Nitridation of thin SiO2 films in N2 and NH3 plasmas

A low-temperature (700°C) plasma-enhanced nitridation process which improves the dielectric breakdown of thin silicon dioxide (SiO₂) layers is presented. It uses a new, production compatible, parallel plate plasma reactor working at low RF frequencies. Nitrided oxides produce less charge trapping under high field stress, higher breakdown charge and a tighter distribution of breakdown fields than pure SiO₂. More nitrogen is incorporated in films treated in a NH₃ plasma than in a N₂ plasma. However, the latter present better electrical properties.     

SiO2/Si衬底上石墨烯的制备与结构表征

在分子束外延(MBE)设备中,利用直接沉积C原子的方法在覆盖有SiO₂的Si衬底(SiO₂/Si)上生长石墨烯,并通过Raman光谱和近边X射线吸收精细结构谱等实验技术对不同衬底温度(500℃,600℃,700℃,900℃,1100℃,1200℃)生长的薄膜进行结构表征.实验结果表明,在衬底温度较低时生长的薄膜是无定形碳,在衬底温度高于700℃时薄膜具有石墨烯的特征,而且石墨烯的结晶质量随着衬底温度的升高而改善,但过高的衬底温度会使石墨烯质量降低.衬底温度为1100℃时结晶质量最好.衬底温度较低时C原子活性较低,难以形成有序的C-sp²六方环.而衬底温度过高时(1200℃),衬底表面部分SiO₂分解,C原子与表面的Si原子或者O原子结合而阻止石墨烯的形成,并产生表面缺陷导致石墨烯结晶变差.     

Electrical properties of thin PECVD silicon oxynitride films

Thin silicon oxynitride films with excellent uniformity were prepared by plasma enhanced CVD. Oxygen incorporation leads to improved breakdown behavior and to reduction of the film conductivity compared to PECVD silicon nitride layers. Thin PECVD silicon oxynitride films deposited on single crystal and poly-Si exhibit good insulation properties in both cases.     

Photoluminescence and paramagnetic defects in silicon-implanted silicon dioxide layers

Thermally grown SiO₂ layers on Si substrates implanted with Si⁺ ions with a dose of 6×10¹⁶ cm⁻² were studied by the techniques of photoluminescence, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and low-frequency Raman scattering. Distinct oxygen-vacancy associated defects in SiO₂ and non-bridging oxygen hole centers were identified by EPR. The luminescence intensity in the 620 nm range was found to correlate with the number of these defects. The low-frequency Raman scattering technique was used to estimate the average size of the Si nanocrystallites formed after the implantation and thermal annealing at T>1100°C, which are responsible for the photoluminescence band with a maximum at 740 nm. The intensity of this band can be significantly enhanced by an additional treatment of the samples in a low-temperature RF plasma.     

等离子增强原子层沉积低温生长GaN薄膜

采用等离子增强原子层沉积技术在低温下于单晶硅衬底上成功生长了Ga N多晶薄膜,利用椭圆偏振仪、低角度掠入射X射线衍射仪、X射线光电子能谱仪对薄膜样品的生长速率、晶体结构及薄膜成分进行了表征和分析.结果表明,等离子增强原子层沉积技术生长Ga N的温度窗口为210—270?C,薄膜在较高生长温度下呈多晶态,在较低温度下呈非晶态;薄膜中N元素与大部分Ga元素结合成N—Ga键生成Ga N,有少量的Ga元素以Ga—O键存在,多晶Ga N薄膜含有少量非晶态Ga_2O_3.     

The effect of nitrogen incorporation on surface properties of silicon oxynitride films

In order to investigate the surface heterogeneity of silicon oxynitride films, we observed the nanoscale variation of the surface potential by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KFM), the molecular bonding characteristics by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), and the wetting behavior by contact angle measurement. Nitrogen incorporation into silicon oxynitride films influenced the decrease in the surface potential and the polar component of the surface free energy. We present the first correlation between the nanoscale measurement of the surface potential and the macroscopic measurement of the surface free energy in silicon oxynitride films grown by a standard plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Interface states and impurities in MOS structures with very thin tunneling barriers

Electron tunneling spectroscopy was used to investigate MOS junctions with very thin silicon oxide or silicon oxynitride layers (2–5 nm) as tunneling barriers. For the tunneling measurements at 4.2 K highly degenerate P-doped (3×10²⁰ cm^-3) Si substrates, oxidized in dry oxygen at 600°C were used. Silicon oxynitride layers were prepared by plasma nitridation in an NH₃ discharge. As gate electrodes evaporated films of Al, Au or Pb were utilized. Changes in the tunneling conductivity were attributed to changes in the density of interface states, caused by hydrogen annealing or by high field stress. The results indicate a correlation between the generation of interface states and the removal of Si-H configurations. Vibrational modes of phonons, dopants and impurities were detected by inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy.     

不同钝化结构对非极性AlGaN-MSM紫外探测器性能的提升

在r面蓝宝石衬底上,采用金属有机化学气相沉积（MOCVD）法高温生长了未掺杂非极性AlGaN半导体薄膜,在此基础上制备了金属-半导体-金属（MSM）结构的紫外探测器。系统研究了在AlGaN半导体薄膜表面分别磁控溅射SiO₂纳米颗粒与SiO₂钝化层两种钝化手段对非极性AlGaN-MSM结构的紫外探测器性能的影响。实验结果表明：磁控溅射SiO₂纳米颗粒钝化或SiO₂钝化层两种手段都能提升AlGaN-MSM结构紫外探测器性能。暗电流测试表明,SiO₂纳米颗粒和SiO₂钝化层可使器件暗电流下降1~2个数量级,达到nA量级。光谱响应测试发现,在5 V偏压下,探测器在300 nm处具有陡峭的截止边,这表明其具有很好的深紫外特性,光谱响应提高了10³倍,紫外可见抑制比高达10⁵。     

Nanoscale islands and color centers in porous anodic alumina on silicon fabricated by oxalic acid

Anodic oxidation of Al film on silicon substrate in oxalic acid is investigated through the j–t curves and its photoluminescence (PL). Their growth is analyzed with three typical stages according to j–t curve, which is agreed with the growth of nanoscale SiO₂ islands at the interface between Al film and Si substrate. The violet and blue peaks of PL were due to F⁺ and F centers, respectively. The evolvement from F⁺ to F centers during the late stage of anodization was revealed by the PL behavior at different stage.     

Heteroepitaxy of erbium-doped silicon layers on sapphire substrates

The possibility of using sublimation molecular-beam epitaxy as an efficient method for growing erbium-doped silicon layers on sapphire substrates for optoelectronic applications is analyzed. The advantage of this method is that the erbium-doped silicon layers can be grown at relatively low temperatures. The use of sublimation molecular-beam epitaxy makes it possible to grow silicon layers of good crystal quality. It is demonstrated that the growth temperature affects not only the structure of silicon-on-sapphire layers but also the crystallographic orientation of these layers. The electrical and luminescence properties of the erbium-doped silicon layers are discussed. It is revealed that structures of this type exhibit intense erbium photoluminescence at a wavelength of 1.54 μm.     

SiO2固态电解质中的质子特性对氧化物双电层薄膜晶体管性能的影响

本文采用等离子体增强化学气相沉积技术(PECVD)在室温条件下制备了具有双电层效应的二氧化硅(SiO₂) 固体电解质薄膜, 并以此SiO₂薄膜作为栅介质制备了氧化铟锌(IZO)双电层薄膜晶体管. 本文系统地研究了SiO₂固体电解质中的质子特性对双电层薄膜晶体管性能的影响, 研究结果表明, 经过纯水浸泡的SiO₂固体电解质薄膜可以诱导出较多的可迁移质子, 因此表现出较大的双电层电容. 由于SiO₂固体电解质薄膜具有质子迁移特性, 晶体管的转移特性曲线呈现出逆时针方向的洄滞现象, 并且这一洄滞效应随着栅极电压扫描速率的增加而增大. 进一步对薄膜晶体管的偏压稳定性进行测试, 发现晶体管的阈值电压的变化遵循了拉升指数函数(stretched exponential function)关系.     

Reduction of insertion loss after annealing of silicon oxynitride optical waveguides

The insertion losses of silicon oxynitride (SiON) waveguides have been measured in the 1550 nm wavelength region. The waveguide structure consisted of a 2.0μm SiON waveguide core with a refractive index of 1.50, a 0.5μm SiO₂ upper cladding and a 5.0μm SiO₂ lower cladding with a refractive index of 1.45. It was found that the wavelength-dependent insertion losses of the waveguide were greatly reduced by annealing, and the loss was decreased more than 5.7 dB/cm at 1550 nm after annealing at optimum conditions. The former was attributed to the reduction of the absorption caused by N-H and Si-H vibration modes, and the latter was due to the improvement of the interface roughness and homogeneity in the waveguides after annealing.     

Monte Carlo study of interfacial silicon suboxide layers and oxidation kinetics

A simple simulation scheme that simultaneously describes the growth kinetics of SiO₂ films at the nanometer scale and the SiO_x/Si interface dynamics (its extent, and spatial/temporal evolution) is presented. The simulation successfully applies to experimental data in the region above and below 10 nm, reproduces the Deal and Grove linear-parabolic law and the oxide growth rate enhancement in the very thin film regime (the so-called anomalous region). According to the simulation, the oxidation is governed mainly by two processes: (a) the formation of a transition suboxide layer and (b) its subsequent drift towards the silicon bulk. We found that it is the superposition of these two processes that produces the crossover from the anomalous oxidation region behavior to the linear-parabolic law.     

Optical and compositional studies of buried oxide layers in silicon formed by high dose implantation

Samples of standard SIMOX material, dose 2.4×10¹⁸/cm² at 200 keV have been examined in the as-implanted and annealed condition. The samples were prepared by wet-chemical etching with the silicon overlayer being removed first. Samples were then etched to remove the buried oxide, revealing and successively exposing the interface. These samples were then examined by ellipsometry and SIMS with an emphasis on the optical properties and compositional nature of the interfaces. Ellipsometry results indicate that a final layer of the buried oxide with refractive index 2.5 to 3 and thickness 150 to 250 Å is very resistant to the oxide etch. This may be correlated with the compositional profile of the interfacial region obtained by SIMS. The interface between the buried oxide and bulk silicon includes two layers, the first of silicon with SiO₂ precipitates and the second of entirely SiO₂.     

Laser assisted chemical vapour deposition of silicon oxide layers

This paper focuses on the deposition of silicon oxide thin films, using laser assisted CVD based on a CO₂ laser, and on the feasibility of the process for coating porous silicon samples. Scanning electron and atomic force microscopy were used to analyse the morphology and microstructure of the films, while structure and chemical composition were determined by Fourier transform infrared and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. Two-wavelength ellipsometry was used for thickness and refractive index evaluation. The photoluminescence of SiO₂/PS was measured and compared with that of uncoated samples.     

Synthesis and physical behaviour of In2S3 films

In₂S₃ layers have been grown by close-spaced evaporation of pre-synthesized In₂S₃ powder from its constituent elements. The layers were deposited on glass substrates at temperatures in the range, 200–350 °C. The effect of substrate temperature on composition, structure, morphology, electrical and optical properties of the as-grown indium sulfide films has been studied. The synthesized powder exhibited cubic structure with a grain size of 63.92 nm and S/In ratio of 1.01. The films grown at 200 °C were amorphous in nature while its crystallinity increased with the increase of substrate temperature to 300 °C. The films exhibited pure tetragonal β-In₂S₃ phase at the substrate temperature of 350 °C. The surface morphological analysis revealed that the films grown at 300 °C had an average roughness of 1.43 nm. These films showed a S/In ratio of 0.98 and a lower electrical resistivity of 1.28 × 10³ Ω cm. The optical band gap was found to be direct and the layers grown at 300 °C showed a higher optical transmittance of 78% and an energy band gap of 2.49 eV.     

Specific features and mechanisms of photoluminescence of nanostructured silicon carbide films grown on silicon in vacuum

The light-emitting properties of cubic silicon carbide films grown by vacuum vapor phase epitaxy on Si(100) and Si(111) substrates under conditions of decreased growth temperatures (T _gr ∼ 900–700°C) have been discussed. Structural investigations have revealed a nanocrystalline structure and, simultaneously, a homogeneity of the phase composition of the grown 3C-SiC films. Photoluminescence spectra of these structures under excitation of the electronic subsystem by a helium-cadmium laser (λ_excit = 325 nm) are characterized by a rather intense luminescence band with the maximum shifted toward the ultraviolet (∼3 eV) region of the spectral range. It has been found that the integral curve of photoluminescence at low temperatures of measurements is split into a set of Lorentzian components. The correlation between these components and the specific features of the crystal structure of the grown silicon carbide layers has been analyzed.     

A quantum chemical study of ZrO2 atomic layer deposition growth reactions on the SiO2 surface

Zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) is one of the leading candidates to replace silicon oxide (SiO₂) as the gate dielectric for future generation metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) based nanoelectronic devices. Experimental studies have shown that a 1–3 monolayer SiO₂ film between the high permittivity metal oxide and the substrate silicon is needed to minimize electrical degradation. This study uses density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the initial growth reactions of ZrO₂ on hydroxylated SiO₂ by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The reactants investigated in this study are zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl₄) and water (H₂O). Exchange reaction mechanisms for the two reaction half-cycles were investigated. For the first half-reaction, reaction of gaseous ZrCl₄ with the hydroxylated SiO₂ surface was studied. Upon adsorption, ZrCl₄ forms a stable intermediate complex with the surface SiO₂–OH^* site, followed by formation of SiO₂–O–Zr–Cl^* surface sites and HCl. For the second half-reaction, reaction of H₂O on SiO₂–O–Zr–Cl^* surface sites was investigated. The reaction pathway is analogous to that of the first half-reaction; water first forms a stable intermediate complex followed by evolution of HCl through combination of a Cl atom from the surface site and an H atom from H₂O. The results reveal that the stable intermediate complexes formed in both half-reactions can lead to a slow film growth rate unless process parameters are adjusted to lower the stability of the complex. The energetics of the two half-reactions are similar to those of ZrO₂ ALD on ZrO₂ and as well as the energetics of ZrO₂ ALD on hydroxylated silicon. The energetics of the growth reactions with two surface hydroxyl sites are also described.     

Structural and optical properties of amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbonitride films produced by PECVD

Amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbonitride thin films (a-Si:C:N:H), deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) using hexamethyldisilazane (HMDSN) as monomer and Ar as feed gas, have been investigated for their structural and optical properties as a function of the deposition RF plasma power, in the range of 100-300 W. The films have been analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM). From the analysis of the FT-IR spectra it results that the films become more amorphous and inorganic as RF plasma power increases. The incorporation of oxygen in the deposited layers, mainly due to the atmospheric attack, has been evaluated by XPS and FT-IR spectroscopy. Reflectance/transmittance spectra, acquired in the range of 200-2500 nm, allow to descrive the film absorption edge for interband transitions. A relationship between the optical energy band gap, deduced from the absorption coefficient curve, and the deposition RF plasma power has been investigated. The reduction of the optical energy gap from 3.85 to 3.69 eV and the broadening of the optical absorption tail with RF plasma power increasing from 100 to 300 W are ascribed to the growth of structural disorder, while the increase of the refractive index, evaluated at 630 nm, is attributed to a slight densification of the film. The AFM analysis confirms the amorphous character of the films and shows how the deposited layers become rougher when RF plasma power increases. The wettability of the film has been studied and related to the chemical composition and to the morphology of the deposited layers.     

Luminescence spectra of hexagonal forms of silicon carbide in mosaic films grown by solid-state epitaxy

The luminescence spectra of silicon carbide films grown on silicon by solid-state epitaxy have been studied. It has been shown that, depending on the growth conditions, one can obtain films of different SiC polytypes, including the cubic and hexagonal ones. In many cases, the films thus grown display a mixture of various polytypes, but it is possible to prepare films of predominantly hexagonal symmetry (the coexistence of the 4H and 2H hexagonal phases, which are close in properties, is also possible). It thus has been demonstrated that the silicon carbide films grown on silicon by solid-state epitaxy are promising for application as damping layers in fabrication of wide-band-gap hexagonal semiconductors on silicon substrates.