Highly efficient photoluminescence of Er2SiO5 films grown by reactive magnetron sputtering method

E2SiO5 thin films were fabricated on Si substrate by reactive magnetron sputtering method with subsequent annealing treatment. The morphology properties of as-deposited films have been studied by scanning electron microscope. The fraction of erbium is estimated to be 23.5 at% based on Rutherford backscattering measurement in as-deposited Er-Si-O film. X-ray diffraction measurement revealed that Er2SiO5 crystalline structure was formed as sample treated at 1100 degrees C for 1 h in O-2 atmosphere. Through proper thermal treatment, the 1.53 mu m Er3+-related emission intensity can be enhanced by a factor of 50 with respect to the sample annealed at 800 degrees C. Analysis of pump-power dependence of Er3+ PL intensity indicated that the upconversion phenomenon could be neglected even under a high photon flux of 10(21) (photons/cm(2)/sec). Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) of Er2SiO5 was studied and showed a weak thermal quenching factor of 2. Highly efficienct photoluminescence of Er2SiO5 films has been demonstrated with Er3+ concentration of 10(22)/cm(3), and it opens a promising way towards future Si-based light source for Si photonics. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhancement of field emission properties in La-doped ZnO films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Field emissions (FE) from La-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) films are both experimentally and theoretically investigated. Owing to the La-doped effect, the FE characteristic of ZnO films is remarkably enhanced compared with an undoped sample, and a startling low turn-on electric field of about 0.4 V/mu m (about 2.5 V/mu m for the undoped ZnO films) is obtained at an emission current density of 1 mu A/cm(2) and the stable current density reaches 1 mA/cm(2) at an applied field of about 2.1 V/mu m. A self-consistent theoretical analysis shows that the novel FE enhancement of the La-doped sample may be originated from its smaller work function. Due to the effect of doping with La, the Fermi energy level lifts, electrons which tunnelling from surface barrier are consumedly enhancing, and then leads to a huge change of field emission current. Interestingly, it suggests a new effective method to improve the FE properties of film materials.

High rate deposition of microcrystalline silicon films by high-pressure radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (mu c-Si:H) thin films were prepared by high-pressure radio-frequency (13.56 MHz) plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (rf-PECVD) with a screened plasma. The deposition rate and crystallinity varying with the deposition pressure, rf power, hydrogen dilution ratio and electrodes distance were systematically studied. By optimizing the deposition parameters the device quality mu c-Si:H films have been achieved with a high deposition rate of 7.8 angstrom/s at a high pressure. The V-oc of 560 mV and the FF of 0.70 have been achieved for a single-junction mu c-Si:H p-i-n solar cell at a deposition rate of 7.8 angstrom/s.

Evolution of structural defects in SiOx films fabricated by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapour deposition upon annealing treatment

We study the structural defects in the SiOx film prepared by electron cyclotron resonance plasma chemical vapour deposition and annealing recovery evolution. The photoluminescence property is observed in the as-deposited and annealed samples. [-SiO3](2-) defects are the luminescence centres of the ultraviolet photoluminescence (PL) from the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and PL measurements. [-SiO3](2-) is observed by positron annihilation spectroscopy, and this defect can make the S parameters increase. After 1000 degrees C annealing, [-SiO3](2-) defects still exist in the films.

Quasi-hexagonal ordered arrays of FePt nanoparticles prepared by a micellar method

Hexagonally ordered arrays of magnetic FePt nanoparticles on Si substrates are prepared by a self assembly of diblock copolymer PS-b-P2VP in toluene, a dip coating process and finally plasma treatment. The as-treated FePt nanoparticles are covered by an oxide layer that can be removed by a 40 s Ar+ sputtering. The effects of the sequence of adding salts on the composition distribution are revealed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. No particle agglomeration is observed after 600 degrees C annealing for the present ordered array of FePt nanoparticles, which exhibits advantages in patterning FePt nanoparticles by a micellar method. Moreover, magnetic properties of the annealed FePt nanoparticles at room temperature are investigated by a vibrating sample magnetometer.

Surface plasmon enhanced ultraviolet emission from ZnO films deposited on Ag/Si(001) by magnetron sputtering

The ZnO films were grown on Ag/Si(001) substrates by sputtering Ag and ZnO targets successively in a pure Ar ambient. A significant enhancement of ZnO ultraviolet emission and a reduction of its full width of half maximum have been observed while introducing a 100 nm Ag interlayer between ZnO film and Si substrate. Furthermore, a complete suppression of the defect related visible emission was also found for the ZnO/Ag/Si sample. This improved optical performance of ZnO is attributed to the resonant coupling between Ag surface plasmon and ultraviolet emission of ZnO. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Inductively coupled plasma etching in fabrication of 2D InP-based photonic crystals

The authors developed an inductively coupled plasma etching process for the fabrication of hole-type photonic crystals in InP. The etching was performed at 70 degrees C using BCl3/Cl-2 chemistries. A high etch rate of 1.4 mu m/min was obtained for 200 nm diameter holes. The process also yields nearly cylindrical hole shape with a 10.8 aspect ratio and more than 85 degrees straightness of the smooth sidewall. Surface-emitting photonic crystal laser and edge emitting one were demonstrated in the experiments.

Effects of crystalline quality on the ultraviolet emission and electrical properties of the ZnO films deposited by magnetron sputtering

The ZnO films were deposited on c-plane sapphire, Si (0 0 1) and MgAl2O4 (1 1 1) substrates in pure Ar ambient at different substrate temperatures ranging from 400 to 750 degrees C by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence and Hall measurements were used to evaluate the growth temperature and the substrate effects on the properties of ZnO films. The results show that the crystalline quality of the ZnO films improves with increasing the temperature up to 600 degrees C, the crystallinity of the films is degraded as the growth temperature increasing further, and the ZnO film with the best crystalline quality is obtained on sapphire at 600 degrees C. The intensity of the photoluminescence and the electrical properties strongly depend on the crystalline quality of the ZnO films. The ZnO films with the better crystallinity have the stronger ultraviolet emission, the higher mobility and the lower residual carrier concentration. The effects of crystallinity on light emission and electrical properties, and the possible origin of the n-type conductivity of the undoped ZnO films are also discussed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Bulge testing and fracture properties of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited silicon nitride thin films

The mechanical properties and fracture behavior of silicon nitride (SiNx) thin film fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition is reported. Plane-strain moduli, prestresses, and fracture strengths of silicon nitride thin film; deposited both oil a bare Si substrate and oil a thermally oxidized Si substrate were extracted using bulge testing combined with a refined load-deflection model of long rectangular membranes. The plane-strain modu i and prestresses of SiNx thin films have little dependence on the substrates, that is, for the bare Si substrate, they are 133 +/- 19 GPa and 178 +/- 22 MPa, respectively, while for the thermally oxidized substrate, they are 140 +/- 26 Gila and 194 +/- 34 MPa, respectively. However, the fracture strength values of SiNx films grown on the two substrates are quite different, i.e., 1.53 +/- 0.33 Gila and 3.08 +/- 0.79 GPa for the bare Si substrate a A the oxidized Si substrate, respectively. The reference stresses were computed by integrating the local stress of the membrane at the fracture over the edge, Surface, and volume of the specimens and fitted with the Weibull distribution function. For SiNx thin film produced oil the bare Si Substrate, the Volume integration gave a significantly better agreement between data and model, implying that the volume flaws re the dominant fracture origin. For SiNx thin film grown on the oxidized Si substrate, the fit quality of surface and edge integration was significantly better than the Volume integration, and the dominant surface and edge flaws could be caused by buffered HF attacking the SiNx layer during SiO2 removal. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Amorphous silicon carbide films prepared by H-2 diluted silane-methane plasma

This paper reports on the preparation and characterization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide films prepared by H-2 diluted silane-methane plasma. Carbon-rich a-SiC:H film with band gap of up to 3.3 eV has been achieved. IR and UV Vis spectra were employed to characterize the chemical bonding and optical properties of as-prepared films. It is shown that hydrogen dilution is crucial in obtaining these wide band gap carbon-rich films. Raman and PL measurements were performed to probe the microstructure and photoelectronic properties of these films before and after annealing. Films with intermediate carbon concentration seem more defective and exhibit stronger photoluminescence and subband absorption than others. Films with different compositions exhibit different annealing behaviours. For silicon rich and carbon rich films, high temperature annealing results in the formation of silicon crystallites and graphite clusters, respectively. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High speed 2x2 optical switch in silicon-on-insulator based on plasma dispersion effect

Based on free carrier plasma dispersion effect, a 2 x 2 optical switch is fabricated in a silicon-on-insulator substrate by inductively coupled-plasma technology and ion implantation. The device has a Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure, in which two directional couplers serve as the power splitter and combiner. The switch presents an insertion loss of 3.04 dB and a response time of 496 ns.

Boron-doped silicon nanowires grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Boron-doped ( B-doped) silicon nanowires have been successfully synthesized by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at 440degreesC using silane as the Si source, diborane( B2H6) as the dopant gas and An as the catalyst. It is desirable to extend this technique to the growth of silicon nanowire pn junctions because PECVD enables immense chemical reactivity.

Effect of growth conditions on the GaN thin film by sputtering deposition

The phase transition between thermodynamically stable hexagonal wurtzite (h-WZ) gallium nitride (GaN) and metastable cubic zinc-blende (c-ZB) GaN during growth by radio-frequency planar magnetron sputtering is studied. GaN films grown on substrates with lower mismatches tend to have a h-WZ structure, but when grown on substrates with higher mismatches, a c-ZB structure is preferred. GaN films grown under high nitrogen pressure also tend to have a h-WZ structure, whereas a c-ZB structure is preferred when grown under low nitrogen pressure. In addition, low target-power growth not only helps to improve hexagonal GaN (h-GaN) crystalline quality at high nitrogen pressure on low-mismatch substrates, but also enhances cubic GaN (c-GaN) quality at low nitrogen pressure on high-mismatch substrates. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Room-temperature photoluminescence of ZnO/MgO multiple quantum wells deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering

Wurtzite ZnO/MgO superlattices were successfully grown on Si (001) substrates at 750 degrees C using radio-frequency reactive magnetron sputtering method. X-ray reflection and diffraction, electronic probe and photoluminescence analysis were used to characterize the multiple quantum wells (MQWs). The results showed the periodic layer thickness of the MQWs to be 1.85 to 22.3 nm. The blueshift induced by quantum confinement was observed. Least square fitting method was used to deduce the zero phonon energy of the exciton from the room-temperature photoluminescence. It was found that the MgO barrier layers has a much larger offset than ZnMgO. The fluctuation of periodic layer thickness of the MQWs was suggested to be a possible reason causing the photoluminescence spectrum broadening.

p-type Zn1-xMgxO films with Sb doping by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering

Sb-doped Zn1-xMgxO films were grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The p-type conduction of the films (0.05 <= x <= 0.13) was confirmed by Hall measurements, revealing a hole concentration of 10(15)-10(16) cm(-3) and a mobility of 0.6-4.5 cm(2)/V s. A p-n homojunction comprising an undoped ZnO layer and an Sb-doped Zn0.95Mg0.05O layer shows a typical rectifying characteristic. Sb-doped p-type Zn1-xMgxO films also exhibit a changeable wider band gap as a function of x, implying that they can probably be used for fabrication of ZnO-based quantum wells and ultraviolet optoelectronic devices. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.