Study of the chemical reactions' influence on semiconductor films structure formation by the Monte-Carlo method

The investigation by the Monte-Carlo method of the growth of the silicon epitaxial film at a chloride CVD system has allowed to find out the composition of adsorption layer, the micromechanism of the reactions of Si atoms building-in into the growing crystalline layer and the growth conditions influence on the growth rate and film surface roughness. The change of adsorptive layer composition in the system SiCl₄—HCl—H₂ (fraction of adaatoms, silicon atoms built-in a crystal and molecules SiCl₂) depending on temperature has been determined. The change of silicon film growth rate depending on temperature and concentration change of SiH₂Cl₂ has been established and the contribution of growth mechanism (with participation of adatom, silicon atoms and molecules SiCl₂) into the total rate of film growth has been shown.     

Epitaxial growth of CoO films on semiconductor and metal substrates by constructing a complex heterostructure

Epitaxial growth of CoO films was studied using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The RHEED results indicated that an epitaxial CoO film grew on semiconductor and metal substrates (CoO (0 0 1)∥GaAs (0 0 1), Cu (0 0 1), Ag (0 0 1) and [1 0 0]CoO∥[1 0 0] substrates) by constructing a complex heterostructure with two alkali halide buffer layers. The AES, EELS and UPS results showed that the grown CoO film had almost the same electronic structure as bulk CoO. We could show that use of alkali halide buffer layers was a good way to grow metal oxide films on semiconductor and metal substrates in an O₂ atmosphere. The alkali halide layers not only works as glue to connect very dissimilar materials but also prevents oxidation of metal and semiconductor substrates.     

Crystal growth from solution: Development in computer simulation

It is shown in this paper that progress has been made in the understanding of crystal growth mechanisms of organic crystals growing from organic solutions or aqueous solution.The main part of this paper is devoted to the statistical mechanical background of the simulations. It is shown that it follows from the same formalism from which the transition probabilities of the computer simulations are derived that (i) crystal growth from solution is an allowed interpretation of the simulations (ii) expressions for the surface energy factor α and the driving force for crystallization $\text{Δμ}\text{kT}$ can be derived for a real system.     

Numerical simulation of a new SiC growth system by the dual-directional sublimation method

A new SiC growth system using the dual-directional sublimation method was investigated in this study. Induction heating and thermal conditions were computed and analyzed by using a global simulation model, and then the values of growth rate and shear stress in a growing crystal were calculated and compared with those in a conventional system. The results showed that the growth rate of SiC single crystals can be increased by twofold by using the dual-directional sublimation method with little increase in electrical power consumption and that thermal stresses can be reduced due to no constraint of the crucible lid and low temperature gradient in crystals.     

Structure of multicomponent amorphous semiconductor films

Composition of multicomponent amorphous semiconductor films varies with the preparation technique and the chemical nature of component atoms. Inhomogeneous structures due to phase separation of compositional fluctuation have been observed in these films. It seems that there are some regularities governing the film growth and the structure of liquid phase condensation.     

Photoassisted growth and nitrogen doping of ZnSe

ZnSe was grown on GaAs(100) substrates by photoassisted MOVPE using the precursors dimethylzinc-triethylamine (DMZn-TEN) and ditertiarybutylselenide (DtBSe). The optimal growth temperature was T_g = 300°C. Above 300°C no enhancement of growth rate was observed under illumination. Furthermore, nitrogen doping experiments were performed using phenylhydrazine, allylamine and tert-butylamine as nitrogen precursors. Nitrogen concentrations up to 10¹⁹ cm⁻³ (SIMS) were achieved with input flow ratios as low as [PhHz]/[Se] = 4 × 10⁻⁴. All as-grown samples were highly compensated. Successful nitrogen incorporation was also observed with allylamine. However, the use of tert-butylamine together with the adduct compound DMZn-TEN showed no incorporation of nitrogen.     

Influence of Si doping on the optical and structural properties of InGaN films

Influence of Si doping on the optical and structural properties of InGaN epilayers with different Si concentrations was investigated in detail by means of high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Cathodoluminescence (CL) and photoluminescence (PL). It was found that a small amount of Si doping in InGaN could enhance luminescence intensity, improve the crystal quality of InGaN and suppress the formation of V-defects in InGaN. Further investigation by CL showed that V-defects act as nonradiative center, which lower the luminescence efficiency of InGaN. Based on above-mentioned results, one possible mechanism of influence of Si doping on the formation of V-defects in InGaN was also proposed in this paper.     

Physical properties of ZnSe films prepared by two-source evaporation and a study of post doping effect

Two-source thermal evaporation method was utilized to prepare hard ZnSe thin films, the films were then immersed in silver nitrate solution for different time periods. The optical properties of the films were measured from the transmittance spectra. X-ray pattern of the films were also included. Final compositions of the resulting films were measured by EMPA method and comparisons between compositions by EMPA vs. optical absorbance were also reported. The dc electrical conductivity increased and a small shift in the optical band gap was also observed.     

The preparation and electrical properties of thin chalcogenide semiconductor films

Thin chalcogenide films from the GeTeAsSi system have been prepared using electron beam evaporation and R.F. sputtering techniques. The techniques are described in some details as it is believed that the deposition procedure has a significant on subsequent electrical switching behaviour.     

The numerical simulation of heat and mass transfer during growth of a binary system by the travelling heater method

The influence of convection and heat and mass transfer on the shape and position of melt/solid interfaces and on radial composition segregation is analysed numerically for the travelling heater method growth of a binary alloy in a vertical transparent ampoule. Results are presented for crystal and melt with thermophysical properties similar to Cd_xHg_1−xTe with the assumption that the pseudobinary CdTe-HgTe phase diagram is true. The two-dimensional axisymmetric heat transfer equation, hydrodynamical equation and convective diffusion equation are included in the mathematical model. The rates of crystal growth and dissolution are supposed to be proportional to the compositional supercooling in the melt near the interfaces. It is shown for the conditions when convection is absent that the interfaces are asymmetrically positioned respectively to the heater centre line. Intensive convection makes their position more symmetrical but the length of the liquid zone greater. The flow pattern in the melt appears to be greatly influenced by solutal gravitational convection. The nonlinear dependence of the melt density on the temperature and composition are used in the model. The cases when speed of the heater is antiparallel (stable density stratification) or parallel (unstable stratification) to the vector of gravitational acceleration are considered.     

Improving the performance of thermoelectric devices by doping Ag in LaPbMnO3 thin films

A series of Ag-doped La_0.6Pb_0.4MnO₃ thin films were grown on vicinal cut substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Laser-induced thermoelectric voltages (LITV) had been observed in these films, and these LITV signals had been demonstrated to originate from the anisotropic Seebeck effect. By doping Ag to an optimum value, it was found that the peak values (U_P) of the LITV signals were maximized, and the full-width at half-maximum (τ) of the response curves of LITV were minimized at the same time. The figure of merit (F_m) of the device used as photodetector is greatly improved by doping Ag in La_0.6Pb_0.4MnO₃ thin films. The possible reason for these improvements had been well discussed.     

Effect of AlN doping on the growth morphology of SiC

AlN doped SiC films were deposited on on‐axis Si‐face 4H‐SiC (0001) substrates by the physical vapor transport (PVT) method. Thick film in the range of 20 μm range was grown and morphology was characterized. Films were grown by physical vapor deposition (PVD) in a vertical geometry in the nitrogen atmosphere. We observed that nucleation occurred in the form of discs and growth occurred in hexagonal geometry. The X‐ray studies showed (001) orientation and full width of half maxima (FWHM) was less than 0.1° indicating good crystallinity. We also observed that film deposited on the carbon crucible had long needles with anisotropic growth very similar to that of pure AlN. Some of the needles grew up to sizes of 200 μm in length and 40 to 50 μm in width. It is clear that annealing of SiC‐AlN powder or high temperature physical vapor deposition produces similar crystal structure for producing AlN‐SiC solid solution. SEM studies indicated that facetted hexagons grew on the top of each other and coarsened and merged to form cm size grains on the substrate. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Study of the diffraction contrast of dislocations in X-ray topo-tomography: A computer simulation and image analysis

Oblique X-ray diffraction images of individual dislocations in the symmetric Laue geometry from a plane-parallel silicon plate have been calculated based on the Takagi-Taupin equations and analyzed. Computer simulation is used to develop a general mathematical model of the formation of oblique images which correspond to sample rotation around the diffraction vector h in X-ray topo-tomography. The results of numerical calculations and analysis of different oblique images of straight-line dislocations, where the dislocation line vector τ lies in a plane parallel to input surface of {111}Si plate with a diffraction vector h 〈220〉, are presented.     

Epitaxial Mn-doped ZnO diluted magnetic semiconductor thin films grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy

A growth window for the Mn effusion cell temperature (T_Mn) is demonstrated for epitaxial Mn-doped ZnO (MnZnO) thin films grown on sapphire substrates using molecular-beam epitaxy. Within the growth window, the films are ferromagnetic with the largest saturated magnetization occurring at T_Mn=700 °C. The Curie temperature of these MnZnO diluted magnetic semiconductor thin films is above room-temperature. The ferromagnetism is weakly anisotropic. Well-resolved near-band-edge photoluminescence emissions dominate the spectra at both low- and room-temperatures. No evident spin polarization on the carriers was detected with the magneto-photoluminescence studies. Magnetoresistance and anomalous Hall effects of the MnZnO thin films were studied. The anomalous Hall coefficient shows a quadratic dependence on the resistivity.     

Investigations of flash evaporated cubIIIC2VI semiconductor thin films by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy

The chemical composition of CuB^IIIC₂^VI thin films grown by flash evaporation technique was analysed using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. The composition of the samples changes with variation of the substrate temperature. In certain temperature ranges nearly stoichiometric layers were obtained.     

Homogeneous chemical vapor deposition of amorphous semiconductor thin films

In this paper we discuss the properties of amorphous hydrogenated silicon and germanium films prepared by homogeneous chemical vapor deposition. Emphasis is placed upon the important differences between HOMOCVD and plasma-deposited films. Experiments and calculations are presented which illustrate the most important reactor dynamical parameters.     

3D simulation of the effects of growth parameters on the growth of sapphire crystals using heat exchanger method

3D simulations using the commercial CFDRC and FIDAP code, which are based on finite element techniques, were performed to investigate the effects of anisotropic conductivity on the convexity of the melt–crystal interface and the hot spots of sapphire crystal in a heat‐exchanger‐method crystal growth system. The convection boundary conditions of both the energy input to the crucible by the radiation as well as convection inside the furnace and the energy output through the heat exchanger are modeled. The cross‐sectional flow pattern and the shape of the melt–crystal interface are confirmed by comparing the 3‐D modeling results with previous 2D simulation results. In the 3D model, the “hot spots” in the corners of the crucible are donut shaped, and the shape changes with the value of the conductivity of anisotropic crystal. The outline of the crystal becomes more convex as the conductivity in the z direction (k_sz) increases. The outline of melt–crystal interface is elliptical when the anisotropic conductivity is moving in the radial direction (k_sx and k_sy). The portion at the outline touching the bottom of the crucible is smaller than the maximum outline of the crystal, meaning that the shape at the “hot spot”, changes with the value of the conductivities of anisotropic crystal. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)