Showing papers on "Substrate (electronics) published in 2000"

ZnO diode fabricated by excimer-laser doping

Abstract: A ZnO diode was fabricated by using a laser-doping technique to form a p-type ZnO layer on an n-type ZnO substrate. A zinc-phosphide compound, used as a phosphorous source, was deposited on the ZnO wafer and subjected to excimer-laser pulses. The current–voltage characteristics showed a diode characteristic between the phosphorous-doped p-layer and the n-type substrate. Moreover, light emission, with a band-edge component, was observed by forward current injection at 110 K.

Photoluminescence properties of silicon nanocrystals as a function of their size

Abstract: We present results on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of silicon nanocrystals as a function of their size. The nanocrystals are synthesized by laser pyrolysis of silane in a gas flow reactor and deposited at low energy on a substrate after a mechanical velocity and size selection. Both the photoluminescence spectroscopy and yield have been studied as well as the effect of aging of the samples in air. The measurements show that the PL of the silicon nanocrystallites follows the quantum confinement model very closely. The apparent PL yields are rather high (up to 18%). From evaluation of the size distribution obtained by atomic force microscopy it is concluded that the intrinsic PL yield of the nanocrystals can reach almost 100%. These results enabled us to develop a simple theoretical model to describe the PL of silicon nanocrystals. This model can also explain the changes of PL with aging of the sample, just by invoking a decrease of the size of the crystalline core as a result of oxidation.

Transparent conducting aluminum-doped zinc oxide thin films for organic light-emitting devices

Abstract: Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films (∼3000 A) with low electrical resistivity and high optical transparency have been grown by pulsed-laser deposition on glass substrates without a postdeposition anneal. Films were deposited at substrate temperatures ranging from room temperature to 400 °C in O2 partial pressures ranging from 0.1 to 50 mTorr. For 3000-A-thick AZO films grown at room temperature in an oxygen pressure of 5 mTorr, the electrical resistivity was 8.7×10−4 Ω cm and the average optical transmittance was 86% in the visible range (400–700 nm). For 3000-A-thick AZO films deposited at 200 °C in 5 mTorr of oxygen, the resistivity was 3.8×10−4 Ω cm and the average optical transmittance in the visible range was 91%. AZO films grown at 200 °C were used as an anode contact for organic light-emitting diodes. The external quantum efficiency measured from these devices was about 0.3% at a current density of 100 A/m2.

Improvement of output coupling efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes by backside substrate modification

Abstract: The emission intensity of an organic light-emitting diode at normal viewing angle and the total external emission efficiency have been increased by factors of 9.6 and 3.0, respectively, by applying spherically shaped patterns to the back of the device substrate. The technique captures light previously lost to waveguiding in the substrate and, with proper choice of substrate, light previously lost to waveguiding in the organic/anode layers. A method of applying the technique using laminated films and an optical model for evaluating coupling efficiency are also presented.

Method for fabricating a semiconductor structure including a metal oxide interface with silicon

Abstract: A method of fabricating a semiconductor structure including the steps of providing a silicon substrate (10) having a surface (12), forming on the surface (12) of the silicon substrate (10), by atomic layer deposition (ALD), a seed layer (20;20') characterised by a silicate material and forming, by atomic layer deposition (ALD) one or more layers of a high dielectric constant oxide (40) on the seed layer (20;20').

Self-ordered pore structure of anodized aluminum on silicon and pattern transfer

Abstract: A practical approach of transferring a hexagonal array of nanosized pores produced in porous alumina into silicon and other substrates is discussed. The alumina pores have dimensions of 25–250 nm pore diameters and 50–300 nm pore spacings depending on the anodization conditions used. The characteristics of the alumina pores and the alumina–silicon interface are studied for different substrate materials and anodizing conditions. The unique structure of the barrier layer allows for the alumina to be directly used as an etch mask for pattern transfer into the silicon substrate.

Electronic properties of CuGaSe2-based heterojunction solar cells. Part I. Transport analysis

Abstract: This article presents a systematic study on the electronic transport mechanisms of CuGaSe2-based thin film solar cells. A variety of samples with different types of stoichiometry deviations, substrates and buffer layers is investigated. We propose two transport models, namely tunneling enhanced volume recombination and tunneling enhanced interface recombination, which allow to explain the observed features for all devices under consideration. The doping level of the absorber layer turns out to be the most decisive parameter for the electronic loss mechanism. The doping is influenced by the type of stoichiometry deviation as well as by the Na content of the substrate. High doping levels result in tunnel assisted recombination. The best solar cells display the lowest tunneling rates. For these devices treatments of the absorber surface by air-annealing and/or the deposition temperature of the CdS buffer layer are decisive for the final device performance. We use the investigation of the open-circuit voltage...

Method for producing semiconductor device

Abstract: In producing a thin film transistor, after an amorphous silicon film is formed on a substrate, a nickel silicide layer is formed by spin coating with a solution (nickel acetate solution) containing nickel as the metal element which accelerates (promotes) the crystallization of silicon and by heat treating. The nickel silicide layer is selectively patterned to form island-like nickel silicide layer. The amorphous silicon film is patterned. A laser light is irradiated while moving the laser, so that crystal growth occurs from the region in which the nickel silicide layer is formed and a region equivalent to a single crystal (a monodomain region) is obtained.

Effect of film thickness on the properties of indium tin oxide thin films

Abstract: Transparent conducting indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films (40–870 nm) were grown by pulsed laser deposition on amorphous substrates and the structural, electrical, and optical properties of these films were investigated. Films were deposited using a KrF excimer laser (248 nm, 30 ns FWHM) at a fluence of 2 J/cm2, at substrate temperature of 300 °C and 10 mTorr of oxygen pressure. For ITO films (30–400 nm thickness) deposited at 300 °C in 10 mTorr of oxygen, a resistivity of 1.8–2.5×10−4 Ω cm was observed and the average transmission in the visible range (400–700 nm) was about 85%–90%. The Hall mobility and carrier density for ITO films (40–870 nm thickness) were observed to be in the range of 24–27 cm2/V s and 8–13×1020 cm−3, respectively. The ITO films have been used as the anode contact in organic light emitting diodes and the effect of ITO film thickness on the device performance has been studied. The optimum thickness of the ITO anode for the maximum device efficiency was observed to be about 60–100 nm....

Thermodynamic stability of amorphous oxide films on metals: Application to aluminum oxide films on aluminum substrates

Abstract: It has been shown on a thermodynamic basis that an amorphous structure for an oxide film on its metal substrate can be more stable than the crystalline structure. The thermodynamic stability of a thin amorphous metal-oxide film on top of its single-crystal metal substrate has been modeled as a function of growth temperature, oxide-film thickness, and crystallographic orientation of the metal substrate. To this end, expressions have been derived for the estimation of the energies of the metal-substrate amorphous-oxide film interface and the metal-substrate crystalline-oxide film interface as a function of growth temperature, and crystallographic orientation of the substrate (including the effect of strain due to the lattice mismatch). It follows that, up to a certain critical thickness of the amorphous oxide film, the higher bulk Gibbs free energy of the amorphous oxide film, as compared to the corresponding crystalline oxide film, can be compensated for by the lower sum of the surface and interfacial energies. The predicted occurrence of an amorphous aluminum-oxide film on various crystallographic faces of aluminum agrees well with previous transmission electron microscopy observations.

Fabrication of GaAs Quantum Dots by Modified Droplet Epitaxy

Abstract: We propose a modified droplet epitaxy method for fabricating self-organized GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots (QDs) with a high As flux irradiation and a low substrate temperature. By our novel method, GaAs QDs were successfully formed, retaining their pyramidal shape, original base size and density of droplets, and preventing layer-by-layer growth. Quantum size effects of the QDs were distinctly observed by photoluminescence measurements. It was confirmed that this new modified droplet epitaxy method is promising for fabricating a high-quality GaAs/AlGaAs QD system.

Highly electrically conductive indium–tin–oxide thin films epitaxially grown on yttria-stabilized zirconia (100) by pulsed-laser deposition

Abstract: Highly electrically conductive indium–tin–oxide thin films were epitaxially grown on an extremely flat (100) surface of yttria-stabilized zirconia single-crystal substrates at a substrate temperature of 600 °C by a pulsed-laser deposition technique. A resistivity down to 7.7×10−5 Ω cm was reproducibly obtained, maintaining optical transmission exceeding 85% at wavelengths from 340 to 780 nm. The carrier densities of the films were enhanced up to 1.9×1021 cm−3, while the Hall mobility showed a slight, almost linear, decrease from 55 to 40 cm2 V−1 s−1 with increasing SnO2 concentration. The low resistivity is most likely the result of the good crystal quality of the films.

Self-assembled growth of epitaxial erbium disilicide nanowires on silicon (001)

Abstract: By choosing a material that has an appropriate asymmetric lattice mismatch to the host substrate, in this case ErSi2 on Si(001), it is possible to grow one-dimensional epitaxial crystals. ErSi2 nanowires are less than one nanometer high, a few nanometers wide, close to a micron long, crystallographically aligned to 〈110〉Si directions, straight, and atomically regular.

Micromachining of buried micro channels in silicon

Abstract: A new method for the fabrication of micro structures for fluidic applications, such as channels, cavities, and connector holes in the bulk of silicon wafers, called buried channel technology (BCT), is presented in this paper. The micro structures are constructed by trench etching, coating of the sidewalls of the trench, removal of the coating at the bottom of the trench, and etching into the bulk of the silicon substrate. The structures can be sealed by deposition of a suitable layer that closes the trench. BCT is a process that can be used to fabricate complete micro channels in a single wafer with only one lithographic mask and processing on one side of the wafer, without the need for assembly and bonding. The process leaves a substrate surface with little topography, which easily allows further processing, such as the integration of electronic circuits or solid-state sensors. The essential features of the technology, as well as design rules and feasible process schemes, will be demonstrated on examples from the field of /spl mu/-fluidics.

Methods for forming metal oxide layers with enhanced purity

Abstract: Within: (1) a method for purifying a metal oxide layer; and (2) a method for forming with enhanced purity a metal oxide layer, there is employed an irradiation of either: (1) a metal oxide layer; or (2) a substrate in the presence of at least one of an oxidant and a metal source material, such as to either: (1) reduce a concentration of a contaminant material within a metal oxide base material from which is formed a metal oxide layer; or (2) inhibit in a first instance formation of a contaminant material within a metal oxide layer The metal oxide layer having incorporated therein the reduced concentration of contaminant material is particularly useful as a capacitive dielectric layer within a capacitive device within a microelectronic fabrication

Silicon-based molecular nanotechnology

Abstract: One potential application of molecular nanotechnology is the integration of molecular electronic function with advanced silicon technology. One step in this process is the tethering of individual molecules at specific locations on silicon surfaces. This paper reports the fabrication of arrays of individual organic molecules on H-passivated Si(100) surfaces patterned with an ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunnelling microscope (STM). Feedback controlled lithography (FCL) is used to create templates of individual silicon dangling bonds. Molecules introduced in the gas phase then spontaneously assemble onto these atomic templates. Norbornadiene (NBE), copper phthalocyanine (CuPc), and C60 molecular arrays have been made by this technique and studied by STM imaging and spectroscopy. Both NBE and CuPc molecules appear as depressions in empty states images, whereas in filled states images they are nearly indistinguishable from Si dangling bonds. Furthermore, the fourfold symmetry and central copper atom of CuPc are clearly observed at positive sample bias. Spatial tunnelling conductance maps of CuPc illustrate charge transfer from the surrounding substrate when the molecule is bound to the surface via its central copper atom. On the other hand, when the CuPc molecule interacts with the substrate via an outer benzene ring, molecular rotation is observed. C60 molecules display intramolecular structure in topographic images and spectroscopic data. The local density of states of C60 clearly shows the location of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital, which suggests that the highest occupied molecular orbital is located within 0.3 eV of the fermi level.

Structure stability and carrier localization in Cd X ( X = S , S e , Te ) semiconductors

Abstract: We studied systematically the structural and electronic properties of binary $\mathrm{Cd}X$ $(X=\mathrm{S},$ Se, and Te) semiconductors in both zinc-blende (ZB) and wurtzite (WZ) structures, the band alignment on the ZB/WZ interfaces, and carrier localization induced by the band offsets. We show, by first-principles band-structure calculation that at low temperature, CdS is stable in the wurtzite structure, while CdSe and CdTe are stable in the zinc-blende structure. However, coherent substrate strain can change CdTe to be more stable in the wurtzite form. We find that $\mathrm{Cd}X$ in the wurtzite structure has a larger band gap than the one in the zinc-blende structure. The band alignment on the ZB/WZ interface is found to be type II with holes localized on the wurtzite side and electrons on the zinc-blende side.

Polycrystalline silicon germanium films for forming micro-electromechanical systems

Abstract: This invention relates to micro-electromechanical systems using silicon-germanium films. The invention features a process for forming a micro-electromechanical system on a substrate. This process includes depositing a sacrificial layer of silicon-germanium onto the substrate; depositing a structural layer of silicon-germanium onto the sacrificial layer, where the germanium content of the sacrificial layer is greater than the germanium content of the structural layer; and removing a portion of the sacrificial layer. A MEMS resonator (105) as seen in figure 1B can be produced by the present invention.

Semiconductor processing apparatus with substrate-supporting mechanism

Abstract: A semiconductor processing apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate includes: (i) a vacuum-exhausted chamber; (ii) a susceptor which is provided within the chamber and which holds the substrate and has at least three through-holes; (iii) substrate-supporting members which are supported within the through-holes and which support the substrate; (iv) a pin, one end of which is inserted into the inner part of a the substrate-supporting member; and (v) a pin-fixing structure provided at the base of the chamber for fixing the other end of the pin. When the susceptor moves downward, the pin pushes up the substrate-supporting member, and the substrate is supported in midair by the substrate-supporting members apart from the susceptor.

Improvement on epitaxial grown of InN by migration enhanced epitaxy

Abstract: Epitaxial growth of InN on (0001) sapphire with an AlN buffer layer was studied by migration-enhanced epitaxy, which is composed of an alternative supply of pure In atoms and N2 plasma. A series of samples were prepared with different substrate temperatures ranging from 360 to 590 °C. As-grown films were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), reflective high-energy electron diffraction, atomic-force microscopy (AFM), and Hall measurements. Both XRD θ–2θ and ω scans show that the full width at half maximum of the (0002) peak nearly continuously decrease with increasing growth temperature, while InN grown at 590 °C shows the poorest surface morphology from AFM. It is suggested that three-dimensional characterization is necessary for an accurate evaluation of the quality of the InN epilayer. Hall mobility as high as 542 cm2/V s was achieved on film grown at ∼500 °C with an electron concentration of 3×1018 cm−3 at room temperature. These results argue against the common view that nitrogen vacancies are res...

One-dimensional metal chains on Pt vicinal surfaces

Abstract: High-density arrays (5 x 10(6) cm(-1)) of parallel nanowires have been grown using the vicinal Pt(997) surface as a template. Single monatomic rows of Ag and Cu can be deposited with subrow precision. We demonstrate real-time monitoring and characterization of the growth of the atomic chains as a function of temperature by thermal energy helium atom scattering. Scanning tunneling microscopy provides further insight into the structure of the metal rows. Growth mode and alloying with the Pt substrate are discussed as a function of temperature. Our results provide the basis for the creation of surfaces with a uniform distribution of wires having the same average width for the investigation of the electronic, magnetic, and chemical properties of one-dimensional and quasi-one-dimensional metal structures.

High aspect-ratio combined poly and single-crystal silicon (HARPSS) MEMS technology

Abstract: This paper presents a single-wafer high aspect-ratio micromachining technology capable of simultaneously producing tens to hundreds of micrometers thick electrically isolated poly and single-crystal silicon microstructures. High aspect-ratio polysilicon structures are created by refilling hundreds of micrometers deep trenches with polysilicon deposited over a sacrificial oxide layer. Thick single-crystal silicon structures are released from the substrate through the front side of the wafer by means of a combined directional and isotropic silicon dry etch and are protected on the sides by refilled trenches. This process is capable of producing electrically isolated polysilicon and silicon electrodes as tall as the main body structure with various size capacitive air gaps ranging from submicrometer to tens of micrometers. Using bent-beam strain sensors, residual stress in 80-/spl mu/m-thick 4-/spl mu/m-wide trench-refilled vertical polysilicon beams fabricated in this technology has been measured to be virtually zero. 300-/spl mu/m-long 80-/spl mu/m-thick polysilicon clamped-clamped beam micromechanical resonators have shown quality factors as high as 85 000 in vacuum. The all-silicon feature of this technology improves long-term stability and temperature sensitivity, while fabrication of large-area vertical pickoff electrodes with submicrometer gap spacing will increase the sensitivity of micro-electromechanical devices by orders of magnitude.