Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

Phd by thesis

Many materials systems are currently under consideration as potential replacements for SiO2 as the gate dielectric material for sub-0.1 μm complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology. A systematic consideration of the required properties of gate dielectrics indicates that the key guidelines for selecting an alternative gate dielectric are (a) permittivity, band gap, and band alignment to silicon, (b) thermodynamic stability, (c) film morphology, (d) interface quality, (e) compatibility with the current or expected materials to be used in processing for CMOS devices, (f) process compatibility, and (g) reliability. Many dielectrics appear favorable in some of these areas, but very few materials are promising with respect to all of these guidelines. A review of current work and literature in the area of alternate gate dielectrics is given. Based on reported results and fundamental considerations, the pseudobinary materials systems offer large flexibility and show the most promise toward success...

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High-κ gate dielectrics: Current status and materials properties considerations

Phase-change materials are some of the most promising materials for data-storage applications. They are already used in rewriteable optical data storage and offer great potential as an emerging non-volatile electronic memory. This review looks at the unique property combination that characterizes phase-change materials. The crystalline state often shows an octahedral-like atomic arrangement, frequently accompanied by pronounced lattice distortions and huge vacancy concentrations. This can be attributed to the chemical bonding in phase-change alloys, which is promoted by p-orbitals. From this insight, phase-change alloys with desired properties can be designed. This is demonstrated for the optical properties of phase-change alloys, in particular the contrast between the amorphous and crystalline states. The origin of the fast crystallization kinetics is also discussed.

Phase-change materials for rewriteable data storage

At interfaces between complex oxides, electronic systems with unusual electronic properties can be generated. We report on superconductivity in the electron gas formed at the interface between two insulating dielectric perovskite oxides, LaAlO3 and SrTiO3. The behavior of the electron gas is that of a two-dimensional superconductor, confined to a thin sheet at the interface. The superconducting transition temperature of ≅ 200 millikelvin provides a strict upper limit to the thickness of the superconducting layer of ≅ 10 nanometers.

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Superconducting Interfaces Between Insulating Oxides

Raman spectroscopy is a standard characterization technique for any carbon system. Here we review the Raman spectra of amorphous, nanostructured, diamond-like carbon and nanodiamond. We show how to use resonant Raman spectroscopy to determine structure and composition of carbon films with and without nitrogen. The measured spectra change with varying excitation energy. By visible and ultraviolet excitation measurements, the G peak dispersion can be derived and correlated with key parameters, such as density, sp(3) content, elastic constants and chemical composition. We then discuss the assignment of the peaks at 1150 and 1480 cm(-1) often observed in nanodiamond. We review the resonant Raman, isotope substitution and annealing experiments, which lead to the assignment of these peaks to trans-polyacetylene.

Raman spectroscopy of amorphous, nanostructured, diamond-like carbon, and nanodiamond

This paper presents studies of the infrared (IR) absorbance and the intrinsic stress in thermally grown very thin films (60 to 700 A) of SiO2. These data are combined with previously obtained data for thicker thermally grown films (∼1300 A) to study the variation in intrinsic growth stress close to the Si/SiO2 interface. The combined data indicate that the intrinsic stress at Si/SiO2 interfaces extrapolates to the same relatively high values for oxides grown at 700 and 1000 °C, and that the distribution of Si–O–Si bond angles close to the Si/SiO2 interface, as deduced from the IR data, is quantitatively different than in the bulk of the oxide film. These two observations are explained in terms of a model based on a temperature dependent viscoelastic relaxation of the oxide stress. This model emphasizes differences in the thermal history of the SiO2 near the Si/SiO2 interface, as compared to the SiO2 that is well removed from that interface and is in the bulk of the film and/or close to the ‘‘top’’ surface of the film. The observed differences between the 700 and 1000 °C bulk oxides, and the associated Si/SiO2 interfaces are explained in terms of a renormalized time scale that is defined by the ratio of the growth time to the viscoelastic relaxation time at the growth temperature.

Effects of thermal history on stress‐related properties of very thin films of thermally grown silicon dioxide

Nitrogen has been incorporated selectively at the top surface of a conventional thermal gate oxide by nitridation with a remote He–N2 plasma at low temperatures, 23 and 300 °C. On‐line Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) has been used to characterize the process. A peak shift in the Si‐LVV feature establishes that the nitrogen is bonded to the silicon. The concentration of nitrogen can be varied by a combination of substrate temperature and duration of plasma exposure. Ex situ glancing‐angle x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) confirm that the nitrogen is confined to the immediate vicinity of the surface. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of the nitrided oxide at 900 °C in N2 and N2O does not change the N content.

Controlled nitrogen incorporation at the gate oxide surface

Low-temperature nitridation of SiO2 thin films by Ar/N2 remote plasma processing was investigated using on-line Auger electron spectroscopy, angle-resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS), and optical emission spectroscopy (OES). Nitridation experiments were performed at 300 °C using 30 W Ar/N2 remote plasmas at 0.1 and 0.3 Torr. Ar/N2 remote plasma exposure of 5 nm SiO2 films for 30 min results in nitrogen incorporation throughout the films, independent of process pressure and plasma reactor configuration (i.e., upstream versus downstream N2 injection). ARXPS indicates a N–Si3 local bonding configuration with second nearest neighbor oxygen atoms. Ar/N2 remote plasma exposure at 0.1 Torr results in higher nitrogen concentrations (8–10 at. %). Reactor configuration has a negligible effect at 0.1 Torr; conversely, downstream N2 injection results in higher nitrogen concentrations (5–6 at. %) than upstream injection (3–4 at. %) at 0.3 Torr. OES indicates that the Ar/N2 remote plasmas contain N2 triplet excited states and ground-state N atoms. The Ar emission intensities and the saturation N concentrations in the resultant films follow similar trends with processing pressure and reactor configuration; the N2 first positive emission intensities run counter to these trends. We infer that low-temperature SiO2 nitridation by Ar/N2 remote plasmas is a two-step process: O removal by Ar+ ion bombardment and N insertion by plasma-generated active N species. Moreover, the first step appears to be rate limiting under the conditions employed in this study. Annealing the oxynitride films in N2 at 900 °C decreases the N concentration and results in a more uniform nitrogen distribution.

Low-temperature Ar/N2 remote plasma nitridation of SiO2 thin films

Hafnium-silicate capacitors with 4.5-nm equivalent oxide thickness gate insulators were irradiated with 10-keV X-rays. The midgap and flatband voltage shifts in these devices increase linearly with dose and are significantly larger than the shifts seen in high quality, thermal SiO/sub 2/ gate oxides of similar electrical thickness. The standard trapping efficiency equation is adapted for calculating effective trapping efficiencies in alternative dielectrics and used to compare the radiation response of hafnium silicate to SiO/sub 2/ from several manufacturers. The effects of common reliability screens such as "burn-in" and bias stress tests are also discussed. It is shown that baking these devices can degrade their capacitance-voltage characteristics, and large applied voltages inject excess charge into the dielectric, which can lead to a misinterpretation of the radiation results. However, the radiation responses of these devices, coupled with the demonstrated resistance of these films to heavy-ion induced gate rupture in previous studies, suggest that alternative dielectrics to SiO/sub 2/ potentially could be integrated into future electronics technologies for many low-power space applications.

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Total-dose radiation response of hafnium-silicate capacitors

Device-grade ultrathin (9–22 A) films of silicon dioxide, prepared from crystalline silicon by remote-plasma oxidation, are studied by soft x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (SXPS). The 2p core-level spectra for silicon show evidence of five distinct states of Si, attributable to the five oxidation states of silicon between Si0 (the Si substrate) and Si4+ (the thin SiO2 film). The relative binding energy shifts for peaks Si1+ through Si4+ (with respect to Si0) are in agreement with earlier work. The relatively weaker signals found for the three intermediate states (I1, I2, and I3) are attributed to silicon atoms at the abrupt interface between the thin SiO2 film and substrate. Estimates of the interface state density from these interface signals agree with the values reported earlier of ∼2 monolayers (ML). The position and intensity of the five peaks are measured as a function of post-growth annealing temperature, crystal orientation, and exposure to He/N2 plasma. We find that annealing produces more abrup...

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Gerald Lucovsky

Papers

Effects of thermal history on stress‐related properties of very thin films of thermally grown silicon dioxide

Controlled nitrogen incorporation at the gate oxide surface

Low-temperature Ar/N2 remote plasma nitridation of SiO2 thin films

Total-dose radiation response of hafnium-silicate capacitors

Structure of ultrathin SiO2/Si(111) interfaces studied by photoelectron spectroscopy