Structural properties of Al2O3 dielectrics grown on TiN metal substrates by atomic layer deposition

We investigated on the structural properties of Al₂O₃ dielectrics grown on TiN metal substrates using an atomic layer deposition technique with tri-methyl-aluminum and either O₃ or H₂O as the precursor and oxidant, respectively. The structural and morphological features of these films were examined by atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. We find that Al₂O₃ dielectric films with the O₃ oxidant exhibit a rough morphology, a thick TiO₂ film, and a small amount of contaminants such as carbon and hydrogen. The reason for the rapid diffusion of oxygen atoms into the TiN lattice leads to the formation of TiO₂ layer on the TiN substrate. This is due to the higher oxidation potential of the O₃ compared to the H₂O.     

Deposition and characterization of binary Al2O3/SiO2 coating layers on the surfaces of rutile TiO2 and the pigmentary properties

Binary Al₂O₃/SiO₂-coated rutile TiO₂ composites were prepared by a liquid-phase deposition method starting from Na₂SiO₃·9H₂O and NaAlO₂. The chemical structure and morphology of binary Al₂O₃/SiO₂ coating layers were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, TG-DSC, Zeta potential, powder X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy techniques. Binary Al₂O₃/SiO₂ coating layers both in amorphous phase were formed at TiO₂ surfaces. The silica coating layers were anchored at TiO₂ surfaces via Si-O-Ti bonds and the alumina coating layers were probably anchored at the SiO₂-coated TiO₂ surfaces via Al-O-Si bonds. The formation of continuous and dense binary Al₂O₃/SiO₂ coating layers depended on the pH value of reaction solution and the alumina loading. The binary Al₂O₃/SiO₂-coated TiO₂ composites had a high dispersibility in water. The whiteness and brightness of the binary Al₂O₃/SiO₂-coated TiO₂ composites were higher than those of the naked rutile TiO₂ and the SiO₂-coated TiO₂ samples. The relative light scattering index was found to depend on the composition of coating layers.     

Electrical properties of La2O3 thin films grown on TiN/Si substrates via atomic layer deposition

The electrical as well as the structural properties of La₂O₃ thin films on TiN substrates were investigated. Amorphous stoichiometric La₂O₃ thin films were grown at 300 °C via atomic layer deposition technique by using lanthanum 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione [La(TMHD)₃] and H₂O as precursors. Post-annealing of the grown film induced dramatic changes in structural and the electrical properties. Crystalline phases of the La₂O₃ film emerged with the increase of the post-annealing temperature. Metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor was fabricated to measure the electrical properties of the grown film. The dielectric constant of the La₂O₃ thin films increased with annealing temperature to reach the value of 17.3 at 500 °C. The leakage current density of the film post-annealed at 400 °C was estimated to be 2.78 × 10⁻¹⁰ and 2.1 × 10⁻⁸ A/cm² at ±1 V, respectively.     

Structure and dielectric studies of nano-composite Fe2O3: BaTiO3 prepared by sol-gel method

Nano-structure pure barium titanate (BaTiO₃) and that was doped with iron oxide (Fe₂O₃), have been prepared by sol-gel method, using barium acetate (Ba(Ac)₂) and titanium butoxide (Ti(C₄H₉O)₄), as precursors. The as-grown prepared samples by sol-gel technique were found to be amorphous, which crystallized to the tetragonal phase after synthesized at 750 °C in air for 1 h as detected from the XRD patterns. The XRD data were confirmed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The dielectric properties namely; dielectric constant (ε′) and loss tangent (tan δ) in the frequency range between 42 Hz and 1 MHz, at range of temperature 25-250 °C were investigated. The temperature dependence of ε′ and tan δ for the undoped and doped materials, at 1 kHz, was also investigated. As a result, tan δ increased rapidly with decreasing temperature below 125 °C (Curie temperature) while above this temperature, tan δ shows temperature independent. As a result, below and above Curie temperature, ferroelectric phase and paraelectric phase of BaTiO₃ can be obtained, respectively.     

In situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization of Al2O3/GaSb interface evolution

GaSb(0 0 1) was treated with (NH₄)₂S_x and the evolution of the interfacial chemistry was investigated, in situ, with monochromatic X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), following heat treatment and exposure to trimethylaluminum (TMA) and deionized water (DIW) in an atomic layer deposition reactor. Elemental Sb (Sb-Sb bonding) as well as Sb³⁺ and Sb⁵⁺ chemical states were initially observed at the native oxide/GaSb interface, yet these diminished below the XPS detection limit after heating to 300 °C. No evidence of Ga-Ga bonding was observed whereas the Ga¹⁺/Ga-S chemical state was robust and persisted after heat treatment and exposure to TMA/DIW at 300 °C.     

Optical and electrical properties of Y2O3 thin films prepared by ion beam assisted deposition

Y₂O₃ thin films were deposited by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) and the effects of fabrication parameters such as substrate temperature and ion energy on the structure, optical and electrical properties of the films were investigated. The results show that the deposited Y₂O₃ films had less optical absorption, larger refractive index, and better film crystallinity with the increase of substrate temperature or ion energy. The as-deposited Y₂O₃ films without ion-beam bombardment had larger relative dielectric constant (?_r) and the ?_r decreased with time even over by 40%, while the ?_r of films prepared with high ion energy had less changes, only less than 3%. Also, with the increase of ion energy, the electrical breakdown strength and the figure of merit increased.     

Chemical quenching of positronium in Fe2O3/Al2O3 catalysts

Fe₂O₃/Al₂O₃ catalysts were prepared by solid state reaction method using α-Fe₂O₃ and γ-Al₂O₃ nano powders. The microstructure and surface properties of the catalyst were studied using positron lifetime and coincidence Doppler broadening annihilation radiation measurements. The positron lifetime spectrum shows four components. The two long lifetimes τ₃ and τ₄ are attributed to positronium annihilation in two types of pores distributed inside Al₂O₃ grain and between the grains, respectively. With increasing Fe₂O₃ content from 3 wt% to 40 wt%, the lifetime τ₃ keeps nearly unchanged, while the longest lifetime τ₄ shows decrease from 96 ns to 64 ns. Its intensity decreases drastically from 24% to less than 8%. The Doppler broadening S parameter shows also a continuous decrease. Further analysis of the Doppler broadening spectra reveals a decrease in the p-Ps intensity with increasing Fe₂O₃ content, which rules out the possibility of spin-conversion of positronium. Therefore the decrease of τ₄ is most probably due to the chemical quenching reaction of positronium with Fe ions on the surface of the large pores.     

亚纳米厚的氧化铝包裹层可以显著提高负载型金纳米颗粒催化剂的热稳定性

负载型金纳米颗粒催化剂在许多催化反应中展现出非常好的催化活性,但是金纳米颗粒在高温等反应条件下容易烧结团聚,极大地限制了金催化剂的应用。利用原子层沉积技术在Au/TiO₂催化剂表面分别精确沉积了一层超薄的二氧化钛和氧化铝包裹层,并对比研究了包裹层对金纳米颗粒的热稳定性影响。原位红外漫反射CO吸附和x-射线光电子能谱数据证实了氧化物包裹层的存在。发现亚纳米厚的氧化铝包裹层能够在600 C完全避免金纳米颗粒的团聚;相反,二氧化钛包裹层对金纳米颗粒稳定性的提高没有明显效果。通过CO氧化探针反应的活性测试,发现随着煅烧温度的升高氧化铝包裹的Au/TiO₂ 催化剂的活性逐渐提高,表明高温处理可以促进被包裹金原子的暴露并表现出催化活性。提供了提高金纳米颗粒稳定性的有效方法,为拓展金催化剂在条件苛刻的反应中的应用奠定了技术基础.     

Al2O3钝化及其在晶硅太阳电池中的应用

介绍了Al₂O₃的材料性质及其原子层沉积制备方法, 详细阐述了该材料的钝化机制(化学钝化和场效应钝化), 并从薄膜厚度、热稳定性及叠层钝化等角度阐释其优化方案. 概述了Al₂O₃钝化在晶体硅太阳电池中的应用, 主要包括钝化发射极及背面局部扩散电池和钝化发射极及背表面电池. 最后, 对Al₂O₃钝化工艺的未来研究方向和大规模的工业应用进行了展望.     

The improvement of Al2O3/AlGaN/GaN MISHEMT performance by N2 plasma pretreatment

This paper discusses the effect of N 2 plasma treatment before dielectric deposition on the electrical performance of a Al2O3 /AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high electron mobility transistor(MISHEMT),with Al2O3 deposited by atomic layer deposition.The results indicated that the gate leakage was decreased two orders of magnitude after the Al2O3 /AlGaN interface was pretreated by N 2 plasma.Furthermore,effects of N 2 plasma pretreatment on the electrical properties of the AlGaN/Al2O3 interface were investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and the interface quality between Al2O3 and AlGaN film was improved.     

Annealing effects on the optical and structural properties of Al2O3/SiO2 films as UV antireflection coatings on 4H-SiC substrates

Al₂O₃/SiO₂ films have been prepared by electron-beam evaporation as ultraviolet (UV) antireflection coatings on 4H-SiC substrates and annealed at different temperatures. The films were characterized by reflection spectra, ellipsometer system, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. As the annealing temperature increased, the minimum reflectance of the films moved to the shorter wavelength for the variation of refractive indices and the reduction of film thicknesses. The surface grains appeared to get larger in size and the root mean square (RMS) roughness of the annealed films increased with the annealing temperature but was less than that of the as-deposited. The Al₂O₃/SiO₂ films maintained amorphous in microstructure with the increase of the temperature. Meanwhile, the transition and diffusion in film component were found in XPS measurement. These results provided the important references for Al₂O₃/SiO₂ films annealed at reasonable temperatures and prepared as fine antireflection coatings on 4H-SiC-based UV optoelectronic devices.     

Y掺杂Al2O3高k栅介质薄膜的制备及性能研究

利用射频反应共溅射方法制备了Y掺杂Al₂O₃电介质薄膜，用掠入射x射线衍射检测了薄膜的结构，用高分辨率扫描电子显微镜(HRSEM)、原子力显微镜(AFM)观察了薄膜断面和表面形貌，用高频C-V和变频C-V及J-V测量了样品的电学特性. 结果表明，Y的掺入使电介质薄膜的介电常数k有了很大提高(8.14—11.8)，并体现出了较好的介电特性. 分析认为：与氧具有较大电负性差的Y离子的加入，增大了薄膜中的金属—氧键(M—O)的强度；同时，Y的加入使Al₂O₃的结构和原子配位发生了改变，从而提高了离子极化对薄膜介电常数的贡献. 退火前后的XRD谱均显示薄膜为非晶态；HRSEM断面和AFM形貌像显示所制备的薄膜非常平整，能够满足器件要求. 关键词： 高k栅介质 掺杂氧化铝 射频反应溅射     

Er3+掺杂SiO2复合的Al2O3粉末结构及光致发光特性

采用溶胶-凝胶(sol-gel)工艺制备0.1 mol% Er³⁺掺杂Al₂O₃体系和SiO₂-Al₂O₃复合体系粉末. 实验结果表明：5 mol%的SiO₂复合加入Al₂O₃抑制γ→θ和θ→α相转变. 掺0.1 mol%Er³⁺:Al₂O₃体系粉末，900℃烧结，在1.47—1.63μm波段内光致发光(PL)谱为中心波长1.53 μm、半高宽56 nm的单一宽峰，1000—1200℃烧结，劈裂为多峰PL谱. 掺0.1 mol%Er³⁺:SiO₂-Al₂O₃复合体系粉末，在高达1200℃烧结，仍保持中心波长1.53 μm的单一宽峰PL谱，由于—OH更完全的脱除，PL强度较900℃烧结Al₂O₃体系，SiO₂-Al₂O₃复合体系均提高1个数量级. 关键词： 2-Al₂O₃复合体系')" href="#">SiO₂-Al₂O₃复合体系 掺铒 溶胶-凝胶工艺 光致发光     

Effect of TiO2/Al2O3 film coated diamond abrasive particles by sol-gel technique

The diamond abrasive particles were coated with the TiO₂/Al₂O₃ film by the sol-gel technique. Compared with the uncoated diamonds, the TiO₂/Al₂O₃ film was excellent material for the protection of the diamonds. The results showed that the incipient oxidation temperature of the TiO₂/Al₂O₃ film coated diamonds in air atmosphere was 775 °C, which was higher 175 °C than that of the uncoated diamonds. And the coated diamonds also had better the diamond's single particle compressive strength and the impact toughness than that of uncoated diamonds after sintering at 750 °C. For the vitrified bond grinding wheels, replacing the uncoated diamonds with the TiO₂/Al₂O₃ film coated diamonds, the volume expansion of the grinding wheels decreased from 6.2% to 3.4%, the porosity decreased from 35.7% to 25.7%, the hardness increased from 61.2H_RC to 66.5H_RC and the grinding ratio of the vitrified bond grinding wheels to carbide alloy (YG8) increased from 11.5 to 19.1.     

Interfacial reactions and oxidation behavior of Al2O3 and Al2O3/Al coatings on an orthorhombic Ti2AlNb alloy

The uniform and dense Al₂O₃ and Al₂O₃/Al coatings were deposited on an orthorhombic Ti₂AlNb alloy by filtered arc ion plating. The interfacial reactions of the Al₂O₃/Ti₂AlNb and Al₂O₃/Al/Ti₂AlNb specimens after vacuum annealing at 750 °C were studied. In the Al₂O₃/Ti₂AlNb specimens, the Al₂O₃ coating decomposed significantly due to reaction between the Al₂O₃ coating and the O-Ti₂AlNb substrate. In the Al₂O₃/Al/Ti₂AlNb specimens, a γ-TiAl layer and an Nb-rich zone came into being by interdiffusion between the Al layer and the O-Ti₂AlNb substrate. The γ-TiAl layer is chemically compatible with Al₂O₃, with no decomposition of Al₂O₃ being detected. No internal oxidation or oxygen and nitrogen dissolution zone was observed in the O-Ti₂AlNb alloy. The Al₂O₃/Al/Ti₂AlNb specimens exhibited excellent oxidation resistance at 750 °C.     

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.     

Influence of postdeposition annealing on structural properties and electrical characteristics of thin Tm2O3 and Tm2Ti2O7 dielectrics

We describe the structural properties and electrical characteristics of thin thulium oxide (Tm₂O₃) and thulium titanium oxide (Tm₂Ti₂O₇) as gate dielectrics deposited on silicon substrates through reactive sputtering. The structural and morphological features of these films were explored by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and atomic force microscopy, measurements. It is found that the Tm₂Ti₂O₇ film annealed at 800 °C exhibited a thinner capacitance equivalent thickness of 19.8 Å, a lower interface trap density of 8.37 × 10¹¹ eV⁻¹ cm⁻², and a smaller hysteresis voltage of ∼4 mV than the other conditions. We attribute this behavior to the Ti incorporated into the Tm₂O₃ film improving the interfacial layer and the surface roughness. This film also shows negligible degrees of charge trapping at high electric field stress.     

SMA-g-MPEG comb-like polymer as a dispersant for Al2O3 suspensions

SMA-g-MPEG comb-like polymer is first employed as the dispersant of Al₂O₃ suspensions in this paper. The comb-like polymer has anionic polycarboxylate backbone, which makes the polymer easily absorbed on the cationic surface of Al₂O₃ particles; on the other hand, the comb-like polymer has hydrophilic MPEG side chains, which extend into the solution to provide steric repulsion after the comb-like polymer is absorbed on the surface of Al₂O₃ particles. The adsorption behavior, zeta potential, apparent viscosity, granularity and TEM images of the Al₂O₃ suspensions using SMA-g-MPEG as dispersant are investigated. The addition of SMA-g-MPEG improves the dispersibility and decreases the apparent viscosity of the Al₂O₃ suspension observably. The impacts of the length of side chains on the dispersion of Al₂O₃ suspensions are particularly discussed. The adsorbed molecular number of the dispersant decreased by increasing the length of side chains. The zeta potential of Al₂O₃ suspension is more negative by using comb-like polymer with shorter side chains. Based on the steric repulsion and adsorbed molecular number, SMA-g-MPEG with moderate length of side chain is found to have the best dispersibility for Al₂O₃ suspension.     

Al2O3绝缘层的AlGaN/GaN MOSHEMT器件研究

在研制AlGaN/GaN HEMT器件的基础上,采用ALD法制备了Al₂O₃ AlGaN/GaN MOSHEMT器件.通过X射线光电子能谱测试表明在AlGaN/GaN异质结材料上成功淀积了Al₂O₃薄膜.根据对HEMT和MOSHEMT器件肖特基电容、器件输出以及转移特性的测试进行分析发现：所制备的Al₂O₃薄膜与AlGaN外延层间界面态密度较小,因而MOSHEMT器件呈现出较 关键词： 2O₃')" href="#">Al₂O₃ ALD GaN MOSHEMT     

The effect of Si surface nitridation on the interfacial structure and electrical properties of (La2O3)0.5(SiO2)0.5 high-k gate dielectric films

Thermal stability, interfacial structures and electrical properties of amorphous (La₂O₃)_0.5(SiO₂)_0.5 (LSO) films deposited by using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on Si (1 0 0) and NH₃ nitrided Si (1 0 0) substrates were comparatively investigated. The LSO films keep the amorphous state up to a high annealing temperature of 900 °C. HRTEM observations and XPS analyses showed that the surface nitridation of silicon wafer using NH₃ can result in the formation of the passivation layer, which effectively suppresses the excessive growth of the interfacial layer between LSO film and silicon wafer after high-temperature annealing process. The Pt/LSO/nitrided Si capacitors annealed at high temperature exhibit smaller CET and EOT, a less flatband voltage shift, a negligible hysteresis loop, a smaller equivalent dielectric charge density, and a much lower gate leakage current density as compared with that of the Pt/LSO/Si capacitors without Si surface nitridation.