A diffusion model of metal surface modification during plasma nitriding

A diffusion model of metal surface modification by plasma nitriding has been developed. This model takes into account the erosion effects at the plasma/solid interface occurring due to the ion bombardment of the surface. For constant sputtering rate, which is the usual situation during plasma nitriding, the growth of the sub-layers is well described by the analytical expressiong(t) =g ₀,f ^–1 (t/t ₀), whereg(t) is the sub-layer thickness at timet,g ₀ andt ₀ are parameters which depend on the treated material and plasma characteristics,f ^–1 is the inverse of the function — In(1 - x) + x), 0 x 1. Under negligible erosion effects, the expression forg(t) reduces to the parabolic law. The diffusion zone (substratum) growth does not follow the parabolic law as well. However, the deviation occurs after long plasma nitriding time. The model can be used for experimentally determining the effective diffusion coefficients and the erosion rate during plasma nitriding of metal surfaces.     

Doppler-broadening measurements of microvoids at the Au/GaAs interface

Recent positron lifetime studies made on the Au/GaAs interface with an applied electric field returning a significant fraction of bulk implanted positrons to the interface have revealed the presence of microvoids( 1 nm diameter) at the interface. In this work an attempt has been made to study these microvoids by observing the Doppler broadening on the annihilation radiation coming from them. This is done both by observing theS-parameter as a function of applied bias and by applying the generalized least-squares method to the deconvolution of the annihilation radiation lineshape. The general conclusion is that the Doppler-broadened data are consistent with the majority of positrons trapping into microvoids, probably associated with grain boundaries. The data suggest that these open volume defects are more associated with the Au film rather than the Au-Ga alloyed interfacial region.Paper presented at the 132nd WE-Heraeus-Seminar on Positron Studies of Semiconductor Defects, Halle, Germany, 29 August to 2 September 1994     

Yb/GaAs (110): The pinning behavior of the rare earth GaAs interface

The effect of the room temperature interaction of an increasing coverage of the rare earth metal, Yb, on the Fermi level pinning behavior of n-GaAs (110) has been studied in detail. Soft X-ray photoemission spectroscopy was used to obtain information on the variation of the Fermi level position in the band gap via photoelectron emission from the As 3d and Ga 3d core level states. Both As and Ga interact with the overlayer to such a degree that we have used two independent methodologies to obtain a reliable estimate of the Schottky barrier height. The established limits for the barrier height are 0.61–0.72 eV. The results of this study show that the pinning position of the Fermi level is established well before the interface constituents are fully reacted and is stable for higher overlayer coverages. The Schottky barrier height is consistent with the low electronegativity of the rare earth metals.     

Stability of surface waves at magnetized plasma – metal interface

The stability of high‐frequency potential surface waves at a dense magnetized plasma – metal interface with respect to a low‐frequency plasma density modulation is studied in the point of view of the surface waves control. The discussion is addressed to the situation, when an external steady magnetic field is directed perpendicularly to the interface. The nonlinear interaction process of the high‐frequency surface wave, its satellites and the low‐frequency plasma density perturbation is investigated. It is shown that the low‐frequency plasma density perturbation can be represented as a superposition of forced waves of surface and volume types and can lead to an additional attenuation of the surface waves. This attenuation arises when the surface wave amplitude exceeds the threshold value. (© 2003 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Transport properties of the interface metal chalcogenide/vacuum

The process of spontaneous thermal dissociation of the semiconducting nonstoichiometric compounds Cu_2-δX (X=S, Se) in vacuum has been investigated. Thermogravimetric, X-ray and electrochemical techniques reveal that the dissociation rates sharply decrease at δ≤δ_cr. (δ_cr.=f(T)) and the chalcogen fluxes from the compounds into the vacuum become immeasurably small. The results of the experiments are discussed in terms of the formation of a phase at the surface with properties of a compound of constant composition. Possible reasons are the excess surface energy together with the high mobility of copper ions which results probably in the reconstruction of the subsurface layers.     

Origin of HfO2/GaAs interface states and interface passivation: A first principles study

First principles calculations of HfO₂/GaAs interfaces indicate that the interface states originate from the charge mismatch between HfO₂ and GaAs surfaces. We find that a model neutral interface (HfO₂ and GaAs surfaces terminated with two O and one Ga atoms per surface unit cell) removes gap states due to the balance of the interface charge. F and H can neutralize the HfO₂/GaAs interface resulting in useful band offsets, thus becoming possible candidates to passivate the interface states.     

Thermoelectric effects in normal metal/superconductor interface structures

The thermopower of Andreev interferometers, which are doubly connected loops in which one arm is a superconductor and one arm is a normal metal, oscillates as a function of magnetic field with a fundamental period corresponding to a flux quantum h / 2 e through the area of the loop. While the magnetoresistance of an Andreev interferometer is symmetric with respect to the magnetic field, the thermopower can be either symmetric or antisymmetric, depending on the topology of the sample. The temperature dependence of the thermopower oscillations is nonmonotonic. This nonmonotonic behavior does not appear to be related to the reentrance observed by many groups in the conductance of normal-metal/superconductor (NS) structures.     

Characteristic modification by inserted metal layer and interface graphene layer in ZnO-based resistive switching structures

ZnO-based resistive switching device Ag/ZnO/TiN, and its modified structure Ag/ZnO/Zn/ZnO/TiN and Ag/graphene/ZnO/TiN, were prepared. The effects of inserted Zn layers in ZnO matrix and an interface graphene layer on resistive switching characteristics were studied. It is found that metal ions, oxygen vacancies, and interface are involved in the RS process. A thin inserted Zn layer can increase the resistance of HRS and enhance the resistance ratio. A graphene interface layer between ZnO layer and top electrode can block the carrier transport and enhance the resistance ratio to several times. The results suggest feasible routes to tailor the resistive switching performance of ZnO-based structure.     

Theory of GaAsoxide interface states

The discrete GaAsoxide interface states observed by Lagowski et al. can be explained by defects in the GaAs surface: The deep levels are in agreement with our predictions for surface antisite defects, and the shallow levels (observed for thick oxides) agree with our predictions for surface oxygen impurities on anion and cation sites.     

Electron spin filtering in the GaAs/AlGaAs interface space charge field

The circularly polarized recombination radiation produced by optically oriented electrons in GaAs and viewed in the direction of and opposite to the pump light propagation was found to have opposite signs of polarization. The excitation was effected by photons of energy E_hv ≈ E _g + Δ through a transparent AlGaAs window. The opposite signs of circular polarization and its complex dependence on the luminescence wavelength are accounted for by the influence of the space charge field created by the depleted layer near the interface.     

Strain-confined wires and dots at a GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs interface

We have observed lateral exciton confinement at the GaAs/Al_xGa_1-xAs interface. The confinement is achieved in both the growth and lateral directions by the strain potential under an amorphous carbon stressor. The potential welt varies from 15 meV to 40 meV for different stressor sizes. We have also made transient measurements on this structure, which show efficient exciton transfer from the bulk GaAs to the confined region.