• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.54-62
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• 2024

SICM (Scanning Ion Conductivity Microscopy) is a technique for measuring surface topography in an environment where electrochemical reactions occur, by detecting changes in ion conductivity as a nanopipette tip approaches the sample. This study includes an investigation of the current response curve, known as the approach curve, according to the distance between the tip and the sample. First, a simulation analysis was conducted on the approach curves. Based on the simulation results, then, several measuring experiments were conducted concurrently to analyze the difference between the simulated and measured approach curves. The simulation analysis confirms that the current squeezing effect occurs as the distance between the tip and the sample approaches half the inner radius of the tip. However, through the calculations, the decrease in current density due to the simple reduction in ion channels was found to be much smaller compared to the current squeezing effect measured through actual experiments. This suggests that ion conductivity in nano-scale narrow channels does not simply follow the Nernst-Einstein relationship based on the diffusion coefficients, but also takes into account the fluidic hydrodynamic resistance at the interface created by the tip and the sample. It is expected that SICM can be combined with SECM (Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy) to overcome the limitations of SECM through consecutive measurement of the two techniques, thereby to strengthen the analysis of electrochemical surface reactivity. This could potentially provide groundbreaking help in understanding the local catalytic reactions in electroless plating and the behaviors of organic additives in electroplating for various kinds of patterns used in semiconductor damascene processes and packaging processes.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.5 no.8
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• pp.988-996
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• 1995

CuInSe$_2$this films as a light absorber layer were fabricated by vacuum evaporation using In$_2$Se$_3$and Cu$_2$Se precursors and their properties were analyzed. Indium selenide films of 0.5${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ thickness were first deposited by vacuum evaporation of In$_2$Se$_3$ on a Corning 7059 glass substrate. The films deposited at suscepor temperature of 40$0^{\circ}C$ showed a flat surface morphology with densely Packed grain structure. CuInSe$_2$films directly formed by evaporating Cu$_2$Se on the predeposited In$_2$Se$_2$films also showed a very flat surface when the susceptor temperature was $700^{\circ}C$. Cu$_2$Se, a second phase in the CuInSe$_2$film, was removed by evaporating additional In$_2$Se$_3$on the CuInSe$_2$film at $700^{\circ}C$. The grain size of 1.2${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ thick CuInSe$_2$, film was about 2${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ and the film had a (112) preferred orientation. As the amount of deposited In$_2$Se$_3$increased, the electrical resistivity of CuInSe$_2$films increased because of the decrease of hole concentration. But the optical band gap was almost constant at the value of 1.04eV, The CuInSe$_2$film grown on a Mo/glass substrate had a similar smooth microstructure compared to that on a glass substrate. A solar cell with ZnO/CdS/CuInSe$_2$/Mo structure may be realized based on the above CuInSe$_2$films.