Pasquale Arpaia, Ernesto De Matteis, Donato De Paola, Mateusz Sosin
Comparative assessment of signal cable impact in differential capacitive position measurements

An experimental procedure for a systematic analysis of stability, precision and noise immunity of micrometric measurements based on capacitive sensors at varying cable configurations and installation conditions is proposed. First, the measurement problem arising from the interferences introduced by the cables and a background on the capacitive sensors in use at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) is presented. Then, the proposed procedure, the test design and the measurement station are illustrated, by considering different cable types. Finally, the experimental validation of the procedure is reported.

Paolo Magnone, Pier Andrea Traverso, Claudio Fiegna
Optimal Non-parametric Estimation of 1/f Noise Spectrum in Semiconductor Devices

In this paper, we discuss the optimal nonparametric estimation of 1/f noise in MOSFET devices. We adopt a simple experimental procedure to evaluate the performance of different methods for the spectrum estimation. In particular, we analyze the variance of the spectrum in the case of averaged periodograms, according to Bartlett and Welch methods. The influence of the adopted window function and of the overlap between segments is investigated. Finally, an optimal power spectrum estimation is identified, allowing to minimize the dispersion of the spectrum.

Vincenzo Della Marca, Tariq Wakrim, Jérémy Postel-Pellerin, Pierre Canet
Advanced experimental setup for reliability and current consumption measurements of Flash non-volatile memories

In this paper we present a new experimental setup that enables static, dynamic and high voltage electrical characterization for the Flash memory cell. Using an Agilent B1500 parameter analyzer and its embedded modules we minimized the effects of the parasitic connection between different instruments. The current consumption of a memory cell is generally measured using a current/voltage converter or the Floating Gate technique. Our setup is able to measure dynamically the current consumption with a sampling time of several nanoseconds during a hot carrier injection. Moreover we can evaluate the degradation of memory cell performances including endurance test, and its impact on the cell memory consumption. Our method is implemented to test 90nm technology node Flash memories, but it can also be used for future ultra-scaled technologies. Moreover we propose to use our technique to demonstrate the dependence of drain current consumption on the defects generation due to the endurance degradation. In conclusion we implemented this original and flexible method to better understand the Flash memory behavior for advanced embedded and low energy applications.

Marc Scheffler, M. Maximilian Felger, Markus Thiemann, Daniel Hafner, Katrin Schlegel, Martin Dressel, Konstantin S. Ilin, Michael Siegel, Silvia Seiro, Christoph Geibel, Frank Steglich
Measuring the microwave response of superconductors: broadband Corbino and resonant stripline techniques

Superconducting materials are of great interest both for the fundamental understanding of electrons in solids as well as for a range of different applications. Studying superconductors with microwaves offers a direct experimental access to the electrodynamic response of these materials, which in turn can reveal fundamental material properties such as the superconducting penetration depth. Here we describe two different techniques to study superconductors at microwave frequencies: the broadband Corbino approach can cover frequencies from the MHz range up to 50 GHz continuously but is limited to thin-film samples whereas the stripline resonators are sensitive enough to study low-loss single crystals but reveal data only at a set of roughly equidistant resonant frequencies. We document the applicability of these two techniques with data taken on an ultrathin TaN film and a single crystal of the heavyfermion superconductor CeCu2Si2, respectively.

Valentina Corato, Gianluca De Marzi, Chiarasole Fiamozzi Zignani, Luigi Muzzi, Rosario Viola, Antonio della Corte
Experimental Techniques for Measuring the Critical Current in Superconducting Strands

The characterization of the critical current Ic in superconducting NbTi and Nb3Sn strands is carried out through a four-probe technique. Besides the dependence on temperature and magnetic field, which can be measured with a standard Variable Temperature Insert, the Ic of Nb3Sn samples is also sensitive to axial strain. For this measurement, specially dedicated probes can be used, among them we recall the Walters spring insert. Both systems and corresponding experimental techniques are here described.