Thickness dependent barrier performance of permeation barriers made from atomic layer deposited alumina for organic devices

Organic devices like organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) or organic solar cells degrade fast when exposed to ambient air. Hence, thin-films acting as permeation barriers are needed for their protection. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is known to be one of the best technologies to reach barriers with a low defect density at gentle process conditions. As well, ALD is reported to be one of the thinnest barrier layers, with a critical thickness – defining a continuous barrier film – as low as 5–10 nm for ALD processed Al₂O₃. In this work, we investigate the barrier performance of Al₂O₃ films processed by ALD at 80 °C with trimethylaluminum and ozone as precursors. The coverage of defects in such films is investigated on a 5 nm thick Al₂O₃ film, i.e. below the critical thickness, on calcium using atomic force microscopy (AFM). We find for this sub-critical thickness regime that all spots giving raise to water ingress on the 20 × 20 μm² scan range are positioned on nearly flat surface sites without the presence of particles or large substrate features. Hence below the critical thickness, ALD leaves open or at least weakly covered spots even on feature-free surface sites. The thickness dependent performance of these barrier films is investigated for thicknesses ranging from 15 to 100 nm, i.e. above the assumed critical film thickness of this system. To measure the barrier performance, electrical calcium corrosion tests are used in order to measure the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), electrodeposition is used in order to decorate and count defects, and dark spot growth on OLEDs is used in order to confirm the results for real devices. For 15–25 nm barrier thickness, we observe an exponential decrease in defect density with barrier thickness which explains the likewise observed exponential decrease in WVTR and OLED degradation rate. Above 25 nm, a further increase in barrier thickness leads to a further exponential decrease in defect density, but an only sub-exponential decrease in WVTR and OLED degradation rate. In conclusion, the performance of the thin Al₂O₃ permeation barrier is dominated by its defect density. This defect density is reduced exponentially with increasing barrier thickness for alumina thicknesses of up to at least 25 nm.     

Modeling ion implantation of HgCdTe

Ion implantation of boron is used to create n on p photodiodes in vacancy-doped mercury cadmium telluride (MC.T). The junction is formed by Hg interstitials from the implant damage region diffusing into the MC.T and annihilating Hg vacancies. The resultant doping profile is n⁺/n^-/p, where the n⁺ region is near the surface and roughly coincides with the implant damage, the n^- region is where Hg vacancies have been annihilated revealing a residual grown-in donor, and the p region remains doped by Hg vacancy double acceptors. We have recently developed a new process modeling tool for simulating junction formation in MC.T by ion implantation. The interstitial source in the damage region is represented by stored interstitials whose distribution depends on the implant dose. These interstitials are released into the bulk at a constant, user defined rate. Once released, they diffuse away from the damage region and annihilate any Hg vacancies they encounter. In this paper, we present results of simulations using this tool and show how it can be used to quantitatively analyze the effects of variations in processing conditions, including implant dose, annealing temperature, and doping background.     

In-time motion adjustment in laser cladding manufacturing process for improving dimensional accuracy and surface finish of the formed part

This paper presents in-time motion adjustment in laser cladding manufacturing process as a means to improve dimensional accuracy and surface finish of the built part. Defects occurring during laser cladding degrade the part quality such as dimensional accuracy and surface finish. In this paper, in-time motion adjustment strategy was presented to remedy and eliminate defects occurring during laser cladding to improve the dimensional accuracy and surface finish. Based on the relationship between the motion of laser head relative to the growing part and other parameters in effects on clad profile, the laser traverse speed, stand-off distance and laser approach orientation to the existing clad layer were adjusted by instructions from a close-loop control system in real time to remedy and eliminate defects. The results of the experiments verified the effects of in-time motion adjustment on dimensional accuracy and surface finish.     

Investigations of He implantation and subsequent annealing effects in InP

The influence of 70 keV He⁺ ion implantation and subsequent annealing of Cz-indium phosphide (InP) samples has been investigated using a slow positron beam-based Doppler broadening spectrometer. Three samples with ion fluences of 1 × 10¹⁶, 5 × 10¹⁶ and 1 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻² were studied in the as-implanted condition as well as after annealing at 640 °C for times between 5 and 40 min. It was found that the line-shape parameter of the positron-electron annihilation peak in the implanted layer increases after 5 min annealing, then after longer annealing times it starts to decline gradually until it reaches a value close to the value of the as-grown sample. This implies that vacancy-like defects can be created in InP by He implantation followed by short-thermal annealing at T > 600 °C. Comparison of the results with a study where cavities were observed in He-implanted InP has been carried out.     

Fabrication and Characterization of Two‐Photon Polymerized Features in Colloidal Crystals

The fabrication and characterization of two‐photon polymerized features written within and outside of colloidal crystals is presented. Two‐photon polymerization (TPP) response diagrams are introduced and developed to map the polymerization and damage thresholds for features written via modulated beam rastering. The use of tris[4‐(7‐benzothiazol‐2‐yl‐9,9‐diethylfluoren‐2‐yl)phenyl]amine (AF‐350) as an initiator for TPP is demonstrated for the first time and TPP response diagrams illustrate the polymerization window. These diagrams also demonstrate that the polymerization behavior within and outside of colloidal crystals is similar and electron microscopy reveals nearly identical resolution. Fluorescence confocal microscopy further enables visualization of non‐self‐supporting, three‐dimensional TPP features within self‐assembled photonic crystals. Finally, microspot spectroscopy is collected from a two‐photon feature written within a colloidal crystal and this is compared with simulation.     

Structural manipulation of pyrochlores: Thermal evolution of metastable Gd2(Ti1−yZry)2O7 powders prepared by mechanical milling

The structural and microstructural characteristics of metastable Gd₂(Ti_1−yZr_y)₂O₇ powders prepared by mechanical milling have been studied by a combination of XRD and Raman spectroscopy. Irrespective of their Zr content, as-prepared powder phases present an anion-deficient fluorite-type of structure as opposed to the pyrochlore equilibrium configuration obtained for the same solid solution by other synthetic routes. These fluorites are stable versus thermal activation, at least up to temperatures of 800 °C. For the Ti-rich compositions, thermal treatments at higher temperatures facilitate the rearrangement of the cation and anion substructures and the relaxation of mechanochemically induced defects whereas for compositions with high Zr content, the fluorite crystal structure is retained even at temperatures as high as 1200 °C. Interestingly enough, transient pyrochlores showing a very unusual cation distribution were observed during the thermally induced defect-recovery process.     

Slow positron beam study of corrosion-related defects in pure iron

Corrosion-related defects of pure iron were investigated by measuring Doppler broadening energy spectra (DBES) of positron annihilation and positron annihilation lifetime (PAL). Defect profiles of the S-parameter from DBES as a function of positron incident energy up to 30 keV (i.e. ∼1 μm depth) were analyzed. The DBES data show that S-parameter increases as a function of positron incident energy (mean depth) after corrosion, and the increase in the S-parameter is larger near the surface than in the bulk due to corrosion. Furthermore, information on defect size from PAL data as a function of positron incident energy up to 10 keV (i.e. ∼0.2 μm depth) was analyzed. In the two-state trapping model, the lifetime τ₂ = 500 ps is ascribed to annihilation of positrons in voids with a size of the order of nanometer. τ₁, which decreases with depth from the surface to the bulk, is ascribed to the annihilation of positrons in dislocations and three-dimensional vacancy clusters. The corroded samples show a significant increase in τ₁ and the intensity I₂, and near the surface the corroded iron introduces both voids and large-size three-dimensional vacancy clusters. The size of vacancy clusters decreases with depth.     

Identity of defect causing nonideality in nearly ideal Au/n-Si Schottky barriers

We have proposed a mechanism of nonideality, i.e., the temperature dependence of the ideality factor, in nearly ideal Au/n-Si Schottky barriers. Because of the nature of metal-induced gap states, positively ionized defects close to the interface are considered to cause local lowering of the Schottky barrier height (SBH) due to downward bending of the energy band. These positively charged defects become neutralized in equilibrium with the Fermi level due to the band bending, when they are very close to the interface. However, because the SBH lowering disappears by the neutralization of donor, the energy level of donor with a usual energy level scheme rises above the Fermi level after the neutralization. This contradiction to the equilibrium neutralization is resolved by Si self-interstitial with a large negative-U property, which is generated by the fabrication process. The energy level of the donor estimated from the SBH lowering is in good agreement with that of theoretical calculation of Si self-interstitial. Thus, the defect is concluded to be the Si self-interstitial, which is distributed to more than 10 Å depth from the interface.     

Irradiation Defects in Silicon Crystal

The application of irradiation in silicon crystal is introduced.The defects caused by irradiation are reviewed and some major ways of studying defects in irradiated silicon are summarized.Furthermore the problems in the investigation of irradiated silicon are discussed as well as its properties.     

XD－YES：IC功能成品率模拟器的实现

首先建立缺陷空间分布和粒径分布的模型，并讨论了缺陷通过版图产生电路错误的过程，给出了ＩＣ功能成品率模拟器ＸＤ－ＹＥＳ的实现。用ＸＤ－ＹＥＳ对微电子测试图和实际ＩＣ的功能成品率模拟和分析表明，其结果与实际符合很好，从而表明ＸＤ－ＹＥＳ的可行性和实用性。