Laminated dry film resist for microengineering applications

An innovative technology with a dry film resist (Riston) for use in microsystem engineering applications is presented. In view of the simplicity of forming a controllable resist thickness (20 – 100 μm/level), inherent planarization for multilevel processes in 3D microsystems and high, stable over-wafer thickness uniformity, we have investigated the use of dry film resists to realise high aspect ratio microstructures > 10:1 using both reactive ion etching (RIE) and excimer laser ablation.     

GaAs field effect transistors fabricated by imprint lithography

A GaAs metal–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET) has been realized based on mix-and-match fabrication using optical lithography for the ohmic contacts and imprint lithography for the gate. The gate length and width are 1.2 and 80 μm, respectively, the channel length is 4 μm. For the gate definition a Si-mold is embossed into a thin polymer film located on top of an n-doped GaAs layer. The gate is fabricated by metal evaporation and lift-off.     

CaS∶Eu,Sm薄膜的红外上转换发光效率

采用电子束蒸发和磁控溅射技术制备了具有红外上转换和光存储特性的电子俘获材料CaS∶Eu ,Sm薄膜 ,利用不同脉宽的超短红外激光测试了它们的红外上转换效率 ,指出CaS∶Eu ,Sm薄膜的红外上转换发光效率不仅与制备工艺及热退火工艺密切相关 ,而且存在“耗尽”现象。薄膜透过率及空间分辨率测试表明 ,尽管膜厚及热退火处理对薄膜的透过率及空间分辨率有影响 ,但它们可显著增加CaS∶Eu ,Sm薄膜的红外上转换发光效率。     

Demonstration of the monolithic interconnection on CIS solar cells by picosecond laser structuring on 30 by 30 cm2 modules

In this paper, we present the selective structuring of all three patterns (P1, P2 and P3) of a monolithic interconnection of CIS (Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)₂) thin film solar cells by picosecond laser pulses at a wavelength of 1064 nm. We show results for single pulse ablation threshold values and line scribing of molybdenum films on glass (P1), CIS on molybdenum (P2) and zinc oxide on CIS (P3). The purposes of these processes are the p‐type isolation (P1), cell interconnect (P2) and n‐type isolation (P3), which are required for complete cell architecture. The half micron thick molybdenum back electrode can be structured with a process speed of more than 15 m/s at about 15 W average power without detectable residues and damage by direct induced laser ablation from the back side (P1). The CIS layer can be structured selectively down to the molybdenum at process speeds up to 1 m/s at about 15 W average power, due to the precision of direct laser ablation in the ultrashort pulse regime (P2). The ZnO front electrode layer is separated by clean trenches with straight side walls at process speeds of up to 15 m/s at about 10 W average power, as a result of indirect induced laser ablation (P3). A validation of functionality of all processes is demonstrated on CIS solar cell modules (30 × 30 cm²). By replacing one state‐of‐the‐art process by a picosecond laser process at a time, solar efficiencies could be increased for P1 and P2 and stayed on a similar level for P3. After an optimization of the patterning processes in the R&D pilot line of AVANCIS, we achieved a new record efficiency for an all‐laser‐patterned CIS solar module: 14.7% as best value for the aperture area efficiency of a 30 × 30 cm² sized CIS module was reached. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultra-short pulsed laser deposition and patterning of SiC thin films for MEMS fabrication

A Ti:Sapphire (IR 800-nm) femtosecond (fs) pulsed laser was used to ablate a sputtering grade of silicon carbide (SiC) in an ultra-high vacuum chamber. The laser-induced plasma species were then driven and grown to form 3C-SiC films of about 1 μm thick on single crystal silicon wafers at 20 °C (room temperature) and 500 °C. Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and nanoindentation were used to characterize the structure, composition, thickness and properties of the SiC films. Results of the femtosecond-pulse laser deposited (fs-PLD) films were compared with those obtained by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) and nanosecond-pulse laser (excimer laser at 248-nm) deposition (ns-PLD). The distinctive features of fs-PLD films are their extremely smooth surfaces, stoichiometry, amorphous structure and low defect density compared to APCVD films, along with better film quality and higher growth rates than ns-PLD films. In addition to film growth studies, a SiC microgripper (to grab 20-μm-sized objects) was micromachined by use of the fs-pulsed laser to demonstrate the utility of ultra-short PLD in SiC-device fabrication.     

Resistivity dependence of minority carrier lifetime and cell performance in p-type dendritic web silicon ribbon

This study shows that the bulk lifetime in 95 μm thick p-type dendritic web silicon solar cells is a strong function of bulk resistivity. The higher the resistivity, the greater the bulk lifetime. This behavior is explained on the basis of dopant–defect interaction, which increases the lifetime limiting trap concentration with the addition of dopant atoms. Model calculations show that in the absence of doping dependence of bulk lifetime (τ), 2 Ω cm web should give the best cell efficiency for bulk lifetimes below 30 μs. However, strong doping dependence of bulk lifetime in p-web cells shifts the optimum resistivity from 2 to 15 Ω cm. Bulk lifetime in the as-grown web material was found to be less than 1 μs for all the resistivities. After the cell processing which involves phosphorus gettering, aluminum gettering, and SiN induced hydrogen passivation of defects, the bulk lifetime increased to 6.68, 11, 31 and 68.9 μs in 0.62, 1.37, 6.45 and 15 Ω cm p-type web material, respectively. Therefore, cell process induced recovery of lifetime in web is doping dependent, which favors high resistivity. Solar cells fabricated on 95 μm thick web silicon by a manufacturable process involving screen-printing and belt-line processing gave 14.5% efficient 4 cm² cells on 15 Ω cm resistivity. This represents a record efficiency for such a thin manufacturable screen-printed cell on a low-cost PV grade Si ribbon that requires no wafering or etching.     

Numerical simulation of thermal wave propagation during laser processing of thin films

A numerical model is developed to represent the thermal wave propagation during ultrashort pulsed laser processing of thin films. The model developed is based on the solution of non-Fourier heat conduction problem with temperature and thermal flux delays using discontinuous finite-element method. The mathematical formulation is described and computational procedures are given. The computer model is validated using the analytical solution for one-dimensional (1-D) thermal wave equations. Numerical simulations are performed to study the thermal wave propagation in a GaAs thin film exposed to ultrashort laser pulses. A wavelike behavior of the thermal signal propagation is observed, and the diffusive effect of the time relaxation in the temperature gradient is calculated and discussed. The thermal behavior of thin films under laser radiation is also studied as a function of various process parameters including pulse duration, laser pulse shapes and characteristic times of heat fluxes.     

金属粒子-介质复合薄膜中非平衡态电子瞬态弛豫的研究

利用飞秒脉冲激光和泵浦－探测技术测量了贵金属－介质复合薄膜（Ｃｕ－Ｂａ－Ｏ、Ａｕ－Ｂａ－Ｏ）的瞬态光学透过率随延迟时间的变化曲线，观察到了薄地光的吸收迅速增大并在皮秒时间内的状的现象，该现象是薄膜中超微粒子内费米能级附近电子被飞秒激光脉冲激光，产生非平衡态电子而经历瞬态弛豫造成的，本文从理论上给出了复合薄膜中Ａｕ超微粒子的电子声子相互作用常数ｇ的数值。     

1.3 μm lasers on GaAs(111)B employing ordered (InAs)1(GaAs)1 quantum wells for high frequency response applications

We propose a novel laser active region design that employs a strained and ordered ([nAs)₁(GaAs)₁ quantum well on a GaAs(111)B substrate for 1.31 μm high-speed applications. The increased Matthevvs-Blakeslee critical thickness for this orientation as compared to the (001) case allows for wider wells with higher indium compositions. In the In_0.5Ga_4.5As case, however, the bandgap is not significantly affected by the reduced quantum confinement because an increase in the hydrostatic strain component of the Hamiltonian for the (111)-orientation approximately negates any narrowing effects. By using an alternate monolayer superlattice active region to replace the alloy, we find that wavelengths well beyond 1.3 μm can be achieved. We also discuss some of the adBANtages of moving to the (111)-orientation that indicate higher modulation bandwidths are possible using this material system over conventional 1.3 μm laser diodes on InP substrates.     

热释电薄膜单片式UFPA器件微桥单元结构研究

采用RF溅射制备出Ba_(0.65)Sr_(0.35)TiO_3薄膜,剥离法制备出UFPA器件单元所需的图形化金属电极,TMAH溶液进行体硅腐蚀,并且使用保护胶和独特的夹具保护硅片正面免受腐蚀液的腐蚀.总结了一套制作微桥的简便可行的工艺流程,并最终在厚度为300μm的硅基片上成功的制备了厚度小于3 μm的面积为100 μm×100 μm的微桥单元结构.该微桥单元可以满足制备热释电薄膜单片式UFPA器件的要求.     

Template patterning of YBa2Cu3O7

We demonstrate the use of thin chromium layers to define structures in YBa₂Cu₃O₇ deposited by laser ablation. The chromium reacts with copper to form an insulating crystalline compound containing copper and chromium in equal amounts. Although the reaction will proceed up to approximately 1 μm into the defined pattern, the formation of a crystalline compound means that the extent of the reaction is limited by the availability of chromium. We have defined large-area, regular grids of tiny chromium pads, yielding a grid of insulating islands of approximately 600 nm in size after YBa₂Cu₃O₇ deposition. Electrical measurements show the influence of such a pattern on the R-T characteristics of the YBa₂Cu₃O₇.     

Impurity-free intermixing in compressively strained InGaAsP multiple quantum well structures

We report on controlled band gap modification in a compressively strained InGaAsP multi-quantum well-laser structure using different encapsulating layers followed by rapid thermal processing (RTP). The structure used was designed as a 1.55 μm laser with an active region consisting of three In_0.76Ga_0.24As_0.85P_0.15 quantum wells with In_0.76Ga_0.24As_0.52P_0.48 barriers grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The heterostructure is capped with 100 nm thick InGaAs layer. Prior to RTP, the samples were coated with various dielectric layers or a thin film of low temperature (300°C) grown InP. Using a Si_xN_y film deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with a refractive index of about 2.0, quantum well intermixing (QWI) was effectively suppressed. The suppression effect was independent of the Si_xN_y film thickness for layers of 30–2400 nm. With an e-beam-evaporated SiO₂ film, QWI was enhanced and a net blue shift of about 100 nm can be achieved between the samples covered with SiO₂ and Si_xN_y after RTP at 750°C for 100 s. Furthermore, InP grown at a low temperature by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy was proved to be even more efficient in enhancing QWI. Group V interstitial diffusion is used to explain the enhanced QWI between the wells and adjacent barriers which have the same group III compositions. Two-section tunable laser operated around 1.55 μm based on this laser structure was fabricated using this technique.     

Characterizations of high resistivity TiNxOy thin films for applications in thin film resistors

We report about developing high resistivity thin film resistors using titanium oxy-nitride. Titanium nitride films of different thicknesses ranging from 50 to 300 nm were deposited on SiO₂/Si substrates using the reactive magnetron sputtering method. After deposition, these films were annealed in the air ambient. The structural and electrical properties of the films were examined as a function of annealing temperature. The samples with various thicknesses show TiN(1 1 1) phase. The sheet resistance increases from 150 up to 420 Ω/□ when the film thickness decreases from 300 to 50 nm. Temperature coefficience of resistance (TCR) of the films significantly decreased with decreasing the film thickness. The TCR of 50-nm thick film is quite low, about 49 ppm/K.     

Possibilities to increase the resolution of photoelectric incremental rotary encoders

In building the movable elements of robots, peripheral devices and measuring apparatuses increasing the resolution of incremental transducers are essential, while decreasing dimensions and weight. This can be achieved in two major ways: by extending either the number of fixed gratings (mask), or the number of slits on the dividing (moving) disk. To avoid adverse effects caused by diffraction, that imposes an upper limit to the number of slits at a given diameter, authors choose the first option. Making use of a combined technique: selective electroless nickel deposition on both sides of a copper foil, followed by its nickel-masked wet etching, it was possible to manufacture very thin, ultraflat, stress-compensated metal disks, thus achieving two major advantages, as compared to the classical construction. First, closing emitter and receiver to less than 200 μm allowed the collimated system based on microlenses, to be avoided. Second, replacing the glass disks with thin, sandwich-structured metal disks permitted the form of the primary signals to be improved. Therefore, a significant multiplication of their number can be obtained. Even doubling the disk's resolution becomes actually possible by using this technology, the smallest slit being thus reduced to only 5 μm.     

Photopumped antiguide blue lasers fabricated from molecular beam epitaxial ZnSe on GaAs

Room temperature photopumped laser oscillation at 469 nm has been achieved in ZnSe thin film leaky waveguide (antiguide) resonators with threshold pump intensities of about 350 kW/cm/sup 2/. The 1 mu m thick ZnSe was grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a     

Fabrication of suspended thin film resonator for application of RF bandpass filter

Characteristics of AlN thin film and thin film resonator for RF bandpass filter have been studied. AlN thin films were deposited by RF magnetron sputter system. Deposition parameters such as N₂ contents, Ar and N₂ partial pressures, and the distance between metal target and substrate were found to affect the piezoelectric response. To fabricate the suspended thin film resonator (STFR) using the piezoelectric AlN thin film, the etching of AlN and the surface micromachining process were conducted. The thickness of AlN film and membrane for the STFR are 2 and 15 μm, respectively. This membrane was fabricated by SOI technology. The device with the dimension of 160 × 160 μm² has a resonant frequency of 1.653 GHz, a K_eff² of 2.4%, a bandwidth of 17 MHz, and a quality factor of 91.7. The device with the dimension of 200 × 200 μm² has a resonant frequency of 1.641 GHz, a K_eff² of 1.2%, and a bandwidth of 9 MHz, and a quality factor of 50.2.     

基于非晶硅薄膜的微测辐射热计光学仿真和优化

基于非晶硅薄膜的非制冷微测辐射热计具有结构简单、易于大规模集成、工艺兼容以及良好探测性能等特点,在红外探测领域等受到关注。引入氮化钛薄膜作为新型红外吸收材料,通过光学导纳矩阵法,对基于非晶硅薄膜的微测辐射热计的红外吸收特性,进行了仿真和优化研究。结果表明,非晶硅微测辐射热计中,氮化钛/非晶硅复合薄膜具有良好的红外吸收性能。当非晶硅薄膜厚度为120 nm时,由氮化钛/非晶硅组成的膜系在8～14μm范围内具有96%左右的红外吸收率,其中氮化钛薄膜的最佳吸收厚度为32nm。     

Laser micromachining of SrTiO3 single crystal

Laser micromachining of piezoelectric materials has many advantages over other etching techniques for the fabrication of ultrasound transducer linear arrays for medical imaging. It can achieve high aspect ratios and high etch rates without the use of complicated photolithography techniques. We have investigated a laser projection etch technique to make linear arrays in single crystal (0 0 1) SrTiO₃ substrates as a model of epitaxial piezoelectric thick film heterostructure. Feature sizes of 17.5 μm were obtained with depth to width aspect ratios of 4:1. The effect of laser fluence on etching was studied and it was found that straighter sidewalls and flatter trench floors were achieved as laser fluence increases. On the other hand, higher laser fluence caused increase in heat affected zone by post-pulse plasma and made the top surfaces rougher because of the accumulation of evaporated materials. Clean top surfaces of the features were achieved by deposition and subsequent lift off of a YBa₂Cu₃O₇ sacrificial layer. In addition, the phases of recast layers on the sidewalls were characterized by four-circle X-ray diffraction with 2-D area detector before and after removed with a wet chemical etch solution. It was found that the use of the wet etchant could remove the thin polycrystalline recast layers.     

Evaluation of PZT thin films on Ag coated Si substrates

Fabrication characteristics of hybrid thin film components are investigated. Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films, thickness 10 μm, are fabricated by using laser ablation on the Ag electrode (about 1 μm thick) which is deposited on 200 μm Si substrates by evaporation. Composition close to the target material is obtained in PZT films even in air and without substrate heating. Low surface energy in the Ag−Si system causes spheroidization of the Ag layer on the fresh Si substrate, but the surface can be modified by grinding and oxidization. Only some cavities exist at the interface. The interface between the Ag electrode and PZT layer is physically continuous, as revealed by electron microscopy. After annealing at 750°C for 2 h, the PZT layer consists of the rhombohedral perovskite phase with a fraction of the pyrochlore phase. Detrimental interdiffusion between Pb and Si occurs during annealing if the PZT thin film is directly on the Si substrate. This is retarded by the presence of the Ag layer.     

Electroless deposition of novel Ag–W thin films

The seedless electroless deposition of silver–tungsten (Ag–W) thin films on silicon dioxide substrate was performed using wet palladium activation from ammonia–acetate and benzoate solutions. Introducing tungsten in the plating bath catalyzes the deposition for benzoic acid solution and decreases the deposition rate for ammonia–acetate solution. The tungsten content in the deposit was 0–1.0 at%, mainly in WO_x form. It was found that the electrical, optical, and mechanical properties of the Ag–W films depends on the W content in the deposit. The optimal Ag–W thin films that were deposited from either the ammonia–acetate or benzoate bath demonstrate good adhesion to the substrate, high brightness, and do not corrode at temperatures up to 350 °C in air. Sub-100 nm thick Ag–W deposits have demonstrated resistivity of about 4 μΩ cm after vacuum annealing at 350 °C for 1 h. Finally, we present the film microstructure characterization and discuss the possibility of using Ag–W thin films for advanced microelectronics metallization.