Measurement of the thermal properties of thin dielectric films by a probe technique with periodic heating. I. Theory underlying the method

The foundations of the theory underlying a method for measuring the thermal properties of anisotropic solids and thin dielectric films deposited on them are examined. An analysis of the solutions is performed, making it possible to establish the limiting possibilities of the periodic-heating technique and the conditions needed for an experiment that would permit measurement of the specific heat and the thermal conductivity of films with good accuracy. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 762–767 (April 1997)     

Structural properties of thermal evaporated SnTe thin films

Summary The morphological structure of SnTe very thin films is here studied by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, by transmission electron spectroscopy and by X-ray diffraction. The analisys of experimental data evidences the superficial confinement of Sn, with different oxidation states, and the Te excess in the inner layers. The energy shift of the valence band peaks is attributed to modifications induced by the nonstoichiometry of the compound. Preliminary Hall and resistivity measurements seem to confirm the structural obtained results.     

Physical properties of ZnO thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis technique

Thin films of ZnO have been prepared on glass substrates at different thicknesses by spray pyrolysis technique using 0.2 M aqueous solution of zinc acetate. X-ray diffraction reveals that the films are polycrystalline in nature having hexagonal wurtzite type crystal structure. The resistivity at room temperature is of the order 10⁻² Ω cm and decreased as the temperature increased. Films are highly transparent in the visible region. The dependence of the refractive index, n, and extinction coefficient, k, on the wavelength for a sprayed film is also reported. Optical bandgap, E_g, has been reported for the films. A shift from E_g = 3.21 eV to 3.31 eV has been observed for deposited films.     

CEMS studies of Sn−O thin films prepared by thermal evaporation

Thermal evaporated thin Sn?O films subjected to annealing treatments in air in the range 473–1173 K and in Ar in the range 473–773 K followed by annealings in air up to 1373 K were studied by CEMS (Conversion Electron Mössbauer Spectroscopy). Complementary Mössbauer and X-ray measurements were also performed on SnO powder that underwent the same series of annealings. The presence of the intermediate oxide Sn₃O₄ was detected. A temptative hyperfine characterization for the Sn²⁺ site in Sn₃O₄ is given.     

Structural and optical properties of YSZ thin films grown by PLD technique

We report on the structural and optical properties of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique and in situ crystallized at different substrate temperatures (T_s = 400 °C, 500 °C and 600 °C). Yttria-stabilized zirconia target of ∼1 in. diameter (∼95% density) was fabricated by solid state reaction method for thin film deposition by PLD. The YSZ thin films were grown on an optically polished quartz substrates and the deposition time was 30 min for all the films. XRD analysis shows cubic crystalline phase of YSZ films with preferred orientation along 〈1 1 1〉. The surface roughness was determined by AFM for the films deposited at different substrate temperatures. The nano-sized surface roughness is found to increase with the increase of deposition temperatures. For the optical analysis, a UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometer was used and the optical band gap of ∼5.7 eV was calculated from transmittance curves.     

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.     

Nanolithographic patterning of thin metal films with a scanning probe microscope

Using an atomic force microscope (AFM) operating in air, we locally modify thin films of e-beam-deposited Cr and Ti by applying voltage pulses between the AFM tip and the sample, which is positively biased with respect to the tip. The modifications consist in anodization and/or mechanical deformation and reach the metal/substrate interface. Metallic gates can thus be fabricated without pattern transfer.     

A contactless method for investigating the thermal properties of thin films

The photothermal deflection technique has been extended as a contactless method to investigate thermal transport in thin films. A theoretical model is developed which quantitatively describes the transport behavior, and is shown to be in excellent agreement with experimental results. This approach yields the thermal diffusivity directly and in a spatially-resolved manner.     

Commensurability effects in magnetic properties of superconducting Nb thin films with periodic submicrometric pores

Pinning properties in 100 nm thick continuous and porous superconducting Nb films are examined by ac susceptibility and dc magnetization measurements. The Nb film was deposited on a smooth Si substrate, while the porous film, Nb_P, was deposited on an anodized Al oxide substrate. Pores or “antidots” 40 nm in diameter, 100 nm apart, form a triangular array. The porous film presents commensurate or matching field effects for applied magnetic fields where the magnetic flux threading each unit cell is an integer number of the flux quantum, where ac shielding capability and dc diamagnetic magnetization show an abrupt increase. The response to ac fields as a function of temperature and dc field provided a way to determine that Nb_P sample has higher pinning than the continuous one, and that T_C suppression due to fluxoid quantization is not relevant for the investigated temperature range.     

Synthesis,deposition and characterization of tin selenide thin films by thermal evaporation technique

Tin selenide alloy was synthesized by following simple chemical reaction method, at comparatively lower temperature of 100 °C, from alkaline medium using SnCl₂.2H₂O and selenium as source materials. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the particle size of the synthesized product is in nanometer scale. Using the reaction product as source material, the SnSe films were deposited on glass substrates at room temperature, 150 °C, 250 °C, 350 °C and 450 °C. Structural, elemental, optical, surface morphological and electrical properties of the as deposited films were studied by X-ray diffraction, Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis, UV-Vis-NIR, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Hall effect measurement techniques and the relevant details have been obtained.     

SiNx薄膜热物性参数实验测量与分析研究

采用一种新的实验测量方案,将金属加热单元与温度探测单元合二为一,间接获得了在半导体和微电子学MEMS领域内有重要用途的SiNx薄膜的导热系数、发射率、比热容和热扩散系数,并对实验结果进行了不确定度分析,为微电子电路设计和掩模成型工艺等提供了可靠的热物性数据. 实验结果表明,薄膜的导热系数、发射率、热扩散系数远比相应体材质低,而且还与温度、厚度有关,尺寸效应显著,而比热容则与体材质相差不大.     

Structural and electrical properties of zinc oxides thin films prepared by thermal oxidation

We report on zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films (d = 55-120 nm) prepared by thermal oxidation, at 623 K, of metallic zinc films, using a flash-heating method. Zinc films were deposited in vacuum by quasi-closed volume technique onto unheated glass substrates in two arrangements: horizontal and vertical positions relative to incident vapour. Depending on the preparation conditions, both quasi-amorphous and (0 0 2) textured polycrystalline ZnO films were obtained. The surface morphologies were characterized by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. By in situ electrical measurements during two heating-cooling cycles up to a temperature of 673 K, an irreversible decrease of electrical conductivity of as flash-oxidized Zn films was revealed. The influence of deposition arrangement and oxidation conditions on the structural, morphological and electrical properties of the ZnO films is discussed.     

Study of the fields scattered by a periodic strip structure of thin magnetic films

Components of the fields scattered by a periodic planar strip structure of thin magnetic films possessing a uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in the plane have been calculated using the phenomenological model. Regularities in the dependence of these fields on the design parameters of the structure have been studied. The results obtained agree with the numerical analysis of the micromagnetic model of this structure. It has been shown that, near the edges of strips magnetized orthogonally to the major axis, the components of the scattered field can exceed the external magnetizing field by a few orders of magnitude. This fact makes it possible to design highly efficient magnetoresistive elements on the basis of a strip structure of magnetic films and thin semiconductor films.     

Influence of annealing temperature on the properties of ZnO thin films deposited by thermal evaporation

ZnO thin films were deposited by thermal evaporation of a ZnO powder. The as-deposited films are dark brown, rich zinc and present a low transmittance. Then, these films were annealed in air atmosphere at different temperatures between 100 and 400 °C. Their microstructure and composition were studied using XRD and RBS measurements respectively. By increasing the temperature, it was found that film oxidation starts at 250 °C. XRD peaks related to ZnO appear and peaks related to Zn decrease. At 300 °C, zinc was totally oxidised and the films became totally transparent. The electrical conductivity measurement that were carried out in function of the annealing temperature showed the transition from highly conductive Zn thin film to a lower conductive ZnO thin film. The optical gap (E_g) was deduced from the UV-vis transmittance, and its variation was linked to the formation of ZnO.     

表面热透镜薄膜吸收测量灵敏度提高方法

为提高表面热透镜薄膜吸收测量仪的灵敏度，在表面热透镜衍射理论基础上，通过数值模拟给出了探测激光腰斑半径、探测激光腰斑到样品表面距离、样品到探测光纤端面距离等仪器参数的优化方法. 经优化调整后该仪器能达到优于0.1ppm量级的薄膜吸收率测量灵敏度. 关键词： 吸收测量 表面热透镜 光热形变 薄膜     

溶胶凝胶旋转涂敷技术制备ZnO:In薄膜的结构特性

采用溶胶凝胶法,结合旋转涂敷技术在石英衬底上制备了210—240nm厚度的ZnO∶In薄膜.使用掠角入射X射线衍射(GI_XRD)、常规X射线衍射、傅里叶变换红外光谱、原子力显微镜、光致发光谱以及不同入射角GI_XRD谱(α=1,2,3和5°)等手段,对不同掺杂浓度的ZnO∶In薄膜进行了结构分析.发现ZnO∶In薄膜内部是由大尺寸(002)晶向的无应力ZnO晶粒堆积而成,而薄膜表面主要是小尺寸的(002)和(103)晶粒,并且适量的In掺杂能有效改善ZnO薄膜内部的晶体结构特性. 关键词： ZnO∶In薄膜 晶体结构 掠角入射X射线衍射 溶胶凝胶法     

Physical properties of Pb doped ZnS thin films prepared by ultrasonic spray technique

In the present work, high quality Pb doped ZnS thin films were deposited on glass substrates at 450°C using spray ultrasonic technique. The dependence of the structural, morphological and optical properties of the films on the lead (Pb) doping amount was investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–vis–NIR spectrophotometry, and four-point method. The improvement of the obtained Pb:ZnS thin films properties were discussed as a function of Pb concentration (0.5 to 2 at.%). The average crystallite size of Pb:ZnS was found in the range of 25–37 nm. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that the films are continuous, homogeneous and dense. The UV–vis–NIR spectroscopy characterizations demonstrated that all the films exhibit good transmittance (60–70%) in the visible region and their optical band gap energy ($E_{\mathrm{g}}$) changes from 3.92 to 3.6 eV. The films electrical resistivity showed an apparent dependence on Pb content.     

Effect of sol concentration on the properties of ZnO thin films prepared by sol-gel technique

ZnO thin films are deposited on the glass substrates by sol-gel drain coating technique by varying the concentration of the sol. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis were used to investigate the effect of sol concentration on the crystallinity and surface morphology of the films. The results show that with increase in sol concentration, the value of full width at half maximum (FWHM) of (0 0 2) peak decreases while the strain first increases and then decreases. The sol with higher concentration results in the increase in the grain size. The studies on the optical properties show that the band gap value increases from 3.27 to 3.3 eV when the sol concentration changes from 0.03 to 0.1 M. The photoconductivity studies reveal that the film for 0.05 M sol shows the maximum photoresponse for ultraviolet (UV) wavelength (<400 nm) which is co-related with the deep-level defects. The growth and decay of the photocurrent is found to be slowest for the same film.     

Electrical and optical properties of Jäger-nickel (II)-based molecular-material thin films prepared by the vacuum thermal evaporation technique

Semiconductor molecular-material thin films of [6,13-Ac₂-5,14-Me₂-[14]-4,6,11,13-tetraenato-1,4,8,11-N₄] and the bidentate amines 1,4-diaminebutane, 1,12-diaminedodecane and 2,6-diamineanthraquinone have been prepared by vacuum thermal evaporation on corning glass substrates and crystalline silicon wafers. The films thus obtained were characterized by infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. The surface morphology, thickness and structure of these films were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), ellipsometry and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. IR spectroscopy showed that the molecular-material thin films exhibit the same intra-molecular bonds as the original compounds, which suggests that the thermal evaporation process does not significantly alter their bonds. The effect of temperature on conductivity was also measured in these samples; it was found that the temperature-dependent electric current is always higher for the voluminous amines with large molecular weights and suggests a semiconductor behavior with conductivities in the order of 10⁻⁶-10⁻¹ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹. Finally, the optical band gap (E_g) and cubic χ⁽³⁾ non-linear optical (NLO) properties of these amorphous molecular complexes were also evaluated from optical absorption and optical third harmonic generation (THG) measurements, respectively.