The electrical characteristics of a 4H-silicon carbide metal-insulator-semiconductor structure with Al2O3 as the gate dielectric

A 4H-silicon carbide metal-insulator-semiconductor structure with ultra-thin Al₂O₃ as the gate dielectric, deposited by atomic layer deposition on the epitaxial layer of a 4H-SiC (0001) 8⁰N-/N+ substrate, has been fabricated. The experimental results indicate that the prepared ultra-thin Al₂O₃ gate dielectric exhibits good physical and electrical characteristics, including a high breakdown electrical field of 25 MV/cm, excellent interface properties (1×10¹⁴ cm^-2) and low gate-leakage current (I_G = 1 × 10^-3 A/cm^-2@E_ox = 8 MV/cm). Analysis of the current conduction mechanism on the deposited Al₂O₃ gate dielectric was also systematically performed. The confirmed conduction mechanisms consisted of Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunneling, the Frenkel-Poole mechanism, direct tunneling and Schottky emission, and the dominant current conduction mechanism depends on the applied electrical field. When the gate leakage current mechanism is dominated by FN tunneling, the barrier height of SiC/Al₂O₃ is 1.4 eV, which can meet the requirements of silicon carbide metal-insulator-semiconductor transistor devices.     

Pulsed laser deposition of high temperature protonic films

Pulsed laser deposition has been used to fabricate nanostructured BaCe_0.85Y_0.15O_3−δ films. Protonic conduction of the fabricated BaCe_0.85Y_0.15O_3−δ films was compared to the sintered BaCe_0.85Y_0.15O_3−δ. Sintered samples and laser targets were prepared by sintering BaCe_0.85Y_0.15O_3−δ powders derived by solid state synthesis. Films 1 to 8 μm thick were deposited by KrF excimer laser on porous Al₂O₃ substrates. Thin films were fabricated at deposition temperatures of 700 to 950 °C at O₂ pressures up to 200 mTorr using laser pulse energy densities of 1.4–3 J/cm². Fabricated films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and electrical impedance spectroscopy. Single phase BaCe_0.85Y_0.15O_3−δ films with a columnar growth morphology are observed with preferred crystal growth along the [100] or [001] direction. Results indicate [100] growth dependence upon laser pulse energy. Electrical conductivity of bulk samples produced by solid state sintering and thin film samples were measured over a temperature range of 100 to 900 °C. Electrical conduction behavior was dependent upon film deposition temperature. Maximum conductivity occurs at deposition temperature of 900 °C; the electrical conductivity exceeds the sintered specimen. All other deposited films exhibit a lower electrical conductivity than the sintered specimen. Activation energy for electrical conduction showed dependence upon deposition temperature, it varied from 115 to 54 kJ. Film microstructure was attributed to the difference in electrical conductivity of the BaCe_0.85Y_0.15O_3−δ films.     

Water vapour sorption by mim systems

In studying the properties of the sandwich system Al-Al₂O₃-Au(Al) the capacitance of the system was found to depend on the humidity of the environment. The humidity induced capacitance change is reversible and can be explained assuming a process of physical sorption of water vapours by Al₂O₃ dielectric film. The sorption rate is independent of the oxide film thickness, which leads to a conclusion that mainly the sorption in the surface layer of the oxide is involved in the process. The sorption rate is, however, decreasing with increasing thickness of the upper evaporated electrode, which can be taken as an evidence of the fact that the water molecules penetrate to the oxide films through the upper metal layer whose coverage is not complete due to the porosity of the oxide film underneath.On the basis of our experimental results we come to a conclusion that even when the Al₂O₃ films are prepared by oxidation in a 3% solution of tartaric acid, their structure is porous. Proceeding from a simplified picture of the dielectric structure we propose an equivalent electrical scheme of the Al-Al₂O₃-Au Al system. The frequency characteristics measured at different environment humidities correspond to the dependences calculated for the proposed equivalent circuit.     

Li1+xGe2-xAlxP3O12系统的相关系和电导

本文研究了Li_1+xGe_2-xAl_xP₃O₁₂系统的相组成和电导的关系。发现用LiGe₂P₃O₁₂作为基体化合物,通过离子置换可以得到好的锂离子导体。用Al³⁺置换LiGe₂P₃O₁₂中的Ge⁴⁺,在0关键词：     

Experimental and theoretical study of AC electrical conduction mechanisms by NSPT model of LiNa<Subscript>3-x</Subscript>Ag<Subscript>x</Subscript>P<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>7</Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> = 0.2 and 0.6) ceramic compounds

New pyrophosphate of ceramic compounds LiNa_3-xAg_xP₂O₇ (x = 0.2 and 0.6) is synthesized by a solid-state method. All the compounds crystallize in the orthorhombic lattice with space group C222₁. The infrared spectra of these compounds show characteristic bands due to a P₂O₇ group. The two semicircles observed in the complex impedance identify the presence of the grain interior and grain boundary contributions to the electrical response in these materials. The frequency independent conductivity of these compounds shows Arrhenius-type behavior. The activation energies have been calculated at the levels of impedance, electric modulus studies, and DC conductivity which suggest that the conductions are ionic in nature. The conductivity increases with an increase in Ag substitution. In order to determine the conduction mechanism, the AC conductivity and its frequency exponent have been analyzed in this work by a theoretical model based on quantum mechanical tunneling: the non-overlapping small polaron tunneling model (NSPT) is confirmed for x = 0.2 and x = 0.6. The conduction mechanism is studied with the help of Elliot’s theory, and the Elliot’s parameters are determined.     

The chemisorption of H2O,HCOOH and CH3COOH on thin amorphous films of Al2O3

Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) has been used to probe the irreversible chemisorption of H₂O, HCOOH, and CH₃COOH on a thin amorphous film of Al₂O₃. The “clean” Al₂O₃ film was also probed in a similar way. The measurement involves examining the second derivative of the I–V curve for electrons tunneling between the metal electrodes in an AlAl₂O₃Pb junction. When chemisorbed species are present on the Al₂O₃, the second derivative measurement is a representation of vibronic excitations of the chemical bonds in the adspecies, i.e. the tunneling spectra are analogous to IR spectra. A “clean” Al₂O₃ surface is found to possess free OH groups essentially equivalent to a surface exposed to large concentrations of H₂O. Saturation coverages of HCOOH and CH₃COOH yield similar spectra to each other, as expected. However, chemical shifts as well as variations in intensity among the equivalent bonds in the adsorbed HCOOH and CH₃COOH are noted. Tentative assignments are given for the observed peaks, and it is concluded that the acids adsorb as formate and acetate ions on the surface. Tunneling spectra for several submonolayer coverages of HCOOH (θ = 0.03, 0.08, 0.3 and 0.4) have been measured in addition to the spectrum corresponding to saturation coverage. Small shifts in certain vibronic transitions as a function of surface coverage have been noted. The shifts in the peak positions are related to variations in adsorbate-adsorbent and adsorbate-adsorbate interactions, and the variations in relative peak intensity are associated with the orientation of the adsorbed molecules. The kinetics of the chemisorption of HCOOH, i.e. the sticking probability as a function of surface coverage, has also been determined for surface coverages between 0.03 and 0.4 monolayer.     

Nano-composite solid polymer electrolytes for solid state ionic devices

Recent research efforts to improve the ambient temperature conductivity in polyethylene oxide (PEO) based solid polymer electrolytes have been directed towards the incorporation of ultra-fine nano-sized particles of ceramic fillers such as Al₂O₃, γ-LiAlO₂, SiO₂ and TiO₂ into the polymer electrolyte. In these PEO based nano-composite polymer electrolytes, conductivity enhancements of up to two orders of magnitude have been achieved. Thermal, electrical conductivity and dielectric relaxation measurements performed on several nano-composite polymer electrolyte systems have shown that the degree of enhancement depends primarily on the grain size. In this paper, results of three nano-composite polymer electrolyte systems, PEO:LiTFSI:Al₂O₃, PEO:LiTf:Al₂O₃ and PEO:LiTf: SiO₂ are discussed as representative examples. It is suggested that the conductivity enhancement is due to the creation of additional sites and favourable conduction pathways for ionic transport through Lewis acidbase type interactions between the filler surface groups (H/OH) and the ionic species. Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Ionic Devices, Anna University, Channai, India, Nov. 28–30, 2003.     

Magneto-transport and magnetic properties of (1-x)La0.7Ca0.3MnO3+xAl2O3 composites

We report magneto-transport and magnetic properties of (1-x)La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃+xAl₂O₃ composites synthesized through a solid-state reaction method combined with a high energy milling method. Most interestingly, the effective magnetic anisotropy is found to decrease with increase in the non-magnetic insulating Al₂O₃ phase fraction in the composites. In addition, we observed that the magnitude of low-field magnetoresistance arising from spin-polarized tunneling of conduction electrons, as well as that of high-field magnetoresistance, displays a Curie-Weiss law-like behavior. Finally, we found that the temperature dependence of low and high-field magnetoresistance is controlled predominantly by the nature of temperature response of surface magnetization of the particles.     

Dielectric multilayer nanostructures of tantalum and aluminum oxides

This paper reports on the experimental results of investigations into the mechanism of formation and dielectric characteristics of multilayer nanostructures prepared through the molecular layer-by-layer growth of tantalum and aluminum oxides. It is demonstrated that the permittivity of the multilayer nanostructures varies almost linearly with a change in the content of the components. The electrical conductivity depends on the ratio between the Al₂O₃ layer thickness d_i and the Ta₂O₅ layer thickness d_j. For a layer thickness d_i (d_j)<5 nm, the tunneling phenomena contribute significantly to the permittivity and conductivity of these nanostructures.     

Water vapour sorption on hydrophilic and hydrophobic nanoporous materials

The aim of this study is to compare water vapour sorption isotherms on various mesoporous materials in their pristine state and after silanisation. Commonly the pristine state is regarded as hydrophilic and the silanised one as hydrophobic. Water vapour sorption experiments are discussed for a highly ordered nanoporous aluminium oxide with straight cylindrical channels of ca. 25 nm diameter and for various controlled porous glasses (CPGs) with disordered pores in the range of 13 nm diameter. The water sorption isotherms exhibit in both cases a hysteresis over the entire humidity range. At higher humidities the pristine materials show capillary condensation whereas for the silanised samples this phase transition does not occur or even a loss of water is recorded as for the silanised Al₂O₃. Surprisingly, for the silanised Al₂O higher water uptake is observed in the low humidity region. Application of the excess surface work (ESW) method delivers a reduced structural component in the long range interaction of the water molecules with a hydrophobic surface. Inverse gas chromatography studies of the silanised CPGs result in an increased short range dispersive part of the surface energy with the increasing degree of silanisation.     

Electrical conductivity,diffusion of iron and the defect structure of α-Al2O3: Fe

A detailed defect model is developed for α-Al₂O₃:Fe accounting for conduction and diffusion at high temperatures as a function of iron concentration, oxygen pressure and temperature. This model involves single native and iron defects as well as triplets of (Fe_AlAl_iFe_Al), the latter dominating the defect structure at high Fe concentrations. Diffusion of Fe in A1₂O₃ is attributed to Fe_i^3.. The position of the Fe_Al' level is estimated.     

Electron transmission through ultra-thin insulating barriers

We propose a model to explain the exponential dependence of the electron transmission coefficient through ultra-thin (4–12 Å average thickness) evaporated films of Al₂O₃. The mechanism involves molecular pinholes in the Al₂O₃ rather than tunneling.     

Physical studies on composites Ag7I4VO4-Al2O3

The electrical properties of the solid electrolytes Ag₇I₄VO₄-Al₂O₃ (0-40 mol% Al₂O₃) are investigated. The electrical conductivity, dielectric constant and dielectric loss are increased by increasing the concentration of Al₂O₃; showing a maximum at 30 mol% Al₂O₃. The conductivity is found to be increased by decreasing the particle size of Al₂O₃. The results are explained using the random resistor network model (RRN). This is due to the formation of a highly conducting interface layer along the matrix-particle interface. This layer is destroyed at concentrations higher than 30 mol% Al₂O₃.     

Phonon scattering by Ni3+ ions in Al2O3

Previous thermal conductivity measurements on Al₂O₃ + Ni single crystals have been extended down to 80 mK. The quantitative analysis shows that the lineshape of the low temperature resonant is determineded by random strains in the crystal, and gives a possible value for the ‘tunneling splitting’ 3Γ of 0.54 cm^?1.     

Etude De La Conductivite Electrique Des Ferrites Oxyfluores A Structure Spinelle

An investigation of the electrical conductivity of some oxyfluoride spinels of formula Zn_x²⁺Fe_1?x³⁺[M²⁺ Fe³⁺]O_4?xF_x (M = Fe, Co, Ni) and Fe³⁺[N_x²⁺Fe²⁺Fe_1?x³⁺]O_4?xF_x (N = Fe, Ni) shows that the conduction depends on the composition of the B sites: the activation energy increases, the conductivity and the Fe₃O₄ transition temperature decrease as the substitution rate of Fe³⁺ by N²⁺ in the B sites increases. The authors conclude to a hopping mechanism between the B cations; the anionic sublattice and the cationic A sublattice do not participate in the conduction.     

Thermopower of composites containing metallic cobalt nanoparticles embedded in the Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript> dielectric matrix

The concentration and temperature dependences of the thermopower of composites containing Co nanoparticles embedded in the Al₂O _n dielectric matrix are investigated. Below the percolation threshold, i.e., in the tunneling conduction region, the absolute values of the thermopower of the composites under investigation are less than those above the percolation threshold. It is revealed that, in the tunneling conduction region, the slope of the temperature dependences of the thermopower changes at a temperature of ～205 K. This can indicate that the thermopower is sensitive to a change in the mechanism of conduction from the Mott law ln(σ) ∝ (1/T)^1/4 to a power relation that corresponds to the model of inelastic resonant tunneling through a chain of localized states in the dielectric matrix. The introduction of oxygen in the course of sputtering brings about a decrease in the absolute values of the thermopower; however, the character of variation in the concentration and temperature dependences of the thermopower remains unchanged.     

Permeation barrier properties of an Al2O3/ZrO2 multilayer deposited by remote plasma atomic layer deposition

We report the permeation barrier properties of Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ multi-layers deposited by remote plasma atomic layer deposition. Electrical Ca degradation tests were performed to derive the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of Al₂O₃, ZrO₂ and Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ multi-layers at 50 °C and 50% relative humidity (RH). Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ multi-layers exhibit better barrier properties than Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ layers, and when more individual layers were deposited in the same total thickness, the WVTR value was reduced further, indicating a better barrier property. The WVTR of the Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ layers were 9.5 × 10⁻³ and 1.6 × 10⁻² g/m² day, respectively, but when deposited alternatively with 1 cycle of each layer, the WVTR decreased to 9.9 × 10⁻⁴ g/m² day. X-ray diffraction results indicated that ZrO₂ has a monoclinic structure but Al₂O₃ and Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ multi-layers show an amorphous structure. Cross sectional Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ multi-layer structures and the formation of a ZrAl_xO_y phase are observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) results indicate that Al₂O₃ and ZrO₂ contain 33.7% and 37.8%, respectively, Al–OH and Zr–OH bonding. However, the ZrAl_xO_y phase contained 30.5% Al–OH and Zr–OH bonding. The results of transmittance measurement indicate that overall, Al₂O₃, ZrO₂ and Al₂O₃/ZrO₂ multi-layers show high transmittance greater than 80% in the visible region.     

Mesopore size dependence of the ionic diffusivity in alumina based composite lithium ionic conductors

Ordered-mesoporous Al₂O₃ was synthesized by a sol–gel method using neutral copolymer surfactants as structure-directing agents. The pore size was controlled over the 3–15 nm range by the use of various surfactants. Composites composed of the synthesized mesoporous Al₂O₃ and a lithium ion conductor (LiI) were prepared. The maximum dc electrical conductivity, 2.6 × 10^− 4 S cm^− 1 at 298 K, was observed for 50 LiI·50 Al₂O₃ composite with 4.2 nm average mesopore size, which was considerably higher than the previously reported LiI-alumina composites. A systematic dependence of conductivity upon pore size was observed, in which conductivity increased with decreasing pore size, except for samples with a pore size of 2.8 nm. The lithium ion diffusion coefficient determined by the ⁷Li pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG-NMR) showed excellent agreement with the measured conductivity calculated by the Nernst-Einstein equation. On the other hand, lithium migration activation energies obtained by quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) and ⁷Li NMR spin-lattice relaxation time (T₁) were considerably smaller than those obtained from electrical conductivity and PFG-NMR. This could be explained by the ion migration mechanism in heterogeneous composites and a possible enhancement of conductivity in mesoscopically confined spaces.     

Electrical conductivity relaxation in PVOH+LiH2PO4+Al2O3 polymer composites

Low-frequency conductivity measurements have been performed in solid polymer electrolyte composites based on the anhydrous PVOH–LiH₂PO₄–Al₂O₃ system. A typical power law dependency in the real part of the conductivity, at higher frequencies, of the form ω ⁿ is observed, with an exponent n that depends on the alumina content and nearly independent of temperature. An analysis of the frequency dependence of the electrical susceptibility is conducted to obtain relaxation functions of the form exp[?(t/τ) ^β ], with an exponent β?≈?n???1. Correlation times, τ, and parameters characterizing the electrical relaxation in time and frequency domains are compared to show the equivalence of these representations. The anhydrous dc conductivity of the electrolytes increases with increasing lithium salt content, becoming of the order of 10^?5 S/cm for a salt molar fraction of x?=?0.14. This conductivity value increased by about one order of magnitude by addition of nanoporous particles of Al₂O₃. The temperature dependence of the samples conductivity was well described by the Vogel–Tammann–Fulcher’s equation indicating the effect of the polymer chains flexibility on ion migration. Although all membranes exhibited a “universal dynamic response” associated to the random hopping of the mobile carriers, variations in the measured relaxation parameters with alumina content indicate an increase of ionic correlations when adding the nonporous particles to the polyelectrolyte.     

Jahn-Teller transition in Al doped LiMn2O4 spinel

Al-doped lithium manganese spinels, with starting composition Li_1.02Al_xMn_1.98−xO₄ (0.00<x≤0.06), are investigated to determine the influence of the Al³⁺ doping on the Jahn-Teller (J-T) cooperative transition temperature T_J-T. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), nuclear magnetic resonance, electron paramagnetic resonance, conductivity and magnetic susceptibility data are put into relation with the tetrahedral and octahedral occupancy fraction of the spinel sites and with the homogeneous distribution of the Al³⁺ ions in the spinel phase. It is observed that Al³⁺ may distribute between the two cationic sublattices. The J-T distortion, associated with a drop of conductivity near room temperature in the undoped sample, is shifted towards lower temperature by very low substitution. However, for x>0.04 T_J-T it increases with increasing x, as clearly evidenced in low temperature XRPD observations. A charge distribution model in the cationic sublattice, for Al substitution, is proposed to explain this peculiar behavior.