Influence of radiofrequency power on compositional, structural and optical properties of amorphous silicon carbonitride films

The silicon carbonitride (SiCN) films were deposited on n-type Si (1 0 0) and glass substrates by the radiofrequency (RF) reactive magnetron sputtering of polycrystalline silicon target under mixed reactive gases of acetylene and nitrogen. The films have been characterized by energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer (UVS). The influence of RF power on the compositional, morphological, structural and optical properties of the SiCN films was investigated. The SiCN films deposited at room temperature are amorphous, and the C, Si and O compositions except N in the films are sensitive to the RF power. The surface roughness and optical band gap decrease as the RF power increases. The main bonds in the SiCN films are C-N, N-H_n, C-H_n, C-C, CN, Si-H and Si-C, and the intensities of the CN, Si-H and C-H_n bonds increase with increment of the RF power. The mechanisms of the influence of RF power on the characteristics of the films are discussed in detail.     

Electron affinity study of adamantane on Si(1 1 1)

Recently, tetramantane, a member of diamondoid series (C_4n+6H_4n+12), has shown to exhibit negative-electron-affinity effect which has a potential use for efficient electron emitting devices. Here, we explore the electronic property of adamantane (C₁₀H₁₆), the smallest member of the series. We prepare adamantane films on Si(1 1 1) substrates and then study their electronic structure with photoemission spectroscopy. Photoelectron spectra of adamantane on Si(1 1 1) have shown a peak at low-kinetic energy which could be a generic property of diamondoids. The possibility of the negative-electron-affinity effect in adamantane is further discussed.     

Investigation of thin TiO2 films cosputtered with Si species

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) films were fabricated by cosputtering titanium (Ti) target and SiO₂ or Si slice with ion-beam-sputtering deposition (IBSD) technique and were postannealed at 450 °C for 6 h. The variations of oxygen bonding, which included high-binding-energy oxygen (HBO), bridging oxygen (BO), low-binding-energy oxygen (LBO), and three chemical states of titanium (Ti⁴⁺, Ti³⁺ and Ti²⁺) were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The enhancement of HBO and reduction of BO in O 1s spectra as functions of SiO₂ or Si amount in cosputtered film imply the formation of Si-O-Ti linkage. Corresponding increase of Ti³⁺ in Ti 2p spectra further confirmed the property modification of the cosputtered film resulting from the variation of the chemical bonding. An observed correlation between the chemical structure and optical properties, refractive index and extinction coefficient, of the SiO₂ or Si cosputtered films demonstrated that the change of chemical bonding in the film results in the modification of optical properties. Furthermore, it was found that the optical properties of the cosputtered films were strongly depended on the cosputtering targets. In case of the Si cosputtered films both the refractive indices and extinction coefficients were reduced after postannealing, however, the opposite trend was observed in SiO₂ cosputtered films.     

Epitaxial ZnO films grown on ZnO-buffered c-plane sapphire substrates by hydrothermal method

ZnO films are hydrothermally grown on ZnO-buffered c-plane sapphire substrates at a low temperature of 70 °C. A radio-frequency (RF) reactive magnetron sputtering has been used to grow the ZnO buffer layers. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and room temperature photoluminescence are carried out to characterize the structure, morphology and optical property of the films. It is found that the films are stress-free. The epitaxial relationship between the ZnO film and the c-plane sapphire substrate is found to be ZnO (0 0 0 1)||Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1) in the surface normal and in plane. Sapphire treatment, as such acid etching, nitridation, and oxidation are found to influence the nucleation of the film growth, and the buffer layers determine the crystalline quality of the ZnO films. The maximum PL quantum efficiency of ZnO films grown with hydrothermal method is found to be about 80% of single-crystal ZnO.     

Structural and optical properties of a-Si1−xCx:H films synthesized by dc magnetron sputtering technique

Hydrogenated amorphous SiC films (a-Si_1−xC_x:H) were prepared by dc magnetron sputtering technique on p-type Si(1 0 0) and corning 9075 substrates at low temperature, by using 32 sprigs of silicon carbide (6H-SiC). The deposited a-Si_1−xC_x:H film was realized under a mixture of argon and hydrogen gases. The a-Si_1−xC_x:H films have been investigated by scanning electronic microscopy equipped with an EDS system (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), secondary ions mass spectrometry (SIMS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-vis-IR spectrophotometry, and photoluminescence (PL). XRD results showed that the deposited film was amorphous with a structure as a-Si_0.80C_0.20:H corresponding to 20 at.% carbon. The photoluminescence response of the samples was observed in the visible range at room temperature with two peaks centred at 463 nm (2.68 eV) and 542 nm (2.29 eV). In addition, the dependence of photoluminescence behaviour on film thickness for a certain carbon composition in hydrogenated amorphous SiC films (a-Si_1−xC_x:H) has been investigated.     

Influence of crystallization on the spectral features of nano-sized ferroelectric barium strontium titanate (Ba0.7Sr0.3Tio3) thin films

Ferroelectric barium strontium titanate (Ba_0.7Sr_0.3TiO₃)(BST) thin films have been prepared from barium 2-ethylhexanoate [Ba[CH₃(CH₂)₃CH(C₂H₅)CO₂]₂]_, strontium 2-ethylhexanoate [Sr[CH₃(CH₂)₃CH(C₂H₅)CO₂]₂] and titanium(IV) isopropoxide [TiOCH(CH₃)₂]₄ precursors using a modified sol-gel technique. The precursor except [TiOCH(CH₃)₂]₄ were synthesized in the laboratory. Transparent and crack-free films were fabricated on pre-cleaned quartz substrates by spin coating. The structural and optical properties of films annealed at different temperatures have been investigated. The as-fired films were found to be amorphous that crystallized to the tetragonal phase after annealing at 550 °C for 1 h in air. The lattice constants “a” and “c” were found to be 3.974 A and 3.990 A, respectively. The grain sizes of the films annealed at 450, 500 and 550 °C were found to be 30.8, 36.0 and 39.8 nm respectively. The amorphous film showed very high transparency (∼95%), which decreases slightly after crystallization (∼90%). The band gap and refractive index of the amorphous and crystalline films were estimated. The optical dispersion data are also analyzed in the light of the single oscillator model and are discussed.     

Luminescent characteristics of CaTiO3:Pr thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition method with various substrates

CaTiO₃:Pr³⁺ films were deposited on different substrates such as Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1), Si (1 0 0), MgO (1 0 0), and fused silica using pulsed laser deposition method. The crystallinity and surface morphology of these films were investigated by XRD and SEM measurements. The films grown on the different substrates have different crystallinity and morphology. The FWHM of (2 0 0) peak are 0.18, 0.25, 0.28, and 0.30 for Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1), Si (1 0 0), MgO (1 0 0), and fused silica, respectively. The grain sizes of phosphors grown on different substrates were estimated by using Scherrer's formula and the maximum crystallite size observed for the thin film grown on Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1). The room temperature PL spectra exhibit only the red emission peak at 613 nm radiated from the transition of (¹D₂ → ³H₄) and the maximum PL intensity for the films grown on the Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1) is 1.1, 1.4, and 3.7 times higher than that of the CaTiO₃:Pr³⁺ films grown on MgO (1 0 0), Si (1 0 0), and fused Sillica substrates, respectively. The crystallinity, surface morphology and luminescence spectra of thin-film phosphors were highly dependent on substrates.     

Growth of pentacene on Ag(1 1 1) surface: A NEXAFS study

Thin films of pentacene (C₂₂H₁₄) have become widely used in the field of organic electronics. Here films of C₂₂H₁₄ of thickness ranging from submonolayer to multilayer were thermally deposited on Ag(1 1 1) surface. The determination of molecular geometry in pentacene films on Ag(1 1 1) studied by X-ray absorption at different stages of growth up to one monolayer is presented.XAS spectra at the C K-edge were collected as a function of the direction of the electric field at the surface. The different features of the spectra were assigned to resonances related to the various molecular unoccupied states by the comparison with the absorption coefficient of the pentacene gas phase. The transitions involving antibonding π states show a pronounced angular dependence for all the measured coverages, from submonolayer to multilayer. The spectra analysis indicates a nearly planar chemisorption of the first pentacene layer with a tilt angle of 10°.     

Surface chemical states of barium zirconate titanate thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition

Ba(Zr_0.05Ti_0.95)O₃ (BZT) thin films grown on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) substrates were prepared by chemical solution deposition. The structural and surface morphology of BZT thin films has been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that the random oriented BZT thin film grown on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) substrate with a perovskite phase. The SEM surface image showed that the BZT thin film was crack-free. And the average grain size and thickness of the BZT film are 35 and 400 nm, respectively. Furthermore, the chemical states and chemical composition of the films were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) near the surface. The XPS results show that Ba, Ti, and Zr exist mainly in the forms of BZT perovskite structure.     

Intrinsic coercivities of molecular beam epitaxy grown single-crystal Ni films on Ag buffer layer

Single-crystal Ni films were made by the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) method on Si(1 0 0) and Si(1 1 0) substrates, respectively, with an 100 Å thick Ag buffer layer. The growth temperature T_S was 270 °C, and the film thickness t was 500 Å. From reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) patterns, the crystalline symmetries of the two films are clear and as expected. Intrinsic coercivities, H_C(1 0 0) and H_C(1 1 0), are plotted as a function of the angle of rotation ? around the crystal axes [1 0 0] and [1 1 0], respectively. The results show that both H_C(1 0 0) and H_C(1 1 0) exhibit mixed features of the crystalline (K_C) and the induced uniaxial magnetic (K_u) anisotropies. K_u is the magneto-elastic energy, due to lattice mismatch at the Ni/Ag interface. Moreover, the crystalline anisotropy fields, H_K(1 0 0) and H_K(1 1 0), and the induced anisotropy filed, H_u, can be calculated as a function of ?, respectively. Then, each H_C curve is fitted by the equation: H_C = H_o + H_K + H_u, where H_o is the isotropic pinning field. Meanwhile, domain structures were examined by the Bitter method, using Ferrofluid 707. On the Ni(1 0 0) film, we observed the charged cross-tie walls, and on the Ni(1 1 0) film, the un-charged Bloch walls.     

Origin of photoluminescence in nanocrystalline Si:H films

We have studied the origin of photoluminescence (PL) from hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) films produced by a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique using SiF₄/SiH₄/H₂ gas mixtures. The nc-Si:H films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, infrared, Raman spectroscopy, optical absorption and stress, and were examined for PL by varying the deposition temperature (T_d) under two different hydrogen flow rate ([H₂]) conditions. The PL exhibited two peaks at around 1.7-1.75 and 2.2-2.3 eV. The peak energy, E_PL, of the 1.7-1.75-eV PL band was found to shift as T_d or [H₂] changes. It was found that the decrease in T_d acts to decrease the average grain size, 〈δ〉, and to increase both the optical band gap, , and the E_PL values. By contrast, the increase in [H₂] decreased the 〈δ〉 value, while increased the values of and E_PL. Thus, as either T_d decreases or [H₂] increases, it is found that a decrease in 〈δ〉 corresponds well with increases in and E_PL. As a consequence, it was suggested that an increase in E_PL of the 1.7-1.75-eV PL band can be connected with an increase in , through a decrease in 〈δ〉. However, the PL process cannot be connected with the transition between both the bands, related to formation of nanocrystals. Based on these results, it was proposed that the use of both low T_d and high [H₂] conditions would allow to grow nc-Si:H films with small grains.     

Effects of substrates on the structure and dielectric properties of Ba(Sn0.15Ti0.85)O3 thin films

Ba(Sn_0.15Ti_0.85)O₃ (BTS) thin films were grown on Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si and LaNiO₃(LNO)/Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by a sol-gel processing technique, respectively. The BTS thin films deposited on annealed Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si and annealed LNO/Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates exhibited strong (1 1 1) and perfect (1 0 0) orientations, respectively. The BTS thin films grown on un-annealed Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates showed random orientation with intense (1 1 0) peak, while the films deposited on un-annealed LNO/Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate exhibited random orientation with intense (1 0 0) peak, respectively. The dielectric constant of the BTS films deposited on annealed Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si, annealed LNO/Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si, un-annealed Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si and un-annealed LNO/Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates was 512, 565, 386 and 437, respectively, measured at a frequency of 100 kHz. A high tunability of 49.7% was obtained for the films deposited on annealed LNO/Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrate, measured at the frequency of 100 kHz with an applied electric field of 200 kV/cm. The high tunability has been attributed to the (1 0 0) texture of the films and larger grain sizes.     

The influence of H2/(H2 + Ar) ratio on microstructure and optoelectronic properties of microcrystalline silicon films deposited by plasma-enhanced CVD

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon films were deposited by glow discharge decomposition of SiH₄ diluted in mixed gas of Ar and H₂. By investigating the dependence of the film crystallinity on the flow rates of Ar and H₂, we showed that the addition of Ar in diluted gas markedly improves the crystallinity due to an enhanced dissociation of SiH₄. The infrared-absorption spectrum reveals that the fraction of SiH bonding increases with increasing the rate ratio of H₂/(H₂ + Ar). The surface roughness of the films increases with increasing the flow rate ratio of H₂/(H₂ + Ar), which is attributed to the decrease of massive bombardment of Ar ions in the plasma. Refractive index and absorption coefficient of the films were obtained by simulating the optical transmission spectra using a modified envelope method. Electrical measurements of the films show that the dark conductivity increases and the activation energy decreases with the ratio of H₂/(H₂ + Ar). A reasonable explanation is presented for the dependence of the microstructure and optoelectronic properties on the flow rate ratio of H₂/(H₂ + Ar).     

Write-once blue laser recording using silicon doped SbOx thin films prepared by reactive dc-magnetron sputtering

Si:SbO_x films have been deposited by reactive dc-magnetron sputtering from a Sb target with Si chips attached in Ar + O₂ with the relative O₂ content 7%. The as-deposited films contained Sb metal, Sb₂O₃, SiO, Si₂O₃ and SiO₂. The crystallization of Sb was responsible for the changes of optical properties of the films. The results of the blue laser recording test showed that the films had good writing sensitivity for blue laser beam (406.7 nm), and the recording marks were still clear even if the films were deposited in air 60 days, which demonstrated that doping silicon in SbO_x films can improve the stability of SbO_x films. High reflectivity contrast of about 36% was obtained at a writing power 6 mW and writing pulse width 300 ns.     

The influence of substrate temperature variation on tungsten oxide thin film growth in an HFCVD system

Tungsten oxide (WO₃) thin films were deposited by a modified hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) technique using Si (1 0 0) substrates. The substrate temperature was varied from room temperature to 430 °C at an interval of 100 °C. The influence of the substrate temperature on the structural and optical properties of the WO₃ films was studied. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra show that as substrate temperature increases the film tends to crystallize from the amorphous state and the surface roughness decreases sharply after 230 °C as confirmed from AFM image analysis. Also from the X-ray analysis it is evident that the substrate orientation plays a key role in growth. There is a sharp peak for samples on Si substrate due to texturing. The film thickness also decreases as substrate temperature increases. UV-vis spectra show that as substrate temperature increases the film property changes from metallic to insulating behavior due to changing stoichiometry, which was confirmed by XPS analysis.     

The surface modification of nanoporous SiOx thin films with a monofunctional organosilane

The surfaces of nanostructured, porous SiO_x/Si (air-oxidized Si) and SiO_x thin films, deposited by excimer laser ablation in He and He + O₂ gas ambients, respectively, have been modified by the deposition of a monofunctional organosilane. They were characterized using photoacoustic Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopies, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). Photoacoustic FTIR analysis indicates that the organosilane has hydrolyzed to form a silanol, which has chemically reacted with SiO_x through its surface silanol (SiOH) group, to form siloxane (SiOSi) structures. An enhanced IR spectral signal is found, due to the expansion and contraction of both the pores of the solid and the gas within them.     

Structural and magnetic properties of evaporated Fe thin films on Si(1 1 1), Si(1 0 0) and glass substrates

We present experimental results on the structural and magnetic properties of series of Fe thin films evaporated onto Si(1 1 1), Si(1 0 0) and glass substrates. The Fe thickness, t, ranges from 6 to110 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) have been used to study the structure and surface morphology of these films. The magnetic properties were investigated by means of the Brillouin light scattering (BLS) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM) techniques. The Fe films grow with (1 1 0) texture; as t increases, this (1 1 0) texture becomes weaker for Fe/Si, while for Fe/glass, the texture changes from (1 1 0) to (2 1 1). Grains are larger in Fe/Si than in Fe/glass. The effective magnetization, 4πM_eff, inferred from BLS was found to be lower than the 4πM_S bulk value. Stress induced anisotropy might be in part responsible for this difference. MFM images reveal stripe domain structure for the 110 nm thick Fe/Si(1 0 0) only.     

Adsorption of organic molecules by photochemical reaction on Cl:Si(1 1 1) and H:Si(1 1 1) evaluated by HREELS

The covalent attachment of alkyl groups to silicon surfaces, via carbon-silicon bond formation, has been attempted using gas-surface reactions starting from Cl-terminated Si(1 1 1) or H:Si(1 1 1) under ultraviolet light irradiation. The formation of Cl-terminated Si(1 1 1) and its resulting stability were examined prior to deposition of organic molecules. High-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) was utilized for detecting surface-bound adsorbates. The detection of photo-deposited organic species on Cl:Si(1 1 1) from gas-phase CH₄ or CH₂CH₂ was not significant. On H:Si(1 1 1), it was evident that after the photoreaction with gas-phase C₂H₅Cl, C₂H₅ groups were chemically bonded to the surface Si atoms through single covalent bonds. The C₂H₅ groups were thermally stable at temperatures below 600 K. Alkyl monolayers prepared on silicon surfaces by dry process will lead to a new prospective technology of nanoscale fabrication and biochemical applications.     

C-V studies on metal-ferroelectric bismuth vanadate (Bi2VO5.5)-semiconductor structure

Ferroelectric bismuth vanadate Bi₂VO_5.5 (BVO) thin films have been successfully grown on p-type Si(100) substrate by using chemical solution decomposition (CSD) technique followed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The crystalline nature of the films has been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to study the microstructure of the films. The dielectric properties of the films were studied. The capacitance-voltage characteristics have been studied in metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS) configuration. The dielectric constant of BVO thin films formed on Si(100) is about 146 measured at a frequency of 100 kHz at room temperature. The capacitance-voltage plot of a Bi₂VO_5.5 MFIS capacitor subjected to a dc polarizing voltages shows a memory window of 1.42 V during a sweep of ±5 V gate bias. The flatband voltage (V_f) shifts towards the positive direction rather than negative direction. This leads to the asymmetric behavior of the C-V curve and decrease in memory window. The oxide trap density at a ramp rate of 0.2 V/s was estimated to be as high as 1.45×10¹² cm⁻².     

Analysis by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for polymethyl methacrylate and polytetrafluoroethylene etched by KrF excimer laser

The C 1s, F 1s, and O 1s electron spectra for polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) irradiated by KrF excimer laser with 248 nm wavelength were analyzed by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) method. The results show that, after irradiation by the laser, the percentage of the carbon atoms of C-C bond decreases and the percentage of CO bond increases for PMMA, while for PTFE percentages of both C-C bond and CF₂ group decrease drastically, respectively. Moreover, it was found that C-O bond and other complex carbon-oxygen groups appeared for PTFE. The photon-chemical processes associated with the energy level transitions, energy diversion, and dissociation of bonds in the interaction were theoretically analyzed based on the chemical structures of PTFE and PMMA. Our analyses can successfully explain that PMMA can be effectively etched by KrF excimer laser with 248 nm wavelength can efficiently etch the PMMA, but the surface of PTFE can only be modified by it.