Effects of hydrogen etching process on the structural and optical properties of nano-crystalline diamond films

In this work, hydrogen etching method is applied to improve the quality of nano-crystalline diamond (NCD) films grown from hot-filament assisted chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) system. From the characteristics of the structure and optical property, the grain size and surface roughness decrease while the optical transmission increase obviously under certain deposition parameters (gas pressure and substrate temperature) and longer etching time. Soft X-ray transmission measurements by synchrotron radiation are also carried out on the NCD films. The result shows that the X-ray transmission has an obvious improvement when the NCD film is fabricated from the hydrogen etching method. And the transmittance reaches 53.3% at X-ray photon energy of 258 eV, which has met the requirement for X-ray mask materials.     

GROWTH MODEL OF TEXTURED DIAMOND (111) FILM IN CH4/O2/H2 ATMOSPHERE

Partially oriented and highly textured diamond films on Si( 111 ) substrates were achieved by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition(HFCVD). High nucleation density greater than 5×10⁸cm^-2 was realiged in 3 min by near-surface glow discharge. The os-grown films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that by adding a small amount of oxygen to the mixture of CH₄/H₂, the appearance of facet(111) was well controlled, and the secondary nucleation on the facet(111) was suppressed greatly. Growth feature of homoepitaxy on diamond (111) surface was demonstrated to be in Stranski-Krastanov model by SEM.     

Nucleation of diamond on silicon wafers using C60 in the hot filament chemical vapour deposition system

Scanning electron microscopy and Raman shifts were used to study the process of diamond nucleation and growth using C60 in the hot filament chemical vapour deposition (HFCVD) system.The process of nucleation and growth of diamond films on silicon wafer using C60 as intermediate layer in HFCVD system is described.In order to increase the density of diamond nuclei on the wafers,it is not necessary to use negative bias.The UV-light pre-treatment is not beneficial for improving the diamond nucleation.The multi-layers of C60 molecules,but not a monolayer,can increase the density of diamond nuclei in the presence of H atoms.     

Research of microstructural characteristics on nanocrystalline diamond by microwave plasma CVD

In this study, the nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) films were carried out by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with CH₄/Ar/H₂ gas concoction on Si substrate at moderate temperatures. The characteristics of NCD films were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, optical emission spectroscopy and optical contact angle meter. The analytical results revealed that C₂ radial was the dominant species in the deposited process. From TEM observation, the NCD films were formed via the etching of hydrocarbons and a small amount of H₂ content additive into gas mixture has improved the aggregation of the nucleation film to form the NCD films. The more hydrophobic surfaces imply that NCD films are the potential biomaterial in the application of article heart valve or stent.     

Effects of hydrogen and oxygen on the electrochemical corrosion and wear-corrosion behavior of diamond films deposited by hot filament chemical vapor deposition

A diamond film was deposited on silicon substrate using hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD), and H₂ and O₂ gases were added to the deposition process for comparison. This work evaluates how adding H₂ and O₂ affects the corrosion and wear-corrosion resistance characteristics of diamond films deposited on silicon substrate. The type of atomic bonding, structure, and surface morphologies of various diamond films were analyzed by Raman spectrometry, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Additionally, the mechanical characteristics of diamond films were studied using a precision nano-indentation test instrument. The corrosion and wear-corrosion resistance of diamond films were studied in 1 M H₂SO₄ + 1 M NaCl solution by electrochemical polarization. The experimental results show that the diamond film with added H₂ had a denser surface and a more obvious diamond phase with sp³ bonding than the as-deposited HFCVD diamond film, effectively increasing the hardness, improving the surface structure and thereby improving corrosion and wear-corrosion resistance properties. However, the diamond film with added O₂ had more sp² and fewer sp³ bonds than the as-deposited HFCVD diamond film, corresponding to reduced corrosion and wear-corrosion resistance.     

氮气氛下(100)织构金刚石薄膜的成核与生长研究

利用热丝化学气相沉积法研究了氮气浓度对金刚石薄膜成核和生长的影响.实验发现氮气的 加入对金刚石成核密度影响不大,但促进了已形成的金刚石核的长大.适量的氮气不仅使金 刚石生长速率得到很大的提高,而且稳定了金刚石薄膜(100)面的生长,使金刚石薄膜具有 更好的(100)织构.利用原位光发射谱对衬底附近的化学基团进行了研究.研究表明,氮气的 引入使得金刚石生长的气相化学和表面化学性质发生了很大变化.含氮基团的萃取作用提高 了金刚石表面氢原子的脱附速率,从而提高了金刚石膜的生长速率.而含氮基团的选择吸附 使金刚石 关键词： 氮气 金刚石薄膜 织构 原位光发射谱     

Influence of boron carbide on properties of CVD-diamond thin films at various deposition pressures

Microcrystalline boron-doped diamond (BDD) films are synthesized on the silicon substrate by the hot-filament chemical vapor deposition method under the gas mixture of hydrogen and methane in the presence of boron carbide (B₄C) placed in front of filaments. The observed results of scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction show the morphologies. Microstructures for various deposition pressures of as-grown diamond films are found to be dependent on the change of deposition pressure. These results reveal that with the increase of deposition pressure, resistivity decreases and increase in the grain size is noted in the presence of B₄C. Resistivity shows a sudden fall of about three orders of magnitude by the addition of boron in the diamond films. This is due to the crystal integrity induced by B-atoms in the structure of diamond in the presence of B₄C. These results are also significant for the conventional applications of BDD materials. The effects of deposition pressure on the overall films morphology and the doping level dependence of the diamond films have also been discussed.     

Growth of gem-grade nitrogen-doped diamond crystals heavily doped with the addition of Ba（N3）2

Additive Ba(N 3) 2 as a source of nitrogen is heavily doped into the graphite-Fe-based alloy system to grow nitrogendoped diamond crystals under a relatively high pressure (about 6.0 GPa) by employing the temperature gradient method.Gem-grade diamond crystal with a size of around 5 mm and a nitrogen concentration of about 1173 ppm is successfully synthesised for the first time under high pressure and high temperature in a China-type cubic anvil highpressure apparatus.The growth habit of diamond crystal under the environment with high degree of nitrogen doping is investigated.It is found that the morphologies of heavily nitrogen-doped diamond crystals are all of octahedral shape dominated by {111} facets.The effects of temperature and duration on nitrogen concentration and form are explored by infrared absorption spectra.The results indicate that nitrogen impurity is present in diamond predominantly in the dispersed form accompanied by aggregated form,and the aggregated nitrogen concentration in diamond increases with temperature and duration.In addition,it is indicated that nitrogen donors are more easily incorporated into growing crystals at higher temperature.Strains in nitrogen-doped diamond crystal are characterized by micro-Raman spectroscopy.Measurement results demonstrate that the undoped diamond crystals exhibit the compressive stress,whereas diamond crystals heavily doped with the addition of Ba(N 3) 2 display the tensile stress.     

微波等离子体化学气相沉积法制备C3N4薄膜的结构研究

采用微波等离子体化学气相沉积法,用高纯氮气(99.999%)和甲烷(99.9%)作反应气体,在单晶Si(100)基片上沉积C₃N₄薄膜.利用扫描电子显微镜观察薄膜形貌,表明薄膜由密排的六棱晶棒组成.X射线衍射和透射电子显微镜结构分析说明该薄膜主要由β-C₃N₄和α-C₃N₄组成,并且这些结果与α-C₃N₄相符合较好.由虎克定律近似关 关键词： 3N₄')" href="#">C₃N₄ 微波等离子体化学气相沉积法 薄膜沉积     

Enhanced field emission characteristics of boron doped diamond films grown by microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition

Boron doped diamond films were synthesized on silicon substrates by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) technique. The effect of B₂O₃ concentration varied from 1000 to 5000 ppm on the field emission characteristics was examined. The surface morphology and quality of films were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The surface morphology obtained by SEM showed variation from facetted microcrystal covered with nanometric grains to cauliflower of nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) particles with increasing B₂O₃ concentration. The Raman spectra confirm the formation of NCD films. The field emission properties of NCD films were observed to improve upon increasing boron concentration. The values of the onset field and threshold field are observed to be as low as 0.36 and 0.08 V/μm, respectively. The field emission current stability investigated at the preset value of ∼1 μA is observed to be good, in each case. The enhanced field emission properties are attributed to the better electrical conductivity coupled with the nanometric features of the diamond films.     

Development of rf plasma sputtered Al2O3-TiO2 multilayer broad band antireflecting coatings and its correlation with plasma parameters

TiO₂/Al₂O₃/TiO₂/Al₂O₃ multilayer structures were obtained at different oxygen:argon gas ratios of 20:80, 30:70, 50:50 and 60:40 sccm and constant rf power of 200 W using reactive magnetron sputtering. Grain size and elemental distribution in the films were studied from AFM image and XPS spectra respectively. The deposited grain size increased with increasing oxygen:argon gas ratio. The optical band gap, refractive index, extinction coefficient were calculated from UV-vis transmittance and reflectance spectra. It was observed that the value of refractive index, extinction coefficient and band gap increased with increasing oxygen. These variations are due to the defects levels generated by the heterostructure and explained by the PL spectrum. The antireflecting (AR) efficiency of the films was estimated from the reflectance spectra of the films. Broad band antireflecting coating for the visible range was achieved by varying oxygen content in the film. The plasma chemistry controlled the antireflecting property by the interface interdiffusion of atoms during layer transition in multilayer deposition. The in situ investigation of the plasma chemistry was performed using optical emission spectroscopy. The plasma parameters were estimated and correlated with the characteristics of the films.     

A comparative study of the physical properties of Sb2S3 thin films treated with N2 AC plasma and thermal annealing in N2

As-deposited antimony sulfide thin films prepared by chemical bath deposition were treated with nitrogen AC plasma and thermal annealing in nitrogen atmosphere. The as-deposited, plasma treated, and thermally annealed antimony sulfide thin films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and electrical measurements. The results have shown that post-deposition treatments modify the crystalline structure, the morphology, and the optoelectronic properties of Sb₂S₃ thin films. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the crystallinity of the films was improved in both cases. Atomic force microscopy studies showed that the change in the film morphology depends on the post-deposition treatment used. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) analysis revealed the plasma etching on the surface of the film, this fact was corroborated by the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. The optical band gap of the films (E_g) decreased after post-deposition treatments (from 2.36 to 1.75 eV) due to the improvement in the grain sizes. The electrical resistivity of the Sb₂S₃ thin films decreased from 10⁸ to 10⁶ Ω-cm after plasma treatments.     

Growth and structure of Bi0.5(Na0.7K0.2Li0.1)0.5TiO3 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition technique

Bi_0.5(Na_0.7K_0.2Li_0.1)_0.5TiO₃ (BNKLT) thin films were prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The films prepared were examined by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The effects of the processing parameters, such as oxygen pressure, substrate temperature and laser power, on the crystal structure, surface morphology, roughness and deposition rates of the thin films were investigated. It was found that the substrate temperature of 600 °C and oxygen pressure of 30 Pa are the optimized technical parameters for the growth of textured film, and all the thin films prepared have granular structure, homogeneous grain size and smooth surfaces.     

Elucidating surface properties of dry-etched ZnO using H2/CH4 and H2/CH4/Ar plasma

This paper reports a study of reactive ion etching (RIE) of n-ZnO in H₂/CH₄ and H₂/CH₄/Ar gas mixtures. Variables in the experiment were gas flow ratios, radio-frequency (rf) plasma power, and total pressure. Structural and electrical parameters of the etched surfaces and films were determined. Both the highest surface roughness and highest etching rate of ZnO films were obtained with a maximum rf power of 300 W, but at different gas flow ratios and working pressures. These results were expected because increasing the rf power increased the bond-breaking efficiency of ZnO. The highest degree of surface roughness was a result of pure physical etching by H₂ gas without mixed CH₄ gas. The highest etching rate was obtained from physical etching of H₂/Ar species associated with chemical reaction of CH₄ species. Additionally, the H₂/CH₄/Ar plasma treatment drastically decreased the specific contact and sheet resistance of the ZnO films. These results indicated that etching the ZnO film had roughened the surface and reduced its resistivity to ohmic contact, supporting the application of a roughened transparent contact layer (TCL) in light-emitting diodes (LEDs).     

Impact of nitrogen doping on growth and hydrogen impurity incorporation of thick nanocrystalline diamond films

A much larger amount of bonded hydrogen was found in thick nanocrystalline diamond(NCD) films produced by only adding 0.24% N2 into 4% CH4 /H2 plasma,as compared to the high quality transparent microcrystalline diamond(MCD) films,grown using the same growth parameters except for nitrogen.These experimental results clearly evidence that defect formation and impurity incorporation(for example,N and H) impeding diamond grain growth is the main formation mechanism of NCD upon nitrogen doping and strongly support the model proposed in the literature that nitrogen competes with CH x(x=1,2,3) growth species for adsorption sites.     

金刚石薄膜的红外椭圆偏振光谱研究

采用红外椭圆偏振光谱对微波等离子体化学气相沉积法（MPCVD）和热丝化学气相沉积法（H-FCVD）制备的金刚石薄膜在红外波长范围（2.5—12.5μm）的光学参数进行了测量.建立了不同的光学模型，且在模型中采用Bruggeman有效介质近似方法综合考虑了薄膜表面和界面的椭偏效应.结果表明，MPCVD金刚石膜的椭偏数据在模型引入了厚度为77.5nm的硅表面氧化层、HFCVD金刚石膜引入879nm粗糙层之后能得到很好的拟合.最后对两种模型下金刚石薄膜的折射率和消光系数进行了计算，表明MPCVD金刚石薄膜的红外 关键词： 金刚石薄膜 红外椭圆偏振光谱 光学参数 有效介质近似     

Preparation of WO3 nanoparticles and application to NO2 sensor

WO₃ nanoparticles were prepared by evaporating tungsten filament under a low pressure of oxygen gas, namely, by a gas evaporation method. The crystal structure, morphology, and NO₂ gas sensing properties of WO₃ nanoparticles deposited under various oxygen pressures and annealed at different temperatures were investigated. The particles obtained were identified as monoclinic WO₃. The particle size increased with increasing oxygen pressure and with increasing annealing temperature. The sensitivity increased with decreasing particle size, irrespective of the oxygen pressure during deposition and annealing temperature. The highest sensitivity of 4700 to NO₂ at 1 ppm observed in this study was measured at a relatively low operating temperature of 50 °C; this sensitivity was observed for a sensor made of particles as small as 36 nm.     

Gas pressure effects on the structure of CNx thin films deposited by laser ablation

Carbon nitride thin films with different nitrogen concentration have been deposited at different N₂ and N₂/Ar mixed partial pressures. Time-integrated optical emission spectroscopy measurements have been performed to gather information on the nature of the chemical species present in the plasma. Both the CN and C₂ molecular species have been observed. Fast photography imaging of the expanding plume revealed the change of the dynamics from a free expansion at low pressure to a shock wave formation followed then by the plume stopping upon increasing the gas pressure values. Raman and XPS spectroscopy measurements performed on the deposited thin films revealed that the films, structure strongly depends on the dynamics of the expansion plasma regime rather than on the partial pressure at which the deposition takes place.     

沉积工艺条件对金刚石薄膜红外椭偏光学性质的影响

采用红外椭圆偏振光谱仪对不同工艺条件下制备的CVD金刚石薄膜在红外波长范围内的光学参量进行了测量，分析了工艺条件对金刚石薄膜红外光学性质的影响.获得了最佳的沉积工艺参数，优化了薄膜的制备工艺.结果表明薄膜的折射率和消光系数与薄膜质量密切相关，当温度为750℃，碳源浓度为0.9%和压强为4.0 kPa时，金刚石薄膜的红外椭偏光学性质最佳，折射率平均值为2.385，消光系数在10^-4范围内，在红外波段具有良好的透过性. 关键词： 薄膜光学 红外光学性质 工艺条件 金刚石薄膜     

Pulsed laser deposition of NdNiO3 thin films

We report the structural and transport properties of NdNiO₃ thin films prepared via pulsed laser deposition over various substrates. The films were well textured and c-axis oriented with good crystalline properties. The electrical resistivity of the films undergoes a metal-insulator transition, depending on the deposition process. Well-defined first order metal-insulator phase transition (T_MI) was observed in the best quality films without high pressure processing. Various growth conditions such as substrate temperature, oxygen pressure and thickness were varied to see their influence on T_MI. Deposition temperature was found to have a great impact on the electrical and structural properties of these films. Further the films deposited on LaAlO₃ substrate were found to be highly oriented with uniform grain size as observed from X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy, whereas those on Si substrate were polycrystalline, dense and randomly oriented.