Dry etching of CuCrO2 thin films

Highly conducting films of p-type CuCrO₂ are attractive as hole-injectors in oxide-based light emitters. In this paper, we report on the development of dry etch patterning of CuCrO₂ thin films. The only plasma chemistry that provided some chemical enhancement was Cl₂/Ar under inductively coupled plasma conditions. Etch rates of ∼500 Å min⁻¹ were obtained at chuck voltages around −300 V and moderate source powers. In all cases, the etched surface morphologies were improved relative to un-etched control samples due to the smoothing effect of the physical component of the etching. The threshold ion energy for the onset of etching was determined to be 34 eV. Very low concentrations (≤1 at.%) of residual chlorine were detected on the etched surfaces but could be removed by simple water rinsing.     

Controlled surface nanopatterning with buried dislocation arrays

Self-assembled configurations of nanostructures are expected to play an increasing role in devices design, as an alternative to conventional microelectronics. The key limitation is the lack of control on localisation, density and size uniformity of the structures. Here we show how to create a template to overcome these problems. A periodic nanometre scale patterning can be induced at a silicon surface by buried dislocation networks obtained by twist wafer bonding, using stress selective etching of the surface. These templates are morphologically characterised by scanning tunnelling microscopy and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. Stress fields and elastic energy densities are calculated for the non-etched solid, and the selective etching mechanisms are discussed. Germanium growth experiments on such a Si patterned surface give a demonstration of the ordering efficiency. This study provides a general method to create a template, which organises nanostructures with controlled periodicity over the full size of a Si wafer.     

Mass spectrometric study of SF6-N2 plasma during etching of silicon and tungsten

The reaction products in the SF₆-N₂ mixture rf plasma during reactive ion etching of Si and W have been measured by a mass spectrometric method. Two kinds of cathode materials were used in this work; they were stainless steel for the Si etching, and SiO₂ for the W etching. The main products detected in the etching experiments of Si and W included SF₄, SF₂, SO₂, SOF₂, SOF₄, SO₂F₂, NSF, NF₃, N₂F₄, N_xS_y, NO₂, and SiF₄. In the W etching with the SiO₂ cathode, additional S₂F₂, N₂O, and WF₆ molecules were also obtained. The formation reactions about the novel NSF compound and the sulfur oxyfuorides were discussed.     

Selective Synthesis of Different-Sized Gold Nanoclusters through HCl-Etching and -Growth Effect

Controllable syntheses of different-sized gold nanoclusters are of great significance for their fundamental science and practical applications.In this work, we achieve the controllable and selective syntheses of Au₇ and Au₁₃ clusters through adding HCl to the traditional Au₁₁ synthetic route at different reaction time.Time-dependent mass spectra and UVVis spectra were employed to monitor these two HCl-directed processes, and revealed the distinct roles of HCl as an etchant or a growth promotor, respectively.Furthermore, parallel experiments on independent synthetic routes involving only non-chlorine H⁺(acetic acid) or Cl^-(tetraethy lammonium chloride) instead of HCl were performed, which illustrated the main role of H⁺-etching and Cl^--assisted growth in HCl-directed cluster synthetic routes.We propose the HCl-etching is mainly achieved via the H⁺ action to break the Au (Ⅰ)-PPh₃ part of clusters, while the HCl-promoted growth is realized via the attachment of Au-Cl species to the pre-formed clusters.     

Wet KOH etching of freestanding AlN single crystals

We investigated defect-selective wet chemical etching of freestanding aluminum nitride (AlN) single crystals and polished cuts in a molten NaOH–KOH eutectic at temperatures ranging from 240 to 400 °C. Due to the strong anisotropy of the AlN wurtzite structure, different AlN faces get etched at very different etching rates. On as-grown rhombohedral and prismatic facets, defect-related etching features could not be traced, as etching these facets was found to mainly emphasize features present already on the un-etched surface. On nitrogen polar basal planes, hexagonal pyramids/hillocks exceeding 100 μm in diameter may form within seconds of etching at 240 °C. They sometimes are arranged in lines and clusters, thus we attribute them to defects on the surface, presumably originating in the bulk material. On aluminum polar basal planes, the etch pit density which saturates after approx. 2–3 min of total etching time at 350 °C equals the density of a certain type of dislocations (presumably screw dislocations) threading the surface. Smaller etch pits form around annealed indentations, in the vicinity of some bigger etch pits after repeated etching, and sometimes also isolated on the surface area. Although alternate explanations exist, we attribute these etch pits to threading mixed and edge dislocations. This paper features etching parameters optimized for different planes and models on the formation of etching features especially on the polar faces. Finally, the issue of reliability and reproducibility of defect detection and evaluation by wet chemical etching is addressed.     

甲壳素类液晶高分子的研究V.取代基个数及长度对羟乙基壳聚糖液晶性的综合影响

采用碱壳聚糖的方法合成了一系列具有不同摩尔醚化度 (DME)的新的液晶性壳聚糖衍生物羟乙基壳聚糖 (HECS) .用酸氧化蚀刻的方法 ,在扫描电子显微镜 (SEM )下证实了其胆甾型的液晶织构 .以甲酸为溶剂 ,研究了摩尔醚化度对羟乙基壳聚糖溶致液晶性的影响 .结果表明 ,在该体系中 ,摩尔醚化度能综合取代基个数及长度两个结构因素的影响 ,当DME较低时 (<～ 2 0 ) ,这种影响关系类似于取代基个数 (即取代度 )的影响 ,当DME较高时 (>～ 2 0 ) ,则类似于取代基长度的影响 .前者对液晶临界浓度的影响很小 ,而后者却有显著影响 .此外还观察到当DME >～ 2 0时出现水溶性 ,HECS的水溶液也呈现典型的胆甾指纹状织构     

A necessary condition for the appearance of damage-induced surface-topography during particle bombardment

A first approach to the establishment of an “order-of-magnitude” criterion for the initiation of damage-induced surface topography on clean and well-polished metal single crystals is proposed. It is based on a model proposing a mechanism of preferential erosion of parts from the sample surface due to a local increase of sputtering yield above “extensive defects”. These “extensive defects”, resulting of the migration of the point-defects, created during the collision-cascade started by the incoming ions, can indeed influence the sputtering yield if they are located close under the surface, i.e. when the surface has regressed, due to sputtering, to the level where these “extensive defects” have been formed.

The condition implies that the formation of “extensive defects” must have taken place before the surface reaches them. The condition is written in terms of the irradiation parameters and quantities characteristic for the migration of point-defects due to the presence of a potential gradient related to the “extensive defects” under formation.     

The relationship of etching behavior and crystal orientation of aluminum doped zinc oxide films

Aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) transparent conducting films were dynamically deposited on corning glass substrates in an in-line sputtering system operated at mid-frequency sputtering mode with excitation frequency of 40 kHz. This study addressed the surface structure as well as the electrical and optical properties after wet-chemical etching. With the increase of substrate temperature, the dominant orientation of the as-deposited films changes from (0 0 2) to (1 0 3). After wet-chemical etching, due to the quick etching rate of the (0 0 2) plane relative to the (1 0 3) plane, the surface morphology of the films deposited at different temperatures show a transition from craterlike to granular surface morphology. The experimental results demonstrate that the crystal orientation of the as-deposited films plays an important role for the etching behavior of the films.     

Influence of surface activation by plasma and nanoparticle adsorption on the morphology, thermal stability and combustion behavior of PET fabrics

Plasma surface activation at different process parameters (namely, power and etching time) has been combined with nanoparticle adsorption (i.e., a natural montmorillonite) in order to improve the thermal stability and flame retardancy of PET fabrics. Scanning electron microscopy coupled to elemental analysis has put in evidence a direct relationship between the distribution of nanoparticles on fibers and process parameters. The presence of the above nanoparticles affects the thermal stability of fabrics in air, as assessed by thermogravimetric analysis: a delay of the mass loss process has been observed for the treated samples.Combustion behavior has been investigated by cone calorimetry: plasma activated fabrics have shown a remarkable improvement in terms of time to ignition (up to 104%) and a slight reduction of the heat release rate (ca. 10%) as compared to neat PET.     

Preparation and properties of mechanically alloyed and electrochemically etched porous Ti–6Al–4V

Formation of porous Ti–6Al–4V nanostructure biomaterial was described. The alloy was prepared by mechanical alloying followed by pressing, sintering and subsequent anodic electrochemical etching in 1 M H₃PO₄ + 2% HF electrolyte at 10 V for 30 min. Mechanically alloyed Ti–6Al–4V has nanostructure with grain size of about 35 nm and large grain boundaries volume fraction, which essentially improve etching process. The electrolyte penetrates sintered compacts through the grain boundaries, resulting in effective material removing and pores formation. The pore diameter reaches up to 60 μm, which is very attractive for strong bonding with bone. The anodization of the microcrystalline alloy ingot results in selective etching, revealing of the two-phase structure with relatively flat surface. The corrosion properties were investigated in Ringer’s solution. Mechanically alloyed samples shows worse corrosion resistance than the bulk microcrystalline alloy ingot, but electrochemical etching results in improving corrosion resistance.