Ellipsometry Studies, Optical Properties, And Band Structure of Gel.1-yCy, Ge-RICH Si1-x-yGexCy, And Boron-Doped Si1-xGexAlloys

1998 ◽  
Vol 533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly E. Junge ◽  
Ruidiger Lange ◽  
Jennifer M. Dolan ◽  
Stefan Zollner ◽  
Josef Humlfcek ◽  
...  

AbstractWe measured the pseudodielectric function (PDF) of Ge1-yCy and Ge-rich Si1-x-yGexCy alloys from 1.1 to 5.2 eV using spectroscopic ellipsometry. These alloys were grown by molecular beam epitaxy at 6000C on (001) Si substrates. Analytical lineshapes fitted to numerically calculated derivatives of their PDFs determined the critical-point parameters of the E1, E1+Δ1, E0', and E2 transitions. The critical-point energies of the Ge1-yCy alloys were found to be similar to bulk Ge. This indicates that the presence of C in these alloys only has a small influence on the band structure. For some samples, the amplitude of the PDF is much lower than in bulk Ge, which can be attributed to surface roughness and explained within the framework of the Kirchhoff theory of diffraction or using effective medium theory. The degree of surface roughness indicated by optical measurements was confirmed by atomic force microscopy. We also studied bulk Czochralski-grown Si1-xGex alloys (0<x<0.28) doped with boron. Due to doping, the critical points shift to lower energies as reported previously for bulk Si and Ge.

1992 ◽  
Vol 280 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Rojhantalab ◽  
M. Moinpour ◽  
N. Peter ◽  
M.L.A. Dass ◽  
W. Hough ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTChemically vapor deposited borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) has been widely used in microelectronic device fabrication as interlayer dielectric film due to its excellent planarization, gettering and flow properties. With device geometry reducing to sub micron levels, there is an increasingly greater emphasis on detection and elimination of sub micron defects particularly on deposited film. In this paper, we report on the evaluation and characterization of the surface roughness of BPSG films of various thicknesses and film compositions deposited on Si substrates using the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The effects of high temperature densification process on the surface roughness are presented. The defect detection capabilities of conventional laser-based particle counters with respect to the surface roughness of BPSG films are investigated.


1999 ◽  
Vol 564 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Windt ◽  
J. Dalla Torre ◽  
G. H. Gilmer ◽  
J. Sapjeta ◽  
R. Kalyanaraman ◽  
...  

AbstractWe present experimental results directed at understanding the growth and structure of metallic barrier layer and interconnect films. Numerical simulation results associated with this experimental work are presented in an accompanying paper in these proceedings. Here, thin films of Al, Ti, Cu and Ta have been grown by magnetron sputtering onto oxidized Si substrates. Using a specially-constructed substrate holder, the orientation of the substrate with respect to the growth direction was varied from horizontal to vertical. Films were grown at both low and high argon pressure; in the case of Ta, the cathode power was varied as well. The film structure and in particular the surface roughness was measured by X-ray reflectance and also by atomic force microscopy. We find that the surface roughness increases markedly with orientation angle in the case of Ta and Cu films, and in Ti films grown at high argon pressure. At low pressure, however, the Ti film surface roughness remains constant for all substrate orientations. No variation in roughness with either orientation angle or argon pressure was observed in the Al films. These results suggest that, under certain circumstances, shadowing effects and/or grain orientation (i.e., texture) competition during growth can give rise to lower density, more porous (and thus more rough) films, particularly at large orientation angles, as on sidewalls in sub-micron trenches.


1994 ◽  
Vol 361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott R. Summerfelt ◽  
Dave Kotecki ◽  
Angus Kingon ◽  
H.N. Al-Shareef

ABSTRACTThe formation of Pt hillocks during high temperature processing is a problem when using Pt as a bottom electrode for high dielectric constant materials. The hillock height is frequently larger than the dielectric thickness, degrading the leakage current of the device. In this work, Pt was deposited by electron beam evaporation on in-situ formed 40 nm ZrO2 coated SiO2 / Si substrates. The samples were then annealed at temperatures between 400°C and 700°C for times ranging from 2 min to 40 min. The surface roughness was measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The surface was characterized using Ra, RMS and Zmax over 5 μm × 5μm regions. Zmax is sensitive to hillock formation and Ra is sensitive to changes in general surface roughness. Analysis of Zmax indicates that 100 nm Pt / ZrO2 deposited at 315°C forms hillocks above 450°C during initial heatup. Subsequently, the hillocks decay for temperatures of 600°C and above such that they are almost gone after a 30 min air anneal. In-situ wafer stress measurements of Pt / ZrO2 were performed in O2 at temperatures up to 650°C. The Pt relaxes above 500°C in O2.


Author(s):  
H. Kinney ◽  
M.L. Occelli ◽  
S.A.C. Gould

For this study we have used a contact mode atomic force microscope (AFM) to study to topography of fluidized cracking catalysts (FCC), before and after contamination with 5% vanadium. We selected the AFM because of its ability to well characterize the surface roughness of materials down to the atomic level. It is believed that the cracking in the FCCs occurs mainly on the catalysts top 10-15 μm suggesting that the surface corrugation could play a key role in the FCCs microactivity properties. To test this hypothesis, we chose vanadium as a contaminate because this metal is capable of irreversibly destroying the FCC crystallinity as well as it microporous structure. In addition, we wanted to examine the extent to which steaming affects the vanadium contaminated FCC. Using the AFM, we measured the surface roughness of FCCs, before and after contamination and after steaming.We obtained our FCC (GRZ-1) from Davison. The FCC is generated so that it contains and estimated 35% rare earth exchaged zeolite Y, 50% kaolin and 15% binder.


2003 ◽  
Vol 780 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Essary ◽  
V. Craciun ◽  
J. M. Howard ◽  
R. K. Singh

AbstractHf metal thin films were deposited on Si substrates using a pulsed laser deposition technique in vacuum and in ammonia ambients. The films were then oxidized at 400 °C in 300 Torr of O2. Half the samples were oxidized in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from a Hg lamp array. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and grazing angle X-ray diffraction were used to compare the crystallinity, roughness, and composition of the films. It has been found that UV radiation causes roughening of the films and also promotes crystallization at lower temperatures.Furthermore, increased silicon oxidation at the interface was noted with the UVirradiated samples and was shown to be in the form of a mixed layer using angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Incorporation of nitrogen into the film reduces the oxidation of the silicon interface.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin P. A. Gabriele ◽  
Craig J. Williams ◽  
Douglas Stauffer ◽  
Brian Derby ◽  
Aurora J. Cruz-Cabeza

<div> <div> <div> <p>Single crystals of aspirin form I were cleaved and indented on their dominant face. Upon inspection, it was possible to observe strongly anisotropic shallow lateral cracks due to the extreme low surface roughness after cleavage. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) imaging showed spalling fractures nucleating from the indent corners, forming terraces with a height of one or two interplanar spacings d100. The formation of such spalling fractures in aspirin was rationalised using basic calculations of attachment energies, showing how (100) layers are poorly bonded when compared to their relatively higher intralayer bonding. An attempt at explaining the preferential propagation of these fractures along the [010] direction is discussed. </p> </div> </div> </div>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin P. A. Gabriele ◽  
Craig J. Williams ◽  
Douglas Stauffer ◽  
Brian Derby ◽  
Aurora J. Cruz-Cabeza

<div> <div> <div> <p>Single crystals of aspirin form I were cleaved and indented on their dominant face. Upon inspection, it was possible to observe strongly anisotropic shallow lateral cracks due to the extreme low surface roughness after cleavage. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) imaging showed spalling fractures nucleating from the indent corners, forming terraces with a height of one or two interplanar spacings d100. The formation of such spalling fractures in aspirin was rationalised using basic calculations of attachment energies, showing how (100) layers are poorly bonded when compared to their relatively higher intralayer bonding. An attempt at explaining the preferential propagation of these fractures along the [010] direction is discussed. </p> </div> </div> </div>


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 900
Author(s):  
Maria Vardaki ◽  
Aida Pantazi ◽  
Ioana Demetrescu ◽  
Marius Enachescu

In this work we present the results of a functional properties assessment via Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)-based surface morphology, surface roughness, nano-scratch tests and adhesion force maps of TiZr-based nanotubular structures. The nanostructures have been electrochemically prepared in a glycerin + 15 vol.% H2O + 0.2 M NH4F electrolyte. The AFM topography images confirmed the successful preparation of the nanotubular coatings. The Root Mean Square (RMS) and average (Ra) roughness parameters increased after anodizing, while the mean adhesion force value decreased. The prepared nanocoatings exhibited a smaller mean scratch hardness value compared to the un-coated TiZr. However, the mean hardness (H) values of the coatings highlight their potential in having reliable mechanical resistances, which along with the significant increase of the surface roughness parameters, which could help in improving the osseointegration, and also with the important decrease of the mean adhesion force, which could lead to a reduction in bacterial adhesion, are providing the nanostructures with a great potential to be used as a better alternative for Ti implants in dentistry.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Gros-Otero ◽  
Samira Ketabi ◽  
Rafael Cañones-Zafra ◽  
Montserrat Garcia-Gonzalez ◽  
Cesar Villa-Collar ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To compare the anterior surface roughness of two commercially available posterior chamber phakic intraocular lenses (IOLs) using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Methods Four phakic IOLs were used for this prospective, experimental study: two Visian ICL EVO+ V5 lenses and two iPCL 2.0 lenses. All of them were brand new, were not previously implanted in humans, were monofocal and had a dioptric power of − 12 diopters (D). The anterior surface roughness was assessed using a JPK NanoWizard II® atomic force microscope in contact mode immersed in liquid. Olympus OMCL-RC800PSA commercial silicon nitride cantilever tips were used. Anterior surface roughness measurements were made in 7 areas of 10 × 10 μm at 512 × 512 point resolution. The roughness was measured using the root-mean-square (RMS) value within the given regions. Results The mean of all anterior surface roughness measurements was 6.09 ± 1.33 nm (nm) in the Visian ICL EVO+ V5 and 3.49 ± 0.41 nm in the iPCL 2.0 (p = 0.001). Conclusion In the current study, we found a statistically significant smoother anterior surface in the iPCL 2.0 phakic intraocular lenses compared with the VISIAN ICL EVO+ V5 lenses when studied with atomic force microscopy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 124-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naser Ali ◽  
Joao Amaral Teixeira ◽  
Abdulmajid Addali

This research investigates the effect of surface roughness, water temperature, and pH value on the wettability behaviour of copper surfaces. An electron beam physical vapour deposition technique was used to fabricate 25, 50, and 75 nm thin films of copper on the surface of copper substrates. Surface topographical analysis, of the uncoated and coated samples, was performed using an atomic force microscopy device to observe the changes in surface microstructure. A goniometer device was then employed to examine the surface wettability of the samples by obtaining the static contact angle between the liquid and the attached surface using the sessile drops technique. Waters of pH 4, 7, and 9 were employed as the contact angle testing fluids at a set of fixed temperatures that ranged from 20°C to 60°C. It was found that increasing the deposited film thickness reduces the surface roughness of the as-prepared copper surfaces and thus causing the surface wettability to diverge from its initial hydrophobic nature towards the hydrophilic behaviour region. A similar divergence behaviour was seen with the rise in temperature of water of pH 4, and 9. In contrast, the water of pH 7, when tested on the uncoated surface, ceased to reach a contact angle below 90o. It is believed that the observed changes in surface wettability behaviour is directly linked to the liquid temperature, pH value, surface roughness, along with the Hofmeister effect between the water and the surface in contact.


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