Physical properties of vacuum evaporated CdTe thin films with post-deposition thermal annealing

This paper presents the physical properties of vacuum evaporated CdTe thin films with post-deposition thermal annealing. The thin films of thickness 500 nm were grown on glass and indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates employing thermal vacuum evaporation technique followed by post-deposition thermal annealing at temperature 450 °C. These films were subjected to the X-ray diffraction (XRD),UV-Vis spectrophotometer, source meter and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for structural, optical, electrical and surface morphological analysis respectively. The X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that the films have zinc-blende structure of single cubic phase with preferred orientation (111) and polycrystalline in nature. The crystallographic and optical parameters are calculated and discussed in brief. The optical band gap is found to be 1.62 eV and 1.52 eV for as-grown and annealed films respectively. The I–V characteristics show that the conductivity is decreased for annealed thin films. The AFM studies reveal that the surface roughness is observed to be increased for thermally annealed films.     

Structural characterization of supported nanocrystalline ZnO thin films prepared by dip-coating

Nanocrystalline ZnO thin films prepared by the sol-gel dip-coating technique were characterized by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray reflectivity (XR) and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). The structures of several thin films subjected to (i) isochronous annealing at 350, 450 and 550 °C, and (ii) isothermal annealing at 450 °C during different time periods, were characterized. The studied thin films are composed of ZnO nanocrystals as revealed by analysing several GIXD patterns, from which their average sizes were determined. Thin film thickness and roughness were determined from quantitative analyses of AFM images and XR patterns. The analysis of XR patterns also yielded the average density of the studied films. Our GISAXS study indicates that the studied ZnO thin films contain nanopores with an ellipsoidal shape, and flattened along the direction normal to the substrate surface. The thin film annealed at the highest temperature, T = 550 °C, exhibits higher density and lower thickness and nanoporosity volume fraction, than those annealed at 350 and 450 °C. These results indicate that thermal annealing at the highest temperature (550 °C) induces a noticeable compaction effect on the structure of the studied thin films.     

Surface characterization and microstructure of ITO thin films at different annealing temperatures

In this study, the electron beam evaporation method is used to generate an indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film on a glass substrate at room temperature. The surface characteristics of this ITO thin film are then investigated by means of an AFM (atomic force microscopy) method. The influence of postgrowth thermal annealing on the microstructure and surface morphology of ITO thin films are also examined. The results demonstrate that the film annealed at higher annealing temperature (300 °C) has higher surface roughness, which is due to the aggregation of the native grains into larger clusters upon annealing. The fractal analysis reveals that the value of fractal dimension D_f falls within the range 2.16-2.20 depending upon the annealing temperatures and is calculated by the height-height correlation function.     

高温退火对蓝宝石基片的表面形貌和对CeO2缓冲层以及Tl-2212超导薄膜生长的影响

研究了蓝宝石(1102)基片在不同温度和时间下退火时表面形貌和表面相结构的变化,以及它对CeO₂缓冲层和Tl-2212超导薄膜生长的影响.原子力显微镜(AFM)研究表明,在流动氧环境中1000℃温度下退火,蓝宝石(1102)的表面首先局部区域形成台阶结构,然后表面形成叠层台阶结构,随着退火时间的延长,表面发生了台阶合并现象,表面形貌最终演化为稳定的具有光滑平台的宽台阶结构.XRD测试表明,通过高温热处理可以大幅度提高蓝宝石基片表面结构的完整性.在1000℃温度下热处理20 h的蓝宝石 关键词： Tl-2212超导薄膜 蓝宝石 缓冲层     

Exchange coupling in CoO–Co bilayer

In this work, exchange bias and coercivity enhancement in ferromagnet (FM)–antiferromagnet (AFM) bilayer have been investigated. CoO film (50 nm) was deposited by sputtering with a relatively high oxygen partial pressure. The deposited films were subsequently annealed at varied temperature up to 973 K in the air atmosphere. The CoO film shows a disordered structure in the as-deposited state and an increase of crystallinity after annealing characterized by XRD and Raman spectra. A 40-nm Co film was deposited on the as-deposited CoO and annealed films. The Co–CoO bilayer shows a large exchange bias up to 1600 Oe and relatively high coercivity up to 3200 Oe (H_C−) at 5 K, which is much larger than that of crystalline Co–CoO bilayer films without any treatment. The spin glass behavior combined with increasing crystallinity, surface roughness of CoO after annealing may be attributed to the large exchange bias and high coercivity.     

Effect of annealing temperature for Si0.8Ge0.2 epitaxial thin films

This study investigates the effect of annealing temperature on the Si_0.8Ge_0.2 epitaxial layers. The Si_0.8Ge_0.2 epitaxial layers were deposited by using ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHVCVD) with different annealing temperatures (400-1000 °C). Various measurement technologies, including high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and interfacial adhesion tester, were used to characterize the materials properties of the SiGe epilayers. The experimental results showed that the SiGe epilayers gradually reduced lattice-mismatch to the underlying substrate as annealing temperature increased (from 400 to 800 °C), which resulted from a high temperature enhancing interdiffusion between the epilayers and the underlying substrate. In addition, the average grain size of the SiGe films increased from 53.3 to 58 nm with increasing annealing temperature. The surface roughness in thin film annealed at 800 °C was 0.46 nm. Moreover, the interfacial adhesion strength increased from 476 ± 9 to 578 ± 12 kg/cm² with increasing the annealing temperature.     

High temperature annealing effect on structure, optical property and laser-induced damage threshold of Ta2O5 films

Ta₂O₅ films were deposited by conventional electron beam evaporation method and then annealed in air at different temperature from 873 to 1273 K. It was found that the film structure changed from amorphous phase to hexagonal phase when annealed at 1073 K, then transformed to orthorhombic phase after annealed at 1273 K. The transmittance was improved after annealed at 873 K, and it decreased as the annealing temperature increased further. The total integrated scattering (TIS) tests and AFM results showed that both scattering and root mean square (RMS) roughness of films increased with the annealing temperature increasing. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that the film obtained better stoichiometry and the O/Ta ratio increased to 2.50 after annealing. It was found that the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) increased to the maximum when annealed at 873 K, while it decreased when the annealing temperature increased further. Detailed damaged models dominated by different parameters during annealing were discussed.     

Sputtered magnesium diboride thin films: Growth conditions and surface morphology

Magnesium diboride (MgB₂) thin films were deposited on C-plane sapphire substrates by sputtering pure B and Mg targets at different substrate temperatures, and were followed by in situ annealing. A systematic study about the effects of the various growth and annealing parameters on the physical properties of MgB₂ thin films showed that the substrate temperature is the most critical factor that determines the superconducting transition temperature (T_c), while annealing plays a minor role. There was no superconducting transition in the thin films grown at room temperature without post-annealing. The highest T_c of the samples grown at room temperature after the optimized annealing was 22 K. As the temperature of the substrate (T_s) increased, T_c rose. However, the maximum T_s was limited due to the low magnesium sticking coefficient and thus the T_c value was limited as well. The highest T_c, 29 K, was obtained for the sample deposited at 180 °C, annealed at 620 °C, and was subsequently annealed a second time at 800 °C. Three-dimensional (3D) AFM images clearly demonstrated that the thin films with no transition, or very low T_c, did not have the well-developed MgB₂ grains while the films with higher T_c displayed the well-developed grains and smooth surface. Although the T_c of sputtered MgB₂ films in the current work is lower than that for the bulk and ex situ annealed thin films, this work presents an important step towards the fabrication of MgB₂ heterostructures using rather simple physical vapor deposition method such as sputtering.     

Effect of annealing on electrical resistivity of rf-magnetron sputtered nanostructured SnO2 thin films

Tin oxide (SnO₂) thin films were deposited by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering on clean corning glass substrates. These films were then annealed for 15 min at various temperatures in the range of 100-500°C. The films were investigated by studying their structural and electrical properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results suggested that the deposited SnO₂ films were formed by nanoparticles with average particle size in the range of 23-28 nm. XRD patterns of annealed films showed the formation of small amount of SnO phase in the matrix of SnO₂. The initial surface RMS roughness measured with atomic force microscopy (AFM) was 25.76 nm which reduces to 17.72 nm with annealing. Electrical resistivity was measured as a function of annealing temperature and found to lie between 1.25 and 1.38 mΩ cm. RMS roughness and resistivity show almost opposite trend with annealing.     

Effect of annealing on the magnetic and magnetooptical properties of Ni films

The magnetic and magnetooptical properties of 50-to 200-nm-thick Ni films, both as-deposited and annealed at T_ann = 300, 400, or 500°C, were studied. Volume and near-surface hysteresis loops were measured with a vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM) and with the use of the transverse Kerr effect (TKE). The annealing temperature was found to exert a strong effect on the magnetic characteristics of the samples under study. It was established, in particular, that the coercivity H _C of Ni films increases and the remanent magnetization decreases with increasing annealing temperature. The observed dependences of the magnetic properties of the films on film thickness and annealing temperature are explained as being due to microstructural characteristics of the samples. It was found that, while TKE spectra obtained in the incident-photon energy region from 1.5 to 6 eV have the same shape for all the Ni films studied, the magnitude of the TKE decreases with increasing T_ann. This experimental observation is accounted for by the decreased saturation magnetization of the annealed films.     

Annealing effects on the optical and structural properties of Al2O3/SiO2 films as UV antireflection coatings on 4H-SiC substrates

Al₂O₃/SiO₂ films have been prepared by electron-beam evaporation as ultraviolet (UV) antireflection coatings on 4H-SiC substrates and annealed at different temperatures. The films were characterized by reflection spectra, ellipsometer system, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. As the annealing temperature increased, the minimum reflectance of the films moved to the shorter wavelength for the variation of refractive indices and the reduction of film thicknesses. The surface grains appeared to get larger in size and the root mean square (RMS) roughness of the annealed films increased with the annealing temperature but was less than that of the as-deposited. The Al₂O₃/SiO₂ films maintained amorphous in microstructure with the increase of the temperature. Meanwhile, the transition and diffusion in film component were found in XPS measurement. These results provided the important references for Al₂O₃/SiO₂ films annealed at reasonable temperatures and prepared as fine antireflection coatings on 4H-SiC-based UV optoelectronic devices.     

Effect of thermal annealing on the structure and microstructure of TiO2 thin films

Nanostructured TiO₂ thin films have been prepared through chemical route using sol-gel and spin coating techniques. The deposited films were annealed in the temperature range 400–1000°C for 1 h. The structure and microstructure of the annealed films were characterized by GAXRD, micro-Raman spectroscopy and AFM. The as-deposited TiO₂ thin films are found to be amorphous. Micro-Raman and GAXRD results confirm the presence of the anatase phase and absence of the rutile phase for films annealed up to 700°C. The diffraction pattern of the film annealed at 800 to 1000°C contains peaks of both anatase and rutile reflections. The intensity of all peaks in micro-Raman and GAXRD patterns increased and their width (FWHM) decreased with increasing annealing temperature, demonstrating the improvement in the crystallinity of the annealed films. Phase transformation at higher annealing temperature involves a competition among three events such as: grain growth of anatase phase, conversion of anatase to rutile and grain growth of rutile phase. AFM image of the asdeposited films and annealed films indicated exponential grain growth at higher temperature.      

Effect of substrate temperature and annealing temperature on the structural, electrical and microstructural properties of thin Pt films by rf magnetron sputtering

Influence of both substrate temperature, T_s, and annealing temperature, T_a, on the structural, electrical and microstructural properties of sputtered deposited Pt thin films have been investigated. X-ray diffraction results show that as deposited Pt films (T_s = 300, 400 °C) are preferentially oriented along (1 1 1) direction. A little growth both along (2 0 0) and (3 1 1) directions are also noticed in the as deposited Pt films. After annealing in air (T_a = 500-700 °C), films become strongly oriented along (1 1 1) plane. With annealing temperature, average crystallite size, D, of the Pt films increases and micro-strain, e, and lattice constant, a₀, decreases. Residual strain observed in the as deposited Pt films is found to be compressive in nature while that in the annealed films is tensile. This change in the strain from compressive to tensile upon annealing is explained in the light of mismatch between the thermal expansion coefficients of the film material and substrate. Room temperature resistivity of Pt films is dependant on both the T_s and T_a of the films. Observed decrease in the film resistivity with T_a is discussed in terms of annihilation of film defects and grain-boundary. Scanning electron microscopic study reveals that as the annealing temperature increases film densification improves. But at an annealing temperature of ∼600 °C, pinholes appear on the film surface and the size of pinhole increases with further increase in the annealing temperature. From X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis, existence of a thin layer of chemisorbed atomic oxygen is detected on the surfaces of the as deposited Pt films. Upon annealing, coverage of this surface oxygen increases.     

Reversible wettability of nanostructured ZnO thin films by sol-gel method

Nanostructured ZnO thin films were deposited on Si(1 1 1) and quartz substrate by sol-gel method. The thin films were annealed at 673 K, 873 K, and 1073 K for 60 min. Microstructure, surface topography, and water contact angle of the thin films have been measured by X-ray diffractometer, atomic force microscopy, and water contact angle apparatus. XRD results showed that the ZnO thin films are polycrystalline with hexagonal wurtzite structure. AFM studies revealed that rms roughness changes from 2.3 nm to 7.4 nm and the grain size grow up continuously with increasing annealing temperature. Wettability results indicated that hydrophobicity of the un-irradiated ZnO thin films enhances with annealing temperature increase. The hydrophobic ZnO surfaces could be reversibly switched to hydrophilic by alternation of UV illumination and dark storage (thermal treatment). By studying the magnitude and the contact angle reduction rate of the light-induced process, the contribution of surface roughness is discussed.     

Characteristics of ZnO epilayer on the post-annealed buffer layer on GaN/sapphire substrate by pulsed laser deposition

We employed epi-GaN substrates for ZnO film growth, and studied the deposition and post-annealing effects. ZnO films were grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. The as-grown films were annealed for one hour under atmospheric pressure air. ZnO morphologies after annealing were investigated and the post-annealed ZnO films grown at T _g =700^oC have very smooth surfaces and the rms with roughness is about 0.5 nm. Finally, ZnO post-annealed buffer layer was inserted between ZnO epilayer and GaN/sapphire substrates. It is confirmed by AFM that growth temperature of 700^oC helps the films grow in step-flow growth mode. It is observed by cathode luminescence spectrum that the ZnO film grown at 700^oC has very low visible luminescence, indicating the decrease of the deep level defects. It is also revealed by Hall measurements that carrier concentration is decreased by increasing the growth temperatures. It is suggested that low temperature buffer layer growth and post-annealing technique can be used to fabricate ZnO hetero-epitaxy.     

Self-organization of lamellae and permeability of microporous oriented polypropylene films

The effect of the annealing temperature T _ann of extruded polypropylene films on the structure of membranes prepared by the uniaxial extension of annealed films with the subsequent thermal fixation has been investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering and scanning electron microscopy. It has been shown that an increase in the permeability of membranes with increasing temperature T _ann is due to the self-organization of elements of the lamellar structure of the polymer as a result of the ordering and aggregation of particles.     

Wavelet–fractal approach to surface characterization of nanocrystalline ITO thin films

In this study, indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were prepared by electron beam deposition method on glass substrates at room temperature (RT). Surface morphology characterization of ITO thin films, before and after annealing at 500 °C, were investigated by analyzing the surface profile of atomic force microscopy (AFM) images using wavelet transform formalism. The wavelet coefficients related to the thin film surface profiles have been calculated, and then roughness exponent (α) of the films has been estimated using the scalegram method. The results reveal that the surface profiles of the films before and after annealing process have self-affine nature.     

Annealing temperature effect on the properties of mercury-doped TiO2 films prepared by sol-gel dip-coating technique

This work presents the annealing temperature effect on the properties of mercury (Hg)-doped titanium dioxide (TiO₂). Thin films and polycrystalline powders have been prepared by sol-gel process. The structure, surface morphology and optical properties, as a function of the annealing temperature, have been studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman, reflectance and ellipsometric spectroscopies. In order to determine the transformation points, we have analyzed the xerogel-obtained powder by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Raman spectroscopy shows the crystalline anatase and rutile phases for the films annealed at 400 °C and 1000 °C respectively. The AFM surface morphology results indicate that the particle size increases from 14 to 57 nm by increasing the annealing temperature. The complex index and the optical band gap (E_g) of the films were determined by the spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis. We have found that the optical band gap decreases by increasing the annealing temperature.     

Characterization of chemically deposited ZnSe/SnO2/glass films: Influence of annealing in Ar atmosphere on physical properties

The Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) thin films have been deposited on SnO₂/glass substrates by a simple and inexpensive chemical bath deposition (CBD). The structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnSe films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX), optical absorption spectroscopy, and four point probe techniques, respectively. The films have been subjected to different annealing temperature in Argon (Ar) atmosphere. An increase in annealing temperature does not cause a complete phase transformation whereas it affects the crystallite size, dislocation density and strain. The optical band gap (E_g) of the as-deposited film is estimated to be 3.08 eV and decreases with increasing annealing temperature down to 2.43 eV at 773 K. The as-deposited and annealed films show typical semiconducting behaviour, dρ/dT > 0. Interestingly, the films annealed at 373 K, 473 K, and 573 K show two distinct temperature dependent regions of electrical resistivity; exponential region at high temperature, linear region at low temperature. The temperature at which the transition takes place from exponential to linear region strongly depends on the annealing temperature.     

退火温度对溅射铝膜结构与电性能的影响

 采用直流磁控溅射方法成功地制备了Al膜,研究了退火温度对Al膜表面形貌、晶体结构、应力、择优取向及反射率的影响。研究表明：不同退火温度的薄膜晶粒排布致密而光滑,均方根粗糙度小。XRD测试表明：不同温度退火的铝膜均成多晶状态,晶体结构为面心立方,退火温度升高到400 ℃时,Al膜的应力最小达0.78 GPa,薄膜平均晶粒尺寸由18.3 nm增加到25.9 nm;随着退火温度的升高,(200)晶面择优取向特性变好。薄膜紫外-红外反射率随着退火温度的升高而增大。