Interactions Between Al and Cr Thin Films

Author(s):  
R. M. Anderson ◽  
T. M. Reith ◽  
M. J. Sullivan ◽  
E. K. Brandis

Thin films of aluminum or aluminum-silicon can be used in conjunction with thin films of chromium in integrated electronic circuits. For some applications, these films exhibit undesirable reactions; in particular, intermetallic formation below 500 C must be inhibited or prevented. The Al films, being the principal current carriers in interconnective metal applications, are usually much thicker than the Cr; so one might expect Al-rich intermetallics to form when the processing temperature goes out of control. Unfortunately, the JCPDS and the literature do not contain enough data on the Al-rich phases CrAl7 and Cr2Al11, and the determination of these data was a secondary aim of this work.To define a matrix of Cr-Al diffusion couples, Cr-Al films were deposited with two sets of variables: Al or Al-Si, and broken vacuum or single pumpdown. All films were deposited on 2-1/4-inch thermally oxidized Si substrates. A 500-Å layer of Cr was deposited at 120 Å/min on substrates at room temperature, in a vacuum system that had been pumped to 2 x 10-6 Torr. Then, with or without vacuum break, a 1000-Å layer of Al or Al-Si was deposited at 35 Å/s, with the substrates still at room temperature.

Author(s):  
J. L. Batstone ◽  
D.A. Smith

Recrystallization of amorphous NiSi2 involves nucleation and growth processes which can be studied dynamically in the electron microscope. Previous studies have shown thatCoSi2 recrystallises by nucleating spherical caps which then grow with a constant radial velocity. Coalescence results in the formation of hyperbolic grain boundaries. Nucleation of the isostructural NiSi2 results in small, approximately round grains with very rough amorphous/crystal interfaces. In this paper we show that the morphology of the rccrystallizcd film is dramatically affected by variations in the stoichiometry of the amorphous film.Thin films of NiSi2 were prepared by c-bcam deposition of Ni and Si onto Si3N4, windows supported by Si substrates at room temperature. The base pressure prior to deposition was 6 × 107 torr. In order to investigate the effect of stoichiomctry on the recrystallization process, the Ni/Si ratio was varied in the range NiSi1.8-2.4. The composition of the amorphous films was determined by Rutherford Backscattering.


Author(s):  
Fumio Watari ◽  
J. M. Cowley

STEM coupled with the optical system was used for the investigation of the early oxidation on the surface of Cr. Cr thin films (30 – 1000Å) were prepared by evaporation onto the polished or air-cleaved NaCl substrates at room temperature and 45°C in a vacuum of 10−6 Torr with an evaporation speed 0.3Å/sec. Rather thick specimens (200 – 1000Å) with various preferred orientations were used for the investigation of the oxidation at moderately high temperature (600 − 1100°C). Selected area diffraction patterns in these specimens are usually very much complicated by the existence of the different kinds of oxides and their multiple twinning. The determination of the epitaxial orientation relationship of the oxides formed on the Cr surface was made possible by intensive use of the optical system and microdiffraction techniques. Prior to the formation of the known rhombohedral Cr2O3, a thin spinel oxide, probably analogous to γ -Al203 or γ -Fe203, was formed. Fig. 1a shows the distinct epitaxial growth of the spinel (001) as well as the rhombohedral (125) on the well-oriented Cr(001) surface. In the case of the Cr specimen with the (001) preferred orientation (Fig. 1b), the rings explainable by spinel structure appeared as well as the well defined epitaxial spots of the spinel (001). The microdif fraction from 20A areas (Fig. 2a) clearly shows the same pattern as Fig. Ia with the weaker oxide spots among the more intense Cr spots, indicating that the thickness of the oxide is much less than that of Cr. The rhombohedral Cr2O3 was nucleated preferably at the Cr(011) sites provided by the polycrystalline nature of the present specimens with the relation Cr2O3 (001)//Cr(011), and by further oxidation it grew into full coverage of the rest of the Cr surface with the orientation determined by the initial nucleation.


1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 317-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constantinos Christofides ◽  
Andreas Mandelis ◽  
Albert Engel ◽  
Michel Bisson ◽  
Gord Harling

A photopyroelectric spectrometer with real-time and(or) self-normalization capability was used for both conventional transmission and thermal-wave spectroscopic measurements of amorphous Si thin films, deposited on crystalline Si substrates. Optical-absorption-coefficient spectra were obtained from these measurements and the superior dynamic range of the out-of-phase (quadrature) photopyroelectric signal was established as the preferred measurement method, owing to its zero-background compensation capability. An extension of a photopyroelectric theoretical model was established and successfully tested in the determination of the optical absorption coefficient and the thermal diffusivity of the sample under investigation. Instrumental sensitivity limits of βt ≈ 5 × 10−3 were demonstrated.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyun-Min Lin ◽  
Ying-Chung Chen ◽  
Chi-Pi Lin

Bismuth telluride-based compounds are known to be the best thermoelectric materials within room temperature region, which exhibit potential applications in cooler or power generation. In this paper, thermal evaporation processes were adopted to fabricate the n-type Bi2Te3thin films on SiO2/Si substrates. The influence of thermal annealing on the microstructures and thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3thin films was investigated in temperature range 100–250°C. The crystalline structures and morphologies were characterized by X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscope analyses. The Seebeck coefficients, electrical conductivity, and power factor were measured at room temperature. The experimental results showed that both the Seebeck coefficient and power factor were enhanced as the annealing temperature increased. When the annealing temperature increased to 250°C for 30 min, the Seebeck coefficient and power factor of n-type Bi2Te3-based thin films were found to be about −132.02 μV/K and 6.05 μW/cm·K2, respectively.


2017 ◽  
Vol 128 ◽  
pp. 451-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.C. Ramírez-Camacho ◽  
C.F. Sánchez-Valdés ◽  
J.J. Gervacio-Arciniega ◽  
R. Font ◽  
C. Ostos ◽  
...  

1991 ◽  
Vol 239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramnath Venkatraman ◽  
Paul R. Besser ◽  
Sean Brennan ◽  
John C. Bravman

ABSTRACTWe have measured elastic strain distributions with depth as a function of temperature in Al thin films of various thicknesses on oxidized silicon using synchrotron grazing incidence X-ray scattering (GIXS). Disregarding minor surface relaxation effects that depend on the film thickness, it is shown that there are no gross strain gradients in these films in the range of temperatures (between room temperature and 400°C) considered. We also observe X-ray line broadening effects, suggesting an accumulation of dislocations on cooling the films, and their annealing out as the films are reheated.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1141 ◽  
pp. 51-53
Author(s):  
Chetan Zankat ◽  
V.M. Pathak ◽  
Pratik Pataniya ◽  
G.K. Solanki ◽  
K.D. Patel ◽  
...  

Amorphous SnSe thin films were deposited by thermal evaporation technique on glass substrates kept at room temperature in a vacuum better than 10-5Torr. A detailed study of structural and optical properties of 150 nm thin film was carried out. The selected area diffraction patterns obtained by TEM for this thin film were analyzed by a new method that involves accurate determination of lattice parameters by image processing software. The obtained results are in good agreement with the JCPDS data. Optical transmission spectra obtained at room temperature were analyzed to study optical properties of deposited thin films. It has been found that indirect carrier transition is responsible for optical absorption process in the deposited thin films.


2002 ◽  
Vol 415 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 272-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Tashiro ◽  
A Sasaki ◽  
S Akiba ◽  
S Satoh ◽  
T Watanabe ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (31) ◽  
pp. 1250137 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. AMIRHOSEINY ◽  
Z. HASSAN ◽  
S. S. NG ◽  
L. S. CHUAH ◽  
M. A. AHMAD ◽  
...  

We have fabricated photoconductors of indium nitride (InN) grown by radio frequency (RF) sputtering. The InN thin films were deposited on Si (100), Si (110) and Si (111) substrates at room temperature. The Ag/Al contact has been deposited by thermal evaporation in vacuum (10-5 Torr ) and then annealed under the flowing of the nitrogen gas environment in order to relieve stress and also induce any favorable reactions between metals and the semiconductor. Current–voltage (I–V) measurements after heat treatment at 400°C were carried out for samples in dark and illumination conditions. It was found that Ag/Al formed a good ohmic contact on top of InN . In addition, the characteristics of the contacts were significantly affected by the orientation of substrates.


2012 ◽  
Vol 545 ◽  
pp. 290-293
Author(s):  
Maryam Amirhoseiny ◽  
Hassan Zainuriah ◽  
Ng Shashiong ◽  
Mohd Anas Ahmad

We have studied the effects of deposition conditions on the crystal structure of InN films deposited on Si substrate. InN thin films have been deposited on Si(100) substrates by reactive radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method with pure In target at room temperature. The nitrogen gas pressure, applied RF power and the distance between target and substrate were 2×10-2 Torr, 60 W and 8 cm, respectively. The effects of the Ar–N2 sputtering gas mixture on the structural properties of the films were investigated by using scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques.


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