Initial reaction mechanism of H-passivated Ge surface passivation by atomic layer deposition of Al2O3 and AlN

The authors investigated the surface passivation mechanisms of H-terminated Ge(100)(2 × 1) by atomic layer deposition of Al₂O₃, AlN through first-principles calculation method. The formation of initial Al₂O₃ and AlN passivation layer on Ge surface is investigated at atomic scale and the corresponding reaction pathways for both the reaction are also presented. The reaction barrier heights of H₂O and NH₃ half reaction are 0.53 eV/mol and 0.51 eV/mol higher than that of Al(CH₃)₃ half reaction, respectively which indicates that the overall passivation processes of the both reactions are limited by the second half reaction. Moreover, the chemisorption state and product state of the NH₃ half reaction are found to be in the same energy level, and it is possible that the second half reaction of AlN will be trapped in a chemisorption state.     

Metal/nonpolar <Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis>-plane ZnO contacts with and without thin Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> interlayer deposited by atomic layer deposition

Using the temperature dependent current–voltage (I–V) measurements, the electrical properties of Au/nonpolar m-plane ZnO Schottky diodes with an Al₂O₃ interlayer prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) was investigated. With an Al₂O₃ interlayer, it was found to have higher barrier heights and higher rectifying ratio. Modified Richardson plots produced effective Richardson constants of 30.0 and 37.6 Acm^?2K^?2 for the samples with and without Al₂O₃ interlayer, respectively, which are similar to the theoretical value of 32.0 Acm^??2K^??2 for n-ZnO. Scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) results showed that the oxygen-contained layer on ZnO surface degraded the film quality of subsequently deposited Al₂O₃ layer. In addition, the inter-diffusion of Au and Al atoms into ZnO subsurface region also modulated the electrical properties of Au/ZnO contacts.     

Improvement of brightness with Al2O3 passivation layers on the surface of InGaN/GaN-based light-emitting diode chips

In this study, sputtered 50, 70 and 90 nm thick Al₂O₃ thin films were evaluated as a passivation layer in the process of InGaN-based blue as LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes) in order to improve the brightness of LED lamps. For packaged LED lamps, lamps with Al₂O₃ passivation layer had higher brightness than ones with SiO₂ passivation layer, and LED lamps with 90-nm Al₂O₃ passivation layer were the brightest among four kinds of lamps. Although lamps with Al₂O₃ passivation layer had a bias voltage 0.25 V at 20 mA forward current higher the lamps built with SiO₂ passivation layer, their brightness was improved about 13.6% higher than the conventional LEDs with no change in emitting wavelength.     

The current–voltage characteristics of V2O5/n-Si Schottky diodes formed with different metals

In this work, we reported the effect of different metal contacts on performance of metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS)-structured Schottky diodes formed with the vanadium pentoxide thin film (V₂O₅) interfacial layer. V₂O₅ thin films were deposited by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering on n-type silicon (n-Si) and Corning glass (CG) substrates at room temperature. Then, the obtained films were annealed at 300 °C and 500 °C. The effects of annealing temperature on physical properties of the films were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, UV–Vis spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. The MOS-structured Al/V₂O₅/n-Si, Ti/V₂O₅/n-Si and Au/V₂O₅/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) performance was analyzed with I–V measurements at room temperature. The Schottky diodes were compared with each other according to three methods (Classic, Norde and Cheung). The experimental results indicated that the Schottky diode produced with Al contact had better performance than the others.

     

Novel silicon surface passivation by porous silicon combined with an ultrathin Al2O3 film

We report on a dual passivation approach of monocrystalline-silicon (c-Si), which combines porous silicon (PS) treatment and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of Al₂O₃ ultrathin layer. Al₂O₃ ultrathin films were deposited, under an oxygen background pressure of 10 mTorr. In this work we demonstrate that the dual treatment Al₂O₃/PS provide excellent passivation quality of c-Si surfaces. Surface passivation and reflectivity properties are investigated before and after heat treatment at 700 °C. The level of surface passivation is quantified using photoconductance and Fourier-transform infra-red absorption techniques. X-ray diffraction analysis suggested that the heat treatment leads to an average crystallite size decrease which help the diffusion of the Al₂O₃ NPs along the wafer surface. As a result, the effective minority carrier lifetime increases from 2 to 7 μs. Our results demonstrate that this dual treatment not only provides strong passivation of the c-Si substrate but decreases also the total surface reflectivity at 500 nm (from 28 % for untreated c-Si samples to ～7 % for Al₂O₃/PS treated ones).     

Electrical, optical and surface properties of P2S5/(NH4)2Sx+ Se-treated doped-channel field-effect transistors with double etch-stop layers

This work describes doped-channel field-effect transistors (DCFETs), featuring both low-high doped-channels and double AlAs etch-stop layers used in a selective etch recessed-gate process. A developed highly selective wet etching process is applied as a gate-recess technique to fabricate DCFETs. Selective wet etching using citric acid/H₂O₂/NH₄OH/H₂O solutions in conjunction with double thin AlAs etch-stop layers is a reasonably simple, safe, and reliable process for gate recessing in the fabrication of the DCFETs herein. Surface passivation using P₂S₅/(NH₄)₂S_x+ Se on GaAs Schottky barrier diodes, formed by Pt/Au contacts, is examined for the first time and the results are compared with those of unpassivated devices. For the passivated Pt/Au gate device, the two-terminal gate-drain breakdown (source floating) at − 1 mA/mm is 17 V, and the device provides an excellent combination of transconductance and output current. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and photoluminescence results are highly consistent with the Schottky barrier measurements and the device performance.     

Electrical characterization of 4H–SiC Schottky diodes with a RuO2 and a RuWO x Schottky contacts

Two types of Schottky diodes were prepared on n-type silicon carbide (4H–SiC) substrates by deposition of ruthenium oxide (RuO₂) Schottky contacts or ruthenium tungsten oxide (RuWO _x ) Schottky contacts. The RuO₂/4H–SiC and RuWO _x /4H–SiC Schottky barrier diodes were examined first by current–voltage (I-V) measurements, which confirmed symmetry of the I-V characteristics. The ideality factor (n) is rather high (～1.28/～1.15) at the temperature 300 K, the current of saturation is I _S ～10 pA/～7 pA and the Schottky barrier height is ～1.13 eV/～1.11 eV. After this diagnostic step, the samples were analysed by C-V and standard DLTS methods in the temperature range from 83 K to 450 K. In measured DLTS spectra were identified five deep levels ET1–ET5 (0.27, 0.45, 0.56, 0.58 and 0.85 eV) in RuO₂/4H–SiC Schottky barrier diodes and three deep levels E1–E3 (0.36, 0.38 and 0.69 eV) in RuWO _x /4H–SiC Schottky barrier diodes.     

Structural,morphological and optoelectronic properties of porous silicon combined alumina coating film deposited by PLD

Pulsed laser deposition of Al₂O₃ onto porous silicon (PS) is shown to provide excellent passivation of multi-crystalline silicon surfaces intended for solar cells applications. Surface passivation and reflectivity are investigated before and after the deposition of various nominal thicknesses of Al₂O₃ ranging from isolated nanoparticles to ~80 nm-thick films. The level of surface passivation is determined by techniques based on photoconductance and FTIR. As a result, the effective minority carrier lifetime increase from 1 to 130 μs at a minority carrier density (Δn) of 1?×?10¹³ cm^?3. However, passivation scheme provide a significant decrease in the reflectivity; it’s reduced from 28% to about 5% after Al₂O₃/PS coating.     

Improvement of yield strength of LM24 alloy

In this study, Al₂O₃ particles were employed to improve the microstructure of LM24 and therefore, to increase the yield strength and tensile strength of this kind of alloy. In situ Al₂O₃ particles were obtained by direct reaction between oxygen and Al melt at 750–800 °C. Microstructure examination shows that the size of in situ formed Al₂O₃ particles was about 1–2 μm, and interestingly, with addition of in situ Al₂O₃ particles, the coarse primary Si phase was disappeared completely. More important, the yield strength and the tensile strength of Al₂O₃/LM24 are increased by 52 MPa, 16 MPa than that of LM24 alloy with 0.1% Sb addition. The value of 181 MPa and 315 MPa is for yield strength and tensile strength of Al₂O₃/LM24 respectively. Besides, the yield strength and tensile strength are 180 MPa and 314 MPa respectively for Al₂O₃/LM24 alloy after remelting and casting. This verifies that the improvement of mechanical properties of such kind of material possesses stability and reliability.     

On the existence of a nanometric multilayered structure in Al2O3/Al thin films

Al₂O₃/Al films (period thickness Λ=20, 40 nm) were deposited onto (1 0 0) silicon substrate by reactive r.f. sputtering for substrate temperatures (T_s) ranging from −90 to 600 °C. Secondary ion mass spectrometry demonstrated the deposition of Al₂O₃/Al stratified thin films with the generation of periodic signals. X-ray reflectometry confirmed the periodicity with the presence of Bragg peaks in the experimental patterns. Nevertheless, the multilayered character of Al₂O₃/Al films is less and less pronounced as T_s increases. At low T_s, the relevant parameter to account for the absence of abrupt interfaces is the roughness of layers due to the aluminium layers, while at high T_s, the chemical interdiffusion clearly dominates.     

Influence of oxidant source on the property of atomic layer deposited Al2O3 on hydrogen-terminated Si substrate

Al₂O₃ thin films were deposited on hydrogen-terminated Si substrate using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique with tri-methylaluminum (TMA) and an oxidant source of H₂O vapor, O₂ plasma, or O₃. Substrate temperature was maintained at 350 °C when the Al₂O₃ films were grown with the oxidant sources of H₂O vapor and O₃, and with the oxidant source of O₂ plasma, Al₂O₃ films were deposited at the substrate temperature of 200 °C. Growth rates of Al₂O₃ films on HF-cleaned Si surface were saturated at 0.08, 0.14, and 0.06 nm/cycle for H₂O vapor, O₂ plasma, and O₃, respectively. Equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) and leakage current vs. physical thickness of atomic layer deposited Al₂O₃ films grown with various oxidant sources were also measured in this study. To investigate the main cause of different EOT with oxidant sources, interfacial properties were examined by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS). In the TEM analysis, interfacial layers with the thickness of about 1.7 and 1.3 nm were observed in as-deposited Al₂O₃ films grown using O₂ plasma and O₃. We confirmed that the interfacial layers were mainly composed of SiO_x in the XPS depth analysis. Using angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, effect of annealing on the interfacial structure of Al₂O₃ films grown with O₃ and O₂ plasma was also studied, and we found that after annealing, the peak corresponding to silicon suboxide and Al-silicate disappeared and fully oxidized Si⁴⁺ increased.     

Effect of leakage current and dielectric constant on single and double layer oxides in MOS structure

MOS structure of Al/Al₂O₃/n-Si, Al/TiO₂/n-Si and Al/Al₂O₃/TiO₂/n-Si was obtained by deposition of Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ on silicon substrate by RF Magnetron Sputtering system. The total thickness of the oxide layer ~ 40 ± 5 nm in the MOS structure was kept constant. Samples were characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Impedance analyzer and Current-voltage (J-V) characteristics. The variations in the dielectric constant and tan δ of the MOS capacitor in the frequency range of 1000Hz-1MHz were measured by impedance analyzer. The variation in dielectric constant of the Al/Al₂O₃/TiO₂/n-Si multilayer compared to single layer of Al/Al₂O₃/n-Si and Al/TiO₂/n-Si is due to high probability of defects, lattice mismatch and interface interactions. The steep rise of Tan δ values in the Al/Al₂O₃/TiO₂/n-Si structure is due to the resonance effect of both Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ layers. The leakage current mechanisms of MOS structures were extracted from Schottky coefficient and Poole-Frenkel coefficient. Theoretical values of Schottky coefficients (β_SC) and Poole-Frenkel coefficients (β_PF) for each sample were estimated using the real part of the dielectric constant. The experimental values were calculated from J-V characteristics and compared with theoretical values. The appropriate model has been proposed. It was found that Schottky and Poole-Frenkel mechanisms are applicable at low and high field respectively for all MOS structures. The combination of Al/Al₂O₃/TiO₂/n-Si is found to be a promising structure with high dielectric constant and low leakage current suitable for MOS devices.     

Barrier properties of Al2O3 and alucone coatings and nanolaminates on flexible biopolymer films

Thin atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al₂O₃ coatings are efficient barriers against gases and vapors. Al₂O₃ coatings are, however, brittle and straining them generates defects that impair barrier properties. Flexibility of ALD-grown Al₂O₃ coatings on biopolymer substrates can be improved by separating thinner Al₂O₃ layers with inorganic-organic alucone layers. The number and size of defects were smaller for these nanolaminates compared to the thick Al₂O₃ films after straining, and hence straining deteriorated the oxygen barrier properties less when applied to the laminates than when applied to the Al₂O₃ coatings.     

Monocrystalline silicon surface passivation by Al2O3/porous silicon combined treatment

In this paper, we report on the effect of Al₂O₃/porous silicon combined treatment on the surface passivation of monocrystalline silicon (c-Si). Al₂O₃ films with a thickness of 5, 20 and 80 nm are deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). It was demonstrated that Al₂O₃ coating is a very interesting low temperature solution for surface passivation. The level of surface passivation is determined by techniques based on photoconductance and FTIR. As a result, the effective minority carrier lifetime increase from 2 μs to 7 μs at a minority carrier density (Δn) of 1 × 10¹⁵ cm^?3 and the reflectivity reduce from 28% to about 7% after Al₂O₃/PS coating.     

Whiskers of Al2O3 as reinforcement of a powder metallurgical 6061 aluminium matrix composite

An Al-Mg-Si alloy matrix composite reinforced with 10 vol.% of alumina whiskers (Al₂O₃w) has been processed by powder metallurgy and investigated. The Al₂O₃w were produced as single crystal c-axis alpha-alumina fibres at pre-pilot scale via vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) deposition in a cold-wall air-tight furnace with alumina linings. As far as we know, this is the first report of the utilization of whiskers of Al₂O₃ as reinforcing elements for Al alloys. Tensile tests have been performed on the composite at room and high temperatures. Results show that the AA6061 alloy reinforced with the as-produced Al₂O₃ whiskers has remarkably high mechanical properties at room temperature. This is attributed to the high quality of the Al₂O₃ single crystals and to the strong bonding attained between them and the 6061 alloy matrix.     

Energetic electronic processes and negative resistance in amorphous TaTa2O5Au and AlAl2O3Au diodes

Voltage-controlled negative resistance (VCNR) can be established in metal-insulator-metal structures by applying a potential to the diode, which is usually in vacuum. Light emission due to electroluminescence (E.L.), and electron emission into vacuum, accompany the formation of conductivity; these energetic electronic phenomena are closely related to the “forming” of VCNR and to the resultant current-voltage characteristics. For Al₂O₃ diodes with impure oxides, VCNR forms at constant voltage, independent of oxide thickness; for clean oxides, forming depends on field and on the metal counterelectrode. The intensity and energy distribution of light emitted from TaTa₂O₅Au diodes have been measured, and are compared to E.L. from AlAl₂O₃Au diodes. The voltage threshold for the appearance of E.L. in TaTa₂O₅Au diodes is 1.2 V, for AlAl₂O₃Au it is 1.4 V. The respective voltages for maximum current, V_m, are 1.9 V and 2.8 V. In Al₂O₃, the E.L. spectrum covers the visible range with peaks at 1.8 eV, 2.3 eV, and 4.0 eV. For Ta₂O₅, the E.L. intensity is constant over most of the visible, but has a maximum between 1.6 eV and 1.8 eV which is also the energy of E.L. of TaTa₂O₅Au diodes before the establishment of VCNR. For both Al₂O₃ and Ta₂O₅ diodes, electron emission into vacuum is anomalous since emission is detectable at diode voltages of ∼2 V. Electron emission in the two insulators, though qualitatively similar, shows differences that depend on differences in trapping levels and band gaps of the insulators.     

Single-source chemical vapor deposition of clean oriented Al2O3 thin films

Clean oriented Al₂O₃ thin film with a dominant Al₂O₃ <1 1 3> plane was deposited on Si <1 0 0> substrate at 550 °C, by single-source chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using aluminium(III) diisopropylcarbamate, Al₂(O₂CNⁱPr₂)₆. This process represents a substantial reduction in typical CVD film growth temperatures which are typically > 1000 °C. Through the studies of thermal stability of this precursor, we propose a specific β-elimination decomposition pathway to account for the low temperature of the precursor decomposition at the substrate, and for the lack of carbon impurity byproducts in the resulting alumina films that are characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and depth profiling.     

磁控溅射Al掺杂Al2O3薄膜耐蚀性能研究

采用中频电源反应溅射在Si和SS304不锈钢表面制备两种不同成分的Al-O涂层,利用X射线衍射、扫描电镜、纳米压痕仪、电化学工作站和Cu装饰实验对涂层的结构及性能进行了分析。结果表明:室温下制备的涂层,掺Al后沉积速率是纯Al_2O_3的10倍,两种非晶涂层截面无明显的形貌特征,纯Al_2O_3涂层表面有微裂纹存在,掺杂Al的Al_2O_3涂层表现出更为优异的耐腐蚀性能,这与其表面的Al发生钝化氧化反应有关。     

Aluminum/nickel silicide contacts on silicon

The results of a study of the interaction occurring at elevated temperatures between nickel silicide contacts on n-type 〈111〉 silicon and a thin aluminum overlayer are presented. The electrical and structural characteristics of the Al-nickel silicide interaction were investigated using Schottky barrier diodes, Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. As-grown diodes were found to consist mainly of NiSi and the NiSi-Si interface exhibited a Schottky barrier energy φ_Bn of 0.62 eV. Upon heat treatment the NiSi layer was transformed to the intermetallic NiAl₃, and the barrier energy for the resulting NiAl₃-Si interface was found to be 0.76 eV. The electrical characteristics of the NiAl₃ layer were stable up to 500°C and no evidence of aluminum penetration into the silicon substrate was found.     

Charge transport mechanism and photovoltaic behaviour of undoped and I2 doped tris (1,10 phenanthroline) iron (II) complex (TPFe) thin film devices

Tris (1,10 phenanthroline) iron (II) or Fe (Phen)²⁺ ₃, a metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) type complex (TPFe), was employed in the form of thin films, for the fabrication of Schottky diodes, Al/ TPFe/ITO, where ITO is indium tin oxide. The effect of iodine doping on the electrical behaviour has been emphasized. The diodes exhibit a rectification effect which improves on iodine doping. The diodes can be classified as MIS Schottky diodes with a graded dopant profile. The current-voltage (J-V ), and capacitance-voltage (C-V ) characteristics, the photoaction spectra of the devices and the absorption spectra of the complex, reveal that both doped and undoped complexes behave as a p-type organic semiconductor which form a Schottky barrier with Al and an ohmic contact with ITO. Various electrical and photovoltaic parameters were determined from the detailed analysis of J-V and C-V characteristics and these are discussed in detail. The effect of I_{_2} doping on the rectification and photovoltaic properties is also discussed.