ZnO缓冲层和退火处理对MgO薄膜结构的影响

采用直流反应磁控溅射法在Si衬底上引入ZnO缓冲层制备了沿(200)晶面择优取向生长的MgO薄膜,然后分别采用快速退火和常规退火两种不同的方式对MgO薄膜进行晶化处理。利用X射线衍射仪(XRD)以及原子力显微镜(AFM)研究了ZnO缓冲层以及两种不同的退火方式对MgO薄膜的结构和形貌的影响。结果表明:具有合适厚度的ZnO缓冲层可以显著地提高MgO薄膜的结晶质量。另外,与快速退火相比,常规退火处理后得到的MgO晶粒均匀圆润,有着较大的(200)衍射峰强度以及较小的表面粗糙度。     

Mechanical and environmental durability of roll-to-roll printed silver nanoparticle film using a rapid laser annealing process for flexible electronics

We investigate the mechanical durability and environmental stability of laser annealed silver (Ag) nanoparticle (NP) film. Roll-to-roll printed Ag NP film on polyethylene terephthalate substrate is annealed with a rapid laser annealing process in ambient conditions as an alternative to the conventional thermal annealing process. The laser annealed Ag NP film exhibits superior electrical and mechanical properties, with fast annealing time and no damage on the substrate. The outer/inner bending test results demonstrate that the flexibility of the laser annealed Ag film is excellent. The failure bending radii in the outer/inner bending tests are 3 mm. The laser annealed film can withstand 10,000 bending cycles. A nano-scratch test indicates that the adhesion strength of the laser annealed film is comparable to that of the thermal annealed film. The environmental reliability of Ag NP film is investigated under different high-temperature and high-humidity conditions, while being subjected to cyclic bending fatigue stress. The durability of printed Ag film is found to be influenced by temperature and humidity. The laser annealed film shows relatively large increase in resistance during the bending fatigue test under high temperature and humidity condition (60 °C/90% RH), which is attributed to the oxidation of Ag nanoparticles and initiation of cracks. Generation of cracks is accelerated owing to the combinational effects of the cyclic stress and humidity. These results suggest that, even though the laser annealed Ag film demonstrates sufficient mechanical durability, further improvement of the film properties is required for use in extreme mechanical and environmental conditions.     

Deposition and crystallization of a-Si thin films by rapid thermal processing

The deposition and crystallization of a-Si thin films grown by rapid thermal processing have been studied, using transmission electron microscopy. The a-Si films were deposited in a rapid thermal processor at reduced pressures in the temperature range of 530–580°C, at different deposition pressures and silane flow rates and subsequently were annealed in-situ by high temperature rapid thermal annealing (RTA) or by a two-step annealing process involving low temperature furnace annealing (FA) followed by high temperature RTA. The activation energy of a-Si deposition was found to be approximately 1.7 eV, in reasonable agreement with the conventional LPCVD technique. It has been found that the deposition temperature and deposition rate have a strong effect on the grain size, which is attributed to the nucleation processes in the bulk of the films. The combination of low deposition temperature, high deposition rate and a two-step annealing process permits the low temperature growth of poly-Si films of 100 nm thickness, with large grains of 520 nm size, containing a low density of microtwins and characterized by very low surface roughness of 2.2 nm.     

镧钛酸铅铁电薄膜成膜机理探讨

采用快速热处理和传统热处理工艺对金属有机物热分解法制备的镧钛酸铅（ＰＬＴ）铁电薄膜进行了热处理，用扫描电镜对不同热处理工艺和不同厚度的ＰＬＴ薄膜的形貌进行了分析。结果表明，快速热处理工艺有利于活性高，较薄膜层的结晶和致密化反应；ＰＬＴ薄膜在传统和快速热处理过程中的形成过程与蒸发和溅射薄膜的核生长型薄膜的形成过程相似，薄膜的形成经历了岛状－网状－连续的过程，即随层数的增加，薄膜逐渐从不连续转变为连续，而热处理工艺只影响形成连续薄膜的厚度。     

Effect of thermal annealing on physical properties of vacuum evaporated In2S3 buffer layer for eco-friendly photovoltaic applications

The present communication reports the effect of thermal annealing on the physical properties of In₂S₃ thin films for eco-friendly buffer layer photovoltaic applications. The thin films of thickness 150 nm were deposited on glass and indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates employing thermal vacuum evaporation technique followed by post-deposition thermal annealing in air atmosphere within a low temperature range 150–450 °C. These as-deposited and annealed films were subjected to the X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis spectrophotometer, current–voltage tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for structural, optical, electrical and surface morphological analysis respectively. The compositional analysis of as-deposited film is also carried out using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The XRD patterns reveal that the as-deposited and annealed films (≤300 °C) have amorphous nature while films annealed at 450 °C show tetragonal phase of β-In₂S₃ with preferred orientation (109) and polycrystalline in nature. The crystallographic parameters like lattice constant, inter-planner spacing, grain size, internal strain, dislocation density and number of crystallites per unit area are calculated for thermally annealed (450 °C) thin films. The optical band gap was found in the range 2.84–3.04 eV and observed to increase with annealing temperature. The current–voltage characteristics show that the as-deposited and annealed films exhibit linear ohmic behavior. The SEM studies show that the as-deposited and annealed films are uniform, homogeneous and free from crystal defects and voids. The grains in the thin films are similar in size and densely packed and observed to increase with thermal annealing. The experimental results reveal that the thermal annealing play significant role in the structural, optical, electrical and morphological properties of deposited In₂S₃ thin films and may be used as cadmium-free eco-friendly buffer layer for thin films solar cells applications.     

Thermal annealing effect on organic semiconducting polymer laser with an external holographic grating feedback layer

Thermal annealing effect on an organic distributed feedback (DFB) laser excited from a semiconducting polymer gain layer, poly(2-methoxy-5-(2’-ethyl-hexyloxy)-p-phenyl-envinylene) (MEH-PPV), is reported. The morphology, absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectral characteristics of the MEH-PPV film annealed at different temperatures were analyzed. The amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), the optical gain and loss coefficients were also investigated. The organic lasing behaviors including threshold, energy conversion efficiency and polarization state in a DFB laser device were studied. The results show that the optical properties of the organic semiconducting laser can be enhanced by thermal annealing effect. The single mode laser emission at 622.4 nm with lower lasing threshold 0.2 μJ/pulse and higher energy conversion efficiency 6.71% was achieved with thermal annealing at 120 °C. The thermal annealing treatment decreases laser threshold and increases laser energy conversion efficiency dramatically, which shows the potential in ultra-low cost organic semiconducting polymer DFB lasers.     

Analysis of copper grains in damascene trenches after rapid thermal processing or furnace anneals

The microstructures of Cu lines in damascene trenches annealed at temperatures from room temperature to 425°C using both rapid thermal processing (RTP) and furnace annealing were investigated using an array of characterization techniques including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), focused ion beam, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electron backscatter diffraction-orientation-imaging microscopy (EBSD-OIM). It was found that the final grain sizes strongly depend on the annealing process used; RTP generated larger grains than furnace annealing. The Cu line electrical resistance correlated with grain size differences observed for RTP and furnace anneals. The ramping rate, not the annealing time, played the critical role in the grain growth process. In either case, a high density of Σ3 coincident site lattice (CSL) twin boundaries was observed in the Cu lines. Forty-five percent of the grain boundaries measured were found to be Σ3 CSL twins, which are differentiated from random high-angle boundaries by having preferred electrical and diffusion properties. The minimum feature dimension of width or height of the damascene trenches limited the average grain size. Prior to the trench height limitation, the average grain size increased linearly with the trench width. The Cu (111) texture became stronger as the trench width increased up to 0.5 μm; for wider trenches, the texture did not increase further.     

Application of an electron backscatter diffraction pattern to Cu damascene-fabricated interconnections filled by a high-pressure anneal process

The microstructure of Cu interconnections fabricated by high-pressure annealing was evaluated using a field emission scanning electron microscope/electron backscatter diffraction pattern (FE-SEM/EBSP) technique, and the results are compared with as-deposited and normally annealed Cu films. The results show some grains extending from the bulk field to the via regions in the case of the high-pressure annealed Cu films. The existence of via holes was also observed, in which all grains were (111) oriented. This indicates that the high-pressure annealing process enables the Cu that in-fills the via holes to develop into favorable microstructures, i.e., single-crystal and with (111) orientation.     

Influence of rapid thermal and low temperature processing on theelectrical properties of polysilicon thin film transistors

In this paper rapid thermal processing (RTP) is studied for the crystallization and oxidation of deposited silicon layers. The purpose is to present and compare the results obtained by RTP, low temperature processing (LTP), or a combination of both, for the fabrication of polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors (poly-TFT's). The polysilicon and polyoxide are obtained by low thermal annealing, oxidation (LTA, O) and/or rapid thermal annealing, oxidation (RTA, O) of amorphous silicon films deposited from disilane at a temperature of 465°C. For the Si films annealed at 750°C or higher, using RTA, the grain average sizes are reduced whereas the electron/hole mobilities are increased. We suggest that there is a correlation between the optical extinction coefficient k (at λ=405 nm), the potential barrier height Φ_B due to the grains, and the field-effect mobility, μ_n,p, of the polysilicon film. This correlation indicates that the polysilicon film electrical properties depend not only on the grain size, but also on the crystalline quality of the grains. Moreover, it appears that the large amount of crystalline defects remaining in the so-called “grains” of the films annealed at 600°C (LTA) are partially annihilated when the films are annealed at higher temperatures. With regards to the TFT's electrical characteristics, the work suggests combining RT and LT steps to obtain TFT's with improved electrical performance     

退火对非晶态碲镉汞薄膜稳定态光电导的影响

利用射频磁控溅射方法,在宝石衬底上制备了非晶态碲镉汞(a-HgCdTe)薄膜。对原生a-HgCdTe薄膜进行了不同退火时间和不同退火温度的热退火,在80～300K温度范围内,分别测量了原生和退火处理后的a-HgCdTe薄膜样品的稳定态光电导,研究了退火时间和退火温度对非晶态HgCdTe薄膜的稳定态光电导和激活能的影响。结果表明,原生和退火a-HgCdTe薄膜的稳定态光电导具有热激活特性;随着退火时间增加或退火温度升高,a-HgCdTe薄膜的晶化程度提高,导致光电导增大,光电导激活能降低。利用非晶-多晶转变机制讨论了实验结果。     

Fabrication of Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconducting Thin films by rapid thermal annealing

Superconducting Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O thin films were successfully fabricated on MgO substrates by dc sputtering and rapid thermal annealing. No furnace annealing was used in the process. The superconducting thin films, deposited by dc sputtering for 8 hr and rapid thermally annealed at 845°C for 60 sec, showed a superconducting transition onset temperature of 110 K and a zero resistance transition temperature of 86 K. Highly oriented films with the c-axis normal to the substrate surface were obtained. To our knowledge, this is the first time that Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconducting thin films have been fabricated using rapid thermal annealing.     

Effect of annealing on the microstructure and bonding interface properties of Ag–2Pd alloy wire

This study investigated the mechanical and electrical properties of Ag–2Pd wire after thermal annealing. The thermal stability of the tested wire was examined by separately imposing static annealing at 275 °C, 325 °C and 375 °C in a vacuum environment. It was found that annealing the Ag–2Pd wire at 275 °C promoted the formation of a fully annealed structure with equiaxed grains. Annealing Ag–2Pd wire had a shorter heat affect zone (HAZ) length than those of conventional wire, and offered outstanding mechanical properties. A long-term electrical test found Ag₃(Pd)Al and Ag₂(Pd)Al compounds between the Ag–Pd ball and Al pad. These results confirmed the high-reliability properties of annealed Ag–2Pd wires for the wire bonding process.     

Microstructure, electric flame-off characteristics and tensile properties of silver bonding wires

Compared with gold wire, silver wire is cheaper and enjoys better electrical conductivity. These days copper wire is becoming more commonly used, but the reliability of its bonding still has problems in some pads. Since Ag wires have similar hardness and bonding properties to Au wires, they can be applied in some pads. In the present study, the annealing effect (at 225-275 °C for 30 min) on the tensile mechanical properties of silver wires with ? = 23 μm was investigated. In addition, the microstructural characteristics and the mechanical properties before and after an electric flame-off (EFO) process were also studied. Experimental results indicate that with annealing temperatures of more than 250 °C, the silver wires possessed a fully annealed structure, the tensile strength and the hardness decreased, and the elongation was raised significantly. Through recrystallization, the matrix structure transformed from long-thin grains to equiaxed grains. The microstructure of the free air ball (FAB) of the various annealed wires after an EFO process were column-like grains. The column-like grains grew from the heat-affected zone (HAZ) to the Ag ball. Under the thermal effect of EFO, the necks of the Ag balls underwent recrystallization and grain growth was induced, and the annealed Ag wires had a shorter zone of HAZ (220 μm). Additionally, the decreased hardness and the low strength of the HAZ resulted in the breakage sites of the EFO wires being in the HAZ near the Ag balls. The bonding strength and the neck-strength of the Ag wires were more than 7gf and possessed excellent bonding properties.     

Characterization of Co25Ag75 and (Co90Al10)28Ag72 granular films by electron diffraction,high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron spectroscopic imaging

Series of sputter-deposited Co25Ag75 and (Co90Al10)28Ag72 giant-magnetoresistance granular films were characterized by electron diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron spectroscopic imaging. Crystalline particles of fcc silver and hcp cobalt were detected in both thin-film systems before annealing. Annealing of (Co90Al10)28Ag72 films at 773 and 823 K yielded mixtures of fcc and hcp cobalt clusters and notably enlarged silver particles. In addition, crystallites of bcc Ag3Al were detected in the sample annealed at 823 K. The mesoscopic structure of the as-deposited films was investigated by dark-field imaging showing columnar growth-domains for silver. The columns were preserved during thermal treatment up to 773 K, whereas annealing at 823 K destroyed these domains.     

Comparison of Poly-Si Thin Films Prepared by Conventional Furnace Annealing and Pulsed Rapid Thermal Annealing

Amorphous silicon films prepared by PECVD on glass substrate were crystallized by conventional furnace annealing (FA) and rapid thermal annealing ( RTA),respectively. From the Raman spectra and scanning electronic microscope(SEM),it found that the thin films made by RTA had smooth and perfect structure,while the thin films annealed by FA had a higher degree of structural disorder.     

退火对BST薄膜光学特性影响的研究

利用射频磁控溅射在硅和石英基片上制备了Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3(BST)薄膜。并用气氛炉和快速晶化炉对其进行退火,比较了退火前后的XRD谱和光致发光光谱,结果表明,退火后,氧缺位减少,发光光谱在紫外区的峰位发生红移,在可见光区的峰位却发生蓝移,荧光峰半高宽变窄。同时,透射光谱表明,薄膜的禁带宽度变窄。     

CW laser annealing of boron implanted polycrystalline silicon

The electrical characteristics have been measured on CW laser annealed boron implanted polycrystalline silicon layers. It is shown, that a resistivity can be obtained, which is only about double that of a single crystalline layer doped to the same level. By appropriate choice of doping and laser annealing parameters, a temperature coefficient close to zero can be achieved. It is also shown that laser irradiation can be used to trim a furnace annealed polysilicon resistor to a desired resistance value.     

热处理升温快慢对非晶硅中形成的纳米硅粒尺寸的影响

含氢非晶硅薄膜经过快速热退火处理后,我们用拉曼散射和X-射线衍射技术对样品进行分析.我们的实验结果表明:在非晶硅薄膜中形成的纳米硅晶粒的大小随着热退火过程中升温快慢而变化.在升温过程中,当单位时间内温度变化量较大时（～100℃/s）,则所形成纳米硅粒较小（～1.6～15nm）;若单位时间内温度变化量较低（～1℃/s）,则纳米硅粒较大（～23～46nm）。根据分形生长理论和计算机模拟,我们讨论了升温快慢与所形成的纳米硅颗粒大小的关系.     

Optimization of physical properties of vacuum evaporated CdTe thin films with the application of thermal treatment for solar cells

This paper reports the optimization of physical properties of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin films with the application of thermal treatment. The films of thickness 650 nm were deposited on glass and indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates employing vacuum evaporation followed by thermal annealing in the temperature range 250–450 °C. The films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), source meter and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for structural, electrical and surface topographical properties respectively. The X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that films are polycrystalline with predominant zinc-blende structure having preferred reflection (111). The structural parameters are calculated and discussed in detail. The current–voltage characteristics show Ohmic behavior and the electrical conductivity is found to increase with annealing treatment. The AFM studies show that the surface roughness of films is observed to increase with annealing. The experimental results reveal that the thermal annealing plays an important role to enhance the physical properties of CdTe thin films and annealed films may be used as absorber layer in CdTe/CdS solar cells.     

The effect of Al electrodes on the nanostructure of poly(3-hexylthiophene): Fullerene solar cell blends during thermal annealing

The presence of Al electrodes on P3HT:PCBM blended thin films significantly modifies the structure of the films during thermal annealing processes used to produce organic photovoltaic cells. In the absence of an Al electrode, thermal annealing produces very thin (0.7 nm) P3HT layers with face-on molecular stacking near the surface of the film and vertically oriented rod-like P3HT crystals in the bulk region with edge-on molecular stacking. Thermal annealing in the presence of an Al electrode makes the preferred orientation of P3HT crystals in the films less prevalent, and Al diffuses into the organic films to form an intermediate layer. The absence of very thin P3HT layers and the less favorable P3HT orientation help to form interpenetrating networks in the organic layer, resulting in better device performance in the films annealed with Al electrodes.