氧化钒薄膜在玻璃基片上的生长研究

采用直流反应磁控溅射法, 在平整光滑的普通玻璃基片表面沉积了厚度分别为80nm、440nm和1μm的氧化钒薄膜. 采用原子力显微镜(AFM)、扫描电镜(SEM)和X射线衍射仪(XRD)对薄膜的表面形貌、结构和结晶化的分析表明, 厚度影响着薄膜的颗粒大小和结晶状态, 随着薄膜厚度的增加, 薄膜的颗粒增大, 晶化增强; 薄膜具有明显的垂直于衬底表面的“柱”状择优生长特征. 对薄膜的方阻和方阻随温度的变化进行了相关分析, 证实了厚度对氧化钒薄膜的电学性能存在明显的影响, 随着薄膜厚度的增加, 薄膜的方阻减小, 方阻温度系数升高, 薄膜的方阻随温度变化的回线滞宽逐渐增大, 薄膜的金属-半导体相变逐渐趋于明显.     

Synthesis and characterization of zinc stannate thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis technique

The zinc stannate thin films were synthesized by simple and inexpensive spray pyrolysis technique on the glass and fluorine doped tin oxide coated conducting glass substrates. The as deposited films were further annealed at 500 °C temperature for 12 h. The structural optical and morphological characterization of as prepared and annealed films was carried out by XRD, UV–Vis spectroscopy, SEM and AFM techniques respectively. The structural analysis shows that films are polycrystalline and crystallized in cubic inverse spinel crystal structure. SEM studies show that grain size increases after annealing and exhibits spherical morphology. AFM study shows that roughness is higher for the post annealed film. Further the samples were tested for testing their applicability for dye sensitized solar cells. The as prepared, annealed and CNT doped samples exhibits photoconversion efficiencies 2.7, 2.8 and 3.1 % respectively.     

Growth of pseudocubic perovskite-type SrRuO3 thin films on quartz substrate using pulsed laser deposition method

Strontium ruthenium oxide (SrRuO₃) thin films have been grown using pulsed laser deposition technique on silicon, Pt coated silicon and quartz substrates. The effect of substrate temperatures on the structural, microstructure, and electrical properties of the SrRuO₃ films on quartz substrate has been investigated using XRD, SEM, AFM and four-probe method, respectively. The lowest resistivity at room temperature for the SrRuO₃ thin film on quartz substrate has been achieved at substrate temperature of 700 °C. Furthermore, the comparisons of SrRuO₃ thin films deposited on various substrates have been done with respect to structural, microstructural and electrical properties. XRD patterns exhibit that all thin films are a single phase, pseudo-cubic perovskite structure. Study of surface morphology shows that grain size and roughness varies with respect to substrate. It is observed that SrRuO₃ thin films yield larger grain size and root mean square roughness on Pt/Si substrate. Investigation of electrical properties shows that SrRuO₃ thin films can serve the purpose of the bottom electrode in dielectric and ferroelectric devices.     

基片温度对TiO2薄膜表面形貌和性能的影响

利用射频磁控溅射设备在玻璃基片上制备TiO2薄膜,采用AFM、UV-Vis分光光度、接触角测定仪等测试手段,研究基片温度对薄膜表面形貌、粗糙度和表面性能的影响.结果表明,随着基片温度增加,薄膜表面粗糙度增大,薄膜中颗粒由无定形态逐渐向定向排列的晶态转变,而薄膜结构、表面形貌和粗糙度的变化明显影响薄膜表面性能.最后,探讨了薄膜的生长机理.     

Characterization of the surface of bio-ceramic thin films

The biocompatibility and corrosion resistance of orthopaedic and dental implants are determined by their material composition and surface microstructural properties such as surface roughness, grain size, etc. Thin films of bio-inert materials such as oxides of Ti, Al, Zr, and bio-active materials such as hydroxy-apatite (Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂), compounds of calcium and phosphorous oxides are more attractive as bio-ceramic films because of their biocompatibility being higher, and toxicity being lower than those of the other materials. In this study, we mainly focused on characterization of the surface of bio-ceramics using atomic force microscopy (AFM). These films having a thickness of about 500 nm, had been processed using ion-beam sputter deposition, and ion-beam-assisted sputter deposition methods. Investigation of the surface of the films by AFM shows that irradiation with oxygen ions in the energy range of 3 keV increases the surface roughness. A detailed study of the grain size and roughness of several experimental cases of TiO₂ thin films showed that the films contained columnar grains with mean size of about 100 × 100 nm² grown in the z direction with a height of a few nanometers.     

Thickness-stress relations in aluminum thin films

The physical properties of aluminum thin films depend strongly on their microstructure, which can be characterized using different techniques. In the present work, aluminum thin films—grown with different thickness on silicon substrates—were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and grazing incidence x-ray techniques. The AFM was used as a high-resolution profilemeter for measuring edge angles, step heights, surface microstructure, and roughness. The structural properties (such as crystallographic orientation, crystallite size, and phase identification) were analyzed by grazing incidence x-ray diffraction. For small thickness, AFM images show small nucleation sites because of the short time of growth. Grain size grows as the thickness increases, and film morphology seems to be uniform with large grains. The AFM results of as-grown films show a linear increase in roughness along with thickness. Roughness values decrease with aging time after film preparation, until a constant value is observed. All films mainly have (111) orientation, and its intensity grows with film thickness, with respect to the (200) and (220) peaks. As the film thickness increases, the surface stress decreases.     

Processing and performance of organic insulators as a gate layer in organic thin film transistors fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate substrate

Fabrication of organic thin film transistor (OTFT) on flexible substrates is a challenge, because of its low softening temperature, high roughness and flexible nature. Although several organic dielectrics have been used as gate insulator, it is difficult to choose one in absence of a comparative study covering processing of dielectric layer on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), characterization of dielectric property, pentacene film morphology and OTFT characterization. Here, we present the processing and performance of three organic dielectrics, poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVPh), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), as a gate layer in pentacene-based organic thin film transistor on PET substrate. We have used thermogravimetric analysis of organic dielectric solution to determine annealing temperature for spin-coated films of these dielectrics. Comparison of the leakage currents for the three dielectrics shows PVA exhibiting lowest leakage (in the voltage range of ?30 to +30 V). This is partly because solvent is completely eliminated in the case of PVA as observed by differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTGA). We propose that DTGA can be a useful tool to optimize processing of dielectric layers. From organic thin film transistor point of view, crystal structure, morphology and surface roughness of pentacene film on all the dielectric layers were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We observe pyramidal pentacene on PVPh whereas commonly observed dendritic pentacene on PMMA and PVA surface. Pentacene morphology development is discussed in terms of surface roughness, surface energy and molecular nature of the dielectric layer.     

Lanthanum concentration dependence of electrical properties in tin oxide thin films

Lanthanum doped tin oxide thin films were prepared on boron-silicon glass substrates by spray pyrolysis. Lanthanum concentration was varied from 0 to 1.0 wt%. The microstructures, sheet resistance and thermal stabilities of the lanthanum doped tin oxide thin films have been investigated in order to determine the role of this dopant on electrical properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) result shows the deposited thin film is mainly rutile SnO₂. And atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveals that the thin film has smooth surface with no cracks and defects. And it exhibits a typical bimodal grain size distribution with an average grain size of 95 nm. The sheet resistances of the thin films have a complex dependence on the lanthanum concentration. With increasing lanthanum concentration, the sheet resistances of tin oxide thin films were slightly increased and then abruptly decreased. Moreover, when the lanthanum concentration of 0.5 wt% was reached, the specimen exhibits excellent electrical properties. Because of its effectiveness in improving homogeneity of operating surface temperature and thermal stability, lanthanum appears to be an attractive additive for the tin oxide thin films.     

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.     

Zinc phthalocyanine — Influence of substrate temperature, film thickness, and kind of substrate on the morphology

Zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc), C₃₂H₁₆N₈Zn, is a planar organic molecule having numerous optical and electrical applications in organic electronics. This work investigates the influence of various deposition parameters on the morphology of vapour thermal evaporated ZnPc films. For this purpose, ZnPc is deposited at different substrate temperatures up to 90 °C and film thickness up to 50 nm onto various substrates. The morphology of this ZnPc layers is characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) methods. XRD measurements show that all ZnPc films are crystalline in a triclinic (α-ZnPc) or monoclinic (γ-ZnPc) phase, independent from the kind of substrate, layer thickness, or substrate temperature. The ZnPc powder, the starting product for the thermally evaporated ZnPc films, is present in the stable monoclinic β-phase. Thus, the stacking of the ZnPc molecules changes completely during deposition. The crystallite size perpendicular to the substrate determined by XRD microstructure analysis is in the range of the layer thickness while the lateral size, obtained by AFM, is increasing with substrate temperature and film thickness. AFM and XRR show an increase of the layer roughness for thicker ZnPc layers and higher substrate temperatures during film deposition. The strain in the ZnPc films decreases for higher substrate temperatures due to enhanced thermal relaxation and for thicker ZnPc films due to lower surface tension.     

Controlling the crystallinity and roughness of atomic layer deposited titanium dioxide films

The surface roughness of thin films is an important parameter related to the sticking behaviour of surfaces in the manufacturing of microelectomechanical systems (MEMS). In this work, TiO2 films made by atomic layer deposition (ALD) with the TiCl4-H2O process were characterized for their growth, roughness and crystallinity as function of deposition temperature (110-300 degrees C), film thickness (up to approximately 100 nm) and substrate (thermal SiO2, RCA-cleaned Si, Al2O3). TiO2 films got rougher with increasing film thickness and to some extent with increasing deposition temperature. The substrate drastically influenced the crystallization behaviour of the film: for films of about 20 nm thickness, on thermal SiO2 and RCA-cleaned Si, anatase TiO2 crystal diameter was about 40 nm, while on Al2O3 surface the diameter was about a micrometer. The roughness could be controlled from 0.2 nm up to several nanometers, which makes the TiO2 films candidates for adhesion engineering in MEMS.     

Indium doped ZnO films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering: effect of substrate temperature on the strain-induced band gap

Indium doped zinc oxide (InZnO) thin films were deposited onto corning glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering. The dependence of crystal structure, surface morphology, optical properties and electrical conductivity on substrate temperature was investigated using XRD, AFM, UV-vis Spectrophotometer, Fluorescence Spectrophotometer and four-point probe. The films were prepared at different substrate temperatures viz, room temperature (RT), 473 K and 673 K at RF power 200 W. All the films showed preferred orientation along (002) direction. Crystallite size increased from 14 to 19 nm as the substrate temperature was increased to 473 K. With increase in substrate temperature the crystallites did not show any further growth. AFM analysis showed that the rms roughness value decreased from 60 nm to 23 nm when the substrate temperature was increased to 673 K. Optical measurements revealed maximum band gap and minimum refractive index for the film prepared at 473 K. A strong correlation between the band gap variation and the strain developed at different substrate temperatures is established.     

脉冲激光沉积ZrW2O8薄膜的制备和性能

采用脉冲激光沉积法在石英基片上沉积制备了ZrW2O8薄膜.用X射线衍射仪(XRD)、原子力显微镜(AFM)研究了不同衬底温度对薄膜结构组分、表面粗糙度和形貌的影响,用台阶仪和分光光度计测量薄膜的厚度和不同衬底温度下制备薄膜的透射曲线,用变温XRD分析了ZrW2O8薄膜的负热膨胀特性.实验结果表明:在衬底温度为室温、550℃和650℃下脉冲激光沉积的ZrW2O8薄膜均为非晶态,非晶膜在1200℃保温3min后淬火得到立方相ZrW2O8薄膜;随着衬底温度的升高,ZrW2O8薄膜的表面粗糙度明显降低;透光率均约为80%,在20～600℃温度区间内,脉冲激光沉积制备的ZrW2O8薄膜的负热膨胀系数为-11.378×10-6 K-1.     

BST/BZT/BST多层薄膜结构与性能研究

利用脉冲激光沉积法在LaNiO3/LaAlO3(001)基片上生长了Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3(BST)和Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3(BZT)单层薄膜,以及Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3/Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3/Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3(BZT/BST/BZT)多层薄膜.X射线衍射(XRD)分析发现,BST、BZT和LNO薄膜都具有高度的(00l)取向.原子力显微镜(AFM)显示三种样品表面光滑无裂纹,晶粒尺寸和表面粗糙度相当.电容测试表明,相对BST、BZT单层薄膜,多层薄膜具有最大的品质因数42.07.表明多层薄膜在微波应用中具有很大的潜力.     

薄膜生长基底对FeS2晶体取向的影响

用Fe膜硫化法制备了FeS2薄膜,分析了基底对FeS2薄膜晶体结构和位向分布的影响.结果表明,改变基底晶体的类型能够在一定程度上控制FeS2薄膜的晶体位向分布.FeS2薄膜在Si(100)、Si(111)和Al基底上可获得(200)方向的择优取向,在TiO2基底上可同时获得(200)及(220)择优取向,非晶玻璃基底对位向分布影响不明显.不同的基底与Fe薄膜的界面错配度不同,可改变薄膜晶体位向的分布,导致晶格畸变程度和晶粒尺寸的变化.当基底为非晶结构或界面的错配度较大时,FeS2晶体的取向分布主要受表面能和晶粒优先生长方向的控制,薄膜具有较小的晶格畸变和较细的晶粒;当基底为晶态并且界面错配度较小时,FeS2晶体取向的分布除受表面能及晶粒优先生长方向控制外,还受界面应变能的控制,此时薄膜易形成较大的晶格畸变和粗晶粒.     

TiO(2)/LiCl-based nanostructured thin film for humidity sensor applications

A simple and straightforward method of depositing nanostructured thin films, based on LiCl-doped TiO(2), on glass and LiNbO(3) sensor substrates is demonstrated. A spin-coating technique is employed to transfer a polymer-assisted precursor solution onto substrate surfaces, followed by annealing at 520°C to remove organic components and drive nanostructure formation. The sensor material obtained consists of coin-shaped nanoparticles several hundred nanometers in diameter and less than 50 nm thick. The average thickness of the film was estimated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) to be 140 nm. Humidity sensing properties of the nanostructured material and sensor response times were studied using conductometric and surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor techniques, revealing reversible signals with good reproducibility and fast response times of about 0.75 s. The applicability of this nanostructured film for construction of rapid humidity sensors was demonstrated. Compared with known complex and expensive methods of synthesizing sophisticated nanostructures for sensor applications, such as physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), this work presents a relatively simple and inexpensive technique to produce SAW humidity sensor devices with competitive performance characteristics.     

铝诱导晶化真空蒸镀多晶硅薄膜的研究

采用真空蒸镀的方法在玻璃衬底上沉积1层非晶硅薄膜,再通过铝诱导晶化的方法制备出晶粒分布较均匀、晶粒尺寸0.5～5μm、晶化率达到89%的多晶硅薄膜。研究了衬底距离、衬底温度、退火温度对薄膜表面形貌、晶粒尺寸和分布及晶化率的影响。结果表明适中的衬底距离下得到的薄膜晶粒分布均匀,表面平整度好,薄膜厚度较大。薄膜的晶化率随着衬底温度和退火温度的提高而增大;随着退火温度的进一步提高,薄膜的晶化率达到最大值然后降低。     

Analyzing the fractal feature of nickel thin films surfaces modified by low energy nitrogen ion

Fractal concepts are used to explore how different energies (10, 20 and 50 keV) and fluence of 5 × 10¹⁷ N⁺ cm^?2 affect the morphology of nickel thin film. The nickel thin film with thickness of 100 nm is prepared by electron beam evaporation technique at room temperature on stainless steel (AISI 316) substrates. The nanoscale three‐dimensional (3‐D) surface micro‐morphologies are investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Interface width is used to describe the surface height fluctuations. The autocorrelation function with height‐height correlation function give the quantitative data about the morphology of surface. The value of roughness exponent and fractal dimension is computed by height‐height correlation function. Fractal measure is an important analysis which provides fundamental insights into the texture characteristics and a direct way of testing their functional role.     

X-ray microstructural analysis of nanocrystalline TiZrN thin films by diffraction pattern modeling

A detailed microstructural characterization of nanocrystalline TiZrN thin films grown at different substrate temperatures (T_S) was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Total diffraction pattern modeling based on more meaningful microstructural parameters, such as crystallite size distribution and dislocation density, was performed to describe the microstructure of the thin films more precisely. This diffraction modeling has been implemented and used mostly to characterize powders, but the technique can be very useful to study hard thin films by taking certain considerations into account. Nanocrystalline films were grown by using the cathodic pulsed vacuum arc technique on stainless steel 316L substrates, varying the temperature from room temperature to 200 °C. Further surface morphology analysis was performed to study the dependence of grain size on substrate temperature using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The crystallite and surface grain sizes obtained and the high density of dislocations observed indicate that the films underwent nanostructured growth. Variations in these microstructural parameters as a function of T_S during deposition revealed a competition between adatom mobility and desorption processes, resulting in a specific microstructure. These films also showed slight anisotropy in their microstructure, and this was incorporated into the diffraction pattern modeling. The resulting model allowed for the films' microstructure during synthesis to be better understood according to the experimental results obtained.     

Microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of magnetron sputtered nanocrystalline TiN films on glass substrate

Nanocrystalline TiN thin films were deposited on glass substrate by d.c. magnetron sputtering. The microstructural characteristics of the thin films were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM and AFM. XRD analysis of the thin films, with increasing thickness, showed the (200) preferred orientation up to 1·26 μm thickness and then it transformed into (220) and (200) peaks with further increase in thickness up to 2·83 μm. The variation in preferred orientation was due to the competition between surface energy and strain energy during film growth. The deposited films were found to be very dense nanocrystalline film with less porosity as evident from their FE-SEM and AFM images. The surface roughness of the TiN films has increased slightly with the film thickness as observed from its AFM images. The mechanical properties of TiN films such as hardness and modulus of elasticity (E) were investigated by nanoindentation technique. The hardness of TiN thin film was found to be thickness dependent. The highest hardness value (24 GPa) was observed for the TiN thin films with less positive micro strain.