Physical properties of vacuum evaporated CdTe thin films with post-deposition thermal annealing

This paper presents the physical properties of vacuum evaporated CdTe thin films with post-deposition thermal annealing. The thin films of thickness 500 nm were grown on glass and indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates employing thermal vacuum evaporation technique followed by post-deposition thermal annealing at temperature 450 °C. These films were subjected to the X-ray diffraction (XRD),UV-Vis spectrophotometer, source meter and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for structural, optical, electrical and surface morphological analysis respectively. The X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that the films have zinc-blende structure of single cubic phase with preferred orientation (111) and polycrystalline in nature. The crystallographic and optical parameters are calculated and discussed in brief. The optical band gap is found to be 1.62 eV and 1.52 eV for as-grown and annealed films respectively. The I–V characteristics show that the conductivity is decreased for annealed thin films. The AFM studies reveal that the surface roughness is observed to be increased for thermally annealed films.     

Effects of high-dose Ge ion implantation and post-implantation annealing on ZnO thin films

This paper reports that ion implantation to a dose of 1×10¹⁷ ions/cm² was performed on c-axis-orientated ZnO thin films deposited on (0001) sapphire substrates by the sol-gel technique. After ion implantation, the as-implanted ZnO films were annealed in argon ambient at different temperatures from 600-900℃. The effects of ion implantation and post-implantation annealing on the structural and optical properties of the ZnO films were investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL). It was found that the intensities of (002) peak and near band edge (NBE) exitonic ultraviolet emission increased with increasing annealing temperature from 600-900℃. The defect related deep level emission (DLE) firstly increased with increasing annealing temperature from 600- 750℃, and then decreased quickly with increasing annealing temperature. The recovery of the intensities of NBE and DLE occurs at \sim 850℃ and \sim 750℃ respectively. The relative PL intensity ratio of NBE to DLE showed that the quality of ZnO films increased continuously with increasing annealing temperature from 600 - 900℃.     

Effects of thermal annealing on the properties of N-implanted ZnS films

N-ion-implantation to a fluence of 1×1015ions/cm2was performed on ZnS thin films deposited on glass substrates by using the vacuum evaporation method. The films were annealed in flowing nitrogen at 400?C–500?C after N-ionimplantation to repair the ion-beam-induced structural destruction and electrically activate the dopants. Effects of ionimplantation and post-thermal annealing on ZnS films were investigated by X-ray diffraction(XRD), photoluminescence(PL), optical transmittance, and electrical measurements. Results showed that the diffraction peaks and PL intensities were decreased by N-ion-implantation, but fully recovered by further annealing at 500?C. In this experiment, all films exhibited high resistivity due to the partial dopant activation under 500?C.     

Zn离子注入和退火对ZnO薄膜光学性能的影响

 利用溶胶凝胶方法在石英玻璃衬底上制备了ZnO薄膜，将能量56 keV、剂量1×10¹⁷ cm^-2的Zn离子注入到薄膜中。离子注入后，薄膜在500~900 ℃的氩气中退火，利用X射线衍射谱、光致发光谱和光吸收谱研究了离子注入和退火对ZnO薄膜结构和光学性质的影响。结果显示：衍射峰在约700 ℃退火后得到恢复；当退火温度小于600 ℃时，吸收边随着退火温度的提高发生蓝移，超过600 ℃时，吸收边随着退火温度的提高发生红移；近带边激子发光和深能级缺陷发光都随退火温度的提高而增强。     

Evolution of structural and magnetic properties of sputtered nanocrystalline Co thin films with thermal annealing

Ultrafine grain films of cobalt prepared using ion-beam sputtering have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray reflectivity (XRR), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) measurements. As-prepared films have very smooth surface owing to the ultrafine nature of the grains. Evolution of the structure and morphology of the film with thermal annealing has been studied and the same is correlated with the magnetic properties. Above an annealing temperature of 300 °C, the film gradually transforms from HCP to FCC phase that remains stable at room temperature. A significant contribution of the surface energy, due to small grain size, results in stabilisation of the FCC phase at room temperature. It is found that other processes like stress relaxation, grain texturing and growth also exhibit an enhanced rate above 300 °C, and may be associated with an enhanced mobility of the atoms above this temperature. Films possess a uniaxial anisotropy, which exhibits a non-monotonous behaviour with thermal annealing. The observed variation in the anisotropy and coercivity with annealing can be understood in terms of variations in the internal stresses, surface roughness, and grain structure.     

退火对ZnO:Al薄膜光致发光性能的影响

采用溶胶-凝胶工艺在石英衬底上制备ZnO:Al（AZO）薄膜,通过不同温度的退火处理,研究了退火对AZO薄膜结构和光致发光特性的影响。XRD图谱表明：所制备的薄膜具有c轴高度择优取向,随着退火温度的升高,(002)峰的强度逐渐增强,同时(002)峰的半高宽逐渐减小,表明晶粒在不断增大。未退火样品的光致发光（PL）谱由361 nm附近的紫外带边发射峰和500 nm附近的深能级发射峰组成。样品经退火后,以500 nm为中心的绿带发射逐渐减弱,而带边发射强度有所增强,并且逐渐红移到366 nm附近,与吸收边移动的测试结果相吻合。对经过不同时间退火的样品分析表明,AZO薄膜的发光特性与退火时间也有很大关系,时间过短可见波段的发射较强,但时间过长会使晶粒发生团聚,导致紫外发射峰强度减弱。     

Ellipsometry investigation of the effects of annealing temperature on the optical properties of indium tin oxide thin films studied by Drude-Lorentz model

Float glass substrates covered by high quality ITO thin films (Balzers) were subjected for an hour to single thermal treatments at different temperature between 100 °C and 600 °C. In order to study the electric and optical properties of both annealed and not annealed ITO-covered float glasses, ellipsometry, spectrophotometry, impedance analysis, and X-ray measurements were performed. Moreover, variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry provides relevant information on the electronic and optical properties of the samples. ITO film is modeled as a dense lower layer and a surface roughness layer. The estimated optical density for ITO and the optical density of the surface roughness ITO layer increases with the annealing temperature. In the near-IR range, the extinction coefficient decreases while the maximum of the absorption in the near UV range shift towards low photon energy as the annealing temperature increases. Spectrophotometry was used to estimate the optical band-gap energy of the samples. The thermal annealing changes strongly the structural and optical properties of ITO thin films, because during the thermal processes, the ITO thin film absorbs oxygen from air. This oxygen absorption decreases the oxygen vacancies therefore the defect densities in the crystalline structure of the ITO thin films also decrease, as confirmed both by ellipsometry and X-ray measurements.     

Crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbon films with laser and thermal annealing

The crystallization of silicon rich hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbon films prepared by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition technique has been induced by excimer laser annealing as well as thermal annealing. The excimer laser energy density (E_d) and the annealing temperature were varied from 123 to 242 mJ/cm² and from 250 to 1200 °C respectively. The effects of the two crystallization processes on the structural properties and bonding configurations of the films have been studied. The main results are that for the laser annealed samples, cubic SiC crystallites are formed for E_d ≥ 188 mJ/cm², while for the thermal annealed samples, micro-crystallites SiC and polycrystalline hexagonal SiC are observed for the annealing temperature of 800 and 1200 °C respectively. The crystallinity degree has been found to improve with the increase in the laser energy density as well as with the increase in the annealing temperature.     

Raman characterization before and after rapid thermal annealing of CeO2 thin films grown by rf sputtering on (111) Si

We investigated by Raman spectroscopy (RS) the crystalline quality of CeO₂ thin films radio frequency magnetron sputtered on n‐type (111) Si substrates from CeO₂ target. The deposition temperature was in the range of 200–800 °C. We also realized structural investigations on CeO₂ layers after Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) performed in the range of 750–1000 °C for 30 s under nitrogen atmosphere. So this study displays that a high‐growth temperature and a high post‐growth‐RTA temperature improves the crystalline structure of the film. In fact, the best crystalline quality, which is close to the CeO₂ target taken as a reference, is obtained for a CeO₂ layer deposited at 800 °C and post‐annealed at 1000 °C for 30 s. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of nickel addition and annealing temperature on ion storage performance of nanostructured nickel ferrite thin films

The sol–gel spin-coated nickel ferrite (NF), NiFe₂O₄, thin films were synthesised and the effect of annealing temperature and compositional ratio on different properties of samples were investigated. Electrochemical performance of the films was measured in the presence of KOH and LiClO₄/PC electrolyte. Generally, addition of nickel increases the current density. The NF thin films with molar ratio of 0.5 and annealed at 400 °C have the highest charge density value and the highest capacitance in both electrolytes. Annealing temperature had significant effect on electrochemical properties of NF thin films and the diffusion coefficient enhanced by increasing the annealing temperature. X-ray diffraction patterns of prepared samples showed the rhombohedral structure, hematite phase (α-Fe₂O₃), of iron oxide sample and the presence of inverse spinel structure confirms the formation of NF. Field emission scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the morphology of films changes from larvae shape to granular structure by nickel incorporation and the grain size increased by raising the annealing temperature. The absorption edge of the hematite shift to higher wavelength by annealing and nickel incorporation and band gap narrowing has been occurred.     

Effect of annealing on thermal stability and morphology of pulsed laser deposited Ir thin films

Iridium (Ir) thin films, deposited on Si (1 0 0) substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique using Ir target in a vacuum atmosphere, were annealed in air ambient and the thermal stability was investigated. The crystal structure and surface morphology of Ir thin films before and after being annealed were studied by X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, scanning electron microscope, and atomic force microscopy. The results showed that single-phase Ir thin films with (1 1 1) preferred orientation could be deposited on Si (1 0 0) substrate at 300 °C and it remained stable below 600 °C, which showed a promising bottom electrode of integrated ferroelectric capacitors. Ir thin films got oxidized to IrO₂ at temperatures from 650 to 800 °C.     

The effects of post-thermal annealing on the optical parameters of indium-doped ZnO thin films

Indium-doped ZnO thin films are deposited on quartz glass slides by RF magnetron sputtering at ambient temper- ature. The as-deposited films are annealed at different temperatures from 400 C to 800 C in air for 1 h. Transmittance spectra are used to determine the optical parameters and the thicknesses of the films before and after annealing using a nonlinear programming method, and the effects of the annealing temperatures on the optical parameters and the thickness are investigated. The optical band gap is determined from the absorption coefficient. The calculated results show that the film thickness and optical parameters both increase first and then decrease with increasing annealing temperature from 400 C to 800 C. The band gap of the as-deposited ZnO:In thin film is 3.28 eV, and it decreases to 3.17 eV after annealing at 400 C. Then the band gap increases from 3.17 eV to 3.23 eV with increasing annealing temperature from 400 C to 800 C.     

Slow positron beam study of nitrogen implanted CZ-Si subjected to rapid thermal processing

In this experiment, nitrogen ions were implanted into CZ-silicon wafer at 100 keV at room temperature with the fluence of 5 × 10¹⁵ N₂⁺/cm², followed by rapid thermal processing (RTP) at different temperatures. The single detector Doppler broadening and coincidence Doppler broadening measurements on slow positron beam were carried out to characterize the defects in the as-implanted silicon and RTP-treated samples. It is found that both nitrogen-vacancy complexes (N-Vsi) and oxygen-vacancy complexes (O-Vsi) produced by nitrogen implantation diffuse back to the sample surface upon annealing. But the N-Vsi and the O-Vsi complete with each other and give a summed effect on positron annihilation characteristics. It is shown that the N-Vsi win out the O-Vsi in as-implanted sample and by RTP at 650 °C, 750 °C, which make the S-parameter increase; O-Vsi plays a dominant role after annealing above 850 °C, which makes the S parameter decrease.     

Electrosynthesis and characterization of Fe doped CdSe thin films from ethylene glycol bath

The CdSe and Fe doped CdSe (Fe:CdSe) thin films have been electrodeposited potentiostatically onto the stainless steel and fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates, from ethylene glycol bath containing (CH₃COO)₂·Cd·2H₂O, SeO₂, and FeCl₃ at room temperature. The doping concentration of Fe is optimized by using (photo) electrochemical (PEC) characterization technique. The deposition mechanism and Fe incorporation are studied by cyclic voltammetry. The structural, surface morphological and optical properties of the deposited CdSe and Fe:CdSe thin films have been studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical absorption techniques respectively. The PEC study shows that Fe:CdSe thin films are more photosensitive than that of undoped CdSe thin films. The X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the films are polycrystalline with hexagonal crystal structure. SEM studies reveal that the films with uniformly distributed grains over the entire surface of the substrate. The complete surface morphology has been changed after doping. Optical absorption study shows the presence of direct transition and a considerable decrease in bandgap, E_g from 1.95 to 1.65 eV.     

Beneficial effect of rapid recurrent thermal annealing on magnetic properties of SmCo-based films

The effects of conventional thermal annealing (CTA) and rapid recurrent thermal annealing (RRTA) on the magnetic properties of the SmCo-based films were investigated. The results show that the CTA-treated films exhibit amorphous structure with coercivity insensitively depending on annealing parameters as anticipated. As for the RRTA-treated films, single TbCu₇-type phase structure with well crystallization is observed. The coercivity of the RRTA-treated films is strongly correlated with annealing parameters, and its optimum value is larger than that of the CTA-treated films. It is suggested that the RRTA treatment has beneficial effects on the magnetic properties of the SmCo-based films.     

Ti离子注入和退火对ZnS薄膜结构和光学性质的影响

利用真空蒸发法在石英玻璃衬底上制备了ZnS薄膜,将能量80 keV,剂量1×10¹⁷ cm^-2的Ti离子注入到薄膜中,并将注入后的ZnS薄膜进行退火处理,退火温度500—700 ℃.利用X射线衍射（XRD）研究了薄膜结构的变化,利用光致发光（PL）和光吸收研究了薄膜光学性质的变化.XRD结果显示,衍射峰在500 ℃退火1 h后有一定程度的恢复;光吸收结果显示,离子注入后光吸收增强,随着退火温度的上升,光吸收逐渐降低,吸收边随着退火温度的提高发生蓝移;PL显示,薄 关键词： ZnS薄膜 离子注入 X射线衍射 光致发光     

Resistance changes in thin metallic films under ion bombardment

Resistance changes in thin films of copper, aluminium and bismuth have been studied under the bombardment of nitrogen, carbon and argon ions. Variations in resistance with implantation dose have been observed upto doses of ∼ 3 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm² for ion energies in the range 40 to 120 keV. The results are discussed in terms of desorption of gases from the film and a composite action of sputter removal of the film and its structural changes upon ion bombardment. A simple theoretical model is discussed which can qualitatively explain the experimental observations.     

Effect of surface ZnO coatings on oxidation and thermal stability of zinc films

The effect of thin ZnO coatings grown on Zn films on further oxidation and thermal stability of Zn films deposited on Mo(110) substrate was in situ investigated under ultrahigh vacuum by photoelectron spectrometries and low-energy electron diffraction. The results indicated that ZnO layers formed by oxidizing Zn films had at least a thickness of 3–5 monolayers. Further oxidation of Zn films was confined by as-formed ZnO coatings due to a surface passivation. It was of advantage to explain the difficulty in growing low oxygen-deficient ZnO films. The surface ZnO coatings strongly enhanced the thermal stability of Zn films, which was useful for understanding the underlying application of Zn/ZnO materials, such as Zn/ZnO nanocables with Zn core and ZnO shell.     

Effect of the annealing temperature of thin Hf0.3Zr0.7O2 films on their energy storage behavior

With increasing annealing temperature (T_anneal), the magnitude of the electric fields for the antiferroelectric‐to‐ferro‐electric (E_AF) and ferroelectric‐to‐antiferroelectric (E_FA) transition of a 9.2 nm thick Hf_0.3Zr_0.7O₂ film decreased. The energy storage densities of the Hf_0.3Zr_0.7O₂ films crystallized at 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C were as large as 42.2 J/cm³, 40.4 J/cm³, and 28.3 J/cm³, respectively, at the electric field of 4.35 MV/cm. The maximum dielectric constant of the Hf_0.3Zr_0.7O₂ film crystallized at 600 °C was the largest (～46) as it had the smallest E_AF and E_FA, whereas the leakage current density of the film crystallized at 400 °C was the smallest. The 400 °C of T_anneal was the optimum condition for energy storage application. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)