Very low-pressure VLP-CVD growth of high quality gamma-Al2O3 films on silicon by multi-step process

gamma-Al2O3 films were grown on Si (10 0) substrates using the sources of TMA (AI(CH3)(3)) and O-2 by very low-pressure chemical vapor deposition. The effects of temperature control on the crystalline quality, surface morphology, uniformity and dielectricity were investigated. It has been found that the,gamma-Al2O3 film prepared at a temperature of 1000degreesC has a good crystalline quality, but the surface morphology, uniformity and dielectricity were poor due to the etching reaction between 0, and Si substrate in the initial growth stage. However, under a temperature-varied multi-step process the properties Of gamma-Al2O3 film were improved. The films have a mirror-like surface and the dielectricity was superior to that grown under a single-step process. The uniformity of gamma-Al2O3 films for 2-in epi-wafer was <5%, it is better than that disclosed elsewhere. In order to improve the crystalline quality, the gamma-Al2O3 films were annealed for I h in O-2 atmosphere. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

MnSi similar to 1.73 grown on silicon with mass-analyzed low energy dual ion beam epitaxy technique

Semiconducting manganese silicide, Mn27Si47 and Mn15Si26, were obtained using mass-analyzed low energy dual ion beam epitaxy technique, Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiles showed that some of the Mn ions were deposited on single-crystal silicon substrate and formed a 37.5 nm thick Mn film, and the other Mn ions were successfully implanted into the Si substrate with the implantation depth of 618 nm. Some samples were annealed in the atmosphere of flowing N-2 at 840 degreesC. X-ray diffraction measurements showed that the annealing was beneficial to the formation of Mn27Si47 and Mn15Si26 (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Ion bombardment as the initial stage of diamond film growth

It is believed that during the initial stage of diamond film growth by chemical-vapor deposition (CVD), ion bombardment is the main mechanism in the bias-enhanced-nucleation (BEN) process. To verify such a statement, experiments by using mass-separated ion-beam deposition were carried out, in which a pure carbon ion beam, with precisely defined low energy, was selected for investigating the ion-bombardment effect on a Si substrate. The results are similar to those of the BEN process, which supports the ion-bombardment-enhanced-nucleation mechanism. The formation of sp(3) bonding is based on the presumption that the time of stress generation is much shorter than the duration of the relaxation process. The ion-bombarded Si is expected to enhance the CVD diamond nucleation density because the film contains amorphous carbon embedded with nanocrystalline diamond and defective graphite. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Photoluminescence and Raman scattering of silicon nanocrystals prepared by silicon ion implantion into SiO2 films

Photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectra of silicon nanocrystals prepared by Si ion implantion into SiO2 layers on Si substrate have been measured at room temperature. Their dependence on annealing temperature was investigated in detail. The PL peaks observed in the as-implanted sample originate from the defects in SiO2 layers caused by ion implantation. They actually disappear after thermal annealing at 800 degrees C. The PL peak from silicon nanocrystals was observed when thermal annealing temperatures are higher than 900 degrees C. The PL peak is redshifted to 1.7 eV and the intensity reaches maximum at the thermal annealing temperature of 1100 degrees C. The characterized Raman scattering peak of silicon nanocrystals was observed by using a right angle scattering configuration. The Raman signal related to the silicon nanocrystals appears only in the samples annealed at temperature above 900 degrees C. It further proves the formation of silicon nanocrystals in these samples. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)00215-2].

Structural study of YSi1.7 layers formed by channeled ion beam synthesis

High quality YSi1.7 layers (chi(min) of Y is 3.5%) have been formed by 60 keV Y ion implantation in Si (111) substrates to a dose of 1.0 x 10(17)/cm(2) at 450 degrees C using channeled ion beam synthesis (CIBS). It shows that, compared to the conventional nonchanneled ion beam synthesis, CIBS is beneficial in forming YSi1.7 layers with better quality due to the lower defect density created in the implanted layer. Rutherford backscattering/channeling and x-ray diffraction have been used to study the structure and the strain of the YSi1.7 layers. The perpendicular and parallel elastic strains of the YSi1.7 epilayer are e(perpendicular to) = -0.67% +/- 0.02% and e(parallel to) = +1.04% +/- 0.08%. The phenomenon that a nearly zero mismatch of the YSi1.7/Si (111) system results in a nonpseudomorphic epilayer with a rather large parallel strain relative to the Si substrate (epsilon(parallel to) = +1.09%) is explained, and the model is further used to explain the elastic strain of epitaxial ErSi1.7 and GdSi1.7 rare-earth silicides. (C) 1998 American Vacuum Society.

Fracture properties of PECVD silicon nitride thin films by long rectangular memrane bulge test

Bulge test combined with a refined load-deflection model for long rectangular membrane was applied to determine the mechanical and fracture properties of PECVD silicon nitride (SiNx) thin films. Plane-strain modulus E-ps prestress s(0), and fracture strength s(max) of SiNx thin films deposited both on bare Si substrate and on SiO2-topped Si substrate were extracted. The SiNx thin films on different substrates possess similar values of E-ps and s(0) but quite different values of s(max). The statistical analysis of fracture strengths were performed by Weibull distribution function and the fracture origins were further predicted.

Blue Luminescent Properties of Silicon Nanowires Grown by a Solid-Liquid-Solid Method

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were grown directly from n-(111) single-crystal silicon (c-Si) substrate based on a solid-liquid-solid mechanism, and Au film was used as a metallic catalyst. The room temperature photoluminescence properties of SiNWs were observed by an Xe lamp with an exciting wavelength of 350 nm. The results show that the SiNWs exhibit a strongly blue luminescent band in the wavelength range 400-480 nm at an emission peak position of 420 nm. The luminescent mechanism of SiNWs indicates that the blue luminescence is attributed to the oxygen-related defects, which are in SiOx amorphous oxide shells around the crystalline core of SiNWs.

Synthesis and random laser application of ZnO nano-walls: a review

This review paper summarises briefly some important achievements of our recent research on the synthesis and novel applications of nanostructure ZnO such as honeycomb shaped 3-D (dimension) nano random-walls. A chemical reaction/vapour transportation deposition technique was employed to fabricate this structure on ZnO/SiO2/Si substrate without any catalyst and additive in a simple tube furnace to aim the low-cost and high qualified samples. Random laser action with strong coherent feedback at the wavelength between 375 nm and 395 nm has been firstly observed under 355 nm optical excitation with threshold pumping intensity of 0.38 MW/cm(2).

STUDY ON PREPARATION OF GAN AND COSI2 EPITAXIAL-FILMS BY MASS ANALYZED LOW-ENERGY DUAL ION-BEAM EPITAXY

The Mass Analyzed Low Energy Dual Ion Beam Epitaxy (MALE-DIBE) system has been designed and constructed in our laboratory. We believe that the system, which was installed and came into full operation in 1988, is the first facility of this kind. With our system we have carried out studies, for the first time, on compound synthesis of GaN and CoSi2 epitaxial thin films. RHEED and AES results show that GaN films, which were deposited on Si and sapphire substrates, are monocrystalline and of good stoichiometry. To our knowledge, GaN film heteroepitaxially grown on Si. which is more lattice-mismatched than GaN on sapphire, has not been reported before by other authors. RBS and TEM investigations indicated a rather good crystallinity of CoSi2 with a distinct interface between CoSi2 and the Si substrate. The channelling minimum yield chi(min) from the Co profile is approximately 4%. The results showed that the DIBE system with simultaneous arrival of two beams at the target is particularly useful in the formation of novel compounds at a relatively low substrate temperature.

Polymorphous silicon nanowires synthesized by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Polymorphous Si nanowires (SiNWS) have been successfully synthesized on Si wafer by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at 440degreesC,using silane as the Si source and Au as the catalyst. To grow the polymorphous SiNWS preannealing the Si substrate with Au film at 1100 degreesC is needed. The diameters of Si nanowires range from 15 to 100 urn. The structure morphology and chemical composition of the SiNWS have been characterized by high resolution x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, as well as energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. A few interesting nanowires with Au nanoclusters uniformly distributed in the body of the wire were also produced by this technique.

The SPER and characteristics of Si1-yCy alloys

\Si1-yCy alloys with carbon composition of 0.5 at.% were successfully grown on n-Si(100) substrate by solid phase epitaxy recraystallization. The result was presented in this paper. With the help of the SiO2 capping layer, rather uniform carbon profile in amorphous Si layer was obtained by dual-energy implantation. Since ion-flow was small and implantation time was long enough, the emergency of beta-SiC was avoided and the dynamic annealing effect was depressed. The pre-amorphization of the Si substrate increased the fraction of the substitutions carbon and the two-step annealing reduced point defects. As a result, Si1-yCy alloys with high quality was recrystallized on Si substrate.

Modification of ZnO films under high energy Xe-ion irradiations

ZnO films were deposited on (100) Si substrate by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. These films were irradiated at room temperature with 308 MeV Xe-ions to a fluence of 1.0 x 10(12), 1.0 x 10(13) or 1.0 x 10(14) Xe/cm(2). Then the samples were investigated using RBS, XRD, FESEM and PL analyses. The obtained experimental results showed that the deposited ZnO films were highly c-axis orientated and of high purity, 308 MeV Xe-ion irradiations could not change the c-axis oriented. The topography and PL properties of the ZnO films varied with increasing the Xe-ion irradiation fluence. For 1.0 x 10(13) or 1.0 x 10(14) Xe/cm(2) irradiated samples, surface cracks were observed. Furthermore, it was found that the 1.0 x 10(14) Xe/cm(2) irradiated sample exhibiting the strongest PL ability. The modification of structure and PL properties induced by 308 MeV Xe-ion irradiations were briefly discussed. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of ammonia and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) on morphologies of ZnO nano- and micromaterials under solvothermal process

Submicrometer zinc oxide (ZnO) with different morphologies including spindle-like, pencil-like, branch rod-like and frizzy flower-like shapes, have been hydrothermally synthesized in mixed solvents of ethanol and water at 140 degrees C. It was found that the volumes of added ammonia, surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, CTAB), and mixed solvent play crucial roles in morphological control of ZnO nanostructures. Increasing the volume of ammonia added to the reaction system, the shape of ZnO evolves from spindle into branch rod-like. Synergetic influence between CTAB and ammonia can only be observed at high concentration of ammonia.

Micropatterning of metal films coated on polymer surfaces with epoxy mold and its application to organic field effect transistor fabrication

In this letter, a simple and versatile approach to micropatterning a metal film, which is evaporated on a Si substrate coated with polymer, is demonstrated by the use of a prepatterned epoxy mold. The polymer interlayer between the metal and the Si substrate is found important for the high quality pattern. When the metal-polymer-Si sandwich structure is heated with the temperature below T-m but above T-g of the polymer, the plastic deformation of the polymer film occurs under sufficiently high pressure applied. It causes the metal to crack locally or weaken along the pattern edges. Further heating while applying a lower pressure results in the formation of an intimate junction between the epoxy stamp and the metal film. Under these conditions the epoxy cures further, ensuring adhesion between the stamp and the film. The lift-off process works because the adhesion between the epoxy and the metal film is stronger than that between the metal film and the polymer. A polymer field effect transistor is fabricated in order to demonstrate potential applications of this micropatterning approach.

Copper phthalocyanine based hybrid p-type permeable-base transistor in vertical architecture

We demonstrate the production of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) based p-type hybrid permeable-base transistors, which operate at low voltages having high common-base current gains. These transistors are prepared by evaporating a thin metal layer (Ag or Al) that acts as base on top of a Si substrate that acts as collector. In the sequence CuPc and Au are thermally sublimated to produce the emitter, constituting a quite simple device production procedure with the additional advantage of allowing higher integration due to its vertical architecture.