Journal ArticleDOI
Intrinsic stress in sputter-deposited thin films
TLDR
A review of the sputtered film stress literature shows that the intrinsic stress can be tensile or compressive depending on the energetics of the deposition process as discussed by the authors, and extensive experimental evidence show a direct link between the particle flux and energy striking the condensing film, which determines the nature and magnitude of the stress.Abstract:
A review of the sputtered film stress literature shows that the intrinsic stress can be tensile or compressive depending on the energetics of the deposition process. Modeling studies of film growth and extensive experimental evidence show a direct link between the energetics of the deposition process and film microstructure, which in turn determines the nature and magnitude of the stress. The fundamental quantities are the particle flux and energy striking the condensing film, which are a function of many process parameters such as pressure (discharge voltage), target/sputtering gas mass ratio, cathode shape, bias voltage, and substrate orientation. Tensile stress is generally observed in zone 1-type, porous films and is explained in terms of the grain boundary relaxation model, whereas compressive stress, observed in zone T-type, dense films, is interpreted in terms of the atomic peening mechanism. Modeling of the atomic peening mechanism and experimental data indicate that the normalized moment...read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Real-Time XRD Characterization of Growth of Sputtered Tantalum Films
S. L. Lee,J. Mueller,D. Windover +2 more
TL;DR: An in-situ DC magnetron sputter deposition system was constructed on the goniometer of an X-ray diffractometer for investigation of thin film nucleation and growth in real time as discussed by the authors.
Patent
Photovoltaic cell with high efficiency CIGS absorber layer with low minority carrier lifetime and method of making thereof
John Corson,Alex Austin,Robert Tas,Neil Mackie,Mats I. Larsson,Korhan Demirkan,Weijie Zhang,Jochen Titus,Swati Sevanna,Robert B. Zubeck,Randy Dorn,Asit Rairkar,Ron Rulkens,Ajay Saproo,Dan Vitkavage +14 more
TL;DR: A solar cell with a plurality of CIGS absorber sublayers has a conversion efficiency of at least 13.4 percent and a minority carrier lifetime below 2 nanoseconds.
Journal ArticleDOI
Columnar Grain Size Effect on Cross-Plane Conductivity of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Thin Films
Jung Hoon Park,Jung Hoon Park,Junsung Ahn,Kyung Joong Yoon,Hyoungchul Kim,Ho-Il Ji,Jong-Ho Lee,Jong-Ho Lee,Seung Min Han,Ji-Won Son,Ji-Won Son +10 more
TL;DR: In this paper, high-temperature energy materials research center, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul 02792, Korea 2Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea 3Nanomaterials Science & Engineering, KIST School, Korea University of Science, Technology and Engineering (UST), Seoul02792.
Journal ArticleDOI
Influence mechanism of RF bias on microstructure and superconducting properties of sputtered niobium thin films
Yuan Zhong,Zegang Ni,Jinjin Li,Xu Li,W. H. Cao,Xueshen Wang,Q. Zhong,Xiaolong Xu,Jian Chen,Congcong Liang +9 more
TL;DR: In this article , radio frequency (RF) biased direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering was used to simultaneously improve the surface roughness and superconducting properties of Nb thin films for Josephson circuits application.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Theory of Sputtering. I. Sputtering Yield of Amorphous and Polycrystalline Targets
TL;DR: In this article, an integrodifferential equation for the sputtering yield is developed from the general Boltzmann transport equation, and solutions of the integral equation are given that are asymptotically exact in the limit of high ion energy as compared to atomic binding energies.
Journal ArticleDOI
Mechanical properties of thin films
TL;DR: In this paper, it is shown that very large stresses may be present in the thin films that comprise integrated circuits and magnetic disks and that these stresses can cause deformation and fracture to occur.
Journal ArticleDOI
Influence of apparatus geometry and deposition conditions on the structure and topography of thick sputtered coatings
TL;DR: Two cylindrically symmetric and complementary sputtering geometries, the post and hollow cathodes, were used to deposit thick coatings of various metals (Mo, Cr, Ti, Fe, Cu, and Al-alloy) onto glass and metallic substrates at deposition rates of 1000-2000 A/min under various conditions of substrate temperature, argon pressure, and plasma bombardment as mentioned in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI
High Rate Thick Film Growth
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the physical vapor deposition (PVD) of thin films is presented, focusing mainly on evaporation and sputtering processes and the physics of their growth and structure.