Low temperature preparation of piezoelectric thin films by ultraviolet-assisted rapid thermal processing

Ca- and La-modified lead titanate ferroelectric thin films were prepared by a sol–gel method from photosensitive solutions and with an ultraviolet (UV)-assisted rapid thermal processor, including an arrangement of excimer lamps. The diol-based route was used in the preparation of the precursor solutions, whose UV absorption and thermal decomposition were determined. Multiple deposition and crystallization steps of the deposited solution were used to promote preferential orientation.A comparative ferro and piezoelectric study of films prepared by conventional rapid thermal processing at 650°C and films prepared at 550°C with an intermediate step of UV irradiation at 250°C will be presented to assess the value of these films for their use in integrated piezoelectric sensors and microelectromechanical systems.Piezoelectric d₃₃ and e₃₁ coefficients were determined by double-beam laser interferometry and by the direct piezoelectric effect on cantilevers, respectively. The effect of the substrate and processing method on the preferential crystalline orientation of the films and the corresponding piezoelectric properties will be reported. The role of the composition will also be discussed.     

Thin polyoxide films grown by rapid thermal processing

The growth of thin (80-200 Å) oxide films by rapid thermal processing (RTP) on LPCVD poly and amorphous silicon is reported. Oxide growth kinetics are affected by dopant concentration, implant species, and preoxidation anneal conditions. Breakdown fields > 11 MV/ cm have been measured. Constant current stress measurements indicate a higher rate of negative charge trapping in oxides grown on top of polysilicon as compared to amorphous silicon.     

Formation of titanium silicide films by rapid thermal processing

Titanium silicide thin films, sputter deposited from a composite silicide target, have been rapidly sintered in ∼10 s to produce extremely uniform highly conductive layers (≲ Ω/sq plusmn; 1 percent over a 4-in wafer) with film stress comparable to furnace-annealed films. Such films are suitable for VLSI applications. In addition, silicide formation and activation of ion-implanted species in adjacent Si regions can be accomplished in the same rapid processing step without significant dopant redistribution.     

Metal-induced lateral crystallization of a-Si thin films by Ni-Co alloys and the electrical properties of poly-Si TFTs

We have introduced a new process in metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC). By adding Co to the Ni-MILC process, the electrical characteristics of MILC poly-Si TFTs were considerably improved. In particular, a considerable decrease of TFT leakage current were achieved in both n-type and p-type devices.     

Study on thermal solid-phase crystallization of amorphous ZnO thin films stacked on vanadium-doped ZnO films

Thermal solid-phase crystallization (SPC) of an amorphous ZnO film stacked on a vanadium-doped ZnO (VZO) film was investigated. ZnO films were deposited on 30-nm-thick amorphous VZO films on c-face sapphire substrates at room temperature by RF magnetron sputtering. Stacked film was subsequently calcined at 800 °C in a nitrogen atmosphere. ZnO film grew in an amorphous state up to about 150-nm thick on the amorphous VZO film, but self-orientation occurred in a thicker layer. Any secondary phase such as Zn₂VO₄ was not formed in the case of total film thickness (t_total) ≥100 nm. V concentration decreased by thermal diffusion of V through the ZnO layer from the VZO film, and thereby the formation of secondary phase was effectively avoided. The amorphous ZnO layer was crystallized from highly-aligned initial thin layer of VZO film when t_total ≤200 nm and crystal orientation of the stacked film was superior to single VZO film. However, the c-axis orientation was deteriorated drastically at t_total ≈400 nm due to SPC affected by the tilted regions existed in the as-deposited ZnO film. Therefore, it is suggested that careful selection of ZnO film thickness is necessary to obtain the high-quality ZnO films in this method.     

Deposition of III-N thin films by molecular beam epitaxy

Fabrication of optoelectronic devices from III-N materials, operable in the blue and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum, has been a goal of many groups since the first infrared and red devices were commercially produced. Commercially viable blue-light-emitting diodes have now been achieved in these materials, and numerous investigators are now entering this field. Microelectronic devices are also of considerable interest.

While much of the original research on GaN and InN centered around films with the wurtzite structure, the zincblende structure nitrides have recently been receiving increasing interest because of their potential inherent advantages, e.g. increased carrier mobility. Recent results from several groups around the world have successfully addressed some of the traditional problems associated with growth of these materials.

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been a traditional growth technique for nitride growth and continues to be very successful. However, many researchers, including those growing III–V nitrides, have turned to plasma-enhanced molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for its important advantages in purity and in situ analytical capabilities. This paper reviews the recent developments in MBE growth of cubic boron nitride, aluminum nitride and the two poly-types of gallium nitride.     

Deposition and characterization of indium oxide and indium tin oxide semiconducting thin films by reactive thermal deposition technique

In this paper, the deposition conditions and the characterization properties of the indium oxide (10) and indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films deposited by a reactive thermal deposition technique using the indium, indium-tin alloy sources are reported. The actively involved parameters during deposition have been identified for various substrate temperatures. The effect of oxygen partial pressure in evaporation has been identified. The indium-tin alloy source which was used in this work was prepared by hot zone diffusion technique. The structural, optical, and electrical properties have been characterized using optical microscope, x-ray diffractometer, ultraviolet spectrophotometer, and Hall effect measurement setup. The uniformity of the deposited films and the uniformity of the substrate surface effect on the deposited thin films were analyzed through sheet resistance measurements. The depositions were carried out on glass and quartz substrates. Good optical transmittance (99%) was achieved for 740 nm wavelength and above. The absorbance spectrum exhibit a value of 2% absorbance for IO/quartz structures. Large area (5.0 × 3.8 cm) film with unique optical properties is also reported here.     

Conductivity changes in tungsten silicide films due to rapid thermal processing

Several limitations of the polysilicon gate in VLSI have led to the development of a silicide/polysilicon material as all alternative to polysilicon. Recently, rapid thermal processing has been investigated for annealing such polycide films. We report here the electrical-conductivity changes during the process of rapid thermal annealing in CVD tungsten silicide films. It is shown that electrical resistivity initially increases due to changes in the silicon to tungsten ratio and then drops to about one-tenth of the initial value, thus suggesting a minimum time and power required for achieving low-resistivity tungsten silicide films in VLSI interconnections.     

Numerical simulation of thermal wave propagation during laser processing of thin films

A numerical model is developed to represent the thermal wave propagation during ultrashort pulsed laser processing of thin films. The model developed is based on the solution of non-Fourier heat conduction problem with temperature and thermal flux delays using discontinuous finite-element method. The mathematical formulation is described and computational procedures are given. The computer model is validated using the analytical solution for one-dimensional (1-D) thermal wave equations. Numerical simulations are performed to study the thermal wave propagation in a GaAs thin film exposed to ultrashort laser pulses. A wavelike behavior of the thermal signal propagation is observed, and the diffusive effect of the time relaxation in the temperature gradient is calculated and discussed. The thermal behavior of thin films under laser radiation is also studied as a function of various process parameters including pulse duration, laser pulse shapes and characteristic times of heat fluxes.     

Preparation of PbTiO3 thin films by plasma enhanced MOCVD and the effect of rapid thermal annealing

Dielectric PbTiO₃-thin films were prepared on p-Si(100) substrate by plasma enhanced metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using high purity Ti(O-i-C₃H₇)₄, Pb(tmhd)₂, and oxygen. As-deposited films were post-treated by rapid thermal annealing method, and the effect of annealing was examined under various conditions. The deposition process was controlled by mixed-control scheme at temperatures lower than 350°C, but controlled by heterogeneous surface reaction at temperatures greater than 350°C. The as-deposited films showed PbO structure at 350∼400°C, but (100) and (101) PbTiO₃ orientations started to appear at 450°C. The deposition rate was increased with rf power due to the enhanced dissociation of Ti and Pb precursors. It was found that the concentration of oxygen plays an important role in crystallization of PbTiO₃ during the rapid thermal annealing. A linear relationship was obtained between the dielectric constant of PbTiO₃ films and the annealing temperature. However, the surface roughness and leakage current density increased mainly due to the defects caused by volatilization of lead and the interface layer formed during the high temperature annealing.     

VOx薄膜的sol-gel法制备

通过对工艺条件的研究,解决了钒有机溶胶与基片的亲水性问题,提出了成膜牢固的亲水处理方法,制备出了无裂纹、致密性好的VOx薄膜。测量结果表明,520℃热处理条件下的VOx薄膜样品的平均电阻温度系数达到了3.95%K–1。而470℃热处理下的VOx薄膜样品,其升降温阻温特性一致性很好,可用作高灵敏度红外探测器敏感元材料。     

Modelling of rapid thermal processing

An overview is given of modelling issues in rapid thermal processing. Firstly, the influence of surface and bulk properties on wafer emissivity is discussed. Secondly, the influence of back-side layers, wafer transparency and back-side roughness on temperature measurement is discussed. Thirdly, several causes of temperature non-uniformity are mentioned.     

Study of light-induced annealing effects in a-Si:H thin films

Light-induced metastability was examined in hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films using a 500 W xenon lamp and a 10 mW HeCd laser. Positron beam annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were examined to investigate the effects of light on the structural properties of the films. The experimental results exhibited significant decrease in the S-parameter of the PAS, indicating marked reduction in the defect density of the films. The FTIR spectroscopy showed significant reduction in the transmission coefficient of IR radiation at frequencies corresponding to Si–H and Si–H₃ phonon modes, indicating that the observed annealing effects were due to light-induced formation of Si–H and Si–H₃ bonds. A second thermal annealing process conducted after the light exposure experiment resulted in a further substantial decrease in defect density for the sample exposed to HeCd laser. The experimental results are explained by a competing, light induced, dangling bond creation/annealing process, in which the incoming photons caused the annealing of dangling bonds, particularly those at around the voids. However, in the bulk region, the photons caused both the breaking of weak Si–Si bonds as well as the annealing of dangling bonds.     

Towards high-eficiency silicon solar cells by rapid thermal processing

Rapid thermal processing can offer many advantages, such as small overall thermal budget and low power and time consumption, in a strategy focused on cost-effective techniques for the preparation of solar cells in a continuous way. We show here that this very short duration (a few tens of seconds) of isothermal heating performed in a lamp furnace can be used for many thermal steps of silicon solar cell processing. Rapid thermal processing was applied to form the p-n junction from a phosphorus-doped spin-on silica film deposted on (100) silicon substrates at typical processing temperatures between 800 and 1100°C. the solar cells showed conversion efficiencies as good as those processed in a conventional way.     

Influence of rapid thermal and low temperature processing on theelectrical properties of polysilicon thin film transistors

In this paper rapid thermal processing (RTP) is studied for the crystallization and oxidation of deposited silicon layers. The purpose is to present and compare the results obtained by RTP, low temperature processing (LTP), or a combination of both, for the fabrication of polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors (poly-TFT's). The polysilicon and polyoxide are obtained by low thermal annealing, oxidation (LTA, O) and/or rapid thermal annealing, oxidation (RTA, O) of amorphous silicon films deposited from disilane at a temperature of 465°C. For the Si films annealed at 750°C or higher, using RTA, the grain average sizes are reduced whereas the electron/hole mobilities are increased. We suggest that there is a correlation between the optical extinction coefficient k (at λ=405 nm), the potential barrier height Φ_B due to the grains, and the field-effect mobility, μ_n,p, of the polysilicon film. This correlation indicates that the polysilicon film electrical properties depend not only on the grain size, but also on the crystalline quality of the grains. Moreover, it appears that the large amount of crystalline defects remaining in the so-called “grains” of the films annealed at 600°C (LTA) are partially annihilated when the films are annealed at higher temperatures. With regards to the TFT's electrical characteristics, the work suggests combining RT and LT steps to obtain TFT's with improved electrical performance     

Characterization of the thermal conductivity of insulating thin films by scanning thermal microscopy

This paper reports on the abilities of a Scanning Thermal Microscopy (SThM) method to characterize the thermal conductivity of insulating materials and thin films used in microelectronics and microsystems. It gives a review of the previous works on the subject and gives new results allowing showing the performance of a new method proposed for reducing the thermal conductivity of meso-porous silicon by swift heavy ion irradiation. Meso-porous silicon samples were prepared by anodisation of silicon wafers and underwent irradiation by 845 MeV ²⁰⁸Pb ions, with fluences of 4×10¹¹ and 7×10¹¹ cm⁻². Thermal measurements show that irradiation reduced thermal conductivity by a factor of up to 2.     

Patterning of transparent conducting oxide thin films by wet etching for a-Si:H TFT-LCDs

The patterning characteristics of the indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films having different microstructures were investigated. Several etching solutions (HC1, HBr, and their mixtures with HNO₃) were used in this study. We have found that ITO films containing a larger volume fraction of the amorphous phase show higher etch rates than those containing a larger volume fraction of the crystalline phase. Also, the crystalline ITO films have shown a very good uniformity in patterning, and following the etching no ITO residue (unetched ITO) formation has been observed. In contrast, ITO residues were found after the etching of the films containing both amorphous and crystalline phases. We have also developed a process for the fabrication of the ITO with a tapered edge profile. The taper angle can be controlled by varying the ratio of HNO₃ to the HC1 in the etching solutions. Finally, ITO films have been found to be chemically unstable in a hydrogen containing plasma environment. On the contrary, aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) films, having an optical transmittance and electrical resistivity comparable to ITO films, are very stable in the same hydrogen containing plasma environment. In addition, a high etch rate, no etching residue formation, and a uniform etching have been found for the AZO films, which make them suitable for a-Si:H TFT-LCD applications.     

Recent developments in rapid thermal processing

Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) with a short dwell time at maximum temperature is used with ion implantation to form shallow junctions and polycrystalline-Si gate electrodes in complementary, metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) Si processing. Wafers are heated by electric lamps or steady heat sources with rapid wafer transfer. Advanced methods use “spike anneals,” wherein high-temperature ramp rates are used for both heating and cooling while also minimizing the dwell time at peak temperature to nominally zero. The fast thermal cycles are required to reduce the undesirable effects of transient-enhanced diffusion (TED) and thermal deactivation of the dopants. Because junction profiles are sensitive to annealing temperature, the challenge in spike annealing is to maintain temperature uniformity across the wafer and repeatability from wafer to wafer. Multiple lamp systems use arrayed temperature sensors for individual control zones. Other methods rely on process chambers that are designed for uniform wafer heating. Generally, sophisticated techniques for accurate temperature measurement and control by emissivity-compensated infrared pyrometry are required because processed Si wafers exhibit appreciable variation in emissivity.     

Transient effects in rapid thermal processing

Using a realistic model of a rapid thermal processing chamber including Navier-Stokes calculations of the gas losses, the stresses and yield strengths of silicon wafers were determined for several linear ramp rates. It was found that the stress to yield strength ratio is a sensitive function of the ramp rate and the radiant uniformity. Radiation patterns that produce good steady-state thermal nonuniformity overheat the wafer edges during heating transients, leading to high stress levels     

Fabrication of organic semiconductor crystalline thin films and crystals from solution by confined crystallization

Highly crystalline thin films of organic semiconductors processed from solution for electronic devices are difficult to achieve due to a slow and preferential three-dimensional growth of the crystals. Here we describe the development of a processing technique to induce a preferential two-dimensional crystalline growth of organic semiconductors by means of minimizing one dimension and confining the solution in two dimensions into a thin layer. The versatility of the process is demonstrated by processing small molecules (TIPS-pentacene and C₆₀) and a polymer (P3HT), all from solvents with a relatively low boiling point, to obtain crystalline thin films. The thin films show an improved in-plane packing of the molecules compared to films processed under similar conditions by spin coating, which is beneficial for the use in organic field-effect transistors.