Properties of SnO2 films fabricated using a rectangular filtered vacuum arc plasma source

Transparent and conducting SnO₂ films of 57–200nm thickness were deposited on microscope glass slide substrates, using a rectangular filtered vacuum arc deposition system. The 40 glass slides were equally distributed on a 400 × 420mm substrate carriage, and were exposed to a Sn plasma beam, produced by a rectangular vacuum arc plasma gun with a Sn cathode, and passed through a rectangular magnetic macroparticle filter towards the substrates. The carriage with the substrates was transported past the 94 × 494mm filter outlet. The SnO₂ films were fabricated on the glass substrates at room temperature by maintaining the chamber oxygen background pressure at 0.52Pa. The film composition, and electrical and optical properties were studied as a function of the film thickness. The films were stored under ambient air conditions, and their electrical resistance was measured as a function of storage time over a period of several months.

The average resistivity of films was 10–17mΩ cm for films with thickness (t) less than 100nm, but that of t > 100nm it was 5–9mΩ cm. The resistivity of the films with t > 100nm did not change significantly after 8months of storage in ambient air. The optical transmittance of the films in the visible spectrum was in the range of 75–90%. The optical constants, i.e., the refractive index and the extinction coefficient of the films at wavelength λ = 550nm were in the range of 2.02–2.09 and 0.013–0.023, respectively, and the optical band gap energy was 4.15–4.21eV. Unlike the electrical resistivity, the optical parameters weakly depended on t.     

沉积时间对聚醚醚酮表面类金刚石薄膜的结构和性能的影响

采用直流磁控溅射技术在聚醚醚酮(PEEK)表面制备不同厚度的类金刚石(DLC)薄膜,研究了沉积时间对其表/界面结构、组分、疏水、力学和光透过性能的影响。结果表明,在平均沉积速率为5.71 nm/min的条件下,随着沉积时间的延长DLC薄膜的厚度线性增大、碳原子的致密性提高、界面互锁结构增强,而界面结合强度逐渐降低。沉积时间≤15 min时,基体结构的影响使拟合计算出的I_D/I_G值为0.23~0.25和sp²/sp³比值较小(0.58~0.74);沉积时间>15 min时基体的影响较小,I_D/I_G值突增大至0.81,sp²/sp³值也比较大(0.96~1.12)。沉积时间的延长使PEEK基体的温度逐渐升高,使膜内的sp²/sp³值逐渐增大。薄膜表面的氧含量先降低然后趋于平缓,部分C=O转化为C-O。随着沉积时间的延长,PEEK/DLC复合薄膜的硬度、弹性模量及防紫外线和阻隔红外线性能都逐渐提高,其表面粗糙度和疏水性的变化趋势是先提高后降低。沉积时间为32 min的薄膜,其表面粗糙度和水接触角达到最大值,分别为495 nm和108.29°。     

The influence of film structure on In2O3 gas response

This paper reports the influence of In₂O₃ film structure on gas-sensing characteristics measured in steady state and transient modes. Films were deposited by spray pyrolysis from InCl₃–water solutions. Correlation between gas-sensing parameters and structural parameters such as film thickness (20–400 nm), grain size (10–70 nm), refractive index and film texture (I(400)/I(222)) were established. It was shown that grain size and porosity are the parameters of In₂O₃ films that best control gas response to ozone. In the detection of reducing gases, the influence of film structure is less important. Decreases in film thickness, grain size and degree of texture are the best way to decrease time constants of the gas response of In₂O₃-based gas sensors.     

CVD of hard DLC films in a radio frequency inductively coupled plasma source

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of hard diamond-like carbon (DLC) films on silicon (100) substrates from methane was successfully carried out using a radio frequency (r.f.) inductively coupled plasma source (ICPS). Different deposition parameters such as bias voltage, r.f. power, gas flow and pressure were involved. The structures of the films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The hardness of the DLC films was measured by a Knoop microhardness tester. The surface morphology of the films was characterized by atomic force microscope (AFM) and the surface roughness (R_a) was derived from the AFM data. The films are smooth with roughness less than 1.007 nm. Raman spectra shows that the films have typical diamond-like characteristics with a D line peak at 1331 cm⁻¹ and a G line peak at 1544 cm⁻¹, and the low intensity ratio of I_D/I_G indicate that the DLC films have a high ratio of sp³ to sp² bonding, which is also in accordance with the results of FTIR spectra. The films hardness can reach approximately 42 GPa at a comparatively low substrate bias voltage, which is much greater than that of DLC films deposited in a conventional r.f. capacitively coupled parallel-plate system. It is suggested that the high plasma density and the suitable deposition environment (such as the amount and ratio of hydrocarbon radicals to atomic or ionic hydrogen) obtained in the ICPS are important for depositing hard and high quality DLC films.     

Study of diamond-like carbon films on LiNbO3

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been successfully deposited on Y-cut LiNbO₃ substrates using the plasma enhanced CVD technique. A thin interlayer of SiC between the DLC films and the LiNbO₃ is necessary to ensure a good adhesion of the DLC films to the LiNbO₃ substrate. The physical properties and structural network of the DLC films have been investigated in detail. It is observed that the film hardness is increased with increasing the film thickness, as is the adhesion of the DLC films to the LiNbO₃ substrates. The effect of accelerating surface acoustic wave by the DLC films has been confirmed.     

Spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of poly(2,5 dimethyl aniline) films

UV–visible, IR and redox characteristics of electrochemically deposited poly(2,5 dimethyl aniline) films are affected by varying the monomer concentration (0.025, 0.05 and 0.1 M) and dopant anions in the electrolyte solution (HCl, HClO₄ and H₂SO₄). The optical spectra show the presence of reduced leucoemeraldine phase 320 nm and emeraldine salt phase 740 nm in HCl and HClO₄ while in case of H₂SO₄ media the pernigraniline phase is observed 540 nm. The magnitude of absorbance is highest in H₂SO₄>HCl>HClO₄. On the other hand, the selectivity in the formation of conducting phase is greater in HCl in comparison with HClO₄ and H₂SO₄. IR spectra of the film reveal a higher ratio for the relative intensities of the quinoid to benzenoid ring modes i.e. I₁₅₁₀/I₁₄₄₀ in case of films deposited in H₂SO₄. Cyclic voltammograms show the presence of a single redox couple in each case except for H₂SO₄ where an additional anodic peak is observed. However, the increase in current is highest in HCl>HClO₄>H₂SO₄ hence, the thickness of the films calculated for the cathodic peak are in accordance with the current.     

Measurement of the current transient in Ta2O5 films

Current vs. time (I−t) measurements were performed on Ta₂O₅-based devices. Charge build-up at the Ta₂O₅/SiO₂ interface was used to explain the transient. The interfacial charge density was calculated from the I−t curve and the maximum was found to be 398 nC cm^-2 and 317 nC cm^-2 for Al/Ta₂O₅/Si and Al/Ta₂O₅/SiO₂/Si capacitors respectively. The value for MTOS was comparable with the value obtained by quasi-static measurements.     

Characterization of mechanical properties of thin films using nanoindentation test

Using finite element modeling (FEM), this work investigates using finite element modeling (FEM) the mechanical behavior of film on substrate composites during the penetration of a rigid tip. In order to understand the magnitude of the substrate effect, the difference of strain gradient through the thickness of a given layer, deposited first on a softer substrate and then on an harder substrate can be observed. In this specific case, up to a critical ratio (h/t) = 0.35 (with h the indentation depth and t the film thickness), the mechanical behavior of the layer is quite similar. But, for h/t > 0.35, two different behaviors may be observed: (i) in the first case H_f/H_S  1 (with H_f and H_S, respectively, the film and substrate hardness values), the total strain remains contained within the film thickness up to a ratio h/t close to 1 and (ii) in the second case H_f/H_S  1, the total strain extends deeply into the substrate. These results show that the empirical 10% rule is not valid, even for a hard film on a softer substrate. The main error is caused by a wrong estimation of the contact depth between the indenter tip and the film surface. Indeed, the simulation runs exhibit the formation of pile-up depending on the ratios (h/t) and Y_f/Y_S (with Y_f and Y_S, respectively, the film and substrate yield stress values). As a function of the used model for calculating the contact depth, at least three variation of hardness may be found from load–displacement curves obtained by FEM. In these conditions, it seems ambiguous to try to determine a weighting function to extract meaningful mechanical properties of the thin film. Another way to determine film properties consists in using the loading phase. A relationship between the applied load (P) and the indentation depth (h) is studied during the loading phase. For the case of a soft film on harder substrate (H_f/H_S  1), it is possible to determine the yield stress of the film, from the previous relationship. This approach is applied to experimental amorphous Al₂O₃ films formed by electron beam evaporation on silicon substrate.     

Photoconductivity, photovoltaic effect and photoluminescence in chemically deposited films of (Cd0.95–Pb0.05)S:CdCl2,Gd

Results of XRD, optical absorption spectra, photoconductivity, photovoltaic effect and photoluminescence are reported for (Cd_0.95–Pb_0.05)S:CdCl₂,Gd films prepared by chemical deposition technique at 60 °C and room temperature (RT). The XRD studies show prominent diffraction lines of CdS and PbS. Optical absorption spectra show direct bandgap nature with decreasing value due to addition of PbS. The saturated photocurrent (I_pc) to dark current (I_dc) ratios 10⁷ are found in films prepared at 60 °C and 10⁴ in films prepared at RT. Photoluminescence is found to be brighter in films prepared at RT. Photovoltaic efficiency 5% has been observed in such films.     

半刚性钢框架梁柱弱轴端板连接的试验研究和有限元分析

为了探讨肋板加强对于传统钢框架弱轴楔形加劲板连接的适用性,运用有限元软件ABAQUS对钢框架肋板加强型弱轴连接节点进行循环荷载作用下的参数分析。结果表明,肋板加强型弱轴连接节点具有良好的滞回性能,可以将梁上塑性铰外移至肋板末端,减小梁翼缘对接焊缝破坏的风险。建议肋板长度a=l+(0.5~0.6)h_b,肋板高度b=0.4 a,及肋板厚度t≥1.5t_bf,其中l为楔形加劲板的长度,h_b为钢梁截面高度,t_bf为梁翼缘厚度,且该建议参数取值适用于不同的梁柱截面,并给出了肋板加强型弱轴连接节点的设计方法。     

PLZST陶瓷衬底上La0.7Sr0.3MnO3薄膜生长及其磁性能和电输运特性研究

采用磁控溅射法在PLZST陶瓷衬底上制备了不同厚度的LSMO薄膜, 并对其微结构、磁性能及电输运特性进行了研究。结果表明, LSMO薄膜具有单一钙钛矿结构, 晶粒均匀, 表面平整, 其中20 nm厚LSMO薄膜粗糙度仅为2.93 nm。在10~300 K温度范围内, LSMO薄膜均具有大的磁电阻效应, 20 nm厚的LSMO薄膜磁电阻温度稳定性优异。随着薄膜厚度的增加, 薄膜的居里温度、金属绝缘体转变温度、磁化强度和导电性能降低。这可能是由于Pb、Sn、Zr等离子扩散进入LSMO薄膜中, 导致MnO₆八面体畸变造成的。     

机械式直流断路器弧后电流测量方法研究

目前机械式直流真空断路器是直流开断的主流方向之一,其主开关的弧后特性对其开断性能起着至关重要的作用。利用电流转移法设计了一种弧后电流的新型测量方法,并对该装置在测量机械式真空断路器弧后电流时的工作原理进行了分析。采用改进Mayr模型建立了真空电弧模型,利用MATLAB构建了机械式直流真空断路器弧后电流测量装置模型,仿真研究了转移电阻大小、主电流大小等对转移完成时刻电流值和转移电阻完全承受电流时间的影响,经过数据处理分析得到这些参数对电流转移特性的影响规律。基于得到的影响规律,确定了直流真空断路器弧后电流测量装置的参数,对研制测量装置并进行测试提供了理论基础。     

石墨烯/纳米减反结构复合透明导电薄膜的研究

石墨烯具有较高的透过率及良好的电导率, 作为透明导电薄膜具有潜在的应用价值。首先在石英基底上引入SiO₂纳米球阵列结构作为光学减反射层, 使石英基底可见光区光学透过率从93.2%增加到99.0%。然后利用常压化学气相沉积方法, 通过基底表面铜颗粒远程催化碳源, 直接在减反层上可控制备具有石墨烯/纳米减反结构的新型复合透明导电薄膜。通过去除SiO₂纳米球阵列结构形成反相复制的石墨烯空心球阵列结构, 且生长时间10 min时, 对应半高宽约40 cm^-1, I_2D/I_G = 2.31, I_D/I_G = 0.77, 证明在SiO₂纳米球阵列减反结构上制备了低缺陷且连续的全包覆少层石墨烯薄膜。引入SiO₂纳米球阵列减反结构后, 其在可见光区光学550 nm波长处的透过率平均提高了5.5%, 方块电阻相对无减反射层基底平均降低了20.09%。本研究方法避免了复杂的转移工序, 减少了对石墨烯的损失与破坏, 同时实现了高透光性及高导电性的功能协同, 在光伏器件、平板显示等领域展示出更大的应用前景。     

Stress variation in epitaxial GaAs films on silicon under thermal treatment

High quality epitaxial GaAs films of 1.8 and 6.3 μm thickness on silicon substrates were examined for lattice distortion, misalignment and curvature by X-ray diffraction (Bond method) at 20–400 °C. These films were deposited by the metal-organic chemical vapour deposition method on the (001) plane of silicon using a buffer layer produced at T_b = 370 or 460 °C. A top layer was then grown at T_t = 560 or 650 °C. The GaAs films contract more strongly on cooling than the substrate, which causes a curvature and a tetragonal distortion below a critical temperature T_c. This temperature varies on thermal treatment at 200–400 °C and approaches T_b, the growth temperature of the buffer layer. The tetragonal distortion can be stabilized, so that T_c approximates T_b, if the GaAs films are annealed for several days at 400 °C.     

Scalable model for predicting the effect of negative bias temperature instability for reliable design

The authors present a predictive model for the negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) of PMOS under both short term and long term operation. On the basis of the reaction-diffusion mechanism, this model accurately captures the dependence of NBTI on the oxide thickness (t _ox), the diffusing species (H or H ₂) and other key transistor and design parameters. In addition, a closed form expression for the threshold voltage change (DeltaV_th) under multiple cycle dynamic operation is derived. Model accuracy and efficiency were verified with 180, 130 and 90 nm silicon data. The impact of NBTI on the delay degradation of a ring oscillator and the various metrics of the SRAM such as its data retention voltage, read and hold margins, as well as read and write delay, is also investigated.     

Synthesis of AlN by reactive sputtering

We present a systematic study of the sub-band gap optical absorption coefficients (hν) in the range 1.2–6 eV vs. deposition-temperature (T_s from 27 to 450°C) films deposited on silica by 13.6 MHz magnetron sputtering of an Al target with 53 and 72% N₂ in the reactive mixture. X-ray diffraction, infrared absorption and Raman diffusion are also presented, mainly on films deposited on Si in the same run to help in the characterisation of the films. All signals are specific of AlN polycrystalline films, which are of better quality when deposited with 72% N₂. The lowest sub-band gap optical absorption around 5×10² cm⁻¹ is obtained for deposition on silica at T_s=300°C with 72% N₂ and is close to that of heteroepitaxial films deposited on sapphire.     

Investigation of diamond-like carbon/silicon heterojunctions deposited by pulsed Nd:YAG laser

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on p-type silicon (Si-100) substrates by using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser for the ablation of a pyrolytic graphite target at a background pressure of 10⁻⁶ Torr. For a fixed distance of 3 cm between the target and substrate, samples of DLC/Si heterojunction were prepared for two different laser wavelengths of 355 nm and 1064 nm. All DLC films showed typical D and G bands in their Raman spectra. DLC films were also deposited on glass substrates for resistivity measurement by four-point probe. The electrical properties for DLC/Si heterojunctions were analyzed current-voltage measurement at room temperature in the dark and also under illumination. The dependencies of the electrical characteristics on the depositing parameters were discussed.     

Studies on photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells: A correlation between electrochemical and material properties

CdS_0.9Te_0.1 thin films of various thicknesses (680–2740 nm) were deposited onto the clean glass and stainless steel substrates using a chemical deposition technique. The as-grown films exhibited photoactivity in an aqueous 0.5 M NaOH+0.5 M Na₂S+0.5 M S (pH=12.6) electrolyte. An interface between n-CdS_0.9Te_0.1 semiconductor photoelectrode and an electrolyte redox couple was formed and investigated through the capacitance–voltage, current–voltage and photovoltaic characteristics. The results on the capacitance–voltage and current–voltage measurements in dark are compared with the photovoltage measurements. The measurement on the characteristic photovoltaic properties showed a significant enhancement in the cell performance at a thickness of 2740 nm (0.658% efficiency).     

Highly conducting doped poly-Si deposited by hot wire CVD and its applicability as gate material for CMOS devices

Highly conducting p- and n-type poly-Si:H films were deposited by hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) using SiH₄+H₂+B₂H₆ and SiH₄+H₂+PH₃ gas mixtures, respectively. Conductivity of 1.2×10² (Ω cm)⁻¹ for the p-type films and 2.25×10² (Ω cm)⁻¹ for the n-type films was obtained. These are the highest values obtained so far by this technique. The increase in conductivity with substrate temperature (T_s) is attributed to the increase in grain size as reflected in the atomic force microscopy results. Interestingly conductivity of n-type films is higher than the p-type films deposited at the same T_s. To test the applicability of these films as gate contact Al/poly-Si/SiO₂/Si capacitor structures with oxide thickness of 4 nm were fabricated on n-type c-Si wafers. Sputter etching of the poly-Si was optimized in order to fabricate the devices. The performance of the HWCVD poly-Si as gate material was monitored using C–V measurements on a MOS test device at different frequencies. The results reveal that as deposited poly-Si without annealing shows low series resistance.     

Influence of the sputtering system''s vacuum level on the properties of indium tin oxide films

The influence of the chamber residual pressure level in the radio frequency magnetron sputtering process on the electrical, optical and structural properties of indium thin oxide (ITO) is investigated. Several ITO films were deposited at various residual pressure levels on Corning glass using In₂O₃:SnO₂ target in argon atmosphere and without the addition of oxygen partial pressure. It is found that a very good vacuum is associated to metallic films and results in less transparent ITO films, with some powder formation on the surface. On the contrary highly transparent and conducting films are produced at a higher residual pressure. The best deposition conditions are addressed for ITO films as transparent conducting oxide layers in silicon heterojunction solar cells. Using the optimal vacuum level for ITO fabrication, a maximum short circuit current of 36.6 mA/cm² and a fill-factor of 0.78 are obtained for solar cells on textured substrates with a device conversion efficiency of 16.2%.