Electrical conduction in MIM sandwich structures with Al2O3 insulating layers

Electrical conduction in the Al/Al₂O₃/Al system was investigated. The conduction properties of this system are very interesting both from the viewpoint of fundamental investigations and the actual needs of modern technology. This work is related to the possibility of introducing in microelectronic circuits thin film amplifying elements which operate by the tunnel effect.     

Effects of Y2O3 addition on microwave dielectric characteristics of Al2O3 ceramics

Microwave dielectric characteristics of alumina ceramics with yttria addition were investigated. The sintering temperature was lowered, and the dielectric constant (ε_r) did not remarkably change by adding yttria. The microwave dielectric loss (tan δ) increased from 8.4 × 10^− 5 to 2.2 × 10^− 4, due to the presence of Al₅Y₃O₁₂ secondary phase. The grain size had significant effects on the dielectric loss, and there was an optimum grain size where the dielectric loss reached the minimum.     

La2O3对热压烧结Al2O3性能的影响

以高纯的α-Al2O3为原料,以MgO、La2O3为烧结助剂,采用热压烧结工艺制备Al2O3。用阿基米德法、SEM、XRD等研究了材料的烧结性能、显微结构和相组成;用三点弯曲法测试材料的力学性能,用阻抗仪和氦质谱检漏仪分别测试试样的介电性能和气密性。结果表明：在1500℃烧结制备的材料晶粒细小,平均晶粒尺寸小于1μm,...     

Microstructure and electrical properties of Al2O3-ZrO2 composite films for gate dielectric applications

Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ composite films were fabricated on Si by ultrahigh vacuum electron-beam coevaporation. The crystallization temperature, surface morphology, structural characteristics and electrical properties of the annealed films are investigated. Our results indicate that the amorphous and mixed structure is maintained up to an annealing temperature of 900 °C, which is much higher than that of pure ZrO₂ film, and the interfacial oxide layer thickness does not increase after annealing at 900 °C. However, a portion of the Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ film becomes polycrystalline after 1000 °C annealing and interfacial broadening is observed. Possible explanations are given to explain our observations. A dielectric constant of 20.1 is calculated from the 900 °C-annealed ZrO₂-Al₂O₃ film based on high-frequency capacitance-voltage measurements. This dielectric characteristic shows an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) as low as 1.94 nm. An extremely low leakage current density of ∼2×10⁻⁷ A/cm² at a gate voltage of 1 V and low interface state density are also observed in the dielectric film.     

Ti/Al2O3复合材料制备及其力学性能

利用放电等离子烧结(SPS)制备了性能优异的40%(体积分数)Ti/Al2O3复合材料,其弯曲强度、断裂韧性、显微硬度和相对密度分别为897.29MPa、17.38MPa·m1/2、17.13GPa和99.24%.SEM和HREM对复合材料的微观结构分析发现,晶粒细化、位错环强化等是材料强度提高的主要原因;裂纹的偏转和桥联是材料韧性提高的关键所在.     

Mechanomaking of Fe/Al2O3 and FeCr/Al2O3 nanocomposites powders fabrication

Nanocomposite powders (Fe or Fe-Cr alloy)/-Al₂O₃ (75 and 85 vol.%) were obtained by room-temperature high-energy milling powder mixtures of hematite (and chromium oxide) with aluminum and alumina in a high-capacity mill for 8-10 h. The composition of iron and iron alloys was followed by Mössbauer spectroscopy, while the appearance of other phases was revealed by X-ray diffraction. The powder particles produced are assemblies of grains (10–20 nm in size) with a wide size distribution (from well below 1 μm up to several hundreds) and low porosity (fully dense particles). Both the metallic and ceramic phases have crystallite sizes below 15 nm for all the compositions investigated. Nano-nano type ceramic nanocomposites were, therefore, obtained.     

Luminescent and structural properties of Yb-doped Al2O3 nanopowders

In this work, we discuss structural and luminescent properties of Al₂O₃ nanopowders doped with Yb³⁺ ions prepared by a novel method, in which organic compounds were used as a solvent and lanthanide organic derivatives, served as a rare-earth ion source. The set of samples differing in activator concentrations and particle sizes was carefully studied by means of structural and optical characterization methods. In particular, the high resolution electron and transmission microscopy has been deployed together with X-ray diffraction technique to determine fundamental structural properties of nanopowders. The optical characterization was focused mainly on basic excitation and emission features and their sensitiveness on dopant concentration and the average nanoparticle size.     

High-temperature tensile properties of Mg/Al2O3 nanocomposite

Mg/1.1Al₂O₃ nanocomposite was synthesized using solidification process called disintegrated melt deposition technique followed by hot extrusion. Microstructural characterization showed that reasonably uniform distribution of reinforcement leads to significant grain refinement of commercially pure magnesium matrix and effectively restricted the grain growth during high-temperature tensile test. Physical properties characterization revealed that addition of nano-Al₂O₃ particulates as reinforcement improves the dimensional stability of pure magnesium. Mechanical properties characterization revealed that the presence of thermally stable nano-Al₂O₃ particulates as reinforcement leads to a significant increase in room temperature microhardness, dynamic elastic modulus, 0.2% yield strength, UTS and ductility of pure magnesium and efficiently maintained the strengthening effect up to 150 °C. Fractography revealed that fracture behavior of magnesium matrix change from brittle to mixed ductile mode with activation of non-basal slip system in room temperature to complete ductile mode at high temperature due to the presence of nano-Al₂O₃ particulates.     

Effect of Al2O3 particle size on vacuum breakdown behavior of Al2O3/Cu composite

In order to clarify the effect of Al₂O₃ particle size on the arc erosion behavior of the ceramic-reinforced Al₂O₃/Cu composite, Al₂O₃/Cu composites with different sizes of Al₂O₃ particles were prepared by powder metallurgy, the effect of Al₂O₃ particle size on the characteristics of arc motion was studied, and the mechanism of arc erosion of Al₂O₃/Cu composites was discussed as well. The results show that with decrease in the size of Al₂O₃ particles, the erosion area increases significantly and the erosion pits become shallower. The vacuum breakdown is preferred to appear in the area between Al₂O₃ particle and the copper matrix. Based on the experimental results and theoretical analysis, a particle partition arc model is proposed.     

Surface and catalytic properties of MoO3/Al2O3 system doped with Co3O4

Thermal solid-solid interactions in cobalt treated MoO₃/Al₂O₃ system were investigated using X-ray powder diffraction. The solids were prepared by wet impregnation method using Al(OH)₃, ammonium molybdate and cobalt nitrate solutions, drying at 100 °C then calcination at 300, 500, 750 and 1000 °C. The amount of MoO₃, was fixed at 16.67 mol% and those of cobalt oxide were varied between 2.04 and 14.29 mol% Co₃O₄. Surface and catalytic properties of various solid samples precalcined at 300 and 500 °C were studied using nitrogen adsorption at −196 °C, conversion of isopropanol at 200-500 °C and decomposition of H₂O₂ at 30-50 °C.The results obtained revealed that pure mixed solids precalcined at 300 °C consisted of AlOOH and MoO₃ phases. Cobalt oxide-doped samples calcined at the same temperature consisted also of AlOOH, MoO₃ and CoMoO₄ compounds. The rise in calcination temperature to 500 °C resulted in complete conversion of AlOOH into very poorly crystalline γ-Al₂O₃. The further increase in precalcination temperature to 750 °C led to the formation of Al₂(MoO₄)₃, κ-Al₂O₃ besides CoMoO₄ and un-reacted portion of Co₃O₄ in the samples rich in cobalt oxide. Pure MoO₃/Al₂O₃ preheated at 1000 °C composed of MoO₃-αAl₂O₃ solid solution (acquired grey colour). The doped samples consisted of the same solid solution together with CoMoO₄ and CoAl₂O₄ compounds.The increase in calcination temperature of pure and variously doped solids from 300 to 500 °C increased their specific surface areas and total pore volume which suffered a drastic decrease upon heating at 750 °C. Doping the investigated system with small amounts of cobalt oxide (2.04 and 4 mol%) followed by heating at 300 and 500 °C increased its catalytic activity in H₂O₂ decomposition. This increase, measured at 300 °C, attained 25.4- and 12.9-fold for the solids precalcined at 300 and 500 °C, respectively. The increase in the amount of dopant added above this limit decreased the catalytic activity which remained bigger than those of un-treated catalysts. On the other hand, the doping process decreased the catalytic activity of treated solids in isopropanol conversion especially the catalysts precalcined at 300 °C. This treatment modified the selectivities of treated solids towards dehydration and dehydrogenation of reacted alcohol.The activation energies of H₂O₂ decomposition were determined for pure and variously doped solids. The results obtained were discussed in light of induced changes in chemical composition and surface properties of the investigated system due to doping with cobalt oxide.     

Structural properties of Al2O3-La2O3 binary oxides prepared by sol-gel

The structural properties of La₂O₃ and Al₂O₃-La₂O₃ binary oxides prepared by sol-gel were studied by XRD, HRTEM and UV-vis. The binary oxides with high lanthana contents show an amorphous structure after calcination at 650 °C. At calcination temperatures higher than 1000 °C there is a phase transformation from the amorphous state to the crystalline LaAlO₃ with a perovskite structure. The structure of La₂O₃ is consistent with the hexagonal system; however, some crystalline microdomains with a monoclinic structure were detected by HRTEM. Islands of La₂O₃ and LaAl₁₁O₁₈ phases were detected at high lanthana concentration in the binary oxide. The modification in the coordination shell of the Al³⁺ cations due to the interaction with La³⁺ cations confirms the formation of phases with a perovskite structure and the presence of islands of the LaAl₁₁O₁₈ phase.     

Using a slit doser to probe gas dynamics during Al2O3 atomic layer deposition and to fabricate laterally graded Al2O3 layers

A special slit doser is used to form near unit steps in the spatial profile of an Al₂O₃ ALD film thickness. The unit step is formed as the Al₂O₃ ALD occurs mainly downstream from the slit doser because the trimethylaluminum and H₂O reactants are entrained in a viscous flow carrier gas. Spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements yielded thickness profiles of Al₂O₃ ALD on samples placed at different locations relative to the exit of the slit doser and the ALD growth zone. The effects of carrier gas flow rate, reactor pressure, and reactant dose and purge times on the Al₂O₃ ALD film profile provided details about the gas dynamics around the slit doser. Experimental indications of gas turbulence were observed at the exit of the slit doser. Lateral gradients in the Al₂O₃ ALD film thickness were also formed by linear translation of the sample relative to the slit doser during ALD. Lateral gradients of various desired pitches ranging from 119 Å/in to 444 Å/in were achieved as a result of accurate control of the Al₂O₃ ALD film thickness and small sample translation steps relative to the slit doser.     

Photo-injection of electrons from metal films into single-crystal Al2O3 layers

Photoemission from metal films into insulators has been confined in the past to experiments where the thickness of the insulating films was less than one micron. In this paper we report results of photo-injection of electrons from thin metallic films into single-crystal sapphire films of 10–20 mil thickness. Results are given for the interface barrier height between the metal electrode and the sapphire layer for several metals. The results of the study of the transport of these injected carriers in Al₂O₃ show a possible Poole-Frenkel type of transport through the insulator. Both transient and steady state transport data have been obtained as functions of the electric field in the insulator and the temperature. It is also shown that this structure with metal films on both sides of the insulator layer is a convenient tool for the study of transport properties of photo-injected electrons in both metal and insulating layers.     

Growth and optical properties of (Yb3−xYx)Al5O12:Ce single crystals

To improve the infrared emission of Yb³⁺ ions doped in the garnet host Y₃Al₅O₁₂ (YAG) single crystal through the energy transfer from Ce³⁺ to Yb³⁺ ions, the 〈1 1 1〉-oriented YAG:Ce³⁺, YAG:Yb³⁺, YAG:(Ce³⁺, Yb³⁺) and Yb₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce³⁺ (YbAG:Ce³⁺) single crystals were grown using the Czochralski Method, respectively. The excitation and emission spectra of these garnet single crystals were characterized. In YAG:Ce³⁺ crystal, the yellow emission of Ce³⁺ ions present, but it was completely extinguished in YAG:(Ce³⁺, Yb³⁺) crystal and YbAG:Ce³⁺ crystal. However, the characteristic absorption bands of Ce³⁺ still existed in the excitation spectrum of Yb³⁺ ions, which showed that the energy absorbed by Ce³⁺ ions can be transferred to Yb³⁺ ions for its infrared emission.     

Sintering and dielectric properties of 0.88Al2O3-0.12TiO2 microwave ceramics by glass addition

The microwave characteristics and the microstructures of 0.88Al₂O₃-0.12TiO₂ with various amounts of MgO-CaO-SiO₂-Al₂O₃ (MCAS) glass sintered at different temperatures have been investigated. The sintering temperature can be lowered to 1300 °C by the addition of MCAS glass. The densities, dielectric constants (ε_r) and quality values (Q×f) of the MCAS-added 0.88Al₂O₃-0.12TiO₂ ceramics decrease with the increase of MCAS glass content. The temperature coefficients of the resonant frequency (τ_f) are shifted to more negative values as the MCAS content or the sintering temperatures increase. The change of the crystalline phases of Al₂TiO₅ phase and rutile-TiO₂ phase has profound effects on the microwave dielectric properties of the MCAS-added Al₂O₃-TiO₂ ceramics. As sintered at 1250 °C, 0.88Al₂O₃-0.12TiO₂ ceramics with 2 wt.% MCAS glass addition exists a ε_r value of 8.63, a Q×f value of 9578 and a τ_f value of +5 ppm/°C.     

Mechanical properties and microstructure of Al2O3/TiAl in situ composites doped with Cr2O3

Al₂O₃/TiAl composites were successfully fabricated from powder mixtures of Ti, Al, TiO₂ and Cr₂O₃ by a hot-press-assisted exothermic dispersion method. The effect of the Cr₂O₃ addition on the microstructures and mechanical properties of Al₂O₃/TiAl composites was characterized, and the results showed that the Rockwell hardness, flexural strength and fracture toughness of the composites increased as the Cr₂O₃ content increased. When the Cr₂O₃ content was 2.5 wt%, the flexural strength and the fracture toughness attained peak values of 925 MPa and 8.55 MPa m^1/2, respectively. This improvement of mechanical properties was due to the more homogeneous and finer microstructure developed from the addition of Cr₂O₃ and an increase in the ratio of α₂-Ti₃Al to γ-TiAl matrix phases.     

Preparation and properties of nano-SiC strengthening Al2O3 composite ceramics

The processing and mechanical behaviors of Al₂O₃-xwt.%SiC (x = 1, 2, 5, ASx) nano-composites prepared by the in situ synthesis of SiC from polycarbosilane (PCS) were investigated. The composites were densified by hot pressing. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the sintered composites were analyzed. The results showed that a fully dense structure was obtained when a few nano-SiC were doped and that the fracture toughness and strength were highly improved compared with those of monolithic Al₂O₃. The fracture toughness reached 5.1 MPa m^1/2 in AS2 composite. The maximum flexural strength was 516 MPa obtained in AS1 composite.     

Dy掺杂BaTiO3陶瓷的制备及其介电性能

采用溶胶凝胶法制备了掺杂不同量Dy2O3(掺杂摩尔分数分别为0.001,0.002,0.003,0.005,0.007)的BaTiO3陶瓷,并对其介电性能的变化进行了研究.结果表明Dy2O3掺杂使BaTiO3陶瓷的电阻率明显降低,当添加量为0.005mol时,电阻率最小,为4.19×108Ω·m.Dy2O3掺杂使BaTiO3陶瓷的介电性能在不同掺杂量和不同频率下发生了明显变化,掺杂量为0.001mol、0.002mol时,BaTiO3陶瓷的介电特性和频率特性得到明显改善,在频率为1000Hz时介电性能相对较好.Dy2O3掺杂使BaTiO3陶瓷的介电温谱有所展宽,且Curie温度有所降低,交流电导随着温度的升高而增大,并在Curie点附近达到最高.     

Pentacene thin-film transistors and inverters with plasma-enhanced atomic-layer-deposited Al2O3 gate dielectric

The performances of pentacene thin-film transistor with plasma-enhanced atomic-layer-deposited (PEALD) 150 nm thick Al₂O₃ dielectric are reported. Saturation mobility of 0.38 cm²/V s, threshold voltage of 1 V, subthreshold swing of 0.6 V/decade, and on/off current ratio of about 10⁸ have been obtained. Both depletion and enhancement mode inverter have been realized with the change of treatment method of hexamethyldisilazane on PEALD Al₂O₃ gate dielectric. Full swing depletion mode inverter has been demonstrated at input voltages ranging from 5 V to − 5 V at supply voltage of − 5 V.     

Growth of Al2O3 thin film by oxidation of resistively evaporated Al on top of SnO2, and electrical properties of the heterojunction SnO2/Al2O3

Aiming for the investigation of insulating properties of aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) layers, as well as the combination of this oxide with tin dioxide (SnO₂) for application in transparent field effect transistors, Al thin films are deposited by resistive evaporation on top of SnO₂ thin films deposited by sol–gel dip-coating process. The oxidation of Al films to Al₂O₃ are carried out by thermal annealing at 500 °C in room conditions or oxygen atmosphere. X-ray diffraction data indicate that tetragonal Al₂O₃ is indeed obtained. A simple device and electric circuit is proposed to measure the insulating properties of aluminum oxide and the transport properties of SnO₂ as well. Results indicate a fair insulation when four layers or Al₂O₃ are grown on the tin dioxide film, concomitant with thermal annealing between each layer. The current magnitude through the insulating layer is only 0.2% of the current through the semiconductor film, even though the conductivity of the SnO₂ alone is not very high (the average resistivity is 2 Ω cm), because no doping is used. The presented results are a good indication that this combination may be useful for transparent devices.