Carbon ions irradiation induced modifications in structural and electrical resistivity characteristics of ZrN thin films

Zirconium nitride (ZrN) thin films are irradiated with 800 keV energetic carbon (C) ions in a 5UDH-Pelletron accelerator and the ions irradiation induced effects are investigated. The films are irradiated at various C ions fluences, ranging from 10¹³ to 10¹⁵ ions/cm². The scanning electron microscopy study of the films indicates the development of zirconium (Zr) nanoparticles at ions irradiated region. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of C ions irradiated films also show the formation of (100) and (002) oriented nanocrystalline metallic Zr phases. The irradiated films spectra depict a shift in ZrN peaks towards higher 2θ values, exhibiting that C ions bombardment induces compressive stress in the irradiated films. The appearance of C related peaks in Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra confirms the incorporation of C atoms into ZrN film. Compressive stress has been calculated from the IR peak shift which indicates that higher ion dose (≥5×10¹⁴ ions/cm²) produce lower compressive stress relative to the lower ions fluences. Effect of ion dose on the film resistivity is also reported.     

Low temperature dopant activation of BF2 implanted silicon

Boron activation and carrier mobility were measured after low temperature furnace heat treatments, in silicon layers implanted with BF ₂ ⁺ ions at 60 keV and at fluence in the 1 − 5 × 10¹⁵ ions cm⁻² range. These quantities were correlated with boron and fluorine chemical depth profiles obtained with secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and with the lattice defects revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). High dopant activation, well above the extrapolated boron solid solubility, was found for all the fluences investigated after a thermal treatment of 20 min at 600‡ C. In the high fluence implanted samples, the solid phase epitaxial regrowth of the amorphous layer induces a severe fluorine redistribution which causes the formation of a defective band at the sample surface containing microtwins and small precipitates; a decrease in both the activated dopant concentration and carrier mobility was found in this region. The comparison with dopant activation data obtained in samples diffused at higher temperature (from 900 to 1000‡ C) shows that twins are electrically active only when they are decorated by isolated impurities and/or in presence of very small precipitates.     

The role of electronic energy loss in SHI irradiated Ni/oxide/n-GaP Schottky diode

The impact of energy loss mechanism by 100 MeV Au^8 + ion on the dielectric parameters of Ni/oxide/n-GaP Schottky diode was studied under different fluences. The Schottky barrier height, donor ion concentration and interface states density of the diode were varied considerably under different ion fluence. The various dielectric parameters were altered significantly by the ion fluence. The reduction in dielectric constant after irradiation was ascribed to screening of space charge polarization due to reduction in interface states density. The relaxation peak of imaginary electric modulus indicates hopping type conduction mechanisms in the intermediate voltage range. The sensitive behavior of dielectric parameters with fluence dose was attributed to the alteration of interface state density due to high electronic energy loss of 100 MeV Au^8 + ions at the interface.     

Optical and electrical properties of 4H-SiC irradiated with Xe ions

Structures with aluminum-ion-implanted p ⁺-n junctions formed in 26-μm-thick chemicalvapor-deposited-epitaxial 4H-SiC layers with an uncompensated donor concentration N _d ?N _a = (1–3) × 10¹⁵ cm^?3 are irradiated with 167-MeV Xe ions at fluences of 4 × 10⁹ to 1 × 10¹¹ cm^?2 and temperatures of 25 and 500°C. Then as-grown and irradiated structures are thermally annealed at a temperature of 500°C for 30 min. The as-grown, irradiated, and annealed samples are analyzed by means of cathodoluminescence, including the cross-sectional local cathodoluminescence technique, and electrical methods. According to the experimental data, radiation defects penetrate to a depth in excess of several tens of times the range of Xe ions. Irradiation of the structures at 500°C is accompanied by “dynamic annealing” of some low-temperature radiation defects, which increases the radiation resource of 4H-SiC devices operating at elevated temperatures.     

2 MeV ion irradiation effects on AlGaN/GaN HFET devices

AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors (HFETs) were irradiated with 2 MeV protons, carbon, oxygen, iron and krypton ions with fluences ranging from 1 × 10⁹ cm^?2 to 1 × 10¹³ cm^?2. DC, pulsed I–V characteristics, loadpull and S-parameters of the AlGaN HFET devices were measured before and after irradiation. In parallel, a thick GaN reference layer was also irradiated with the same ions and was characterized by X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, Hall measurements before and after irradiation. Small changes in the device performance were observed after irradiation with carbon and oxygen at a fluence of 5 × 10¹⁰ cm^?2. Remarkable changes in device characteristics were seen at a fluence of 1 × 10¹² cm^?2 for carbon, oxygen, iron and krypton irradiation. Similarly, remarkable changes were also observed in the GaN layer for irradiations with fluence of 1 × 10¹² cm^?2. The results found on devices and on the GaN layer were compared and correlated.     

Control of Ga doping level in β-FeSi2 using Sn–Ga solvent

We have grown n- and p-type β-FeSi₂ single crystals by the temperature gradient solution growth method using Sn–Ga solvent. The conduction type and the carrier density of the crystals were controlled by the Ga composition in the Sn–Ga solvent. The conduction type was changed from n- to p-type between the Ga composition of 10.2 and 18.5 at% in the solvent. Depending on the Ga composition in the solvent, the carrier density of n- and p-type crystals was changed from 1.5×10¹⁷ to 3×10¹⁷ cm⁻³ and 4×10¹⁷ to 2×10¹⁹ cm⁻³, respectively. The activation energies of n-type crystals were 0.09–0.11 eV while that of p-type crystals were 0.02–0.03 eV.     

Tellurium-rich growth and laser fabrication of lead-tin-telluride (Pb1−xSnxTe: 0.06<x<0.08)

Single crystals of Pb_1−x Sn_x Te (0.06<x<0.08) have been grown by using an ingot-nucleation technique from a Te-rich source. The as-grown crystals have a p-type carrier concentration around 10¹⁹ cm⁻³ and dislocation density as low as 10³ cm⁻². Diode lasers fabricated from these crystals have contact resistances of 2×10⁻⁵ Ω-cm² and a single-mode single-ended output power of 750 μW at heat sink temperatures around 15 K.     

Proton irradiation of CdTe thin film photovoltaics deposited on cerium‐doped space glass

Space photovoltaics is dominated by multi‐junction (III‐V) technology. However, emerging applications will require solar arrays with high specific power (kW/kg), flexibility in stowage and deployment, and a significantly lower cost than the current III‐V technology offers. This research demonstrates direct deposition of thin film CdTe onto the radiation‐hard cover glass that is normally laminated to any solar cell deployed in space. Four CdTe samples, with 9 defined contact device areas of 0.25 cm², were irradiated with protons of 0.5‐MeV energy and varying fluences. At the lowest fluence, 1 × 10¹² cm⁻², the relative efficiency of the solar cells was 95%. Increasing the proton fluence to 1 × 10¹³ cm⁻² and then 1 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻² decreased the solar cell efficiency to 82% and 4%, respectively. At the fluence of 1 × 10¹³ cm⁻², carrier concentration was reduced by an order of magnitude. Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS) modelling obtained a good fit from a reduction in shallow acceptor concentration with no change in the deep trap defect concentration. The more highly irradiated devices resulted in a buried junction characteristic of the external quantum efficiency, indicating further deterioration of the acceptor doping. This is explained by compensation from interstitial H⁺ formed by the proton absorption. An anneal of the 1 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻² fluence devices gave an efficiency increase from 4% to 73% of the pre‐irradiated levels, indicating that the compensation was reversible. CdTe with its rapid recovery through annealing demonstrates a radiation hardness to protons that is far superior to conventional multi‐junction III‐V solar cells.     

Optimization of electric properties of high-k zirconium dioxide by varying deposition and annealing conditions

ZrO₂ thin films with a smooth surface were synthesized on silicon by atomic vapor deposition™ using Zr[OC(CH₃)₃]₄ as precursor. The maximum growth rate (7 nm min⁻¹) and strongest crystalline phase were obtained at 400 °C. The increase of the deposition temperature reduced the deposition rate to 0.5 nm min⁻¹ and changed the crystalline ZrO₂ phase from cubic/tetragonal to monoclinic. These films showed no enhancement of the dominating monoclinic phase by annealing. The values of the dielectric constant (up to 32) and leakage current density (down to 1.2×10⁻⁶ A cm⁻² at 1×10⁶ V cm⁻¹) varied depending on the deposition temperature and film thickness. The midgap density of interface states was N_it=5×10¹¹ eV⁻¹ cm⁻². The leakage current and the density of interface states were lowered by the annealing to 10⁻⁷ A cm⁻² at 1×10⁶ V cm⁻¹ and to 10¹⁰ eV⁻¹ cm⁻², respectively. However, this also led to a decrease of the dielectric constant.     

High fluence 1.8 MeV proton irradiation effects on n-type MOS capacitors

MOS capacitors with 7 nm SiO₂ dielectrics and n-doped Si substrate were irradiated by 1.8 MeV protons with fluences ranging from 10¹² to 5 × 10¹³ cm^?2 which correspond to the typical LHC fluence range. No significant increase in gate oxide leakage current was detected. A decrease of the capacitance was observed in the accumulation regime. This effect is explained by an increase of the substrate resistivity caused by displacement damage.     

Investigations on the annealing behavior of high-energy carbon irradiated Au/n-GaAs Schottky barrier diodes

Au Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) have been irradiated using high-energy carbon ion fluences of 1×10¹¹, 1×10¹² and 1×10¹³ cm⁻². Current–voltage characteristics of unirradiated and irradiated diodes have been analyzed. The change in reverse leakage current increases with increasing ion fluence due to the irradiation-induced defects at the interface. The diodes were annealed at 523 and 623 K to study the effect of annealing. The rectifying behavior of the irradiated SBDs improves at 523 K. But at 623 K, the diode behavior deteriorates irrespective of the fluences. Better enhancement in the barrier height and also improvement in the ideality factor of the diodes has been observed at the annealing temperature of 523 K. Scanning Electron Microscopic analysis was carried out on the irradiated samples to delineate the projected range of the defects by high-energy carbon ion irradiation.     

Deep level transient spectroscopy study of electron-irradiated CuInSe<Subscript>2</Subscript> thin films

Irradiation of high-energy (2-MeV and 3-MeV) electrons on single-crystalline n-CuInSe₂ films has been investigated. From Hall-effect measurements of the film, the carrier density and mobility were decreased by increasing the electron fluence above 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻². In both as-grown and electron-irradiated CuInSe₂ films, the deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) peak, indicating electron trap, was found at around 180 K. However, Arrhenius plots of the observed DLTS peaks in as-grown and electron-irradiated films showed different behavior, suggesting the presence of electron traps introduced by high-energy electron irradiation.     

Kinetics of the accumulation of radiation defects during the high-dose electron irradiation of Pb1−x SnxSe alloys

The kinetics of the variation of the electron concentration in electron-irradiated (T≈300 K, E=6 MeV, Φ⩽7.1×10¹⁷ cm⁻²) n-Pb_1−x Sn_xSe (x=0.2 and 0.25) alloys in the vicinity of the metal-insulator transition induced by electron irradiation are investigated. The principal parameters of the energy spectrum of the irradiated alloys are determined by comparing the experimental and theoretical dependences of the electron concentration on fluence. It is shown that agreement between the theoretical and experimental data is possible only under the assumption that the defect production rate decreases with increasing fluence, and a model, within which the main defect formation mechanism in the alloys investigated is the formation of complexes of primary radiation defects with structural defects typical of the as-grown crystals, is proposed. Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 32, 1409–1413 (December 1998)     

Electrically active defects induced by hydrogen and helium implantations in Ge

Results of a study of electrically active defects induced in Sb-doped Ge crystals by implantations of hydrogen and helium ions (protons and alpha particles) with energies in the range from 500 keV to 1 MeV and doses in the range 1×10¹⁰–1×10¹⁴ cm⁻² are presented in this work. Transformations of the defects upon post-implantation isochronal anneals in the temperature range 50–350 °C have also been studied. The results have been obtained by means of capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements and deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS).It was found from an analysis of DLTS spectra that low doses (<5×10¹⁰ cm⁻²) of H and He ion implantations resulted in the introduction of damage similar to that observed after MeV electron irradiation. The Sb–vacancy complex was the dominant deep-level defect in the lightly implanted samples. After implantations with doses higher than 5×10¹⁰ cm⁻² peaks due to more complex defects were observed in the DLTS spectra. Implantations with heavy (5×10¹³ cm⁻²) doses of both H and He ions caused the formation of a sub-surface layer with a high (up to 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻³) concentration of donors. These donors were eliminated by anneals at temperatures in the range 100–200 °C. Heat treatments of the heavy proton-implanted Ge samples in the temperature range 250–300 °C resulted in the formation of shallow hydrogen-related donors, the concentration of which was the highest in a region close to the projected depth of implanted protons. The maximum peak concentration of the H-related donors was higher than 1×10¹⁵ cm⁻³ for a proton implantation dose of 1×10¹⁴ cm⁻².     

Amorphous structures of buried oxide in SiC-on-insulator

A buried amorphous layer in high-dose oxygen ion-implanted silicon carbide (SiC) has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Single crystalline (0001)-oriented 6H-SiC wafers were irradiated with 180 keV oxygen ions at 650°C to a fluence of 1.4 ×10¹⁸/cm². A fully amorphous SiO₂ layer was formed insido the irradiated crystal, while the surrounded 6H-SiC exhibited minimal damage. This SiO₂ layer included self-bonded carbon atoms and showed a layered structure due to compositional variations of silicon, carbon, and oxygen.     

Tailoring the structural and optical characteristics of InGaN/GaN multilayer thin films by 12 MeV Si ions irradiations

In this study, the influence of Si ions irradiations (12 MeV energetic) on structural and optical characteristics of InGaN/GaN thin film has been investigated. Irradiation was performed at different Si ions fluences in the range of 1×10¹³ to 1×10¹⁵ ions/cm². X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of pristine film indicates only the (0 0 2) oriented crystallites of InGaN while the irradiated films patterns showed other phases (InN and GaN) as well. Ion irradiations at different dose rates have shown no or negligible effect on grain size of InGaN except a shift in the peak position which demonstrates the development of tensile stresses. The existence of other phases in the irradiated films patterns is the indication of InGaN phase separation. Defects produced due to irradiation were also confirmed from peak shifting and appearance of new peak at 669 cm⁻¹ in Raman spectra. A decrease in optical bandgap with the increase of ion irradiation dose rate is being reported in this work.     

Interface effect in pentacene field-effect transistors from high energy proton beam irradiation

We report the effect of irradiation using 10 MeV high energy proton beams on pentacene organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). The electrical characteristics of the pentacene OFETs were measured before and after proton beam irradiation with fluence (dose) conditions of 10¹², 10¹³, and 10¹⁴ cm⁻². After proton beam irradiation with fluences of 10¹² or 10¹³ cm⁻², the threshold voltage of the OFET devices shifted to the positive gate voltage direction with an increase in the current level and mobility. In contrast, for a high proton beam fluence condition of 10¹⁴ cm⁻², the threshold voltage shifted to the negative gate voltage direction with a decrease in the current level and mobility. It is evident from the electrical characteristics of the pentacene OFETs treated with a self-assembled monolayer that these experimental observations can be attributed to the trapped charges in the dielectric layer and pentacene/SiO₂ interface. Our study will enhance the understanding of the influence of high energy particles on organic field-effect transistors.     

Investigation of strontium tantalate thin films for high-k gate dielectric applications

Strontium tantalate (STO) films were grown by liquid-delivery (LD) metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) using Sr[Ta(OEt)₅(OC₂H₄OMe)]₂ as precursor. The deposition of the films was investigated in dependence on process conditions, such as substrate temperature, pressure, and concentration of the precursor. The growth rate varied from 4 to 300 nm/h and the highest rates were observed at the higher process temperature, pressure, and concentration of the precursor. The films were annealed at temperatures ranging from 600 to 1000 °C. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and ellipsometry indicated that the as-deposited and the annealed films were uniform and amorphous and a thin (>2 nm) SiO₂ interlayer was found. Crystallization took place at temperatures of about 1000 °C. Annealing at moderate temperatures was found to improve the electrical characteristics despite different film thickness (effective dielectric constant up to 40, the leakage current up to 6×10⁻⁸ A/cm², and lowest midgap density value of 8×10¹⁰ eV⁻¹ cm⁻²) and did not change the uniformity of the STO films, while annealing at higher temperatures (1000 °C) created voids in the film and enhanced the SiO₂ interlayer thickness, which made the electrical properties worse. Thus, annealing temperatures of about 800 °C resulted in an optimum of the electrical properties of the STO films for gate dielectric applications.     

Excimer laser-induced damage in bilayer carbide/polyimide systems

The effect of XeCl (308 nm, 20 and 75 ns) excimer laser ablation of 30–40 nm thick carbide layers (TiC, Cr₃C₂, B₄C) deposited on 2000 nm polyimide in the laser fluence range 10–1300 mJ cm⁻² has been investigated. The surface modification in the ablated spot areas has been observed. At fluences of 100–250 mJ cm⁻², complete removal of the carbide layers was achieved without damage to the bottom polyimide layer. Ablation at fluences above 250 mJ cm⁻² caused interface damage and a different polyimide behaviour under RIE in oxygen. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two Layer Surface Exfoliation on Si3N4/Si by Sequential Implantation of He and H Ions

n-Type Si(100) wafers with a thermally grown Si₃N₄ layer (∼170 nm) were sequentially implanted with 160 keV He ions at a dose of 5 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻² and 110 keV H ions at a dose of 1 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻². Depending on the annealing temperature, surface exfoliations of two layers were observed by optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The first layer exfoliation was found to correspond to the top Si₃N₄ layer, which was produced at lower annealing temperatures. The other was ascribed to the implanted Si layer, which was formed at higher temperatures. The possible exfoliation processes are tentatively discussed, and potential applications of such phenomena are also suggested.