• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.110-114
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• 2007

Dependence of the thermal stability of nickel silicide on the film stress of inter layer dielectric (ILD) layer has been investigated in this study and silicon nitride $(Si_3N_4)$ layer is used as an ILD layer. Nickel silicide was formed with a one-step rapid thermal process at $500^{\circ}C$ for 30 sec. $2000{\AA}$ thick $Si_3N_4$ layer was deposited using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition after the formation of Ni silicide and its stress was split from compressive stress to tensile stress by controlling the power of power sources. Stress level of each stress type was also split for thorough analysis. It is found that the thermal stability of nickel silicide strongly depends on the stress type as well as the stress level induced by the $Si_3N_4$ layer. In the case of high compressive stress, silicide agglomeration and its phase transformation from the low-resistivity nickel mono-silicide to the high-resistivity nickel di-silicide are retarded, and hence the thermal stability is obviously improved a lot. However, in the case of high tensile stress, the thermal stability shows the worst case among the stressed cases.

• Transactions of the Society of Information Storage Systems
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.129-134
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• 2007

Boron nitride (BN) is a highly attractive material for wear resistant applications of mechanical components. BN is super hard and it is the second hardest of all known materials. It also has a high thermal stability, high abrasive wear resistance, and in contrast to diamond, BN does not react with ferrous materials. The motivation of this work is to investigate the tribological properties of BN for potential applications in ultra-precision components for data storage, printing, and other precision devices. In this work, the wear characteristics of BN thin films deposited on DLC or Ti buffer layer with silicon substrate using RF-magnetron sputtering technique were analyzed. Wear tests were conducted by using a pin-on-disk type tester and the wear tracks were measured with a surface profiler. Experimental results showed that wear characteristics were dependent on the sputtering conditions and buffer layer. Particularly, BN coated on DLC layer showed better wear resistant behavior. The range of the wear rates for the BN films tested in this work was about 20 to $100{\mu}m^3$/cycle.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.209-212
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• 2011

Hafnium nitride (HfN) thin films were deposited onto a silicon substrate by inductive coupled nitrogen plasma-assisted radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The films were prepared without intentional substrate heating and a substrate negative bias voltage ($-V_b$) was varied from -50 to -150 V to accelerate the effects of nitrogen ions ($N^+$) on the substrate. X-ray diffractometer patterns showed that the structure of the films was strongly affected by the negative substrate bias voltage, and thin film crystallization in the HfN (100) plane was observed under deposition conditions of -100 $V_b$ (bias voltage). Atomic force microscopy results showed that surface roughness also varied significantly with substrate bias voltage. Films deposited under conditions of -150 $V_b$ (bias voltage) exhibited higher hardness than other films.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.137-141
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• 2006

Process window for infinite etch selectivity of silicon nitride $(Si_3N_4)$ layers to ArF photoresist (PR) was investigated in dual frequency superimposed capacitive coupled plasma (DFS-CCP) by varying the process parameters such as low frequency power $(P_{LF})$, $CH_2F_2$ and $H_2$ flow rate in $CH_2F_2/H_2/Ar$ plasma. It was found that infinite etch selectivities of $Si_3N_4$ layers to the ArF PR on both blanket and patterned wafers can be obtained for certain gas flow conditions. The etch selectivity was increased to the infinite values as the $CH_2F_2$ flow rate increases, while it was decreased from the infinite etch selectivity as the $H_2$ flow rate increased. The preferential chemical reaction of the hydrogen with the carbon in the polymer film and the nitrogen on the $Si_3N_4$ surface leading to the formation of HCN etch by-products results in a thinner steady-state polymer and, in turn, to continuous $Si_3N_4$ etching, due to enhanced $SiF_4$ formation, while the polymer was deposited on the ArF photoresist surface.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.100.2-100.2
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• 2012

Surface texturing of crystalline silicon is carried out in alkaline solutions for anisotropic etching that leads to random pyramids of about $10{\mu}m$ in size. Recently textured pyramids size gradually reduced using new solution. In this paper, we investigated that texture pyramids size had an impact on emitter property and front electrode (Ag) contact. To make small (${\sim}3{\mu}m$) and large (${\sim}10{\mu}m$) pyramids size, texturing times control and one side texturing using a silicon nitride film were carried out. Then formation and quality of POCl3-diffused n+ emitter in furnace compare with small and large pyramids by using SEM images, simulation (SILVACO, Athena module) and emitter saturation current density (J0e). After metallization, Ag contact resistance was measured by transfer length method (TLM) pattern. And surface distributions of Ag crystallites were observed by SEM images. Also, performance of cell which is fabricated by screen-printed solar cells is compared by light I-V.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.47-49
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• 2004

Gate protection $SiN_x$ as an alternative to a conventional re-oxidation process in Dynamic Random Access Memory devices is investigated. This process can not only protect the gate electrode tungsten against oxidation, but also save the thermal budget due to the re-oxidation. The protection $SiN_x$ process is applied to the poly-Si gate, and its device performance is measured and compared with the re-oxidation processed poly-Si gate. The results on the gate dielectric integrity show that etch damage-curing capability of protection $SiN_x$ is comparable to the re-oxidation process. In addition, the hot carrier immunity of the $SiN_x$ deposited gate is superior to that of re-oxidation processed gate.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.97-105
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• 1985

Phosphorus and boron diffusion from doped PECVD oxide films into silicon have been studied. CVD PSG was also prepared to parallelly compare the diffusion characteristics of CVD PSG with that in PECVD PSG, The phosphorus diffusion experiments were performed in N2 and O2 ambient at the temperatures of 100$0^{\circ}C$, 105$0^{\circ}C$ and 110$0^{\circ}C$ The parameters of boron diffusion have been investigated from the doped film prepared by changing B2 H6 flow rate and deposition temperature. The diffusivities and diffusion profiles of the dopant into silicon were calculated by applying Barry's model using the measured parameters such as diffusion depth and surface concentration.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.276-279
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• 2004

Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of silicon nitride (SiN) is a proven technique for obtaining layers that meet the needs of surface passivation and anti-reflection coating. In addition, the deposition process appears to provoke bulk passivation as well due to diffusion of atomic hydrogen. This bulk passivation is an important advantage of PECVD deposition when compared to the conventional CVD techniques. A further advantage of PECVD is that the process takes place at a relatively low temperature of 300t, keeping the total thermal budget of the cell processing to a minimum. In this work SiN deposition was performed using a horizontal PECVD reactor system consisting of a long horizontal quartz tube that was radiantly heated. Special and long rectangular graphite plates served as both the electrodes to establish the plasma and holders of the wafers. The electrode configuration was designed to provide a uniform plasma environment for each wafer and to ensure the film uniformity. These horizontally oriented graphite electrodes were stacked parallel to one another, side by side, with alternating plates serving as power and ground electrodes for the RF power supply. The plasma was formed in the space between each pair of plates. Also this paper deals with the fabrication of multicrystalline silicon solar cells with PECVD SiN layers combined with high-throughput screen printing and RTP firing. Using this sequence we were able to obtain solar cells with an efficiency of 14% for polished multi crystalline Si wafers of size 125 m square.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Telematics and Electronics D
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• v.36D no.7
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• pp.17-25
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• 1999

Tungsten nitride($WN_x$) films were deposited by PECVD method on silicon nitride($WSi_3N_4$) substrate. The characteristics of $WN_x$ film were investigated with changing various processing parameters ; substrate temperature, gas flow rate, rf power, and different nitrogen sources. The nitrogen composition in $WN_x$ film varied from 0 to 45% according to the $NH_3$ and $N_2$ flow rate. The highest deposition rate of 160 nm/min was obtained for the $NH_3$ gas and relatively low deposition rate of $WN_x$ films were formed by $N_2$ gas. $WN_x$ films deposited on $WSi_3N_4$ substrate had higher deposition rate than that of TiN and Si substrates. The purity of $WN_x$ film were analyzed by AES and higher purity $WN_x$ films were deposited using $NH_3$ gas. The XRD analysis indicates a phase transition from polycrystalline tungsten(W) to amorphous tungsten nitride($WN_x$), showing improved etching profile of $WN_x$ films Thick $WN_x$ films were deposited on various substrates such as Tin, NiCr and Al and maximum thickness of $1.6 {\mu}m$ was obtained on the Al adhesion layer.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.147-153
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• 1998

Tungsten nitride is very attractive as absorber for X-ray lithographic mask and as a diffusion barrier for interconnecting metallization in Si VLSI technology. Microstructure of tungsten nitride films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering has been investigated as a function of deposition parameter. The crystal structure of sputtered films on silicon nitride membrane depends strongly on the NJAr gas flow ratio(0~18%1, gas pressure(l0~43mTorr). RF power (60~150W), target-substrate distance(4~8cm). Tungsten nitride films deposited at the $N_2/Ar$ gas flow ratio(- 10%). gas pressure(~10mmTorr), RF power(~150W) and target-substrate distance(6cm) are amorphous, but at other conditions are almost rough -surfaced polycrystalline. Amorphous films are very smooth($3.1\AA$ rms) and expected to be excellent absorber for X-ray mask.