Enhanced structural and electrical features of amorphous InGaZnO thin film transistors via a heavy Kr gas process

We report the influence of a heavy Kr gas sputtering process on the electrical and structural features of amorphous indium–gallium–zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs). Electrical observation revealed effective reduction of threshold voltage shifts by adapting a simple sputtering process with Kr gas during growth of a-IGZO TFTs. In addition, the application of Kr-gas resulted in a reduction of oxygen vacancies associated with defect sites in the a-IGZO active channel layer. Structural analyses including atomic force microscopy, X-ray reflectivity, Auger electron spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profiling were carried out, along with electrical bias stability tests that convincingly confirm progress of heavy Kr gas process-induced features.     

Dependence of properties of hydrogenated microcrystalline and amorphous silicon films prepared by planar magnetron sputtering in inert gas

Microcrystalline and amorphous hydrogenated silicon films were preparaed by rf planar magnetron sputtering in the four kinds of inert gas, i.e., He, Ne, Ar, and Kr. The dependence of such properties as x-ray diffraction, ir spectra, absorption coefficient, hydrogen content, dark conductivity and photoconductivity on the kind of inert gas was investigated. Such deposition conditions as hydrogen partial pressure, sputtering pressure and rf power were also studied mainly in relation to the microcrystallization of the films. Microcrystalline films with noticeably high deposition rate could be obtained in the case of Kr and Ar, compared to the case of He and Ne. Hydrogen concentration was found to correlate to the photoconductivity and activation energy of dark conductivity except for the case of He. Photosensitivity was appreciably larger for amorphous film than for microcrystalline one. Especially in the case of Kr, it was considerably larger than in other cases.     

Deposition and characterization of sputtered ZnO films

Zinc oxide thin films were deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature using a metallic zinc target in a gas mixture of argon and oxygen. Plasma power, oxygen /argon gas ratio, gas pressure, and substrate temperature were varied, and an experimental design method was used to optimize these deposition parameters by considering their interdependence. Crystalline structures and film stresses were examined. Post-deposition rapid thermal annealing was also carried out to observe its effects on the film properties. Statistical analysis was then used to find the optimal sputtering conditions. Results indicated that plasma power and gas pressure have the largest effects on film crystallization and stress and that postdeposition annealing can be used to improve the quality of the film properties.     

Sputtering gases and pressure effects on the microstructure,magnetic properties and recording performance of TbFeCo films

The MsHc value is considered to be a key factor in high-density recording, and controlling the microstructure on the magnetic underlayer was found to be an effective way of increasing the MsHc of the amorphous TbFeCo magneto-optical (MO) medium. In this paper, we investigate the TbFeCo film's magnetic properties and the effects on the microcolumnar structure, which depends on the sputtering conditions of using various sputtering gases including Ar, Kr, and Xe, and the recording characteristics of TbFeCo memory layers. With heavy sputtering gases such as Kr or Xe, the columnar structure can be prepared in a TbFeCo film at a pressure lower than 1.0 Pa. The columnar structure of a recording layer can be effectively formed thanks to the effects of the magnetic underlayer, which has a fine surface even in the sputtering process in which Xe gas is used. The above applies to the sputtering process in which Ar gas is used. Also, when Xe gas is used in the sputtering process, coercivity Hc is increased through the formation of a well-segregated microcolumnar structure built on domain wall pinning sites, and we obtain a large MsHc and a high squareness ratio of the Kerr-hysteresis loop. Our results indicate that processing a TbFeCo film with heavy sputtering gases is suitable for tiny mark stability because the temperature gradient of Hc is increased. The objective of the low-pressure sputtering process using Xe gas to produce the columnar structure is to achieve ultra-high-density recording with tiny mark stability in the TbFeCo medium. This has been confirmed with magnetic force microscope (MFM) images of stable tiny marks recorded on TbFeCo film.     

Dependence of the microstructure and magnetic properties of amorphous TbFeCo films on the type and pressure of the gas in sputtering

Amorphous Tb₃₀Fe₆₀Co₁₀ films have been fabricated by magnetron sputtering. The dependences of the microstructure and magnetic properties of these films on the type and pressure of the gas in the sputtering chamber have been studied. The pressure of the Ar, Kr, and Xe gases used in the experiments is varied in the sputtering chamber from 0.01 to 4.00 Pa. It has been established that sputtering in the heavy gas (Kr) conducted within the pressure range covered does not permit fabricating TbFeCo films with the easy magnetization axis perpendicular to the film plane. With Xe used at pressures below 1.0 Pa, one observes in TbFeCo films an increase of the coercivity, with the hysteresis loop approaching rectangular shape. Sputtering and deposition in Ar at a pressure of ??0.67 Pa result in the formation of amorphous Tb₃₀Fe₆₀Co₁₀ films with magnetic characteristics satisfying the requirements imposed upon information carriers intended to be employed in perpendicular recording. It has been demonstrated that, by magnetron sputtering in an Ar atmosphere performed at pressures below 1 Pa, one can produce amorphous Tb₃₀Fe₆₀Co₁₀ films suitable for magneto-optical ultra-high-density information recording.     

Hyperpolarized 83Kr MRI of lungs

Hyperpolarized (hp) ⁸³Kr (spin I = 9/2) is a promising gas-phase contrast agent that displays sensitivity to the surface chemistry, surface-to-volume ratio, and surface temperature of the surrounding environment. This proof-of-principle study demonstrates the feasibility of ex vivo hp ⁸³Kr magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of lungs using natural abundance krypton gas (11.5% ⁸³Kr) and excised, but otherwise intact, rat lungs located within a custom designed ventilation chamber. Experiments comparing the ⁸³Kr MR signal intensity from lungs to that arising from a balloon with no internal structure inflated to the same volume with krypton gas mixture suggest that most of the observed signal originated from the alveoli and not merely the conducting airways. The ⁸³Kr longitudinal relaxation times in the rat lungs ranged from 0.7 to 3.7 s but were reproducible for a given lung. Although the source of these variations was not explored in this work, hp ⁸³Kr T₁ differences may ultimately lead to a novel form of MRI contrast in lungs. The currently obtained 1200-fold signal enhancement for hp ⁸³Kr at 9.4 T field strength is found to be 180 times below the theoretical upper limit.     

134 nm vacuum ultraviolet emission using an Ar/Kr gas mixture excited by a quasi-continuous-wave gas jet discharge

We have developed a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) lamp at 134 nm with a quasi-point emission geometry using a quasi-continuous-wave (cw) gas jet discharge of an Ar/Kr gas mixture. We have unambiguously identified a new emission continuum centered at 134 nm as a transition of Ar-Kr hetero-nuclear excimers (ArKr^*). The VUV emission power of the 134 nm continuum was 10 mW at 21 atm of the total Ar/Kr stagnation gas pressure, at a Kr concentration of 0.1%. Characteristic energy transfer between atoms and dimers plays an important role for the efficient production of ArKr^* in such a gas jet discharge. Received: 15 June 2000 / Revised version: 31 July 2000 / Published online: 22 November 2000     

The Influence of Molecular Gas on the Apokamp Discharge Formation

Emission spectra of apokamp discharge plasma jets in CO₂, Ar, Kr, N₂, and their mixtures have been studied. It has been shown that the emission spectra of the Kr–N₂ mixture contain N₂ and \(\rm{N_2^+}\) bands, as well as Kr lines. The spectrum of the Ar–CO₂ mixture is presented by bands of the Fox–Duffendack–Barker system and lines of the exited argon atom. In all gas media under study, the reduction of the molecular gas quantity leads to the transition from an apokampic discharge in the form of a diffusion jet developing from the current channel to a volume discharge with a strong transverse glowing. The experimental apparatus described in this work is proposed for use in laboratory investigations of spectral characteristics of transient luminous events observed in atmospheres of planets of the Solar System.     

Influence of the Plasma Kinetics on the Si/C Ratio of a-SixC1-x: H Thin Films Deposited by Reactive Magnetron Sputtering of a Si Target in Ar + CH4 Gas Mixtures

Possible sources of silicon and carbon atoms built-in amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide thin films grown by reactive magnetron sputtering (RMS) in argon/methane gas mixtures are evaluated. It is found out that the plasma decomposition of methane molecules plays an essential role in providing of growing film surface by active hydrocarbon fragments, thus influencing significantly the film stoichiometry even though the methane partial pressure in the sputtering gas mixture is only 1.5–4.7%.     

高阻隔铝塑膜辉光放电发射光谱深度谱测量参数的优化

脉冲-射频辉光放电发射光谱(GDOES)深度剖析是一种基于辉光放电原理的原子光谱技术,广泛应用于薄膜材料与功能多层膜结构中成分随深度分布的表征.该技术具有真空度要求低,灵敏度高,溅射速率快等优点.同时脉冲-射频电源所采用的瞬间高功率模式可使得氩离子周期性轰击样品表面,避免了由于热量积累所导致的熔融或碳化,因此脉冲-射频...     

Defect formation processes and their influence on mechanical stresses in green glow gallium phosphide structures

Defect formation and their influence on internal mechanical stresses in epitaxial gallium phosphide layers grown from a gallium melt with the addition of finely-dispersed gallium nitride particles in an atmosphere of hydrogen with ammonia are investigated in this paper. It is established that an increase from 0.04 to 0.1 vol. % in the ammonia content in the gas mixture will result in growth in the quantity of defects, in particular, inclusions of the second phase, as well as internal mechanical stresses, while for an NH₃ content greater than 0.1 vol. % – in the formation of shallow cracks and stress relaxation. The dependence between the internal mechanical stresses, the volume fraction, and the dispersion of the GaN inclusions in gallium phosphide is shown. The results obtained are discussed within the framework of the proposed model.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 1, pp. 23–27, January, 1991.     

Kr/Xe气体在塑料闪烁体表面的吸附与扩散行为研究

采用基于Compass力场的分子动力学(MD)方法,研究了惰性气体氙(Xe)和氪(Kr)在塑料闪烁体(聚乙烯基对甲苯)的平整和粗糙表面的吸附和扩散行为.由惰性气体吸附曲线的均方根位移(MSD),得到了Xe/Kr气体在聚乙烯基对甲苯表面的扩散系数.研究结果表明,Kr/Xe气体均被稳定地吸附在塑料闪烁体表面,其稳定性随着温度的升高而增加,Xe分子的吸附性强于Kr分子. Kr/Xe气体在聚乙烯基对甲苯表面具有较强的扩散性能,扩散深度随着温度与厚度的增加而增加,最大为22.865?,Kr分子扩散能力强于Xe分子.基底粗糙表面增加了两种惰性气体分子的吸附和扩散.     

Near infrared lasing transitions in Ar,Kr, and Xe atoms pumped by a coaxial e-beam

Optimizations of gas composition and input energy were performed for gas mixtures containing a buffer gas and either Ar, Kr or Xe as the lasing gas. The total gas pressure was varied between 1 and 14 bar and the input energy from 0.03 to 0.7 J/cm³. The excitation source was a small coaxial electron beam with a pumping length of 20 cm and a pulse length of 30 ns (FWHM). From an active volume of 13.3 cm³ a maximum output energy of 12 mJ was obtained from a gas mixture containing 0.3% Xe in Ar at a total gas pressure of 10 bar. The intrinsic efficiency was 0.9%.     

低气压掺氪混合气放电XeF（C—A）激光

于0.22MPa气压和2.76MW/cm~3泵浦速率下,在商品准分子激光器上实现放电激励XeF(C-A)宽带自由振荡。使用峰值净益为1.24％/cm的掺氪四元混合气,获得兰绿激光输出1.17mJ,比能量输出9mJ/L,增本征效率0.016％,中心波长477nm,带宽32nm(FWHM)。     

Properties of indium phosphite and selected compounds under irradiation with swift heavy ions

Surface and bulk properties of indium phosphate single crystals with initial and previously irradiated by 25 MeV electrons structures were irradiated with ⁸⁶Kr (253 MeV) and ¹⁹⁷Au (200 MeV) up to various fluences. The modern methods of condensed matter studies were used for research of InP property changes before and after irradiation as scanning (SEM) and high resolution transmission electronic microscopy (HTEM), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS/C) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The comparison of obtained results with the results of other authors is carried out. The surface structure change of InP single crystal irradiated by high-energy 86Kr ions and electrons is studied. It is shown the changes of the InP surface have complicated character and caused by inelastic sputtering processes. It is observed the twice irradiated layer swells with the cracks creation on the surface. The swelling with cracks and strong sputtering of twice irradiated by electrons and ions with high energy layers of the InP and GaAs surfaces are explained using the model based on the influence of ionizing energy loss of swift ⁸⁶Kr ions. The small crystalline objects are detected on the InP surface irradiated with ⁸⁶Kr ions which may be nano- and micro-crystals of InP. All obtained effects are discussed in frame of models based on ionizing energy loss of swift heavy ions.     

Deposition and properties of B-N codoped p-type ZnO thin films by RF magnetron sputtering

B-N codoped p-type ZnO thin films have been realized by radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering using a mixture of argon and oxygen as sputtering gas. Types of conduction and electrical properties in codoped ZnO films were found to be dependent on oxygen partial pressure ratios in the sputtering gas mixture. When oxygen partial pressure ratio was 70%, the codoped ZnO film showed p-type conduction and had the best electrical properties. Additionally, the p-ZnO/n-Si heterojunction showed a clear p-n diode characteristic. XRD results indicate that the B-N codoped ZnO film prepared in 70% oxygen partial pressure ratio has high crystal quality with (0 0 2) preferential orientation. Meanwhile, the B-N codoped ZnO film has high optical quality and displays the stronger near band edge (NBE) emission in the temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectrum, the acceptor energy level was estimated to be located at 125 meV above the valence band.     

Computer simulation of two-component target sputtering

The TRIM SP computer simulation program, which is based on the binary collision approximation, is applied to sputtering of two component targets. The topics discussed in this paper are: contribution of different processes leading to sputtering, total and partial sputtering yields, surface compositions at stationary conditions, sputtering of isotopic mixtures, angular and energy distributions and the escape depth of sputtered particles. Targets investigated are TaC, WC, TiC, TiD₂, and B (as an isotope mixture), bombarded by the noble gas ions and D (in the case of TiD₂). Comparison with experimental data and calculated results show good agreement demonstrating that collisional effects are sufficient to describe the experimental data in the examples investigated.     

On the phase formation of titanium oxide thin films deposited by reactive DC magnetron sputtering: influence of oxygen partial pressure and nitrogen doping

This work describes about the control on phase formation in titanium oxide thin films deposited by reactive dc magnetron sputtering. Various phases of titanium oxide thin films were deposited by controlling the oxygen partial pressure during the sputtering process. By adding nitrogen gas to sputter gas mixture of oxygen and argon, the oxygen partial pressure was decreased further below the usual critical value, below and above which the sputtering yields metallic and oxide films, respectively. Furthermore, nitrogen addition eliminated the typical hysteretic behaviour between the flow rate and oxygen partial pressure, and significantly influenced the sputter rate. On increasing the oxygen partial pressure, the ratio between anatase and rutile fraction and grain size increases. The fracture cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy together with the complementary information from X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman investigations revealed the evolution and spatial distribution of the anatase and rutile phases. Both the energy delivered to the growing film and oxygen vacancy concentrations are correlated with the formation of various phases upon varying the oxygen partial pressure.     

Noble gas mixture CW hollow cathode laser with internal anode system

A hollow cathode discharge tube with internal anodes was found to operate at significantly higher discharge voltages than a conventional HCD. A laser tube having internal anodes was constructed and laser operation was investigated in He-Kr, He-Ar and He-Ne-Xe gas mixtures. Due to the increased voltage low threshold currents and increased output power were obtained at the 4694 Å Kr ion and the 4765 Å Ar ion transitions. CW laser oscillation was observed for the first time at the 5314 Å and 4863 Å transitions of Xe II.     

Grain size of nanocrystalline YSZ buffer layers fabricated by ion beam deposition

Amorphous or nanocrystalline thin films are capable to be efficient diffusion barrier layers for YBCO coated conductors of ion beam assisted deposition route. Nanocrystalline Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) buffer layers were fabricated by the ion beam deposition. Kr and Ar gases were utilized for the dual Kaufman type sputtering ion sources sequently. Both of the ion beams were fixed at 200 mA, while the ion energy was in the range of 450–2000 eV. The thickness of the YSZ buffer layers was several hundreds of nanometers. The grain size of YSZ thin films, which varied from 2 to 20 nm, was calculated by Scherrer Formulation based on the X-ray diffraction measurement results. The grain size always decreased at first and then increased when the ion energy was increased. In the cases Kr gas was utilized and Ar gas was utilized, the grain size reached its minimum value at the ion energy of about 1800 eV and 1000 eV, respectively. Such phenomenon was discussed using the thermodynamic theory of thin film nucleation. Deposition rate and substrate temperature were the two chief variables of the critical nuclei concentration and grain size.