Role of thermal annealing on SiGe thin films fabricated by PECVD

Amorphous Silicon Germanium (a-SiGe) thin films of 500 nm thickness are deposited on silicon substrates using Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD). To obtain polycrystalline nature of films, thermal annealing is done at various temperature (450–600 °C) and time (1–10 h). The surface morphology of the pre- and post-annealed films is investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The crystallographic structure of the film is obtained by X-ray diffraction method. Raman spectroscopy is carried out to quantify the Ge concentration and the degree of strain relaxation in the film. Nano-indentation is performed to obtain the mechanical properties of the film. It is found that annealing reduces the surface roughness of the film and increases the Ge concentration in the film. The grain size of the film increases with increase in annealing temperature. The grain size is found to decrease with increase in annealing time up to 5 h and then increased. The results show that 550 °C for 5 h is the critical annealing condition for variation of structural and mechanical properties of the film. Recrystallization starts at this condition and results in finer grains. An increase in hardness value of 7–8 GPa has been observed. Grain growth occurs above this critical annealing condition and degrades the mechanical properties of the film. The strain in the film is only relaxed to about 55% even for 10 h of annealing at 600 °C. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) observations show that the strain relaxation occurs by forming misfit dislocations and these dislocations are confined to the SiGe/Si interface.     

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。     

Investigation of post-thermal annealing on material properties of Cu-In-Zn-Se thin films

The Cu-In-Zn-Se thin film was synthesized by changing the contribution of In in chalcopyrite CuInSe2 with Zn.The XRD spectra of the films showed the characteristic diffraction peaks in a good agreement with the quaternary Cu-In-Zn-Se compound.They were in the polycrystalline nature without any post-thermal process,and the main orientation was found to be in the (112) direction with tetragonal crystalline structure.With increasing annealing temperature,the peak intensities in preferred orientation became more pronounced and grain sizes were in increasing behavior from 6.0 to 25.0 nm.The samples had almost the same atomic composition of Cu0.5In0.5ZnSe2.However,EDS results of the deposited films indicated that there was Se re-evaporation and/or segregation with the annealing in the structure of the film.According to the optical analysis,the transmittance values of the films increased with the annealing temperature.The absorption coefficient of the films was calculated as around 105 cm-1 in the visible region.Moreover,optical band gap values were found to be changing in between 2.12 and 2.28 eV depending on annealing temperature.The temperature-dependent dark-and photo-conductivity measurements were carried out to investigate the electrical characteristics of the films.     

Effects of microwave-assisted annealing on the morphology and electrical performance of semiconducting polymer thin films

Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on p-channel polymer semiconductors such as poly(3-hexyl)thiophene (P3HT) and 30-diketopyrrolopyrrole-selenophene vinylene selenophene (30-DPP-SVS) were fabricated using a microwave (MW) irradiation process for thermal annealing. The influence of MW annealing was investigated based on microstructural characterizations such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). MW annealing not only shortened the annealing time, but also produced enhanced device performance including higher on/off ratio, lower threshold voltage, and higher field-effect mobility in comparison with the traditional annealing method. These microstructural analyses revealed that annealing by MW irradiation enhances the crystallinity and molecular orientation in the polymer thin films in a short time, thereby improving the electrical performance effectively. Our results suggest that MW-assisted annealing is a simple and viable method for enhancing OFET performance.     

Surface-induced highly oriented perylo[1,12-b,c,d]selenophene thin films for high performance organic field-effect transistors

Epitaxial crystallization of perylo[1,12-b,c,d]selenophene (PESE) on highly oriented polyethylene (PE) substrate through vapor phase deposition has been achieved. Oriented PESE crystals with different crystalline morphologies can be fabricated by changing the temperature of PE substrate during vacuum evaporation. When the PE substrate temperature is lower than 70 °C, sparsely dispersed PESE lathlike crystals are produced with their long axis preferentially aligned perpendicular to the chain direction of PE crystals. While the close films of PESE with lathlike crystals aligned with long axis parallel to the chain direction of PE film were obtained above 90 °C. Transistors based on expitaxially crystallized PESE films have been fabricated and the transistor properties were also studied. It is found that transistors show different electrical characteristics depending on the preparation conditions of expitaxially crystallized PESE films. The transistors based on the PESE/PE-SiO₂/Si with PESE deposited on oriented PE film at low temperature, i.e., <70 °C, display a similar poor properties with the PESE/OTS-SiO₂/Si type transistors. However, when the deposition temperature was elevated to 90 °C, the transistors exhibit a maximum field-effect mobility of 4.4 × 10⁻² cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and maximum on/off ratio of 2.0 × 10⁵, which are about 2 orders of magnitudes higher than the PESE/OTS-SiO₂/Si based transistors.     

Effects of gate dielectric surface modification on phototransistors with polymer-blended benzothieno[2,3-b]benzothiophene semiconductor thin films

In the present work, we investigated effects of the dielectric/semiconductor interface modification on the photoelectrical properties of phototransistors comprising a UV responsive semiconductor blend 2,7-dipentyl-[1]benzothieno[2,3-b][1]benzothiophene (C5-BTBT) and a linear unsaturated polyester (L-upe). Using various self-assembly monolayers with different end-groups at the dielectric/semiconductor interface we modulated the drain photocurrent and response times under the UV light illumination of phototransistors. Treatment of the SiO₂ dielectric surface with organosilanes led to the variation of the max mobility in the dark 0.10–0.18 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and under UV light 0.08–0.50 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. Interestingly, detailed crystal structure analysis using 2D X-ray diffraction and photoelectrical characterization revealed that mobility in the dark predominantly depends on the alignment of C5-BTBT crystallites at the interface. Under UV light, the mobility increased with the electron withdrawing/donating nature of the SAM end-functional group. Additionally, chemical modification of the SiO₂ dielectric surface increased photocurrent relaxation/decay times upon UV light removal while retaining fast response times when exposed to UV light, which enhanced memory properties of fabricated phototransistors (fast UV response = writing and long relaxation = long data storage).     

Stable growth of large-area single crystalline thin films from an organic semiconductor/polymer blend solution for high-mobility organic field-effect transistors

We developed an effective and steady solution-processing technique for a small molecule–type semiconductor, C₁₀–DNBDT–NW, by adding an amorphous PMMA polymer to produce stable growth of a two-dimensional large-area single-crystalline thin film by effective phase separation at a crucially faster processing speed compared to the case without the addition of a polymer. By using this solution-processing technique, it is noteworthy that the single-crystalline films of C₁₀–DNBDT–NW/PMMA exhibit the highest and average mobilities of 17 and 10.6 cm²/Vs, respectively. Furthermore, we also show the limitations of two-dimensional continuous growth of a single-crystalline film in terms of the solution technique.     

Effect of thermal annealing on structural and optical properties of titanyl phthalocyanine thin films

Thin films of titanyl phthalocyanine (TiOPc) have been deposited on both fused quartz and glass substrates by the thermal evaporation technique. The structural and optical properties of the as-deposited and annealed films have been reported. The structural features of the as-deposited and annealed films have been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) technique. The optical constants (refractive index, n, and absorption index, k) of the films have been presented for the first time in the wavelength range 200–2500 nm by using spectrophotometric measurements at nearly normal incidence. The band gaps of the as-deposited film at 1.48 eV and 2.5 eV corresponding to Q-band and B or Soret band were red-shifted to 1.15 eV and 2.19 eV, respectively, when the film annealed at 433 K.     

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。     

退火温度对WO3薄膜结构及气敏性能的影响

采用直流磁控溅射法制备了WO3薄膜,并在350~550℃时对薄膜进行退火处理,研究了退火温度对薄膜结构及气敏性能的影响。结果表明:退火前及350℃退火后的薄膜为非晶态,450℃和550℃退火后的薄膜为WO3–x型晶态;随退火温度的提高,薄膜厚度增加,晶粒度增大。550℃退火后薄膜的厚度,较450℃退火后薄膜厚30nm,晶粒度相差8nm;450℃和550℃退火后的薄膜,在150℃时对体积分数为0.05%的NO2的灵敏度接近于22。     

退火温度对AZO薄膜场发射性能的影响

以纯度为99.95%、Al₂O₃为2wt.%的 ZnO-Al₂O₃金属氧化物为溅射靶材,采用射频(RF)磁控溅射的方法,在玻璃衬 底上制备Al掺杂ZnO(AZO)薄膜,研究其场发射特性和导电性能,并分析了不同的退火温度 对AZO薄膜的形貌、导 电及场发射性能的影响。采用原子力显微镜(AFM)及X射线衍射(XRD)对AZO薄膜表面 形貌与结晶特性 进行测试的结果表明,随着退火温度的升高,AZO薄膜的表面粗糙度随之增大,AZO薄膜的结 晶度变好;场发射 性能研究的结果表明,AZO薄膜的开启电场随着退火温度增加呈先减小后增大的趋势,当 退火温度为300℃时, AZO薄膜样品粗糙度最大,场发射性能最好,开启场强为2.8V/μm, 发光均匀性较好,亮度达到650cd/m²,导电 性能最好,电阻率为5.42×10－4 Ω·cm。     

Thermal stability of organic transistors with short channel length on ultrathin foils

We demonstrate an effective design for fabrication of short channel organic transistors (<3 μm channel length) on ultrathin 1 μm thick substrates that exhibit excellent thermal stability. For short channel transistors, we demonstrate durability up to 170 °C, with a theoretical cutoff frequency above 100 kHz, and stable performance in cyclic heating tests up to 120 °C. We fabricate inverter circuits to investigate their behavior upon heating and show that inverter gain can be improved by 150%. Device performance and topology changes were systematically analyzed after annealing steps to gain better understanding on the mechanism behind the performance change. This report on the thermal stability of short channel transistors on ultrathin films shows good durability at elevated temperatures and paves the way for high frequency imperceptible electronics.     

Influence of thermal annealing on electrical and optical properties of indium tin oxide thin films

Transparent conducting indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films with the thickness of 300 nm were deposited on quartz substrates via electron beam evaporation, and five of them post-annealed in air atmosphere for 10 min at five selected temperature points from 200 °C to 600 °C, respectively. An UV–vis spectrophotometer and Hall measurement system were adopted to characterize the ITO thin films. Influence of thermal annealing in air atmosphere on electrical and optical properties was investigated in detail. The sheet resistance reached the minimum of 6.67 Ω/sq after annealed at 300 °C. It increased dramatically at even higher annealing temperature. The mean transmittance over the range from 400 nm to 800 nm reached the maximum of 89.03% after annealed at 400 °C, and the figure of merit reached the maximum of 17.79 (Unit: 10⁻³ Ω⁻¹) under the same annealing condition. With the annealing temperature increased from 400 °C to 600 °C, the variations of transmittance were negligible, but the figure of merit decreased significantly due to the deterioration of electrical conductivity. With increasing the annealing temperature, the absorption edge shifted towards longer wavelength. It could be explained on the basis of Burstein–Moss shift. The values of optical band gap varied in the range of 3.866–4.392 eV.     

低压高温退火对Ag掺杂ZnO薄膜性质的影响

采用电子束蒸发在n-Si(100)衬底上沉积Ag掺ZnO(ZnO:Ag)薄膜,随后在200 Pa的O<,2>气氛下分别在500、600、700和800℃退火4 h.用X射线衍射(XRD)仪、荧光光谱仪以及Van der Pauw方法测量ZnO:Ag薄膜的结构和光电学性质.结果表明,ZnO:Ag薄膜为多晶结构,且随着退火...     

Polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors fabricated in various solid phase crystallized films deposited on glass substrates

In this work, we have characterized various types of polysilicon films, crystallized upon thermal annealing from films deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition in the amorphous phase and a mixed phase using silane or in the amorphous phase using disilane. Polysilicon thin film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated, at low processing temperatures, in these three types of films on high strain point Corning Code 1734 and 1735 glass substrates. Double layer films, with the bottom layer deposited in a mixed phase and the top in the amorphous phase, allowed TFT fabrication at a drastically reduced thermal budget; optimum values of thicknesses and deposition rates of the layers are reported for reducing the crystallization time and improving film quality. Optimum deposition conditions for TFT fabrication were also obtained for films deposited using disilane. The grain size distribution for all types of films was shown to be wider for a larger grain size. Fabricated TFTs exhibited field effect electron mobility values in the range of 20 to 50 cm²/V·s, subthreshold swings of about 0.5–1.5 V/dec and threshold voltage values of 2–4 V.     

WZO薄膜生长及氧流量对其特性的影响

采用直流脉冲反应磁控溅射方法生长W掺杂ZnO(ZnO:W,即WZO)透明导电氧化物(TCO)薄膜并研究了氧气流量对薄膜微观结构、组分、表面形貌以及光电性能的影响。实验结果表明,WZO薄膜具有良好的(002)晶面择优取向生长,且适当的氧气流量是制备优质WZO薄膜的关键因素。WZO薄膜表面形貌受薄膜结晶质量的影响。当氧气流量为2.08×10-7 m3/s时,WZO薄膜在400～1 500nm透过率达到84.5%,电阻率为4.61×10-3Ω.cm,迁移率为20.5cm2v-1s-1。XPS测试表明WZO薄膜中Zn和W均处于氧化态,其中W元素呈现W6+价态。     

Enhanced infrared transmission of GZO film by rapid thermal annealing for Si thin film solar cells

Ga doped ZnO (GZO) films prepared by sputtering at room temperature were rapid thermal annealed (RTA) at elevated temperatures. With increasing annealing temperature up to 570°C, film transmission enhanced significantly over wide spectral range especially in infrared region. Hall effect measurements revealed that carrier density decreased from ∼8 × 10²⁰ to ∼ 3 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ while carrier mobility increased from ∼15 to ∼28 cm²/Vs after the annealing, and consequently low film resistivity was preserved. Hydrogenated microcrystalline Si (µc‐Si:H) and microcrystalline Si_1‐xGe_x (µc‐Si_1‐xGe_x:H, x = 0.1) thin film solar cells fabricated on textured RTA‐treated GZO substrates demonstrated strong enhancement in short‐circuit current density due to improved spectral response, exhibiting quite high conversion efficiencies of 9.5% and 8.2% for µc‐Si:H and µc‐Si_0.9Ge_0.1:H solar cells, respectively. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Anisotropic charge-carrier mobilities of liquid crystalline conjugated polymers on photo-aligned PVCN dielectric insulators

We fabricated organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with photo-reactive poly(vinylcinnamate) (PVCN) as a dielectric layer and liquid crystalline poly(2,5-bis(3-dodecylthiophene-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PBTTT) as a semiconducting layer. The PVCN layer plays an important role in the fabrication of OTFTs with solution processable PBTTT, because it provides orientation of the liquid crystalline polymer chains as well as gate insulating characteristics. The electrical properties of PBTTT-OTFTs with the UV-cured PVCN film were investigated for the films prepared with linearly polarized ultraviolet light irradiation along parallel and perpendicular to the electrode channel direction.     

退火温度对ZnS/PS薄膜的晶体结构和光电性质的影响

用脉冲激光沉积法(PLD)在多孔硅(PS)衬底上生长ZnS薄膜,分别在300℃、400℃和500℃下真空退火。用X射线衍射(XRD)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)研究了退火对ZnS薄膜的晶体结构和表面形貌的影响,并测量了ZnS/PS复合体系的光致发光(PL)谱和异质结的I-V特性曲线。研究表明,ZnS薄膜仅在28.5°附近存在着(111)方向的高度取向生长,由此判断薄膜是单晶立方结构的-βZnS。随着退火温度的升高,-βZnS的(111)衍射峰强度逐渐增大,且ZnS薄膜表面变得更加均匀致密,说明高温退火可以有效地促进晶粒的结合并改善结晶质量。ZnS/PS复合体系的PL谱中,随着退火温度升高,ZnS薄膜的自激活发光强度增大,而PS的发光强度减小,说明退火处理更有利于ZnS薄膜的发光。根据三基色叠加的原理,ZnS的蓝、绿光与PS的红光相叠加,ZnS/PS体系可以发射出较强的白光。但过高的退火温度会影响整个ZnS/PS体系的白光发射。ZnS/PS异质结的I-V特性曲线呈现出整流特性,且随着退火温度的升高其正向电流增加。     

微晶硅薄膜微结构对稳定性的影响

实验研究了不同晶化率的微晶硅（μc-Si）薄膜的光衰退现象,提出了制备高稳定性硅薄膜太阳电池材料选取方案。研究结果表明,μc-Si中的非晶硅（a-Si）组分是导致光衰退的主要原因,晶化率越高,材料越稳定;过渡区靠近μc-Si材料区域的μc-Si材料,由于具有更好的稳定性和光敏特性,适于制备μc-Si太阳能电池;过渡区附...