Features of atomic and electronic structure of oxides on porous silicon surface according to XANES data

Based on synchrotron research of the fine structure main parameters of SiL _{2, 3} X-ray absorption edges (X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES)) in porous silicon on boron-doped Si(100) wafers, the thickness of the surface oxide layer and the degree of distortions of the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron in this layer were estimated. The thickness of the oxide layer formed on the amorphous layer coating nanocrystals of porous silicon exceeds the thickness of the native oxide on the surface of Si(100) : P and Si(100) : B single-crystal (100) silicon wafers by several times. Distortion of the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron, i.e., the basic unit of silicon oxide, is accompanied by Si-O bond stretching and an increase in the angle between Si-O-Si bonds.     

High-density-plasma (HDP)-CVD oxide to thermal oxide wafer bonding for strained silicon layer transfer applications

Direct wafer bonding between high-density-plasma chemical vapour deposited (HDP-CVD) oxide and thermal oxide (TO) has been investigated. HDP-CVD oxides, about 230 nm in thickness, were deposited on Si(0 0 1) control wafers and the wafers of interest that contain a thin strained silicon (sSi) layer on a so-called virtual substrate that is composed of relaxed SiGe (∼4 μm thick) on Si(0 0 1) wafers. The surfaces of the as-deposited HDP-CVD oxides on the Si control wafers were smooth with a root-mean-square (RMS) roughness of <1 nm, which is sufficiently smooth for direct wafer bonding. The surfaces of the sSi/SiGe/Si(0 0 1) substrates show an RMS roughness of >2 nm. After HDP-CVD oxide deposition on the sSi/SiGe/Si substrates, the RMS roughness of the oxide surfaces was also found to be the same, i.e., >2 nm. To use these wafers for direct bonding the RMS roughness had to be reduced below 1 nm, which was carried out using a chemo-mechanical polishing (CMP) step. After bonding the HDP-CVD oxides to thermally oxidized handle wafers, the bonded interfaces were mostly bubble- and void-free for the silicon control and the sSi/SiGe/Si(0 0 1) wafers. The bonded wafer pairs were then annealed at higher temperatures up to 800 °C and the bonded interfaces were still found to be almost bubble- and void-free. Thus, HDP-CVD oxide is quite suitable for direct wafer bonding and layer transfer of ultrathin sSi layers on oxidized Si wafers for the fabrication of novel sSOI substrates.     

Synthesis of chromium silicide with laser pulses

Thin chromium films, 60 nm thick, were deposited onto single-crystal silicon wafers. The samples were irradiated with 30 ns single pulses from a Nd: glass laser at fluences ranging from 0.4 to 2.25 J/cm². Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction measurements evidence the formation of CrSi₂ layers at the Cr/Si interface. The silicide thickness depends on the laser fluence.     

Influence of nitrogen implantation into the buried oxide on the radiation hardness of silicon-on-insulator wafers

In order to improve the total-dose radiation hardness of the buried oxide of separation by implanted oxygen silicon-on-insulator wafers, nitrogen ions were implanted into the buried oxide with a dose of 1016 cm-2 , and subsequent annealing was performed at 1100°C. The effect of annealing time on the radiation hardness of the nitrogen implanted wafers has been studied by the high frequency capacitance-voltage technique. The results suggest that the improvement of the radiation hardness of the wafers can be achieved through a shorter time annealing after nitrogen implantation. The nitrogen-implanted sample with the shortest annealing time 0.5 h shows the highest tolerance to total-dose radiation. In particular, for the 1.0 and 1.5 h annealing samples, both total dose responses were unusual. After 300-krad(Si) irradiation, both the shifts of capacitance-voltage curve reached a maximum, respectively, and then decreased with increasing total dose. In addition, the wafers were analysed by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique, and some useful results have been obtained.     

Electronic properties of silicene in BN/silicene van der Waals heterostructures

Silicene is a promising 2D Dirac material as a building block for van der Waals heterostructures(vd WHs). Here we investigate the electronic properties of hexagonal boron nitride/silicene(BN/Si) vd WHs using first-principles calculations.We calculate the energy band structures of BN/Si/BN heterostructures with different rotation angles and find that the electronic properties of silicene are retained and protected robustly by the BN layers. In BN/Si/BN/Si/BN heterostructure, we find that the band structure near the Fermi energy is sensitive to the stacking configurations of the silicene layers due to interlayer coupling. The coupling is reduced by increasing the number of BN layers between the silicene layers and becomes negligible in BN/Si/(BN)_3/Si/BN. In(BN)_n/Si superlattices, the band structure undergoes a conversion from Dirac lines to Dirac points by increasing the number of BN layers between the silicene layers. Calculations of silicene sandwiched by other 2D materials reveal that silicene sandwiched by low-carbon-doped boron nitride or HfO_2 is semiconducting.     

Quantum confined luminescence in Si/SiO2 superlattices

Amorphous Si/SiO₂ superlattices with periodicities between 2 and 5 nm have now been grown on (1 00) Si wafers by several different techniques: molecular beam epitaxy, magnetron sputtering, and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). With the first two methods little or no hydrogen is incorporated during growth and visible photo-luminescence (PL) is obtained at wavelengths from 520 to 800 nm. The shift in the PL peak position with Si layer thickness is consistent with quantum confined band-to-band recombination. Annealing the sputtered superlattices at temperatures up to 1100°C results in a very bright red PL that is similar in intensity to that observed in porous Si samples. For large numbers of periods (e.g., 425) the PL is strongly modulated in intensity owing to optical interference within the superlattice. Similar quantum confined, but defect induced, PL is also observed in the PECVD grown superlattices, where the amorphous Si layers are heavily hydrogenated.     

衬底对化学气相沉积法制备氧化硅纳米线的影响

通过化学气相沉积法在不同衬底上制备了大量的氧化硅纳米线.选用衬底为Si片、带有约100nm厚SiO2氧化层Si片和石英片.利用场发射扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和透射电镜(TEM，配备有能谱仪)对样品的表面形貌、结构和成分进行研究.结果表明：这些纳米线都为非晶态，但在不同衬底上生长的纳米线形貌、尺寸和化学成分不同.讨论了各种衬底对不同特征氧化硅纳米线生长的影响. 关键词： 化学气相沉积 纳米线 纳米颗粒     

Structural and optical features of nanoporous silicon prepared by electrochemical anodic etching

Nanoporous silicon (NPS) samples were prepared by electrochemical anodic etching of p-type (0 0 1) silicon wafers in HF solution, and some of them were aged in air. The nanostructural, optical and chemical features of the NPS were investigated in terms of etching and aging conditions. The surface of the porous Si exhibits an etched layer with a thickness of 30–40 nm; this layer appears to consist of aggregates of 5–10 nm size nano-crystallites. The NPS exhibited broad photoluminescence (PL) spectra with its peak in the red light region (740 nm). After aging the porous samples for 4 weeks in air, we observed the PL intensity became approximately a fifth of that of the as-prepared one, along with a blue shift. It is very likely that the blue shift of the PL peak was caused by the shrinkage of the Si nano-crystallites due to the oxidation in the surface of the nano-crystallites.     

Studies of interface structures of W films grown on patterned and bare Si(100) by TEM

+ Si(100) and bare Si(100) wafers by low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD) at 230–280 °C. The films were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The cross-sectional TEM samples of W/Si(100) exhibited a fine scale interface roughness, which was attributed to the surface preparation. Irregular W plug structures were observed depending on the predeposition procedures. It was observed that an insufficient deposition of W films on the contact surface leads to the presence of aluminium around and underneath the plugs. This was observed by energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). A study, using conventional electron diffraction, confirmed that no silicides formed at the interfaces of W-bare Si(l00) wafers. Received: 16 December 1996/Accepted: 6 May 1997     

Growth and modification of thin a-Si:H/a-Ge:H bi-layers to sacrificial c-SiGe alloys through ArF-Excimer laser assisted processing

A combination of ArF-Excimer laser assisted techniques has been used for depositing and modifying ultra thin amorphous Si/Ge bi-layer structures. The first step consisted in producing, at low substrate temperatures, thin bi-layer coatings through Laser induced Chemical Vapour Deposition (LCVD) in both, large areas as well as in small regions of Si(1 0 0) wafers. In the second step, these bi-layer structures have been modified through Pulsed Laser Induced Epitaxy (PLIE) for obtaining heteroepitaxial SiGe alloys with a thin buried Ge rich layer, while keeping a shallow upper Si rich surface with good crystalline quality. Threshold for epitaxial alloy formation has been determined by Raman spectroscopy and estimated to be above 200 mJ/cm². Optical profilometry has been used for evaluating the thickness of the structures and the lateral dimensions of patterned features. SEM, TOF-SIMS and XPS have been used to corroborate the results. For testing IC compatibility, some samples have been overgrown with epitaxial Si and etched through conventional IC processing techniques, revealing that the laser processed layers are suitable to be used as sacrificial layers for producing Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMSs) or Silicon-on-Nothing (SON) devices.     

Formation of As enriched layer by steam oxidation of As-implanted Si

Segregation of implanted As during steam oxidation of Si wafers is shown to result in a highly enriched, thin layer of As at the interface between the oxide and the underlying Si. Also, the oxidation rate was found to increase by as much as a factor of ∼2 depending on the depth distribution and fluence of the implanted As impurity. The thin As layer collected at the interface can be used in the design of very shallow junctions. This mechanism enables the formation of a narrow, degenerately doped layer of Si, which can be tailored to have a thickness of only few monolayers depending on the fluence of the implantation used.     

非晶Si/SiO2超晶格的制备及其光谱研究

用磁控溅射方法在玻璃基底上制备了非晶Si/SiO₂超晶格.利用透射电子显微镜 (TEM) 和X射线衍射技术对其结构进行了分析,结果表明,超晶格中Si层大部分区域为非晶相,局域微区呈现有序结构,其厚度由1.8—3.2nm变化,SiO₂层厚度为4.0nm.并采用多种光谱测量技术,如吸收光谱、光致发光光谱和Raman光谱技术,对该结构的光学性质进行了系统研究.结果表明,随纳米Si层厚度的减小,光学吸收边以及光致荧光峰发生明显蓝移,Raman峰发生展宽,即观测到明显的量 关键词：     

利用共溅射方法实现硅基材料上的纳米Ge的可见光发射

如何实现硅基材料的发光,一直是很受重视的一个研究方向。以往是通过硅基外延生长直接带隙材料或锗硅超晶格的途径实现Si基材料发光。90年代初发倪的多孔硅发光[1],引起人们的广泛关注,对多孔硅的制备工艺、发光特性、机理和定性以及可能的应用等方面进行了广泛的研究。但至今尚没有阐明发光机理,而且多孔硅存在结构脆弱、对环境敏感、不易实现电注入等问题。     

AlN/BN纳米结构多层膜微结构及力学性能

用射频磁控溅射法制备了AlN,BN单层膜及AlN/BN纳米多层膜.采用X射线衍射仪、高分辨率透射电子显微镜和纳米压痕仪对薄膜结构进行表征.分析表明：单层膜AlN为w-AlN结构,BN为非晶相.AlN/BN多层膜中BN的结构与BN层厚有关.当BN层厚小于0.55nm时,由于AlN层模板的作用,BN发生了外延生长,BN与AlN的结构相同;当BN层厚大于0.74nm时,BN为非晶.AlN/BN多层膜的硬度也与BN层的厚度有关.当BN层厚为1—2个分子层时,AlN/BN多层膜具有超硬效应;当BN层厚增加到0.74 关键词： AlN/BN多层膜 BN结构 超硬效应     

Cu-W薄膜表面形貌的分形表征与电阻率

磁控溅射制备铜钨薄膜，用原子力显微镜和功率谱密度法分析薄膜生长表面形貌的分形维数，发现频段的选择基本不影响分形维数与溅射时间的关系.随溅射时间延长，薄膜厚度增加，分形维数增大，电阻率随分形维数的增大而升高.分析分形维数与电阻率的关系，认为对同一物质的导电薄膜，其表面形貌与电阻率存在对应关系. 关键词： Cu-W薄膜 分形维数 功率谱密度 电阻率     

Low-threshold field electron emission of Si micro-tip arrays produced by laser ablation

Low-threshold field electron emission (FEE) is reported for periodic arrays of micro-tips produced by laser ablation of Si wafers. The best samples show emission at threshold fields as low as 4–5 V/μm for n-type Si substrates and of 1–2 V/μm for p-doped Si substrates, as measured with a flat-screen technique. Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray electron spectroscopy reveal island-like deviation of the SiO₂ stoichiometry on the tip surfaces, with lateral dimensions of less than 100 nm. Microscopic studies using a special field-emission STM show that the emission originates from well-conducting regions of sub-micron size. The experimental data suggest FEE from the tip arrays by a geometric field enhancement of both the individual micro-tip and the narrow conducting channels in the tip body. Received: 3 May 2002 / Accepted: 1 July 2002 / Published online: 28 October 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +7-095/135-82-34, E-mail: shafeev@kapella.gpi.ru     

Improved performance of silicon‐nanoparticle film‐coated dye‐sensitized solar cells

Silicon (Si) nanoparticles with average size of 13 nm and orange–red luminescence under UV absorption were synthesized using electrochemical etching of silicon wafers. A film of Si nanoparticles with thickness of 0.75 µm to 2.6 µm was coated on the glass (TiO₂ side) of a dye‐sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The cell exhibited nearly 9% enhancement in power conversion efficiency (η) at film thickness of ～2.4 µm under solar irradiation of 100 mW/cm² (AM 1.5) with improved fill factor and short‐circuit current density. This study revealed for the first time that the Si‐nanoparticle film converting UV into visible light and helping in homogeneous irradiation, can be utilized for improving the efficiency of the DSSCs. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Images of the phonon propagation across twist-bonded crystals

We investigate identical but twist-bonded crystals using phonon imaging techniques. As in homogeneous crystals, very anisotropic flux patterns are observed. However, the shape of the pattern depends dramatically on the respective twist angle. The observed phonon images in wafer bonded GaAs/GaAs and Si/Si samples are essentially consistent with the predictions of the acoustic mismatch model for defect-free interfaces, with the exception of GaAs wafers twist bonded at a 45 degrees angle where modes with large shear stress are missing, which indicates strong dislocation scattering.     

Characterisation of alkyl-functionalised Si(1 1 1) using reflectometry and AC impedance spectroscopy

The past few years have seen a dramatic increase in the study of organic thin-film systems that are based on silicon-carbon covalent bonds for bio-passivation or bio-sensing applications. This approach to functionalizing Si wafers is in contrast to gold-thiol or siloxane chemistries and has been shown to lead to densely packed alkyl monolayers. In this study, a series of alkyl monolayers [CH₃(CH₂)_nCH=CH₂; n = 7, 9, 11, 13, 15] were directly covalent-linked to Si(1 1 1) wafers. The structures of these monolayers were studied using X-ray reflectometry (XRR) and AC impedance spectroscopy. Both techniques are sensitive to the variation in thickness with each addition of a CH₂ unit and thus provide a useful means for monitoring molecular-scale events. The combination of these techniques is able to probe not only the thickness, but also the interfacial roughness and capacitance of the layer at the immobilized surface with atomic resolution. Fundamental physical properties of these films such as chain canting angles were also determined.     

Ultraviolet light emission from si in a scanning tunneling microscope

Ultraviolet and visible radiation is observed from the contacts of a scanning tunneling microscope with Si(100) and (111) wafers. This luminescence relies on the presence of hot electrons in silicon, which are supplied, at positive bias on n- and p-type samples, through the injection from the tip, or, at negative bias on p samples, by Zener tunneling. Measured spectra reveal a contribution of direct optical transitions in Si bulk. The necessary holes well below the valence band edge are injected from the tip or generated by Auger processes.