• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.11 no.2 s.31
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• pp.29-35
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• 2004

Hafnium-oxide gate dielectric films deposited by a metal organic chemical vapor deposition technique on a $N_2-plasma$ treated SiNx and a hydrogen-terminated Si substrate have been investigated. In the case of $HfO_2$ film deposited on a hydrogen-terminated Si substrate, suppressed crystallization with effective carbon impurity reduction was obtained at $450^{\circ}C$. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that the interface layer was Hf-silicate rather than phase separated Hf-silicide and silicon oxide structure. Capacitance-voltage measurements show equivalent oxide thickness of about 2.6nm for a 5.0 nm $HfO_2/Si$ single layer capacitor and of about 2.7 nm for a 5.7 nm $HfO_2/SiNx/Si$ stack capacitor. TEM shows that the interface of the stack capacitor is stable up to $900^{\circ}C$ for 30 sec.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.281-281
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• 2010

Very low refractive index (<1.4) materials have been proved to be the key factor improving the performance of various optical components, such as reflectors, filters, photonic crystals, LEDs, and solar cell. Highly porous SiO2 are logically designed for ultralow refractive index materials because of the direct relation between porosity and index of refraction. Among them, ordered macroporous SiO2 is of potential material since their theoretically low refractive index ~1.10. However, in the conventional synthesis of ordered macroporous SiO2, the time required for the crystallization of organic nanoparticles, such as polystyrene (PS), from colloidal solution into well ordered template is typical long (several days for 1 cm substrate) due to the low interaction between particles and particle - substrate. In this study, polystyrene - polyacrylic acid (PS-AA) nanoparticles synthesized by miniemulsion polymerization method have hydrophilic polyacrylic acid tails on the surface of particles which increase the interaction between particle and with substrate giving rise to the formation of PS-AA film by simply spin - coating method. Less ordered with controlled thickness films of PS-AA on silicon wafer were successfully fabricated by changing the spinning speed or concentration of colloidal solution, as confirmed by FE-SEM. Based on these template films, a series of macroporous SiO2 films whose thicknesses varied from 300nm to ~1000nm were fabricated either by conventional sol - gel infiltration or gas phase deposition followed by thermal removal of organic template. Formations of SiO2 films consist of interconnected air balls with size ~100 nm were confirmed by FE-SEM and TEM. These highly porous SiO2 show very low refractive indices (<1.18) over a wide range of wavelength (from 200 to 1000nm) as shown by SE measurement. Refraction indices of SiO2 films at 633nm reported here are of ~1.10 which, to our best knowledge, are among the lowest values having been announced.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers C
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• v.48 no.9
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• pp.623-627
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• 1999

We report a new in-situ fluorine passivation method without in implantation by employing excimer laser annealing of $SiO_{x}F_{y}$/a-Si structure and its effects on p-channel poly-Si TFTs. The proposed method doesn't require any additional annealing step and is a low temperature process because fluorine passivation is simultaneous with excimer-laser-induced crystallization. A in-situ fluorine passivation by the proposed method was verified form XPS analysis and conductivity measurement. From experimental results, it has been shown that the proposed method is effective to improve the electrical characteristics, specially field-effect mobility, and the electrical stability of p-channel poly-Si TFTs. The improvement id due to fluorine passivation, which reduces the trap state density and forms the strong Si-F bonds in poly-Si channel and $SiO_2/poly-Si$ interface. From these results, the high performance poly-Si TFTs canbe obtained by employing the excimer-laser-induced fluorine passivation method.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.245-248
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• 2012

In this paper, the optimized growing conditions of PZT thin films on low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) substrates are studied. The LTCC technology is an emerging one in the fields of mesoscale (from 10 um to several hundred um) sensor and actuator against silicon based technology due to low cost, high yield, easy manufacturing of 3 dimensional structure, etc. The LTCC substrates with thickness of 400 um are fabricated by laminating 100 um green sheets using commercial power (NEG, MLS 22C). The Pt/Ti bottom electrodes are deposited on the LTCC substrates, then the growing conditions of PZT thin films using rf magnetron sputtering method are studied. The growing conditions are tested under various rf power and gas ratio of oxygen to argon. And the crystallization and ingredient of PZT films are analyzed by X-ray diffraction method (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The optimized growing conditions of PZT thin films are rf power of 125W, Ar/O2 gas ratio of 15:5.

• Metals and materials international
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1256-1261
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• 2018

Both thermoplastic formability and electrical conductivity of Al-Ni-Y metallic glass with 12 different compositions have been investigated in the present study with an aim to apply as a functional material, i.e. as a binder of Ag powders in Ag paste for silicon solar cell. The thermoplastic formability is basically influenced by thermal stability and fragility of supercooled liquid which can be reflected by the temperature range for the supercooled liquid region (${\Delta}T_x$) and the difference in specific heat between the frozen glass state and the supercooled liquid state (${\Delta}C_p$). The measured ${\Delta}T_x$ and ${\Delta}C_p$ values show a strong composition dependence. However, the composition showing the highest ${\Delta}T_x$ and ${\Delta}C_p$ does not correspond to the composition with the highest amount of Ni and Y. It is considered that higher ${\Delta}T_x$ and ${\Delta}C_p$ may be related to enhancement of icosahedral SRO near $T_g$ during cooling. On the other hand, electrical resistivity varies with the change of Al contents as well as with the change of the volume fraction of each phase after crystallization. The composition range with the optimum combination of thermoplastic formability and electrical conductivity in Al-Ni-Y system located inside the composition triangle whose vertices compositions are $Al_{87}Ni_3Y_{10}$, $Al_{85}Ni_5Y_{10}$, and $Al_{86}Ni_5Y_9$.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.133-140
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• 2010

10 nm thick Ni layers were deposited on 200 nm $SiO_2/Si$ substrates using an e-beam evaporator. Then, 60 nm or 20 nm thick ${\alpha}$-Si:H layers were grown at low temperature (<$200^{\circ}C$) by a Catalytic-CVD. NiSi layers were already formed instantaneously during Cat-CVD process regardless of the thickness of the $\alpha$-Si. The resulting changes in sheet resistance, microstructure, phase, chemical composition, and surface roughness with the additional rapid thermal annealing up to $500^{\circ}C$ were examined using a four point probe, HRXRD, FE-SEM, TEM, AES, and SPM, respectively. The sheet resistance of the NiSi layer was 12${\Omega}$/□ regardless of the thickness of the ${\alpha}$-Si and kept stable even after the additional annealing process. The thickness of the NiSi layer was 30 nm with excellent uniformity and the surface roughness was maintained under 2 nm after the annealing. Accordingly, our result implies that the low temperature Cat-CVD process with proposed films stack sequence may have more advantages than the conventional CVD process for nano scale NiSi applications.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.12
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• pp.3952-3965
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• 2021

In this study, volcanic ash was used as raw material to prepare waste forms with different silicon/aluminum (Si/Al) molar ratios to immobilize sodium-salt waste (SSW) containing simulated ¹³⁷Cs. Effects of Si/Al molar ratios (3:1 and 2:1) and sodium salts on sintering behavior of waste forms and immobilization mechanism of Cs⁺ were investigated. Results indicated that the main mineral phase of sintered waste-form matrixes was albite, and the formation of major phases was found to depend on Si/Al molar ratios. Si/Al molar ratio of 2 was favorable for the formation of pollucite, and the formation and crystallization of mineral phases were also decided based on physicochemical characteristics of sodium salts. Furthermore, product consistency test results indicated that the immobilization of Cs⁺ was related to Si/Al molar ratio, types of sodium salts, and glassy phase. Waste forms with Si/Al molar ratio of 2 exhibited better ability to immobilize Cs⁺, whereas the influence of sodium salts and glassy phases on the immobilization of SSW showed more complicated relationship. In waste forms with Si/Al molar ratio of 2, Cs⁺ leaching concentrations of samples containing Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O and NaOH were low. Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O easily transformed into liquid phase during sintering to consequently achieve low temperature liquid-phase sintering, which is beneficial to avoid the volatilization of Cs⁺ at high temperature. Results clearly reveal that waste forms with Si/Al molar ratio of 2 and containing Na₂B₄O₇·10H₂O show excellent immobilization of Cs⁺.

• 한국정보디스플레이학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.107-108
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• 2008

The spectacular development of AMLCDs, been made possible by a-Si:H technology, still faces two major drawbacks due to the intrinsic structure of a-Si:H, namely a low mobility and most important a shift of the transfer characteristics of the TFTs when submitted to bias stress. This has lead to strong research in the crystallization of a-Si:H films by laser and furnace annealing to produce polycrystalline silicon TFTs. While these devices show improved mobility and stability, they suffer from uniformity over large areas and increased cost. In the last decade we have focused on microcrystalline silicon (${\mu}c$-Si:H) for bottom gate TFTs, which can hopefully meet all the requirements for mass production of large area AMOLED displays [1,2]. In this presentation we will focus on the transfer of a deposition process based on the use of $SiF_4$-Ar-$H_2$ mixtures from a small area research laboratory reactor into an industrial gen 1 AKT reactor. We will first discuss on the optimization of the process conditions leading to fully crystallized films without any amorphous incubation layer, suitable for bottom gate TFTS, as well as on the use of plasma diagnostics to increase the deposition rate up to 0.5 nm/s [3]. The use of silicon nanocrystals appears as an elegant way to circumvent the opposite requirements of a high deposition rate and a fully crystallized interface [4]. The optimized process conditions are transferred to large area substrates in an industrial environment, on which some process adjustment was required to reproduce the material properties achieved in the laboratory scale reactor. For optimized process conditions, the homogeneity of the optical and electronic properties of the ${\mu}c$-Si:H films deposited on $300{\times}400\;mm$ substrates was checked by a set of complementary techniques. Spectroscopic ellipsometry, Raman spectroscopy, dark conductivity, time resolved microwave conductivity and hydrogen evolution measurements allowed demonstrating an excellent homogeneity in the structure and transport properties of the films. On the basis of these results, optimized process conditions were applied to TFTs, for which both bottom gate and top gate structures were studied aiming to achieve characteristics suitable for driving AMOLED displays. Results on the homogeneity of the TFT characteristics over the large area substrates and stability will be presented, as well as their application as a backplane for an AMOLED display.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.173-181
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• 1992

Tantalum pentoxide($Ta_{2}O_{5}$) thin films on p-type (100) silicon wafer were fabricated by RF reactive sputtering. Physical properties and structure of the specimens were examined by XRD and AES. From the C-V analysis, the dielectric constant of $Ta_{2}O_{5}$ films was in the range of 10-12 in the reactive gas atmosphere in which 10% of oxygen gas is mixed. The ratio of Ta : 0 was 1 : 2 and 1 : 2.49 by AES and RBS examination, respectively. The heat-treatment at $700^{\circ}C$ in $O_{2}$ ambient led to induce crystallization. When the heat-treatment temperature was $1000^{\circ}C$, the dielectric constant was 20.5 in $O_{2}$ ambient and 23 in $N_{2}$ ambient, respectively. The crystal structure of $Ta_{2}O_{5}$ film was pseudo hexagonal of ${\delta}-Ta_{2}O_{5}$. The flat band voltage shift(${\Delta}V_{FB}$) of the specimens and the leakage current density were decreased for higher oxygen mixing ratio. The maximum breakdown field was 2.4MV/cm at the oxygen mixing ratio of 10%. The $Ta_{2}O_{5}$ films will be applicable to hydrogen ion sensitive film and gate oxide material for memory device.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.154-155
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• 2012

The promise of nano-crystalites (nc) as a technological material, for applications including display backplane, and solar cells, may ultimately depend on tailoring their behavior through doping and crystallinity. Impurities can strongly modify electronic and optical properties of bulk and nc semiconductors. Highly doped dopant also effect structural properties (both grain size, crystal fraction) of nc-Si thin film. As discussed in several literatures, P atoms or radicals have the tendency to reside on the surface of nc. The P-radical segregation on the nano-grain surfaces that called self-purification may reduce the possibility of new nucleation because of the five-coordination of P. In addition, the P doping levels of ${\sim}2{\times}10^{21}\;at/cm^3$ is the solubility limitation of P in Si; the solubility of nc thin film should be smaller. Therefore, the non-activated P tends to segregate on the grain boundaries and the surface of nc. These mechanisms could prevent new nucleation on the existing grain surface. Therefore, most researches shown that highly doped nc-thin film by using conventional PECVD deposition system tended to have low crystallinity, where the formation energy of nucleation should be higher than the nc surface in the intrinsic materials. If the deposition technology that can make highly doped and simultaneously highly crystallized nc at low temperature, it can lead processes of next generation flexible devices. Recently, we are developing a novel CVD technology with a neutral particle beam (NPB) source, named as neutral beam assisted CVD (NBaCVD), which controls the energy of incident neutral particles in the range of 1~300eV in order to enhance the atomic activation and crystalline of thin films at low temperatures. During the formation of the nc-/pm-Si thin films by the NBaCVD with various process conditions, NPB energy directly controlled by the reflector bias and effectively increased crystal fraction (~80%) by uniformly distributed nc grains with 3~10 nm size. In the case of phosphorous doped Si thin films, the doping efficiency also increased as increasing the reflector bias (i.e. increasing NPB energy). At 330V of reflector bias, activation energy of the doped nc-Si thin film reduced as low as 0.001 eV. This means dopants are fully occupied as substitutional site, even though the Si thin film has nano-sized grain structure. And activated dopant concentration is recorded as high as up to 1020 #/$cm^3$ at very low process temperature (＜ $80^{\circ}C$) process without any post annealing. Theoretical solubility for the higher dopant concentration in Si thin film for order of 1020 #/$cm^3$ can be done only high temperature process or post annealing over $650^{\circ}C$. In general, as decreasing the grain size, the dopant binding energy increases as ratio of 1 of diameter of grain and the dopant hardly be activated. The highly doped nc-Si thin film by low-temperature NBaCVD process had smaller average grain size under 10 nm (measured by GIWAXS, GISAXS and TEM analysis), but achieved very higher activation of phosphorous dopant; NB energy sufficiently transports its energy to doping and crystallization even though without supplying additional thermal energy. TEM image shows that incubation layer does not formed between nc-Si film and SiO2 under later and highly crystallized nc-Si film is constructed with uniformly distributed nano-grains in polymorphous tissues. The nucleation should be start at the first layer on the SiO2 later, but it hardly growth to be cone-shaped micro-size grains. The nc-grain evenly embedded pm-Si thin film can be formatted by competition of the nucleation and the crystal growing, which depend on the NPB energies. In the evaluation of the light soaking degradation of photoconductivity, while conventional intrinsic and n-type doped a-Si thin films appeared typical degradation of photoconductivity, all of the nc-Si thin films processed by the NBaCVD show only a few % of degradation of it. From FTIR and RAMAN spectra, the energetic hydrogen NB atoms passivate nano-grain boundaries during the NBaCVD process because of the high diffusivity and chemical potential of hydrogen atoms.