Alliance, p. 1-1 (1998).

5. 1997 Electronic Market Data Book, Electronic Industries Alliance, pp. 2-3 (1997). The balance of trade

for 1996 is positive for electron tubes, telecommunications, defense communications, industrial

electronics, and electromedical equipment. The balance is negative for passive components, solid-state

products, consumer products, and computers and peripherals. Together electron tubes, solid-state

products, and passive components comprise the category electronic components which is negative overall.

6. Data provided by the Edison Electric Institute, October 30, 1998.

7. Gerald J. FitzPatrick, James K. Olthoff, and Ronald M. Powell, Measurement Support for the U.S.

Electric-Power Industry in the Era of Deregulation, Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory,

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Report No. NISTIR 6007 (May 1997).

8. Statistical Yearbook of the Electric Utility Industry 1995, Edison Electric Institute, p. 82 (1997). The

value of 1.3 percent was calculated for 1994.

9. The last estimate of the size of this industry made by EEEL for the year 1990, $48 billion, Measurements

for Competitiveness in Electronics, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Report No. NISTIR

4583, p. 38 (1993). The definition used for the electrical-equipment industry, in terms of SIC codes, was

developed at NIST but was influenced by the products of interest to the members of the National

Electrical Manufacturers Association. The definition excludes products which employ electrical

components for practical applications. For example, excluded are household appliances, transportation

equipment, and manufacturing equipment. Most of these excluded products are as much the products

of other industries. Further, the excluded products are difficult to bound because electricity is used so

widely. Also, excluded from the definition are electronic products. For the most part, they are the

products that apply electricity in electrical form rather than as motion, light, heat, or electrolytic action.

16
10. Measurements for Competitiveness in Electronics, First Edition, Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Report No. NISTIR 4583, from the data for

1990 in Table 13 on p. 38 (April 1993).

11. Measurements for Competitiveness in Electronics, First Edition, Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Report No. NISTIR 4583 (April 1993).

12. Some definitions of fundamental research exclude any research undertaken with a view to achieving

practical benefits from its successful completion. That is, they add the notion of lack of specific purpose,

or for the purpose of advancing knowledge only, to the definition, even if the nature of the work is

unaffected by this addition.

13. Gerald J. FitzPatrick, James K. Olthoff, and Ronald M. Powell, Measurement Support for the U.S.

Electric-Power Industry in the Era of Deregulation, Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory,

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Report No. NISTIR 6007 (May 1997).

14. All documents referenced in Table 8 are shown below. They cover the period FY 1993 to FY 1999.

Years shown in the left column are fiscal years.

Semiconductors

1993 a Chapter 4, "Semiconductors", Measurements for Competitiveness in Electronics, First Edition,

Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and

Technology, Report No. NISTIR 4583 (April 1993).

1993 s "Hg1-xCxTe Characterization Measurements: Current Practice and Future Needs",

Semiconductor Science and Technology, Vol. 8, pp. 753-776 (1993).

1996 a Semiconductor Characterization: Present Status and Future Needs, W. Murray Bullis, David

G. Seiler, and Alain C. Diebold, ed., published by the American Institute of Physics (1996).

Reporting on the International Workshop on Semiconductor Characterization: Present Status

and Future Needs, a workshop on measurement needs conducted on January 30-February 2,

1995 in Gaithersburg, MD, sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency,

SEMATECH, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and other organizations.

s Survey of Optical Characterization Methods for Materials, Processing, and Manufacturing

in the Semiconductor Industry, National Institute of Standards and Technology Special

Publication 400-98 (November 1995).

1999 a International Conference on Characterization and Metrology for ULSI Technology, a

conference on measurement needs to be held on March 23-27, 1998, in Gaithersburg, MD,

sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, SEMATECH, the

Semiconductor Research Cooperative, the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute,

and the American Vacuum Society’s Manufacturing Science and Technology Division.

Proceedings should be published in 1999.

1999 i Economic impact study of power-device modeling, underway.

Magnetics

1993 a Chapter 5, "Magnetics", Measurements for Competitiveness in Electronics, First Edition.

17
Superconductors

1993 a Chapter 6, "Superconductors", Measurements for Competitiveness in Electronics, First Edition.

1994 i Robert L. Peterson, "An Analysis of the Impact on U.S. Industry of the NIST/Boulder

Superconductivity Programs: An Interim Study", Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Report No. NISTIR 5012

(November 1993).

Optoelectronics: Lasers

1993 a Chapter 8, "Lasers", Measurements for Competitiveness in Electronics, First Edition.

1993 r Industry review: Chapter 8, "Lasers", Measurements for Competitiveness in Electronics, First

Edition.

1999 i Economic impact study of laser and fiber-optic power calibrations services.

Optoelectronics: Optical-Fiber Communications

1993 a Chapter 9, "Optical-Fiber Communications", Measurements for Competitiveness in

Electronics, First Edition.

1993 r Industry review: Chapter 9, "Optical-Fiber Communications", Measurements for

Competitiveness in Electronics, First Edition.

Optoelectronics: Optical-Fiber Sensors

1993 a Chapter 10, "Optical-Fiber Sensors", Measurements for Competitiveness in Electronics, First

Edition.

1993 r Industry review: Chapter 10, "Optical-Fiber Sensors", Measurements for Competitiveness in

Electronics, First Edition.

Radio Frequency

1993 a Chapter 7, "Microwaves", Measurements for Competitiveness in Electronics, First Edition.

1999 i Economic impact study of near-field antenna measurements, underway.

Video

1993 r Industry review of draft of Chapter 11, "Video", Measurements for Competitiveness in

Electronics, First Edition.

1993 a Chapter 11, "Video", Measurements for Competitiveness in Electronics, First Edition.

Power

1995 i Albert N. Link, An Evaluation of the Economic Impacts Associated with the NIST Power and

Energy Calibration Services, Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory, National

Institute of Standards and Technology, Report No. NISTIR 5565 (January, 1995).

18
1997 a Gerald J. FitzPatrick, James K. Olthoff, and Ronald M. Powell, Measurement Support for the

U.S. Electric-Power Industry in the Era of Deregulation, Electronics and Electrical

Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Report No. NISTIR

6007 (May 1997).

National Electrical Standards

1999 i Economic impact study of the Josephson voltage standard.

Electromagnetic Compatibility

1993 r Industry review of draft of Chapter 12, "Electromagnetic Compatibility", Measurements for

Competitiveness in Electronics, First Edition.

1993 a Chapter 12, "Electromagnetic Compatibility", Measurements for Competitiveness in

Electronics, First Edition.

1995 r Industry review of EMI/EMC Metrology Challenges for Industry - A Workshop on

Measurements, Standards, Calibrations, and Accreditation, Boulder, Colorado (January 25-26,

1995).

1997 s Ramon C. Baird and Motohisa Kanda, Electromagnetic Compatibility: Results of a Limited

Survey, Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and

Technology, Report No. NISTIR 5049 (July 1997).

1998 a EMI/EMC Metrology Challenges for Industry: A Workshop on Measurements, Standards,

Calibrations, and Accreditation, Report No. NISTIR 5068 (November 1997).

15. The National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, Semiconductor Industry Association (1997).

16. Optoelectronic Technology Roadmap: Conclusions and Recommendations, Optoelectronics Industry

Development Association, p. 6 (October 1996).

17. National Electronics Manufacturing Technology Roadmaps, National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative,

Inc. (December 1996).

18. Optical Disk Storage Roadmap, National Storage Industry Consortium in collaboration with the

Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (June 1997).

19. Metrology for Optoelectronics: An OIDA Workshop Report, Optoelectronics Industry Development

Association (October 1998).

19
20
SEMICONDUCTORS

Office of Microelectronics Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Metrology for Nanoelectronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Optical Characterization Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Scanning-Probe Microscope Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Thin-Film Process Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Metrology for Simulation and Computer-Aided Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Metrology for Process and Tool Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Gate Dielectric and Interconnect Reliability Metrology* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Plasma Chemistry - Plasma Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

* This project combines the former "Dielectric Reliability Metrology" and "Interconnect Reliability Metrology"

projects.

21
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Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

Office of Microelectronics Programs

Office Director: Robert I. Scace

Robert Scace retired in December 1998, and Stephen Knight is serving

as Acting Director.

Staff-Years: 4 professionals (2 physicists, 1 physical chemist, 1 secretary)

Funding Sources: NIST

Objective: Develop and execute NIST's National Semiconductor Metrology

Program (NSMP); apply NIST-wide technical resources regardless of

organizational location to deliver solutions to highest priority

metrological problems of the semiconductor industry. Provide formal

liaison to SEMATECH, International SEMATECH and the

Semiconductor Research Corporation.

Background: NIST has developed metrology for the semiconductor industry for over 40

years in EEEL and its predecessors. Twelve years ago, the breadth of technology then applied

in semiconductor manufacturing clearly transcended EEEL's technical scope. New

appropriated funds were sought, and first obtained in 1991. The Semiconductor Industry

Association (SIA) took the initiative in defining and gaining Administration support for the

National Semiconductor Metrology Program, established in early 1994. The needs are

identified in the current National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, the third in a

series of needs documents developed with strong industry participation led by the SIA. The

technical program is confined by agreement to mainstream digital silicon complementary

metal oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology.

Current Tasks (Listed below are NSMP-funded tasks in other NIST organizations. NSMPfunded tasks within EEEL's domain are described elsewhere in this document):

1. Dimensional Metrology at the Nanometer Level

FY 1996 Completed installation and initial optimization of both the field-emission

scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and the proximal probe microscope

(PPM); Provided first-order feedback to the manufacturers of both of these

instruments regarding the functioning of the combined instrumentation

system.

FY 1997 Optimized the current PPM for operation in the FESEM in collaboration with

the manufacturer; Performed combined FESEM/PPM scans of the SEM

sharpness standard and RM 8090, SEM magnification artifact; Presented and

published the first papers on the combined tools.

FY 1998 Incorporated design improvements in the PPM, improving its performance in

the combined FESEM/PPM instrument; Imaged RM 2090, SEM

magnification standard.

FY 1999 Use the combined FESEM/PPM in the determination of the measurement

uncertainty of SEM standards and production wafer samples; Initiate study of

PPM tip stability and suppression of tip wear during measurements;

Incorporate a tuning-fork sensor into the PPM and upgrade stage design of

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Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

the combined FESEM/PPM to enable optimal measurements from both

instruments during simultaneous operation.

FY 2000 Investigate new probes and probe materials such as nanotubes into the PPM

by adapting methods devised for attaching probe tips onto tuning fork sensors

to these novel probes; Extend current capabilities of the combined

FESEM/PPM to enable in-vacuum investigations of PPM/electrical

correlation; Continue to refine the measurement uncertainty of the SEM

standards.

2. Nanometer Scale Metrology with Atomic Force Microscopy

FY 1996 Completed initial characterization of the Calibrated Atomic Force Microscope

(C-AFM) performance for pitch, height and width measurements; Completed

initial measurements of silicon single atom step height measurements.

FY 1997 Installed new z-stage in the C-AFM and reevaluated all motion errors in the

system to further reduce uncertainties; Received samples for first C-AFM

pitch measurements from an external customer; Completed new round of

measurements on silicon single atom step samples having reduced uncertainty

and improved agreement with the lattice constant value.

FY 1998 Completed top width measurements on several preferentially etched silicon

samples for the linewidth measurement comparison; Completed first report of

test pitch measurements with the C-AFM for an external customer, and

explored the use of such samples as pitch/height standards.

FY 1999 Perform first measurements of step height for external customer; Perform

more pitch measurements for external customers; Perform new round of

linewidth measurements with tip characterization for method intercomparison;

Evaluate sharp alternative tips, particularly carbon nanotubes, as probes in

the C-AFM; Continue evaluation of possible sample types for SRM 2089;

Perform preliminary evaluation of square-wave type samples for possible

roughness standards.

FY 2000 Perform additional pitch and height measurements for external customers;

Upgrade C-AFM scanner with a new z-stage and a new x-y stage to further

increase scan range and reduce motion errors; Begin measurements on

samples for initial release of SRM 2089; Complete second major round of

linewidth measurements with tip characterization for method intercomparison;

Complete evaluation of sharp alternative tips, particularly carbon nanotubes,

asprobes in the C-AFM; Complete evaluation of square-wave type samples for

possible roughness standards.

3. Linewidth Correlation

FY 1998 Completed "preliminary" C-AFM and SEM measurements, including

correction for probe-specimen interactions, of a SIMOX linewidth specimen.

FY 1999 Perform an improved intercomparison of AFM, SEM, and electrical critical

dimension results on a linewidth specimen, this intercomparison to include

improved measurement and analysis techniques as learned from the

preliminary measurements; Report preliminary results at SPIE

Microlithography meeting.

FY 2000 Intercomparisons on new samples; Incorporate any necessary revisions to edge

models into software and make the software available to SEMATECH (and

other interested parties).

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Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

4. Optical CD and Overlay Metrology

FY 1996 Stewart platform strut joint patent approved, licensed to industry; UV

linewidth and overlay microscope programming commenced for fully

automated instrument control and data acquisition; Major components of

overlay system assembled and tested; Optical system performance

demonstrated on industrially supplied 8" wafer overlay targets.

FY 1997 Aligned interferometers and qualified overlay metrology system;

Manufactured prototype microcone alignment artifacts and measured with the

overlay system; Wrote computer code for calibrating SRM 2800 on pitch

standard UV Microscope.

FY 1998 Completed programming of UV microscope hardware control system;

Performed preliminary measurements of SRM 2800 and develop software for

the calibration of SRM 2800; Designed and procured prototype

two-dimensional grid artifacts, microscale and macro 6" grid; Developed

automated focus algorithms and control hardware for the overlay tool;

Investigated and determined best method for edge detection for linewidth and

overlay target structures; Designed prototype conventional overlay standards

(design photomask and CAD files, established wafer processing and overlay

target levels).

FY 1999 Complete UV microscope program for linewidth calibrations; Design and

procure overlay SRM prototypes based on preceding measurements; Calibrate

SRM 2800 pitch standard; Procure and calibrate 6" photomask linewidth

SRM; Measure the microgrids on the 6" two-dimensional grids; Establish

measurement sequence and begin quantitative verification of that sequence on

the 6" two-dimensional grids; Improve edge detection and focus algorithms to

optimize repeatability and accuracy; Install new vibration isolation and

thermal stability systems on the overlay tool.

FY 2000 Calibrate conventional overlay standard artifacts as SRMs; Make calibrated 6"

two-dimensional grids and microscale grid photomasks available; Develop

self-calibration methods and apply methodology to overlay optical system and

data acquisition systems; Verify and make modeling results available for

transmission and reflection mode optical microscope modeling.

5. High Accuracy Two Dimensional Measurements

FY 1995 Developed and tested control system for Moore Model M48 coordinate

measuring machine; Began characterization of system accuracy for

measurement of large (up to 750 mm x 750 mm) grid plates; Developed and

tested positioning system for small grid measuring machine (M4).

FY 1996 First commercial calibrations of large grid plates made on NIST M48

coordinate measuring machine; Typical accuracy for 500 mm x 500 mm grid

is 0.40 μm; Completed development of small 200 mm x 200 mm measuring

machine (M4); Began characterization of geometric errors and development of

error map; Developed robust edge-finding algorithms for system, and began

study of methods divergence problems for grid mark edge finding.

FY 1997 Finished characterization of M4, including comparisons in one dimension

measurements with the NIST Line Scale Interferometer, the most common

traceability path for semiconductor length measurements; Continued

development of instruments and began design of industry interlaboratory tests

of length measurement capabilities; Continued study of calibration algorithms

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Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

for grid calibration, including partial closure methods which calibrate the test

grid and machine geometry using multiple measurements of a grid in multiple

positions and orientations.

FY 1998 Finished a study of the Least Average Deviation algorithm for robust edge

detection; Drafted research paper ready for submission and presentation

(probably to SPIE); Made the first attempt to measure machine straightness

by rotating a grid plate; Measurements of the machine error to check results

were started.

FY 1999 Begin a study of the Least Median of Squares method for edge fitting; The

self-calibration method developed under the 1998 SBIR grant will be tested

with data from the grid measuring machine; Study the effects of fixturing on

the calibration of grid plates; model the plate as it is fixtured on our machines

and transform to the undeformed state in response to industry needs for

califbration data for an undeformed plate; Analysis will be tested by

measurements on a commercial phase stepping flatness interferometer.

FY 2000 Upgrade the accuracy of the grid measuring machine (M4) substantially;

Design a metrology frame and fixturing system which will decouple the stage

errors from the measurement system (This approach has had great success on

research machine, although it is not generally available in commercial

instruments).

FY 2001 Test and characterize the newly upgraded grid measurement system.

6. Radiometric Metrology for Deep Ultraviolet Lithography

FY 1995 Developed method for calibrating discharge lamps used for ultraviolet

photoresist stabilization; Continued work with commercial partner to improve

accuracy of ultraviolet probes.

FY 1996 Upgraded refractometer to enable high-accuracy refractive-index

measurements and began measurements for SEMATECH/Lincoln Labs near

193 nm; Began development of dielectric barrier discharge source as potential

ultraviolet/deep ultraviolet standard.

FY 1997 Performed high-accuracy measurements of the refractive index of optical

materials and their temperature coefficients near 193 nm for

SEMATECH/Lincoln Labs; Built up new refractive-index-measurement

apparatus based on interferometry, capable of improved accuracy.

FY 1998 Measured the index of refraction, its dispersion, and its temperature

dependence to high accuracy (index 7 ppm) near 193 nm of several grades of

fused silica and calcium fluoride, using a goniometric refractometer;

Communicated these results to the lithography industry for design of the

193 nm stepper optics.

FY 1999 Measure the index of refraction to 1 ppm, as well as its dispersion, and its

temperature dependence near 193 nm of fused silica and calcium fluoride,

using a newly-built interferometric refractometer; Extend these measurements

to wavelengths near 157 nm for calcium fluoride to enable design of

future-generation 157 nm steppers; Explore excimer-irradiation induced

damage in detectors as a means of identifying stable UV semiconductor

photodiodes for irradiance measurements at 193 nm and 157 nm.

FY 2000 Continue making accurate measurements of the index of refraction, its

dispersion, and its temperature dependence to high accuracy (index 1ppm)

near 193 nm and 157 nm of fused silica and calcium fluoride as needed by

the lithography industry; Explore the relation between the refractive index and

26
Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

the grown-in and excimer-radiation-exposure-induced defects in these

materials; (These measurements will be coupled with an exploratory program

of defect characterization in these materials by spectroscopic and other

techniques.); Continuation of material properties characterization and detector

development to address the various radiometric needs in the lithography

industry.

7. Fundamental Process Control Metrology for Gases

FY 1995 Developed prototype calibration system for partial pressure residual gas

analyzers (RGAs); Developed primary and transfer flow standards for inert

gases (10 to 1000 sccm); Published comparative evaluation of thermal mass

flow controllers.

FY 1996 Developed model for residual gas analyzers that qualitatively describes

commercial RGA performance in high pressure operation (0.001 to 0.1 Pa);

Developed primary and transfer flow standards for inert gases (0.1 to 10

sccm); Conducted initial on-site flow proficiency tests with four mass flow

controllers manufacturers (5 to 1000 sccm).

FY 1997 Developed a methodology to optimize commercial RGAs for semiconductor

process control; Performed flow proficiency tests with gas handling suppliers

to the semiconductor industry; Developed primary flow standards with

uncertainties less than 0.05% (1 to 1000 sccm).

FY 1998 Designed in situ RGA calibration system, obtained performance data for

closed-ion-source (CIS) RGAs. Designed and assembled in situ flow standard

for use with process gases (e.g., WF6).

FY 1999 Calibrate RGAs with reactive process gases, develop RGA gas sampling

system for semiconductor process tool; Test in situ flow calibration

techniques with reactive process gases.

FY 2000 Incorporate calibrated RGAs into tungsten deposition process control loop;

Calibrate and evaluate performance of acoustic flowmeter with process gases.

8. Low Concentration Humidity Standards

FY 1995 Demonstrated quantitative capability of optical cavity ring-down spectroscopy

(CRDS) for trace contaminant measurement; Completed construction of

prototype low frost-point moisture generator.

FY 1996 Began intercomparison, in cooperation with LFPG (low-frost-point-moisturegenerator) SEMI, of low moisture concentration measurement instruments and

transfer standards in the 1 -100 parts-per-million range; Demonstrated

quantitative measurements of contaminants in gases below 1 ppm using

CRDS.

FY 1997 In cooperation with SEMI, continued intercomparison for moisture

concentration in the 1 - 100 ppm range, and began evaluation of permeationtube-based working standards in the 10 - 100 parts-per-billion range;

Demonstrated capability to deliver parts-per-million down to parts-per-billion

levels of humidity using the LFPG; Made absolute ppb-level measurements of

LFPG output moisture concentration using a quantitative optical absorption

technique.

FY 1998 Demonstrated quantitative measurements of LFPG output using a

prototype commercial hygrometer based on modulation spectroscopy;

Continued intercomparisons of low moisture working standards.

27
Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

FY 1999 Demonstrate quantitative measurements of LFPG output using CRDS;

Continue intercomparisons of low moisture working standards; Measure

the vapor pressure of water ice between -70°C and -100°C using

CRDS.

FY 2000 Improve LFPG by extending lower temperature range down to -120°C,

allowing measurements down to ~140 ppt water vapor in air;

experimentally determine enhancement factor for water and vapor/gas

mixtures between -70°C and -100°C.

9. Plasma and CVD Process Measurements

FY 1995 Demonstrated utility of radio frequency (rf) measurements to monitor polymer

build-up in plasma reactors; Modified Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC)

rf Reference Cell to accept inductively coupled plasma source;

Measured/published spatial distribution of carbon-fluorine (CF) radicals in

carbon tetrafluoride/oxygen/argon plasmas.

FY 1996 Performed critical review of available electron collision data for carbon

tetrafluoride (CF4) and trifluoromethane (CHF3) and constructed World Wide

Web-based database; Transferred rf electrical measurement techniques

(hardware and software) to a specialty gas supplier and began investigation of

electrical properties of nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) discharges; Measured

electron density and energy distribution functions in the inductively coupled

plasma source for wide range of gases and plasma conditions; Measured first

time-resolved optical emission spectra of rf biased electrode sheaths in

inductively coupled plasma reactor.

FY 1997 Measured light emission from and the density of CF2 radicals in O2/CF4 and

C2F6 chamber cleaning plasmas using optical emission and planar laser

induced fluorescence, respectively; Developed new non-intrusive technique for

measuring ion current at wafers exposed to high-density plasmas which may

be suitable for use as an ion-current sensor in industrial reactors; Measured

effect of coil geometry and termination on plasma uniformity in inductivelycoupled GEC Cells; Compared new diagnostic (plasma oscillation probe) for

measuring plasma electron densities with Langmuir probe measurements;

Measured degree of molecular dissociation in gas mixtures with argon in

inductively-coupled GEC Cell; Extended electron interaction database to

include dichloro-difluoromethane (CCl2F2) perfluoroethane (C2F6).

FY 1998 Measured CF2 densities in chamber cleaning plasma using planar laser

induced fluorescence and correlated densities with electrical parameters;

Developed a new model of ion dynamics in the plasma sheath region

accounting for time variation of the ion current and compared with

experiment; Developed tomography code to measure plasma uniformity in

high-density etching reactors; Measured absolute, mass resolved ion fluxes

and energies in the inductively-coupled GEC cell; Extended electron

interaction database to include C3F8.

FY 1999 Perform measurement of CF2 radical densities in inductively-coupled GEC

cell using planar laser induced fluorescence; Develop high accuracy model of

ion dynamics in plasma sheath; Develop IR laser absorption spectroscopy and

tera-hertz spectroscopy as plasma diagnostics to measure density and

temperature of plasma species; Study optical emission and ion flux in pulsed

plasmas; Extend electron interaction database to include Cl2 and SF6.

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Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

10. Metrology for Contamination-Free Manufacturing

FY 1996 Completed first tests of numerical model for nucleation and transport of

contaminant particles in a rotating disk CVD reactor; Completed fabrication

of the reference rotating disk reactor to be used for model validation.

FY 1997 Developed particle contaminant models for prototypical perfectly-stirred and

plug flow reactor configurations; Silicon hydride physical/chemical property

database established on World Wide Web.

FY 1998 Began in situ temperature measurements in reference rotating disk chemical

vapor deposition (CVD) reactor as initial stage in determining parameter

regimes that are susceptible to particle formation during thin film growth;

Modified rotating disk reactor contaminant model to simulate injected

particles which will be used to test experimental particle measurement

capabilities during FY 1999.

FY 1999 Complete numerical/experimental temperature comparisons in reference

rotating disk CVD reactor; Demonstrate particle measurement capabilities

(and compare with model results) using injected particles with known

characteristics; Complete addition of thermochemical data on silicon

oxyhydrides to existing database on the World Wide Web.

FY 2000 Perform experimental measurements of gas-phase generated contaminants in

reference rotating disk CVD reactor; Modify rotating disk reactor contaminant

model as necessary in order to accurately simulate experimental conditions.

11. Temperature Measurement for Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP)

FY 1998 Characterized the Test Bed temperature measurement chamber with different

reflective shields; Obtained results for comparison of thin-film thermocouples

(TFTCs) and radiation thermometers (RTs) to within 5° C; Characterized

optical light pipe RTs against blackbodies to within 0.25° C; Developed test

method for determining Seebeck coefficient of thin-film thermocouples on

NIST TFTC test wafers; Tested Pt/Pd and Rh/Pt TFTCs on NIST TFTC test

wafers.

FY 1999 Achieve goal of 2° C accuracy for in-situ calibration of RT to meet NTRS

requirement; Develop Monte Carlo (MC) modeling for understanding effects

of temperature and property non-uniformity in the Test Bed chamber;

Develop improved thin-film calibration procedure to obtain +/- 1K calibration

uncertainty; Demonstrate thin-film thermocouple technology on production

RTP tools for use up to 1200 K; Develop RT measurements to match

thin-film performance up to 1200 K.

FY 2000 Develop family of MC models for describing RT performance in

production-type RTP chambers; Develop family of light pipe RT models to

explain calibration and in-tool behaviors; Demonstrate in-tool RT calibration

method using miniature blackbodies; Characterize TFTCs for durability,

stability, and repeatability in simulated industrial RTP environments for

temperatures up to 1300 K; Investigate performance of thin-film materials

including Pt, Pd, Rh, Ir, and Ru; Develop RT measurement methods to match

TFTC performance up to 1300 K.

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Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

12. Particle Measurements in Support of the Semiconductor Industry

FY 1996 In collaboration with SEMATECH and VLSI Standards, Inc., selected

commercially available monosize particles for the calibration of scanning

surface inspection systems.

FY 1997 Fabricated and performed initial characterization of three monosize

dispersions of polystyrene spheres in the 90 nm to 220 nm size range and

developed improved model for the measurement system.

FY 1998 Completed the characterization of three monosize dispersions of polystyrene

spheres with sizes of 92 nm, 127 nm, and 218 nm; these are to be used for

calibrating scanning surface inspection systems.

FY 1999 Deposit monosize calibration spheres on wafers for use by Physics Laboratory

for testing light scattering model; Complete report describing the

measurement of nominal 73 nm polystyrene spheres; Complete report on the

performance of electrospray for generating monosize particles over the size

range from 30 nm to 100 nm.

FY 2000 Develop the capability of generating and depositing monosize particles with

diameters as small as 30 nm.

13. Optical Scattering for Wafer Surface Metrology

FY 1996 With a commercial partner, developed reference wafers to calibrate fab line

haze meters; Developed methodology for characterizing

microroughness-induced optical scatter instrumentation.

FY 1997 Characterized polarization of light scattered from different scattering sources

on silicon wafers; Invented tool for improving particle detection limits on

rough surfaces; Developed software, to be available via the World Wide Web,

to enable manufacturers and users of light-scattering wafer inspection systems

to determine the response functions of their instruments.

FY 1998 Investigated polarized light scattering properties of etched vias on wafers;

Developed theory for polarized light scattering from defects and roughness in

dielectric layers; Characterized polarization of light scattered by a correlated

roughness SiO2 layer on silicon; Constructed scanning polarized optical scatter

instrument for inspection of silicon wafers.

FY 1999 Characterize polarization of light scattered by particles on silicon wafers,

demonstrating capability for particle sizing; Characterize light scattering from

defects and roughness in dielectric films; Demonstrate scanning polarized

optical scatter instrument capabilities for analyzing discrete defects on silicon

wafers; Model polarized light scattering from defects and etched vias using

finite-element methods; Extend software to include a suite of programs for

analyzing response of inspection systems to scattering from different sources.

FY 2000 Extend goniometric optical scatter instrument for measurements in the deep

ultraviolet to characterize wafers and optical elements; Construct nextgeneration polarized optical scatter instrument using polarization spatial

filtering.

14. Chemical Characterization of Thin Films and Particle Contaminants

FY 1997 Collaborated with MIT Lincoln Labs to characterize advanced processing

technologies being developed for silicon-on-insulator CMOS devices;

Developed and tested high-resolution, high-vacuum goniometer for

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Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

synchrotron grazing incidence x-ray photoelectron spectrometry; Installed and

validated field emission scanning electron microscope with x-ray analyzer;

Developed digital-image visibility standard for electron microscopy;

Determined x-ray spectroscopy signal-to-noise requirements for automated

X-ray analysis of particles.

FY 1998 Determined accuracy of electron microprobe analysis of thin film

composition; Characterized prototype standard TiN thin films on silicon;

Developed a method for improved elemental analysis of particles in the

scanning electron microscope; Developed electron diffraction analysis

software for the compound analysis and identification of thin films;

Collaborated with MIT Lincoln labs to optimize and characterize processing

parameters for advanced titanium silicide thin films.

FY 1999 Apply grazing incidence x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to characterize

oxygen on silicon; Perform interdisciplinary study to characterize the accuracy

of composition and thickness measurements of dielectric thin films;

Characterize the reaction of oxygen atoms with hydrogen-passivated silicon

surfaces.

15. Wafer and Chuck Flatness

FY 1996 Completed 300 mm flatness interferometer and made initial chuck distortion

measurements; Initiated commercialization activities on thickness

interferometer; Scaled up lap to 300 mm, demonstrated rapid silicon polishing

process and potential for chem-mechanical process (CMP) applications.

FY 1997 Demonstrated principle of use of Rapidly Renewable Lap (RRL) technology

for CMP of sheet oxide, copper and tungsten. Licensed RRL technology to

U.S. company; Demonstrated full procedure for phase shifting 300 mm

aperture flatness interferometer; Let contract to U.S. company to build 300

mm aperture IR interferometer, based on NIST developed technology, for

wafer thickness, thickness variation and bow.

FY 1998 Evaluated application of RRL to photomask blank polishing and repolishing;

Installed IR interferometer; Worked with manufacturer to refine the design

and construction of XCALIBIR – the NIST x-ray Optics Calibration

Interferometer designed for nm uncertainty of flats, spherical and mildly

aspheric optical surfaces.

FY 1999 Install and perform initial measurements using XCALIBIR.

FY 2000 Measure extreme ultraviolet (EUV) optics using XCALIBIR; Provide

calibration measurements for thickness and flatness for 300 mm wafers, as

required by industry.

16. Thin Film Profile Measurement Methods and Reference Materials

FY 1995 Introduced SRM 2137 as first boron implant in silicon standard; Organized

profilometry round-robin for Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) crater

depth measurements.

FY 1996 Developed neutron activation analysis protocol for arsenic in silicon; Began

developing methods for ultra-shallow profiling using SIMS.

FY 1997 Completed certification measurements of arsenic implant SRM for SIMS;

Developed molecular primary ion beam source for SIMS to improve depth

resolution; Demonstrated interlaboratory agreement to better than 3% by

SIMS in boron implant dose calibration using NIST SRM 2137 as reference.

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Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

FY 1998 Investigated delta-doped boron in silicon as prototype depth resolution

reference material; Improved output current and stability of polyatomic ion

source; Began feasibility study to measure phosphorus implant dose in

silicon by radiochemical neutron activation analysis.

FY 1999 Apply polyatomic ion source to depth-profiling of ultra-shallow boron

implants in silicon and collaborate with SEMATECH on comparisons;

Establish precision of arsenic implant dose measurements using SIMS in

collaboration with a commercial collaborator; Arrange to produce phosphorusimplant-in-silicon reference material and make certification measurements for

dose.

FY 2000 Produce SIMS depth resolution reference material; Issue phosphorus implant

reference material; Apply advanced cluster ion sputter source for depth

resolution improvement.

17. Interconnect Materials and Reliability Metrology

FY 1996 Tested polysilicon in sample microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)

devices. Explored the use of micromechanical resonators for determining the

elastic constants of metal thin films and determined excessively careful

specimen preparation to avoid out-of-plane bowing of the freed films would

be required.

FY 1997 Measured mechanical properties of metals for low-cost solder bumps;

Performed analysis on backscatter Kikuchi diffraction patterns from narrow

Cu conductors which had undergone stress voiding; Observed that grain

boundary triple junctions that favor rapid stress void growth may not

necessarily favor rapid electromigration void growth.

FY 1998 Measured local microstructures in stress-voided interconnects, and local

chemistries in blanket films; Measured thermal conductivity in thin film lines

using microscale test structures; Assisted outside company in assembling and

demonstrating their piezo-actuated microtensile tester, based on NIST's

design.

FY 1999 Determine effects of stress voiding on electromigration in narrow aluminumalloy interconnects; Demonstrate measurement technique for tensile testing of

few- and sub-μm-width copper and aluminum interconnect traces using atomic

force microscope-type devices to apply and measure the tensile force and the

resulting displacement.

FY 2000 Correlate morphology and microstructure of damascene copper interconnect

lines supplied by SEMATECH with processing variables; Explore use of

advanced microscope technology, SEM and/or AFM, as the experimental

environment for thin film tensile testing, to allow observation and testing of

sub-μm-width specimens.

18. Experimental Micromechanics by e-Beam Moiré

FY 1996 Extended electron beam moiré measurements to biaxial displacements;

Applied technique to measurement of thermal deformation of conductive

adhesives.

FY 1997 Measured local stresses and strains in flip-chip on glass structures.

FY 1998 Investigated the feasibility of using the atomic force microscope to make

moiré gratings with smaller pitches than possible by electron-beam

lithography; Demonstrated the use of electron beam moiré to quantify the

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Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

effect of underfill and solder-mask on the thermomechanical deformations in

a flip-chip on organic interconnect structure.

FY 1999 Evaluate new methods for making moiré gratings and demonstrate feasibility;

Evaluate improvements, resulting from design changes, in the

thermomechanical deformations in a flip-chip on organic interconnect

structure.

FY 2000 Implement new method for making a grating with the goal of sub-25 nm

pitches; Apply electron beam moiré to measure displacements at suspected

interfacial flaws identified by thermal microscopy.

19. Hygrothermal Expansion of Polymer Thin Films

FY 1996 Demonstrated capacitance cell measurement method for out-of-plane

coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of polymer thin films; Using near

infrared spectroscopy, concluded that moisture absorbed from a humid

environment by unfilled polyimide and epoxy molding resin is molecularly

dispersed.

FY 1997 Provided data on hygroscopic out-of-plane expansion of thin polymer films

used in electronic packaging; Worked with standards-setting bodies to

consider adopting capacitance cell technique for measuring expansion of thin

films.

FY 1998 The newly developed capacitance cell was used to perform measurements on

0.5 mm <0001> oriented single crystal Al2O3 samples to obtain its coefficient

of thermal expansion (CTE); Results were in excellent agreement with

literature values; Developed experimental protocols which reduced the

systematic and temperature-dependent relative uncertainties in the thickness

from 100 μm/m to 1 μm/m; Demonstrated validity of the data reduction

technique for a humid environment.

FY 1999 Complete a capacitance cell modification that will allow CTE measurements

of conducting films, as well as measurements on silicon; Work with the

Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits (IPC) to put

forth the capacitance cell as a standard test method; Identify industry's high

priority out-of-plane data needs for high density interconnect substrate

materials and provide these data to the Center for Information and Numerical

Data Synthesis and Analysis (CINDAS); Instrument manufacturers, material

suppliers and testing laboratories interested in adopting this technology will

be identified and contacted to enhance the industry exposure of this

capacitance cell technique).

FY 2000 Conclude the work on the capacitance cell, and in the years beyond 2000

work will be continued with material suppliers and testing laboratories to

broaden industrial acceptance of this capacitance cell technology; Correlation

between out-of-plane CTE and in-plane CTE for polymer thin films will be

examined in terms of the molecular orientation.

20. Solderability Measurements for Microelectronics

FY 1996 Research showing errors present in the interpretation of dynamic and

nonisothermal wetting balance tests was published in ASME Journal

of Electronic Packaging; Results were incorporated in new standard tests

proposed by the Institute for Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic

Circuits (IPC) Solderability Committee.

33
Semiconductors Office of Microelectronics Programs

FY 1997 Co-invented a new method to enhance manufacturability and allow improved

performance and new temperature ranges for step soldering for die attach and

flip chip applications.

FY 1998 Provided leadership of the Materials Task Group work with the National

Center for Manufacturing Science (NCMS) Consortium on High-Temperature

Fatigue Resistant Solders on phase diagram analyses for solder melting ranges

and establishing other critical properties of solder alloys for high temperature

die attach and harsh automotive applications.

FY 1999 Determine mechanism that causes failure in through-hole soldering of

lead-free solders, working in collaboration with U.S. companies.

FY 2000 Integrate a quartz crystal microbalance into the NIST electrochemical test

apparatus to determine the effect of oxide films on solderability and

solder/substrate reactivity; This microbalance will allow the amount of each

constituent in the oxide film to be determined by means of the electric charge

passed and the mass change associated with its electrochemical reduction.

34
Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

Metrology for Nanoelectronics

Project Leader: Joseph G. Pellegrino

Staff-Years: 4.5 Professionals, 1.0 Technician

Funding Sources: NIST (100%)

Objective: Provide technological leadership to semiconductor and equipment

manufacturers by developing and evaluating the methods, tools, and

artifacts needed to improve the state of the art in compoundsemiconductor growth and nanometrology (measurements on a scale of

10 to 100 nm). Provide measurements of growth and structural

parameters in addition to fabrication properties required for the reliable

manufacture of nanostructure devices. Develop research materials and

methods to improve measurement standards.

Background: The yield and reliability of nanostructure devices (having feature sizes between

10 and 100 nm) critically depend on the quality of the materials and processes that are used

to manufacture them. Industry needs NIST to provide the methodology, both experimental

and theoretical, to evaluate and improve these materials and processes at resolutions on the

order of 10 nm. Improved materials growth, evaluation techniques, and models are needed by

the compound-semiconductor industry to manufacture useful and reliable devices based on

advanced quantum phenomena. There is a great need for standard reference artifacts to

reduce measurement ambiguities and uncertainties.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop an in-situ metrology effort for the real-time, in-situ characterization of advanced III-V

epilayers

FY 1994 Designed state-of-the-art molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) facility to

specifically address real-time, in-situ measurement of growth parameters

critical to improved performance of lattice-matched, thickness-dependent,

compositionally controlled heterostructures; Designed a unique state-of-the-art

x-ray detector in order to implement, for the first time, x-ray fluorescence as

an in-situ compositional probe during MBE growth.

FY 1995 Designed equipment and software for in-situ optical reflectometry; Designed

multiple-wavelength reflectometer to improve thickness resolution to 5 nm

level.

FY 1996 Used in-situ x-ray fluorescence capability in MBE growth chamber to

measure and control composition and possibly thickness of MBE layers;

Equipped MBE with in-situ ellipsometer for measuring thickness,

composition, and roughness of MBE layers; Initiated plans to implement

pyrometric interferometry as an in-situ optical probe to measure temperature.

FY 1997 Correlated x-ray fluorescence probe measurements with RHEED (reflection

high-energy electron diffraction) measurements of the composition in InGaAs

heterostructures; Implemented an in-situ ellipsometry capability for measuring

composition and thickness in real time during growth.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

FY 1998 Developed an in-situ method for the optical determination of sample

temperature during growth.

FY 1999 Implement a capability for performing accurate Hall measurements of

mobility and doping density of III-V material in order to conduct round-robin

measurements among GaAs manufacturers; Utilize in-situ reflectance probe to

correlate temperature variations occurring during growth with device

performance parameters.

FY 2000 Explore requirements for performing multi-probe, real-time, in-situ feedback

control; Provide data and real-time measurement methods for controlling the

thickness and composition of layered structures during their growth by

epitaxial deposition. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

2. Develop a measurement infrastructure pertinent to the interface characterization of advanced

III-V heterostructures

FY 1993 Characterized interface roughness in low-order aluminum arsenide/gallium

arsenide superlattices and determined the influence of the gallium arsenide

buffer layer thickness on the subsequent superlattice interface quality;

Obtained smoother interfaces in samples with buffer layers with a thickness

250 nm and greater; Using high-resolution x-ray diffraction, showed that the

quality of the superlattice interfaces is markedly affected by the growth

technique; Also found interfaces were sharper in a migration-enhanced epitaxy

sample than in an equivalent superlattice sample grown by the interruptedgrowth technique.

FY 1994 Measured anisotropic strain and tilt along orthogonal directions in indium

aluminum arsenide/indium phosphide heterostructures used in optoelectronic

devices; Used the x-ray standing-wave technique to learn that the buried

indium arsenide strained layer in Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility

Transistors (PHEMTs) is only 76% coherent. (Collaboration with Materials

Science and Engineering Laboratory)

FY 1995 Correlated roughness properties of MBE-grown aluminum arsenide/gallium

arsenide superlattices with carrier mobility in the associated modulation-doped

field-effect transistor (MODFET) channel layers; Demonstrated that interface

roughness is a function of the growth temperature and that room temperature

x-ray diffraction spectra of the roughness can be related to the measured

electron mobility in the channel.

FY 1996 Studied interface and structural properties with x-ray diffraction and x-ray

standing-wave techniques to optimize layer quality. (Collaboration with

Materials Science and Engineering Laboratory)

FY 1997 Used the x-ray standing wave technique to examine bond length contractions

in the InGaAs on the GaAs heterostructure system.

FY 1998 Measured the influence of the interface quality on the performance of

InGaAs-based MODFET devices using x-ray, optical, and magneto-transport

techniques.

FY 1999 Use in-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry to study oxide desorption from GaAs,

InAs, and InP surfaces.

FY 2000 Explore the use of curvilinear crystals to focus x-rays during MBE growth;

Discuss with industry the feasibility of an in-situ x-ray reflectivity technique

to provide real-time thickness and composition data.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

3. Develop and address measurement issues pertaining to nanostructure characterization and

fabrication

FY 1991 Generated nm-scale patterns on hydrogen-passivated Si by using scanning

tunneling microscope (STM) techniques; STM-patterned oxide serves as a

mask for selective-area GaAs heteroepitaxy on silicon, an essential step in

mating GaAs and silicon device technologies. (Collaboration with

Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory)

FY 1992 Grew high-quality GaAs samples for the quantum-Hall resistance standard.

(Collaboration with Electricity Division)

FY 1993 Studied nm-scale oxides patterned by means of scanning tunneling

microscopy and showed they are readily generated in an air ambient, easily

imaged by scanning electron microscopy and other microprobe techniques,

capable of surviving realistic processing environments, and useful as masks

for etching and selective area growths. (Collaboration with MEL)

FY 1994 Designed a new series of superlattice structures to increase the confinement of

the optically produced carriers and obtain stronger exciton peaks.

(Collaboration with the University of Iowa)

FY 1995 Continued scanning tunneling microscopy effort (Collaboration with MEL)

and made contributions to single electron transistor effort (Collaboration with

Division 811); Fabricated “shadow masks” in MBE for use in growing

vertically interdigitated optical switches. The interdigitated sample has been

metallized and shows proper diode behavior. Characterized sample by

photoreflectance while optically biased. Data indicate an upshift of the

quantum well energy, as predicted. (Collaboration with the University of

Iowa)

FY 1996 Installed focused-ion-beam (FIB) lithography system in MBE chamber for

patterning III-V and possibly silicon wafers; Assisted optimization of STM

system for measuring nanostructures; Grew specialized heterostructures for

electronic and optoelectronic devices. (Collaboration with University of Iowa

and others)

FY 1997 Used FIB to direct write on "two-dimensional" electron gas (two dimension

electron gas) materials of InGaAs/GaAs heterostructures to produce

confinement of the electrons at the nano-scale. The FIB-processed “laterally

in-plane gated field-effect transistors (FETs)” demonstrated very good currentvoltage and transfer characteristics at room temperature. Overall

characteristics are similar to that of silicon depletion-mode MOSFETs.

FY 1998 Utilized FIB lithography to develop research artifacts for improved standards

to advance processing metrology.

FY 1999 Integrate FIB and MBE technology to develop research artifacts for improved

standards to advance processing metrology.

FY 2000 Investigate the use of FIB technology to fabricate lateral permeable base

transistors (PBT); Explore the potential of PBT as a replacement in vacuum

tube applications, such as the $100M music industry.

37
Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

Optical Characterization Metrology

Project Leader: Paul M. Amirtharaj

Staff-Years: 2 Professionals

Funding Sources: NIST (100%)

Objective: Develop and implement advanced and robust optical probes needed by

the semiconductor industry. Apply infrared absorption and

photoluminescence (PL) for impurity analyses of silicon and

advancement of 300 mm wafer technology. Advance and optimize

modulation spectroscopy for the study of compound semiconductor

materials and microstructures. Collaborate with Nanoelectronics Project

and compound-semiconductor-based industries to advance optical insitu probes. Develop needed spectroscopic measurement methodology,

develop standard reference materials, and compile published data to

improve device modeling.

Background: Manufacturers of electronic components for a wide variety of applications,

extending from digital circuitry for computers to light emitters for optical communication,

need reliable analytical methods and well-established standards for characterizing the behavior

of elemental and compound semiconductor materials. The continual reduction in feature size

set forth in the National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (NTRS) for increased

packing density and the complex device structures that use 10 to 100 layers place stringent

demands on current analytical probes. Further device advances can be commercially realized

only with the enhanced yield possible with dependable and specialized characterization.

Optical probes are powerful and attractive in analytical applications. They are contactless and

nondestructive, compatible with any transparent gas, capable of remote sensing, and

compatible with hostile environments and, hence, useful for on-line analyses in semiconductor

fabrication facilities and for in-situ probing during growth and processing.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop metrology to identify and quantify impurities in silicon

FY 1988 Assisted American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), a voluntary

standards organization in the U.S., through its Subcommittee F1.06 in a pilot

study on the determination of trace impurities in silicon by

photoluminescence; Determined the conversion coefficient for infrared

measurement of oxygen in silicon. Wrote two new standard test methods

adopted by ASTM: Method F 1188, Interstitial Atomic Oxygen Content of

Silicon by Infrared Absorption, and Method F 1189, Using Computer-Assisted

Infrared Spectrophotometry to Measure the Interstitial Oxygen Content of

Silicon Slices Polished on Both Sides.

FY 1989 Published archival summary and extended report of analysis of International

Round-Robin-on-Oxygen conversion-factor for infrared measurements.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

FY 1990 Developed fully automated analytical procedure to study oxygen in doubleside-polished silicon wafers.

FY 1991 Completed installation and testing of high resolution and high-stability Fourier

transform interferometers for impurity analysis in silicon.

FY 1992 Completed oxygen-in-silicon Standard Reference Material (SRM) production

methodology.

FY 1993 Completed certification and related measurements for 100 sets of SRM 2551

for Interstitial Oxygen in Silicon. Analysis of data indicates an uncertainty of

certification, relative to the master calibration set, of better than 0.17% (2σ).

SRMs are required by integrated circuit manufacturers to determine oxygen

concentrations.

FY 1994 Demonstrated the use of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption for

measurement of boron and phosphorous in high-purity silicon at densities of

less than 1012 per cubic cm.

FY 1995 Applied the above capability for Defense Production Act-Title III high-purity

silicon materials qualifications. NIST was requested to provide this assay of

dopants by the Department of Defense.

FY 1996 Applied spectroscopic and photoconductive probes to investigate the origin of

persistent-photoconductivity and/or slow traps in integrated circuit grade

silicon.

FY 1997 Applied FTIR spectroscopy to determine the densities of technologically

important impurities in silicon, especially integrated circuit grade wafers.

FY 1998 Applied FTIR methodology for characterizing 300 mm silicon wafer materials

for emerging integrated-circuit fabrication; Applied technique to study

impurities including concentration of interstitial and precipitated oxygen in

collaboration with I300I/SEMATECH.

FY 1999 Develop reflection mode FTIR measurement methodology to determine

oxygen concentration on low-resistivity silicon wafers for emerging IC

fabrication. One of five high-priority NTRS metrology challenges.

FY 2000 Develop infrared ellipsometry to improve accuracy of optical constants

measurements.

2. Develop and apply nondestructive optical probes of the electronic behavior of technologically

important semiconductor materials and device structures

FY 1990 Developed and published “A Software Program for Aiding the Analysis of

Ellipsometric Measurements, Simple Spectroscopic Models” as NIST Special

Publication 400-84.

FY 1991 Completed building and testing a state-of-the-art spectroscopic ellipsometer

with near monolayer sensitivity; Applied instrument to study real-time

oxidation of the gallium arsenide surface.

FY 1992 Provided optical characterization of silicon carbide for x-ray mask application

and cadmium zinc telluride substrates for infrared materials growth.

FY 1993 Achieved a critical advance in the quantitative understanding of the optical

properties of the silicon dioxide/silicon interface region by conducting

accurate spectroscopic-ellipsometry measurements and by developing an

analysis that, for the first time, comprehensively accounted for strain and

microroughness. This was a necessary step in the development of thin

(d < 10 nm) silicon dioxide/silicon SRMs.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

FY 1994 Advanced the state of the art of photoreflectance spectroscopy for

semiconductor analyses through the use of double-modulation and multiplepump beams. Detailed analysis of complex laser structures was now possible.

FY 1995 Completed one-of-a-kind selective-excitation system operable in the 350 to

1100 nm range and initiated comprehensive defect and impurity analyses in

gallium nitride.

FY 1996 Completed automation of the selective excitation system, with capability from

the ultraviolet to the infrared region of the optical spectrum, for highresolution optical spectroscopy. Used system to investigate gallium nitride

and related materials; Applied spectroscopic ellipsometry for the optical

analyses of ultra thin semiconductor and insulator layers.

FY 1997 Conducted selective-excitation spectroscopy and analysis of dopants, including

magnesium and silicon in gallium nitride.

FY 1998 Completed photoluminescence study of SiGe quantum structure grown with

H-surfactant assisted growth to optimize growth conditions for Si-based

optoelectronic devices.

FY 1998-2000 Collaborate with Nanoelectronics Project and compound-semiconductor based

industries to advance optical in-situ probes.

FY 1998-2000 Develop modulation spectroscopy and photoluminescence techniques to obtain

accurate measurements of the bandgap of AlGaAs epitaxial layers; Correlate

measurements with other analytical techniques and participate in NIST effort

to produce an AlGaAs alloy composition standard.

3. Provide coordination and leadership to industry in optical characterization and related activity

FY 1989 Organized and hosted the International Conference on Narrow-Gap

Semiconductors and Related Materials in Gaithersburg, MD, June 1989.

FY 1990 Edited and published Proceedings of the International Conference on Narrow

Gap Semiconductors.

FY 1991 Developed detailed questionnaire on optical characterization techniques

needed by the industry; Presented invited tutorial talk, “Optical

Characterization of Electronic Materials,” at two-day symposium,

Microanalysis of Electronics, organized by ASM International and NIST

Office of Microelectronics Programs.

FY 1992 Distributed to major semiconductor companies a questionnaire regarding the

use of optical characterization techniques for materials and device analysis by

the semiconductor industry.

FY 1993 Wrote chapter on “Optical Properties of Semiconductors” for the Handbook of

Optics, second edition, for the Optical Society of America and McGraw Hill;

Provided review of all important optical properties and techniques for

measuring them; Second mailing of optical characterization survey sent out.

FY 1994 Presented an invited review entitled “Optical Properties and Characterization

Methods for HgCdTe” at the 1993 U.S. HgCdTe Workshop that emphasized

industrial applications for semiconductors. Mercury cadmium telluride

(HgCdTe) is a material used to make detectors for infrared light. Carried out

analysis of optical characterization survey results.

FY 1995 Organized and conducted the Workshop on Planning for Compound

Semiconductor Technology, attended by 60 participants and 6 invited

speakers, with a panel discussion. Participants agreed on consensus-based

planning to help the North American segment remain competitive.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

FY 1996 Presented invited paper entitled “Double Modulation Photoreflectance” at the

Symposium on Diagnostic Techniques for Semiconductor Materials

Processing, Materials Research Society Fall Meeting, November 1995;

Published Proceedings of the International Workshop on Semiconductor

Characterization by the American Institute of Physics Press; Published and

distributed to industry NIST Special Publication 400-98 containing results of

the Optical Characterization Survey.

FY 1997 Contributed chapter on optical properties to book on properties of narrow-gap

II-VI semiconductors, "Optical Properties of MCT {mercury cadmium

telluride}," in Narrow Gap II-VI Compounds for Optoelectronic and

Electromagnetic Applications published by Chapman-Hall, United Kingdom.

FY 1998 Presented an invited seminar on the optical analyses of interstitial and

precipitated oxygen in 300 mm silicon wafers.

FY 1999 Contact silicon materials suppliers and IC fabrication companies and examine

standards needs beyond SRM 2551 including oxygen in conducting wafers.

FY 2000 Organize meeting of IC industry representatives to build consensus regarding

measurement methodolgy and standards for oxygen in conducting IC silicon

wafers.

4. Compile near-edge fundamental parameters for III-V binary semiconductors

FY 1996 Initiated the Standard Reference Data (SRD) Project entitled, “Near BandEdge Fundamental Parameters for III-V Binary Semiconductors.”

FY 1997 Completed review of published literature.

FY 1998 Compiled parameter values.

FY 1999 Prepare manuscript detailing result of the review to date for publication in the

Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data; Coordinate with the Office

of Standard Reference Data the dissemination of data through the World Wide

Web and other appropriate venues.

41
Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

Scanning-Probe Microscope Metrology

Project Leader: Joseph J. Kopanski

Staff-Years: 4.4 Professionals

Funding Sources: NIST and OMP (100%)

Objective: Provide technological leadership to semiconductor and equipment

manufacturers and other government agencies by developing and

evaluating the methods, tools, and artifacts needed to apply scanningprobe microscopes and other electrical characterization to

semiconductor materials and processes; provide silicon and compoundsemiconductor manufacturers with advanced scanning-probe electrical

metrology techniques and models to improve device performance and

reliability.

Background: The reduction in feature sizes to near 100 nm predicted by the goals of the

semiconductor industry for the early 21st century requires new and improved measurement

methods to characterize materials and processes to the required 10 nm resolution scale.

Industry needs NIST to provide the methodology, both experimental and theoretical, to

evaluate and improve materials and processes by implementing scanning-probe microscopebased and traditional electrical techniques. Measurements of the dopant density, lifetime, and

mobility of charge carriers in wafers and thin layers are essential for materials and process

qualification. The National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors has challenged NIST

with responsibility for developing the technology needed to determine the dopant distribution

across a processed silicon wafer to a resolution of 20 nm. Scanning capacitance microscopy

is being developed as a new tool to achieve this goal.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop scanning-probe microscopy and models for dopant profiling

FY 1989 Demonstrated two-dimensional mapping of silicon resistivity striations with

resolution of 40 μm by high-density four-probe structures.

FY 1990 Demonstrated and verified high-spatial-resolution resistivity mapping with

ion-implanted test structures and theoretical modeling; Showed that lateral

resistivity variations over dimensions as small as 45 μm can be mapped,

which has important application to gallium arsenide and mercury cadmium

telluride materials.

FY 1991 Applied fine-scale resistivity mapping technique to specimens of mercury

cadmium telluride; Showed that nonuniformity patterns are correlated with the

type of crystal growth, LPE (liquid-phase epitaxy) or SSR (solid-state

recrystallization).

FY 1992 Prepared detailed specifications for a scanning tunneling/atomic force

microscope for scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM); the microscope is

one of the first to be made with a large sample stage, compatible with

semiconductor wafers with diameters to 250 mm. Began development of the

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

capacitance-sensitive circuit and theoretical modeling of the SCM

measurement.

FY 1993 Designed, constructed, and tested an SCM for nanoscale (10 to 100 nm)

profiling of semiconductor junctions; the design is the first to take advantage

of incorporating a commercial atomic force microscope (AFM).

FY 1994 Obtained capacitance-voltage curves with the SCM as a function of probe

position. Implemented tapping-mode capability on SCM to reduce damage to

probe and specimen and give improved reproducibility and signal-to-noise

ratio. Developed three-dimensional collocation code to solve Poisson's

equation for SCM.

FY 1995 Demonstrated a new mode of scanning capacitance microscopy: imaging the

high-frequency capacitance directly. This enables imaging of metal lines on

an insulating substrate for overlay metrology. Produced two-dimensional

(2D) images of dopant profiles from cross-sectioned silicon wafers with better

than 30 nm resolution; Modeled the probe-ambient-insulator region with

commercial code, which solves Laplace's equation in three dimensions (3D);

Combined solutions with those from 3D collocation code for semiconductor

region to obtain total solution of electric potential; Computed capacitance as a

function of bias voltage for uniformly doped silicon wafer.

FY 1996 Established reliable techniques to obtain SCM data of carrier profiles;

Applied SCM method to overlay metrology; Obtained solutions in 2D and 3D

for the charge density in doped silicon wafers and simulate SCM data;

Developed useful, simple methodology to relate SCM data to dopant profiles.

FY 1997 Interacted strongly with equipment and user community to transfer NIST

technology; Validated SCM model and methodology from measurements on

well-known samples provided by industry; Used developed code to produce

model database; Investigated ways of including dopant gradient effect;

Implemented data conversion methodology in a user-friendly and 2D format;

Developed tapping-mode SCM for overlay measurements; Identified SRMs

needed to support industry use of SCM measurement standards.

FY 1998 Improved spatial resolution and accuracy of SCM 2D dopant profile

measurement by including the effects of the dopant gradient; Refined the

SCM “wafer-to-profile” measurement methodology; Transferred the NIST

SCM models and image conversion routines to industrial users.

FY 1999 Implement dual bias SCM image mode for p-n junctions; Add features to

SCM image interpretation software; Develop improved understanding of the

effect of SCM sample surface preparation to improve the accuracy and

repeatability of extracted carrier profiles; Relate 2D carrier profiles measured

with SCM to {semiconductor} technology computer-aided design (TCAD)

simulations of dopant profiles fabricated with the same conditions; Complete

assessment of inversion algorithm used to extract dopant profiles from

scanning capacitance data with material having known profiles supplied by

industry. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Continue refinement of SCM model/measurement formalism to keep pace

with the TCAD 2D dopant profiling spatial resolution (<10 nm) and accuracy

goals; Compare SCM measurements of ultra-shallow junction technologies,

such as BF2 ion implants, with corresponding TCAD simulations; Calibrate

TCAD simulators using SCM measured carrier profiles.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

2. Develop scanning-probe microscopes (SPM) and models for semiconductor and device

electrical characterization. (New task)

FY 1998 Investigated measurement of optically stimulated capacitance transients with

SPMs for development of a microscope sensitive to semiconductor lifetime;

Investigated the ac impedance measurement techniques and models necessary

to implement an ac version of nano-spreading resistance.

FY 1999 Refine optically pumped SCM for carrier lifetime measurements, investigate

alternate SPM-based approaches for lifetime measurement; Begin development

of models to make SPM-based lifetime measurements quantitative; Apply

intermittent-contact-SCM to dielectric layer characterization and lithographic

overlay applications; Develop SPM measurement techniques and surface

preparation for compound semiconductors.

FY 2000 Investigate potential 3-D dopant profiling techniques such as the Scanning

Microwave Microscope.

3. Utilize conventional electrical characterization technique in support of scanning probe

microscopes.

FY 1998 Continued development of the photo-Hall effect measurement; Used existing

deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) techniques to characterize slow time

constant optical effect in silicon wafers used for resistivity SRM; Maintained

proficiency in SEM model codes.

FY 1999 Use conventional electrical measurements to improve understanding of

scanning probe-based optically pumped capacitance-voltage (C-V) and ac

impedance measurements; Relate C-V measurements of oxides on silicon

made with a calibrated mercury probe to SCM measurements of the same

material.

FY 2000 Apply existing expertise in electrical characterization to support SPM-based

characterization efforts; Perform electrical characterization of advanced

materials supplied by collaborators at NIST and from industry.

44
Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

Thin-Film Process Metrology

Project Leader: James R. Ehrstein

Staff-Years: 3.2 Professionals, 2.0 Technicians

Funding Sources: NIST (100%)

Objective: Develop new and improved measurements, models, data and reference

materials, and mechanisms for traceability to NIST to enable better and

more accurate measurements of select critical silicon-technology thinfilm process parameters.

Background: Fabrication of thin films of various types is a fundamental building block in

semiconductor device fabrication. The rapid, continuing requirements for ever thinner films

place increasingly stringent requirements on the composition and structure of those films.

This, in turn, places increasingly stringent requirements on the metrology tools and procedures

used for process development and process monitoring. The drive in the industry is toward

establishing in-situ process-monitoring capabilities for all major process steps. Yet as layers

and structures are refined and shrunk, improved in-line, at-line, and off-line capabilities will

also be necessary to verify the relations between material parameters resulting from the

process steps and the parameters being monitored in situ. Current focus is on dielectric

layers, particularly the ultra-thin dielectric layers used for transistor gate structures. The

National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors identifies robust gate dielectrics with 2 nm

thickness as a specific near-term on-chip materials issue and gate dielectrics with sub 1 nm

oxide-equivalent thickness as an issue that will impact the ability to achieve the 15-year goals

of the Roadmap. NIST work will provide the metrology support required for the controlled

processing of these films in the semiconductor manufacturing environment.

Current Tasks:

1. Establish traceability to NIST for measurements of critical dielectric layers of silicon

FY 1988 Certified and released the first Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for

thickness of silicon dioxide, at thicknesses from 50 nm to 200 nm.

FY 1989 Developed computer code and released documentation for ellipsometric

analysis of thickness of dielectric layers and interface region.

FY 1992 Developed and certified SRMs for 14 nm and 25 nm silicon dioxide

thickness.

FY 1994 Developed and certified 10 nm silicon dioxide thickness SRMs; Completed

intercomparison with nine select laboratories for measurements of 10 nm

oxides; Demonstrated interlaboratory repeatability consistent with industrial

requirements. National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors reaffirms

critical nature of ultrathin gate oxide fabrication control.

FY 1995 Developed cooperative program with commercial source of reference

materials to establish traceability to NIST for thin oxide materials.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

FY 1996 Initiated Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)

experiments to establish traceability of ellipsometer-based Reference

Materials.

FY 1997 Completed CRADA experiments and analysis to demonstrate traceability to

NIST within 0.1 nm for single-wavelength ellipsometry measurements of

oxide films between 4.5 nm and 100 nm; Organized workshop for industry

experts in the optical characterization of thin dielectric films to focus on

issues of standards and traceability for future generations of very thin films.

FY 1998 Conducted workshop on thin dielectric films and began to implement

workshop recommendations for improving traceability to NIST; Evaluated

requirements to reduce uncertainty of NIST ellipsometry measurements in

order to keep pace with NTRS requirements.

FY 1999 Implement ellipsometry laboratory improvements to establish spectroscopic

capability and reduce the uncertainty of NIST ellipsometry measurements;

Prototype and evaluate NTRM measurement exchange with one or two

laboratories for silicon dioxide films as thin as 2 nm.

FY 2000 Formalize NTRM program for next-generation silicon dioxide films;

Prototype and evaluate NTRM measurement exchange with one or two

laboratories for silicon nitride films or gate stacks, as appropriate.

2. Develop knowledge base of relation between silicon/dielectric layer interface properties and the

determination of dielectric layer thickness and structure; apply knowledge to understanding the

relation between electrical and optical determination of layer thickness

FY 1994 Used spectral ellipsometry measurements to validate interface model used for

single-wavelength oxide Reference Material certification. The National

Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors affirms the need to understand and

control the surface on which gate oxide is grown.

FY 1995 Established capability for "Weak Localization" measurement technique to

extract quantitative measure of electronic roughness at layer-interface.

FY 1996 Extended this technique to the quantitative measurement of interface

roughness in typical silicon metal oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor

(MOSFET) test structures.

FY 1997 Began to develop understanding of optical, physical, and electrical

determinations of dielectric layer thickness, structure, and interface with

comparison analysis of SiO2 film by spectroscopic ellipsometry, x-ray, and

neutron reflectivity.

FY 1998 Established state-of-the-art ultra-low noise electrical measurement capability

and began implementation and evaluation of sophisticated electrical models

for the interpretation of film thickness with emphasis on nanometer-scale SiO2

films.

FY 1999 Apply electrical methods to determine the thicknesses of very thin dielectric

films with emphasis on silicon-dioxide and oxynitrides; Correlate results with

ellipsometric and physical determinations of thickness in order to identify

preferred electrical models and algorithms for thickness determination and to

improve agreement between electrical and optical thickness scales for

reference material.

FY 2000 Extend optical, electrical, and physical characterization comparisons of layer

and interface structure to oxide/nitride stacks and suitable high-K dielectric

materials.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

3. Develop high-accuracy database for optical constants of silicon and its dielectric layers at

elevated temperatures used for integrated circuit processing

FY 1995 Contracted for design and fabrication of customized vacuum chamber with

in-situ ellipsometry and high-temperature film growth capability. The National

Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors asserts the need for in-situ

metrology of film thickness and gate dielectric composition.

FY 1996 Installed test chamber at NIST; Began test and evaluation of chamber.

FY 1997 Completed test of chamber and instrumentation, and developed control and

analysis software.

FY 1998 Completed test of fast-scanning spectroscopic ellipsometer; Implemented and

calibrated high temperature wafer heater.

FY 1999 Develop and evaluate suitable silicon surface preparation chemistry and

measure optical constants of silicon at high temperatures.

FY 2000 Measure optical constants of other critical films of silicon at elevated

temperatures.

4. Develop improved optical models and reference data for spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis of

ultra-thin gate stacks and ultra-high K materials projected for use as dielectrics for CMOS

gates (and related IC applications)

FY 1998 Began expansion of NIST code for ellipsometric analysis and modeling for

use in SEMATECH Gate Dielectric Metrology project.

FY 1999 Begin determination of best optical models for available oxide/nitride films in

conjunction with analytical and physical analyses; Determine range of optical

constants for available films of contending high-K dielectric materials from

various processes.

FY 2000 Begin determination of best dispersion models for high-K materials in

thickness range appropriate for gate dielectrics; Determine suitability of

optical index values obtainable from state of the art high-K dielectric films for

reference data purposes.

47
Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

Metrology for Simulation and Computer-Aided Design

Project Leader: Allen R. Hefner

Staff-Years: 3.8 Professionals

Funding Sources: NIST and OMP (86%), Other Government Agencies (14%)

Objective: Facilitate the efficient and reliable application of semiconductor

computer-aided design (CAD) tools by: developing metrology

necessary for providing model data, developing methods for simulator

model validation, and providing simulation capability benchmarks;

develop additional models and techniques necessary for advanced

device, process, package, and system simulation; and support and

participate in national and international standards and industry

organizations.

Background: The project addresses needs at the boundary between model and simulator

development and the application of computer-aided-design tools. The National Technology

Roadmap for Semiconductor identifies modeling and simulation as cross-cutting technologies,

and the availability of calibrated and easy-to-use technology computer-aided-design tools for

device, process, and circuit simulation as areas requiring development and support to achieve

the 15-year goals of the Roadmap. The Roadmap also states that using accurate computer

models shortens time scales, lowers costs, and increases quality of each technology area.

Advanced device electrical and thermal characterization procedures and validation of models

used in computer-aided-design tools have not kept pace with the application of the new

device types and processes. This project’s goals are to develop methods and procedures and

to support an industry infrastructure for establishing model accuracies.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop metrology for Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and package thermal

simulations

FY 1997 Developed validation procedure for compact package models for use in

computational fluid dynamics simulations in natural convection environment;

Provided demonstration for multiple-package, highly confined, highly

interacting system.

FY 1998 Developed methodology and program to convert CMOS-based MEMS layout

structure files (CIF format) into analog hardware description language circuit

simulation files (MAST format) for electro-thermal MEMS simulations.

FY 1999 Develop and fabricate test structures for extraction of physical parameters of

MEMS devices to be used for calibration and validation of CIF-to-MAST

electro-thermal simulation methodology; Characterize the capabilities of the

convective heat transfer facility calibrating heat flux gages and the gas phase

conduction facility for applications to critical technologies. (1998 MSL

Strategic Plan).

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

FY 2000 Apply CIF-to-MAST electro-thermal simulation methodology for optimization

of NIST MEMS-based flow rate sensor.

2. Develop metrology for integrated system simulation capability

FY 1997 Developed required electrical measurement techniques to support integrated

system simulation capability for U.S. Navy’s Power Electronic Building

Block Program’s modules and chips and also the Partnership for a New

Generation Vehicle electric vehicle propulsion systems; Developed module

thermal model for inclusion in system simulation programs.

FY 1998 Developed metrology for integrated package and circuit board electrical

interconnect simulation and validation; Developed metrology and simulation

methodology for Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) power device

reliability.

FY 1999 Develop varied characteristic impedance Time Domain Reflectometry for

improved interconnect characterization; Measure avalanche sustaining

reliability of different commercial IGBT types including punch through and

non-punch through, large area and paralleled die modules, and various speedup technologies; Develop high-speed transient infrared thermal metrology and

apply to identification of avalanche sustaining filaments.

FY 2000 Apply varied characteristic impedance TDR metrology to characterization of

advance micro-processor voltage regulator interconnect technology.

3. Develop models and validation metrology for circuit simulation

FY 1997 Began draft of IEEE-recommended practice standard for Insulated Gate

Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) model validation and completed the draft of IEEErecommended practice standard for microelectronic MOSFET model

validation procedures; Applied model validation procedures to IGBT

component libraries provided in commercial simulator software, and

recommended improvements for commercial version of NIST IGBT model.

FY 1998 Investigated tools for improving analog-hardware-description language model

development productivity; Completed draft of IEEE standard for microelectronic MOSFET circuit simulator model validation; Transferred NIST

VDMOSFET model and enhanced IGBT model to system simulator software

vendors; Developed test method for validating power device models for soft

switching applications.

FY 1999 Form balloting committee for micro-electronic MOSFET model validation

standard; Apply soft switching model validation procedures to IGBT

component libraries provided in PSPICE and SaberTM, and develop

enhancements in the NIST IGBT model for soft switching applications.

FY 2000 Complete draft of IGBT model validation standard; Apply micro-electronic

MOSFET model validation standard to models provided in commercial

software tools.

4. Develop physics, validation metrology, and benchmarks for device simulation

FY 1996 Determined suitability of aluminum gallium arsenide mobility models in

commercial device simulators.

FY 1997 Investigated with industry partners methods for measuring mobilities in

aluminum gallium arsenide and other compound semiconductor devices;

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

Investigated influence of the mobility models on device simulation;

Investigated with industry partners methods of implementing aluminum

gallium arsenide mobility models into device simulation programs.

FY 1998 Investigated the development of benchmarks for determining suitability of

effective intrinsic carrier concentration and mobility models in device

simulators for compound semiconductor devices.

FY 1999 Investigate procedures for implementing NIST AlGaAs effective intrinsic

carrier concentration and mobility models into commercial device simulators;

Investigate suitability of new tools for rapid prototyping of semiconductor

device physics.

FY 2000 Use simulator that accounts for quantum mechanical tunneling to calibrate

and benchmark simulators for ultra-thin layered structures.

5. Develop metrology for calibration and benchmarking of process simulation parameters

FY 1997 Configured computer-aided design systems to run SUPREM4 process

simulation program.

FY 1998 Used University of Texas-MARLOW to calculate two-dimensional boron

implant profiles at mask edge for comparison with Scanning Capacitance

Microscope (SCM) measurements.

FY 1999 Use University of Texas-MARLOW and TSUPREM4 to calculate twodimensional boron implant and anneal profiles for comparison with SCM

measurements; Investigate use of SCM to calibrate process simulator implant

and anneal models.

FY 2000 Investigate the use of SCM to calibrate and validate UT-MARLOW and

TSUPREM4 models for two-dimensional BF2 implant and anneal damage

enhanced diffusion.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

Metrology for Process and Tool Control

Project Leader: Michael W. Cresswell

Staff-Years: 2.5 Professionals, 0.2 Guest Scientist, 1.4 Technician

Funding Sources: NIST and OMP (84%), Other Government Agencies (16%)

Objective: Develop test-structure-based electrical metrology methods and related

reference materials with primary emphasis on overlay and linewidth

metrology and calibration; contribute to standards groups supporting

the development of a litho-metrology infrastructure for the

semiconductor industry.

Background: Successive generations of integrated circuits are characterized by the widths of

the narrowest lines that are replicated during the wafer-fabrication process. Control of gate

length is a key factor driving device performance and yield. Overlay control is necessary for

yield maintenance and economically viable manufacturing. Metrology for monitoring these

parameters has been identified in the National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors as a

central requirement for maintaining fabrication-process control. The requirements of

linewidth and overlay metrology are increasing as the complexity and density of integrated

circuits increase from one generation to the next. Critical dimension (CD) and overlay tool

manufacturers and users are expressing concern that current instrument technology may not

have the capability to perform at the sub-quarter-micrometer level. However, electrical test

structures have a measurement reproducibility that conforms with future projected error

budgets and may be suitable as a low-cost means of reference-material certification to support

the extension of current instrument technology to meet the requirements of the roadmap outyears.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop metrology for electrically-measured feature linewidth

FY 1988 Documented and extended statistical model and error analysis for

characterizing the performance of a submicrometer lithography based on

electrical test structure measurements.

FY 1989 Demonstrated lithography-process diagnosis using rule-based analysis of

spatial linewidth variations extracted from multiple design-rule structures

replicated in polysilicon on 100 mm wafers.

FY 1990 Developed and demonstrated guidelines for characterizing electron-beam

pattern-generator linewidth control by extracting electrical linewidth

measurements from electrical test structures.

FY 1991 Compared measurements extracted from scanning electron microscope

measurements and measurements using electrical cross-bridge structures

having design linewidths to 0.3 μm.

FY 1992 Applied principles of empirical tap-width correction to linewidth extraction

from cross-bridge test structures having bridge lengths shorter than 10 μm.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

FY 1993 Demonstrated static measurement precision of 1 nm for lines with 350 nm

design linewidths.

FY 1994 Compared measurements of lines having drawn widths from 0.35 μm to 1.5

μm by a range of metrological techniques including optical, electrical, and

scanning electron microscopy.

FY 1995 Showed agreement to within 10 nm for several materials for electrical

linewidth and the NIST Molecular Measurement Machine (M3

) when

operating in scanning-tunneling-microscope mode. Optical and electrical

linewidth measurement differences are on the order of 100 nm. (collaboration

with MEL)

FY 1996 Developed first electrical linewidth test structures with atomically-planar

sidewall vertical features having known sidewall slopes in monocrystalline

material; Tested to identify origins of critical dimension metrology methods

divergence.

FY 1997 Developed electrical test structures having features with atomically-planar

vertical sidewalls, which will enable co-calibration by transmission-optical,

electrical, scanning-probe, and scanning electron-microscope metrology.

FY 1998 Fabricated and evaluated CD artifacts having features with known sidewall

slopes patterned in silicon-on-insulator material; Began comparison of

properties of BESOI- and SIMOX-based prototype CD reference photronicsmaterials; Began development of application of electrical test structures to CD

measurements (known as ECD) techniques to on-reticle metrology.

FY 1999 Investigate utility of substrate biasing on electrical testing to reduce

uncertainties of physical CD certification; Fabricate ECD artifacts in highly

degenerate single-crystal silicon to reduce uncertainty of physical CD

estimates.

FY 2000 Develop process for certifying linewidths of single-crystal CD reference

materials with HRTEM imaging.

FY 2001 Provide technical and traceability support for commercial production of a

Linewidth Standard for accurate calibration of metrology tools to support the

100 nm generation of lithography for integrated circuits. (1998 EEEL

Strategic Plan)

2. Develop metrology for electrical overlay and registration

FY 1991 Demonstrated novel electrical test-structure based on the linear voltagedividing potentiometer for the determination of accuracy and precision of

feature placement by primary-pattern-generator systems; Demonstrated

sub-15 nm electrical metrology with commercially-available test equipment.

FY 1992 Introduced voltage taps extending across the current-carrying bridge for

feature-placement metrology, thereby substantially eliminating processinduced shifts resulting from asymmetrical inside-corner rounding.

FY 1993 Demonstrated the dynamic precision of electrical overlay test structures to be

1.5 nm, and their uncertainty less than 10 nm, by comparing electrical

measurements with those made by the NIST Line-Scale Interferometer.

(collaboration with MEL)

FY 1994 Developed and obtained patents for improved optical overlay-instrument

calibration substrates and for electrical certification of graduated scales.

FY 1995 Designed, fabricated, and electrically tested substrates at multiple sites coinspected by the NIST Line-Scale Interferometer. (collaboration with MEL)

52
Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

FY 1996 Presented paper at SEMATECH to invited industry audience on new hybrid

optical-electrical test structure to facilitate pixel-calibration of optical overlay

systems; Initiated a consortium with industry to evaluate new overlaymetrology methods; Developed plan to implement mix-and-match overlay

metrology for 193 nm lithography system.

FY 1997 Incorporated electrical edge-detectors into the design of hybrid opticalelectrical test structures to enable fabrication of artifacts for estimation of

process-specific wafer-induced shift; Developed a wafer-fabrication process

for fabrication of structures for tool-induced shift estimation.

FY 1998 Fabricated prototype structures for estimation of tool-induced and processspecific wafer-induced shift; Began evaluation of suitability of large-area

wafer-grade micro-machined silicon to provide reference grids for precisionmetrology tool control; Began evaluation of scanning-capacitance for processinduced shift estimation.

FY 1999 Fabricate and evaluate prototype overlay reference artifacts in SOI films using

MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) processes; Investigate electrondiffraction imaging for certification of overlay artifacts.

FY 2000 Design and fabricate edge detectors for extraction of overlay and certifying

overlay reference materials.

3. Contribute to development of x-ray lithography mask and metrology infrastructure

FY 1992 Led development of consensus among eight DoD industry contractors for

mask-support ring dimensional standards for DARPA x-ray lithography based

on finite-element analysis of residual distortion for beam-line applications.

FY 1993 Extended capability of mask-support ring dimensional standard for pointsource systems.

FY 1994 Drafted initial international voluntary standard for x-ray mask configurations

and chaired video-conference between U.S.-industry representatives and a

Japanese task force on convergence between North American and Japanese

standards.

FY 1995 Prepared revisions to draft of U.S. standard and obtained concurrence with the

Japanese on almost all major points previously under contention.

FY 1996 Developed further agreement between U.S. industry and Japan on final draft

of new international voluntary x-ray mask standard.

FY 1997 Submitted revised draft of the x-ray mask standard agreed to, in principle, by

both Japanese and American companies to SEMI balloting process.

FY 1998 Continued to provide consultation to international x-ray community on

standard non-circular masks.

FY 1999 Prepare draft of international standard for both circular and square format

x-ray masks that conform with both Japanese and U.S. requirements.

FY 2000 Orchestrate adoption of standard by the international community.

53
Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

Gate Dielectric and Interconnect Reliability Metrology

[This project combines the former "Dielectric Reliability Metrology" and "Interconnect Reliability Metrology"

projects.]

Project Leader: John S. Suehle

Staff-Years: 3.2 Professionals, 2.0 Graduate Research Fellow

Funding Sources: NIST and OMP (62%), Other Government Agencies (38%)

Objective: Provide domestic semiconductor manufacturers with improved test

structures, test methods, models, and novel sensor-based metrology for

improving device reliability and monitoring tool performance and

manufacturing processes.

Background: The domestic semiconductor industry is aggressively scaling gate oxides in

microelectronic devices to achieve higher chip performance and packing density. Reduced

time-to-market, new oxide processes, and advanced metallizations require fast and effective

reliability characterization techniques. Physically correct models and tests to predict

reliability of thin oxides and interconnects under dc and ac operating conditions are needed.

As the semiconductor industry rapidly builds capacity to meet worldwide demand for their

products, national standards are required to characterize dielectric integrity and interconnects

for plant-plant and vendor-customer evaluation. Finally, it has been recognized by the

National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors that reliability and novel in-situ process

sensors are required to manufacture competitive, cost-effective semiconductor products and

improve manufacturing process and tool control.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop dielectric reliability standards and metrology methods

FY 1995 Revised and had approved by committee ballot two new Joint Electron

Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) standards: “General Guidelines for

Designing Test Structures for the Wafer-Level Testing of Thin Dielectrics”

and “Addendum on Test Criteria for the Wafer-Level Testing of Thin

Dielectrics.” The first standard has been approved by JEDEC Council.

Awaiting Council approval on second standard.

Demonstrated differences of electric field and temperature dependence of time

dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) for bimodal failure distributions;

Performed TDDB characterization of 9 to 22 nm thick oxides with unipolar

and bipolar pulsed bias stress over wide range of temperature and electric

field.

FY 1996 Coordinated joint JEDEC-ASTM (American Society for Testing and

Materials) working group to develop standard voltage ramp gate oxide

integrity tests; Studied charge-trapping characteristics of thin oxides when

subjected to dc or pulsed voltage stress.

FY 1997 Continued nine-laboratory round robins to evaluate new ASTM-JEDEC Vramp Test for ultra-thin oxides; Developed new model to extract long-term

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

TDDB acceleration parameters from highly accelerated Qbd tests; Technique

reduces test time by over 1 order of magnitude and can be used in a

production environment; Showed that electrically active defects are not

produced and responsible for breakdown during long-term low-electric field

aging; Utilized Fowler-Nordheim tunneling technique to monitor latent,

electrically inactive defects that are produced in gates oxides during lowelectric field stress.

FY 1998 Developed improved lifetime model for gate oxides less than 5 nm thick and

operating in the direct tunneling regime under either time invariant or varying

voltages operating under dc and ac conditions; Worked with ASTM and

JEDEC to modify and produce new standard gate oxide integrity test

procedures that will be effective in characterizing ultra-thin gate oxides

having thicknesses down to 2 nm.

FY 1999 Conduct study using electron spin resonance (ESR) to investigate the role of

oxygen vacancy defects in the aging and breakdown in ultra-thin SiO2 films;

Perform electrical and reliability characterization of alternative gate dielectrics

including Al2O3, Si3N4, and TA2O5; Lead a JEDEC and ASTM effort in

conducting interlaboratory experiments to evaluate new gate oxide integrity

test for ultrathin dielectrics. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Investigate use of nano-probe oxidation technique as an in-situ metrology tool

for characterizing the quality of ultra-thin gate dielectrics.

FY 2001 Develop improved measurements for making thinner insulating layers in

transistors in integrated circuits, and for identifying better insulating materials,

with thicknesses down to at least 2 nm. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

2. Develop micro-hotplate gas sensor

FY 1995 Designed a new micro-hotplate chip, NIST21, and had it fabricated by an

outside source. The devices have tungsten metallization for improved heater

stability and reliability.

FY 1996 Demonstrated four-element gas sensor array for compositional gas analysis

with CSTL.

FY 1997 Demonstrated chemical sensor prototype in industrial application to monitor

manufacturing process of titanium matrix composites.

FY 1998 Completed development of multi-element chemical sensor array that

incorporates several different metal-oxide sensing films; Collaborated with

MIT Lincoln Laboratories to produce micro-chemical sensor arrays in

Lincoln’s advanced CMOS process. These devices will incorporate planarized

top contacts via damascene plugs.

FY 1999 Demonstrate multi-element chemical sensor array on MOSIS chip with

integrated control circuitry.

FY 2000 Complete characterization of custom micro-chemical sensor arrays provided

by Lincoln Laboratories.

3. Develop electromigration standards and metrology methods

FY 1995 Documented the use of Matthiessen’s rule for determining aluminum film

thickness and line cross-sectional area from electrical resistance

measurements.

55
Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

FY 1996 Completed first phase of interlaboratory experiment to assess reproducibility

of aluminum film thickness measurements; initial results show good

agreement.

FY 1997 Continued plans for selective thermal conductivity measurements of silicon

dioxide thin films and modeling experiments to improve characterization;

Continued an inter-laboratory experiment to verify the reproducibility of

thickness measurements of thin metal film using Matthiessen’s rule.

FY 1998 Deferred electromigration testing to establish degree of correlation between t50

values and crystallographic measures determined by NIST/Materials Science

and Engineering Laboratory’s Reliability Divisionr because of a lack of test

parts.

FY 1999 Evaluate, in collaboration with workers at SEMATECH, the use of electrical

method to determine the geometry of copper interconnect lines.

FY 2000 Complete draft of a JEDEC test method procedure for measuring the electrical

thickness of metal films and the area of interconnect lines.

4. Develop improved temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) metrology

[Task began in FY 1990; completed in FY 1996; information included for completeness.]

FY 1995 Documented the results of the JEDEC inter-laboratory experiment for TCR,

joule heating, linewidth, and hot-chuck measurements; Authored revised bias

and precision section for JEDEC standard JESD33 (Standard Method for

Measuring and Using the TCR to Determine the Temperature of a

Metallization Line) for JEDEC.

FY 1996 Revised standard JESD33 distributed by JEDEC; News release announcing

revised standard prepared by NIST. Task completed.

5. Promote Building-in Reliability (BIR) infrastructure development

FY 1995 Prepared three papers to promote a more rapid transition from a testing-inreliability to a building-in-reliability approach in the semiconductor industry.

FY 1996 Worked with members in the semiconductor industry to develop plans and to

organize a seminar on building-in reliability (BIR) for customers of

semiconductor vendors.

FY 1997 Provided leadership to U.S. industry in the area of BIR; Served as editor of

e-mail newsletter for BIR newly formed Special Interest Team; Published

invited paper on BIR in Microelectronics and Reliability with industrial coauthors; Made plans for other seminars and papers with industrial colleagues.

FY 1998 Served as editor of newsletter; Spearheaded efforts to develop industry

consensus definition of BIR; Collaborated with industry representatives in

development of papers addressing significant BIR issues. Task completed.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

Project Leader: Michael Gaitan

Staff-Years: 1.5 Professionals, 1.7 Guest Scientists, 0.5 Graduate Research Fellow,

0.2 Faculty Hire

Funding Sources: NIST, Other Government Agencies

Objective: Provide domestic industry with MEMS-based test structures and test

methods for characterizing the thermo-electro-mechanical properties of

thin films used in ICs and MEMS manufacturing, work with IC and

MEMS foundries to develop infrastructure for improved accessibility of

MEMS manufacturing, and research and develop novel metrology

applications of MEMS technology.

Background: The emerging technology of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

utilizes mechanical structures, fabricated in an integrated-circuit-based process, to miniaturize

mechanical elements and integrate them within the ICs. Applications for this technology

include pressure sensors, inertial sensors, gas and fluid regulation and control, process control,

optical switching, and mass data storage. Market studies forecast a worldwide market of

nearly $10 billion by the year 2000, enabling almost $100 billion in new or improved

systems. Domestic industrial needs for MEMS manufacturing include the development of

standardized characterization techniques for thin-film electro-mechanical properties. Such

MEMS-based test structures also have applications for critical needs identified in the National

Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. These needs include the characterization of thinfilm thermo-mechanical properties in ICs, measurement of electrical properties of thin films in

the 2 GHz to 10 GHz frequency bands, and sensors for in-situ semiconductor fabrication

process monitoring and control. Meeting these objectives will enable industry to manufacture

competitive, cost-effective products, and improve manufacturing processes, device

performance, and device reliability.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop electro-mechanical test structures/promote MEMS infrastructure

FY 1992 Designed test structures to determine design rules needed for design and

fabrication of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible

MEMS devices.

FY 1993 Submitted a design library to University of Southern California/Information

Sciences Metal Oxide Semiconductor Informational Services (MOSIS) of

CMOS-compatible MEMS devices and test structures. MOSIS announced its

official support of CMOS compatible MEMS as a result of this effort.

FY 1994 Designed a set of test chips in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute

of Technology, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of

California at Berkeley, and fabricated through the Microelectronics

Center/North Carolina MUMPs service that contained electro-mechanical test

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

structures. A test chip was also designed in collaboration with others at

NIST.

FY 1995 Procured and installed an optical profilometer interferometric microscope

system for measurement of deflections of the electro-mechanical test

structures; Began deflection measurements of the MEMS test structures.

FY 1996 Worked with the NIST MEMS Strategic Planning Committee to hold a

Strategic Planning Workshop in November 1995 in an effort to determine

whether there is a need for a NIST-wide MEMS program; Completed

characterizations of cantilever and fixed beam MEMS test structures;

Competence proposal submitted and review held.

FY 1997 Continued work on MEMS-based test structure development. Developed a

model that describes the fixed-fixed (attached at both ends) beam deflection

data. Worked with MOSIS and the MEMS technical community to correct

run-to-run uniformity problems with the open design rule and to attempt a

CMOS foundry-compatible process through alternative technologies.

Organized and held the first MEMS Test Structure Workshop at Transducers

97; Organized a second MEMS Test Structure Workshop at Society for

Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) MEMS Conference; Developed a

white paper on MEMS-based test structures for CMOS and submitted a

proposal to NIST Office of Microelectronic Programs for this work.

FY 1998 Demonstrated the concept of using MEMS-based test structures in CMOS

technology to characterize the thermo-electro-mechanical properties of thin

films in ICs; Continued work on the development of standardized MEMS test

structures for the MEMS community and continued work with MOSIS and

industry to correct run-to-run uniformity problems with the open design rule

and to attempt CMOS foundry-compatible process through alternative

technologies.

FY 1999 Begin development of MEMS-based test structures to measure mechanical

strain in multi-layer thin-films; Continue to work with the MEMS community

to develop standardization of MEMS test structures and test methods;

Participate in strain measurement round-robin experiment; Work with the

MOSIS service to develop infrastructure to support accessibility of CMOS

MEMS fabrication; Complete the development of tetramethylammonium

hydroxide (TMAH) silicon micromachining etching for CMOS MEMS and

develop methods to deposit and pattern stress compensation films on CMOS

ICs.

FY 2000 Continue development of MEMS-based test structures to measure mechanical

strain in multi-layer thin-films; Continue to work with the MEMS community

to develop standardization of MEMS test structures and test methods;

Continue development of methods to deposit and pattern stress compensation

films on CMOS ICs.

2. Develop thermal flat-panel display

FY 1991 Initiated a program to develop a CMOS-based thermal flat-panel display;

Demonstrated the concept of fabricating micro-heating elements through a

commercial CMOS process; Designed, fabricated through MOSIS, performed

silicon micromachining on CMOS chips, and tested the elements for

applications as infrared emitters or pixels in a thermal flat-panel display.

FY 1992 Demonstrated the concept of using micro-heating elements as pixels in a

small size thermal (infrared) flat-panel display; Designed, fabricated, and

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

testeda4x4 infrared pixel array for application as a thermal flat-panel

display.

FY 1993 Designed, fabricated, and tested a 16 x 16 infrared pixel array; Interfaced the

array to a computer and a video interface; Collected thermal images of the

output of the display; Designed 64 x 64 and 128 x 128 infrared (IR) pixel

array thermal flat-panel displays.

FY 1994 Completed the demonstration of concept of using micro-heating elements,

fabricated in a commercial foundry process, to fabricate thermal flat-panel

displays; Fabricated 64 x 64 and 128 x 128 infrared pixel array thermal flatpanel displays; Completed testing of 64 x 64 and 128 x 128 infrared pixel

arrays.

FY 1995 Initiated a 3-year program to build prototype thermal flat-panel displays.

(Collaboration with industrial partner)

FY 1996 Worked with industrial partner to design, fabricate, and test 64 x 64 pixel

array prototype thermal display to be inserted in optical projection system for

the first phase field demonstration; Initiated work to design and fabricate 128

x 128 pixel array prototype thermal display for the second phase of the task.

FY 1997 Completed second-generation design for a 64 x 64 pixel array thermal

display, submitted the design for fabrication, and tested the fabricated array

for operation; Completed designs of 128 x 128 pixel array prototype thermal

display IC to be inserted in the optical projection system.

FY 1998 Completed a working demonstration 128 x 128 pixel array thermal display

unit with projection optics in collaboration with industrial partner.

FY 1999 Transition thermal flat-panel display technology from 2.0 μm to 1.2 μm

CMOS fabrication; Work with industrial partner to design and fabricate

microheating elements and control electronics in the 1.2 μm CMOS

fabrication technology; Fully characterize the operation of these elements and

circuits.

FY 2000 Transition thermal flat-panel display technology from 1.2 μm to 0.6 μm

CMOS fabrication; Work with industrial partner to design and fabricate

microheating elements and control electronics in the 0.6 μm CMOS

fabrication technology; Fully characterize the operation of these elements and

circuits.

3. Develop microwave power sensor

FY 1991 Began development of a CMOS equivalent to the multijunction thermal

converter fabricated in the Semiconductor Process Laboratory (collaboration

with the Electricity and Electromagnetic Fields Divisions); Initial designs

sent to the MOSIS service for fabrication.

FY 1992 Fabricated improved designs of thermal converter elements and tested ac/dc

conversion accuracy to 1 MHz with conversion error under 200 parts per

million.

FY 1993 Initiated a program to develop a high-precision low-cost RF and microwave

power sensor to 10 GHz. Fabricated transmission lines and power sensors.

Began the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with

industrial partner.

FY 1994 Demonstrated the concept of fabricating silicon micromachined microwave

transmission lines in CMOS technology; Tested the transmission line elements

to 20 GHz and demonstrated the benefits of silicon micromachining to reduce

the attenuation of the lines.

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Semiconductors Semiconductor Electronics Division

FY 1995 Demonstrated the concept of fabricating silicon micromachined power sensors

and coupling these devices to the CMOS transmission lines; Tested the

CMOS silicon micromachined microwave power sensors to 20 GHz.

FY 1996 Developed a working prototype microwave power meter in collaboration with

industrial partner; Incorporated the transmission line elements and the

microwave power sensors with circuits on an IC chip and tested and

characterized the elements and circuit performance.

FY 1997 Began work on characterization of polysilicon load element and investigation

of techniques to control its stability for accurate power measurement in May;

Assembled computers and controller boards for the characterization

experiment. Software to run the test is currently being developed.

FY 1998 Continued work on characterization of polysilicon load element and

investigation of techniques to control its stability for accurate power

measurement; Continued to Develop and characterize antenna structures and

passive resonant filters in collaboration with industrial partner.

FY 1999 Complete characterization of the polysilicon load element and investigation

of techniques to control its stability for accurate power measurement; Work

with industrial partner to continue development of on-clip passive resonant

filters, antennas, and digital and analog circuits; Integrate power sensor

element with coplanar transmission lines, passive resonant filters, and

antennas and characterize performance.

FY 2000 Work with industrial partner to complete a working demonstration microwave

power sensor unit; Interface with on-chip circuitry and laptop computer.

60
Semiconductors Electricity Division

Plasma Chemistry - Plasma Processing

Project Leader: James K. Olthoff

Staff-Years: 1.5 professionals

Funding Sources: STRS, OMP, AND OSRD (100%)

Objective: To aid the semiconductor industry in the characterization of discharges

used in plasma processing. Specifically by investigating 1) the

chemical composition of capacitively- and inductively-coupled rf

plasmas, 2) the performance of ion energy analyzers for use as plasma

diagnostics, 3) the effect of ion-molecule collisions on the ions striking

surfaces exposed to the plasma, and 4) fundamental collision data

required for analysis of plasma processing data.

Background: The Electricity Division's work in plasma processing began in 1989 as an

outgrowth of NIST's work in gaseous dielectrics. Initial work involved the evaluation of a

mass spectrometer with an ion energy analyzer as a plasma diagnostic for SEMATECH.

Subsequent research has been supported primarily by the EEEL Office of Microelectronics

Programs under the National Semiconductor Metrology Program, and has emphasized the

characterization of diagnostic devices and validation of theoretical models. In the past 10

years NIST has become a leader in the development of “reference” discharges for use in these

studies, including GEC rf Reference Cells with capacitively- and inductively-coupled sources,

and a Townsend discharge cell. Application of a wide range of diagnostic measurements,

(electrical, mass spectrometric, ion energy analysis, optical emission and laser-induced

fluorescence) to these well-characterized discharges, allows the accumulation of baseline

plasma data necessary to confirm the performance of both the measurement techniques and

the predictive models used to describe the discharge. More recently, NIST has led the world

in providing standard reference data on electron interactions with gases used by the

semiconductor industry. This project is partially funded by the Office of Standard Reference

Data.

Current Tasks:

1. Application of mass spectrometric, ion energy diagnostics to discharges

FY 1989 Interacted with SEMATECH concerning need for characterization and

calibration of a mass spectrometer/ion energy analyzer and a Langmuir probe.

FY 1990 Fabricated and brought to full operation GEC rf reference cell with optical,

mass spectrometric, and electrical diagnostics.

FY 1991 Characterized mass spectrometer/energy analyzer for use as a real time

diagnostic in rf production reactors; Sent results to SEMATECH for

publication as a SEMATECH report.

FY 1992 Installed improved mass spectrometer/ion energy analyzer system to GEC

Cell; Measured ion energy distributions in argon, argon/oxygen, and

argon/helium mixtures and correlated with electrical and optical

measurements.

61
Semiconductors Electricity Division

FY 1993 Measured effects of trace impurities, such as oxygen or water, on electrical

characteristics of argon discharges.

FY 1994 Performed comprehensive studies (including mass spectrometric, ion energies,

optical emission, and electrical) of rf discharges in hydrogen and

argon/hydrogen; Performed preliminary ion energy measurements in dc

Townsend discharges.

FY 1995 Edited special journal issue dedicated to research performed on GEC rf

Reference Cells; Constructed new inductively coupled GEC rf cell.

FY 1996 Completed investigation of rf discharges in SF6; Completed investigation of

ion energy diagnostic measurements for dc Townsend discharges in argon,

helium, oxygen, nitrogen, CHF3, and SF6.

FY 1997 Measured gas decomposition in inductively coupled argon plasmas containing

O2, N2, SF6, and Cl2.

FY 1998 Measured ion flux and energies in inductively coupled plasmas.

FY 1999 Extend mass spectrometric diagnostics to rf plasmas in the presence of silicon

wafers and transfer technique to industry.

FY 2000 Develop method to measure time resolved ion energy distributions in pulsed

plasmas.

2. Compilation and analysis of fundamental data for the semiconductor industry

FY 1995 Initiated investigation of known electron impact cross sections for CF4 and

CHF3.

FY 1996 Completed electron-impact investigation for CF4 and CHF3; Published

comprehensive paper and made summary data publicly available on WorldWide Web; Measured electron attachment to CCl2F2 molecules.

FY 1997 Investigated electron impact cross sections for CCl2F2, C2F6, and C3F8;

Prepared papers on CCl2F2 and C2F6 and the summary data were made

available on the World Wide Web.

FY 1998 Reviewed electron-impact cross sections for C3F8 and Cl2. Measured total

scattering cross section for Cl2. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Measure electron attachment cross sections for excited species using crossed

beam method; Review cross sections for SF6.

FY 2000 Measure electron attachment cross sections for radical species generated in

plasma processing gases.

62
MAGNETICS

Magnetic Recording Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Magnetic Instruments and Materials Characterization . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Nanoprobe Imaging for Magnetic Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

63
64
Magnetics Electromagnetic Technology Division

Magnetic Recording Metrology

Project Leader: David P. Pappas

Staff-Years: 4.0 Professionals, 1.0 Guest Researcher, 0.25 Undergraduate Student

Funding Sources: NIST (STRS-44%, Competence-18%), ATP (11%), Other Agency

(27%)

Objective: Develop measurement methods and standards required by the magnetic

data storage industry to further the development of ultra-high density

magnetic recording, the performance of advanced heads, and nanoscale

magnetic recording techniques.

Background: Magnetic data storage is one of the key industries driving the revolution in

information technologies. Information systems, for both commercial and military applications,

requiring terabytes of data storage and gigabyte transfer rates, are envisioned in the next 10 to

20 years. To achieve these storage densities and transfer rates, the size of magnetic bits and

sensors needs to be reduced to submicrometer dimensions and the sensors and write elements

need to work at very high frequencies. To enable these technological developments, new

measurement methods and standards are needed. These include methods to measure domain

structure of submicrometer magnetic devices, methods to accurately simulate read head and

magnetoresistive random access memory components, and standards for magnetic imaging and

high frequency thin-film permeability. Techniques based on scanned-probe microscopies need

to be developed to address specific issues in magnetic recording.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop magnetic imaging reference standards (MIRS) heads

FY 1995 Fabricated first magnetic imaging reference samples for magnetic force

microscopy calibration.

FY 1996 Samples distributed for magnetic force microscopy, SEMPA (scanning

electron microscopy with polarization analysis), and Lorentz characterization.

FY 1997 Began magnetic media survivability studies using magnetic imaging

standards; Prepared imaging Standards; Prepared imaging standards for

general distribution.

FY 1998 Developed ability to record bit patterns; Tested uncoated media for writing

MIRS patterns; Tested heads for bit size compatibility with Magnetic Force

Microscopy. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Fabricate MIRS samples and correlate magnetic properties using SEMPA and

Low Velocity Read/Write Test Stand. Collaboration with Physics Laboratory.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan; 1999 Budget Narrative)

2. Develop hard disk drive metrology capability (Competence)

FY 1995 - 1997 Built proto-type Low Velocity Read/Write Test Stand; Recorded and imaged

bits using commercial heads and magnetic force microscope, respectively.

65
Magnetics Electromagnetic Technology Division

FY 1998 Built Low Velocity Read/Write Test Stand including: Environmentally

controlled enclosure, 5 axis motorized, computer controlled heated/cooled

stage. Dual view video monitor. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 - 2000 Use LVR/W test stand to perform strip line measurements of high frequency

media erasure characteristics; High temperature magnetic media bit stability

and write tests; Advanced write head metrology development. (1999 Budget

Narrative; 1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

3. Develop advanced scanned probe microscopy metrology for magnetic data storage industry

(ATP)

FY 1998 Developed chemical-mechanical methods to measure efficacy of novel

magnetic disc lubricants; Developed chemically modified tips for atomic force

microscopy; Developed methods for imaging hydrophobic and hydrophilic

surfaces with AFM; Developed low temperature atomic force microscope;

Installed electron beam deposition system for evaporation of magnetic

materials on piezo-electric scanning probe tips.

FY 1999 - 2000 Nanometer scale tribology of magnetic storage media lubricants will be

conducted to image the local lubrication coverage; Compare lubrication

coverage of different lubes on various surfaces and compare to actual media

performance as measured on a spin stand; Install rotating sample holder with

mask in e-beam system to prepare uniformly coated magnetic force

microscope tips.

4. Develop in-situ metrology for magnetic thin film analysis

FY 1998 Assembled vacuum characterization/deposition system with low energy

electron diffraction, angle resolved Auger, magneto-optic Kerr rotation and

susceptibility system and spatially resolved spin polarized secondary electron

spectroscopy; Measured spin reorientation transitions in rare-earth/transitionmetal structures; Measured magnetization vs. temperature scaling for rare

earth surfaces and compared to the bulk scaling. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Develop metrology for the storage industry including in-situ magnetostriction

measurements of thin films via susceptibility and surface-sensitive, spinresolved secondary electron spectroscopy; Develop in-situ, absolute moment

metrology techniques applicable to thin films. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

5. Develop magnetic film reference samples for hard disk drive industry

FY 1998 Conducted round robin interlaboratory comparison of nine different magnetic

thin film samples including 12 labs from industry, academia, and national

laboratories with four common metrology tools; Sputter-deposited single

crystal nickel films on diamond as potential reference material; Set up e-beam

deposition system and configured for making magnetic thin film samples.

FY 1999- 2000 Fabrication of samples will be continued. Preliminary feedback from industry

reveals interest in consensus standards in the short term. Proceed with

development of consensus standard for B-H loopers, vibrating sample,

SQUID, and alternating gradient field magnetometers. Long-range

development and focus will be to generate traceable magnetic thin film

reference samples. (1999 Budget Narrative)

66
Magnetics Electromagnetic Technology Division

Magnetic Instruments and Materials Characterization

Project Leader: Ron B. Goldfarb

Staff-Years: 4.7 Professionals, 1.3 NRC Postdocs, 1.0 Guest Researcher, 0.5

Graduate Student

Funding Sources: NIST (STRS 46%, Competence 14%), ATP (13%), Other Agency

(27%)

Objective: Develop instruments, measurement protocols, and theoretical models to

characterize the magnetic properties of films, particles, and bulk solids

as functions of magnetic field strength, field history, temperature, and

time. Develop, promote, and transfer to industry magnetic metrology

for applications in magneto-optics, magnetic data storage, magnetochemistry, power conversion, and high frequency electromagnetics.

Background: Researchers, developers, producers, and users of magnetic materials need tools

for the accurate determination of magnetic properties and the analytical interpretation of data.

Industries supported include: manufacturers of inductive recording heads, magnetoresistive

read-back heads, thin-film and particulate recording media, and magnetoresistive magnetic

memories; producers of microwave materials; companies researching magnetoresistive

sensors; superconductor wire manufacturers, and magnetic-particle researchers in medicine.

The Project provides measurement services, often in the form of collaborations, to laboratories

that do not have magnetic measurement and analysis capability.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop new magnetic measurement instruments and techniques

FY 1997 Developed background subtraction and sample-change techniques in

reciprocating-sample method of magnetization measurements; Improved

sensitivity and reduced noise in vibrating-sample magnetometer; Developed

pulsed-field apparatus for magneto-optics.

FY 1998 Built Kerr effect magnetometer to measure remanent magnetization in

magnetic recording media after exposure to pulsed fields; Added high field

and variable frequency capability to induction-field (B-H) looper; Installed

new alternating gradient magnetometer (AGM); Suggested software

improvements to magnetometer manufacturers; Improved speed and accuracy

of vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Improve magnetometer techniques used in magnetic recording industry:

alternating gradient magnetometer (AGM), induction-field (B-H) looper,

vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM). (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

2. Develop methods to measure magnetic relaxation in recorded bits approaching the

superparamagnetic limit of magnetic recording

FY 1997 Developed capability to deposit quality hard disk media; Developed VSM

technique to simulate thermal decay of bit transitions and extract fundamental

67
Magnetics Electromagnetic Technology Division

energy barrier to thermal erasure; Developed magnetometer techniques to

measure thermal decay and switching volumes of hard magnetic media at

various temperatures. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1998 Studied time and temperature dependence of magnetic viscosity using

different magnetometers; Used Kerr microscopy to measure viscosity at

nanosecond time scales; Developed capability to measure viscosity

continuously from nanoseconds to seconds; Developed capability for

measuring viscosity using scanned magnetic head and correlated with

magnetometer measurements; Deposited high coercivity CoCrTa media for

viscosity studies; Developed self-consistent magnetometer technique to study

thermal relaxation in media. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Develop ability to make patterned media and measure thermal stability as a

function of lithographically defined bit size; Determine possibilities for

magnetoresistive measurement of thermal decay in longitudinal media;

Develop higher amplitude pulsed magnetic field sources; Determine

sensitivity of non-thermal switching speeds to bulk properties; Study spatial

structure of magnetic domains in media as a function of switching speed;

Determine role of spin waves in assisting reversal process in media.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan; 1999 Budget Narrative)

FY 2000 Observe switching in media using inductive and optical time-resolved

methods; Measure write-head field rise times using inductive techniques.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

3. Develop time-resolved magneto-optic Kerr-effect metrology for dynamical magnetic domain

imaging of nanoscopic magneto-electronic devices

FY 1997 Demonstrated sub-picosecond time-resolved magnetic characterization using

second-harmonic magneto-optic phenomena in the far-field; Characterized

dynamical response of thin-film magnetic recording head materials at

frequencies above 100 MHz; Collaborated with National Storage Industry

Consortium (NSIC) on fundamental limits of magnetic recording; Began to

correlate SH-MOKE results with neutron and x-ray measurements of

surface/interface magnetic properties in Permalloy; Investigated diagnostic

uses for SH-MOKE in electromigration, surface oxidation, and interface

diffusion; Developed inductive method to measure magnetic relaxation times

in magnetic films; Compared surface dynamics measured with time-resolved

SH-MOKE and bulk dynamics measured inductively; Performed dynamical

measurements on FeTaN films; Designed and fabricated reference coplanar

waveguides for comparing switching speeds of different materials. (1998 MSL

Strategic Plan)

FY 1998 Compared time-resolved SH-MOKE and with inductive method; Designed

new coplanar waveguides for delivery of field pulses; Automated date

acquisition; Determined role of spin-wave generation in precessional damping;

Studied uniformity of switching in thin-film head materials with Kerr

microscopy; Studied role of inhomogeneity in anisotropy on damping of

precession; Collaborated with NSIC on limits of magnetic recording; Imaged

narrow NiFe stripe domain patterns after switching by high speed pulses;

Extended dynamical measurements to different film thicknesses and shapes;

Demonstrated performance of SH-MOKE at small spot sizes (2-4 μm);

Measured SH-MOKE in FeAlN and FeTaN in addition to NiFe; Optimized

substrates for SH-MOKE; Modeled magnetization dynamics with Landau68
Magnetics Electromagnetic Technology Division

Lifshitz phenomemology; Developed new method to control precessional

dynamics in Ni-Fe films using two field pulses. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Continue optical and inductive studies of high speed magnetic response;

Benchmark switching speeds in alternative head materials; Extend techniques

to higher coercivity materials; Continue short-time thermal decay studies;

Extend resolution of SH-MOKE technique to micrometer scales or smaller;

Continue studies of fundamental origins of precessional damping and

fundamental processes in thermal decay of magnetization; Continue

collaboration with NSIC; Study spatial dependence of dynamic response in

soft magnetic films; Compare surface and bulk magnetodynamics by

simultaneous MOKE and SH-MOKE measurements; Compare experiments on

coherently controlled damping with theoretical models. (1998 MSL Strategic

Plan; 1999 Budget Narrative)

FY 2000 Use SH-MOKE to measure magnetodynamics in ferromagneticantiferromagnetic exchange-biased interfaces for giant magnetoresistive

(GMR) devices; Develop probe techniques to extend time-resolved magnetooptics to sub-micrometer dimensions. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

4. Measure interfacial magnetostriction in multilayer magnetic films (New task)

FY 1998 Constructed apparatus to measure surface and interface magnetostriction;

Developed microwave structures for fast pulse delivery; Demonstrated spot

MOKE system for measurement of bulk magnetostriction in soft

ferromagnetic films; Measured interface magnetostriction in Cu/NiFe.Cu and

Ta/NiFe/Ta trilayers using SH-MOKE and compared with bulk data.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Perform surface magnetostriction measurement using SH-MOKE and bulk

magnetostriction using MOKE; Test microstructural origins of

magnetostriction; Correlate dynamical and magnetostriction measurements to

determine role of magnetostriction in magnetodynamics. (1998 MSL Strategic

Plan)

FY 2000 Extend surface magnetostriction measurements to study effect of local stress

variations on magnetic properties; Perform time-resolved magnetostriction

measurement using time-resolved magnetoresistance. (1998 MSL Strategic

Plan)

5. Develop methods to characterize sub-micrometer magnetoresistive devices for use in

recording heads, magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), and sensors.

FY 1997 Compared effects of high pulsed currents and elevated temperatures on

magnetoresistive response of films; Measured and characterized low frequency

noise in spin-valves in collaboration with magnetic recording companies;

Measured size and magnetostatic effects in spin-valves designed for use in

recording heads and MRAM; Performed detailed comparisons of spin-valve

performance with magnetic models. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1998 Designed circuits to measure high-speed response of sub-micrometer GMR

devices and tunnel junction devices to be used in recording heads and

MRAM; Measured high speed response of devices used in DARPA program;

Fabricated magnetic tunnel junction arrays and optimized for sensor

applications; Fabricated arrays on flexible substrates; Developed low-noise

test apparatus to quantify ultimate performance of GMR sensors; Fabricated

69
Magnetics Electromagnetic Technology Division

magnetic nanostructures for characterization of advanced media and read head

concepts; Studied effects of oxidation of tunnel junction barriers; Measured

SH-MOKE in NiFe/A1203 tunnel junctions as function of thickness.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Complete high-speed measurements for DARPA MRAM program. Apply

high-speed metrology to submicrometer GMR devices for use in recording

applications. Complete low noise measurement system and measure GMR

sensor response down to 10 pT/ Hz. Characterize magnetic properties of sub100 nm structures including isolated switching properties and cluster

interactions; Optimize GMR arrays for imaging and metrology applications.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

6. Conduct fundamental studies of practical magnetic materials and new materials of current

interest

FY 1997 Measured magnetic properties of nanoparticles and molecules of iron, iron

oxides, and ferritin.

FY 1998 Measured ac losses of Nb3Sn multifilamentary superconductors for fusion and

high energy physics applications; Advised manufacturer about flux jumps in

certain wires; Measured exchange coupling in ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic

bilayers; Measured magnetic particles of iron carbides and oxides in

collaboration with other laboratories.

FY 1999 Provided consultation and measurements on ac loss behavior of

superconductors for fusion energy and high energy physics projects, including

contributions to benchmark interlaboratory comparisons; Measure magnetic

properties of nanoparticles.

70
Magnetics Electromagnetic Technology Division

Nanoprobe Imaging for Magnetic Technology

Project Leader: John Moreland

Staff-Years: 1.0 Professionals, 1.0 Guest Researcher

Funding Sources: NIST (STRS-30%, Competence-40%), ATP (15%), Other Agency

(15%)

Objective: Develop scanned probe microscopy (SPM) in support of the magnetic

storage industry and work with industry to understand and relate SPM

images to magnetic and electronic properties of media and devices that

affect the performance and manufacture of current technologies as well

as the direction of future developments in the recording industry.

Background: The intense competition for a magnetic data storage market exceeding $50

billion/year has led manufacturers to push the limits of drive technologies. Heads and media

are affected by nm-scale morphological and electronic properties which directly or indirectly

influence the performance of current drive designs with regard to speed and storage capacity.

Nm-scale measurements of roughness, critical dimensions, field patterns, and local electronic

processes provide information about the fundamental operation and ultimate performance

limitations, which is useful in the development process. In addition, nondestructive, qualityassurance measurements can be performed during the manufacturing process on components

prior to assembly of a complete drive. Scanned probe microscopies such as atomic force

microscopy (AFM), magnetic force microscopy (MFM), and scanning potentiometry are

examples of imaging techniques that are uniquely qualified for these applications because of

the nm-scale dimensions of the various probes. NIST has recognized that there is a need to

develop and test SPM techniques, demonstrate their usefulness, and generally facilitate the

transfer of the latest innovations in SPM technology to the storage industry. [See also

Magnetic Recording Metrology project.]

Current Tasks:

1. SPM imaging of magnetic materials and devices

FY 1997 Developed high-resolution scanning potentiometry based on SPM; Provided

images of devices being developed by U.S. company for MR heads; Installed

and tested e-beam system for depositing ultra-pure magnetic films for MFM

tip coatings.

FY 1998 Develop data acquisition and analyses for "dip stick" adhesion force

microscopy.

FY 1999 Develop high-bandwidth (>500 MHz) scanning potentiometry for imaging

magnetic thin film devices; Develop theoretical understanding of phase

imaging for applications to friction/adhesion studies; Improve voltage

sensitivity and spatial resolution of scanning potentiometry instruments;

Develop controlled chemistry of tip coatings for quantitative measurement of

adhesion and stiction between disk drive components.

71
Magnetics Electromagnetic Technology Division

FY 2000 Build and test puck level scanning potentiometry instrument; Perform

measurements of electromagnetic fields as a function of frequency a few nm

above the air bearing surface of thin film recording heads.

FY 2001 Develop SPM instrumentation for molecular scale tribology; Develop surface

potential imaging of disk drive components; Transfer resulting technology to

industry.

2. SPM Metrology

FY 1995 Demonstrated superparamagnetic cantilever coatings for MFM in collaboration

with the University of Nebraska; hailed by SPM manufacturers as the first

step towards quantitative MFM; NIST employee sent to U.S. company, as

part of NIST Industry Fellows Program, to develop SPM for industrial

applications.

FY 1996 Developed standards and standard measurement practices for MFM; Designed

Magnetic Imaging Reference Sample (MIRS) as a qualitative reference for

MFM; Started three-way collaboration among ourselves, a U.S. company, and

the Electron Physics Group of the Physics Laboratory at NIST; Improved

MFM resolution and image interpretation by investigating new cantilever

coatings.

FY 1997 Began significant distribution of MIRS.

FY 1998 Task transferred to Magnetic Recording Metrology Project.

3. Magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM)

FY 1996 Began development of MRFM for three-dimensional imaging of magnetic

phenomena.

FY 1997 Constructed optical fiber interferometer for cantilever motion detection,

constructed rf circuit for sample excitation, observed resonance for first time,

and developed imaging algorithm to generate real space magnetic resonance

image output. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1998 Demonstrated MRFM imaging with better than 1-μm resolution in three

dimensions; Constructed 3-axis magnet cryostat for MRFM at 1 K.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Install and test diffusion furnaces for fabrication of ultra sensitive cantilevers;

Develop high-bandwidth MRFM techniques for imaging electromagnetic

fields at frequencies as high as 1 GHz; Develop capabilities for

micromachining high-performance, specialized SPM cantilevers; Fabricate

ultra high sensitivity cantilevers for single-spin atomic-scale MRFM; Fabricate

cantilever chips with integrated detectors for single-spin atomic-scale MRFM.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Demonstrate atomic resolution MRFM; Integrate fiber optic motion detector,

cantilever, rf resonator, and magnetic films, onto a microchip for ultrasensitive magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Optimize MEMS (micro-electromechanical) processing for totally integrated microchip MRFM instruments

and magnetic resonance spectrometers. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 2001 Study atomic scale magnetic phenomena relevant to the development of heads

and media; Study organic structures and processes with the MRFM; Establish

world class facility for atomic resolution magnetic resonance imaging.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

72
Magnetics Electromagnetic Technology Division

4. Develop low-temperature SPM

FY 1989 Bathysphere cryostat (developed at NIST for superconductor transport studies)

adapted for scanning tunneling microscopy (STM).

FY 1996 Began construction on cryogenic multimode AFM to extend SPM capabilities

to low temperatures for fundamental studies of magnetic phenomena.

FY 1997 Completed construction of low temperature AFM cryostat and tested at room

temperature.

FY 1998 Task transferred to Magnetic Recording Metrology Project.

73
74
SUPERCONDUCTORS

Superconductor Interfaces and Electrical Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

High Performance Sensors, Converters, and Mixers . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Josephson Array Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Nanoscale Cryoelectronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

High-Tc Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Superconductor Standards and Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

75
76
Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

Superconductor Interfaces and Electrical Transport

Project Leader: Jack W. Ekin

Staff-Years: 2.0 Professionals, 1.0 Contract, 1.0 Technician, 1.0 Graduate Student

Funding Sources: NIST (STRS, 37%), Other Agency (63%)

Objective: Develop measurement methods and obtain data for industry and for

other projects within the Division in support of low-temperature and

high-temperature superconductor applications in magnetics, power

transmission, electronics, and microwaves. Characterize

superconductor interfaces to aid in the commercial application of

superconducting high current density wire and integrated circuits. Use

unique measurement capabilities to develop transport and

electromechanical measurement methods of the highest sensitivity and

accuracy to assist industry in improving the performance of

commercial thin films and wires.

Background: The high-temperature-superconductor (HTS) industry has asked for NIST's help

to measure and develop high quality contacts and interfaces for both thin-film and bulk

superconductor devices. The basic interface conduction and noise mechanisms are not yet

understood. In magnet technology, both HTS and low-temperature superconductor (LTS)

magnets are being developed in the direction of higher fields (for nuclear magnetic resonance

and high-energy physics) and larger magnets (especially with the increased interest by U.S.

industry in superconductor power conditioning magnets since the announced deregulation of

power utilities). Both directions lead to higher magnetic loading of the superconductor, which

necessitates the need for measurements of the effect of stress on their electrical performance.

The new HTS materials also have significant magnetic field anisotropy which has created a

new set of measurement problems and modeling equations for conductor performance.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop metrology for characterization of electromechanical performance of superconductors

and perform measurements needed by industry to create a database for commercial design of

large superconductor magnet systems and transmission lines

FY 1996 Developed technique for accurately measuring the Young's modulus of

niobium-tin superconductors at cryogenic temperatures to resolve a long

standing 300% discrepancy in values reported in the literature; Designed

state-of-the-art apparatus for measurement of the anisotropy of Jc with respect

to magnetic field angle, for characterization of HTS at high currents in

magnetic fields approaching 30 T.

FY 1997 Measured the effect of fatigue degradation of high-purity aluminum in large

aluminum-stabilized conductors and showed potential for 40% reduction in

materials design requirements; Modified transverse-stress apparatus for stressfree and axial-strain measurements of a Nb3Sn tape for testing a three77
Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

dimensional strain-effect model; Installed and tested new 18 T magnet system

for electromechanical testing of high-field superconductors.

FY 1998 Modified the high-field axial-strain apparatus to allow accurate testing of

high-strength wire and tape conductors; Developed test method for measuring

the transverse-stress effect in multifilamentary BSCCO (bismuth-strontium

calcium copper oxide) conductors; Developed metrology for tensile

measurements of short (1 cm gage length) rolling-assisted biaxially aligned

textured substrate (RABiT) substrates at cryogenic temperatures; Collaborated

with Colorado University on finite element modeling of yttrium-bariumcopper oxide (YBCO) coated conductors; Completed draft of first part of text

book on cryogenic metrology.

FY 1999 Measure transverse-stress effects on ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD)

coated superconductors; Measure residual resistance ratio on Ni substrates;

Complete draft of book on cryogenic metrology, edit, conduct data searches.

FY 2000 Write paper on residual resistance ratio of Ni substrates; Measure fatigue

properties of Bi-2223 under transverse compressive stress; Measure transverse

compressive stress effects in Bi-2212 superconductors; Develop improved

axial-strain measurement technique.

2. Develop metrology for evaluating superconductor interfaces and obtain database needed by

industry for the development of high-quality electronic contacts

FY 1996 Measured the 4 K, high-field (up to 12 T) tunneling characteristics of thallium

interfaces fabricated at NIST using films from two manufacturers; Obtained

the first high-magnetic-field tunneling conductance measurements of

neodymium-cerium-copper-oxide films in collaboration with the University of

Maryland; Discovered possible correlation between magnetic-field-dependent

zero-bias conductance peak and evidence for d-wave pairing symmetry;

Developed a method for improving the measurement sensitivity of our

tunneling conductance measurements and obtained the first high-sensitivity

transport properties of vertical a,b-axis superconductor/normal-metal junctions;

Order-of-magnitude improvement over c-axis normal-metal interfaces

achieved; Record specific resistivity of 2 x 10-9 ohm-cm2 obtained for planar

YBCO interfaces.

FY 1997 Measured conductance characteristics of YBCO/gold contact system as a

function of oxygen annealing temperature; Determined an optimal annealing

temperature range of 550 °C to 600 °C for that contact system; Established

that Au diffusion along grain-boundary is the cause for reduction in contact

resistance; Extended the zero-bias conductance measurement of YBCO/Au

junctions to fields of 18 T and temperatures below the lambda-point in order

to discriminate between the Anderson-Appelbaum model and mid-gap states

model for zero-bias conductance anomalies; Acquired necessary equipment for

setting up low-frequency noise measurement.

FY 1998 Developed electromechanical test capability for wire-bond pull strength and

interfacial shear strength experiments; Tested for a correlation between

interface mechanical properties and the specific interface resistivity;

Developed low-frequency noise measurement for HTS/Au junctions and

characterize noise behavior in terms of junction area, temperature, and bias

voltage; Began fabrication of Au contacts to YBCO in the ab-plane direction

using ramp-edge junction geometry; Explored new approaches to lowresistance contact without oxygen annealing.

78
Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

FY 1999 Develop and test a model for treating the transport properties and noise

characteristics of high-temperature-superconductor surfaces; Write a paper on

noise data and modeling transport properties and noise at YBCO interfaces.

FY 2000 Develop contacts with high conductivity for high-current coated film

conductors; Develop wire bond techniques for high-temperature

superconductors with low specific resistivities and optimized mechanical

strength, for use in high-Q pickup coils, as well as passive filter and antenna

applications.

79
Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

High Performance Sensors, Converters, and Mixers

Project Leader: Erich N. Grossman

Staff-Years: 2.5 Professionals, 1 Postdoc Researcher

Funding Sources: NIST (STRS-23%), Other Agency (77%)

Objective: Develop millimeter-wave and infrared sensors and frequency converters

for measurements and standards in support of other NIST divisions.

Apply advanced superconducting integrated circuit fabrication,

cryoelectronic, infrared, mm-wave, and other techniques to solve

measurement problems at the limits of technology. Projects cover

applications of Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices

(SQUIDS), and in the infrared (IR), precise radiometry, frequency

synthesis, spectroscopy, and imaging.

Background: The project represents the consolidation of previously separate efforts in midand far-infrared measurements and standards development on the one hand, and low-noise

SQUID development on the other. The project now focusses more closely on infrared

measurement technology. Mid- and far-infrared technology (wavelength >10 μm) is now a

large industry. Originally aerospace and defense-related, it is now moving to many purely

commercial applications in security, night vision, materials testing, quality assurance, and

more. As such applications proliferate, supporting needs for measurements and standards

technology are also increasing. Accurate measurement of total power and power spectral

density (i.e., radiometry and low- resolution spectroscopy) is a recognized calibration problem

for manufacturers of focal plane arrays and blackbody sources. This project, in collaboration

with other NIST organizations (Divisions 844, 838, 815, 811) and private industry, develops

precision electrical substitution radiometers based on superconducting thermometers. They

can be used for radiometric measurement of absolute temperature (refining ITS-90 in the 50-

200 K range), calibration of blackbodies and focal plane arrays at low power levels (〈100

nw), absolute laser power measurements, and audio-frequency electrical power measurements.

This project also investigates the properties of IR microantennas, and microantenna-coupled

diodes. Metrology of these devices is a key issue for developers of millimeter-wave and IR

imagers, engineered emissivity surfaces, and IR rectifiers. They are also key components in

IR and optical frequency synthesis systems being developed for time and frequency

metrology. The incorporation of IR microantennas with uncooled IR sensor materials, such as

VO2 is a key to developing new wireless telecommunications applications at far-IR

frequencies. Finally, SQUID preamps enable the integration of high sensitivity far-IR sensors

into large format staring arrays, using the SQUIDS as elements of a high speed multiplexer.

The development of large format arrays is expected to enable new applications of far-IR

imaging, particularly for satellite-borne remote sensing.

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Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

Current Tasks:

1. Develop absolute radiometer for the low background infrared (IR) facility (NIST Radiometric

Physics Division), for the measurement of light with a wavelength in the range of 10 μm

FY 1986 Concept of Kinetic Inductance Thermometer (KIT) developed.

FY 1990 Demonstrated closed-loop resolution of 1 picowatt using KIT without

absorber.

FY 1993 KIT integrated with absorber which degraded resolution by more than a factor

of 1000.

FY 1995 Dropped KIT in favor of transition-edge thermometer to improve

manufacturing; Stabilized absorber to improve resolution; Demonstrated

ability to fabricate transition-edge thermometers.

FY 1996 Delivered radiometer to NIST/Physics Laboratory’s Radiometric Physics

Division (now Optical Technology Division).

FY 1997 Designed and built second-generation radiometer (RAD II) with integrated

blackbody source, demonstrating absolute accuracy of 0.1%.

FY 1998 Continue design and construction of RAD II.

FY 1999 Continue design and construction of RAD II; Present design of source

assembly and performance in application to NASA bolometer characterization

at NEWRAD ’99.

2. Develop infrared antennas and diodes for solar power generation

FY 1995 Project begun with funding from Air Force; Collaboration with NIST/Physics

Laboratory’s Time and Frequency Division to develop accurate measurements

of efficiency of infrared antennas and lithographic diodes.

FY 1996 Fabricated near-IR antenna using electron-beam lithography; Fabricated

lithographic metal-insulator-metal diodes.

FY 1997 Continued development and IR testing of antennas and metal-insulator-metal

diodes; Measured efficiency of each.

FY 1998 Compile and publish results.

FY 1999 Continue work under CRADA with ITN Energy Systems; Analyze tunneling

in asymmetric MIM diodes; Fabricate submicron asymmetric MIM’s and test

at wavelengths of 10 μm, 5 μm, and below.

3. Develop infrared antennas and bolometers for focal plane arrays (room-temperature antennacouples bolometers for imaging)

FY 1996 Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) established

with U.S. company; Proposal for multimode antenna-coupled array developed.

FY 1997 Designed, fabricated, and optically tested room-temperature dipole

antenna/bolometers for 10-μm detection and imaging.

FY 1998 Compiled and published results; Established second CRADA with company

on measurement of "engineered emissivity" surfaces; Measured and analyzed

angle-dependent reflectance and transmittance at room temperature and 77 K

of samples supplied by company. Preliminary data on first sample delivered

to industrial partner.

FY 1999 Collect further reflectance data on initial samples; Develop anodic etching

facility for inhouse fabrication of photonic crystals in silicon.

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Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

4. Develop AC/DC thermal converter

FY 1994 Initiated project to apply kinetic inductance thermometers to improve the

accuracy at which alternating and direct voltage signals could be compared;

Discussions held with collaborators in Electricity Division. (1998 EEEL

Strategic Plan)

FY 1995 Performance analysis made of alternating and direct voltage converter using

transition-edge thermometers. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 1996 Delivered chips and cryogenic mounts to Electricity Division; Performed

preliminary alternating and direct voltage conversion measurements (with

Electricity Division). (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 1997 Provided improved chips and mounting assemblies to Electricity Division;

Sensor noise level corresponding to 2 ppm precision demonstrated in AC/DC

measurement using transition edge thermometers. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 1998 Developed proposals for funding further work on AC/DC substitution;

Developed Nb-Ta transition edge sensors for operation at lower critical

temperatures for performance advantages; Integrated assembly into Electricity

Division’s "NIST Automated Comparator System 2" (Gaithersburg);

Comapred cryogenic converter to secondary transfer standard (Semiconductor

Junction Thermal Converter) for the first time, obtaining agreement to within

12 ppm at 4 μm and 100 Hz in current comparator mode.

FY 1999 Consult with Electricity Division on means to improve availabilty and

useability of devices for wider user community.

5. Wireless telecommunications at terahertz frequencies

FY 1996 Initiated program to develop antenna-coupled vanadium-oxide roomtemperature bolometer.

FY 1997 Developed phase pattern metrology of lithographic antennas at frequencies of

atmospheric absorption lines.

FY 1998 Final report to NSA written; Applied for patent on new technique for bias and

readout of VO2 bolometers that enables operation on metal-semiconductor

transition.

FY 1999 Write paper on experimental VO2 transition edge bolometer results, including

performance with new readout technique.

6. Develop multiplexed arrays of 100 mK superconducting bolometers (with Nanoscale

Cryoelectronics Project)

FY 1996 Wrote proposal to NASA, in collaboration with Goddard Space Flight Center.

FY 1997 Demonstrated SQUID multiplexing capability and measure noise equivalent

power (NEP) of bolometers with optical absorbers; Demonstrated operation at

20 kHz using individual SQUID chips; Designed1x8 array.

FY 1998 Fabricated and tested1x8 multiplexer; Integrated multiplexer with

superconducting transition-edge sensors and 100 mK cryostat; Measured

upper limit on back-radiated switching transients; Multiplexer speed of 1

MHz (pixel rate) measured.

FY 1999 Integrate SQUID Multiplexing chips and transition-edge bolometers with

GSFC mechanical "pop-up" design; Incorporate far-IR absorption structures

optimized for 250 μm wavelength and measure absorptance.

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Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

Josephson Array Development

Project Leader: Clark A. Hamilton

Staff-Years: 3.9 Professionals

Funding Sources: NIST (STRS-41%, ATP-16%), Other Agency (43%)

Objective: Advance the sensitivity, accuracy, convenience, and speed of electronic

measurement by developing Josephson array circuits, components,

measurement algorithms, software and systems for such uses as

improved dc voltage standards, fast programmable dc standards,

intrinsic ac voltage standards, and waveform synthesizers. Support

industrial, military, and international standards laboratories in the

realization and use of Josephson standards. Support EEEL

requirements for maintaining the national volt.

Background: Manufacturers of modern precision electronic components and instrumentation

need intrinsic electrical standards at a level of accuracy above that achievable by traditional

electrical metrology and artifact standards. The characterization and calibration of modern

digital voltmeters, reference standards, and converters between analog and digital signals

require the development of new and improved intrinsic standards for the generation and

measurement of dc and ac voltage. Josephson array devices are intrinsic voltage standards

that meet these requirements and they have become the accepted legal method to represent the

SI Volt. This project and its predecessors have revolutionized precision voltage measurement

through the development of the world’s first practical Josephson-junction array standards.

Continuing research is aimed at the development of new Josephson integrated circuits that are

many orders of magnitude faster and meet the need for intrinsic voltage standards that cover a

broad range of frequency and amplitude. Target customers are electronic instrument makers,

DoD contractors, and national and military standards labs (Sandia, Army, Navy, Air Force).

Superior electrical metrology has and will continue to enhance the competitive position of the

U.S. electronics industry.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop second-generation dc Josephson standards operating at one volt and at ten volts

FY 1996 Developed and delivered prototype of compact Josephson voltage standard

(JVS) to NASA. This standard is now circulating among 8 NASA standards

centers and provides an order of magnitude improvement in their voltage

measurement capability.

FY 1997 Developed an improved compact JVS for the Department of Energy;

Organized and ran the 1997 National Conference of Standards Laboratories

(NCSL) JVS interlaboratory comparison.

FY 1998 Developed and taught a three day course on the compact JVS for 20 NASA

metrologists; Tested and delivered the improved compact JVS to Department

of Energy; Designed a third generation compact JVS with smaller size,

integral reversing switching, and improved software. The new instrument is

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Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

compatible with all previous JVS implementations and can be used to upgrade

more than 50 such systems around the world.

FY 1999 Complete and test first prototype of third generation compact JVS; Supply

one unit to the Electricity Division for further testing; Develop and

commercialize a manual low thermal reversing switching that mounts directly

on the front of commercial dc Zener voltage references; Participate in the

1999 NCSL JVS interloaboratory comparison.

FY 2000 Commercialize third generation compact JVS; Add a small low power 4 K

cryocooler to compact JVS to eliminate the need for liquid helium.

2. Develop programmable Josephson voltage standards

FY 1996 Demonstrated high accuracy sine wave synthesis with programmable JVS.

Patent on programmable JVS issued.

FY 1997 Demonstrated programmable JVS at output voltage greater than 1 V.

FY 1998 Performed first high accuracy (5 parts in 107

) comparison of the

programmable JVS source and a state-of-the -art thermal voltage converter;

Demonstrated the programmable JVS as a reference for the EEEL Watt

balance experiment in both velocity and force modes; Set up collaborations

with LCIE (France) and OFMET (Switzerland) for applications of the

programmable JVS. (1999 Budget Narrative)

FY 1999 Develop, test, and deliver the final version of the programmable JVS to the

Watt experiment in Gaithersburg. (1999 Budget Narrative)

FY 2000 Develop improved programmable JVS chips and systems with improved yield,

output voltage, and ease of use. (1999 Budget Narrative)

FY 2001 Commercialize programmable JVS. (1999 Budget Narrative)

3. Develop pulse-programmable Josephson voltage standards (JVS)

FY 1996 Applied for patent on pulse programmable JVS invention; Demonstrated pulse

programmable JVS experimentally.

FY 1997 Used pulse-programmable JVS to synthesize sine waves at frequencies from 1

kHz to 1 MHz.

FY 1998 Integrated 16 Gb/s digital pattern generator into the pulse programmable ac

JVS.

FY 1999 Develop new ultra small junction technology to allow the pulse programmable

JVS to operate at higher voltages. (1999 Budget Narrative)

FY 2000 Design, fabricate, and test a pulse programmable JVS for operation over the

range +1 V to -1 V.

4. Develop a Josephson voltage synthesis system based on single flux quantum (SFQ) voltage

multipliers (New task)

FY 1999 Act as NIST technical representative on the development of SFQ voltage

multiplier under a Phase II SBIR grant with U.S. company; Develop test

hardware for SFQ voltage multiplier chips.

FY 2000 Test SFQ voltage multiplier at NIST.

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Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

Nanoscale Cryoelectronics

Project Leader: David A. Rudman

Staff-Years: 7.0 Professionals, 1.0 Technician, 2.7 NRC Postdoc, 1.0 PREP Postdoc,

2.0 Guest Researchers

Funding Sources: NIST (STRS-26%), Other Agency (74%)

Objective: Develop unique electronic devices and systems operated at milliKelvin

temperatures for applications in fundamental metrology and industrial

instrumentation.

Background: Electronic devices operated at the reduced noise levels afforded by cryogenic

temperatures offer the ultimate in measurement accuracy and sensitivity. The goal of

Nanoscale Cryoelectronics is to exploit this benefit of low temperatures and use microcircuit

technology to develop new devices for fundamental metrology and industrial instrumentation.

This project presently focuses on two such devices: an electron pump capable of counting

electrons one-by-one and an x-ray detector that senses the temperature rise of electrons in a

metallic absorber. The electron pump, based on ultra-small tunnel junctions, can accurately

transfer a specified number of electrons to a capacitor. The pump will provide the basis for a

new fundamental standard of capacitance and may lead to an improved measurement of the

fine structure constant. The x-ray detector achieves far better energy resolution than

conventional detectors, and has demonstrated significant improvements in materials analysis

for semicomductor fabrication and other industrial applications. The same technology is now

being applied to visible and infrated radiation and even to mass spectrometry for large

molecules like DNA.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop single-electron pump for metrological applications

FY 1991 NIST Competence funding received for the first of five years to support the

development of an accurate electron pump.

FY 1992 Error rate of electron pump analyzed and shown to require at least five tunnel

junctions for metrological accuracy.

FY 1993 Five-junction electron pump fabricated and tested.

FY 1994 Experimental results on the five-junction pump demonstrated an accuracy of

0.5 part per million.

FY 1995 Seven-junction pump designed, fabricated, and underwent preliminary testing.

FY 1996 Demonstrated a seven-junction pump with an accuracy of 15 parts per billion

and an average time of 10 minutes between leakage events in the hold mode.

FY 1997 Determined by direct measurement that the electron temperature in an

operating pump is too low to explain the observed error rate, indicating that

errors are proably due to photon-induced cotunneling.

FY 1998 Assembled first prototype of capacitor standard based on counting electrons,

consisting of seven junction electron pump, single-electron tunneling

spectrometer, and cryogenic vacuum-gap capacitor (fabricated by Electricity

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Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

Division); Successfully operated standard with an imprecision better than

1 ppm.

FY 1999 Improve present standard to an imprecision of 0.1 ppm; Construct apparatus

necessary to transport system to Gaithersburg for comparison to the calculable

capacitor; Determine frequency dependence of vacuum gap capacitor.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Compare electron counting standard to calculable capacitor to confirm

accuracy of capacitance measurement (in collaboration with Electricity

Division). (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 2001 Develop secondary standard for capacitor calibration based on new system.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

2. Develop microcalorimeters as x-ray detectors

FY 1996 Demonstrated an x-ray microcalorimeter with an energy resolution of 8 eV at

6 eV and a count rate of 100 counts per second; Obtained NASA funding to

work toward an energy resolution of 2 eV for x-ray astronomy over three

years.

FY 1997 Demonstrated transition-edge x-ray microcalorimeters with energy resolutions

as low as 7.2 eV at 6 keV and (in a separate experiment) count rates as high

as 800 cps.

FY 1998 Demonstrated a microcalorimeter with an energy resolution near 3 eV at 2

keV; Began development of microcalorimeter arrays.

FY 1999 Develop photolithographic techniques for fabricating arrays of

microcalorimeters for x-ray imaging arrays; integrate arrays with SQUIDbased multiplexers; Improve single pixel energy resolution at 6 keV.

FY 2000 Fabricate and test arrays of microcalorimeters for x-ray imaging applications.

3. Develop practical X-ray system for microanalysis applications

FY 1996 Fabricated and tested a complete x-ray system, including adiabatic

demagnetization refrigerator, Superconducting Quantum Interference Device

(SQUID) preamplifier, and superconducting transition-edge microcalorimeter;

Interfaced system to an electron microscope and demonstrated resolution of 8

eV resolution in x-ray fluorescence spectra.

FY 1997 Fabricated and tested an improved adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator and

cryostat with reduced liquid helium consumption; Increased the effective

detection area of the microcalorimeter from 0.06 mm∧

2 to 6 mm∧2 using a

capillary x-ray lens; Demonstrated artifact-free fluorescence spectra at an

energy resolution of 10 eV or less for a wide range of samples.

FY 1998 Demonstrated 0.1 μm diameter contaminant particle analysis on Si substrates,

in line with National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors goals;

Demonstrated the first energy dispersive spectrometry of chemical shift in Al

and Fe compounds.

FY 1999 Utilize improved energy resolution microcalorimeters in develop practical

chemical shift measurement techniques; Apply system to new materials

characterization problems.

FY 2000 Test use of microcalorimeter array to increase collection area and effective

count rate of detector system; Develop capability for use in other, non-SEMbased, x-ray materials analysis systems, such as total relection x-ray

fluorescence.

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Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

4. Develop transition-edge microcalorimeters for optical and ultraviolet applications

FY 1997 Obtained NASA funding to develop optical detectors based on transition-edge

sensor microcalorimeters.

FY 1998 In collaboration with Stanford, fabricated optical microcalorimeter sensors,

and installed on optical telescope at Stanford for testing.

FY 1999 Fabricate detectors on membranes to improve performance; Verify

performance with non-optical tests in adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator.

5. Develop transition-edge bolometers for infrared applications

FY 1997 Demonstrated an infrared transition-edge bolometer with a noise equivalent

power of 3 x 10-18 W/Hz1⁄2; Successfully tested a discrete-component version

of the SQUID multiplexing circuit to be used with bolometer arrays.

FY 1998 Began development of imaging arrays of bolometers based on transition edge

sensors; Constructed an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator for testing

infrared detectors; Fabricated transition edge sensors on micromachined "popup" Si substrates (made at NASA) suitable for high density arrays;

Demonstrated the first SQUID-based multiplexer with performance

appropriate to read out large arrays.

FY 1999 Fabricate and test arrays of "pop-up" transition edge sensor bolometers; Test

with SQUID multiplexer.

6. Develop cryogenic microcalorimeters for high-mass spectrometry

FY 1997 Demonstrated the application of cryogenic microcalorimeters to high

resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry of large molecules.

FY 1998 Acquired a high resolution magnetic sector mass spectrometer for the

development of cryogenic detectors; Constructed an adiabatic demagnetization

refrigerator for mass spectrometer project.

FY 1999 Integrate cryogenic detector system onto mass spectrometer; Compare

performance to conventional detectors; Determine resolution at masses greater

than 100 kDa.

FY 2000 Perform mass spectrometry on large molecules of interest, including DNA.

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Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

High-Tc Electronics

Project Leader: Ronald H. Ono

Staff-Years: 3.5 Professionals, 1.0 Guest Researcher, 1.0 NRC Postdoc,

0.5 Technician

Funding Sources: NIST (STRS-52%, ATP-5%), Other Agency (43%)

Objective: Use the unique properties of high-temperature superconductors to

develop new devices and electronics for measurements and standards

for the electronics industry. Develop new measurement techniques,

devices, and circuits in support of the emerging superconducting

electronics industry.

Background: High-temperature superconductivity (HTS) has opened the possibility for

operating superconducting electronic instrumentation at temperatures accessible with presentday cryocoolers. Low-temperature superconductors have already been used to produce unique

standards, such as the Josephson volt, and measurement apparatus, such as Superconducting

Quantum Interference Devices. Equivalent HTS devices would expand the applicability of

these devices far beyond standards and research laboratories. Thus the primary “customer”

for the devices being developed by this project are the other NIST divisions responsible for

standards and measurement techniques in areas such as the volt, and infrared, terahertz, and

microwave radiation. The project will also provide support for the emerging HTS

superconducting electronics industry, both through measurements and through the

development of HTS devices and circuits.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop microwave testing for unpatterned HTS films (Collaboration with EEEL R-F

Technology Division)

FY 1996 Improved sheet resistance (Rs) and power handling measurements; With

industrial collaborators, compared cavity resonator measurements to other

techniques; Transferred cavity technique to interested parties.

FY 1997 Developed variable temperature measurement capability with dielectric-loaded

cavity resonator, including in-situ variable coupling; Improvements increased

Q of resonator by factor of 10 (equivalent to increasing measurement

sensitivity by factor of 10).

FY 1998 Implemented variable temperature high power Rs measurements using

dielectric-loaded cavity resonator; Constructed cavities to handle full 75 mm

wafers.

FY 1999 - 2000 Evaluate dielectric resonator for Rs measurement standards; Compare with

international efforts in standardized HTS microwave measurements.

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Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

2. Characterize microwave performance of HTS films

FY 1996 Began study of Rs as a function of film processing parameters, using films

made at NIST and from industrial collaborators.

FY 1997 Compared microwave properties of films deposited under different conditions;

Provided measurements on films produced by different manufacturers.

FY 1998 Evaluated microwave performance of samples diced from wafers from a

variety of manufacturers; Performed measurement intercomparisons with

different laboratories.

FY 1999- 2000 Carry out intercomparisons with laboratories outside of the U.S. as well as

U.S. industrial labs.

3. Develop cryogenic microwave device measurement capabilities (with EEEL Electromagnetic

Fields Division)

FY 1996 Developed techniques for calibrated cryogenic microwave probing of

superconducting devices; Used probe station to improve measurements of

HTS devices patterned by different techniques.

FY 1997 Successfully modeled coplanar waveguide device performance based on

measurements of unpatterned films; Implemented measurements of thirdharmonic generation (TOI) as a function of microwave power; Found only

weak dependence of TOI on patterned techniques; Measured harmonic

generation as a function of line width and length

FY 1998 Implemented automatically calibrated high power measurement capability;

Investigated effect of film properties on device performance.

FY 1999 Investigate nonlinear properties of thin film superconductors and dielectrics.

4. Develop HTS Josephson junction technology for measurements and standards applications

FY 1996 Tested alternative junction technology (bicrystals) for application to voltage

standards and other measurements; Fabricated first bicrystal junctions on

sapphire substrates; Developed novel multilayer process for HTS circuits.

FY 1997 Completed study of junctions on sapphire bicrystals; Completed

demonstration of multilayer circuit fabrication.

FY 1998 Completed evaluation of stacked-junction circuit performance; Transferred

technology to industry; End sub task.

FY 1999 Evaluate electron-beam irradiated junctions, bicrystal junctions, and rampedge junctions for use in ac voltage standards.

5. Develop HTS bolometers as improved radiometers

FY 1996 Measured electrical noise in HTS films at transition temperature on different

substrates, including silicon; Noise approached the Johnson limit, verifying

that films are appropriate for thermometer applications (with U.S. companies).

FY 1997 Fabricated HTS films on large-area silicon membranes; Devices currently

under test for use in electrical substitution radiometers (same collaborations).

FY 1998 Fabricated prototype electrical-substitution radiometer using HTS transitionedge thermometer (same collaborations).

FY 1999 Develop fabrication technology for single pixel, high speed HTS bolometers;

Evaluate feasibility of fabrication YBCO hot-electron bolometers for

heterodyne detection in the THz regime.

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Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

6. Develop micromachined ion traps (with NIST/Physics Laboratory’s Time and Frequency

Division)

FY 1996 Developed initial design to test micromachining concepts for ion trap

fabrication; Selected laser cutting as most appropriate initial approach for

substrate machining.

FY 1997 Fabricated and assembled first micromachined ion traps; Traps currently under

test by Time and Frequency Division.

FY 1998 First generation of micromachined traps tested successfully by Time and

Frequency Division; Improved rf trap fabricated.

FY 1999 Based on results from tests of first devices, fabricate improved traps.

90
Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

Superconductor Standards and Technology

Project Leader: Loren F. Goodrich

Staff-Years: 1.0 Professional, 1.0 Technician

Funding Sources: NIST (79%), ATP (19%), Other (2%)

Objective: Provide standards, measurement techniques, quality assurance,

reference data, and issue clarification for both high- and lowtemperature superconducting wire technology in support of applications

involving U.S. industry such as magnetic resonance imaging, and

development of laboratory magnets, fault current limiters, magnetic

energy storage devices, motors, generators, and transmission lines.

Background: The project is internationally recognized as the leader in the development of

standards for critical-current measurements and is leading the international effort for all

superconductor standards. This effort is vital to U.S. industry, which now concentrates on

conventional low-temperature superconductor (LTS) materials. This effort is becoming more

vital to U.S. industry as additional new applications that use high-temperature superconductors

(HTS) are commercialized. One of the most important performance parameters for largescale applications is the critical current, Ic, of a superconductor, which is the current level that

under given conditions, marks the transition between the superconducting state and the normal

state. The critical current is difficult to measure correctly and accurately, and these

measurements are often subject to scrutiny and debate. This is especially true for

measurements on HTS. This project’s primary activities are Ic measurement metrology,

interlaboratory comparisons, and development of international standards. International

standards for superconductivity are created through International Electrotechnical Commission

(IEC) Technical Committee 90 (TC 90). Goodrich is the Chairman of TC 90, the U.S.

Technical Advisor to TC 90, the Convener of Working Group 2 (WG2), and U. S. Expert to

six of the eight WGs.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop international standards for superconductivity through IEC

FY 1996 Worked on draft documents from Working Groups (WGs) 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7;

Approved Committee draft for voting from WG 2.

FY 1997 Held fourth TC 90 meeting in China; Worked on documents from WGs 1, 2,

3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

FY 1998 Voted on Committee drafts from WGs 2 and 7; Document from WG2

(created by Goodrich and Stauffer) was published as the first international

standard for superconductivity; Stauffer became the Administrator to the U.S.

Technical Advisory Group; Participated in fifth TC 90 meeting held in

Germany; Worked on documents from WGs 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, and 8;

Japanese National Committee (JNC) proposed work on four new documents.

FY 1999 Final voting of documents from WGs 1 and 7; Initial voting on documents

from WGs 5 and 6.

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Superconductors Electromagnetic Technology Division

FY 2000 Sixth TC 90 meeting to be held, may be held in Boulder.

2. Develop metrology for Ic measurements on HTS

FY 1996 Completed final report on U.S. comparison in project under Versailles Project

on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS); Completed comparison in

Europe; Planned comparison in Japan; Planned second stage international

comparison.

FY 1997 China reported results of their comparison which confirmed the results from

the U.S. comparison; Japan completed their domestic comparison.

FY 1998 Second stage interlaboratory comparison cancelled because of problems with

time and samples; Helped draft standard for measurement of Ic in HTS

materials; Submitted three sections to final VAMAS report on HTS Ic

comparisons; Completed construction and initial testing of high-current,

variable-temperature Ic measurement system for HTS samples with

temperatures from 4 K to 90 K, fields from 0 T to 8 T, and angles from -90°

to 90°; Made measurements up to 100 A on HTS samples.

FY 1999 Develop and test custom 400-A power supply that can deliver current pulses

and waveforms with durations from 33 ms to 90 ms; Extend variabletemperature system to 250 A; Provide data to U.S. conductor manufacturers.

FY 2000 Conduct a U.S. interlaboratory comparison of variable-temperature Ic

measurements using HTS samples.

3. Develop metrology for Ic measurements on LTS

FY 1996 Created an accurate database of magnetic field and temperature dependence of

Ic up to temperatures of 5.0 K in liquid helium; Confirmed capability to

measure Ic at 12 T with current pulses

FY 1997 Developed Ic measurement capability up to 200 A in helium gas over the

temperature range of 4.2 K to 18 K to determine the temperature stability

margin for ITER and magnets that operate near 10 K; Created database for

the temperature stability margin of niobium tin compound (Nb3Sn) wires;

Studied effect of sample coil diameter on the measured Ic.

FY 1998 Measured Ic as a function of magnetic field and temperature of a niobium

titanium alloy (Nb-Ti) wire with currents up to 180 A., to be used as control

sample for variable-temperature Ic measurements of HTS samples.

FY 1999 Measure Ic as a function of field and temperature of a Nb-Ti wire up to

400 A.

4. Develop metrology for sensitive low-temperature measurements

FY 1996 Finished fabrication and testing of custom simulator; Loaned Ic simulators to

two U.S. laboratories; Developed and verified capability to acquire voltagecurrent characteristics using variable-duration current pulses.

FY 1997 Developed capability of delivering 5000 current pulses to sample in a 12 T

magnetic field to study fatigue due to Lorentz force cycling.

FY 1998 Implemented and verified differential thermometry to control temperature

gradients in samples during variable-temperature Ic measurements.

Terminated task 4 in 1998; will consolidate future milestones into other tasks.

92
LOW FREQUENCY

AC-DC Difference Standards and Measurement Techniques . . . . . . 95

Waveform Acquisition Devices and Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Waveform Synthesis and Impedance Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Measurements for Complex Electronic Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

93
94
Low Frequency Electricity Division

AC-DC Difference Standards and Measurement Techniques

Project Leader: Joseph R. Kinard

Staff-Years: 2.0 Professionals, 1.0 Technician

Funding Sources: NIST (50%), Other Government Agencies (17%), Other (33%)

Objective: Provide U.S. industry with the link between the direct voltage and

current standards and alternating quantities by maintaining and

improving the U.S. national standards of ac-dc difference, and the

working standards, measurement systems, and techniques needed to

provide viable calibrations and measurement services for thermal

converters and shunts.

Background: Nearly all measurements of electric power, energy, alternating voltage and

alternating current are traceable to the volt and ohm (dc quantities) through thermal transfer

standards. Modern electronics makes possible digital instruments which can produce and

measure alternating voltage and current parameters with precision and stability rivalling those

of the best direct voltage and current standards. Improved NIST thermal transfer standards

are needed to support the development, testing, production, and maintenance of such

instruments. Thermal transfer standards are used to measure a quantity called "ac-dc

difference," where ac, literally "alternating current," refers to the time varying signals and dc

literally "direct current," refers to time invariant signals. NIST has developed new standards,

nearly as good as existing national standards, based on semiconductor and thin-film

processing technologies that are about to be commercialized and hence widely available.

Present NIST standards are inadequate to calibrate these devices over their full range of

capability. Moreover, manufacturers are introducing high-output current amplifiers and

improved high-voltage resistors. An extension of the parameter space and improved

accuracies of NIST calibration services are required to support these developments.

Work is underway to develop new primary, thermal transfer standards operating at cryogenic

temperatures and with sensitivity approaching the quantum limit. This effort builds on the

experience gained in the development of film multijunction thermal converters and on the

design and application of extremely sensitive cryogenic thermometers. The new standards are

expected to reduce uncertainties from the present lowest value of 0.8 μV/V to 5 μV/V

to <0.1 μV/V to 1 μV/V. A new investigation of bootstrapping techniques to support highvoltage and current measurements is also being performed. This will be based on earlier,

pioneering NIST work in this field and is expected to result, not only in improved NIST

services, but in better, more efficient techniques for industrial standards maintenance as well.

The U.S. has the largest manufacturing industry for thermal transfer instrumentation. NIST

continues to provide support for this U.S. industry through an expanded ac-dc difference

calibration service, Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), and

international comparisons and cooperations.

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Low Frequency Electricity Division

Current Tasks:

1. Maintain the primary, reference, and working sets of thermal transfer standards for ac-dc

difference; provide and improve the ac-dc difference calibration service for voltage from 0.1 V

to 1000 V at 2 Hz to 1 MHz; and for current from 1 mA to 100 A at 2 Hz to 100 kHz

FY 1994 Studied the voltage dependence of thermal converters in the 200 V to 1000 V

range and re-characterized the NIST high-voltage standards.

FY 1995 Studied and re-characterized thermal converter standards at 10 Hz to permit

reduction in calibration uncertainties; Provided new ac-dc difference reference

values from 10 kHz up to 30 MHz to maintain consistency between this

activity and NIST’s higher frequency ac-dc difference calibration service.

FY 1996 Fabricated and tested new high-current, multi-converter module to replace

damaged traditional converters; Published results; Fabricated and tested highvoltage, binary divider to confirm scaling of 200 V to 1000 V ranges (recent

international comparisons revealed significant variations between national

laboratories at these voltages); Prepared documentation for extending transfer

shunt calibrations up to 100 kHz.

FY 1997 Completed total reassessment of ac-dc difference calibration service

uncertainties with significant reductions; Prepared documentation for

extension of transfer shunt calibration down to 10 Hz.

FY 1998 Performed first NIST transfer shunt calibrations at 100 A and 100 μA;

Compared transfer shunt and thermoelement build-up methods at 10 Hz;

Completed international comparison at 500 V - 1000 V; Upgraded automated

system with new signal sources, computers and software; Presented results at

Conference on Precision Electromagnetic Measurements (CPEM’98) of

inductive voltage divider comparison to high-voltage converter build-up;

Designed new laboratory module.

FY 1999 Renovate primary standards group mountings; Replace aging connectors on

reference and working standards; Compare inductive voltage divider to highvoltage standards; Obtain formal approval for new uncertainties; Participate in

high-frequency international comparison.

FY 2000 Establish new thin-film current transfer standards; Reduce calibration

uncertainties at high voltage.

2. Develop new thin-film converter technology and assist with the transfer of this technology to

industry

FY 1990 Perfected stress-balanced, multilayer membrane required for thin-film

converter fabrication.

FY 1991 Mounted and tested completed chips.

FY 1992 Developed improved bonding pads for thin-film converters to greatly reduce

errors as current converters; Received patent in February 1995; Directed

cooperative program with industrial partner for the development and

production of thin-film multijunction thermal converters.

FY 1993 Designed and produced integrated micropotentiometers which combined high

performance multijunction converter and thin-film output resistors on the

same chip; Received patent in February 1994.

FY 1995 Solved a remaining problem with wafer cleaning and metal to metal contacts,

and continued successful production of converter chips; Fabricated additional

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converter chips, mounted, and characterized as working standards; Provided

chips to DoD and Sandia laboratories as per agreements.

FY 1996 Characterized thin-film converters at various voltages, currents, and

frequencies at room and cryogenic temperatures and began study to

incorporate these devices as reference and working standards; Constructed and

tested new thin-film thermal converter chips for currents above 0.5 A;

Presented invited summary paper at CPEM 96 on thin-film converters.

FY 1997 Began development of broadband mounting substrate to permit extension of

integrated micropotentiometer and thin-film converter frequency range.

FY 1998 Designed basic geometry for new high-current multijunction thermal

converters; Built vacuum chamber for testing new converters; Collaborated

with Semiconductor Electronics Division on construction of front surface

etching chamber; Began chip modeling in collaboration with graduate student

working at Sandia National Laboratories.

FY 1999 Produce high-current multijunction thermal converters using front surface

etching; Test alternative designs for new converter to obtain optimum

performance.

FY 2000 Develop new packaging for thin-film multijunction thermal converters.

(1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

3. Develop new low-temperature thermal converter standards and study fundamental limitations

on the thermal transfer process

FY 1995 Began study of low-temperature converter design using alternative

superconducting transition edge device as sensor; Determined that transition

edge device appears more conducive to fabrication and incorporation into

converter than kinetic inductor as originally planned.

FY 1996 Assembled cryogenic system; Made prototype converter chips using transition

edge thermometers; Began initial testing of new low-temperature devices.

FY 1997 Developed suitable designs and geometries for low temperature standards and

investigated fundamental limitations on the thermal transfer process; Achieved

first ac-dc difference measurements at cryogenic temperatures; Presented

results in paper at the IMTC/97 in Ottawa.

FY 1998 Fabricated second generation of low-temperature converter chip and

mounting; Compared low-temperature converter to conventional standards;

Performed first ever thermal transfer measurements at microwatt signal power

levels; Presented results on low-temperature converter at CPEM’98.

FY 1999 Design shorter transmission line for cryostat; Compare low-temperature

converter to fast reversed dc source; Improve supporting electronics for lowtemperature converter.

FY 2000 Confirm accuracy of low-temperature converters and establish them as

primary standards, if appropriate.

4. Support the measurement of ac quantities through interaction with industry and other national

laboratories

FY 1995 Trained professional staff member and provided equipment and extensive

calibrations to the Mexican national measurement laboratory, CENAM;

Participated in an international comparison of a multijunction thermal

converter travelling standard at the highest uncertainty level.

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FY 1996-97 Participated in international comparisons of high-frequency thermal converters

with the laboratory responsible for their maintenance in Spain (INTA);

Assisted various companies to develop improved thermal converter

instrumentation; Presented tutorial on thermal transfer standards at II Semetro,

Brazil.

FY 1998 Provided training for guest scientist Moses Temba, a metrologist in ac-dc

difference measurements from the South African National Laboratory;

Performed comparison of fast reversed dc source with ETL, Japan; Sponsored

ac-dc transfer topical session at CPEM’98; Established collaboration with

Sandia National Laboratories for vacuum package development; Compared

results of 1 kV bilateral comparison with NRC, Canada.

FY 1999 Train guest scientists from the national metrology laboratory of Egypt.

FY 2000 Train guest scientists from the national metrology laboratory of Brazil;

Cooperate with CENAM, Mexico, to improve their thermal transfer standard

calibrations.

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Waveform Acquisition Devices and Standards

Project Leaders: T. Michael Souders, Nicholas G. Paulter, Jr.

Staff-Years: 4.0 Professionals, 0.5 Technician

Funding Sources: NIST (44%), Other Government Agencies (50%), Other (6%)

Objective: Develop standards, test methods, and analysis techniques for waveform

acquisition devices. Expand and improve the present time domain

waveform measurement services to support high performance samplers

and digitizers, as well as fast pulse and impulse sources, operating over

frequencies to 50 GHz.

Background: Manufacturers and users of time domain instrumentation need state-of-the-art

methods and standards for characterizing the performance of increasingly sophisticated

products. Waveform sampling has become a critical, pervasive technology in instrumentation

and continual advances are being made. The digital oscilloscope market alone was estimated

to be $80 M in 1999. This industry needs advances in standards, test methods and error

analyses to facilitate continued growth. In turn, the computer, telecommunications and

integrated circuit industries (each critically dependent on sampling technology) will all

benefit. Improved optoelectronic technology will be needed for advancement and

development of state-of-the-art electronic devices, semiconductor structures, and printed

circuit board materials. NIST has pioneered many of the techniques and standards used today

for testing and calibrating precision time domain instruments and systems. In response to

new advances in devices and products, NIST will expand and improve the present time

domain waveform measurement services to support high performance samplers and digitizers,

as well as fast pulse and impulse sources, operating over frequencies up to 50 GHz. Specific

goals include: (1) developing and applying accurate sampling comparator systems to measure

the settling parameters of fast pulse generators, amplifiers, and digital-to-analog converters (as

well as making accurate voltage measurements); (2) providing error analyses on the effects of

non-idealities in sampling systems; (3) researching and developing optoelectronic devices and

techniques for ultra-fast sampling and pulse generation applications and electric-field probing;

and (4) supporting and contributing to consensus standards for specifying and testing

waveform acquisition devices, and standards for pulse terminology and characterization.

Current Tasks:

1. Data converter/waveform recorder testing

FY 1996 Began development of a wideband oscilloscope calibration system in response

to needs articulated by the Air Force.

FY 1997 Completed version 1 of oscilloscope calibration system and delivered to

sponsor; Concluded pulse measurement round-robin.

FY 1998 Published paper on pulse measurement round-robin and found need for more

definitive measurement capability in first two nanoseconds following a step

transition; Developed procedure for calibrating reference step generators and

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incorporated version 2 of oscilloscope calibration system delivered to Air

Force.

FY 1999 Develop test procedures for oscilloscope aberrations.

FY 2000 Incorporate aberrations tests into oscilloscope calibration system and deliver

to AF sponsor.

FY 2001 Update oscilloscope calibration system with new deconvolution routines.

2. Sampling comparator systems (SCS)

FY 1994 Began development of wideband (10 Hz - 200 MHz) sampling voltmeter.

FY 1995 Developed quasiequivalent-time time-base, probe control, and memory

management circuits; Produced a working prototype voltmeter.

FY 1996 Presented paper on voltmeter design, architecture and error sources.

FY 1997 Began development of a triggerable-oscillator time-base; Carried out

feasibility study for a 5 GHz bandwidth comparator for use in SCS.

FY 1998 Delivered wideband sampling voltmeter to sponsor; Completed 75% of new

comparator design (5.3 GHz bandwidth and±2V operation in simulations);

Completed design and fabrication of new time-base for SCS.

FY 1999 Complete design and fabricate new comparator; Incorporate new time-base

into SCS; Begin development of new SCS based on sampling voltmeter

mainframe.

FY 2000 Complete new voltmeter-based SCS; Test performance of new comparator;

Begin development of high accuracy, low frequency comparator.

FY 2001 Offer 5 GHz bandwidth fast settling parameter calibration services; Complete

high accuracy comparator.

3. Pulse measurement services

FY 1996 Evaluated deconvolution algorithms, selected and coded new algorithm for

use in pulse parameter estimation software; Developed control and automation

software to upgrade pulse parameter measurements.

FY 1997 Developed new algorithm to measure linearity of oscilloscope time-bases;

Provided special calibrations of two commercial pulse calibrators, including

uncertainty envelope for entire measured waveform.

FY 1998 Wrote, presented paper on time-base measurement method; Began

development of new deconvolution algorithm; Developed polynomial

interpolation algorithm to correct for time-base errors.

FY 1999 Obtain 50 GHz oscilloscope impulse response estimate using nose-to-nose

method; Complete paper on new deconvolution algorithm; Begin LabVIEWTM

based system for new pulse measurement services.

FY 2000 Complete LabVIEWTM based pulse measurement system; Develop and

incorporate measurement techniques for pulse aberrations; Obtain magnitude

estimate of 50 GHz oscilloscope response using swept frequency method.

FY 2001 Offer 50 GHz bandwidth fast pulse calibration services.

4. Optoelectronic technology

FY 1996 Introduced optical delay/splitter to reduce laser jitter effects from 7 to 0.5 ps.

FY 1997 Tested diode-laser based system operation; Made improvements in operating

frequency and optical pulse duration.

FY 1998 Achieved 0.6 ps optical pulse width from diode laser system.

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Low Frequency Electricity Division

FY 1999-2000 Begin determination of impulse response estimate of 50 GHz oscilloscope

using optoelectronic method.

FY 2001 Complete optoelectronic determination of impulse response.

5. Pulse Measurement Applications

FY 1996 Developed time-domain method to measure the dielectric constant of printed

wiring board materials; Used inexpensive equipment to implement method

and provide accuracy comparable to frequency domain techniques.

FY 1997 Investigated repeatability of the dielectric measurement technique; Reported

results in paper; Studied various transmission line structures for extracting

permittivity of dielectrics with low dK values.

FY 1998 Developed new printed wiring board (PWB) sample holder that reduced

measurement variability by factor of 4; Developed PWB transmission line

probe that reduced measurement uncertainty in commercial lab by 50%.

FY 1999 Conclude PWB transmission line probe by improving bandwidth and

implementing an overvoltage protection design.

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Low Frequency Electricity Division

Waveform Synthesis and Impedance Metrology

Project Leader: Nile M. Oldham

Staff-Years: 4.0 Professionals, 2.0 Technicians

Funding Sources: NIST (50%), Other Government Agencies (30%), Other (20%)

Objective: Provide calibrations and special tests and develop new measurement

capability to support the basic quantities of voltage, current, phase

angle, power/energy, ratio, and impedance using waveform synthesis

and sampling techniques as well as classical electrical measurement

methods spanning a frequency range of dc to 100 MHz.

Background: Industrial, university, and government laboratories have calibration

requirements for basic instrumentation standards to support calibrators, digital multimeters

(DMMs), impedance (LCR) meters, and phase meters. With multifunction/multirange

capability, wide frequency ranges, and sophisticated self-calibration features, the ability to

provide a comprehensive coverage of the calibration quantities for these instruments, at

desired accuracies and ratios, is increasingly challenging. The market for these instruments is

over $550 million annually. Similarly, the power industry legally requires NIST traceability

to equitably distribute over $215 billion of electric energy generated annually. High-accuracy

power measurements are required to determine the efficiency of electric equipment during

development and manufacture, and for quality control. Power and energy measurements have

been complicated by an increasing proportion of nonlinear loads and alternate energy

generators, which produce nonsinusoidal waveforms with frequency components in excess of

100 kHz. In response to the above needs, new waveform generation and measurement

capability at NIST will be developed to support the basic quantities of voltage, current, phase

angle, ratio, and impedance, using techniques for generating and measuring voltage and

current waveforms over the frequency range up to 100 MHz. Specific goals include: (1)

developing techniques to measure generalized impedances at signal frequencies up to 1 MHz;

(2) developing automated measurement systems capable of providing near state-of-the-art

traceability for voltage, current, resistance, and phase angle in the frequency range from dc to

30 MHz; and (3) developing new 60 Hz power/energy standards and extending the frequency

range of power measurements up to 400 kHz.

Current Tasks:

1. Voltage and current

FY 1996 Extended the range and characterized the multifunction calibration system

(MCS) for the calibration of currents up to 10 A; Developed a model to

describe the low frequency performance of thermal voltage converters;

Developed a scheme to reduce low voltage measurement uncertainties due to

complex loading errors; Began organizing an international comparison of

electrical units (with North, South, and Central America) using DMMs as

transportable standards.

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FY 1997 Trained participants and began the Interamerican Metrology System (SIM)

International Comparison of Electrical Standards using DMMs; Completed

software to use the digitally synthesized source (DSS) to make precise low

frequency (0.1 Hz to 100 Hz) ac measurements.

FY 1998 Documented the MCS in a NIST Technical Note; Reported on the

intermediate results of the SIM comparison; Began a study on the use of the

Internet to enhance special tests of DMMs.

FY 1999 Complete the SIM International Comparison; Offer a new Internet-based

special test service for multifunction calibrators (using transportable DMMs).

FY 2000 Develop new standards to support ac voltage measurements from 1 mV to

500 mV between 1 MHz and 30 MHz; Develop instrument models to enhance

the Internet-based test service.

FY 2001 Apply Internet-based test techniques to other areas of electrical metrology.

2. Impedance

FY 1995 Completed an analysis of uncertainties of capacitance calibrations; Developed

a VXIbus-based impedance synthesizer and used it to test bioelectrical

impedance analyzers for sponsor (National Institutes of Health); Began using

a commercial capacitance meter for the calibration of capacitors; Evaluated a

new commercial fused silica capacitor.

FY 1996 Completed the impedance calibrator; Demonstrated a multirange 3-voltmeter

probe to measure inductors; Demonstrated a modeling-based system for

characterizing 4-terminal pair capacitors.

FY 1997 Completed a prototype system for characterizing 4-terminal pair capacitors at

frequencies up to 1 MHz; Completed the 3-voltmeter probe and began using

it to calibrate inductors; Documented the capacitance calibration services.

FY 1998 Evaluated the 3-voltmeter probe-based digital impedance bridge as a means

for calibrating standard inductors; Completed the system to measure 4-

terminal-pair capacitors (capacitance and dissipation factor) up to 10 MHz.

FY 1999 Complete an error analysis of the measurement system and offer a special test

for 4-terminal-pair capacitors; Complete new control software to automate the

binary inductive divider bridge and evaluate it as a means of calibrating

inductive dividers and 3-terminal capacitors.

FY 2000 Develop a general-purpose impedance bridge that employs a waveform

generator locked to a waveform sampler; Investigate the use of LCR meters

as transportable standards in an Internet-based special test for impedance.

FY 2001 Begin automation of the impedance calibration test sets and document the

new measurement services.

3. Phase

FY 1993 Developed a VXIbus-based system for calibrating phase meters and generators

("VXIbus" refers to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standard

1155-1992, a specification for the backplane interconnection and

communications protocol of standard-sized modules).

FY 1994 Simulated a phase measuring system for measuring very-high-frequency

omni-directional ranging (VOR) phase meters for aircraft navigation system

now expected to be in use beyond 2000.

FY 1995 Developed a VXIbus-based test set for VOR phase meters.

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FY 1996 Tested and delivered a VXIbus-based system for testing the phase meters in

VOR receivers to the sponsor.

FY 1997 Developed an improved VXIbus-based test set for VOR phase meters.

FY 1998 Offered a special test service for VOR phase meters.

FY 1999 Upgrade the NIST sampling phase meter to measure phase angle generators at

any phase angle at frequencies up to 200 kHz; Extend phase measurements

from amplitude ratios of 10:1 to ratios of 100:1.

FY 2000 Develop a new phase meter based on a digital waveform generator and

sampler that operates up to 500 kHz; Upgrade and document the VOR phase

standard.

4. Power and energy

FY 1994 Demonstrated a power measurement at a signal frequency of 200 kHz to

support wideband commercial wattmeters and power system analyzers.

FY 1995 Began the planning stage of a NIST-sponsored international comparison of

50/60 Hz power.

FY 1996 Completed the first stage of the international comparison (with the national

measurement laboratories of Canada and Germany); Demonstrated a

3-voltmeter technique for measuring wideband power at frequencies up to

500 kHz; Assumed chair of ANSI Committee on Electricity Metering (C-12).

FY 1997 Began development of a new 50 Hz - 400 Hz power measurement system;

Completed half of the 50/60 Hz international comparison.

FY 1998 Constructed and tested the main components of a new 50 Hz to 400 Hz

bridge; Investigated a new sampling technique to achieve limited-range power

uncertainties of less than 10 ppm; Reported on the Consultative Committee on

Electricity and Magnetism (CCEM) International Comparison of 50/60 Hz

Power.

FY 1999 Assemble a prototype version of the new power bridge, develop control

software, and begin evaluating the system as a replacement for the existing

bridge; Complete the CCEM International Comparison. (1998 MSL Strategic

Plan)

FY 2000 Complete and document the new power bridge; Develop a limited range

sampling wattmeter capable of measuring complex power with frequency

components up to 500 kHz. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 2001 Expand the range of the sampling wattmeter and offer special tests for singlephase power to 500 kHz.

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Low Frequency Electricity Division

Measurements for Complex Electronic Systems

Project Leader: Gerard N. Stenbakken

Staff-Years: 2.0 Professionals, 0.2 Guest Scientist, 0.1 Technician

Funding Sources: NIST (51%), Other Government Agencies (49%)

Objective: Develop improved methods and techniques for optimum testing

scenarios by: (1) developing better mathematical models and test

procedures; (2) estimating the confidence and test coverage in a given

calibration or test procedure; (3) developing a Testing Strategies

Software Toolbox; and (4) researching modeling approaches and

techniques that accommodate the effects of embedded software.

Background: For both manufacturers and users, the testing and calibration costs of complex

electronic devices and instrumentation have become a dominant factor in total life-cycle costs.

For example, typical test costs for mixed-signal integrated circuits range from 20% to 50% of

the sale price. Similarly, in the acceptance and field maintenance of electronic equipment, the

costs of testing can equal or exceed the initial purchase price. Confidence levels, test

coverage, and test and calibration procedures are often inadequate to assure the extremely low

defect levels and tight performance tolerances that are now required. This is a generic

problem throughout the spectrum of electronic products. It has been shown that the testing

strategies developed at NIST can have a substantial impact on the production costs. These

cases have been made for both analog and mixed-signal products, such as data converters and

multirange measurement instruments. However, the existing strategies are often inadequate

for systems that rely on embedded software. New approaches are needed to accommodate

software-driven systems that are adaptive, reconfigurable, or highly nonlinear. The

prominence of quantization in these systems in part determines the approaches that can be

used; new approaches are needed for both coarsely quantized systems, such as digital

communications devices, and high resolution quantized systems, such as instrumentation

systems.

Current Tasks:

1. Testing strategies

FY 1989 Evaluated limitations of linear models, and developed a capability for

modeling second order time-domain sensitivities; Published papers on "TimeDomain Testing Strategies and Fault Diagnosis for Analog Systems" and

"Ambiguity Groups and Testability".

FY 1990 Successfully applied NIST-developed testing strategies to a population of 128

commercial 13-bit analog to digital converters; Achieved 0.03 leastsignificant-bit (rms) uncertainty in linearity estimates at all 8192 codes using

64 measurements; Presented paper on method and results.

FY 1991 Conducted the first NIST testing strategies workshop; Initiated use of NIST

method by two integrated circuits manufacturers in production testing;

Announced commercial software product based on NIST work; Published

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Low Frequency Electricity Division

tutorial paper in IEEE’s Spectrum and paper on analog to digital converter

application in a conference proceedings.

FY 1992 Developed an accurate error model for multifunction instrument and

demonstrated effective test results with 80% reduction in test cost; Began

analysis of theoretical performance limits of empirical models.

FY 1993 Prepared two papers on modeling and test point selection for a commercial

thermal transfer standard; Conducted second testing strategies workshop.

FY 1994 Established theoretical basis for, and proof of, maximum likelihood properties

of empirically derived error models; Developed expressions for statistical

confidence intervals for results obtained from linear models; Began

development of Testing Strategies Toolbox; Conducted third testing strategies

workshop.

FY 1995 Completed work on procedures to estimate the effects of nonmodel errors and

to compute prediction intervals that account for them; Demonstrated

application of nonmodel error analysis to two instruments and began applying

the approach to a NIST calibration service (with estimated savings to

customers of $26k per test); Completed subroutines and user interface for

NIST Testing Strategies Toolbox; Demonstrated prototype; Developed and

demonstrated an empirical model and efficient test plan for a multifunction

calibrator.

FY 1996 Completed 2/3 of NIST Testing Strategies Toolbox tutorial guide

(mathematical background) and 1/2 of user’s manual (in browsable hypertext),

and released version 1.0; Completed analysis and issued first test report based

on NIST High-dimensional Empirical Linear Prediction (HELP) approach and

presented paper on results.

FY 1997 Prepared and conducted fourth workshop and training program (for DoD

sponsors); Completed Toolbox tutorial guide and user’s manual, and

completed and released version 2.0 of toolbox; Demonstrated NIST approach

on commercial multirange ac voltage standard; Developed a plan for an

adaptive modeling approach in which calibration history is used to iteratively

reduce subsequent calibration costs.

FY 1998 Documented NIST testing strategies methods for analog and mixed-signal

devices; Made available NIST Toolbox software for public distribution;

Presented workshop and training of the NIST HELP Toolbox to Swedish

national calibration laboratory representative; Compared and evaluated six

adaptive modeling approaches.

FY 1999 Evaluate theoretical limits in applying Expectation Maximization to adaptive

modeling; Apply HELP methodology to a commercial, wideband, thermal ac

voltage standard.

FY 2000 Assess methods for incorporating severe nonlinear behavior into the HELP

methodology; Respond to feedback from industry on the use of HELP;

Provide a workshop and assist industry on the use of HELP.

2. Device/system analysis

FY 1992 Began feasibility study of new, hardware-efficient, on-line error detection

approach for analog systems.

FY 1993 Completed study of on-line error detection scheme and documented results.

FY 1994 Assisted Office of Law Enforcement Standards in development of integrated

services digital network (ISDN) telecommunications equipment draft standard.

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Low Frequency Electricity Division

FY 1995 Developed approach for analyzing self-calibrating systems and applied to a

self-calibrating instrument; Began development of ISDN standard for state and

local law enforcement agencies.

FY 1996 Continued development of the ISDN standard.

FY 1997 Continued development of the ISDN standard.

FY 1998 Completed ISDN standard distributed to industry for comments.

FY 1999 Incorporate industry comments and submit final draft ISDN standard to

Department of Justice (DOJ). Task completed.

3. Testing embedded systems

FY 1997 Submitted proposal and received Director’s approval for a NIST 5-year

Competence Project on Strategies for Testing Software embedded Systems.

FY 1998 Began task on strategies for testing software-embedded systems; Identified

example of industry areas where the testing of systems having embedded

software is problematic; Selected NIST-developed wideband sampling

voltmeter as a test case; Developed approach for modeling and a plan for

testing this system; Chose analytic tools to model system.

FY 1999 Become familiar with analytic tools useful in analyzing testability of

embedded software systems; Apply analytic tools to selected test cases; Hold

a workshop to solicit inputs from industry on testing embedded software

systems; Gather test data on selected test cases; Develop model of at least one

selected test case; Develop improved test plan for selected test cases;

Compare improved test plans with traditional test methods.

FY 2000 Publish paper on new analytic techniques; Determine generic approach to

analyzing systems with embedded software; Develop software for generic

analysis of the testability of embedded software systems; Participate in

workshop on testing embedded software.

FY 2001 Select additional test cases; Apply software to new cases; Publish paper on

new generic approach.

FY 2002 Develop additional analytic tools to analyze systems with embedded software;

Refine software to make use of additional analytic tools.

107
108
RADIO FREQUENCY

High-Speed Microelectronics Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Nonlinear Device Characterization* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Power, Voltage, and Impedance Standards and Measurements** . . . 117

Network Analysis and Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Noise Standards and Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Antenna Measurement Theory and Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Metrology for Antenna, Radar Cross Section and Space Systems . . . 134

Electromagnetic Properties of Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

* New project

** This project combined the previous two projects, "Impedance, Voltage, and Dimensional Standards

and Measurements" and "Power Standards and Measurements."

109
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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

High-Speed Microelectronics Metrology

Project Leaders: Dylan F. Williams

Staff-Years: 3.0 Professionals, 1.0 Technician, 1.0 Student

Funding Sources: NIST (88%), Other (12%)

Objective: Support the electromagnetic characterization of microelectronic

structures and devices.

Background: This project was formed in 1989 to address industry demands for metrology

appropriate to monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), which have become

increasingly prevalent in low-cost, low-power wireless communications systems. This demand

led to the creation, with industry funding, of the NIST Industrial MMIC Consortium, which

was recently extended beyond its initial five-year lifetime. The project has been expanded to

include high-speed microelectronics packaging and nonlinear device characterization.

Nonlinear characterization has now become a separate project.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop metrology and software for on-wafer characterization

FY 1989 Formed NIST/Industrial MMIC Consortium.

FY 1990 Developed multiline Thru-Reflect-Line (TRL) calibration method and

software, now accepted as the most accurate on-wafer calibration method

available.

FY 1991 Developed first procedures to accurately measure characteristic impedance and

capacitance of planar transmission lines on lossless dielectric; Developed

calibration comparison method; Fabricated CPW standards and distributed

them to consortium.

FY 1992 Published General Waveguide Circuit Theory, accounting for conductor loss;

Applied calibration comparison method to assess error in industry

measurements; Found errors as large as seventy percent; Developed improved

photoresist process.

FY 1993 Developed calibration method based on lumped elements; Designed

calibration verification procedures and completed on-site tests.

FY 1994 Reduced size of calibration set using compact on- and off-wafer standards;

Demonstrated effectiveness of accuracy assessment methods in tests at

Consortium sites; Designed and fabricated on-wafer noise test structures.

FY 1995 Released MultiCal® software for improved calibration; Developed equivalent

circuit theory for coupled lines; Tested method to verify probe station

according to ANSI Standard Z540; Fabricated and tested microstrip artifacts.

FY 1996 Introduced multiline TRL for low-cost network analyzers; Developed offwafer coplanar-waveguide calibration accounting for changes in contact

geometry; Demonstrated algorithm for calibration in multiconductor lines;

Determined requirements for certifying on-wafer artifacts as SRMs; Initiated

IEEE Working Group to develop Standard on Microwave Network

Parameters; Fabricated prototype Reference Materials (RMs).

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

FY 1997 Explored membrane probe calibration; Studied an improved

Open-Short-Load-Thru (OSLT) calibration; Began converting MultiCal®

software to standalone code with C++ links; Developed software for

comparing internal vector network analyzer calibrations; Finalized Reference

Material qualification procedures for on-wafer standards; Fabricated and

began qualification of a limited number of RMs.

FY 1998 Released an improved Open-Short-Load-Thru (OSLT) calibration; Compared

standard industry developed calibrations for membrane probes to TRL;

Completed the development of a 4-port measurement capability; Introduced

on-wafer standards as Reference Materials; Completed worst-case error

analysis of on-wafer standards; Stand-alone software for comparing internal

vector network analyzer calibrations; Released on-wafer standards as

Reference Materials.

FY 1999 Develop calibration for membrane probes and compare it to standard industry

calibrations; Develop improved calibration methods that account for inherent

differences in microstrip calibrations, compensation for via-hole differences,

and other microstrip calibration errors; Complete error analysis required to

release on-wafer standards as Standard Reference Materials; Assemble

automated probe station and automate TRL measurements; Support the

development and application of an on-wafer noise source; Work with

company to commercialize NIST’s line-reflect-match (LRM) calibration for

non-ideal standards.

2. Develop procedures for characterization of electronic packaging

FY 1992 Developed new method to measure characteristic impedance of transmission

lines built on lossy dielectrics such as silicon; Identified industrial need for

time-domain network analyzer (TDNA), particularly for packaging.

FY 1993 Developed method to measure impedance parameters of devices built on lossy

dielectrics; Established CRADA with industrial partner; With industry

cooperation, demonstrated feasibility of applying multiline Through-ReflectLine calibration for time domain network analysis.

FY 1994 Began industrial cooperation to characterize flip-chip MMICs; Established

cooperative research program with instrument manufacturer.

FY 1995 Introduced MultiCal® calibration for time domain network analyzer;

Characterized flip-chip MMIC components.

FY 1996 Designed test structures for flip-chip MMIC packages and three-ports;

Developed TDNA software in BASIC; Optimized TDNA parameters.

FY 1997 Collaborated with industry on characterization of interconnects on silicon;

Released TDNA software for standalone use or as front tend to MultiCal®.

FY 1998 Developed improved characterization of single-mode transmission lines on

silicon; Collaborated with industry on characterization of active digital

devices.

FY 1999 Integrate TRL calibration software and 4-port measurement software; Develop

interface between 4-port measurement software and multiconductor

transmission line analysis method; Apply methods to characterizing: miniature

cables, coupled lines on silicon, conductor backed coplanar waveguide;

Compare NIST multiport measurements to measurements performed using the

JEDEC guideline; Write multiport calibration software compatible with

scattering-parameters measured with NIST’s time-domain network analysis

calibration software (TDNACal); Collaborate with company on the

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development of methods for measuring low impedance levels found in

power/ground plane problems.

3. Develop methods for the at-speed test of digital integrated circuits

FY 1998 Designed and fabricated power sensors useful for creating a chip with known

voltages and currents; Participated in industrial interconnect evaluation

projects with U.S. company, the Mayo Clinic, and the University of Colorado;

Initiated collaboration with university on on-chip sampling methods.

FY 1999 Test power sensors and develop a chip with known voltages and currents for

use in calibrating instruments for at-speed digital test; Collaborate on the

construction of an on-chip sampling system and test measurement accuracy;

Collaborate with Electromagnetic Technology Division on the development of

probes and probing systems.

4. Develop procedures for characterizing thin-films

FY 1994 Developed on-wafer measurement concepts for extracting material parameters.

FY 1995 Cooperated with Division 814 to study superconducting thin films.

FY 1996 Cooperated with Electromagnetic Properties of Materials Project to apply

frequency domain network analysis to material characterization; Improved

transmission/reflection software to account for nonideal lines; Investigated

thin-film characterization methods with industry.

FY 1997 Introduced methods to characterize dielectric thin films deposited on planar

transmission lines; Applied methods to commercial samples.

FY 1998 Investigated methods to characterize magnetic thin films. Fabricated test

structures to investigate using membrane probes to characterize thin films.

FY 1999 Complete analysis of coplanar waveguide (CPW) thin-film characterization

method and publish results; Apply thin-film characterization methods to

microstrip lines in collaboration with SEMATECH; Fabricate and test

standard structures for testing thin films with a U.S. company; Develop

methods to characterize magnetic thin films; Collaborate with Georgia

Institute of Technology on the development of membrane probes to

characterize thin films; Collaborate with Electromagnetic Technology Division

on time-domain characterization of thin magnetic films. (1998 EEEL Strategic

Plan; 1999 Budget Narrative)

5. Exchange technology through workshops

FY 1991 Organized on-wafer measurement workshop at International Microwave

Symposium (IMS).

FY 1994 Organized on-wafer measurement workshops at IMS and Automatic Radio

Frequency Techniques Group (ARFTG).

FY 1995 Organized measurement workshops at Electrical Performance of Electronic

Packaging and Wireless Communications meetings.

FY 1996 Founded and chaired Wireless Communications Conference; Organized

on-wafer measurement workshop and short course on package measurements;

Organized technical agenda for short course on wireless measurements.

FY 1997 Participated in organizing 1997 International Microwave Symposium:

organized workshop program, on-wafer measurement workshop, special

session on multiconductor transmission lines, and Plenary Session; Organized

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and chaired 49th ARFTG Conference and 1997 Wireless Communications

Conference.

FY 1998 Organized packaging workshop, special session on digital interconnects, and

special session on broadband telecommunications for the 1998 International

Microwave Symposium; Organized and chaired the 1998 IEEE Radio and

Wireless Conference.

FY 1999 Organize ARFTG and Microwave Theory and Techniques Symposium

(MTT-S) measurement workshops and MTT/ARFTG joint session on

electronic packaging.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Nonlinear Device Characterization

Project Leaders: Donald C. DeGroot

Staff-Years: 3.0 Professionals, 1.0 Student

Funding Sources: NIST (89%), Other (11%)

Objective: To develop new and general methods of characterizing nonlinear

devices and components used in digital wireless communications, and

to transfer the methods to industrial research and development

laboratories.

Background: This project is newly formed in FY 1999 to specifically tackle radio frequency

metrology for nonlinear electronics and components used in digital wireless communications.

The activities were initially cultivated in High-Speed Microelectronics Project and are

supported with Competence Project funding. Nonlinearities in active devices and passive

components have deleterious effects on digitally-modulated communications, and are of

primary concern to the wireless communications industry. The Nonlinear Device

Characterization Project is directly supporting national and international trade through

metrology development for electronic device characterization and a passive intermodulation

measurement intercomparison. Additional activities include partnership with the National

Wireless Electronics System Testbed (N-West) to correlate nonlinearity measurements with

communication system performance, and broadband measurements of extremely nonlinear

digital transistors.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop new and general measurements for active nonlinear devices

FY 1999 Form new Project; Acquire key components and assemble Phase I

measurement system; Develop Phase I calibration software; Verify

commercial NNMS calibrations; Study nonlinear device model verification.

FY 2000 Verify Phase I measurement system. Characterize RF amplifiers with Phase I

system; Correlate nonlinear device measurements with computer-aided design

(CAD) model predictions; Correlate nonlinear device measurements with

system performance.

FY 2001 Develop improved methods of calibrating commercial NNMS; Assemble

expert measurement system and calibration methods; Verify nonlinear device

models with Phase I measurements; Evaluate existing nonlinear device

characterization methods.

FY 2002 Verify expert measurement system; Identify general methods for nonlinear

CAD model verification; Determine optimal nonlinear device characterization

scheme.

FY 2003 Develop general approach to nonlinear device characterization.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

2. Establish measurement assurance for passive nonlinear component characterization

FY 1999 Develop PIM measurement error model; Direct PIM measurement

intercomparison.

FY 2000 Correlate PIM with system performance; Complete intercomparison study.

3. Develop calibrated time domain network analysis (TDNA)

FY 1999 Release new version of TDNACal with full OSLT calibration; Develop new

software modules for compatibility with second commercial oscilloscope.

FY 2000 Add multiline and multiport calibrations to TDNACal; Complete two-port

error model.

4. Characterize high-speed digital transistors with linear and nonlinear device measurements

FY 1999 Analyze accuracy and repeatability of three-port Si calibrations. Design

calibration standards for two-port Si diode characterization.

FY 2000 Apply Phase I nonlinear device measurements to Si diode characterization.

5. Exchange technology through participation in standards and professional society committees

FY 1999-2000 Participate in two IEC TC46 WG6 meetings and present reports on U.S. PIM

measurement intercomparison; Serve as Technical Program Chairman for the

53rd ARFTG Conference on Nonlinearity Characterization; Serve on

Technical Program Committee for IEEE 7th Topical Meeting on Electrical

Performance of Electronic Packaging.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Power, Voltage, and Impedance Standards and Measurements

[This project combined the previous two projects, "Impedance, Voltage, and Dimensional Standards and

Measurements" and "Power Standards and Measurements."]

Project Leader: George Free

Staff-Years: 3.75 Professionals, 4.0 Technicians

Funding Sources: NIST (40%), Other Government Agencies (25%), Other (35%)

Objective: Develop coaxial and waveguide power standards, micro calorimeters,

measurement techniques, and automated instrumentation which

supports and provides the calibration services for power transfer

standards; Provide measurement services in voltage, impedance, and

dimensional metrology. The frequency range is from 10 kHz to 110

GHz depending on the specific measurement service. Enhance voltage

and impedance services through system development, and develop

improved transfer standards and new measurement techniques.

Background: The development and maintenance of standards and calibration systems for

radio frequency power, impedance, voltage and dimensional measurements impact most

manufacturers and users of electrical/electronic instrumentation which operate in this

frequency range. The greatest area of impact is in supplying standards, calibrations and/or

measurement methods with which both the manufacturer and the user of the instrumentation

can insure that the device operates within the manufacturer’s specifications. While for the

user this is important with respect to specific applications, for the manufacturer it is important

for their domestic and international marketing success. In the design and development of new

electronic devices several of these services guarantee the performance of the variety of

components which make up the completed device.

The measurement of microwave power is one of the most fundamental test requirements,

necessary for the determination of output levels of signal generators, radio and television

transmitters, all types of radars, and wireless communication sources. Systems and products

that are overdesigned because of poor power standards are expensive and non-competitive. All

commercial applications of microwave energy, including communications, navigation,

surveillance, manufacturing, aerospace, medicine, defense, entertainment, and advanced

computing require accurate measurement of microwave power. International marketing of U.S.

microwave instrumentation and devices requires power standards that are recognized and

accepted by our trading partners. The ability to accurately measure microwave power over the

frequency ranges from 10 MHz to 100 GHz in coaxial transmission line, and from 8 GHz to

110 GHz in waveguide is needed to support a wide range of applications. Faulty measurement

or overdesign of products result in expensive and non-competitive products.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Current Tasks:

Note: priorities determine the scheduling of technical work and are reflected in the milestones that

follow. Changes in priorities result in some tasks having periods of limited activity.

Power

1. Provide consultation and calibration services for bolometer and thermistor mount power

calibrations in the frequency range 100 kHz to 10 MHz

FY 1998 Designed, constructed and tested 4-port to 1-port (grounded) adaptor to

improve the reflection coefficient calibration of bolometer and thermistor

mounts.

FY 1999 Finish testing and calibrate 4 port to 1 port adaptor; Complete analysis of

uncertainties using this adaptor.

FY 2000 Provide consultation and calibration services for bolometer and thermistor

mount power standards in the frequency range 100 kHz to 10 MHz.

2. Develop coaxial power standards using a specific commercial connector (Type N) for use

over the frequency range from 1 MHz to 18 GHz

FY 1994 Published calorimeter evaluation method in a technical journal.

FY 1995 Calibration service for standard received final NIST approval; Resolved

calibration uncertainty issue.

FY 1996 Established quality control charts for service based on three NIST standards.

FY 1997 Assembled, tested and calibrated one standard; Calibrated customer and NIST

standards; Updated NIST quality control charts.

FY 1998 Assembled and tested two standards; Calibrated customer and NIST standards;

Updated NIST quality control charts.

FY 1999 Develop new low frequency standard for 1 to 100 MHz; Design and construct

type N calorimeter and measurement system.

FY 2000 Test and calibrate Type N calorimeter and associated standards and

measurement system.

Ongoing Provide assembly, test and calibration service for standards.

3. Develop power standards for systems having 2.4 mm conductors and coaxial connectors for

use over a frequency range from 1 MHz to 50 GHz

FY 1994 A private company agreed to develop a prototype transfer standard.

FY 1995 Received and tested the transfer standard; Designed and began fabrication of a

microcalorimeter.

FY 1996 Tested and approved prototype transfer standard with improved design;

Finished microcalorimeter assembly and began uncertainty evaluation.

FY 1997 Completed uncertainty evaluation; Developed transfer technique and specified

instrumentation for a calibration service.

FY 1998 Assembled and tested transfer instrument.

FY 1999 Initiate calibration service; Document uncertainty evaluation; Provide

standards and transfer instrumentation to Other Agency customer.

Ongoing Provide calibration service for standards and commercial sensors.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

4. Develop new waveguide power standards for use over the frequency range from 18 to

110 GHz

FY 1994 Assembled the WR-15 (50 to 75 GHz) calorimeter and transfer standards.

FY 1995 Completed operational tests of the isothermal mode on the WR-22 (30 to 50

GHz) calorimeter; Developed thermal model using finite element analysis to

improve the calorimeter evaluation.

FY 1996 Completed uncertainty evaluation of WR-15 calorimeter; Began WR-10 (75 to

110 GHz) evaluation.

FY 1997 Continued uncertainty evaluation measurements of WR-10 calorimeter;

Started WR-22 evaluation.

FY 1998 Completed uncertainty evaluation of WR-22 calorimeter; Re-evaluated WR-15

calorimeter.

FY 1999 Complete uncertainty evaluation of WR-10 calorimeter; Take repeatability

measurements to determine Type A uncertainty for the WR-42 (18 to 26

GHz) calorimeter.

FY 2000 Complete uncertainty evaluation of WR-42 calorimeter.

5. Provide calibration and measurement services for microwave power

FY 1994 Developed a direct comparison system for power calibration services in Type

N connectors, revised all uncertainty statements for power to conform to

NIST policy and international guidelines.

FY 1995 Developed techniques for the Army for providing power calibration in

systems using Type N connectors at frequencies above 18 GHz.

FY 1996 Added power calibration services for GPC-7 connectors to the direct

comparison system; Reduced measurement time of low frequency power

measurements done in six-port laboratory and low frequency impedance

laboratory.

FY 1997 Conducted experiments with thermo-electric and diode, and the 2.4 mm

thin-film power sensors in the process of developing calibration transfer

systems.

FY 1998 Improved power calibration services in the WR-22 and WR-15 waveguide

bands; Completed construction of 0.05-50 GHz direct comparison power

calibration system for the Navy.

FY 1999 Evaluate and deliver 0.05-50 GHz direct comparison power calibration system

to the Navy; Complete development of the NIST 2.4 mm coaxial direct

comparison power calibration system (to 50 GHz); Complete development of

a calibration service for thermo-electric and diode power sensors; Improve

power calibration services in the WR-10 waveguide bands.

Ongoing Provide coaxial and waveguide calibration, measurement and consultation

services to 110 GHz.

Ongoing Provide calibration, measurement services and consultation in high power

from 1 to 1000 MHz at 1 to 1000 watts.

6. Develop high power microwave system, (10W to 1000W, 10 MHz to 1000 MHz) for the Air

Force

FY 1995 Determined optimum technique for transfer standards calibration; Investigated

availability of high power components and instrumentation.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

FY 1996 Developed system architecture; Purchased most system components and

instrumentation; Assembled prototype system; Began writing operational

software; Began uncertainty analysis.

FY 1997 Assembled final hardware configuration; Integrated high power amplifier in

system; Completed uncertainty analysis of calibration technique.

FY 1998 Completed assembly and tests of system.

FY 1999 Complete documentation of system; Calibrate transfer standards at specified

frequencies and power levels; Deliver transfer standards to sponsor; Initiate

NIST high power calibration service; Add reflection coefficient measurement

capability to system using internal 6-port.

7. International comparisons

FY 1998 As pilot laboratory, submitted proposal to International Bureau of Weights

and Measures for WR-22 comparison and solicited participation from foreign

national standards labs; Prepared and measured new WR-22 transfer standards

for use in comparison; Sent three standards to first participating laboratory;

Participated in WR-15 comparison at 62 GHz.

FY 1999 Measure and circulate WR-22 transfer standards; Participate in WR-10

comparison.

FY 2000 Continue to measure and circulate WR-22 transfer standards.

FY 2001 Compile and publish results of WR-22 of comparison.

Voltage

1. Provide calibration, measurement services and consultation for the high accuracy thermal

voltage converters (TVCs) at frequencies from 10 kHz to 100 MHz

FY 1996 Completed rf voltage comparison measurements with Spanish standards

laboratory; Revised calibration reports according to new NIST policy for

thermal voltage converters, micro-potentiometers, peak-to-peak detectors,

thermistor mounts, milliwatt power meters; Completed recalibration of NIST

voltage working standards against NIST-Gaithersburg calibrated standards

from 0.5 V to 3 V from 30 kHz to 100 MHz to improve uncertainties;

Completed round-robin calibration of 4 TVC transfer standards (0.5 V-3.0 V)

at (1, 10, 30, 50, 70, 100) MHz.

FY 1997 Completed evaluation of working standards above 3 V from 30 kHz to 100

MHz; Re-evaluated uncertainties and disseminated to customers; Completed

report on round-robin measurements in voltage.

FY 1998 Started testing of NIST standards using new automated calibration routine;

Started intercomparison of NIST standards in order to implement a rational

error analysis; Continued to document the measurement system.

FY 1999 Complete measurements of NIST standards and error analysis for the

measurement system.

Ongoing Provide calibration services in rf voltage from 0.4 V to 600 V from 10 kHz

1000 MHz.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

2. Provide calibrations, measurement services and consultation for high frequency thermal voltage

converters in the frequency range 1 MHz - 1000 MHz

FY 1998 Designed, assembled and tested new high frequency TVC system; Calibrated

one volt NIST standards in terms of power standards; Using step up

techniques started calibrating 2.4 V and 7 V NIST thermal voltage converter

standards.

FY 1999 Complete calibration of 2.4 V and 7 V NIST standards; Complete error

analysis and issue new uncertainties; Finish documentation of high frequency

TVC system.

Ongoing Provide consultation and calibration services for high frequency TVCs.

3. Provide calibrations, measurement services and consultation for micro-potentiometers in the

voltage range 1 μV to 0.2 V in the frequency range of 10 kHz to 1000 MHz.

FY 1998 Designed, assembled and tested new micro-potentiometer measurement

system; Started calibration of NIST micro-potentiometer standards using

thermistor mounts and step down techniques.

FY 1999 Finish calibration of NIST micro-potentiometers; Complete error analysis and

issue new uncertainties; Complete documentation for the system.

Ongoing Provide consultation and calibration services for micro-potentiometers.

Impedance

1. Provide calibration and measurement services and consultation in impedance measurements

from 10 kHz to 300 MHz

FY 1995 Calibrated and documented high frequency Twin-Tee bridge for the coaxial

termination calibration service.

FY 1996 Completed international comparison in Quality Factor of inductance

standards; Enhanced capacitance measurement service with state-of-the-art

instrumentation; Did initial test on equipment from 100 kHz to 30 MHz.

FY 1997 Completed documentation on enhancement of capacitance measurement

service; Performed uncertainty analysis; Announced expanded frequency range

in the calibration of two terminal capacitance standards.

FY 2001 Test three-terminal capacitance standards using enhanced measurement system

from 100 kHz to 30 MHz. Document three-terminal capacitance

measurements and announce expanded frequency range from 100 kHz to

30 MHz.

Ongoing Provide impedance calibrations from 10 kHz to 200 MHz.

Dimensional Characterization of Microwave Components

1. Provide consultation and dimensional measurement of coaxial airlines, waveguide sections and

materials

FY 1996 Upgraded coordinate measuring machine and expanded versatility; Compiled

user’s manual on operation; Measured: 2.4 mm, 2.92 mm, 3.5 mm, 7 mm, 14

mm airlines, WR-10 & WR-15 devices, ferrite samples; Assisted other EEEL

personnel in construction of calorimeter, radiometer, waveguide standards, and

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

thickness measurements; Assisted personnel in Time and Frequency Division

with atomic clock setups.

FY 1997 Provided dimensional measurements of airlines and verification of

characteristic impedance from dimensional measurements.

FY 1999 Do experiments to determine repeatability of measurements for transmission

line length and relationship between airgauging and laser micrometer

measurements of transmission line components;. Complete error analysis of

14 mm and 7 mm transmission line calibrations. Complete documentation for

the dimensional measurement of airlines.

Ongoing Provide consultation and calibration service for transmission lines; provide

in-house calibrations for materials group and other division projects as

needed.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Network Analysis and Measurement

Project Leader: John Juroshek

Staff-Years: 1.0 Professionals, 1.5 Technicians

Funding Sources: NIST (60%), Other Government Agencies (20%), Other (20%)

Objective: To provide traceability for microwave measurements in scattering

parameters, impedance, and attenuation. Support the microwave

industry by developing standards and new measurement techniques.

To develop methods for assessing and verifying the accuracy of

automatic network analyzers.

Background: Vector network analyzers (VNAs) are the single most important instrument in

the microwave industry. These instruments are commonly found on production lines, in

calibration laboratories, and in research laboratories. Vector network analyzers are typically

calibrated daily and the accuracy of their measurements can vary significantly after a

calibration depending on the operator skills, the quality of the calibration standards, and the

condition of the test ports. The microwave industry needs cost effective techniques to monitor

and control the accuracy of their microwave measurements. It also needs help in developing

the techniques, procedures, and documents to ensure conformity with international standards.

NIST directly supports the microwave industry by providing measurement traceability through

calibration and related measurement services in scattering parameters. NIST also provides

consultation to industry on measurement techniques and accuracy issues.

Current Tasks:

Note: priorities determine the scheduling of technical work and are reflected in the milestones that

follow. Changes in priorities result in some tasks having periods of limited activity.

1. Provide and upgrade traditional calibration services for scattering parameters

FY 1993 Initiated a calibration service for scattering parameters when using 2.92 mm

diameter conductors (0.1-40 GHz) with coaxial connectors; Initiated WR-90

(8-12 GHz) and WR-62 (12-18 GHz) waveguide calibration services on the

dual six-ports.

FY 1994 Initiated a calibration service for scattering parameters in systems using

2.4 mm diameter conductors (0.1-50 GHz) and coaxial connectors.

FY 1995 Began offering a reduced cost calibration service for systems using 2.92 mm

and 2.4 mm diameter conductors on the commercial network analyzer.

FY 1996 Purchased components for traveling verification kits; Assembled kits;

Conducted initial measurements on kits; Added calibration services for time

delay to existing scattering parameter services.

FY 1997 Completed analysis software and report generating software for NIST

S-parameter MAP, kits are now available for 3.5 mm, 2.92 mm, and 2.4 mm

coaxial connectors; Conducted experiments on thermo-electric and diode

power meters necessary to establish a calibration service; Investigated systems

for transferring 2.4 mm power calibrations to industry; Began construction of

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

a direct comparison system for 2.4 mm power calibrations; Developed a new

method for measuring effective source mismatch of 3-port couplers and power

dividers; Published results in Microwave Journal.

FY 1998 Initiated a new measurement service for VNAs using NIST traveling

verification kits in 3.5 mm, 2.92 mm, and 2.4 mm coaxial line sizes.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Offer a calibration service for effective source mismatch for 3-port couplers

and power dividers.

FY 2001 Add calibration services for systems in currently unsupported connector types

(i.e., 75 Ω, SMA, SMP, 1.85 mm).

Ongoing Provide coaxial and waveguide calibration, measurement and consultation

services to 110 GHz in scattering parameters.

2. Develop quality assurance procedures for network analyzers

FY 1993 Evaluated stability of a solid state impedance generator for use as a transfer

standard in conjunction with a cooperative research and development

agreement with the manufacturer.

FY 1994 Revised all uncertainty statements for scattering parameters to conform to

NIST policy and international guidelines; Completed a cooperative agreement

with a manufacturer of network analyzers to develop verification techniques.

FY 1995 Prepared a report on verification techniques for commercial network

analyzers; Completed an Army sponsored project to investigate and

recommend verification procedures for vector network analyzers.

FY 1996 Developed a software package that verifies and analyzes the performance of a

commercial network analyzer by analyzing the difference in calibration

constants; Began circulating software to industry.

FY 1997 Submitted a journal article on the statistical analysis of network analyzer data

for publication in CAL LAB; Developed robust statistical procedures for

analyzing measurement data from the Automatic Radio Frequency Techniques

Group (ARFTG) measurement comparison program.

FY 2000 Develop network analyzer verification techniques for Industry.

Ongoing Serve as pilot laboratory for the ARFTG measurement comparison program

which is sponsored by an engineering professional society, the Institute of

Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE); Analyze data and issue formal

reports to participants.

3. Develop dual six-port network analyzers

FY 1990 Developed waveguide six-ports for WR-42 (16-26 GHz), WR-28 (24-35

GHz), WR-15 (50-75 GHz), and WR-10 (75-110 GHz).

FY 1991 Developed line-reflect-line (LRL) software for calibrating the dual six-ports.

FY 1992 Developed 18-40 GHz coaxial six-ports using diode detector technology;

Developed software and techniques for correcting the diodes for deviation

from square law; Developed WR-42 (18-26 GHz) and WR-28 (24-35 GHz)

dual six-ports for the Navy Primary Standards Laboratory.

FY 1994 Designed and built new test ports and standards for WR-22 (30-50 GHz)

waveguide calibration services; Completed construction of 100 kHz to

1.0 GHz for the Air Force and procured and/or manufactured system

components and devices to supplement calibration kits; Initiated

documentation.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

FY 1995 Developed line-reflect-match (LRM) calibration technique for the dual

six-port which uses one port terminations instead of air lines; Completed

equipment up-grade, testing and documentation of a dual six-port which

operates over the frequency range from 0.25 GHz to 18 GHz; Delivered dual

six-port system operating over the frequency range between 0.1 MHz and

1000 MHz to the Air Force and provided on-site training to Air Force

personnel.

FY 1996 Modified current six-port software so that it runs on PC-compatible

computers; Increased speed of six-ports with new software; Delivered dual

six-port system operating over the frequency range between 0.25 GHz and

18 GHz to Army and provided on-site training to Army personnel; Ordered

calibration and verification kits for devices with 3.5 mm, 2.92 mm, WR-42

and WR-28 connectors.

FY 1997 Completed construction of the 18-40 GHz dual six-port for the Air Force.

FY 1998 Documented system and delivered 18-40 GHz dual six-port to the Air Force;

Completed construction of the 2-18 GHz dual six-port for the Navy.

FY 1999 Evaluate, document, and deliver the 2-18 GHz dual six-port to the Navy.

4. Develop, analyze, and improve NIST impedance standards

FY 1991 Developed techniques for modeling the dimensional variability in coaxial and

waveguide airline standards.

FY 1991 Developed WR-90 waveguide standards; Developed new Type N, GPC-7

impedance standards.

FY 1996 Ordered and received improved air line impedance standards for 2.4 mm

coaxial transmission lines; Developed computer program for analyzing surface

roughness in airline standards; Began documentation of NIST coaxial

impedance standards.

FY 1997 Upgraded 2.92 mm coaxial impedance standards; Began documentation of the

uncertainty of NIST coaxial impedance standards.

FY 2000 Refurbish or rebuild NIST Type N impedance standards.

5. Develop automated data analysis techniques

FY 1990 Installed hardware for a local area network for calibration related activities.

FY 1992 Completed software development for on-line data management with the local

area network.

FY 1993 Checked standard data base ready for online access by calibration staff.

FY 1996 Upgraded and automated quality control procedures; Transferred and

converted all calibration, measurement, and quality control software to run

under WindowsTM on PC-compatible platforms.

FY 1997 Upgraded local area network capabilities; began running SAS statistical

analysis software over the local area network; Upgraded PC computers and

software on all dual six-ports; Began testing NIST developed ORACLETM data

base for microwave calibration activities.

FY 1999 Develop a single software package for NIST uncertainty values that can be

used by all NIST programs; Develop techniques and software for analyzing

Type A uncertainties of scattering parameter measurements; Reevaluate Type

A uncertainties for scattering parameter measurements; Document Type A

uncertainties for scattering parameter measurements.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

FY 2000 Convert and upgrade 6-port measurement and data analysis from BASIC to

LabVIEWTM or similar instrument control language.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Noise Standards and Measurements

Project Leader: James Randa

Staff-Years: 2.5 Professionals, 2.5 Technicians

Funding Sources: NIST (60%), Other Government Agencies (18%), Other (22%)

Objective: Develop methods for very accurate measurements of thermal noise;

provide support for such measurements in the communications and

electronics industries, as well as for other government agencies.

Background: Noise is a crucial consideration in designing or assessing the performance of

virtually any electronic device or system that involves detection or processing of a signal.

This includes not just communications systems, such as cellular phones or home

entertainment systems, but also systems with internal signal detection and processing, such as

guidance and tracking systems or electronic test equipment. The global market for

microwave and mm-wave devices in these areas is already huge and is undergoing explosive

growth. Important current trends which must be addressed include the utilization of higher

frequencies, the growing importance of low-noise amplifiers, the demand for and lack of

repeatable and traceable on-wafer noise measurement techniques, and the perpetual quest for

faster, less expensive measurements. The two most important noise-related technical

parameters for industry are the noise temperature of a one-port source and the noise figure of

an amplifier.

This project focuses on three areas. In traditional (connectorized) noise temperature

measurements and calibrations, the aim is to cover the frequency range 1 GHz to 75 GHz,

including 1 GHz to 40 GHz in systems using coaxial connectors. Concurrently, staff is also

attempting to reduce the time required for such calibrations, thereby reducing the costs. The

second general thrust of the project is in amplifier noise figure measurements, where the goal

is to develop cost-effective measurement services for amplifiers with coaxial connectors over

the frequency range 1 GHz to 18 GHz. The third major effort is in developing on-wafer

noise measurement methods, first for noise temperature and subsequently for amplifier noise

figure. Central to all three of these efforts is the new noise-figure radiometer system which is

currently under development. It has been designed to measure either one-port noise

temperature or amplifier noise figure, and it has the potential to be significantly faster than

our existing radiometers.

Current Tasks:

Note: priorities determine the scheduling of technical work and are reflected in the milestones that

follow. Changes in priorities result in some tasks having periods of limited activity.

1. Provide, upgrade and expand waveguide and coaxial noise-temperature calibration services and

capabilities

FY 1992 Extended upper frequency limit of WR-42 (18-26.5 GHz) to 26 GHz

(previously was 22 GHz).

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

FY 1993 Began new noise temperature special test services in WR-15 (50-75 GHz),

WR-62 (12.4-18 GHz), and systems using 3.5-mm coaxial conductor

(12-26 GHz).

FY 1994 Organized and presented a one day noise measurements seminar at the IEEE

International Microwave Symposium in San Diego; revised measurement

uncertainties per NIST guidelines.

FY 1995 Completed construction of WR-28 (26.5-40 GHz) noise-temperature

calibration system; Began testing; Developed and documented improved

technique for assessing adapter effects in noise temperature measurements.

FY 1996 Completed testing of WR-28 system; Revised and documented uncertainty

analysis for waveguide noise-temperature calibrations; Developed plans for

documentation of each Noise Project measurement service.

FY 1997 Documented and offered WR-28 measurement service; Fabricated improved

coaxial primary standard; Revised, automated, and documented uncertainty

analysis for noise temperature calibrations in coaxial systems; Compiled

histories for check standards.

FY 1998 Began development of 2.4-mm coaxial measurement service .

FY 1999 Institute WR-15 measurement service; Institute noise-temperature

measurement service for 2.4 mm coaxial sources; Perform stability tests on

various noise sources; Compare different methods for adapter evaluation.

FY 2000 Provide noise temperature calibration, measurement and consultation services.

2. Serve as pilot laboratory for international noise temperature measurement comparison

FY 1992 Noise comparison proposed by NIST and approved (GTRF 92-2) with NIST

as pilot lab.

FY 1993 International noise community canvassed for possible participants; preliminary

plans made.

FY 1995 Noise sources were purchased for circulation among participants.

FY 1996 Developed protocol and schedule; Performed first round of NIST

measurements; Measurements also completed at LCIE and NPL.

FY 1997 Completed measurements at other laboratories (PTB); Performed second

round of measurements at NIST; Collected and analyzed results.

FY 1998 Wrote report and presented results. Task completed.

3. Develop noise-figure measurement capability

FY 1992 Completed development of noise-figure measurement theory and established

possible experimental measurement procedure; Performed measurements to

test the viability of this procedure.

FY 1993 Completed basic design of amplifier noise radiometer.

FY 1994 Completed and tested prototype of amplifier noise radiometer. Found to be

stable to within 0.002 dB/day, 150 times better than present NIST systems.

This promises to significantly reduce the need for repetition of measurements,

thereby reducing the time for calibrations.

FY 1995 Refined noise-figure measurement techniques for low-noise amplifiers with

adapters; Performed preliminary measurements on two low-noise amplifiers

with adapters.

FY 1996 Completed measurements of two low-noise amplifiers with adapters.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

FY 1997 Completed hardware and noise-temperature software for total-power

radiometer for 8-12 GHz, to replace the existing system for noise temperature

measurements and for use in the noise-figure measurement system.

FY 1999 Characterize and test new radiometer for 8-12 GHz; Analyze uncertainties for

noise-temperature measurements with new system; Finalize software and

interfaces for system.

FY 2000 Formalize noise-figure measurement techniques and write associated software;

Construct and test new radiometer for 1-2 GHz; Offer a measurement or

comparison service for amplifier noise figure for 8-12 GHz and 1-2 GHz.

4. Develop methods for on-wafer measurement of noise

FY 1992 Conducted preliminary experiment to measure the noise figure of a MMIC

amplifier on wafer (in collaboration with MMIC project).

FY 1994 Measured one-port noise of a diode on-wafer at a frequency of 8 GHz using

the prototype Noise-Figure Radiometer.

FY 1995 Designed, performed, and analyzed experiments to measure known and

unknown noise temperatures on wafer at frequencies between 7.8 GHz to

8.2 GHz.

FY 1996 Refined, extended, and repeated experiment demonstrating capability of

measuring noise temperature on wafer.

FY 1997 Documented on-wafer noise-temperature measurement methods and theory;

Designed on-wafer noise-temperature transfer standard.

FY 1998 Fabricated and tested prototype on-wafer noise-temperature transfer

standard(s).

FY 1999 Fabricate improved on-wafer noise-temperature transfer standards.

FY 2000 Fabricate and test improved on-wafer noise-temperature transfer standards;

Initiate on-wafer noise-temperature round-robin comparison with industrial

industry.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Antenna Measurement Theory and Application

Project Leader: Michael H. Francis

Staff-Years: 4.0 Professionals, 1.0 Technicians

Funding Sources: NIST (69%), Other Government Agencies (2%), Other (29%)

Objective: The near-field antenna characterization methods invented and

developed by NIST, offer improved accuracy and reduced costs that

are unmatched by other methods. However, new extensions of this

technique are needed for advanced antenna designs. In response, NIST

will develop near-field theory, standards, and methodology to support

characterization of gain, pattern, and polarization of advanced multielement antennas at frequencies up to 500 GHz. Specifically, NIST

will extend cylindrical and spherical scanning capabilities to cover the

frequency range 26.6 to 100 GHz and planar methods to cover the

frequency range 40 to 500 GHz. Goals include (1) achieving

uncertainties less than ±0.2 decibels in the gain, (2) implementing

probe-position error correction for mm wave measurements, (3)

determining field uniformity using spherical near-field techniques for

antenna measurement range characterization, and (4) developing and

testing adaptive phased array diagnostic methods.

Background: Manufacturers of new microwave products such as roadside communications,

vehicle anti-collision radar and automatic traffic-light control, need practical, rapid and

efficient methods for characterizing antenna performance. Operation at higher frequencies,

the use of advanced phased arrays for steering beams, the use of conformal structures in

aircraft, and the use of active arrays challenge existing methods. These systems also support

national goals for information highways and personal communications, and new radars for air

traffic control to make more efficient use of airspace without jeopardizing safety. Advanced

civilian systems include new generations of communications systems at higher frequencies

and with greater spatial discrimination to alleviate overcrowding of current and synchronousorbit satellites. The personal communications market is estimated to be billions of dollars by

the year 2000.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop planar near-field metrology for measuring microwave antennas operating at

frequencies up to 500 GHz

FY 1995 Completed first phase of the certification process for the new NIST 2.5 M by

2.5 M planar scanner; Documented certification plan for this range and

distributed it to industry for use for their ranges; Incorporated fifth-order

Taylor-series method for z probe-position error-correction into the planar

near-field library.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

FY 1996 Implemented two fully 3-dimensional iterative methods, the steepest descent

method and the conjugate gradient method, to improve computational

efficiency and convergence for probe-position error-correction.

FY 1997 Completed the certification process for the new 2.5 M by 2.5 M planar

scanner and receiver; Conducted simulations on the effects of probe-position

errors; Completed probe position error correction task for planar scanning;

NIST awarded Bronze medal to Wittmann, Alpert, and Francis for this work.

FY 1998 Evaluated on-site planar near-field methods for determining phased-array

aperture distributions; Many antennas require on-site periodic performance

verification. Near-field techniques may be the only viable techniques to test

next generation high performance antennas; Developed planar near-field

review process; Published probe position error correction paper in IEEE

Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

FY 1999 Develop the facilities and methodology needed for near-field scanning

antenna measurements in the region from 75 to 110 GHz (1998 EEEL

Strategic Plan); Complete evaluation of on-site planar near-field methods.

FY 2000 Implement facility improvements and methodology for 75 to 110 GHz

measurement system; Develop metrology and system for 110 to 170 GHz.

(1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 2001 Begin measurement service for 75 to 110 GHz band; Complete 110 to 170

GHz measurement system. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 2002 Begin measurement service for 110 to 170 GHz; Develop metrology and

system for 170 to 260 GHz. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

2. Develop new metrology methods for rapid microwave antenna measurements and diagnostics

FY 1995 Evaluated the mirror/self-calibration method for determining antenna gain

using three probes. Developed thermal imaging theory for rapid measurements

used for determining antenna performance; Simulated measurements for

thermal imaging method.

FY 1996 Completed analysis of mirror/self-calibration data and documented results;

Conducted measurements on thermal imaging method in cooperation with the

University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Completed measurements on

holographic (phaseless) antenna measurements for applications at mm and

sub-mm frequencies.

FY 1997 Analyzed data obtained at Rome Laboratory to determine limitations and

improvements to experimental techniques for near-field determination using

thermal imaging; Published results.

FY 1998 Evaluated and reported on thermal imaging technique for rapid measurement

or other applications; Compared to planar near-field results.

FY 1999 Evaluate holography method for use at frequencies from 50 to 75 GHz.

FY 2000 Develop array of low scattering probes.

FY 2002 Use low scattering probe array to evaluate a phased array.

3. Develop non-planar near-field measurements for antenna and probe measurements

FY 1995 Completed evaluation of the new spherical/extrapolation range. This range is

capable of fast and accurate measurements of antennas up to 3.5 M in

diameter in the frequency range from 1 to 75 GHz.

FY 1996 Published the calibration results on the standard gain horns for the

International Gain Comparison measurements; Aligned vertical probe

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

transport on multipurpose range for cylindrical near-field measurements;

Provided technical support and near-field probe measurements to JPL for

cylindrical near-field measurements on satellite antenna.

FY 1997 Completed development of cylindrical capability and calibrated probes for

intercomparison measurements to be made on suitable antennas using all

available NIST ranges (two planar, cylindrical, and spherical); Documented

rail alignment results for cylindrical scanning.

FY 1998 Constructed and measured a special Ku-band probe for quiet-zone evaluation

task; Completed spherical scanning hardware and conducted initial quiet-zone

measurements on multipurpose range; Completed measurements for

certification of 2.5 by 2.5 m planar near-field scanner; Continued

measurements on intercomparison begun last year.

FY 1999 Evaluate quiet-zone measurement data and perform additional tests as needed;

Complete a report covering theory and application; Present results in journal

papers and conference presentations; Document results for certification of 2.5

m by 2.5 m planar scanner; Develop method to improve extrapolation range

analysis based on condition number; Complete intercomparison measurements

for spherical, cylindrical and planar near-field ranges.

FY 2000 Develop 3-D probe-position correction method for spherical scanning.

FY 2001 Develop 3-D position correction for cylindrical scanning.

FY 2002 Refine spherical scanning for outdoor in-situ antenna testing.

4. Develop metrology for complex antennas for emerging technologies

FY 1994 Completed spectral merge analysis to determine antenna-array excitation using

planar near-field measurements from several beam positions.

FY 1995 Completed software and analysis for spectral merge project; Completed

analysis of a 60 GHz phased-array antenna using measurements taken on the

new 2.5 M by 2.5 M planar scanner.

FY 1996 Documented the results of the spectral merge method for the alignment of

phased arrays; Designed and constructed a 32 by 32 X-band (8.2 to 12.4

GHz) computer-controlled phased array to validate new antenna metrology

and diagnostic methods.

FY 1997 Completed report documenting array evaluation using merged spectrum;

Evaluated mutual coupling methods for rapid testing of phased arrays.

FY 1998 Designed an X-band antenna array for experimental work on array

characterization and alignment; Developed program to implement and

evaluate iterative array alignment techniques.

FY 1999 Investigate methods for multiple-reflection error compensation.

FY 2000 Develop merged spectrum method for non-rectangular phased array lattices;

Reduce truncation errors through use of state-of-the-art representations

(spheroidal wave functions, maximum entropy methods) for bandlimited

functions. This work could potentially improve conditioning in probe

position error correction algorithms.

5. Provide technology transfer through courses

FY 1995 Participated as major lecturers in short course, "Microwave Antenna

Measurements" at California State University, Northridge.

FY 1996 Updated and presented NIST biannual short course, "Antenna Parameter

Measurement by Near-Field Techniques," in Boulder; Presented NIST short

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

course at Antenna Measurement Techniques Association Symposium; Updated

short course with the Georgia Institute of Technology on "Near-Field Antenna

Measurements and Microwave Holography."

FY 1997 Updated lectures for short course in collaboration with California State

University, Northridge and Georgia Institute of Technology.

FY 1998 Presented NIST short course in Boulder; Presented short course with Georgia

Institute of Technology.

FY 1999 Present short course with Georgia Institute of Technology; Participate in

major lectures at California State University Northridge short course.

FY 2000 Present short course in Boulder; Present short course with Georgia Tech.

FY 2001 Present short course with Georgia Tech.

FY 2002 Host Antenna Measurement Techniques Association Symposium in Oct. 2001.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Metrology for Antenna, Radar Cross Section and Space Systems

Project Leader: Katherine MacReynolds

Staff-Years: 2.0 Professionals, 1.0 Technician

Funding Sources: NIST (20%), Other Government Agencies (79%), Other (1%)

Objective: NIST will develop the standards, measurement techniques, and

instrumentation required for measuring critical performance parameters

of earth terminals and satellites, and for the absolute calibration of the

Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) metrology earth

terminals. Critical parameters include noise temperature (T), antenna

gain (G), earth terminal figure of merit (G/T), and satellite effective

isotropic radiated power (EIRP). In addition, NIST will provide

technical support to the Government Range Radar Cross Section (RCS)

Measurement Working Group to improve the quality and reliability of

range measurements. This will be accomplished by evaluating the

measurement processes determining uncertainties, evaluating the design

and analysis of required artifact standards, and providing the

consultation and support necessary to establish a range certification

process.

Background: Satellite communication is a finely tuned technology requiring accurate

measurements of antenna gain, noise temperature, G/T (system gain divided by system

temperature), and EIRP (effective isotropic radiated power) to assure optimum performance.

Ground metrology stations needed to monitor performance of commercial and government

satellites require traceability to the NIST standards. Some stations measure performance to

determine incentive-clause payments to satellite contractors or charges billed to users or

lessees. Industry and government own and operate a number of antenna- and radar cross

section-test ranges of various types such as outdoor static, indoor (compact ranges), and other

specialized ranges. Results obtained on one range do not always correlate with measurements

taken on another range, even if this range is of the same type. In addition, some of these

ranges are used for contractual verification of vendor performance. It is necessary that the

results produced at these test ranges be of the highest accuracy possible and be repeatable

from one facility to another to support communications system measurements such as multiple

low-earth-orbit satellite systems for worldwide coverage and radar cross section measurements

for new automobile radar systems.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop metrology for wireless communications systems

FY 1994 Organized the Range Accreditation Workshop during the 1994 Antenna

Measurement Techniques Association Symposium. The European Space

Agency, the National Association of Testing Authorities in Australia and the

National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NIST) participated.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

FY 1995 Analyzed performance of a Phased Array Sub-system (PASS) for the Air

Force. This array serves as a transfer standard for their near-field range used

to measure communications antennas; Completed special tests on four dualport circular-polarized probes that will be used as standards for the Globalstar

and Tempo domestic satellite programs.

FY 1996 Provided technical support and probe measurements for wireless base station

antennas.

FY 1997 Began to develop data acquisition software using up-to-date personal

computers for the planar and cylindrical ranges in the antenna laboratory;

Completed facilities upgrade by managing installation of fire-proof absorbers

and sprinkler systems for four near-field antenna ranges.

FY 1998 Initiated data acquisition software development using LabVIEWTM and Visual

Basic; Collaborated with industry on obtaining a broadbeam antenna to be

tested and measured on our new cylindrical near-field range.

FY 1999 Complete data acquisition software development; Evaluate commercial

fan-beam, communication antenna; Evaluate FBI broadband log-periodic

antennas.

FY 2000 Define anticollision radar system requirements; Evaluate existing metrology

for system parameter measurements.

FY 2001 Develop new metrology and artifact standards for anticollision radar systems.

2. Develop microwave metrology applicable to Earth Stations

FY 1995 Collaborated with a U. S. company on developing near-field techniques to

measure G/T, EIRP and saturating flux density for satellite and radar antennas

in a controlled indoor-testing environment.

FY 1996 Analyzed G/T measurement techniques to determine if subarrays of a phased

array are working properly.

FY 1997 Determined the G/T of an outdoor antenna under different operating

conditions to predict system performance during a typical year; Collaborated

with industry in development of software for predicting system performance.

FY 1998 Collaborated with Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in flux density

measurements of extraterrestrial radio noise sources and gain calibrations of

the 70 M diameter Goldstone antenna and other antennas at Owens Valley

Radio Observatory; Began evaluation of software on system performance

being developed under Phase II of a Small Business Innovation Research

(SBIR).

FY 1999 Complete evaluation of SBIR phase II software; Calibrate 6 ft. dish for Air

Force Satellite Control Network.

FY 2000 Determine G/T of an antenna both indoors and outdoors and evaluate ability

to predict outdoor performance from indoor measurements.

FY 2001 Develop holographic methods for large antenna system diagnostics.

3. Develop metrology for radar cross section measurements

FY 1995 Completed the development and documentation of the uncertainty analysis for

radar cross section measurements. The documentation has been published as

a NIST report, NISTIR 5019; Completed the development and documentation

for the polarimetric calibration of reciprocal-antenna radars (NISTIR 5033);

Completed a report to sponsor entitled "A review of government radar cross

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section ranges." The report is a result of three years of research activities by

NIST scientists, who reviewed eight government RCS ranges during that time.

FY 1996 Initiated work on the polarimetric calibration of non-reciprocal radar systems;

Started work on RCS Range Characterization and completed the major part of

two range-specific uncertainty analysis reports for other agencies; Conducted

research on technical questions in the area of imaging, specifically image

quality and interpretation.

FY 1997 Organized and held an RCS Range Certification meeting at NIST in March

1997 for government and industrial RCS professionals; Developed criteria for

range characterization and certification using ISO documents; Collaborated

with Wright Patterson Air Force Base to launch a Certification Demonstration

Project; Continued work on polarimetric calibrations and image quality and

interpretation; Studied and recommended RCS standard artifacts and began

measurement intercomparisons at different RCS facilities; Developed a

standard for RCS measurements in collaboration with a voluntary RCS

standards committee.

FY 1998 Organized and held the second NIST RCS Certification meeting in March,

1998; Submitted the Handbook for the Assurance for RCS Measurements to

NCSL for review and to be considered as a national industry standard jointly

created by NIST, DoD and NCSL; Implemented Range Book concept at the

ranges of DoD demonstration project participants; Continued basic research in

polarimetric RCS calibration; Developed codes to implement the nonlinear

model constraints to improve estimates of the system parameters; Continued

intercomparisons on cylinder measurements; Held workshop on RCS

Uncertainty Analysis, cosponsored by NIST, AFRL and OSU; Initiated

establishing RCS standard artifacts and Standard Reference Datasets.

FY 1999 Implement an RCS Certification Program to establish standards; Establish the

basic AFRL cylinder set as NIST Standard Reference Materials, and establish

supporting computations as NIST Standard Reference Datasets; Publish the

RCS Standards Handbook as a guide to certification of RCS ranges; Establish

a National RCS Certification Board, define certification procedures, and with

DoD proceed with certification reviews; Hold third annual NIST RCS

Certification meeting; Organize jointly with AFRL and Boeing, the second

annual RCS Uncertainty Workshop; Continue tasks defined by the RCSMWG

to aid RCS standardization. Tasks include evaluation of the results of

intercomparison using the standard cylinder sets, evaluation of repeatability

studies performed at AFRL, polarimetric calibration theory and data analysis,

bistatic calibrations, and RCS range uncertainty analysis; Develop alternative

standard artifacts to address specific calibration issues.

FY 2000 Complete tasks initiated in FY 1999 and pursue new tasks, as jointly defined

by the RCS working group and NIST, leading to range certifications;

Continue certification process for RCS ranges and increase involvement of

RCS industry; Continue basic research to improve RCS standards.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Electromagnetic Properties of Materials

Project Leader: Claude Weil

Staff-Years: 5.0 Professionals, 0.15 Guest Researchers, 1.0 Technician

Funding Sources: NIST (54%), Other Government Agencies (36%), Other (10%)

Objective: Improve existing measurement methods for characterizing the complex

permittivity and permeability of dielectric and magnetic materials, as

well as conductor surface resistance, over the radiofrequency/microwave spectral range 300 kHz to 60 GHz. Develop new

measurement techniques to support newly-emerging technologies.

Provide measurement services and standard reference materials (SRMs)

to industry and others. Organize and implement measurement

intercomparisons.

Background: Bulk electronic materials are widely used in industry for applications such as

printed wiring boards (PWBs), substrates, electronic and microwave components, antenna

radomes and lenses, microwave absorbers, etc.. Thin films are widely used in microelectronic

circuitry and substrate-based components. Computer-based design methods, which lead to

significant cost savings, require very accurate data on the dielectric and magnetic properties

of these materials over a wide spectral and temperature range. Much improved and new

measurement methods of known uncertainties, are needed to meet this critical need. Dielectric

SRMs provide measurement traceability to NIST and intercomparisons provide assessments of

the national quality of material characterization.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop low-frequency fluid characterization techniques

FY 1996 Collaborated with MIT-Lincoln Lab (LL) and Genosensor Consortium in

developing new automated techniques for DNA hybridization pattern

detection using microelectrode array; Completed initial permittivity

measurements on single-stranded DNA plus buffer solution, using 14 mm

coaxial shielded-open technique, over range 0.3 -100 MHz.

FY 1997 Completed similar DNA measurements at low frequencies, 0.1-10 kHz using

commercial liquid test fixture and NIST designed-fixture intended to

overcome electrode polarization effects; Completed theoretical study of

low-frequency relaxation in single and double stranded DNA; Performed

preliminary capacitance measurements using DNA probes attached to

microelectrode array developed by LL.

FY 1998 Developed chopper-stabilized instrumentation for extremely low frequency

(ELF) fluid measurements; Resolved problems relating to attachment of DNA

probes to microelectrode array.

FY 1999 Demonstrate operation of new ELF fluid measuring instrumentation; Perform

fluid measurements.

FY 2000 In collaboration with MIT Lincoln Lab, demonstrate DNA hybridization

pattern detection measurements; Fabricate improved microelectrode arrays.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

2. Develop improved resonator techniques for medium- and low-loss bulk solids

FY 1996 Completed refurbishment and improvement of the NIST 60-mm diameter

mode-filtered cylindrical cavity to be used in planned NIST dielectric SRM

service (greater operating frequency range, 6-13.5 GHz, and more accurate

loss factor measurements over a wider range of losses); Completed exact

solution for coaxial re-entrant cavity and wrote new software; Procured

several re-entrant cavity and split-post resonator fixtures that provide

advanced capability for characterizing PWBs; Improved accuracy of full sheet

resonance technique for PWB measurements.

FY 1997 Completed complex permeability tensor measurements of ferrites biased by

variable DC magnetic field at 2 and 10 GHz using modified dielectric post

resonator method; Developed improved reentrant cavity technique for

characterizing magnetic properties of medium-loss ferrites in range

150-1000 MHz.

FY 1998 Procured 150 MHz re-entrant cavity and specialized split-post resonator for

characterizing ferrite substrates; Completed exact solution and software for

split-cylinder (Kent) technique that yields more accurate data than

commercially-supplied software; Completed new measurement software and

uncertainty analysis for NIST 60 mm cylindrical cavity.

FY 1999 Complete exact solution and software for split-post resonator; Complete

documentation on remodeled NIST 60 mm cylindrical cavity; Complete

documentation of proposed dielectric SRM service for NIST Calibration

Committee; Initiate new SRM service.

FY 2000 Continue to characterize customer’s materials as requested.

3. Develop cryogenic metrology for characterizing high-TC superconductor (HTS) films,

substrates, and ultra low-loss dielectrics

FY 1996 Improved our 4 to 120 K cryostat system with integrated sapphire rod

resonator capable of measuring the microwave surface resistance, RS of HTS

films at 25 GHz; In collaboration with NIST Division 814, investigated

variation of RS for yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) with film thickness.

FY 1997 Procured higher-quality sapphire rod for better performance of above

resonator; Fabricated new cryogenic fixture for measuring losses of ultra

low-loss dielectrics using whispering-gallery mode (WGM) technique;

Measured losses of the high-quality sapphire rod and alumina; In

collaboration with Polish and Australian researchers measured losses of

sapphire/rutile composites with possible application to

temperature-compensated frequency standards.

FY 1998 Completed uncertainty and error analysis for dielectric resonator system.

FY 1999 Complete documentation of above; Perform further WGM measurements on

ultra low-loss materials in collaboration with Polish and Australian

researchers.

FY 2000 Complete ferrite permeability tensor measurements at liquid nitrogen (77 K)

temperature.

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

4. Develop new metrology for characterizing thin substrates and thin films

FY 1996 In collaboration with High Speed Microelectronics Metrology Project,

developed new "in-situ" techniques for measuring dielectric properties of thin

substrates on which coplanar waveguide (CPW) transmission line structures

have been patterned. Developed quasi-scalar model for deriving dielectric

properties of substrates. Obtained broadband data on lanthanum aluminate,

gallium arsenide and fused silica substrate materials.

FY 1997 Initiated collaborative efforts to fabricate microelectronic test structures,

containing overlaid dielectric thin films, with industry, etc.; Began

development of in-situ techniques for characterizing thin ferrite substrates.

FY 1998 Using CPW test structures fabricated by industrial partner, measured

properties of overlaid thin-film dielectrics, including low-permittivity

("low-k") materials used in microelectronics packaging; Fabricated CPW

structures on yttrium indium garnet (YIG) substrates; Sought to extract

magnetic properties of YIG substrate using the quasi-scalar model.

FY 1999 Measure additional low-permittivity thin films using both CPW and microstrip

structures; Develop new thin-film test structures using microstrip transmission

lines; Begin investigation of resonator techniques for characterizing

unpatterned dielectric thin films. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Continue measurements of both patterned and unpatterned dielectric thin films

using resonator methods.

5. Develop improved and new techniques for characterizing bulk and thin-film ferroelectrics

FY 1996 Measured some bulk BSTO-oxide composites for Army client using 50 mm

mode- filtered cavity; Supplied identical fixture to client.

FY 1998 Developed reentrant cavity technique for characterizing tunable ferroelectric

thick films, under condition of up to 1000 volts applied bias, at a frequency

of about 350 MHz; Procured fixture and high-voltage power supply.

FY 1999 Modify above fixture for improved accuracy under biased conditions and

develop lumped-element theory for measurements; Perform relative RF

tunability measurements on selected samples under bias; Measure quantity of

ferroelectric samples using sleeved dielectric rod technique over temperature

range of -50 to 150 C, no bias; Procure mode-filtered cavity fixtures for

characterizing bulk ferroelectrics at 28 and 35 GHz for military sponsor;

Collaborate with Electromagnetic Technology Division on ferroelectric thinfilm measurements using CPW technique.

FY 2000 Complete above measurements on bulk ferroelectrics; Complete collaboration

with Electromagnetic Technology Division on ferroelectric thin films; In

collaboration with Army Research Laboratory, begin measurements of

unpatterned ferroelectric thin films using resonator techniques.

6. Organize and participate in measurement intercomparisons

FY 1997 Published results of dielectric and magnetic measurement intercomparison of

ferrites using 7 mm and 14 mm broadband coaxial air line technique.

FY 1998 Published results of dielectric and magnetic measurement intercomparison

using the stripline cavity resonator.

FY 1999 Organize possible future national intercomparison of dielectric measurements

using the broadband coaxial open-ended probe technique; Participate in

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Radio Frequency Radio-Frequency Technology Division

international intercomparisons of dielectric fluid measurements and of

microwave surface resistivity of high-temperature superconductor (HTS)

films.

FY 2000 Organize possible future national intercomparison of dielectric measurements

using the broadband coaxial open-ended probe technique, as well as the IPC

2.5.5 stripline resonator card technique; Participate in international

intercomparisons of dielectric fluid measurements and of microwave surface

resistivity of HTS films.

140
OPTOELECTRONICS

Dielectric Materials and Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Semiconductor Materials and Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Fiber and Discrete Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Integrated Optics Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Optical Fiber Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Optical Fiber Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

High Speed Source and Detector Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Laser Radiometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

141
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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

Dielectric Materials and Devices

Project Leader: Norman A. Sanford

Staff-Years: 4.3 Professionals, 2.0 Postdoc, 1.0 Students, 1.0 Guest Researcher

Funding Sources: NIST (87%), Other Government Agencies (9%), Other (4%)

Objective: Develop advanced measurements and critical evaluation criteria for

dielectric and semiconductor materials used in optoelectronics systems,

instrumentation, and sensors; interact with industry for the test and

evaluation of advanced laser glasses and nonlinear optical materials;

fabricate prototype devices from these materials.

Background: NIST’s work in the characterization of dielectric materials, with emphasis on

supporting new industrial developments in the field of integrated and guided-wave optics,

began in 1988. The work has focused on rare-earth-doped laser glasses and ferroelectric

ceramics such as lithium niobate and lithium tantalate. These materials are important since

they are the backbone of new commercial directions of integrated optical technology. For

example, compact solid-state glass waveguide lasers are viewed as key components for remote

sensing and ranging technologies, applications requiring stable mode-locked operation for use

in analog-to-digital conversion, and ultrafast sources for high-speed optical

telecommunications. NIST works with industrial collaborators, supporting both device

development and materials development and assessment, to help further this technology.

NIST also works on the characterization of single domain and domain engineered lithium

niobate and related ferroelectric ceramics. These materials are used extensively in optical

communication systems for modulators, switches, and filters, and applications for sensors and

control systems. Nonlinear optical characterization methods developed in this work is now

generalized to the study of compound semiconductors. Furthermore, domain-engineered

lithium niobate devices are now key elements in widely-tunable ultrafast and continuous

optical parametric oscillators. These are in demand for such applications as biomedical

diagnostics, ultrafast dynamics, transient spectroscopy, and eye-safe range finding. Project

members fabricate devices for such NIST metrology instrumentation needs as high speed

detector measurements, time and frequency standards, multimode fiber characterization, and

wavelength standards.

Current Tasks:

1. Rare-earth-doped solid state laser and amplifier metrology

FY 1990-1997 First reported Nd-doped waveguide laser showing continuous operation; First

reported Y-branch waveguide laser; Demonstrated various mode-locked Qswitched and coupled cavity waveguide lasers in silicate glass; First reported

neodymium-diffused lithium tantalate waveguide laser; Demonstrated high

efficiency phosphate glass waveguide laser; Demonstrated distributed-Bragg

reflector waveguide lasers; Developed fully time dependent modeling codes

and numerical analysis package for complex multiply-doped cw and pulsed

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

waveguide lasers; Demonstrated stabilized operation of neodymium and

erbium diffused lithium niobate waveguide lasers.

FY 1998 Demonstrated 180 mW of continuous output near 1550 nm, and tunability

over 70 nm, for an erbium/ytterbium waveguide laser. This is the highest

power for such a device reported to date; Measured absorption and emission

cross sections, up-conversion of coefficients, and energy transfer efficiency in

Er/Yb co-doped phosphate and silicate laser glasses; First known

demonstration of Q-switching erbium-doped glass waveguide lasers near 1550

nm using semiconductor saturable absorbers; Established processing

parameters for the fabrication of etched gratings in phosphate glass

waveguides; Demonstrated ytterbium doped waveguide lasers for widely

tunable operation near 1000 nm; Initiated collaboration with ITL for rigorous

numerical modeling of active and passive guided-wave components.

FY 1999 Establish utility of hybrid mode-locked and Q-switched waveguide lasers for

applications involving high-speed optical telecommunications, wavelength

comb generation, and eye-safe range-finding; Explore advanced processing

methods such as direct grafting of semiconductor saturable absorbers to

waveguide surfaces and waveguide formation by UV writing; Begin designs

incorporating the combined systems of rare-earth doped waveguides and

semiconductor saturable absorbers; Demonstrate arrays of distributed-Bragg

reflector waveguide lasers operating at wavelengths commensurate with the

International Telecommunication Grid; Continue to explore collaboration with

NIST/Physics Laboratory including NIST PL/University of Colorado Joint

Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) regarding applications of

waveguide lasers.

FY 2000 Continue iterative experimental and theoretical work to optimize passively

mode-locked waveguide lasers operating at repetition rates between 10 - 20

GHz; Continue and extend collaborative work with NIST/Information

Technology Laboratory with numerical modeling of optoelectronic

components; Examine the spectral decomposition of ultrafast mode-locked

waveguide lasers for uses in optical comb generation and wavelength-division

multiplexing; Continue to study and develop arrays of distributed-Bragg

reflector lasers for the same applications.

2. Metrology of nonlinear optical materials

FY 1989 Characterized nonlinear bi-directional photorefractive mode coupling in

lithium niobate waveguides.

FY 1994-1997 Constructed apparatus for Maker fringe analysis; Established theoretical

models describing Maker fringe analysis of lithium niobate for examining

birefringence variations due to fluctuations in strain and composition; Studies

of domain-engineered lithium niobate initiated; Mapped uniformity of batches

of lithium niobate wafers, measuring 76 mm and 100 mm in diameter, and

correlated results with x-ray topography and with device yield results of

industrial collaborators; Developed novel intersecting beam nonlinear optical

analysis method; Investigated asymmetric poling fields in domain-reversed

lithium niobate; Performed Maker fringe analysis on domain-reversed lithium

niobate; Obtained preliminary atomic-force microscopy images of lithium

niobate domains.

FY 1998 Refined Maker fringe analysis of strain effects in lithium niobate wafers;

Conducted Maker fringe analysis on wafers sequenced from specially grown

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

boules by an industrial collaborator; Obtained preliminary data of interfacial

second-harmonic generation from glass layers; Collaborated with

NIST/Physics Laboratory and JILA and fabricated numerous periodicallypoled lithium niobate components for frequency standards research;

Collaborated with Stanford University on Maker fringe analysis of epitaxial

lithium niobate films and measured nonlinear optical coefficients of the films;

Also performed Maker fringe analysis on vapor-transport equilibrated material

from same collaborators; Performed transmission-electron microscopy studies

of domain-reversed lithium niobate; prepared OH-reduced samples of lithium

niobate in order to assess effect on poling hysterisis; Initiated Maker fringe

analysis studies of GaN films grown on sapphire by collaborators at

University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB); Initiated Maker fringe

analysis studies of diffusion-bonded layers of InP and GaAs fabricated by

collaborators at an industrial laboratory; Demonstrated first known use of

Maker fringe analysis to measure d.c. electrooptic coefficients.

FY 1999 Continue work with crystal manufacturers of lithium niobate, users of lithium

niobate, in correlating the crystal quality, as revealed in nonlinear optical

analysis, with device performance. This includes lithium niobate used in

optical telecommunication systems and nonlinear optics. Develop detailed

modeling for nonlinear optical analysis of gallium arsenide/indium phosphide

and gallium nitride/sapphire layers; Extend work with UCSB collaborators for

gallium nitride characterization, industrial collaborator for diffusion bonding

studies, and Stanford University for examination of lithium niobate of varying

composition, and correlate these various nonlinear optical results with highresolution x-ray diffraction imaging; Perform detailed transmission electron

microscopy (TEM) analysis of domain-engineered lithium niobate; Construct

prototype optical parametric oscillator in domain engineered lithium niobate

and/or lithium tantalate and use this source to extend nonlinear optical

analysis of semiconductors and oxides; Extend collaboration with

NIST/Physics Laboratory’s Time and Frequency Division and JILA to include

specialty optical parametric oscillators.

FY 2000 Apply prototype tunable optical parametric oscillators to the nonlinear optical

analysis of diffusion-bonded semiconductor layers, epitaxially grown

semiconductor films, and other oxides. Extend work to time domain and

explore transient effects; continue work with NIST/Materials Science and

Engineering Laboratory (MSEL) regarding x-ray diffraction imaging; Extend

collaborative work with Stanford University on varied compositions of

domain-engineered lithium niobate and include both nonlinear optical

characterization and TEM analysis of the material.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

Semiconductor Materials and Devices

Project Leader: Robert K. Hickernell

Staff-Years: 3.7 Professionals, 1.0 Technician, 3.0 Students

Funding Sources: NIST (91%), Other Government Agencies (9%)

Objective: Develop measurement methods and provide measurements to support

the efficient manufacture of semiconductor optoelectronic devices;

provide custom devices to support research in NIST, other Government

laboratories, and industry.

Background: This project was established in 1994 and has earlier foundations in efforts

dating to 1990-91 when NIST researchers contributed to metrology for the precision

manufacturing of semiconductor epitaxial multilayers. The particular impact was in assisting

the development of the first commercially available vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

(VCSEL), which are used in short-distance data communication links. The project has

extended the ex-situ measurements to in-situ monitoring during epitaxial growth, with the goal

of advancing controlled-precision optoelectronic device manufacturing and the development of

standard reference materials and data. Its efforts in developing high-precision measurements

of source gas impurities will assist industry in improving the quality and consistency of the

raw materials used to make semiconductor devices. Project researchers collaborate with

industry and other Division researchers to develop measurements which support the

manufacture and specification requirements for lasers used in data interconnect systems. The

project fabricates novel lasers and detectors for use in detector metrology, high-speed

measurements and sensor applications. Ultrashort pulse measurements are applied to

semiconductor materials characterization and next-generation, high-speed communications

research. Expertise is being developed in group III-nitride materials, which are used in

displays, optical data storage, and solar blind detection, in the blue/ultraviolet region.

Current Tasks:

1. In-situ optical metrology and process control of epilayer manufacturing

FY 1997 Developed triggered data acquisition technique which reduced effect of

substrate wobble by a factor of 10 in in-situ reflectance measurement;

Increased operational state of crystal growth system to include source

materials of indium, beryllium, silicon, and arsenic (As2).

FY 1998 Reduced uncertainty in real-time group-III flux measurement to less than 1%;

Completed hardware, repairs, safety training and document for use of

phosphine in MBE growth system.

FY 1999 Apply in-situ measurements to the development of composition artifacts with

± 1% uncertainty; Develop periodically poled lithium niobate device for laserbased atomic absorption measurement; Develop spectroscopic pyrometry

system to measure substrate temperature; Establish parameters for growth of

InGaAsP on InP.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

FY 2000 Evaluate mass desorption spectroscopy as a tool for in-situ group V ratio

determination in InGaAsP growth; Measure group III flux using laser-based

atomic absorption system.

2. Ex-situ characterization of semiconductor growth and processing

FY 1991 Characterized vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) structures by

X-ray, electron-beam, and optical metrologies, and by measurement

simulations; Showed high degree of correlation among measurement methods

for layer thicknesses, uniformity, and composition; Assisted industry in

development of first commercially available VCSELs.

FY 1992 - 1995 See 1998 Program Plan.

FY 1996 Measured and modeled influence of effusion-cell temperature drift during

distributed Bragg reflector manufacturing; Correlated high-resolution x-ray

diffractometry measurements to reflectance spectroscopy and electron

microscopy measurements of systematic and random period deviations in

multilayers.

FY 1997 Correlated in-situ and ex-situ measurements to advance controlled-precision

manufacturing; Investigated influence of manufacturing variations on

VCSELs; Applied atomic force and scanning near-field microscopic

measurements to nanoscale optoelectronic structure characterization.

FY 1998 Developed manufacturing and metrology of quantum-dot materials and

devices; Grew and characterized samples in initial NIST inter-comparison of

AlGaAs composition measurement.

FY 1999 Correlate ex-situ and in-situ measurements of composition and thickness on

test standard wafers; Conduct additional measurement intercomparisons of test

wafers among NIST laboratories; Quantify effects of x-ray rocking curve

parameters on composition determination; Build robust cavity ring-down

spectroscopy system and measure water concentration in nitrogen purge gas.

FY 2000 Conduct measurement inter-comparisons of composition test wafers among

government and industry laboratories; Confirm x-ray rocking curve and

photoluminescence measurements of composition by the Project with electron

microprobe analysis by the NIST/Chemical Science and Technology

Laboratory; Measure water concentration in phosphine gas with goal of 10

ppb sensitivity. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

3. Semiconductor material and device metrology for advanced applications

FY 1993 Completed study of optoelectronic technology and metrology required to

enhance computing; Established program to address the measurement needs of

the VCSEL industry and applications of optoelectronic interconnects.

FY 1994 - 1995 See 1998 Program Plan.

FY 1996 Studied VCSEL measurands as function of environmental and drive

parameters; Performed data interpretation and modeling of VCSEL emission

properties; Determined measurement problems and technological barriers of

group III-nitride technology.

FY 1997 Established ultrafast mode-locked laser and optical homodyne detection

system for device and material characterization; Investigated spectral mode

content of VCSEL devices for optical interconnects; Explored high-spatial

resolution metrology development to support the group III-nitride industry.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

FY 1998 Developed pump-probe station and measured carrier relaxation in

semiconductor saturable absorbers; Developed and demonstrated general

method for attaching error bars to intensity and phase measurements of

ultrashort pulses; Determined refractive index dispersion of native AlGaAs

oxides from reflectance and spectral ellipsometry measurements.

FY 1999 Extend ultrashort pulse metrology to the 1.06 μm and 1.5 μm spectral

regions; Characterize semiconductor saturable Bragg reflectors for modelocking in these regions; Measure index dispersion of buried native oxides

using x-ray diffraction and optical reflectance spectroscopy; Analyze and

report measurements of VCSEL transverse mode profiles by near-field

scanning optical microscopy; Image GaN films and wafer-fused interfaces

using high-resolution x-ray topography (HRXRT).

FY 2000 Correlate HRXRT measurements of GaN layers with nonlinear optical

measurements to evaluate strain, defects, and nucleation layers; Correlate

HRXRT measurements of wafer-fused interfaces with nonlinear optical

measurements and sample fabrication to map interfacial defects and strain.

Measure pulse-to-pulse jitter of successive mode-locked pulses from

waveguide lasers.

4. Devices for advanced metrology

FY 1994 Formulated concept of environment (e.g., temperature, electromagnetic field)

sensor using microcavity devices; Secured NASA support.

FY 1995 See 1998 Program Plan.

FY 1996 Designed, fabricated, and tested custom device which stabilized optical-pump

coupling but maintained laser sensitivity to environment; Established and

characterized fiber-interfaced optical power and sensing.

FY 1997 Advanced methods of photonic/electronic band engineering into ultrafast

device metrology; Developed saturable Bragg reflectors for pulsed laser in

high-speed detector metrology systems in the Division; Established

capabilities and competence in the growth and fabrication of electrically

injected semiconductor emitters.

FY 1998 Designed and grew saturable Bragg reflector which demonstrated modelocked and q-switched operation of rare-earth-doped waveguide lasers at 1.06

μm; Developed and demonstrated native oxide fabrication techniques for

current and optical mode confinement in VCSELs; Designed and grew

resonant-cavity-enhanced photodiodes which demonstrated record bandwidth

(50 GHz)-efficiency (>90%) products.

FY 1999 Design and grow saturable Bragg absorbers for mode-locking and q-switching

of 1.5 μm waveguide lasers; Grow quantum-dot saturable absorbers for qswitched and/or mode-locked waveguide laser at 1.06 μm; Demonstrate

wavelength-tunable lasers with graded quantum well widths; Demonstrate

tunable laser based on quantum dot active region; Demonstrate optically and

electrically addressable VCSEL with low-ripple optical pumping window.

FY 2000 Demonstrate mode-locked operation of waveguide laser with quantum dot

saturable absorbers; Develop quantum dot growth for application in 1.5 μm

region.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

Fiber and Discrete Components

Project Leader: Sarah L. Gilbert

Staff-Years: 2.75 Professionals, 0.25 Technician, 1.7 Postdoc, 1.0 Student

Funding Sources: NIST (85%), Other Government Agencies (15%)

Objective: Develop measurement methods for characterization of optical fiber

components and discrete components and develop standards needed by

industry for these components.

Background: This project is concerned with the characterization of optical components and

development of standards needed to calibrate commercial instruments which measure

component properties. Wavelength standards are needed to calibrate instruments which

measure the wavelengths of sources and characterize the wavelength dependence of

components in wavelength division multiplexing optical fiber communication systems. Future

optical communication systems will likely incorporate recently developed components,

including many promising devices such as fiber lasers, dispersion compensators, and band

pass filters containing Bragg fiber gratings. There is a need for standards and characterization

of these components in order to both evaluate their reliability and ensure that the system

specifications can be met. Polarization dependence such as polarization-dependent loss and

polarization-dependent gain in components can affect a system’s performance, especially

when there are many components in the system. Presently, there are commercial instruments

for measuring polarization-dependent loss, but no calibration standards exist for these

instruments.

Current Tasks:

1. Wavelength standards for optical communications

FY 1990 Designed and constructed a single-longitudinal mode erbium-doped fiber laser

and characterized its frequency noise.

FY 1991 Conducted spectroscopy of acetylene using the fiber laser to assess potential

use for a wavelength standard; Developed a light emitting diode and

absorption cell based moderate-accuracy wavelength standard.

FY 1993 Stabilized the fiber laser to a narrow absorption line of laser-cooled rubidium,

demonstrating the system’s potential as a high-accuracy wavelength standard.

FY 1994 Developed plan for meeting NIST traceability need for wavelength calibration

at optical communication wavelengths via absorption cells to be distributed as

standard reference material (SRM).

FY 1995 Built and tested hydrogen cyanide (H13CN) vapor cells for moderate-accuracy

wavelength references.

FY 1996 Developed acetylene absorption cell standard reference material; Measured the

pressure-induced shift of acetylene absorption lines; Supplied three companies

with fiber-pigtailed absorption cells.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

FY 1997 Provided acetylene absorption cell SRM; Developed hydrogen cyanide

absorption cell SRM; Transferred absorption cell technology to a company.

FY 1998 Provided hydrogen cyanide absorption cell SRM; Developed high-accuracy

1560 nm internal calibration reference.

FY 1999 Provide SRM 2517 (acetylene) and 2519 (hydrogen cyanide) units as needed;

Develop high-resolution SRM; Investigate references for 1300 and 1600 nm

regions. (1999 Budget Narrative; 1998 MSL Strategic Plan; 1998 EEEL

Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Provide SRM 2517 and 2519 units as needed; Provide high-resolution SRM;

Develop SRMs for 1300 and 1600 nm regions; Develop high-accuracy 1300

nm internal calibration reference.

FY 2001 Provide SRM absorption cell units as needed.

2. Metrology for photo-induced Bragg gratings in optical fiber

FY 1992 Developed the capability to write Bragg reflection gratings in optical fiber.

FY 1993 Characterized fiber grating growth dependence on time and the intensity of

the ultraviolet (UV) light, compared results with theoretical models.

FY 1995 Evaluated the thermal stability of fiber Bragg gratings written in hydrogenloaded and unloaded optical fiber.

FY 1997 Investigated measurement techniques to characterize bulk glass UV

photosensitivity.

FY 1998 Constructed apparatus for bulk glass index change measurements; Developed

plan for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of UV-induced defects;

Began NMR measurements.

FY 1999 Conduct NMR measurements on UV-induced defects in hydrogen-loaded

glass; Measure UV-induced index change in glass samples.

FY 2000 Conduct NMR and index measurements to study the role of boron and other

dopants in UV photosensitivity.

3. Polarization-dependent loss and gain metrology

FY 1994 Developed plan for constructing a polarization-dependent loss (PDL)

measurement system.

FY 1995 Developed two PDL measurement systems.

FY 1996 Completed characterization of PDL measurement systems; Characterized

short-term stability PDL artifact reference.

FY 1997 Documented PDL measurement system; Studied PDL of fiber connectors;

Developed polarization-dependent gain measurement capability and began

measurements on a fiber amplifier.

FY 1998 Evaluated industry need for PDL artifact references and polarizationdependent gain metrology; Developed plan to meet PDL need. (1998 MSL

Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Evaluate PDL artifact reference at one wavelength; Construct wavelengthdependent PDL measurement system. (1999 Budget Narrative; 1998 EEEL

Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Develop PDL SRM; Conduct interlaboratory comparison on PDL

measurement.

FY 2001 Provide PDL SRM.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

4. Mode-Isolation Metrology for Polarization Maintaining Fiber

FY 1991 Began work on mode-isolation (h-parameter) measurement in high

birefringence optical fiber at request of the Telecommunication Industries

Association (TIA).

FY 1992 Conducted NIST/TIA interlaboratory comparison of mode-isolation

measurements.

FY 1994 Participated in drafting a mode-isolation TIA fiber optic test procedure.

FY 1996 Worked with TIA to evaluate a new mode-isolation measurement technique.

FY 1997 Conducted and participated in a mode-isolation measurement interlaboratory

comparison involving new technique.

FY 1998 Compiled interlaboratory comparison results.

FY 1999 Conduct interlaboratory comparison on mode-isolation measurement using

high performance fiber cables. Task completed.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

Integrated Optics Metrology

Project Leader: Matt Young

Staff-Years: 1.75 Professionals, 1.0 Postdoc, 1.0 Student

Funding Sources: NIST (85%), Other Government Agencies (15%)

Objective: Develop advanced measurement methods for integrated optical

waveguides. Interact with standards groups to provide a metrology

base for the optoelectronic communications industry.

Background: As the optical fiber industry moves toward local area networks and toward

fiber to the home, there is increasing need for inexpensive passive components such as

splitters. Additionally, such components are needed because long-distance telephony is

retrofitting to wavelength division multiplexing. Several companies are manufacturing1×N

splitters or are about to market them. There are, however, no standard measurement

procedures similar to those for fiber index profile and mode-field diameter, nor are there

artifact standards similar to those for fiber geometry. Further, it is not obvious how to

perform analogous measurements, for example, because the mode field pattern of an

integrated optical waveguide is not circularly symmetric or because the fiber measurement is

performed using a cutback technique or a mandrel wrap. Thus, several critical measurements

need examination.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop metrology for integrated optical components

FY 1996 Continued development of low coherence reflectometer; Characterized

Y-branch waveguides and measured dispersion of an optical waveguide and

performed preliminary measurements on waveguides in various substrates;

Began work on confocal microscopy of waveguide end faces for mode-field

diameter measurements.

FY 1997 Measured reflections in integrated optical waveguides using low coherence

reflectometer; Measured mode-field diameter of waveguide with near-field

methods.

FY 1998 Measured refractive index profiles of integrated-optical guides; Developed

optical low-coherence reflectometry (OLCR) to characterize wavelength

division multiplexers; Made preliminary OLCR measurements on arrayed

waveguide grating; Developed 2-dimensional finite-difference time-domain

simulation for waveguide modeling.

FY 1999 Perform index profile measurements on diffused and polymer waveguides;

Modify refracted near-field system for polarization-sensitive measurements of

index profile; Assemble low-coherence interferometer for measurements of

planar waveguide gratings; Study multiplexers using simulation and OLCR.

FY 2000 Establish experimental and theoretical limit between near- and far-field

measurements of planar waveguides; Compare grating measurements via low

coherence interferometer with phase of frequency domain techniques.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

Optical Fiber Sensors

Project Leader: Kent B. Rochford

Staff-Years: 2.25 Professionals, 0.5 Technician, 2.75 Post Doc, 2.0 Student,

1.0 Guest Scientist

Funding Sources: NIST (80%), Other Government Agencies (16%), Other (4%)

Objective: Provide metrology to support the optical fiber sensor industry and

develop advanced sensing technology for other government and

industry laboratories. Provide polarization measurements and develop

polarization standards for industry. Provide optical disc substrate

measurements.

Background: NIST is responding to the growing fiber-optic sensors industry by developing

standards and calibrations where few exist, assisting in the characterization of components

and sensing methods, and educating the measurement community to the advantages of optical

fiber sensors. This project provides the industry and other government agencies with

traceability, measurement expertise, neutral evaluation of technologies, and pre-commercial

development of advanced prototypes and recently developed a Standard Reference Material

for linear retardance. Through this project, NIST provides Special Tests for retardance and is

beginning an effort to calibrate optical disc retardance measurements and to investigate more

general measurements on optical discs.

Current Tasks:

1. Advanced sensor systems, components, and materials research

FY 1985 First demonstration of fiber annealing to remove birefringence.

FY 1986 Demonstration of optical fiber current measurements to 70 MA.

FY 1987 Extended study of precision of electro-optic and magneto-optic sensors

published.

FY 1989 High speed, high sensitivity (100pT/√Hz noise equivalent field) sensors based

on the Faraday effect in yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) demonstrated.

FY 1993 Demonstrated very-high-sensitivity magnetic field sensor (1.4pT/√Hz noise

equivalent field) using flux concentrators.

FY 1995 Developed and demonstrated laser-as-detector technique in optical fiber sensor

systems; Completed self-calibrating temperature sensor system.

FY 1996 Thermally expanded an optical fiber core; Characterized and improved highsensitivity magnetic field sensor system.

FY 1997 Evaluated novel garnets for magnetic field sensor system; Characterized

thermally expanded core fiber; Began work on low-coherence sensor systems.

FY 1998 Developed accurate low-coherence ranging system; Developed fiber Bragg

grating sensor demultiplexing method.

FY 1999 Develop novel magnetic sensor head; Support investigation of fiber sensors

for electrical current calibrations.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

FY 2000 Deliver fiber optic magnetometer for evaluation; Demonstrate extended

dynamic range low-coherence system.

FY 2001 Develop calibrations for fiber Bragg grating sensors.

2. Basic metrology and standards development

FY 1988 Definitive study of birefringent linear retarder (waveplate) stability.

FY 1994 Tested prototype retardance standards and demonstrated very good

performance for wavelength, temperature, and incident-angle dependencies.

FY 1996 Measured the Verdet constant of optical fiber with improved accuracy for Los

Alamos National Laboratory; Completed interlaboratory comparison of

retardance measurements with eight U.S. participants; Established 3 accurate

retardance measurement methods.

FY 1997 Established Standard Retarder as a Standard Reference Material (SRM) and

provided measurement support.

FY 1998 Conducted dialogue with industry to identify priority needs for new

component measurements and standards.

FY 1999 Begin effort in fiber Bragg grating metrology; Begin effort in Mueller matrix

polarimetry.

FY 2000 Conduct accurate measurements of Bragg grating parameters; Demonstrate

imaging Mueller matrix polarimeter.

FY 2001 Extend fiber Bragg grating measurement capability; Offer special tests using

Mueller matrix polarimeter.

3. Optical data storage

FY 1995 Began investigation of optical data storage industry needs; Participated in

NIST planning workshop.

FY 1996 Identified and prioritized measurement needs of the compact disc replication

industry.

FY 1997 Developed techniques for measuring disc retardance at 780 nm.

FY 1998 Conducted interlaboratory comparison of optical disc retardance; Determined

accuracy of industry-proposed disc retardance measurement methods.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Develop vertical birefringence measurement methods; Develop disc retardance

SRM.

FY 2000 Provide disc retardance SRM; Develop optical disc tilt measurement

capability.

FY 2001 Begin development of disc tilt SRM.

4. Optical fiber sensor commercialization

FY 1991 Transferred optical fiber annealing technology to U.S. company.

FY 1994 Transferred improved annealing technology to U.S. company.

FY 1996 Transferred optical fiber annealing technology to a second U.S. company.

FY 1997 Provided electric field sensor to a U.S. company for evaluation.

FY 1998 Transferred electric field sensor technology to a U.S. company.

FY 1999 Transfer flight compatible E-field sensor to industry; Identify licensees for

sensor demultiplexing technology.

FY 2000 Transfer current sensor technology to semiconductor industry for processing

diagnostics.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

Optical Fiber Metrology

Project Leader: Paul A. Williams

Staff-Years: 3.0 Professionals, 0.4 Guest Researchers, 0.3 Contractors

Funding Sources: NIST (90%), Other Government Agencies (10%)

Objective: Develop advanced measurement methods and Standard Reference

Materials for optical fibers; interact with standards groups to provide a

metrology base for the optoelectronic communication industry.

Background: During the 1980s, optical fibers were introduced into the nation’s

telecommunication system to carry large quantities of long distance information. As the

technology matured, more fiber moved into metropolitan areas and local area networks. Local

loops utilize many more connection points; therefore, dimensional tolerances are important

and improvements are necessary for lower loss connectors. In addition, long distance link

technology continues to improve. Bit rates are increasing and the advent of optical amplifiers

allows for direct optical paths thousands of kilometers in length; this and other trends toward

wavelength division multiplexing require improved measurements of fiber dispersion. Over

the years, NIST’s efforts have evolved along with the industry, focusing on a wide range of

measurement problems as they became important, and assisting in their resolution. This has

led to a close involvement with the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and with

international standards organizations. NIST has participated in the development of more than

twenty TIA standards, often serving as a neutral party in their evaluation through

interlaboratory comparisons. In recent years, the industry’s need for standard reference

materials (SRMs) has grown; NIST presently provides four SRMs for optical fiber and

related metrologies and has three more close to release.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop dimensional metrology for optical fiber

FY 1996 SRMs for connector ferrule outside and inside diameter (pin gages) available

for sale; Investigated optical interferometric measurement methods for

connector protrusion/undercut.

FY 1997 Investigated mechanical measurement methods based on a contact probe for

connector protrusion/undercut; SRM for coating diameter developed and

delivered to NIST Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory for final

measurements; Developed reference far-field measurement system for mode

field diameter.

FY 1998 Developed reference near-field measurement system for mode field diameter;

Perturbation theory relating near- and far-field measurements developed and

tested experimentally.

FY 1999 SRMS for mode-field diameter and coating diameter available for sale.

(1999 Budget Narrative; 1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Assemble and certify additional geometry SRM’s as needed.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

2. Develop dispersion metrology for optical fiber

FY 1996 Documented performance of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) SRM;

Completed TIA chromatic dispersion round robin and documented chromatic

dispersion SRM.

FY 1997 Chromatic dispersion SRM available for sale; Prototype PMD SRM

manufactured by outside vendors.

FY 1998 PMD SRM testing completed; Developed broadband system to measure

multimode fiber chromatic dispersion.

FY 1999 PMD SRM available for sale; Characterize multi-mode fiber chromatic

dispersion in test specimens; Investigate chromatic dispersion in fiber

Bragg gratings.

FY 2000 Develop, assemble, and certify non-mode-coupled PMD SRM’s;

Compare dispersion measurements on gratings with similar low

coherence measurements.

3. Develop metrology for nonlinear fiber properties

FY 1996 Determined relation between four-wave mixing efficiency and zero dispersion

wavelength - published results; Presented four-wave mixing work to TIA;

FY 1997 Determined whether four-wave mixing can predict chromatic dispersion

length uniformity.

FY 1998 Developed a system for measuring zero dispersion wavelength as a function

of fiber length; Developed stable, Q-switched fiber laser which operates

below Raman threshold for use in high-sensitivity optical time domain

reflectometer (OTDR).

FY 1999 Assess industry need and make appropriate improvements to four-wave

mixing system for zero-dispersion wavelength mapping.(1998 MSL Strategic

Plan)

FY 2000 Assess industry need for OTDR standards.

4. Develop metrology for system/field measurements

FY 1996 Evaluated and modified, with TIA, existing test procedures for multimode

fiber bandwidth.

FY 1997 Completed multimode fiber bandwidth round robin with TIA members;

Developed high resolution measurement method for differential mode delay

(DMD) in multimode fibers at 850 and 1300 nm; Developed reference

measurement system for multimode fiber bandwidth; Measured DMD on TIA

round robin fibers.

FY 1998 Developed ultra-high sensitivity wavelength-tunable OTDR for determining

the uniformity of Rayleigh backscatter along the length of fibers; Improved

the spatial resolution of DMD measurements for multimode fibers; Compared

time and frequency domain DMD techniques; Determined zero dispersion

wavelength of multimode fibers as a function of launching conditions.

FY 1999 Characterize multimode fiber impulse response as a function of launch and

receive; Investigate applications of high sensitivity wavelength-tunable OTDR.

FY 2000 Continue support of multi-mode bandwidth characterization via DMD

measurements.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

5. Develop metrology for fiber amplifiers

FY 1996 Initiated international round robin and obtained preliminary NIST

measurements of noise.

FY 1997 Obtained results from U.S., Europe, and Japan on international round robin

for spectral gain and noise figure of erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA).

FY 1998 Continued international round robin on EDFAs; Designed spectral gain

measurement system for EDFAs.

FY 1999 Initiate a NIST Measurement Assurance Program (MAP) for erbium doped

fiber amplifier spectral gain of EDFAs; Perform EDFA spectral gain

measurements and finalize test system.

FY 2000 Evaluate gain measurements in the presence of multiple signal channels;

Develop suitable test system.

157
Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

High Speed Source and Detector Measurements

Project Leader: Paul D. Hale

Staff-Years: 4.25 Professionals, 0.5 Technician, 1.0 Contractor

Funding Sources: NIST (64%), Other Government Agencies (30%), Other (6%)

Objective: Provide advanced metrology, standards, and measurement services

relating to temporal properties of optical sources and detectors used in

association with optoelectronic systems.

Background: High bandwidth measurements are needed to support high-performance systems

which take advantage of the potential bandwidth of optical fiber. Systems presently being

installed operate at 5 to 10 gigabits per second using pure optical time division multiplexing

(OTDM) and research is being done on the next generation of OTDM systems at 20 to 40

gigabits per second. Methods are needed to characterize the impulse and frequency response

of high speed sources and detectors to at least the third harmonic of the system modulation

rate. As new optoelectronic technologies have emerged, NIST has developed new laser and

detector standards to support this growth. For example, the reemergence of short wavelength

applications, such as optical interconnects, has shown the need for concurrent development of

applicable measurement standards and techniques specific to this technology. Burst mode

operation in asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks requires characterization at very

low frequencies. Increasingly tight tolerances in both digital and analog systems require

frequency response measurements with low uncertainty. Source and detector noise

measurements are required to predict low bit error rates (BERs) in computer interconnects,

high carrier to noise ratios (CNRs) in analog systems, and to support erbium-doped fiber

amplifier (EDFA) noise figure (NF) measurements using electrical noise methods. Intensive

use of laser target designators by the armed forces requires traceable low level pulse power

and energy calibration standards at 1.06 and 1.55 μm.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop optical noise measurements and standards

FY 1996 Documented industry needs for optoelectronic noise measurements; Began

development of techniques and apparatus for measuring relative intensity

noise (RIN) which are suitable for supporting optical amplifier noise

measurements and low level measurements on distributed feedback (DFB)

lasers; Completed cryogenic measurements of RIN of various diode laser

sources.

FY 1997 Developed and characterized RIN measurement techniques supporting optical

amplifier noise measurements and measurement of low RIN (-160 dB/Hz)

DFB lasers; Studied spatial mode partition noise in vertical cavity surface

emitting lasers.

FY 1998 Began development of a RIN standard based on a filtered Erbium-doped

fiber-amplifier noise source.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

FY 1999 Quantify sources of uncertainty in RIN standard and document for MCOM;

Develop an optical power spectral density standard for calibrating automated

optical spectrum analyzers.

FY 2000 Continue development of RIN and optical power spectral density standards

measurements; Apply noise stnadards to EDFA noise figure measurements;

Assist industry in developing standard test procedures for EDFA noise figure.

2. Develop impulse response and vector frequency response measurements

FY 1996 - 1997 Investigated photoconductive methods for calibrating optoelectronic response

in both magnitude and phase.

FY 1998 Investigated nose-to-nose technique for calibrating oscilloscopes used to

measure optoelectronic response in magnitude and phase; Compared several

algorithms for correcting errors associated with oscilloscope impulse

measurements including timebase distortion measurement, timing jitter, and

drift; Began investigation of Hilbert transform method for determining

optoelectronic phase.

FY 1999 Continue investigation of nose-to-nose technique for calibrating oscilloscopes

used to measure optoelectronic response in magnitude and phase; Develop

method for pulse reconstruction after timebase distortion correction and

method for mismatch correction; Quantify effects of noise on optical impulse

response measurement and correct for them.

FY 2000 Compare optical vector response measurement with scalar heterodyne

response measurement; Continue investigation of Hilbert transform method

for determining optoelectronic phase.

3. Detector scalar frequency response measurements

FY 1992 Received inquiries from industry for photodiode frequency response in the

frequency range between 0.050 and 20 GHz; Investigated various

measurement methods by literature search and talking to industry

representatives; Acquired parts for heterodyne measurement system.

FY 1993 Constructed heterodyne measurement system operable over the frequency

range between 0.05 and 30 GHz; Investigated candidates for transfer

standards.

FY 1996 Documented uncertainty analysis of frequency response measurements of a

photoreceiver/power sensor transfer standard; Built and characterized

synthesized modulation source for high-resolution measurements (between DC

and 1 GHz).

FY 1997 Continued documentation of photoreceiver/power sensor transfer standard

towards a calibration service; Began documentation of calibration service for

“bare” photoreceivers; Investigated industry and military need for 850 nm or

1550 nm wavelength ranges and frequency coverage up to 110 GHz;

Extended measurement capability to 850 nm.

FY 1998 Continued documentation of photoreceiver/power sensor transfer standard as a

calibration service; Completed investigation of repeatability in 1300 nm

heterodyne system in InGaAs check standard. Resolution of 850 nm

heterodyne system improved to 1.3 MHz for calibration service.

FY 1999 Complete documentation of 1300 nm heterodyne system for MCOM; Extend

range of 850 nm and 1300 nm heterodyne systems to 65 GHz; Document

uncertainties in 850 heterodyne system for calibration service.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

FY 2000 Document 850 nm heterodyne system for MCOM.

4. Develop new time-resolved laser radiometry capability

FY 1996 Continued time-resolved low-level system upgrade including assessment of

Type B uncertainties; Transferred technology for construction of six timeresolved low-level radiometers to sponsor; Calibrated two of these

radiometers.

FY 1997 Calibrated remaining four time-resolved low-level sponsor-constructed

radiometers; Continued low-level system upgrade; Constructed time-resolved

low-level measurement system for 1.55 μm light.

FY 1998 Continued time-resolved low-level system upgrade and development of timeresolved low-level system for 1.55 μm light.

FY 1999 Design and construct prototype 1550 nm time-resolved radiometer for Navy.

FY 2000 Build and calibrate 1550 nm time-resolved radiometer for Navy.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

Laser Radiometry

Project Leader: Chris Cromer

Staff-Years: 7.0 Professionals, 3.0 Contractors, 1.5 Technicians

Funding level: $1.7 M

Funding Sources: NIST (69%), Other Government Agencies (25%), Other (6%)

Objective: Develop measurement methods and standards for characterizing laser

sources and detectors used primarily with continuous-wave (CW)

radiation. Develop and maintain measurement services for laser power

& energy, optical fiber power, and related parameters (e.g., spectral

responsivity, linearity, etc.)

Background: The development of lasers in the 1960s opened the door to new technologies

and industries that could make use of the peculiar properties of laser radiation (i.e., spatial

coherence, temporal coherence, narrow line width, high irradiance levels, etc.). The

implementation of laser sources into industrial systems as well as research laboratories has

been historically limited or enhanced by the ability to accurately characterize the emitted

radiation. Consequently, NIST has been developing and providing measurement services to

the laser community since the late 1960s. As new wavelengths and laser types have emerged,

NIST has developed the appropriate new detector standards and measurement techniques to

support this growth. Optical power detectors continue to be the most common piece of test

equipment for supporting optical fiber telecommunication systems and as the technology

evolves, higher accuracy power measurements have become crucial. In addition to higher

accuracy, calibration customers have requested that we improve our capability to measure

other detector properties such as linearity and spectral responsivity. Medical uses of lasers

are continuing to evolve, with photorefractive eye surgery and photodynamic drug therapy

being recent examples where total beam energy and spatial beam quality are critical

measurement requirements. Quantitative knowledge about the irradiance profile and

propagation characteristics of laser beams is essential to understanding the properties of

emerging new technologies such as vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs). Other

important industrial applications of beam profile standards include optical data storage, high

resolution printing, and semiconductor photolithography. Applications for high power lasers

such as laser welding and cutting, and laser isotope separation also require quantitative

characterization of beam profile and laser power.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop spectral responsivity measurement capability for optical power detectors

FY 1996 Began assessment and improved measurement uncertainty; Performed special

test measurements for customers.

FY 1997 Completed uncertainty improvement and analysis; automated measurement

system, trained technicians, and implemented fully documented measurement

services.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

FY 1998 Continued improvement of measurement uncertainties, and provided enhanced

calibration services to customers; Provided specialized tests to industrial and

research communities as required; Began development of specialized tunable

laser systems for spectral response.

FY 1999 Complete documentation for spectral responsivity calibration service. Task

completed.

2. Develop and provide measurement services for optical fiber power meters

FY 1996 Developed linearity measurement capability for 850 nm; Developed tunable

laser system for optical fiber power meter measurements.

FY 1997 Improved linearity and tunable laser measurement system to provide enhanced

measurement support; Performed study of connector effects on measurements;

Obtained formal approval for optical fiber power measurement services.

FY 1998 Continued improvement of measurement uncertainties; Developed improved

transfer standards traceable to the high accuracy cryogenic radiometer;

Provided enhanced measurement services to industry.

FY 1999 Using in-house capabilities to build new tunable diode lasers, expand

wavelength coverage of tunable laser measurement; Increase the power

available for calibrations as requested by industry; Provide measurement

service to industry; Build system to characterize the angular response of

transfer standard detector; Complete documentation for optical fiber power

meter calibrations. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Design and build improved transfer standards suitable for calibration with the

high accuracy cryogenic calorimeter.

3. Develop and provide measurement services for laser power and energy detectors

FY 1996 Implemented high power 1.06 μm calibration measurements; Continued high

power round robin.

FY 1997 Modified high energy laser calorimeter; Investigated discrepancy with PTB.

FY 1998 Developed improved transfer standards traceable to the cryogenic radiometer

for high power laser measurements; Developed linearity test methods for high

power laser meters.

FY 1999 Provide measurement services to industry; Improve the measurement systems

and update control software.

FY 2000 Improve automation of measurement process; Improve the accuracy of

calibration services for laser power and energy.

4. Improve accuracy of laser and optical fiber power measurements

FY 1996 Installed and tested cryogenic radiometer; Built and tested automated

measurement system.

FY 1997 Developed prototype secondary standards (diode trap and pyroelectric trap

designs); Using new primary and secondary standards, began to disseminate

measurements traceable to the cryogenic radiometer for optical fiber and laser

power calibrations.

FY 1998 Continued development of improved transfer standards; Refined dissemination

of measurements for optical fiber and laser power calibration services

traceable to the cryogenic radiometer.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

FY 1999 Develop improved cryogenic radiometer designs, with faster response time

and improved dynamic range; Improve data acquisition software and

measurement automation. Task ends this year. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

5. Develop beam profile measurement capability

FY 1996 Improved beam profile measurement systems; Investigated sources for use in

a round robin.

FY 1997 Continued development of standards for beam profile measurements;

Developed beam profile measurement capabilities for excimer lasers used in

photorefractive eye surgery; Investigated methods for profile measurements of

tightly focused beams used in optical data storage.

FY 1998 Used new beam profile standards in round-robin with industry; Investigated

standards appropriate for medical applications of excimer lasers; Developed

beam profile measurement capability for pulsed lasers.

FY 1999 Develop beam profile measurement techniques for very high irradiance at the

focus of industrial lasers; Acquire and/or build instrumentation to measure

DUV excimer laser beam profiles; Complete report on beam profile round

robin activities. Task completed.

6. Develop deep ultraviolet (DUV) calorimeters for excimer laser measurement capability.

FY 1996 Requested by industry to expand capabilities for excimer laser measurements

to 193 nm; Began search for candidate calorimeter volume absorbing

materials a 193 nm; Participated in collaboration between NIST,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Lincoln Laboratories, and SEMATECH

on DUV photolithography issues.

FY 1997 Continued investigations of volume absorbing materials for use in extending

existing DUV calorimeter design for measurements at 193 nm; Installed new

excimer laser on loan from SEMATECH.

FY 1998 Completed the construction of primary standard laser calorimeters and

measurement system for calibrations at 193 nm; Explored gas-purging

techniques to prevent degradation of calorimeter windows.

FY 1999 Begin providing calibrations to industry customers; Begin developing

concepts for primary standard calorimeters at 157 nm; Design and build

optical system to produce uniform intensity DUV laser beam. (1998 EEEL

Strategic Plan; 1999 Budget Narrative)

FY 2000 Build primary standard for 157 nm excimer laser energy measurements; Begin

providing dose meter calibration services (overfill detectors).

7. Develop tunable laser system for laser and optical fiber power detector calibrations from

400 nm to 200 nm.

FY 1999 Build a CW Ti:Sapphire laser system suitable for calibration services

measurements; Acquire and install pump laser; Acquire and begin test grating

tunable diode laser based on MQW laser technology.

FY 2000 Begin performing calibrations with Ti:Sapphire laser over the 700 nm to

1000 nm spectral range; Make choice between nonlinear techniques with

Ti:Sapphire laser and multiple-quantum-well (MQW) diode lasers; Investigate

down-conversion of Ti:Sapphire laser with periodically poled Li Niobate or

begin developing multiple diode laser systems to increase wavelength coverage.

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Optoelectronics Optoelectronics Division

FY 2001 Complete development of tunable laser system with coverage form 600 nm to

1800 nm; Begin providing laser and optical fiber power calibrations with the

laser system.

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VIDEO

Video Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

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Video Electricity Division

Video Technology

Project Leader: Edward Kelley

Staff-Years: 5 Professionals

Funding Sources: NIST (100%)

Objective: Develop the measurement support needed by U.S. industry to process,

transmit, and display digital video information. Initially, develop

objective measures for the characterization of the video quality of

display devices, including needed measurements for quantities such as

gray scale linearity, uniformity, contrast ratio, viewing angle, and

brightness. Similarly, develop a collection of measurement tools for

the evaluation of digital video signals, that are subjected to

compression processing, which will allow the user to apply an

appropriate subset of the tools to obtain an overall quality figure

consistent with the task requirements.

Background: Manufacturers of flat-panel displays and manufacturers who use flat-panel

displays in their products need consistent, industry-accepted measurement standards for

characterizing the performance of their displays. Standards or testing procedures presently

existing in industry are in their infancy or nonexistent. The lack of standards restricts the

U.S. electronics industry by reducing competition between the suppliers of display products.

The current world market for displays is over $11 billion per year. Also, service and

manufacturing industries providing, or interested in providing, digital video services or

products need test measures for evaluating the quality of their video “product.” There are at

present no metrologically sound measures for characterizing the quality of digital video

sequences processed by lossy signal compression methods and/or transmitted over digital

networks. Such characterization is fundamental to product development and marketing

(price/performance targeting).

As a neutral third party, NIST is uniquely positioned to develop non-proprietary measurement

tools that do not favor one technology. Further, NIST's long involvement with voluntary

standards organizations, and our metrological reputation within those organizations, permit us

to cooperate effectively with industrial partners and have NIST-developed technology widely

accepted.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop performance measurements for the objective characterization of flat panel displays

FY 1993 Designed measurement laboratory and ordered equipment, including

colorimeters, spectroradiometers, charge-coupled-device (CCD) imaging

system, signal generators, display positioning system, and spherical panel

surround.

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Video Electricity Division

FY 1994 Assembled and tested laboratory equipment; Developed test procedures for

calibrating instruments; Developed simulation and modeling programs for the

Princeton Engine, a massively parallel video supercomputer, to visually

simulate display performance.

FY 1995 Conducted and reported on a survey of Display Measurement Standards;

Developed additional creative laboratory calibration procedures; Completed

round-robin measurement using a cathode-ray-tube (CRT) display from the

National Information Display Laboratory; Started evaluation of an

international voluntary reflectance measurement standard.

FY 1996 Analyzed and reported on an international voluntary reflectance measurement

standard; Continued development of measurement techniques for display

characterization; Designed a transportable display simulator; Investigated the

use of interference filters to evaluate colorimetric performance of detection

systems; Developed a flat panel display characterization draft standard for the

Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA).

FY 1997 Continued development of measurement procedures for display

characterization, adding additional tests for viewing angle and other

parameters to meet industry needs; Completed the first released version of the

flat panel display characterization standard for the Video Electronics

Standards Association (VESA) for direct view displays.

FY 1998 Refined measurement procedures and expanded the existing procedures to

include projection display systems; Developed the Stray Light Elimination

Tube (SLET) in support of projection display system metrology; Verified a

display reflection model, and established a measurement technique for it;

VESA Flat Panel Display Measurement (FPDM) Standard version 1.0 became

the best selling VESA standard. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan; 1998 EEEL

Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Refine measurement procedures and expand to include other technologies and

methods such as head mounted, head up, and stereoscopic display systems,

(with a voluntary standards organization, if possible); Develop display

reflection SRMs; Investigate Simulated Eye Design (SED) camera

capabilities; Develop Display Measurement Assessment Transfer Standard

(DMATS) prototype and begin preliminary round robin. (1999 Budget

Narrative)

FY 2000 Continue to refine measurement procedures and expand to include other

display technologies and methods; Develop the Simulated Eye Design camera;

Develop the Camera Assessment Transfer Standard (CATS) for validating

digital camera performance.

2. Develop video quality metrics for quantifying video compression and viewing artifacts

FY 1993 Implemented and analyzed quality metrics for telecommunications

applications; Developed a family of video test patterns for qualifying and

verifying performance of metric implementations.

FY 1994 Developed an interactive method to use the Princeton Engine to measure

perceptible noise threshold in video images; Held industry workshop to

highlight technical issues with respect to sending video over information

networks; Purchased, installed, and developed tools for additional computing

capability to support video quality metric research.

FY 1995 Performed experiment to estimate flicker perception for small text fonts on

interlaced displays; Collaborated with industry partner to analyze performance

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Video Electricity Division

issues related to noise filtering and blurring of video images; Helped develop

Advanced Technology Program focused program on “Digital Video in

Information Networks;” Prepared assessment of industry needs for video

quality metrics.

FY 1996 Reported results of font flicker metric for interlaced displays; Developed

performance revealing test patterns for digital video compression systems,

including test for motion estimation characterization; Developed analysis tools

to quantify generated errors.

FY 1997 Refined performance revealing test patterns and disseminated preliminary

version to industry; Extended image blocking detector to incorporate elements

of human visual system and reported initial results; Measured perceptibility of

compression impairments in noisy video test materials.

FY 1998 Participated in collaboration with industry in the design of an international

comparison of video quality metrics and ran initial validation steps; Extended

quality analysis tools using discrete cosines to improve local feature

extraction; Evaluated and refined existing techniques for incorporating

elements of human visual system in feature extraction; Refined technique for

producing test patterns with graded compression impairments.

FY 1999 Continue development of test patterns supporting multiple digital television

(DTV) formats; Develop transient effects detector for motion impairments and

noise and integrate analysis tools into performance metrics with test patterns;

Characterize test pattern performance and transfer technology to industry

through publication and dissemination of test patterns and objective metrics.

FY 2000 Complete the integration of MPEG-2 video analysis tools into a full

performance metric with test patterns; Develop a pre-processing performance

analyzer to provide a measure of criticality (degree of compression difficulty).

(1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

3. Participate in voluntary standards committee working groups to identify non-tariff trade

barriers in new television standards (in collaboration with Semiconductor Electronics Division).

FY 1998 Hosted an international meeting of the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG);

Contributed to development of Society of Motion Picture and Television

Engineers (SMPTE) test tape.

FY 1999-2000 Provide support to SMPTE, ITU (VQEG), and IEEE (G-2.1.6) by

participating in digital television standards activities.

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170
POWER

Dielectrics Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Metrology for Electric Power Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

171
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Power Electricity Division

Dielectrics Research

Project Leader: James K. Olthoff

Staff-Years: 1.5 professionals, 1 guest scientist

Funding Sources: STRS (100%)

Objective: To respond to industrial and other agency needs related to electrical

insulation and its interaction with electrical breakdown.

Background: This project began in the mid 1970’s with funding from Department of Energy

to investigate liquid and gaseous dielectrics. Initial work in gaseous dielectrics emphasized

the production of corrosive and toxic by-products in SF6 formed by exposure to electrical

discharge. Present work emphasizes the investigation of partial discharge (PD) detection as a

diagnostic of insulation conditions, and the use of SF6 by the electric power industry.

Specific areas of investigation include: 1) concern by the electrical manufacturers and utilities

about the formulation and detection of highly toxic compounds in gas-insulated power

systems; 2) concerns over the global warming potentials of gaseous dielectrics; and 3)

problems encountered by the Air Force about occurrence of corona discharges and related

aging in high-voltage cables used in the space environment.

Current Tasks:

1. Perform laboratory evaluation of techniques for cable condition monitoring

FY 1993 Requested by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to reactivate

program on cable defect detection in nuclear power plant cables.

FY 1994 Initiated evaluation of partial discharge techniques for application as cable

diagnostic; Established liaison with Brookhaven National Laboratory for

acquisition of aged cable specimens.

FY 1995 Completed assembly of digital recording instrument for partial discharge

analysis of cables; Evaluated novel Russian-based technology; Collected

literature for bibliography on application of partial discharge diagnostics to

cable evaluation.

FY 1996 Completed final version of digital recording instrument, and developed

required analysis software.

FY 1997 Investigated the testing of cables to determine affect of PD detection

techniques on cable lifetime. Curtailed research because NRC eliminated

funding due to cost of proving safety of PD detection techniques, and

systematic task shut down was begun.

FY 1998 Write final report to NRC on the application of PD detection on signal cable

testing. Task completed.

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Power Electricity Division

2. Develop digital techniques for recording and analysis of partial discharges in insulation

systems

FY 1993 Built prototype of digitizer and recording system for partial discharge

measurement; Developed first generation of discharge data analysis software.

FY 1994 Applied digitizer to study partial-discharge-induced aging effects of cast

epoxy resin similar to that used in gas insulated substations; Presented results

in invited archival paper; Digitized design presented in conference paper.

FY 1995 Updated digitizer design for application to the measurement of partial

discharges under direct as well as alternating voltage; Revised analysis

software for easier use as a windows application; Applied digitizer to oil and

alumina insulators.

FY 1996 Completed partial discharge measurements on alumina; Adapted recorder for

acoustic detection of partial discharges.

FY 1997 Completed a new digitizer design and fabrication along with documentation,

and delivered unit to sponsor.

FY 1998 Measured PD inception in SF6/N2 mixtures; Used the new digitizer system to

study PD on epoxy surfaces.

FY 1999 Build and test co-axial discharge chamber for PD testing.

FY 2000 Evaluate dielectric properties of SF6/N2 mixtures, using the co-axial discharge

chamber.

3. Investigate impact of SF6 use on global warming

FY 1996 Reviewed potential impact of SF6 on global warming, and reviewed current

state of knowledge concerning use of SF6/N2 mixtures as a possible substitute.

FY 1997 Organized workshop and reviewed literature to determine modifications

required for use of SF6-substitute gases in power equipment, per the request

of EPA; Provided EPA with report of conclusions.

FY 1998 Hosted Gaseous Dielectrics VIII symposium with a theme of using SF6/N2

mixtures as replacement gases in electrical equipment.

FY 1999 Investigate state-of-knowledge related to decomposition by-products in

discharges in SF6/N2 mixtures.

FY 2000 Assess electron-interaction data for SF6, and develop a standard reference data

set for electron collision with SF6.

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Power Electricity Division

Metrology for Electric Power Systems

Project Leader: Gerald J. FitzPatrick

Staff-Years: 7.0 Professionals, 1.0 Technicians

Funding Sources: STRS (33%), Other Government Agencies (38%), Other (29%)

Objective: Develop measurement technologies and provide electrical calibration

services to support the operation of electrical power systems, including

those used by industry, electric utilities, and related equipment

manufacturers; interact with standards groups to provide a metrology

base for electric power-related measurements.

Background: NIST has operated research programs in metrology areas related to the

measurement of electric power for many decades. Over the years the programs have evolved

to respond to the increased use of electric power in the United States, to new technical

advances in the industry, and to the challenges of deregulation. Currently energy metering of

the more than 215 billion dollars worth of electrical energy used in the United States annually

is traceable to NIST calibration services. NIST supports additional power-related

measurement capabilities, such as impulse voltage measurements, high voltage ac calibrations,

and high current calibrations. Tasks have also been performed in areas of concern to the

electric utilities and the public in general, such as power quality, bioeffects of electric and

magnetic fields, and energy efficiency in electrical equipment. In response to the demands of

deregulation, NIST supports areas of research related to improved reliability of electric power

systems, including partial discharge diagnostic development, and high-reliability low-cost

optical sensors.

Current tasks:

1. Calibration services in support of the electric power industry

FY 1993 Modernized power and energy calibration facility.

FY 1994 Performed impact analysis of power and energy calibration service on electric

utilities.

FY 1995 Developed fast turn-around calibration service for selected watthour meter

calibrations; Reinitiated offsite high voltage tests.

FY 1996 Initiated international power and energy intercomparison by organizing

exchange of standards with Canada and Europe; Modernized high voltage

facility.

FY 1997 Began design of new power and energy calibration system; Began detailed

documentation of high-voltage calibration systems.

FY 1998 Built and tested active resistive voltage divider for power and energy

calibration system; developed set of dissipation factor standards for calibration

of commercial units.

FY 1999 Design new current transformer calibration system.

FY 2000 Fabricate and test new current transformer calibration system.

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Power Electricity Division

2. Investigate applications and calibration methods for optical sensors applied to electrical

measurements

FY 1993 Built and documented portable Kerr Cell for optical voltage measurements.

FY 1994 Developed 0.1% calibration method for optical current transducers (OCTs) at

power frequency in phase and ratio using digital techniques.

FY 1995 Initiated test of commercially produced OCTs.

FY 1996 Continued testing of commercially produced OCTs.

FY 1997 Began review of industrial OCT usage.

FY 1998 Began testing of new commercially produced OCT; Evaluated sensitivity of

digital techniques to OCT calibrations.

FY 1999 Develop calibration techniques for OCTs; Initiate review of industrial optical

voltage transducer (OVT) usage. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Initiate testing of commercial and prototype OVTs, and develop calibration

techniques.

3. Fast-transient measurements

FY 1993 Participated in round-robin testing of reference impulse measurement systems

using NIST4 divider.

FY 1994 Completed and incorporated into IEEE standard for high voltage testing the

convolution technique for impulse qualification used to achieve <0.5%

uncertainties.

FY 1995 Documented comparative high voltage impulse measurement techniques.

FY 1996 Investigated and documented influence of heating effects on reference divider

performance.

FY 1997 Documented the rebuilt and tested NIST4 impulse reference divider.

FY 1998 Began investigation of new deconvolution technique for impulse measurement

error correction.

FY 1999 Develop integrated measurement system and conduct measurements for

international comparison of high voltage impulse systems; report results to

pilot laboratory.

FY 2000 Automate high voltage impulse measurement data acquisition and analysis.

4. Develop test procedures for energy efficient motors and transformers

FY 1993 Investigated industrial procedures for measuring efficiencies of electric motors

(> 1 horsepower).

FY 1994 Investigated industrial procedures for measuring efficiencies of electric

transformers.

FY 1995 Wrote test procedure for electric transformers for U.S. Department of Energy.

FY 1996 Wrote test procedures for electric motors for U.S. Department of Energy.

FY 1997 Published test procedures for energy efficient motors and transformers in the

Federal Register, and documented statistical analysis of testing procedures.

FY 1998 Submitted draft Standard P114 on efficiency testing of single-phase induction

motors to IEEE for review.

FY 1999 Prepare test procedures for DOE Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) for

transformers. (1999 Budget Narrative; 1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Develop energy efficiency performance standards for transformers; revise

IEEE standard 114 for single-phase induction motors.

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Power Electricity Division

5. Metrology support for electric and magnetic field measurements

FY 1993 Published primer on conducting in-vitro bioeffect studies with extremely low

frequency magnetic and electric fields.

FY 1994 Determined worse-case measurement errors using 3-axis magnetic fields probe

to measure dipole magnetic fields, from electrical appliances.

FY 1995 Issued two industrial voluntary standards, IEEE Standards 644-94 and 1308-

94, written at NIST in collaboration with industry; Published error distribution

for 3-axis magnetic field probe used to measure magnetic fields.

FY 1996 Completed primer on magnetic and electric field measurements; Revised

primer into draft standard; Developed for adoption internationally, and

nationally.

FY 1997 Prepared "Committee Draft for Voting" in collaboration with International

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) working group for proposed international

standard.

FY 1998 Prepared Final Draft International Standard on measuring electric and

magnetic fields; Approved by National Committees to IEC and issued as

Standard by IEC.

FY 1999 Participate in evaluation of need for IEC standard on fields from domestic

appliances.

6. Applying metrology to power quality issues

FY 1993 Wrote three technical Bulletins on power quality issues.

FY 1994 Performed measurements and published two papers on surge propagation and

mitigation in the Power Electronics Application Center (PEAC) Upside-Down

House.

FY 1995 Completed three fundamental international standards documents on

installation and mitigation for electromagnetic compatibility; Enlisted direct

support from two electric utilities.

FY 1996 Documented need to characterize surge currents rather than surge voltages as

a measure of power quality.

FY 1997 Wrote report on electromagnetic immunity of Personal Protection Devices for

electric vehicles, and drafted technical bulletin on surge protection requested

by a major insurance company.

FY 1998 Completed documentation of PEAC Upside-Down House facility and

experimental results.

FY 1999 Catalyze cooperation among electric utilities, electrical equipment

manufacturers, end-users, and standard writing bodies to resolve issues on

equipment malfunctions erroneously attributed to poor power quality.

FY 2000 Complete major revision of three IEEE documents on surge environment

(C62.41.1); Recommended Practices on Standard Waveforms (C62.41.2), and

Recommended Practices on Surge Testing (C62.45).

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178
NATIONAL ELECTRICAL STANDARDS

Ohm and Farad Realization and Dissemination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Quantum Voltage and Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

179
180
National Electrical Standards Electricity Division

Ohm and Farad Realization and Dissemination

Project Leader: Randolph E. Elmquist

Staff-Years: 7.0 Professionals, 2.6 Technicians, 2.0 Guest Scientists

Funding Sources: NIST (90%), Other Government Agencies (10%)

Objective: Maintain the U.S. legal ohm and farad; support the Division's

resistance and capacitance calibration services; provide industry,

academia, and government with calibration services unequaled in scope

and accuracy; develop new resistance and capacitance standards and

improved measurement techniques; and participate in international

comparisons of the ohm and farad and supporting experiments to

realize the international definitions of the ohm and farad.

Background: The research work being done on this project is the key to tying the U.S. legal

system of electrical units to the international system (SI) of units. Strong support in this

research area allows NIST to provide the nation with the world's best basis for electrical

measurements and to conduct measurements of the SI ohm and farad that have smaller

uncertainties than those of any other nation. NIST’s maintenance of the ohm by the quantum

Hall effect -- a resistance standard dependent only on the values of fundamental constants of

nature -- and the farad by the calculable capacitor -- a standard dependent only upon an SI

length measurement -- provide a needed basis for measurement quality in U.S. industry. The

activities of this project underlie the future development of not only the electrical

measurement services provided to industry by NIST, but also the development of commercial

high-precision instrumentation needed by industry to support advances in electronics.

Methods developed by NIST for scaling of impedance measurements at the highest levels of

accuracy will provide needed capabilities for extending the measurement range, voltage, and

frequency for industry and other government laboratories.

U. S. industry requires accurate resistance and capacitance measurements for both quality and

process control purposes. Not only are resistors and capacitors the most commonly used

electronic components, they are important control parameters in the manufacture of

semiconductor electronics and common tools for the measurement of temperature, pressure,

force, light intensity, and other quantities via transducers. NIST's most visible link to these

applied measurements is through the instrumentation industry. Accurate, traceable impedance

measurements are vital to the development, testing, manufacturing, and maintenance of

instrumentation. This is reflected in the volume of calibration work which accounts for about

50% of the Electricity Division's and over 11% of all of NIST's calibration income. The most

challenging present needs are for new standards that are environmentally insensitive for

supporting in situ maintenance of precision meters, ac resistance calibrations to support

temperature measurements and calibration of impedance meters, and research to support

commercialization of the cryogenic current comparator and quantum Hall effect systems for

improved scaling in bench instrumentation.

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National Electrical Standards Electricity Division

NIST is uniquely qualified to interact with other national laboratories in the comparison of

resistance and capacitance standards and the verification of scaling from the basic standards in

support of the worldwide electronic instrumentation industry. Such comparisons ease

impediments to international trade.

For description of single-electron tunneling work, see Task 3 of Quantum Voltage and

Current project.

Current Tasks:

Resistance:

1. Determine the SI ohm

FY 1997 Reported improved SI-unit values of the von Klitzing constant and the fine

structure constant; Initiated construction of bridges for the determination of

the SI ohm over an expanded frequency range.

FY 1998 Designed alternating current (ac) four-terminal-pair bridge for use at multiple

frequencies and built reference resistors at 6.45 kΩ, 12.9 kΩ, and 129.06 kΩ.

FY 1999 Evaluate standard resistors and extended frequency bridge at two or more

frequencies.

FY 2000 Compare the ac quantum Hall effect (QHE) to well-characterized resistance

standards at one or more frequencies using the extended frequency bridge.

FY 2001 Determine the SI ohm using a frequency other than the metrologically

selected 1592 Hz.

2. Establish and maintain the national standards of resistance

FY 1996 Built and characterized 10 MΩ and 1 GΩ resistance transfer standards and

initiated high resistance international comparison commissioned by the

Consultative Committee on Electricity and Magnetism (CCEM).

FY 1997 Developed a new automated 4.2 K cryogenic current comparator (CCC)

system for scaling measurements from 1 Ω to 10 kΩ designed to reduce

scaling uncertainty to less than 0.01 parts-per-million.

FY 1998 Completed third leg of international comparison of high resistance and

completed two measurements of the quantum Hall resistance (QHR).

FY 1999 Compare QHR representation and scaling with the International Bureau of

Weights and Measures (BIPM) using traveling QHR system and resistance

standards.

FY 2000 Complete CCEM high resistance comparison; Prepare and disseminate results.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

3. Provide resistance measurement services for our customers

FY 1996 Calibrated 327 standards at a cost to industry of $329,000; Automated 10 kΩ

measurement system installed for customer calibrations.

FY 1997 Calibrated 303 standards for division income of $311,000; Automated

calibration service for resistors below 1 Ω; Initiated development of an ac

resistance bridge.

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National Electrical Standards Electricity Division

FY 1998 Designed calculable ac/dc resistance standards at 100 Ω,1kΩ, 129.06 Ω, and

1.2906 kΩ; Completed dc characterization of new calculable 1 kΩ

ac/dc/resistor.

FY 1999 Complete ac characterization of 1 kΩ ac/dc resistor; Develop special ac

resistance calibration service for 100 Ω and 1 kΩ resistors.

FY 2000 Provide calibration service for ac resistance; Provide calibrations to support

Division’s digital impedance bridge calibration of standard inductors.

4. Develop an automated system for the measurement of high resistance standards

FY 1996 Completed development of high resistance active-arm bridge system and

began comparisons with existing systems.

FY 1997 Evaluated performance of the automated active-arm bridge system; Began

construction of new Hamon devices to reduce scaling uncertainty.

FY 1998 Initiate active-arm bridge calibration service and extend resistance calibration

range to 100 TΩ; Complete comparison with Sandia Labs at 1 TΩ and

10 TΩ. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

5. Develop an advanced quantized Hall resistance research and measurement capability

FY 1996 Acquired and installed a new QHE cryogenic system for increased magnetic

field, variable temperature, and efficient sample exchange capabilities.

FY 1997 Designed and built new dc insert probe with high leakage resistance.

FY 1998 Refurbished automatic dc potentiometric QHR measurements, compatible with

SI ohm measurement systems; Construct new automated digital voltmeter

(DVM)-based QHR system.

FY 1999 Design and build probe insert for ac QHR measurements, compatible with SI

ohm measurement systems; Construct new automated DVM-based QHR

system.

FY 2000 Compare the resistance value of a single QHR device at both dc and ac.

6. Improve the quality and performance of quantized Hall devices

FY 1996 Determined the equivalent circuit of a quantized Hall device and calculated

the intrinsic inductance and capacitance for resistance studies using ac.

FY 1997 Published a summary of QHE device preparation and characterization

techniques.

FY 1998 Published study of current dependence of QHR contact resistance; Evaluated

equivalent circuits of QHR devices.

FY 1999 Prepare quantum Hall devices suitable for both dc and ac measurements.

FY 2000 Determine appropriate characterization process for ac QHR devices.

7. Investigate resistance scaling techniques using cryogenic current comparators (CCC)

FY 1996 Constructed a prototype high-temperature superconductor (HTS) CCC

working at 77 K, using thick-film thallium-based shields and a YBCO SQUID

detector.

FY 1997-1998 Completed evaluation of HTS CCC bridge system and presented results and

design criteria to metrology community; Applied for a patent on HTS CCC

design.

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National Electrical Standards Electricity Division

FY 1999-2000 Develop improved HTS CCC using HTS SQUID with integrated flux

transformer.

Capacitance:

1. Realize the SI farad

FY 1996 Reported a new value for the calculable capacitor determination of the SI

farad.

FY 1997 Designed and constructed calculable capacitor bridge for use with an extended

frequency range.

FY 1998 Conducted tests on improved blocking electrode geometry to reduce the effect

of geometrical imperfections in calculable capacitor.

FY 1999 Evaluate calculable capacitor system and determine the SI farad at alternate

frequencies.

FY 2002 Design and construct new adjustable mount for upper blocking electrode.

2. Provide the national unit of capacitance

FY 1996 Initiated an international comparison of capacitance for the CCEM.

FY 1997 Determined the effect of the mounting method of the capacitance elements on

the temperature dependence of the reference capacitors.

FY 1998 Completed the international comparison of capacitance. (1998 MSL Strategic

Plan)

FY 1999 Provide the unit of capacitance at 1000 Hz.

FY 2000 Provide the unit of capacitance at 100 Hz and 400 Hz.

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National Electrical Standards Electricity Division

Quantum Voltage and Current

Project Leader: Richard L. Steiner

Staff-Years: 5.0 Professionals, 1.0 Guest Scientist

Funding Sources: NIST (96%), Other Government Agencies (4%)

Objective: Maintain the U.S. legal volt; support the Division’s voltage calibration

services; and develop new voltage and scaling standards, measurement

techniques, and means of disseminating the volt. Measure the U.S.

unit of current as established from national resistance and voltage

standards in terms of the internationally defined ampere; monitor the

kilogram in terms of electrical units via the watt experiment; and

determine the gyromagnetic ratio of the proton in terms of the U.S.

electrical units. Apply the physics of these measurements and other

new phenomena, such as single electron tunneling, to the development

of improved measurements and standards, especially for current

standards.

Background: The services provided by this project generate the basis for accuracy and

compatibility for all voltage and current measurements throughout U.S. industry, technology,

and science. The standards being produced by this project tie the U.S. legal system of

electrical units to the international system (SI) of units permitting competitive products by

U.S. industry in world markets. The research being done is the source of superior drift-free,

high precision national standards for the volt and the ampere (and assists in the ohm and

farad). The work also involves evaluating new measurement techniques and standards for

automated and highly accurate dissemination of these units. Another very significant effect of

this research focuses on the creation of an electronic replacement for the kilogram, the last

remaining SI artifact standard, and exploring the application of the new single electron

tunneling phenomena to the determination of the electronic charge or the fine structure

constant or for application as a capacitance standard.

Current Tasks:

Voltage:

1. Provide the national unit of voltage

FY 1996 Replaced the computers that operate the Josephson 1-volt system and

developed improved software for the operations and data analysis.

FY 1997 Participated in NCSL round robin of 15 U.S., Canadian, and Mexican

Josephson array 10-V systems, with an uncertainty of 3x10-8 V/V.

FY 1998 Compared accuracy and uncertainty of NISTVolt® software against new and

existing array system software.

FY 1999 Develop methods to decrease the uncertainty of 10-V Zener reference

transfers to 5x10-8 V/V.

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National Electrical Standards Electricity Division

FY 2000 Develop capabilities to provide direct array-to-array comparisons of the U.S.

national voltage standard system to calibration laboratories within

NORAMET.

FY 2001 Implement 10 V Measurement Assurance Program (MAP) for calibration

laboratories within NORAMET.

2. Improve the reliability of the voltage calibration systems

FY 1997 Satisfied increased demand over last year for customers’ voltage calibration.

FY 1998 Ordered new Zeners and began regular monitoring to prepare for maintaining

a lab standard bank of Zeners at the 10-V level.

FY 1999 Design plan to integrate Josephson array system into daily calibration of

working standards at 10-V level.

FY 2000 Improve 10-V calibration service to the 0.05 ppm level with Zener volt bank.

Current:

1. Determine the value of the NIST watt

FY 1995 Redesigned the process for the alignment of the magnetic field, the coil

motion, and the earth’s gravitational force for reduced uncertainties.

FY 1996 Decreased the short term uncertainty to 1x10-7 W/W; Installed the new

refractometer for the determination of the index of refraction and the new

gravimeter for a more precise determination of the gravitational constant.

FY 1997 Achieved long term uncertainty of 1x10-7 W/W; Evaluated all systematic

uncertainties (about 35 variables) in the NIST Watt determination; Improved

automated operation to about 95% reliability.

FY 1998 Achieved long term uncertainty goal of 0.1 parts per million; Evaluated

systematic uncertainties (about 35 variables) in the NIST Watt determination;

Reported new value for Plank’s constant with uncertainty of 0.087 ppm;

Began conversion to improved system for monitoring the kilogram. Task

completed. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

2. Initiate redesign of the NIST watt experiment for the next generation of improvements for

monitoring the kilogram

FY 1995 Initiated the redesign of the NIST watt experiment with the objective of

monitoring the kilogram, including a vacuum or gas environment.

FY 1997 Initiated construction of the vacuum enclosure for the watt balance and

reconstruction of the watt balance room.

FY 1998 Completed construction modifications to the nonmag building; Installed

vacuum/gas enclosure.

FY 1999 Rebuild system into vacuum chamber; Redesign optics and electronics for

vacuum and RFI shield feedthrough; Integrate programmable Josephson-array

system into data acquisition network. (1999 Budget Narrative; 1998 MSL

Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Begin system test runs to recover 0.1 parts per million level capabilities;

Design and build new pickup coils, balance pivot, vibration control system.

FY 2001 Achieve long term uncertainty of 0.01 parts per million in monitoring

kilogram standard.

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National Electrical Standards Electricity Division

3. Demonstrate a single electron tunneling electrometer

FY 1993 Initiated studies for the application of single electron tunneling devices to

metrological experiments such as capacitance calibrations.

FY 1995 Demonstrated the application of a single electron tunneling electrometer as the

detector in a cryogenic capacitance bridge to determine a capacitance ratio to

a few parts per million.

FY 1997 Determined location and characterization of charge noise in two devices;

Commissioned new SET dilution refrigerator and laboratory.

FY 1998 Combined the NIST Boulder electron pump and the capacitance bridge and

cryogenic capacitors to explore a capacitance calibration using single electron

tunneling technology; Continued charge noise and initiated charge offset

studies with Boulder. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Investigate operations of SET devices at higher operating temperatures;

Continue charge noise studies; Design cryogenic capacitor at 1.0000 pF.

FY 2000 Attempt a capacitor calibration via SET pump experiment for direct

comparison to the NIST calculable capacitor; Validate new commercial

standard at 0.1 ppm uncertainty level.

FY 2001 Improve electrometer and system to achieve 0.01 ppm uncertainty; Apply

results to fine-structure constant determination. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

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188
ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY

Standard EM Fields and Transfer Probe Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Emission and Immunity Metrology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

189
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Electromagnetic Compatibility Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Standard EM Fields and Transfer Probe Standards

Project Leader: Galen Koepke

Staff-Years: 5.5 Professionals, 0.5 Technician

Funding Sources: NIST (73%), Other Government Agencies (22%), Other (5%)

Objective: Develop methods and techniques for establishing continuous wave and

pulsed electromagnetic (EM) reference fields to 100 GHz; develop and

improve NIST’s electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and

electromagnetic interference (EMI) calibration services; perform

research and development on probes to measure EM fields and power

densities; work in cooperation with responsible organizations for worldwide acceptance of U.S. products and practices with respect to

specifications relating to EMC.

Background: Well-defined EM reference fields are necessary for antenna calibrations,

antenna research and development, evaluation of EM field probes, and EM interference

measurements. Commercial antennas and probes are generally unsuitable for metrology

purposes, necessitating the development by NIST of probes which can serve as transfer

standards necessary for traceability. This program area was ranked among the top priority

items by the participants of the EMI/EMC Metrology Challenges for Industry Workshop.

Specifically, industry clearly identified a need for NIST-traceable EM field measurements

which reduce barriers to world-wide acceptance of U.S. products and practices, based on the

principles of "one product, one technically valid international standard, one conformity

assessment" (1998 MSL Strategic Plan).

Current Tasks:

1. Develop methods for establishing standard EM fields

FY 1995 Performed a time-domain evaluation of the NIST anechoic chamber which

revealed absorber and cavity characteristics.

FY 1996 Analyzed rectangular open-ended waveguides for improved standard field

generation in the frequency range between 200 to 500 MHz.

FY 1997 Extended NIST’s standard field generation capability into the frequency range

between 40 to 50 GHz; Developed precision sensor calibrations

methodologies on cone/ground plane system.

FY 1998 Developed 1m scale model of co-conical field generation system for probe

calibrations from 10 MHz to 40 GHz; Fabricated and evaluated 2.4m x 2.4m

cone/ground plane system and designed 7.2m x 7.2m system; Completed

uncertainty analysis for sensor calibration techniques.

FY 1999 Develop finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) models to simulate 3m coconical system; Design termination for system and begin mechanical design;

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Electromagnetic Compatibility Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Fabricate and evaluate 7.2m x 7.2m cone/ground plane system; Extend sensor

and antenna calibration capabilities to frequencies above 50 GHz.

FY 2000 Fabricate prototype 3m co-conical system and perform precision field

mapping; Develop next-generation open-area test site (OATS) measurements

using scale model experiments on 7.2m x 7.2m cone ground plane system.

FY 2001 Fabricate final 3m co-conical system and conduct probe calibrations for

USAF; Conduct RF absorber and RC standards measurements on 7.2m x

7.2m cone/ground plane time-domain system.

2. Develop methods for facility characterization, proved laboratory instrumentation and

procedures to reduce measurement uncertainties in calibrations

FY 1995 Extended the vertical monopole calibration service to frequencies up to

300 MHz.

FY 1996 Prepared documentation for loop antenna calibration service; developed a

calibration service for radiated fields of standard source such as the NISTdesigned spherical dipole radiator which is now a commercial product.

FY 1997 Extended monopole antenna calibration service from the current upper

frequency limit of 300 MHz to 3 GHz (i.e., 3000 MHz); Developed a nondestructive materials measurement using NIST-developed free-space

reflectivity measurement system; Developed edge-effect reduction procedure

for more accurate material property estimates in dielectric panel

measurements; Developed FDTD codes to simulate measurement processes;

Conducted absorber evaluation for industry.

FY 1998 Developed methodology and FDTD codes to extracting material properties

from highly dispersive carbon doped urethanes; Developed test techniques for

RF absorber-lined evaluation.

FY 1999 Complete near-zone gain documentation for pyramidal horns from 500 MHz

to 2600 MHz; Automate new precision positioner in anechoic chamber and

measurements on refurbished OATS and TEM cells; Characterize anechoic

chambers and establish uncertainty bounds for standard fields; Complete

characterization of rf dipole and map field uniformity on the OATS; Resolve

discrepancies between standard site method and standard antenna method for

determining antenna factors; Provide measurement services for monopole

antennas, antenna patterns from 30 to 1000 MHz, and reference rf emitters;

Develop FDTD codes for measurement on ferrite tiles; Perform measurements

on rf absorber and on selected RCS artifacts to provide NIST traceability.

(1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 2000 Develop more robust methods for OATS calibrations in high ambient field

environments; Investigate reverberation chamber techniques for simultaneous

calibration of multiple isotropic probes; Perform thorough uncertainty analysis

for NIST free-space scattering systems; Develop advanced RF absorber-lined

chamber test methods. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan; 1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

3. Develop EM field probes for transfer standards

FY 1994 Performed theoretical and experimental evaluation of dipole electric field

probe (dipole size: 2 cm).

FY 1995 Evaluated optically pumped, vertical-cavity, surface-emitting lasers for field

probe applications.

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Electromagnetic Compatibility Radio-Frequency Technology Division

FY 1996 Disseminated NIST-developed probe calibration techniques and uncertainty

methodologies to standards committees.

FY 1997 Developed probes which will provide spectral information that can be used to

discriminate against electromagnetic interference.

FY 1998 Improved concentric loop antenna system for electric and magnetic field

measurements; Performed testing and characterization of field probe which

provided spectral information.

FY 1999 Develop improved broadband linear antennas for OATS evaluation and

calibrations; Develop new near-field standard probe to simultaneously

measure both electric and magnetic fields up to 100 MHz.

FY 2000 Evaluate probes for EM field measurements for frequencies between 40 GHz

and 100 GHz.

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Electromagnetic Compatibility Radio-Frequency Technology Division

Emission and Immunity Metrology

Project Leader: David Hill

Staff-Years: 5.5 Professionals, 0.5 Technician

Funding Sources: NIST (71%), Other Government Agencies (21%), Other (8%)

Objective: Develop and evaluate reliable standards, test methods, and services

related to electromagnetic emission and immunity of electronic devices,

components and systems; emphasize immunity, as called for in the

NIST Electromagnetic Immunity Workshop, needed by U.S. industry to

participate fully in European markets for electronic instrumentation and

goods.

Background: U.S. industry needs to evaluate and control electromagnetic interference (EMI)

that can impact economics and competitiveness, national security, health, and safety. The

uncertainties of electromagnetic emissions and immunity measurements need to be rigorously

quantified and, in some cases, reduced to make EMI measurement results reliable and useful.

Major challenges are to provide reliable and cost effective test methods for a large frequency

range (10 kHz to 40 GHz and, eventually, higher) and for large test volumes. Industrial

clients are both manufacturers of electronic equipment, and electromagnetic compatibility and

interference (EMC/EMI) test laboratories. NIST research, development, and measurement

procedures provide guidelines and support for the entire U.S. EMC/EMI community.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop radiated immunity metrology

FY 1994 Analyzed and measured the crosstalk between transmission lines on printed

circuit boards; Developed the time-domain method for measuring the

shielding effectiveness of aircraft cavities; Evaluated frequency stirring for

reverberation chamber measurements of radiated immunity.

FY 1995 Analyzed and improved the reverberation chamber method for measuring the

radiated immunity of printed circuit boards; Surveyed and analyzed

measurement techniques for the shielding effectiveness of gaskets; Developed

a nested reverberation chamber measurement method for shielding

effectiveness of optical fiber bulkhead connector systems.

FY 1996 Developed and evaluated alternative methods (time-domain and stepped

frequency domain) for immunity measurements in reverberation chambers;

Analyzed a circular aperture for use as a standard in shielding effectiveness

measurements.

FY 1997 Developed and evaluated a broadband method for measuring shielding

effectiveness of gaskets.

FY 1998 Evaluated effectiveness of reverberation chambers for vehicle EMC testing

with American Automobile Manufacturers Association.

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Electromagnetic Compatibility Radio-Frequency Technology Division

FY 1999 Document NIST improvements in reverberation chamber metrology; Retest

shielding effectiveness of optical fiber feedthroughs with improved

measurement techniques; Obtain further industry support for testing.

FY 2000 Evaluate tradeoffs for mechanical and frequency stirring in immunity testing;

Extend radiated immunity measurements to higher frequencies (above

40 GHz).

2. Develop radiated emissions metrology

FY 1995 Conducted a successful workshop on EMI/EMC measurement needs for

industry; Analyzed and measured printed circuit board radiated emissions in

the NIST reverberation chamber.

FY 1996 Correlated reverberation chamber radiated emissions measurements to other

facilities.

FY 1997 Developed a spherical scanning theory for characterizing weak sources in the

presence of noise.

FY 1998 Determined how to combine radiated emissions from components to estimate

total system radiation; Developed a new transverse electromagnetic (TEM)-

cell method for measuring weak electric-dipole and magnetic-dipole

radiations.

FY 1999 Develop a near-field dipole array for measuring weak electric-dipole radiation;

Develop reverberation chamber methods for measuring emissions from

complex devices.

FY 2000 Develop broadband methods for radiated emissions; Extend radiated emissions

measurements to higher frequencies (above 40 GHz).

3. Develop methods for facility characterization, improved laboratory instrumentation and

procedures to reduce measurement uncertainties in calibrations.

FY 1996 Developed a general framework for evaluating the uncertainties in radiated

emissions measurements; Evaluated the uncertainty in field strength and

uniformity for alternative mode-stirring methods in reverberation chambers.

FY 1997 Evaluated the uncertainties in field measurements made in anechoic chambers,

transverse electromagnetic (TEM) cells, and hybrid TEM-reverberation

chambers.

FY 1998 Reduced measurement uncertainty for reverberation chamber from several dB

to 1 dB; Developed a reciprocity theory to relate measurement uncertainty for

emissions and immunity measurements.

FY 1999 Extend uncertainty methodologies to the issue of repeatability from site to site

and from facility to facility.

FY 2000 Evaluate effects of equipment under test on emissions and immunity

uncertainty; Reduce measurement uncertainties in immunity and shielding

effectiveness by improving calculations of aperture in conducting sheet for

isotropic radiation; Evaluate the uncertainties of new facilities and methods of

emissions and immunity measurements; Extend uncertainty evaluations to

higher frequencies (above 40 GHz).

195
196
ELECTRONIC DATA EXCHANGE

Infrastructure for Integrated Electronics Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Infrastructure for Integrated Electronics Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . 205

197
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Electronic Data Exchange Electricity Division

Infrastructure for Integrated Electronics Design

Project Leader: James A. St. Pierre

Staff-Years: 4.0 Professionals

Funding Sources: NIST (100%)

Objective: Develop tools and infrastructure for the electronics industry to facilitate

the exchange of product data with a focus on the design phase and the

interface to manufacturing. This includes supporting the development

of harmonized standards to enable accurate translation of electronic

part and product data between standards, developing technology to

permit data exchange of electronic component information, and

developing certification and conformance testing methods for object

oriented software for the electronics industry.

Background: To implement new management strategies such as total-quality-management,

flexible manufacturing, cooperative development, and concurrent engineering, manufacturers

need several types of data in computer-accessible digital formats that can be shared among

them, and between them and their suppliers. These product standards and specifications are

integral to the electronics industry to enable the design, manufacture, documentation,

procurement, and support of modern electronics.

The traditional forums for capturing designs and manufacturing information (engineering

drawings and paper specifications) are being replaced by digital formats. This information

must be correct, complete, unambiguous, and efficient. According to the Institute for

Interconnecting and Packaging Electronic Circuits (IPC), National Technology Roadmap for

Electronic Interconnections, “The transfer from design to manufacturing is done by a machine

language that was never intended to convey design information.” This summarizes a large

problem facing the electronics industry today, in that a large amount of time is wasted as

manufacturers wrestle with ambiguities in design files. Also according to the roadmap, “Most

jobs (upwards of 70%) coming into a printed wiring board fabricator or assembler lack

complete information.” Among the technical challenges is the development of adequate

information models and standards that describe the essential characteristics of electrical and

electronic products. In addition, there is a current trend towards the use of virtual

components. In order to easily exchange and incorporate these virtual components into

commercial products, standards, infrastructure and methodologies are required to support this

new paradigm.

As a neutral third party, NIST is uniquely positioned to develop, demonstrate, and test nonproprietary solutions, information models, and emerging standards. Also, NIST's long

involvement with voluntary standards organizations permits us to contribute effectively to the

development of compatible standards. See also companion project, Infrastructure for

Integrated Electronics Manufacturing.

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Electronic Data Exchange Electricity Division

Current Tasks:

1. Provide support for International Design Automation Standards to create a consistent method

for representation of electronic part/product data

FY 1991 Completed determination of data requirements necessary to manufacture, test,

and ship Hybrid Microelectronic Assemblies; Shifted the focus of the activity

to developing an Initial Graphics Exchange application protocol as the

deliverable.

FY 1994 Developed software to exercise the robustness of emerging Application

Protocol (AP) 210, “Printed Circuit Assemblies;” Chaired Working Group 5,

Test, Validation, Conformance and Qualification Support of Technical

Committee 93 of the International Electrotechnical Commission; Completed

and delivered draft of “Layered Electrical Products” application protocols to a

committee developing the Initial Graphics Exchange specifications.

FY 1995 Contributed to the Electrical/Electronic design team effort of PDES, Inc., to

complete Committee Draft version of Application Protocol 210, and submitred

it for approval as an ANSI standard; Developed automated electronic change

control procedure for the components of the Initial Graphics Exchange

Specifications and documented procedures in a NIST report.

FY 1996 Convened meetings of International Electrotechnical Commission working

group to review existing standards for certification and conformance

methodologies and define methodology requirements for all new standards

submitted; Developed prototype library of layered electrical product object

definitions and relationships; Reviewed compatibility of application protocols

in the standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data with other electronic

design standards and suggested modifications to resolve interoperability

concerns.

FY 1997 Concluded development of the Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerance

(GD&T) portion of the application protocol for printed circuit assemblies as it

becomes an International Standard (ISO 1303 AP 210); Made significant

contributions to the IGES standard for layered electrical products which

achieved ANSI standard status; (ANSI US PRO/IPO-111-1996); Led the

development of a proposal to establish a new working group on libraries of

reusable electrotechnical products for the International Electrotechnical

Commission (IEC); Established an IEEE study group on Electronic

Commerce of Component Information (ECCI); Convened meetings of the IEC

working group on test, validation, conformance and certification of standards

related to electronics industry.

FY 1998 Organized and hosted an international Electronic Commerce of Component

Information (ECCI) workshop at NIST, July 1998; Chaired the IEC working

group on test, validation and conformance testing of standards; Led the

development of guidelines for conformance testing; Convened meetings of the

IEEE study group on Electronic Commerce of Component Information

(ECCI).

FY 1999 Work to have guidelines for conformance testing officially adopted by IEC

TC93; Review and comment on the IEC/TC93/WG1 Core Model for the

Electronics Domain (CMED) to support international standards

interoperability efforts.

FY 2000 Support TC93 efforts to implement conformance and certification guidelines

for new standards.

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Electronic Data Exchange Electricity Division

2. Develop tools to facilitate Electronic Commerce of Component Information and tools for

conformance testing.

FY 1993 Led demonstration project team for the National Initiative for Product Data

Exchange to produce proof-of-concept demonstrations showing how the

National Information Infrastructure can be used to automate the brokering of

electronic component information.

FY 1996 Completed prototype electronic component dictionary browser and search

engine for on-line parts dictionaries; Developed an advanced object oriented

dictionary prototype.

FY 1997 Developed an object oriented dictionary browser tool to support ECCI, in

collaboration with Silicon Integration Initiative; Developed a specification for

a Product Information Viewer and its interface to the World Wide Web, and a

phase-one implementation; Co-sponsored a workshop on Design Reuse and

Intellectual Property Cores (Virtual Components) with DARPA and the EDA

Industry Council.

FY 1998 Developed a dictionary translator, at the request of industry, which can

convert the IEC electronic component dictionary (or generic company

dictionaries) into the Component Information Dictionary Standard (CIDS)

format; Demonstrated a standards based prototype of an Electronic Commerce

of Component Information (ECCI) methodology in conjunction with the

IIEM/ICM project; Developed a Java-based software utility to assist virtual

component developers, which generated industry interest in commercialization

of a portion of the software. (1998 MSL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Extend the current dictionary translator to accept the JEDEC dictionary; Work

with Silicon Integration Initiatives to begin development of conformance test

tools for the Electronic Component Information Exchange Standard; Support

international efforts to test interoperability between European (IREP), Asian

(ECALS), and U.S. (ECIX) electronic component information exchange

standards. (1999 Budget Narrative)

FY 2000 Deploy conformance test tools, for the ECIX standard, to industry including

documentation and on-line access to the tools; Expand efforts to test

international interoperability of electronic component information exchange

standards.

3. Provide support for the SEMATECH Computer Integrated Manufacturing Framework

FY 1994 Completed first year report to SEMATECH analyzing and documenting cost

of certification and conformance testing for computer integrated

manufacturing framework to be 27 to 30 work-years.

FY 1995 Developed and documented technical and business model definitions for

certification and conformance testing (these models included, for example,

plans for how the test suite would be generated, distributed, and executed, and

who would pay for certification, maintenance, and dispute resolution).

FY 1996 Developed prototype semi-automated test generator approach; Refined

technical and business model definitions; Concluded phase I of task with

report to SEMATECH.

FY 1997 Completed extensions to the Java/Common Object Request Broker

Architecture (CORBA)-based test environment for the SEMATECH CIM

Framework, that will allow using this environment for other applications, such

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Electronic Data Exchange Electricity Division

as printed wiring board Standard Recipe File Format of the Surface Mount

Equipment Manufacturers Association.

FY 1998 Designed a new architecture for the Java/CORBA based test environment,

which employs two Object Request Brokers (ORBs) communicating via the

Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP); Developed plans, with a commercial

company, to collaborate on development of a commercial version of the test

environment.

FY 1999-2000 Develop a prototype of the two ORB test environment in collaboration with

industry; Support the semiconductor industry’s use of the NIST testing

environment, including any commercial implementations based on the NIST

testing environment; Extend the testing environment to support other relevant

industries, such as the electronics manufacturing services industry.

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Electronic Data Exchange Electricity Division

Infrastructure for Integrated Electronics Manufacturing

Project Leader: Barbara L. M. Goldstein

Staff-Years: 3.0 Professionals

Funding Sources: NIST (100%)

Objective: Work with industry to develop tools and standards to enable a "plug

and play" manufacturing software environment for the electronics

industry. This includes methodologies and standards for linking

Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) to Enterprise Resource

Planning (ERP) applications, across to design, down to equipment

control, and across to suppliers and dispersed sites. This project will

also help the industry adapt to an electronic commerce business

paradigm.

Background: As outlined in the 1996 National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative Roadmap,

electronics manufacturers face tremendous pressures in today’s global manufacturing

environment, where being first to market is often the chief determinant of market share.

Customers expect to pay increasingly lower prices for increasingly more sophisticated

products; i.e., custom products at mass-volume prices. Business competition pressures

manufacturers to cut costs throughout the manufacturing process, instead of raising end-unit

prices. Increasing product complexity forces manufacturers to maintain flexible factories of

high-capital equipment and best-of-breed software applications. Globalization of the customer

base is driving the need for globally distributed manufacturing facilities and suppliers, and

international manufacturing partnerships. The complexity of and speed with which

information must cross corporate barriers makes it virtually impossible for prime

subcontractors to impose their software choices on their subcontractors, much less on an equal

partner in a joint undertaking.

Meeting these challenges requires not only the available of manufacturing automation

software, but the ability to rapidly integrate and customize those tools within a facility, and

among key partners and suppliers. Such ease of integration will only be possible through the

development of industry standards and enabling technologies. NIST has the opportunity to

assist the electronics industry to reach consensus on common information exchange practices

and standards, and to encourage collaborative research on integration technologies. See also

companion project, Infrastructure for Integrated Electronics Design.

Current Tasks:

1. Support industry roadmapping and needs analysis efforts

FY 1997 Co-chaired National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI) Factory

Information Systems (FIS) Technical Working Group (TWG), which

published a roadmap in the 1996 National Electronics Manufacturing

Technology Roadmaps; Co-chaired NEMI FIS Technical Implementation

Group (TIG), which created a technology gap analysis, five-year plan, and

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initial project portfolio, Chaired manufacturing integration strategy session

with key industry participants; Chaired SPIE Conference on "Plug and Play

Software for Agile Manufacturing" and published proceedings.

FY 1998 Co-chaired NEMI FIS TWG which developed a 1998 FIS Roadmap, and

participated in developing a NEMI Supply Chain roadmap; Held several site

visits and sponsored two industry workshops to assess needs of the Electronic

Manufacturing Services (EMS; aka: Contract Manufacturing) community.

FY 1999 Publish NEMI FIS and Supply Chain roadmaps (December 1998); Present

results in public forums.

FY 2000 Work with industry through NEMI to publish 2000 FIS Roadmap.

2. Encourage and perform collaborative research with industry and academia in manufacturing

software integration, electronic commerce and Internet-based manufacturing

FY 1997 Worked with industry to develop plan for NEMI "Plug & Play Factory"

project and obtained NEMI executive council support; Developed plan for

multi-lab "Internet Commerce for Manufacturing (ICM) project"; Planned the

development of an Object Oriented Printed Circuit Repository specification

(this would allow the transfer and querying of intelligent object-oriented

electronic product descriptions).

FY 1998 Initiated NEMI FIS Plug & Play Factory project which established

interoperability testbed at Georgia Institute of Technology to research state-ofthe-art integration approaches; Demonstrated early results of Plug and Play

Factory project for NEMI Council and at industry workshops; Gained

approval of ICM project within the NIST National Advanced Manufacturing

Testbed (NAMT) and held architecture and industry requirements workshops

and peer reviews.

FY 1999 Demonstrate use of open standards to contract electronics design and analysis

services, and prove feasibility of contracting assembly services, with a NISTdesigned printed wiring board, in Internet Commerce for Manufacturing

project; Conclude NEMI FIS Plug & Play Factory project and transition the

resulting specification to a standards organization for standardization;

Participate in the Plug & Play Factory project through technology

development and industry demonstrations; Develop a process model to allow

electronic commerce to be incorporated into an electronic product life-cycle

development process; Establish NEMI tasks and projects which are responsive

to needs of the EMS industry; Explore mechanisms for the government to

address growing electronics R&D gap due to the restructuring of the industry.

FY 2000 Continue to build the Internet Commerce for Manufacturing infrastructure and

services; Conclude development of process model for electronic commerce

and publish report.

FY 2001 Continue to build the Internet Commerce for Manufacturing infrastructure and

services; incorporate industry sites as manufacturing services.

3. Support standards development efforts and provide tools to facilitate standards conformance

FY 1997 Completed development of a prototype testing environment for the

SEMATECH CIM Framework, and published a web-based report

demonstrating the work.

FY 1998 Explored commercialization of the Java/Common Object Request Broker

Architecture (CORBA) testing environment with small semiconductor firm;

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Supported the development of the Standard Recipe Format File specification;

Worked with the Plug & Play Factory project to develop an alternate webbased equipment communication paradigm to eventually replace the Generic

Equipment Model (GEM) standard; Contributed to the development of the

GenCAM standard for electronics design information and released first

version of a Conformance Test Module.

FY 1999 Continue to pursue commercialization of the Java/CORBA test environment

and to promote its use in other research efforts; Develop and demonstrate

standards emerging from the Plug & Play Factory project.

FY 2000 Develop and demonstrate standards emerging from NEMI FIS or Supply

Chain projects.

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LAW ENFORCEMENT

Enabling Technologies for Criminal Justice Practitioners . . . . . . . . . 209

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Law Enforcement Office of Law Enforcement Standards

Enabling Technologies for Criminal Justice Practitioners

Project Leader: Kathleen M. Higgins

Staff-Years: 3.0 Professionals, 1.0 Technician, 2.0 Support staff

Funding Sources: Other Government Agencies (100%)

Objective: To apply science and technology to the needs of the criminal justice

community (including law enforcement, corrections, forensic science,

and the fire service) by utilizing the resources of EEEL, other NIST

laboratories, and external contract support as necessary. While the

primary focus is on the development of minimum performance

standards, which are promulgated by the sponsoring agency as

voluntary national standards, studies leading to technical reports and

user guidelines are also undertaken. To accomplish its objective, the

Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES): (1) develops methods

for testing equipment performance and for examining evidentiary

materials; (2) develops standards for equipment and operating

procedures; (3) develops standard reference materials; and, (4)

performs other scientific and engineering research as required.

Background: The Office of Law Enforcement Standards was established in 1971 through a

Memorandum of Understanding between the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and was

based upon the recommendations of the President’s Commission on Crime. The areas of

research investigated by the Office include clothing, communication systems, emergency

equipment, investigative aids, protective equipment, security systems, vehicles, weapons, and

analytical techniques and standard reference materials used by the forensic science

community. The composition of OLES projects, which are sponsored by the National

Institute of Justice (NIJ), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and

the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), varies depending upon the priorities of the

criminal justice community at any given time. Consequently, no milestones are provided for

FY 2000.

The objectives of NIJ include improving Federal, state and local criminal justice systems and

related aspects of the civil justice system; preventing and reducing crimes; and fostering

programs that offer a high probability of improving the functioning of the criminal justice

system. Science and technology are among the tools utilized by NIJ to further these

objectives and OLES renders support to NIJ in that program area. The projects that comprise

OLES’s program for NIJ are based upon the recommendations of the Law Enforcement and

Corrections Technology Advisory Council and the needs for specific research expressed by

the criminal justice community.

The NHTSA program is concerned with three types of speed-measuring devices:

(1) conventional radar units; (2) the automated speed enforcement system, or photoradar; and,

(3) laser speed-measuring systems. The projects that comprise NHTSA’s program are based

on input from both NHTSA and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The

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projects reflect the needs of state and local law enforcement agencies for not only equipment

standards, but also for permanent, self-sustaining testing programs to assure the reliability and

accuracy of all radar units following the initial approval of a device.

OLES has been funded by OMB to facilitate the development of interoperability standards for

ballistic imaging systems. Through the efforts of a team composed of staff members from

EEEL and ITL, the first part of a proposed three-part standard was issued in FY 1996.

Support for this program is expected to continue through the laboratory and field evaluations.

Current Tasks:

1. Develop quality assurance program for soft body armor

FY 1986 Published revision to NIJ Std. 0108.01, Ballistic Resistant Protective Materials

and NBSIR 86-34444, Ballistic Tests of Used Soft Body Armor.

FY 1987 Revised body armor standard.

FY 1990 First year of multi-year effort to establish realistic quality control procedures

for ballistic fabric used in body armor.

FY 1992 Completed and published the results of a limited experiment to investigate

whether the physical size of body armor samples influences ballistic tests;

Developed test methods to evaluate the resistance of armor to sharp

instrument slashing and thrust attack.

FY 1993 Assisted NIJ in establishing the National Armor Advisory Board (NAAB).

FY 1994 Supported the NIJ Compliance Testing Program.

FY 1995 Discovered a flaw in the proposed aluminum plate test method for defining

ammunition as armor-piercing; Assisted DARPA in the development of

concealable military body armor.

FY 1996 Assisted DARPA in the development of concealable military body armor

(continuation of program initiated in FY 1995); Tested and reported results on

DARPA body armor.

FY 1997 Established working group within the NAAB to develop requirements for a

quality assurance program.

FY 1998 Performed critical review of statistical quality assurance (QA) protocols used

with ballistic resistant materials; Proposed specific recommendations for

performance assurance of ballistic resistant materials; Incorporated the QA

program into the revision of the NIJ Standard 0101.03, Ballistic Resistance of

Police Body Armor. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

FY 1999 Incorporate any modifications to program based on external review and

further testing into .04 revision of body armor standard; Monitor data

collection once program is instituted at testing laboratories. (1998 EEEL

Strategic Plan)

2. Characterize oleoresin capsicum (OC) further in support of the less-than-lethal technologies

program

FY 1988 Initiated three-year project to monitor the U.S. Army development effort to

design and implement appropriate chemical delivery systems.

FY 1991 Began to identify the performance characteristics and requirements appropriate

for inclusion in NIJ standards for less-than-lethal weapons to be established in

FY 1992/93.

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Law Enforcement Office of Law Enforcement Standards

FY 1992 Initiated development of standard for less-than-lethal weapons delivery

systems.

FY 1994 Initiated study to characterize oleoresin capsicum (OC).

FY 1995 Published NIJ Report 100-95, Preliminary Investigation of Oleoresin

Capsicum; Provided technical assistance and administrative support to

program.

FY 1996 Analyzed the contents of several cans of OC in connections with an incident

involving the Baltimore County Police Department, where an individual

exposed to the OC spray exhibited no significant reaction; prepared official

"report of analysis".

FY 1997 Conducted preliminary tests for evaluation of the contents of 100 canisters of

OC spray used by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

FY 1998 Worked with NIJ to identify another law enforcement agency in the local area

from which to obtain canisters in order to proceed with project.

FY 1999 Begin evaluation of OC canisters from local agency; Develop plan to

statistically analyze the resulting data to determine whether any measured

quantities correlate with the failure patterns observed; Let contract to study

toxicity, potency, and interrelationships of constituents of OC spray.

3. Investigate DNA profiling technologies further and develop additional SRMs as applicable

FY 1988 Developed preliminary standard for DNA reporting formats.

FY 1989 Initiated two-year project to refine reporting standards, standard materials for

molecular weight quality assurance, and even more sensitive detection and

non-isotropic probes.

FY 1991 Synthesized and characterized several potential standard reference materials;

Examined DNA coding systems and advanced and emerging DNA

instrumental techniques; Completed the development of a standard reference

material (SRM) for DNA genetic typing.

FY 1992 Issued SRM 2390 for DNA quality assurance testing.

FY 1993 Completed initial round robin tests of prototype SRMs for DNA profiling,

employing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique.

FY 1994 Re-certified SRM 2390, the restriction fragment length polymorphism

profiling standard; Validated the proposed components of SRM 2391;

Developed new electrophoretic methods for STRs.

FY 1995 Issued SRM 2391, the PCR profiling standard; Investigated method for typing

mitochondrial DNA; First phase of a mitochondrial interlaboratory study was

completed; Developed new approach to PCR amplification (i.e., "Long

PCR"); Implemented laser-induced fluorescence detection for rapid detection

of electrophoretically separated PCR products.

FY 1996 Implemented Long PCR technology to aid in the rapid determination of

human identity; Conducted several interlaboratory studies; Revalidated SRM

2390 and 2391.

FY 1997 Started the production and certification of a set of well-defined DNA

standards for mitochondrial and general DNA sequencing; Meetings held to

consider the formation of a consortium of DNA chip manufacturers.

FY 1998 Finalized the production and certification of a set of well-defined DNA

standards for mitochondrial DNA sequencing; Completed recertification of

SRMs 2390 and 2391; Developed interlaboratory study to examine issues of

DNA quantification; Initiated the evaluation of the impact of NIJ grants to

state laboratories; Investigated the use of matrix-assisted-laser-desoprtion and

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Law Enforcement Office of Law Enforcement Standards

ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry in accurate and rapid DNA

testing.

FY 1999 Continue evaluation of impact of NIJ grants to state laboratories; Issue DNA

standards for mitochondrial sequencing; Test crime laboratories on ability to

quantify low levels of DNA; Pinpoint specific problem areas in identifying

mixed stains with multiplexed STR kits; Sequence and publish information

about at least seven rare alleles.

4. Prepare Digital Intercept Standard for digital telephone systems

FY 1992 Initiated a project to assist the FBI in the development of a digital intercept

system for integrated services digital network (ISDN).

FY 1995 Prepared ten of the final sixteen parts of the draft standard; Continued to

provide programmatic and technical support to the FBI; Witnessed first article

testing and critically reviewed test data; Reviewed and commented in 14 other

program documents.

FY 1996 Prepared final six parts of the requirements documentation and began to

develop test methods document.

FY 1997 Completed draft of test methods.

FY 1998 Integrated test methods with requirements documents to produce a unified

standard.

FY 1999 Submit standard to outside and WERB review; Incorporate reviewers’

recommendations and deliver standard, in camera-ready or electronic file

format, to NIJ for promulgation.

5. Review and revision of standards

FY 1982 Three communication standards were revised to improve test methods and to

change the classification system to achieve common transmission band

identification; Revised metallic handcuff standard.

FY 1983 Additional two communication standards revised as above; Revised body

armor standard.

FY 1984 Revised crash helmets standard.

FY 1985 Revised standards for riot helmets and face shields, body armor and personal

FM transceiver standards.

FY 1987 Revised fixed and base station FM transmitters and mobile digital equipment

standards.

FY 1988 Revised fixed and base station receivers standard.

FY 1989 Revised 9mm/45 caliber autoloading pistols and mobile antennas standards.

FY 1990 Revised body-worn FM transmitters standard.

FY 1996 Initiated collaboration with Canadian General Standards Board, CEN and ISO

on soft body armor; Established contract with ITS for review of two NIJ

communication standards and a FIPS on land mobile radio.

FY 1997 Published revisions of communication standards (0204.01 and 0205.01);

Prepared statements of work and funding proposals for emergency vehicle

sirens (0501.01), walk-through and hand-held metal detectors (0601.00 and

0602.00), and kits for preliminary identification of drugs of abuse (0604.00

and 0605.00); Continued support of land mobile radio effort.

FY 1998 Prepared drafts of body armor standard (0101.03), and autoloading pistols

(0112.02) standards; Monitored progress and provided support to revise

standards for chemical spot test kits and color reagents for preliminary

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Law Enforcement Office of Law Enforcement Standards

identification of drugs of abuse (0604.00 and 0605.00), walk-through and

hand-held metal detectors (0601.00 and 0602.00), and x-ray systems for bomb

disarmament (0603.00); Prepared draft guideline document on batteries.

FY 1999 Prepare drafts of ballistic resistant protective materials (0108.01), metallic

handcuffs (0307.01), chemical spot test kits for preliminary identification of

drugs of abuse (0604.00 and 060500), walk-through and hand-held metal

detectors (0601.00 and 0602.00); Monitor progress and provide support to

revision of ballistic helmet standard (0106.01) and x-ray systems for bomb

disarmament (0603.00); Prepare draft guideline document on emergency

vehicle sirens (0501.00), antennas (0204.02 and 0205.02) and video

surveillance equipment.

6. Furnish technical support and assistance in key areas

FY 1990 Published report on lithium batteries, hands-free communication systems, and

technical assessment of portable explosives vapor detection devices.

FY 1991 Prepared reports on handgun accuracy, trunked radio systems, body armor test

fixtures, field strength measurements of high power transceivers, performance

of dialed number recorders, and a standard for rechargeable transceiver

batteries; Developed procedure for the analysis of residues of explosives and

gunshots; Developed a guide to video surveillance equipment; Developed a

computer program supporting the economical disposal of police vehicles.

FY 1992 Drafted report on instrumentation to measure forces on a holster when gun is

withdrawn; Issued AutoBid, a computer program used by police departments

for automobile fleet management.

FY 1993 Drafted standard for flammability of mattresses for detention and corrections

facilities; Updated AutoBid; Published reports on locks for corrections

facilities, trunked radio systems, a test procedure of handgun accuracy, a

guide to voice privacy for law enforcement radio communication systems, and

a standard for dialed number recorders.

FY 1995 Updated AutoBid; Served as DOC representative for law enforcement to the

Technology Reinvestment Program.

FY 1996 Updated AutoBid; Initiated protective glove project; Assisted in establishment

of program to produce guidelines for forensic laboratory design; Authored

interagency agreement with FBI to develop automobile paint database in

conjunction with RCMP; Lend support to BFRL in conjunction with U.S. Fire

Administration to re-evaluate traditional "arson indicators".

FY 1997 Updated AutoBid as interactive web site; Prepared preliminary test

requirements for protective gloves; Published guidelines for forensic

laboratory design; Continued support of paint database development project;

Published findings from test burns; Prepared findings from 2 drugs-of-abuse

studies; Continued support of concealed weapons detection project within

EEEL; Supported two programs within the Office of Applied Economics, i.e.,

minimizing costs of the Life Safety Code for Corrections Facilities and costeffective decisions for police patrol vehicle disposal (auto rank).

FY 1998 Continued update of AutoBid as interactive web site; Prepared test protocol

for protective gloves; Published "Forensic Science: Status and Needs"

document; Continued support of projects (i.e., automobile paint database

development; terahertz-wave concealed weapons detector; detection of

electronic bomb detonators; computer database of Raman spectra of energetic

materials; scientific study of body armor trauma plates; development of

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Law Enforcement Office of Law Enforcement Standards

standards for knife/puncture resistant armor, concealed weapons detectors, and

explosives detectors; non-eradicable marking(s) of firearms; and, development

of Standard Reference Material for ballistic imaging systems); Published

findings from continued work on burn pattern analysis and one drugs-of-abuse

study; Continued support of two programs within the Office of Applied

Economics as described above; Provided technical input and support to the

rechargeable batteries testing program.

FY 1999 Continue support of projects (i.e., automobile paint database development,

including addition of Asian and European partners; terahertz-wave concealed

weapons detectors; detection of electronic bomb detonators; computer

database of Raman spectra of energetic materials; scientific study of body

armor trauma plates; assessment of Washington, D.C. laboratory capabilities;

detection of gunpowder and explosive residues; emergency warning light

systems evaluation; development of 2D monolithic microbolometer imaging

arrays; development of test protocol for evaluation of Smart gun; development

of standards for knife/puncture resistant armor and ALERT system;

development of guidelines for concealed weapons imaging and detection

systems, explosive/drug detectors, facial recognition systems, collection and

preservation of electronic evidence; chem/bio detectors, and walk-through and

hand-held metal detectors; and, development of SRM for ballistic imaging

systems); Publish findings from continued work on burn pattern analysis and

three drugs of abuse studies; Continue update of AutoBid and support of

other two programs within the Office of Applied Economics as described

above. (1998 EEEL Strategic Plan)

7. Support the quality assurance program for police traffic radar/lidar

FY 1991 Completed revision of model minimum performance specifications for radar

units; Assisted independent laboratory with tests to determine compliance

with specifications.

FY 1992 Initiated project to develop standard for laser based units (lidar); Initiated

project to develop standard for photoradar.

FY 1994 Revised the Model Minimum Performance Specifications for Police Traffic

Radar Devices; Supported the test program; completed preliminary laboratory

and field tests of photoradar systems.

FY 1995 Supported the quality assurance testing program of the International

Association of Chiefs of Police; Draft standard for laser speed-measuring

devices completed and submitted to NHTSA; Model specifications published

by NHTSA; Participated in reference speed comparison study with the

Transportation Research Center, East Liberty, OH; Selected and equipped

UC/Davis as IACP lidar test site; Prepared draft standard and submitted it to

outside reviewers.

FY 1996 Presented and obtained approval for proposed revisions to conventional radar

performance specifications; Published lidar standard.

FY 1997 Supported conventional radar and lidar test programs; Prepared draft of

photoradar standard, undergoing outside review; Revised radar performance

specifications to include approved changes.

FY 1998 Supported conventional radar and lidar test programs; Assisted in initiating

the establishment of a second lidar test site.

FY 1999 Submit draft of photoradar standard to NHTSA for promulgation; Support

second lidar test site; Publish revision to lidar standard.

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8. Development of Interoperability Standards for Ballistic Imaging Systems

FY 1996 Published NISTIR 5855, "Specification for Interoperability Between Ballistic

Imaging Systems; Part 1 - Cartridge Cases".

FY 1997 Developed test procedure for Part 1 of the standard; Developed ballistic data

file conformance tester; Acquired cartridges for interoperability test.

FY 1998 Conducted laboratory evaluations of part 1 of the standard; Continued to

support interoperability effort as directed by sponsor; Appointed as chair of

the National Integrated Ballistics Identification Network (NIBIN) Technical

Working Group.

FY 1999 Continue participation and lead role in Technical Working Group of NIBIN;

Revise NISTIR 5855 based on results of laboratory tests; Conduct additional

laboratory and subsequent field evaluations as appropriate; Continue to

support interoperability effort as directed by sponsor.

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