Morphological and optical properties of silicon thin films by PLD

Silicon thin films have been prepared on sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The films were deposited in vacuum from a silicon target at a base pressure of 10⁻⁶ mbar in the temperature range from 400 to 800 °C. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm, 5 ns duration, 10 Hz) at a constant energy density of 2 J × cm⁻² has been used. The influence of the substrate temperature on the structural, morphological and optical properties of the Si thin films was investigated.Spectral ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to study the thickness and the surface roughness of the deposited films. Surface roughness values measured by AFM and ellipsometry show the same tendency of increasing roughness with increased deposition temperature.     

Structural and optical characterization of DC magnetron sputtered molybdenum oxide films

Thin films of molybdenum trioxide were deposited on glass substrates employing direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering by sputtering of molybdenum at different oxygen partial pressures in the range 8 × 10⁻⁵–1 × 10⁻³ mbar and at a substrate temperature of 473 K. The glow discharge characteristics of magnetron cathode target of molybdenum were studied. The influence of oxygen partial pressure on the structural and optical properties of molybdenum trioxide films was investigated. The films formed at an optimum oxygen partial pressure of 2 × 10⁻⁴ mbar were polycrystalline in nature with orthorhombic α- phase and an optical band gap of 3.16 eV. The refractive index of the films formed at an oxygen partial pressure of 2 × 10⁻⁴ mbar decreased from 2.08 to 1.89 with increase of wavelength from 450 to 1,000 nm, respectively. Paper presented at the Third International Conference on Ionic Devices (ICID 2006), Chennai, Tamilnadu, India, Dec. 7–9, 2006.     

Vibrational spectroscopy characterization of magnetron sputtered silicon oxide and silicon oxynitride films

Vibrational (infrared and Raman) spectroscopy has been used to characterize SiO_xN_y and SiO_x films prepared by magnetron sputtering on steel and silicon substrates. Interference bands in the infrared reflectivity measurements provided the film thickness and the dielectric function of the films. Vibrational modes bands were obtained both from infrared and Raman spectra providing useful information on the bonding structure and the microstructure (formation of nano-voids in some coatings) for these amorphous (or nanocrystalline) coatings. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis have also been carried out to determine the composition and texture of the films, and to correlate these data with the vibrational spectroscopy studies. The angular dependence of the reflectivity spectra provides the dispersion of vibrational and interference polaritons modes, what allows to separate these two types of bands especially in the frequency regions where overlaps/resonances occurred. Finally the attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared measurements have been also carried out demonstrating the feasibility and high sensitivity of the technique. Comparison of the spectra of the SiO_xN_y films prepared in various conditions demonstrates how films can be prepared from pure silicon oxide to silicon oxynitride with reduced oxygen content.     

Copper-induced crystallization of sputtered silicon on ZnO:Al substrate and the textured interface for light trapping

Copper-induced crystallization of a-Si on ZnO:Al (AZO) substrate is studied. On Ar sputtered AZO substrate, the optimized crystallite and crystalline ratio of poly-Si are ∼30 nm and ∼71%, respectively. O₂ is also introduced and optimized when preparing AZO substrates. On AZO substrate with O₂/Ar + O₂ = 3%, the crystallite and crystalline ratio of poly-Si are greatly improved, showing ∼40 nm and ∼82%, respectively. Textured AZO is prepared for analyzing the light-trapping efficiency. With 40 s etching in 0.5% HCl, ∼0.7 μm lateral scale and ∼119 nm root mean square roughness is obtained. The scattering property is verified by the flat step over a large angle range in the angular distribution measurement. 660 nm Cu-induced poly-Si on this AZO substrate shows an average reflectivity of ∼17.7%, only 45% of the flat Si, showing a good light-trapping efficiency and a potential use in solar cells.     

Aluminium-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering on glasses

Amorphous silicon (a-Si) and hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering technique with argon and hydrogen plasma mixture on Al deposited by thermal evaporation on glass substrates. The a-Si/Al and a-Si:H/Al thin films were annealed at different temperatures ranging from 250 to 550 °C during 4 h in vacuum-sealed bulb. The effects of annealing temperature on optical, structural and morphological properties of as-grown as well as the vacuum-annealed a-Si/Al and a-Si:H/Al thin films are presented in this contribution. The averaged transmittance of a-Si:H/Al film increases upon increasing the annealing temperature. XRD measurements clearly evidence that crystallization is initiated at 450 °C. The number and intensity of diffraction peaks appearing in the diffraction patterns are more important in a-Si:H/Al than that in a-Si/Al layers. Results show that a-Si:H films deposited on Al/glass crystallize above 450 °C and present better crystallization than the a-Si layers. The presence of hydrogen induces an improvement of structural properties of poly-Si prepared by aluminium-induced crystallization (AIC).     

Influence of substrate bias voltage on the properties of magnetron sputtered Cu2O films

Thin films of cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) were deposited on glass substrates at various bias voltages using DC reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The effects of substrate bias voltage on structural, electrical and optical properties were systematically analyzed. The crystallographic structure and orientation of the crystallites were strongly influenced by the bias voltage.     

VHF-PECVD低温制备微晶硅薄膜的拉曼散射光谱和光发射谱研究

采用拉曼散射光谱和PR650光谱光度计对VHF-PECVD制备的微晶硅薄膜进行了结构表征和在线监测研究.结果表明：功率对材料的晶化率（χc）有一定的调节作用，硅烷浓度大，微调作用更明显；SiH*的强度只能在一定的范围内表征材料的沉积速率，功率大相应的速率反而下降；I［Hα*］/I［SiH*］强度比值反映了材料晶化程度，此结果和拉曼散射光谱测试结果显示出一致性；I［Hβ*］/I［Hα*］的强度比表明氢等离子体中的电子温度随功率的增大而逐渐降低. 关键词： 甚高频等离子体增强化学气相沉积 微晶硅 拉曼散射谱 光发射谱     

A novel optical diagnostic technique for analyzing the recrystallization characteristics of polycrystalline silicon thin films following frontside and backside excimer laser irradiation

Excimer laser annealing (ELA) is a widely used technique for producing polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin films. An optical inspection system with simple optical arrangements for rapid measurement of recrystallization results of poly-Si thin films is developed in this study. The recrystallization results after both frontside ELA and backside ELA can be easily visible from the profile of peak power density distribution using the optical inspection system developed with an optimized moving velocity of 0.312 mm/s of the specimen. The method of backside ELA is suggested for batch production of low-temperature polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors due to higher laser beam utilization efficiency and lower surface roughness of poly-Si films.     

XPS and RBS investigations of Si–Er–O interactions on a Si(1 0 0)-2x1 surface

The interactions among erbium, oxygen and silicon atoms on a Si(1 0 0)-2x1 reconstructed surface have been studied by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. Erbium and oxygen were deposited at 600 °C on the Si surface and their behavior has been observed after different thermal processes. It was found that at 600 °C, the formation of a stable surface complex Er–O–Si is obtained together with Si oxidation; after an 800 °C annealing, the amount of oxygen bound to Si decreases and the remaining O atoms are mainly bonded to Er. An abrupt change was observed after 900 and 1000 °C annealings, which bury the Er atoms about 60 Å below the substrate surface. Our results give some hints to hypotise the O diffusion towards the Si bulk.     

Influence of oxygen partial pressure on the properties of pulsed laser deposited nanocrystalline zirconia thin films

ZrO₂ thin films were deposited at various oxygen partial pressures (2.0 × 10⁻⁵-3.5 × 10⁻¹ mbar) at 973 K on (1 0 0) silicon and quartz substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The influence of oxygen partial pressure on structure, surface morphology and optical properties of the films were investigated. X-ray diffraction results indicated that the films are polycrystalline containing both monoclinic and tetragonal phases. The films prepared in the oxygen partial pressures range 2.0 × 10⁻⁵-3.5 × 10⁻¹ mbar contain nanocrystals of sizes in the range 54-31 nm for tetragonal phase. The peak intensity of the tetragonal phase decreases with the increase of oxygen partial pressures. Surface morphology of the films examined by AFM shows the formation of nanostructures. The RMS surface roughness of the film prepared at 2.0 × 10⁻⁵ mbar is 1.3 nm while it is 3.2 nm at 3.5 × 10⁻¹ mbar. The optical properties of the films were investigated using UV-visible spectroscopy technique in the wavelength range of 200-800 nm. The refractive index is found to decrease from 2.26 to 1.87 as the oxygen partial pressure increases from 2.0 × 10⁻⁵ to 3.5 × 10⁻¹ mbar. The optical studies show two different absorption edges corresponding to monoclinic and tetragonal phases.     

Effect of annealing temperature on the decomposition of reactively sputtered Ag2Cu2O3 films

Ag₂Cu₂O₃ films were deposited on glass substrates by reactive sputtering of a composite silver-copper target. The deposited films were annealed in air at 100, 200 and 300 °C. The structure of the films was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), their surface morphology was characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and their electrical resistivity at room temperature was measured using the four point probe method. The 100 °C annealing did not modify either the film structure or the film morphology. On the other hand, Ag₂Cu₂O₃ films were partially decomposed into Ag and CuO after a 200 °C annealing. The decomposition was complete for a 300 °C annealing. The evolution of the film surface morphology as a function of the annealing temperature was discussed in connection to the evolution of the molar volume of the phases constituting the films.     

Effect of substrate temperature on the morphological,structural,and optical properties of RF sputtered Ge_(1-x)Sn_x films on Si substrate

In this study, Ge_(1-x)Sn_x alloy films are co-sputtered on Si(100) substrates using RF magnetron sputtering at different substrate temperatures. Scanning electron micrographs, atomic force microscopy(AFM), Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy(XPS) are conducted to investigate the effect of substrate temperature on the structural and optical properties of grown Ge Sn alloy films. AFM results show that RMS surface roughness of the films increases from 1.02 to 2.30 nm when raising the substrate temperature. This increase could be due to Sn surface segregation that occurs when raising the substrate temperature. Raman spectra exhibits the lowest FWHM value and highest phonon intensity for a film sputtered at 140?C. The spectra show that decreasing the deposition temperature to 140?C improves the crystalline quality of the alloy films and increases nanocrystalline phase formation. The results of Raman spectra and XPS confirm Ge–Sn bond formation. The optoelectronic characteristics of fabricated metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors on sputtered samples at room temperature(RT) and 140?C are studied in the dark and under illumination. The sample sputtered at 140?C performs better than the RT sputtered sample.     

Oxidation study of silicon nanoparticle thin films on HOPG

Thin films of silicon nanoparticles (diameter 5-10 nm) were deposited on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) by low-pressure DC magnetron sputtering. The effect of different room-temperature oxidation techniques was investigated using XPS sputter-depth profiling. Both oxygen treatment during deposition (using an argon-oxygen mixture in the sputter gas) as well as post-deposition oxidation techniques (exposure to oxygen plasma beam, ambient air conditions) were studied. In all cases oxidation was found to involve the whole film down to the film/substrate interface, indicating a network of open pores. Depending on the type of oxidation between 15 and 25 at% of oxygen, mostly associated with low oxidation states of silicon, were detected in the interior of the film and attributed to oxidized surfaces of the individual silicon nanoparticles. The highest oxygen concentrations were found at the very film surface, reaching levels of 25-30% for films exposed to air or prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering. For the oxygen plasma-treated films even oxygen surface concentrations around 45% and fully oxidized silicon (i.e., SiO₂) were achieved. At the Si/HOPG interface formation of silicon carbide was observed due to intermixing induced by Ar-ion beam used for sputter-depth profiling.     

Raman scattering analysis of the residual stress in metal-induced crystallized amorphous silicon thin films using nickel

Raman scattering analysis is used to study the residual stress in metal-induced crystallized amorphous silicon thin film. The influence of the crystallization parameters on thin film properties is investigated as a function of annealing temperature, annealing time, and nickel top-seed-layer thickness. Thin films produced under optimal annealing conditions are measured to have crystallization efficiency of about 98%, which is full crystallization. Residual stress analysis reveals clear stress reduction with prolonged annealing time and Ni capping layer thickness. A very low tensile stress of about 87 MPa is achieved. The relationships between optimal crystallization temperature, crystallization time, and Ni-layer thickness are described.     

Hydrolysis-condensation reactions of titanium alkoxides in thin films: A study of the steric hindrance effect by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

An original approach based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is proposed to study the influence of the surrounding humidity on the hydrolysis-condensation reactions of five titanium alkoxides in thin films. More precisely, the influence of the nature of the ligands (propoxide, butoxide, isopropoxide, phenoxide, and 9H-carbazole-9-yl-ethyl-oxy) on the reaction rate was evidenced. The reaction advancement was evaluated by comparing XPS chemical compositions to theoretical compositions calculated for all the possible rates. XPS chemical environment information allowed validating the reliability of this approach through the evaluation of the condensation state. In both approaches, the influence of the steric hindrance on the reactivity of titanium alkoxides was highlighted to be similar to what has been previously observed in solution. Theses results corroborate the validity of our XPS approach to determine titanium alkoxide hydrolysis-condensation reactions in the specific application of thin films.     

The influence of boron concentrations on structural properties in disorder silicon films

In this work we present a detailed structural of a series of B-doped hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and B-doped polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films produced by step-by-step laser crystallization process from amorphous silicon. The influence of doping on the structural properties and structural changes during the sequential crystallization processes were monitored by Raman spectroscopy. Unlike μc-Si:H films, that consist of a two-phase mixture of amorphous and ordered Si, partially crystallized sample shows a stratified structure with polycrystalline silicon layer at the top of an amorphous layer. With increasing doping concentration the LO-TO phonon line in poly-Si shift to smaller wave numbers and broadens asymmetrically. The results are discussed in terms of resonant interaction between optical phonons and direct intraband transitions known as a Fano resonance. In μc-Si:H films, on the other hand, the Fano effect is not observed. The increase of doping in μc-Si:H films suppressed the crystalline volume fraction, which leads to an amorphization in the film structure. The structural variation in both μc-Si:H and poly-Si films leads to a change in hydrogen bonding configuration.     

高速沉积微晶硅薄膜光发射谱的研究

采用PR650光谱光度计对高速沉积微晶硅薄膜的生长过程进行了在线监测研究,并对所对应的材料进行了Raman谱和红外吸收谱(FTIR)的测试.结果表明：能反映材料晶化程度的I_［SiH^*］/I_［Hβ^*］比值在沉积时间为100 s之内有下降的趋势,且反应气体总流量T_fl越小下降趋势越明显,这与拉曼散射光谱对材料的结构测试结果一致;沉积5 min时I 关键词： 高速沉积 微晶硅薄膜 电子温度     

Thickness effect on the band gap of magnetron sputtered Pb45Se45O10 thin films on Si

Oxygen doped PbSe thin films with different thickness were grown on the Si (100) substrates by magnetron sputtering, and characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and physical properties measurement system. As the film thickness increased, the intensity of the (200) PbSe prominent diffraction peak increased, while the (220) peak almost vanished, indicating the primary growth direction. The change rate between the light and dark resistance increased with the film thickness, and the maximum of 64.76% was obtained. According to the density functional theory calculations and the experimental results, the band gap of the PbSe thin films decreased from 0.278 eV to 0.21 eV when doped with oxygen. Doping with oxygen during the deposition process is a viable way to prepare PbSe thin films with a tunable band gap. The band gap increased almost linearly with the lattice constant, confirmed by the calculated and experimental results.     

n型有序多孔硅基氧化钨室温气敏性能研究

利用电化学腐蚀方法制备了n型有序多孔硅, 并以此为基底用直流磁控溅射法在其表面溅射不同厚度的氧化钨薄膜. 利用X射线和扫描电子显微镜表征了材料的成分和结构, 结果表明, 多孔硅的孔呈柱形有序分布, 溅射10 min的WO₃薄膜是多晶结构, 比较松散地覆盖在整个多孔硅的表面. 分别测试了多孔硅和多孔硅基氧化钨在室温条件下对二氧化氮的气敏性能, 结果表明, 相对于多孔硅, 多孔硅基氧化钨薄膜对二氧化氮的气敏性能显著提高. 对多孔硅基氧化钨复合结构的气敏机理分析认为, 多孔硅和氧化钨薄膜复合形成的异质结对良好的气敏性能起到主要作用, 氧化钨薄膜表面出现了反型层引起了气敏响应时电阻的异常变化. 关键词： 有序多孔硅 氧化钨薄膜 二氧化氮 室温气敏性能     

Probing the ferroelectric phase transition in sol–gel‐derived polycrystalline bismuth ferrite thin films

Polycrystalline BiFeO₃ (BFO) thin films were successfully grown on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) and SrTiO₃ (STO) (100) substrates using the chemical solution deposition (CSD) technique. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicate the polycrystalline nature of the films with rhombohedrally distorted perovskite crystal structure. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) was performed on the sol–gel‐derived powder to countercheck the crystal structure, ferroelectric (FE) to paraelectric (PE) phase transition, and melting point of bismuth ferrite. We observed a significant exothermic peak at 840 °C in DTA graphs, which corresponds to an FE–PE phase transition. Raman spectroscopy studies were carried out on BFO thin films prepared on both the substrates over a wide range of temperature. The room‐temperature unpolarized Raman spectra of BFO thin films indicate the presence of 13 Raman active modes, of which five strong modes were in the low‐wavenumber region and eight weak Raman active modes above 250 cm⁻¹. We observed slight shifts in the lower wavenumbers towards lower values with increase in temperature. The temperature‐dependent Raman spectra indicate a complete disappearance of all Raman active modes at 840 °C corresponding to the FE–PE phase transitions. There is no evidence of soft mode phonons. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.