Removing the Barriers to Next Generation'S Dielectric Films: In Situ Void-Free Planarized Films

1990 ◽  
Vol 203 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.R. Monkowski ◽  
M.A. Logan ◽  
L.F. Wright

ABSTRACTIn the next generation of semiconductor devices, minimum dimensions will be smaller, aspect ratios (height to width) of devices features will be larger, and BPSG dielectrics will be challenged to deal with these changes. A new process, which integrates deposition, flow, and anneal of BPSG films, and allows void-free filling of high-aspect-ratio trenches with excellent surface planarization, is presented in this paper. Scanning electron micrographs are used to show the extent of film coverage and planarization. Additional characterization includes ion chromatography, ellipsometry, stress measurements, and breakdown field measurements.

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 2569-2587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Y. Matrosov ◽  
Carl G. Schmitt ◽  
Maximilian Maahn ◽  
Gijs de Boer

AbstractA remote sensing approach to retrieve the degree of nonsphericity of ice hydrometeors using scanning polarimetric Ka-band radar measurements from a U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program cloud radar operated in an alternate transmission–simultaneous reception mode is introduced. Nonsphericity is characterized by aspect ratios representing the ratios of particle minor-to-major dimensions. The approach is based on the use of a circular depolarization ratio (CDR) proxy reconstructed from differential reflectivity ZDR and copolar correlation coefficient ρhυ linear polarization measurements. Essentially combining information contained in ZDR and ρhυ, CDR-based retrievals of aspect ratios are fairly insensitive to hydrometeor orientation if measurements are performed at elevation angles of around 40°–50°. The suggested approach is applied to data collected using the third ARM Mobile Facility (AMF3), deployed to Oliktok Point, Alaska. Aspect ratio retrievals were also performed using ZDR measurements that are more strongly (compared to CDR) influenced by hydrometeor orientation. The results of radar-based retrievals are compared with in situ measurements from the tethered balloon system (TBS)-based video ice particle sampler and the ground-based multiangle snowflake camera. The observed ice hydrometeors were predominantly irregular-shaped ice crystals and aggregates, with aspect ratios varying between approximately 0.3 and 0.8. The retrievals assume that particle bulk density influencing (besides the particle shape) observed polarimetric variables can be deduced from the estimates of particle characteristic size. Uncertainties of CDR-based aspect ratio retrievals are estimated at about 0.1–0.15. Given these uncertainties, radar-based retrievals generally agreed with in situ measurements. The advantages of using the CDR proxy compared to the linear depolarization ratio are discussed.


2015 ◽  
Vol 787 ◽  
pp. 583-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Mohanavel ◽  
K. Rajan ◽  
K.R. Senthil Kumar

In the present study, an aluminum alloy AA6351 was reinforced with different percentages (1, 3 and 5 wt %) of TiB2 particles and they were successfully fabricated by in situ reaction of halide salts, potassium hexafluoro-titanate and potassium tetrafluoro-borate, with aluminium melt. Tensile strength, yield strength and hardness of the composite were investigated. In situ reaction between the inorganic salts K2TiF6 and KBF4 to molten aluminum leads to the formation of TiB2 particles. The prepared aluminum matrix composites were characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. Scanning electron micrographs revealed a uniform dispersal of TiB2 particles in the aluminum matrix. The results obtained indicate that the hardness and tensile strength were increased with an increase in weight percentages of TiB2 contents.


1990 ◽  
Vol 194 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Valencia ◽  
J. P. A. Löfvander ◽  
J. Rösler ◽  
C. G. Levi ◽  
R. Mehrabian

AbstractAdditions of ∼5%B1 and ∼9%Ta to binary γ-TiAl result in the formation of a monoboride isomorphous with TiB but containing Ta in solid solution. This boride exhibits strongly anisotropic growth from the melt, producing rod-like primary phases which are of potential interest for creep strengthening of the γ matrix. Fibrous borides with aspect ratios larger than ∼20 and volume fractions of ∼0.12 have been produced in arc-melted Ti-48AI-9Ta-4.3B alloys. Creep testing at 1255 K indicates that these “in-situ” composites have much higher creep strength than γ-TiAl, but the contribution of the reinforcements is relatively small compared with the solute-strengthening of the matrix.


Author(s):  
Sung-Hwan Yoon ◽  
Prabhu Palanisamy ◽  
Purushotham Padmanabha ◽  
Joey L. Mead ◽  
Carol M. F. Barry

Although high aspect ratio micro and nanoscale polymer features have been replicated in a range of polymers using injection molding, researchers have also used tooling inserts with a range of sizes, aspect ratios, and tooling materials. In this work, microscale features with molded in polymethylmethacrylates using three types of tooling with similar features. The tooling materials included silicon wafers with an antistiction coating, gold-coated nickel inserts, and a metal-polymer hybrid tooling. Tooling was evaluated based on the ease of melt filling and part ejection; the replication quality as characterized using optical profilometry, confocal microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy; and the damage to the tooling after repeated use. With lower aspect ratio features, the tooling type did not significantly affect replication, but for higher aspect ratio features the hybrid tooling provided far better replication than the silicon tooling. This difference was attributed to retardation of heat transfer in the features of the hybrid tooling. All three tooling materials exhibited polymer-free surfaces after injection molding.


2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (9) ◽  
pp. 1503-1517
Author(s):  
Sergey Y. Matrosov ◽  
Alexander V. Ryzhkov ◽  
Maximilian Maahn ◽  
Gijs de Boer

AbstractA polarimetric radar–based method for retrieving atmospheric ice particle shapes is applied to snowfall measurements by a scanning Ka-band radar deployed at Oliktok Point, Alaska (70.495°N, 149.883°W). The mean aspect ratio, which is defined by the hydrometeor minor-to-major dimension ratio for a spheroidal particle model, is retrieved as a particle shape parameter. The radar variables used for aspect ratio profile retrievals include reflectivity, differential reflectivity, and the copolar correlation coefficient. The retrievals indicate that hydrometeors with mean aspect ratios below 0.2–0.3 are usually present in regions with air temperatures warmer than approximately from −17° to −15°C, corresponding to a regime that has been shown to be favorable for growth of pristine ice crystals of planar habits. Radar reflectivities corresponding to the lowest mean aspect ratios are generally between −10 and 10 dBZ. For colder temperatures, mean aspect ratios are typically in a range between 0.3 and 0.8. There is a tendency for hydrometeor aspect ratios to increase as particles transition from altitudes in the temperature range from −17° to −15°C toward the ground. This increase is believed to result from aggregation and riming processes that cause particles to become more spherical and is associated with areas demonstrating differential reflectivity decreases with increasing reflectivity. Aspect ratio retrievals at the lowest altitudes are consistent with in situ measurements obtained using a surface-based multiangle snowflake camera. Pronounced gradients in particle aspect ratio profiles are observed at altitudes at which there is a change in the dominant hydrometeor species, as inferred by spectral measurements from a vertically pointing Doppler radar.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 305-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin L. Dunnavan ◽  
Zhiyuan Jiang

Abstract The orientation of falling ice particles directly influences estimates of microphysical and radiative bulk quantities as well as in situ retrievals of size, shape, and mass. However, retrieval efforts and bulk calculations often incorporate very basic orientations or ignore these effects altogether. To address this deficiency, this study develops a general method for projecting bulk distributions of particle shape for arbitrary orientations. The Amoroso distribution provides the most general bulk aspect ratio distribution for gamma-distributed particle axis lengths. The parameters that govern the behavior of this aspect ratio distribution depend on the assumed relationship between mass, maximum dimension, and aspect ratio. Individual spheroidal geometry allows for eccentricity quantities to linearly map onto ellipse analogs, whereas aspect ratio quantities map nonlinearly. For particles viewed from their side, this analytic distinction leads to substantially larger errors in projected aspect ratio than for projected eccentricity. Distribution transformations using these mapping equations and numerical integration of projection kernels show that both truncation of size distributions and changes in Gaussian dispersion can alter the modality and shape of projection distributions. As a result, the projection process can more than triple the relative entropy between the spheroidal and projection distributions for commonly assumed model and orientation parameters. This shape uncertainty is maximized for distributions of highly eccentric particles and for particles like aggregates that are thought to fall with large canting-angle deviations. As a result, the methods used to report projected aspect ratios and the corresponding values should be questioned.


2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (83) ◽  
pp. 20130171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dadhichi Paretkar ◽  
Marleen Kamperman ◽  
David Martina ◽  
Jiahua Zhao ◽  
Costantino Creton ◽  
...  

We tested the adhesive response of polymer surfaces structured with arrays of cylindrical fibrils having diameters of 10–20 µm and aspect ratios 1–2.4. Fibrils had two different tip shapes of end-flaps and round edges. A preload-induced mechanical buckling instability of the fibrils was used to switch between the states of adhesion and non-adhesion. Non-adhesion in fibrils with round edges was reached at preloads that caused fibril buckling, whereas fibrils with end-flaps showed adhesion loss only at very high preloads. The round edge acted as a circumferential flaw prohibiting smooth tip contact recovery leading to an adhesion loss. In situ observations showed that, after reversal of buckling, the end-flaps unfold and re-form contact under prevailing compressive stress, retaining adhesion in spite of buckling. At very high preloads, however, end-flaps are unable to re-form contact resulting in adhesion loss. Additionally, the end-flaps showed varying contact adaptability as a function of the fibril–probe alignment, which further affects the preload for adhesion loss. The combined influence of preload, tip shape and alignment on adhesion can be used to switch adhesion in bioinspired fibrillar arrays.


2006 ◽  
Vol 317-318 ◽  
pp. 657-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minoru Takahashi ◽  
Koichiro Adachi ◽  
Ruben L. Menchavez ◽  
Masayoshi Fuji

In this study, we propose a new process to fabricate electrically conductive alumina by gelcasting and reduction sintering. The process used the conventional gelcasting method except for varying amounts of monomer at 2.8, 5.5, and 8.0 wt.% relative to the weight of the slurry. In the plastic mould, the slurry was under in situ solidification for 3 hrs at 25oC to achieve gelation. The freshly gelled bodies were demolded, carefully dried, and then sintered at 1100oC, 1300oC, and 1550oC in nitrogen atmosphere. The holding times at 1100oC and 1300oC was 2 hours, while at 1550oC were 2, 4, and 6 hrs. The sintered alumina body was characterized by electrical property, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that monomer additions and sintering schedule significantly affect in lowering electrical resistance. The low value was 3.6×106 +cm at 8.0wt.% monomer addition and sintering at 1550oC for 2 hrs. The effect of physical properties on electrical conductivity and the corresponding reaction mechanism were discussed in details.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1527 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. Cordill ◽  
V.M. Marx

ABSTRACTMetal films on polymer substrates are commonly used in flexible electronic devices and as gas barrier coatings. One way to evaluate the fracture and adhesion properties of such film systems is the fragmentation test. In the fragmentation test a film-substrate system is strained in tension under an optical microscope or inside a scanning electron microscope to observe the cracking and delamination events in situ. The technique works very well for brittle metal and ceramic films. However, when ductile films are strained they deform plastically before cracks and buckles appear. Therefore, a tensile straining device was developed to fit under an AFM for in situ observation of ductile metal films on polymer substrates. With the new in situ device the first occurrence of plastic deformation in the form of localized thinning of the film and channel cracks are visible. These features can only be detected through a height difference in the AFM images and not with optical or scanning electron micrographs. A comparison to brittle Cr films on polymer substrates was performed.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (11) ◽  
pp. 1880-1886 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Andison ◽  
J. G. Sivak

Visual teleost species such as the oscar, Astronotus ocellatus, accommodate by moving the lens within the eye. This movement is controlled by a smooth muscle, the retractor lentis. We observed two components in the accommodative lens movement: a nasotemporal and a mediolateral component. In the present study, the anatomical basis of these two components was investigated. Photographs of freshly dissected specimens were used to determine the position and relative size of the retractor lentis muscle in situ. Light microscopy sections reveal two fibre orientations within the muscle. Scanning electron micrographs illustrate that the muscle ligament fans out in two primary directions where it inserts into the lens capsule. The observation that two independent lens movements occur during accommodation is supported anatomically by the orientation of the fibres within the muscle and by the nature of the insertion of the ligament into the lens capsule.


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