Characterization on pulsed laser deposited nanocrystalline ZnO thin films

Nanocrystalline zinc oxide thin films were deposited on glass and silicon substrates by using pulsed laser deposition at different laser energy densities (1.5, 2, and 3 J/cm²). The film thickness, surface roughness, composition, optical and structural properties of the deposited films were studied using an α-step surface profilometer, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), optical transmittance, and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The film thickness was calculated as 244 nm. AFM analysis shows that the root-mean-square roughness increases with increasing laser energy density. XPS analysis shows that the interaction of zinc with oxygen atoms is greatly increased at high laser energy density. In the optical transmittance spectra, a shift of the absorption edge towards higher wavelength region confirms that the optical band gap increases with an increase in laser energy density. The particle size of the deposited films was measured by XRD, it is found to be in the range from 7.87 to 11.81 nm. It reveals that the particle size increases with an increase in laser energy density.     

Substrate biasing effects on the microstructure of magnetron-sputtered AlN films investigated by in situ reflectance interferometry

In situ reflectance interferometry (RI) at 400 nm wavelength was used to investigate the effect of the substrate negative bias on the microstructure of aluminium nitride (AlN) films deposited at room temperature on Si substrates by magnetron sputtering. Their surface reflectance recorded during film deposition promptly yields real-time information on the microstructures developed under oxygen contamination and bias change. Specifically, the refractive index n and the extinction coefficient k are deduced from reflectance using appropriate multilayer optical models and validated by spectroscopic ellipsometry. These optical constants correlate appreciably with the microstructure that evolves between columnar-crystallized and purely amorphous phases including in-between amorphous states containing dispersed nano-AlN grains. These microstructures were identified using ex situ energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and diffraction, X-ray diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. The simple and cost-effective in situ RI thus appears a powerful tool in controlling the microstructures of thin AlN films for desired applications.     

A novel approach for codoping in ZnO by AlN

In the present work, we have illustrated a new idea of codoping in ZnO with AlN as codopant to achieve p-ZnO. ZnO films doped with different concentrations of AlN were grown by RF magnetron sputtering. The AlN doped ZnO (ANZO) films grown on sapphire substrate were subjected to X-ray diffraction (XRD), reflectance measurements, Hall measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. XRD analysis reveals that all films have grown in the form of hexagonal wurtzite structure with (002) preferential orientation. The FWHM of (002) peak decreases till 1 mol% of AlN and increases for further addition of AlN indicating the incorporation of more impurities (dopants). The reflectance measurements suggest that the reflectance decreases at lower concentration and increases above 1 mol% of AlN in the visible region ranging from 400 to 800 nm. Hall measurements show that all the films are n-type. The electron concentration increases initially and then decreases for further addition of AlN (>1 mol%) suggesting the incorporation of nitrogen into the film at higher concentrations of AlN. The presence of N in the films is further confirmed by EDS analysis. The rms surface roughness measured by AFM decreases exponentially with dopant concentration. The figure of merit increases upon codoping with AlN.     

Epitaxial growth of anatase TiO2 thin films on LaAlO3(100) prepared using pulsed laser deposition

Titanium dioxide thin films were grown on a lattice-matched LaAlO₃(100) surfaces using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in oxygen atmosphere. The films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The crystal structure of all the films was anatase. Preferred oriented films with a c-axis normal to the substrate surface were obtained. RHEED analysis also revealed that the films had the preferential in-plane orientation, demonstrating that anatase films were epitaxially grown on the substrate. The flatness of the films depended on their growth conditions and thickness.     

Characteristics of organic-inorganic hybrid plasma polymer thin films for low-κ ILD applications

This study investigated the effects of plasma power and tetraethylorthosilane (TEOS) to cyclohexene ratios on low-κ organic-inorganic hybrid plasma polymer thin films deposited on silicon (100) substrates. These films were deposited using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method, in addition to the electrical and mechanical properties of the resulting composites. Cyclohexene and TEOS were used as organic and inorganic precursors, respectively, with hydrogen and argon as precursor bubbler gases. Furthermore, additional argon was used as a carrier gas. The as-grown polymerized thin films were analyzed using ellipsometry, Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The ellipsometry results showed the thickness of the hybrid thin film, and the FT-IR spectra showed that the hybrid polymer thin films were completely fragmented and polymerized between cyclohexene and TEOS. AFM results showed that polymer films with a smooth surface could be grown under various deposition conditions, while TEM and XRD showed that the hybrid thin film was an amorphous plasma polymer thin film without porosity. In addition, current-voltage (C-V) curves were prepared to calculate the dielectric constants. Post-annealing was applied to investigate the thermal stability of hybrid plasma polymer thin films in the hardness, Young's modulus, thermal shrinkage, and the dielectric constant at 400 °C.     

Growth of a-b-axis orientation ZnO films with zinc vacancies by SSCVD

Zinc oxide (ZnO) films were grown on silicon (1 0 0) substrates by single-source chemical vapor deposition (SSCVD). X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that ZnO thin films have a polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure with (1 0 0) and (1 0 1) orientation, i.e., a-b-axis orientation. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) showed the films to be of relatively high density with a smooth surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that the deposited films were very close to stoichiometry but contained a small number of zinc instead of O vacancies as normally found with ZnO films produced by other methods. These results were also confirmed by photoluminescence (PL) measurements.     

A parametric study of AlN thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

High quality AlN thin films were grown at 200–450°C on sapphire substrates by laser ablation of Al targets in nitrogen reactive atmosphere. The nitrogen pressure was varied between 10⁻³ and 10⁻¹ mbar. The reactive gas pressure during irradiation and the temperature of the substrate were found to essentially influence the quality of the layers. X-ray diffraction analysis evidenced the formation of highly orientated layers for a very restrictive set of parameters. Other analysis techniques, like X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, optical transmission spectroscopy have been used to evidence the good stoichiometry and purity of the films. The characteristics of these films were compared with those of AlN thin films deposited in similar experimental conditions, on Si (100) and Si (111) substrates.     

Investigation of ZnO films on Si<111> substrate grown by low energy O+ assisted pulse laser deposited technology

Zinc oxide thin films (ZnO) with different thickness were prepared on Si (111) substrates using low energy O⁺ assisted pulse laser deposition (PLD). The structural and morphological properties of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, respectively. The quality of ZnO films was also examined by using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy/ion channeling (RBS/C) techniques. XRD showed that there was only one sharp diffraction peak at 2θ = 34.3° with the full width at the half maximum (FWHM) of around 0.34° for two ZnO samples, which also indicated that ZnO thin films had a good c-axis preferred orientation. Results of Rutherford backscattering and ion channeling clearly indicated that the Zn:O ratio in zinc oxide thin film approached to unity and the ZnO thin film grown by low energy O⁺ assisted pulse laser deposition had a polycrystalline structure. In the case of ZnO film fabricated by low energy O⁺ assisted pulse laser deposited under identical experimental conditions except growth time, AFM analysis has shown that the root mean square (RMS) roughness (2.37 nm) of thinner ZnO film (35 nm) was far below that (13.45 nm) of the thicker ZnO film (72 nm).     

Si(100)衬底上PLD法制备高取向度AlN薄膜

采用脉冲激光沉积法(PLD),以KrF准分子为脉冲激光源,Si(100)为衬底,同时引 入缓冲层TiN和Ti_0.8Al_0.2N,制备了结晶质量优异的A1N薄膜,X射线衍射(XRD)及反射 式高能电子衍射(RHEED)分析表明A1N薄膜呈(001)取向、二维层状生长.研究发现,薄膜 的生长模式依赖于缓冲层种类,直接在Si衬底上或MgO／Si衬底上的A1N薄膜呈三维岛状生 长;而同时引入缓冲层TiN和Ti_0.8Al_0.2N时,A1N薄膜呈二维层状生长.此外,激光能量密 度大小对A1N薄膜的结晶性有显著的影响,激光能量密度过大,薄膜表面粗糙,有颗粒状沉积 物生成.在氮气气氛中沉积,能使薄膜的取向由(001)改变为(100).     

The As-prepared surfaces of C-axis-oriented Nd1Ba2Cu3Oy thin films characterized using scanning probe microscopes

Recently, superconducting Nd₁Ba₂Cu₃O_y (Ndl23) thin films with high superconducting transition temperature (T _c) have been successfully fabricated at our institute employing the standard laser ablation method. In this paper, we report the results of surface characterization of the Nd123 thin films using an ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscope/spectroscopy (UHV-STM/STS) and an atomic force microscope (AFM) system operated in air. Clear spiral pattern is observed on the surfaces of Nd123 thin films by STM and AFM, suggesting that films are formed by two-dimensional island growth mode. Contour plots of the spirals show that the step heights of the spirals are not always the integer or half-integer number of thec-axis parameter of the structure. This implies that the surface natural termination layer of the films may not be unique. This result is supported byI-V STS measurements. The surface morphology of the Nd123 thin films is compared with that of thec-axis-oriented Y₁Ba₂Cu₃S_y thin films. Surface atomic images of the as-prepared Nd123 thin films are obtained employing both STM and AFM. STS measurements show that most of the surfaces are semiconductive. The results of STS measurements together with the fact that we are able to see the surface atomic images using scanning probe microscopes suggest that exposure to air does not cause serious degradation to the as-prepared surfaces of Nd123 thin films.     

Nanocrystallisation of TiO2 induced by dense electronic excitation

Amorphous thin films of TiO₂ grown by pulsed laser deposition and thermal evaporation method are irradiated by swift heavy ions. Nanocrystallisation is induced by dense electronic excitation in films grown by both the methods. The surface morphology is studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Hillocks-like nanostructures emerge on the surface of irradiated films. Glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD) and Raman spectroscopy are carried out for phase identification. Optical characterisation is done by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. Increase in bandgap after irradiation indicates quantum confinement of nanoparticles. Mechanism behind amorphous to nanocrystalline phase transition is discussed.     

Microstructure and magnetic properties of zinc ferrite thin films produced by pulsed laser deposition

Zinc ferrite thin films were deposited from a target of zinc ferrite onto a MgO substrate using XeCl excimer laser operating at 308 nm and frequency of 30 Hz. The crystallographic characterizations of the films were performed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Microstructure, surface morphology, chemical composition and grain size, as well as surface roughness were obtained from scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The magnetic properties of the thin films were studied in the temperature range 5–300 K and in fields of up to 5 T using SQUID magnetometry. Data on temperature and field dependence of magnetization provide a strong evidence for superparamagnetism. Paper presented at 8 AGM of MRSI, BARC, Mumbai, 1997.     

Deposition and characterization of reactive magnetron sputtered aluminum nitride thin films for film bulk acoustic wave resonator

This work studies the relationship between the deposition process parameters and the properties of sputtered c-axis-oriented aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films. AlN films were deposited on a Pt electrode by reactive magnetron sputtering under various deposition conditions. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). A polycrystalline AlN film with highly c-axis-preferred orientation was achieved. The XRD rocking curve was 2.7°. The FESEM photographs also show that the AlN film has a dense hexagonal surface texture with uniform grain size and a highly ordered column structure.     

Topographical, compositional and schottky characterization of PtSi/Si schottky diodes

PtSi ultra-thin films were grown on Si-wafer using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). As determined from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), the compositional structures of the PtSi were discussed. Furthermore, the surface structure of these films was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). A possible growth mechanism is presented, on studying the variation of morphological features (i.e., roughness and size of crystallites) with annealing temperature and films thickness. In addition, by the AFM studies and schottky characterization measurements of PtSi films forming during various annealing processing, preferable preparing conditions are proposed to form the continuous and smooth PtSi thin film on Si substrate by PLD.     

Influence of incidence angle and distance on the structure of aluminium nitride films prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering

Aluminum nitride (AlN) films were reactively deposited on (100) oriented silicon substrates by reactive radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering for different incidence angles and distances between substrate and target.X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to consider the influence of process parameters such as reactive gas flow rate, grazing incidence angle (α), and distance (d) between substrate and target surface on the property of AlN films. XRD results showed that AlN film prepared at a constant distance (d) of 3 cm and an incidence angle of 45° revealed a mixture of AlN (002), (100), and (101) planes, while the film prepared at α = 0° revealed a strong AlN (002) orientation which has a perpendicular growth direction to the substrate surface. AFM results showed that AlN film prepared at α = 0° exhibited more flat surface morphology than that of film prepared at α = 45°.     

Growth of cubic and hexagonal CdTe thin films by pulsed laser deposition

The paper reports the growth of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin films by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using excimer laser (KrF, λ=248 nm, 10 Hz) on corning 7059 glass and SnO₂-coated glass (SnO₂/glass) substrates at different substrate temperatures (T_s) and at different laser energy pulses. Single crystal target CdTe was used for deposition of thin films. With 30 min deposition time, 1.8- to ∼3-μm-thick films were obtained up to 200 °C substrate temperature. However, the film re-evaporates from the substrate surface at temperatures >275 °C. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows an average grain size ∼0.3 μm. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the formation of CdTe cubic phase at all pulse energies except at 200 mJ. At 200 mJ laser energy, the films show hexagonal phase. Optical properties of CdTe were also investigated and the band gap of CdTe films were found as 1.54 eV for hexagonal phase and ∼1.6 eV for cubic phase.     

Optimization of the annealing process and nanoscale piezoelectric properties of (002) AlN thin films

In this paper, the effects of different annealing processes on the texture, surface morphology, and piezoelectric properties of aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films and the performance of AlN-based surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices were systematically investigated. Based on the crystallinity and the morphology results, it is evident that in-situ annealing method is superior to ex-situ annealing. For the AlN thin films, the crystallization and piezoelectricity were both enhanced and then receded as the annealing temperature increased from 300 to 600?°C. We demonstrated that good (002) orientation, excellent grain distribution and high relative piezoelectric coefficient of the AlN thin films were achieved via in-situ annealing at 500?°C. Meanwhile, the AlN thin films exhibited excellent polarization properties and polarization maintaining characteristics. Additionally, the uniform interdigital transducer (IDT) with 8 μm period (finger width?=?2 μm) were designed and the IDT/AlN/SiO₂/Si SAW devices with the center frequency f ₀ of 495 MHz and insert loss of ?24.1 dB were fabricated.     

A study of titanium thin films in transmission laser micro-joining of titanium-coated glass to polyimide

Electron beam evaporation (EB-PVD) and cathodic arc physical vapor deposition (CA-PVD) techniques were used for the preparation of titanium (Ti) thin films onto Pyrex borosilicate 7740 glass wafers and the deposited films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. The microstructure and surface morphology of the films were studied as a function of the film deposition techniques. Film properties such as, adherence, microstructure and roughness were interconnected to the laser joint strength between Ti coated glass wafers and polyimide films. Ti thin films on glass had a natural oxide layer on the surface as found from XPS. AFM study showed the formation of a uniform Ti coating consisted of packed crystallites with average size of 35 nm by EB-PVD. The root-mean-square surface roughness of the films was 1-2 nm. Whereas, films prepared by CA-PVD had crystallites with an average size of 120 nm and defects in the form of macro-particles which is a common attribute of this deposition system. The surface roughness of the film was 125 nm. The laser joint strength was found to be influenced by the Ti film quality on the glass substrate.     

Microstructural and transport properties of LaNiO3−δ films grown on Si (111) by chemical solution deposition

Electrically conductive LaNiO_3−δ (LNO) thin films with typical thickness of 200 nm were deposited on Si (111) substrates by a chemical solution deposition method and heat-treated in air at 700 °C. Structural, morphological, and electrical properties of the LNO thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM), and electrical resistivity ρ(T). The thin films have a very flat surface and no droplet was found on their surfaces. The average grain size observed by AFM and FEG-SEM was approximately 100 nm in excellent agreement with XRD data. The ρ(T) data showed that these thin films display a good metallic character in a large range of temperature. These results suggest the use of this conductive layer as electrode in the integration of microelectronic devices.     

Modulation of the structural and optical properties of sputtering-derived HfO2 films by deposition power

High-k gate dielectric HfO₂ thin films have been deposited on Si and quartz substrate by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The structural and optical properties of HfO₂ thin films related to deposition power are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Results confirmed by XRD have shown that the as-deposited HfO₂ thin films are not amorphous state but in monoclinic phase, regardless of deposition power. Analysis from FTIR indicates that an interfacial layer has been formed between the Si substrate and the HfO₂ thin film during deposition. AFM measurements illustrate that the root mean square (RMS) of the as-deposited HfO₂ thin films’ surface demonstrates an apparent reduction with the increase of deposition. Combined with UV–Vis and SE measurements, it can be noted reduction in band gap with an increase in power has been observed. Additionally, increase in refractive index (n) has been confirmed by SE.