Investigation of InxGa1−xAs films grown from thin solution layer

In_xGa_1−xAs films with x⩽0.12 were grown from a thin solution layer between substrates. The calculation of final film thickness as a function of liquid phase composition, based on supposition of film deposition only on the substrate, is in a good agreement with experimental results. The dependences between compositions of liquid and solid phases at 800°, 750° and 700°C were determined. The morphology of the film surface was investigated as a function of liquid phase composition and (100), (111) A, (111) B substrate orientations. Dislocation density increases from 10⁴ cm⁻² to 10⁷ cm⁻² with change of x from 0 to 0.12.     

Oxygen bombardment effects on average crystallite size of sputter-deposited ZnO films

Zinc oxide (ZnO) film was deposited on a glass substrate by rf magnetron sputtering with O₂/Ar as working gases. Structural properties of the films were characterized by XRD. Average crystallite size in the films was strongly dependent on both the gas flow ratio of O₂/Ar and rf-power at a constant deposition pressure. During the deposition, energetic species in the plasma were in situ monitored using optical emission spectroscopy. An inverse correlation was observed between the average crystallite size and the emission intensity ratio of I_O^∗/I_Ar. Bombardment of atomic oxygen to the growing surface played an important role in determining the average crystallite size in the films. The average crystallite size could be controlled by the emission intensity ratio of I_O^∗/I_Ar.     

High-rate deposition of nanocrystalline silicon using the expanding thermal plasma technique

Nanocrystalline silicon films have been deposited at very high deposition rates using the expanding thermal plasma technique and their structural properties have been analyzed. The crystallinity and crystallite size and orientation have been determined for various hydrogen-to-silane dilution ratios and it is shown that films with a crystalline fraction of 60–80% can be deposited at deposition rates within the range 1.5–3.0 nm/s. The hydrogen concentration and atomic densities in the film have been investigated by infrared spectroscopy and elastic recoil detection/Rutherford backscattering revealing underestimation of the hydrogen content by infrared spectroscopy as well as a reduced atomic film density for the nanocrystalline silicon films.     

Spin-coating of Ge23Sb7S70 chalcogenide glass thin films

Thin film Ge₂₃Sb₇S₇₀ chalcogenide glass has emerged as an important material system for photonic applications due to its high non-linear refractive index. However, one of the challenges is developing low-cost methods to deposit films of glassy material while retaining glass stoichiometry and high film quality. In this paper, we demonstrate a spin-coating technique for the deposition of such films. The dissolution mechanisms of Ge₂₃Sb₇S₇₀ in different solvents are studied in order to select the optimal solvent for film deposition. We show that the use of amine-based solvents allow the deposition of stoichiometric films in contrast to alkaline solutions. Films with low surface roughness (RMS roughness <5 nm) and controlled thickness (100–600 nm) can be deposited from solutions. We also show that annealing the films in vacuum decreases the amount of residual solvent, the presence of which is expected to lead to variation in optical properties of the thin films.     

Laser wavelength effect on structural and optical properties of Cd34Se66 nanocrystalline thin film

Cadmium Selenide (Cd₃₄Se₆₆) thin films are deposited on a glass substrate using the thermal evaporation method at room temperature. The Cd₃₄Se₆₆ films are characterized using XRD. The crystallite size of the film is calculated from XRD data, which is found as 29.61 nm as-deposited. It is also found that crystallite size of Cd₃₄Se₆₆ changed after irradiation with N₂ and Nd:YAG laser. The changes in the optical properties of the films after irradiation with N₂ laser and Nd:YAG laser are also studied in the wavelength range of 300-700 nm and it is found that the optical band gap of the Cd₃₄Se₆₆ films changed after laser irradiation.     

A Gamma-ray Diffraction Study of MBE-Grown CaF2/Si(111) Heterostructures

MBE grown epitaxial films of CaF₂ onto Si(111) substrates were investigated by gamma ray diffraction to obtain assertions about the real structure and the strain situation in the epitaxial systems. It were measured the integral reflection coefficient R_i and the angle distribution of the reflected intensity of both (111) and (333) reflections. It was found that (i) a high temperature annealing step during the wafer preparation (1200 °C) causes a drastical increase of real structure defects in the substrate material, (ii) expitaxial layers of 18 nm thickness are grown pseudomorphically, layers having a thickness of 30 nm are relaxed, (iii) the misfit dislocation network formed during the relaxation process is localized not in the deposit but in the substrate material.     

Growth Morphology and Structure Peculiarities of Superthin Titanium Films

Superthin titanium films of 0.3 to 2 nm thickness, prepared by radio-frequency sputtering, have been studied by modern X-ray methods, such as reflectometry, fluorescent analysis and grasing-beam structural analysis. Two simple models were used to describe early stages of film growth. It has been shown that the thinnest titanium films were the TiO₂ islands with an equal height. Thicker films could be described as bilayers Ti/TiO₂. The films became continuous already near 1.5 nm effective thickness.     

Nb掺杂ZnO透明导电薄膜的结构以及光电性能研究

采用直流磁控溅射法在玻璃衬底上制备了高质量的Nb掺杂ZnO( NZO)透明导电薄膜.为了研究薄膜厚度对薄膜性质的影响,制备了五个厚度分别为239 nm,355 nm,489 nm,575 nm和679 nm的样品.XRD结果表明,ZnO∶ Nb薄膜是具有六角纤锌矿结构的多晶薄膜,并且具有垂直于衬底的c轴择优取向.随着膜厚的增加,薄膜的结晶质量明显提高.当厚度从239 nm增加到489 nm时,平均晶粒尺寸从19.7 nm增加到24.7 nm,薄膜的电阻率持续减小;当厚度进一步增加时,晶粒尺寸略有减小,电阻率有所增加.本实验获得的最低电阻率为4.896×10-4Ω·cm.随膜厚的增加,光学带隙先增大后减小.所有薄膜在可见光区域的平均透过率均超过88.3;.     

Study of surface and interface roughnesses in porous silicon by high-resolution X-ray methods

The methods of triple-crystal X-ray diffractometry and the total external X-ray reflection are used to study porous silicon films on a p-type single crystal Si(111) substrate. For the first time, an increase of the pseudopeak intensity was experimentally observed for thick porous films. The following film characteristics are determined: thickness (1.8 μm), strain (3.8 × 10^?3), porosity (70%), pore size (～5 nm), roughness height of the surface (～3 nm) and the film—substrate interface (～7 nm), and correlation length (～7–10 nm). It is shown that the main contribution to the pseudopeak intensity for thin films on single crystal substrates comes from angular broadening of the incident beam formed by the exit slit of a monochromator of a finite width. It is shown that the method is very sensitive to density inhomogeneity in subsurface crystal layers.     

Germanium films with strong in-plane and out-of-plane texture on flexible,randomly textured metal substrates

High efficiencies have been achieved in photovoltaic cells based on III–V compounds grown on single crystal germanium substrates. Since the size of these substrates is limited and their cost is very high, such III–V photovoltaics have not found widespread terrestrial use. The objective of this work is to develop highly textured, epitaxial germanium thin films on inexpensive substrates suitable for roll-to-roll continuous processing to serve as templates for III–V compounds. Germanium films with a high degree of in-plane and out-of plane texture have been demonstrated on randomly textured, flexible nickel alloy substrates by epitaxial growth on template films made by ion beam-assisted deposition (IBAD). In order to achieve epitaxial growth, an intermediate layer of CeO₂ was found to be required between the IBAD MgO template and the Ge film. Our study shows that structural match between Ge and the underlying oxide layer is the key to epitaxial growth. Room temperature optical bandgap of the Ge films was identified at 0.67 eV suggesting minimal residual strain in the film. Refraction index and extinction coefficient values of the epitaxial Ge film were found to match well with that measured from a reference Ge single crystal.     

Internal stress and the deformation phase transition in nanoscale barium-strontium titanate films

It has been established by varying the thickness of Ba_0.8Sr_0.2TiO₃ heteroepitaxial films grown via the layer-by-layer mechanism on (100) MgO substrates that there is a critical film thickness (～50 nm): the internal strain field in the films with a thickness below critical is much weaker than in the films with a thickness exceeding critical. Tensile and compressive stresses occur at thicknesses, respectively, below and above critical. The existence of critical thickness is confirmed by the X-ray diffraction data and Raman spectroscopy.     

Addressing difficulties in using XRD intensity for structural study of thin films

The problem of structure investigation of thin films using laboratory XRD diffraction intensities was discussed as a matter of debate. Is the variation in relative intensities of the diffraction patterns due to crystallographic preferred orientation, lattice defects or both? The answer to this question shows a discrepancy in the literatures. The present work is an attempt to propose a possible approach to judge the most probable answer. Thin films of SnO₂ were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique using solution of different SnCl₂ concentrations (molarity); at fixed substrate temperature and deposition time. The theoretically calculated integrated intensities together with the experimentally obtained and calculated XRD data (relative intensities, texture coefficients and profile analysis) were considered together in order to get the proper picture of the structure characteristics of the prepared films. The complete picture can be assembled by integration and correlation of all the crystallographic information that are extracted from the diffraction pattern including not only the observed intensities but also the size/strain analysis and lattice parameters. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Influence of amorphous buffer layers on the crystallinity of sputter-deposited undoped ZnO films

Undoped ZnO films were deposited by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering on amorphous buffer layers such as SiO_x, SiO_xN_y, and SiN_x prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) for dielectric layer in thin film transistor (TFT) application. ZnO was also deposited directly on glass and quartz substrate for comparison. It was found that continuous films were formed in the thickness up to 10 nm on all buffer layers. The crystallinity of ZnO films was improved in the order on quartz>SiO_x >SiO_xN_y>glass>SiN_x according to the investigated intensities of (0 0 2) XRD peaks. The crystallite sizes of ZnO were in the order of SiO_x～glass >SiN_x. Stable XRD parameters of ZnO thin films were obtained to the thickness from 40 to 100 nm grown on SiO_x insulator for TFT application. Investigation of the ZnO thin films by atomic force microscope (AFM) revealed that grain size and roughness obtained on SiN_x were larger than those on SiO_x and glass. Hence, both nucleation and crystallinity of sputtered ZnO thin films remarkably depended on amorphous buffer layers.     

High temperature x‐ray diffraction studies of zirconia thin films prepared by reactive pulsed laser deposition

Zirconium oxide thin films have been deposited on Si (100) substrates at room temperature at an optimized oxygen partial pressure of 3x10^‐2 mbar by reactive pulsed laser deposition. High temperature x‐ray diffraction (HTXRD) studies of the film in the temperature range room temperature‐1473 K revealed that the film contained only monoclinic phase at temperatures ≤ 673 K and both monoclinic and tetragonal phases were present at temperatures ≥ 773 K. The tetragonal phase content was significantly dominating over monoclinic phase with the increase of temperature. The phase evolution was accompanied with the increase in the crystallite size from 20 to 40 nm for the tetragonal phase. The mean thermal expansion coefficients for the tetragonal phase have been found to be 10.58x10^‐6 K^‐1 and 20.92x10^‐6K^‐1 along a and c‐axes, respectively. The mean volume thermal expansion coefficient is 42.34x10^‐6 K^‐1 in the temperature range 773‐1473 K. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Microstructural Characterization of Electrosynthesized ZnTe Thin Films

Thin films of zinc telluride (ZnTe) were electrosynthesized on tin oxide coated conducting glass substrates at various bath temperatures. The deposited films were characterized by x‐ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The structure was found to be cubic with preferential orientation along (111) plane. X‐ray line profile analysis technique by the method of the variance has been used to evaluate the microstructural parameters. The variation of different microstructural parameters such as, crystallite size, RMS strain, dislocation density and stacking fault probability affecting the fraction of planes with film thickness and bath temperatures were studied. The experimental observations are discussed in detail.     

磁控溅射ZrN薄膜的生长机理及光学性能

利用直流反应磁控溅射法在Si衬底上沉积了高结晶质量的氮化锆(ZrN)薄膜。采用X射线衍射仪(XRD)、场发射扫描电子显微镜(FE-SEM)、原子力显微镜(AFM)和光谱椭偏仪(SE)研究了沉积时间对ZrN薄膜结构、表面形貌和光学性能的影响。结果表明:所沉积薄膜均为NaCl结构的立方相ZrN,具有(111)面单一取向;沉积时间的增加提高了薄膜的结晶质量;ZrN薄膜的表面形貌、晶粒尺寸以及表面粗糙度随沉积时间发生变化,沉积45 min的薄膜表面出现致密的三角锥晶粒,且表面粗糙度最大,薄膜呈柱状生长。随后利用Extend Structure Zone Model解释了ZrN薄膜的生长机制,最后研究了ZrN薄膜的光反射特性,发现反射光谱与晶粒形状和表面粗糙度密切相关,表面具有三角锥状晶粒的薄膜,其反射谱在300~800 nm波长范围内存在振荡现象,相比于具有不规则晶粒形貌的薄膜其反射率明显下降。本文中研究的生长条件与晶体结构、微观形貌和光学性能之间的关系,可为器件中应用的ZrN薄膜最佳制备条件的优化提供重要的参考价值。     

Epitaxial low-temperature growth of In<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Ga<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>As films on GaAs(100) and GaAs(111)<Emphasis Type="Italic">A</Emphasis> substrates using a metamorphic buffer

A complex investigation of epitaxial In_0.5Ga_0.5As films grown on GaAs substrates with crystallographic orientations of (100) and (111)A in the standard high- and low-temperature modes has been performed. The parameters of the GaAs substrate and In_0.5Ga_0.5As film were matched using the technology of step-graded metamorphic buffer. The electrical and structural characteristics of the grown samples have been studied by the van der Pauw method, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission/ scanning electron microscopy. The surface morphology is found to correlate with the sample growth temperature and doping with silicon. It is revealed that doping of low-temperature In_0.5Ga_0.5As layers with silicon significantly reduces both the surface roughness and highly improves the structural quality. Pores 50–100 nm in size are found in the low-temperature samples.     

Growth of YBa2Cu3O7 films with [110] tilt of CuO planes to surface on SrTiO3 crystals

YBa₂Cu₃O₇ films with the CuO plane tilted to the surface have been grown on SrTiO₃ crystalline substrates by pulsed laser deposition. This tilt was obtained by rotating the film lattice with respect to the substrate surface around its [110] axis oriented parallel to the surface. The zero tilt of the CuO plane was implemented at the orientation of the SrTiO₃ crystal surface parallel to the (100) plane. The rotation angles were varied in the range from 0° to 70°. It is found that, being tilted at any angle, the CuO planes of the film remain parallel to one or several crystallographic planes of the (100)-type substrate. In the range of tilt angles from 0° to 49°, the film has a single-crystal structure. Above 49° the film is transformed into a three-domain texture and its surface roughness sharply increases.     

Optical and structural properties of lead iodide thin films prepared by vacuum evaporation method

Thermally processed lead iodide (PbI₂) thin films were prepared by the vacuum evaporation method in a constant ambient. Measured thickness of the film was verified analytically from the optical transmittance data in a wavelength range between 300 and 1600 nm. From the Tauc relation for the non‐direct inter band transition, the optical band gap of the film was found to be 2.58 eV for film thickness 300 nm. X‐ray diffraction analysis confirmed that PbI₂ films are polycrystalline, having hexagonal structure. The low fluctuation in Urbach energy indicates that the grain size is quite small. The present findings are in agreement with the other results. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Deposition of microcrystalline Ge films using hot-wire technique without toxic gases

To investigate the deposition of Ge films without toxic gas such as germane, we have studied the Ge films prepared by the hot-wire technique, which utilize the reaction between a Ge target and hydrogen atoms generated by the hot-wire decomposition of H₂ gas. The films deposited on Si substrate were microcrystalline Ge films and the mean crystallite size of the films increased from 13.3 to 24.8 nm with increasing the substrate temperature from 300 to 500 °C. Moreover, the deposition rate of Ge films deposited on Si substrate was higher than that of Ge films deposited on Corning 1737 substrate. It was found that the substrate temperature and the kind of substrate are key parameters for the preparation of microcrystalline Ge films by the hot-wire technique.