Green synthesis of novel in-situ micro/submicron-Cu paste for semiconductor interconnection

A green method for the synthesis of in-situ Cu paste is developed. Cu particles are prepared through chemical reduction by selecting a special copper source, reducing agent, and solvent. Then the reaction solution is directly concentrated to obtain an in-situ Cu paste. The synthesis of Cu particles and the preparation of Cu paste are conducted simultaneously, and the process of separation, purification, drying, storage, and re-dispersion of powder are reduced. Particles are not directly exposed to air, thus the oxidation of micro/nano-Cu is effectively prevented, and the agglomeration of particles caused by drying and dispersion operations is simultaneously reduced. Furthermore, the proposed method has a certain universality, and different types of Cu sources can be used to prepare in-situ paste with different sizes and morphologies. The entire preparation process is simple, efficient, green, and the yield can reach 99.99%, which breaks through the bottleneck of the application of traditional micro/nano-Cu materials. Copper acetate based in-situ paste is sintered for 30 min at 260 °C and 2 MPa in a reducing atmosphere. The shear strength, resistivity, and thermal conductivity reach 55.26 MPa, 4.01 × 10-8 Ω·m, and 92.75 W/(m·K), respectively, which could meet the interconnection application of power semiconductor devices.

Ce:LaB3O6 glass for high-resolution radiation dosimetry

Ce:LaB3O6 (LBO) glass, whose constituents are abundant elements and fabrication is easy and cheap, is found to be a promising thermoluminescence (TL) dosimeter. This is originally achieved by CeF3 doping and melting under a reducing atmosphere, with the optimum concentration of 0.1% (quantum efficiency = 66%). The corresponding Ce interatomic distance is ~ 4 nm, below which concentration quenching occurs via Ce dipole-dipole interaction, as elucidated experimentally by Dexter’s theory. Ce:LBO exhibits a good dose resolution, with a linear dependence covering five orders of magnitude on both irradiation-dose and TL-response. Furthermore, it can be cyclically irradiated and read without degradation.

Ultrahigh Permittivity, Ultralow Loss and Stability in (In0.5Ta0.5)0.1Ti0.9O2 Ceramics With Temperature Range From -100 to 235 °C

Dielectric materials with excellent dielectric properties are being promoted in requirements of microelectronic devices. In this study, (In0.5Ta0.5)0.1Ti0.9O2 ceramics were achieved by a solid-state reaction with reducing atmosphere of N2. Also, dense microstructure, ultrahigh permittivity (εr = 1.18 × 105) and ultralow dielectric loss (tanδ = 0.0072) were demonstrated at1 kHz. Interestingly enough, the temperature coefficient of permittivity which satisfies X9D (-100 °C - 235 °C, Δεr/ε25°C < ± 3.3 %) maintained stability at 1 kHz, and the dielectric mechanism could be connected to the electron-pinned defect dipoles (EPDD), which has favourable potential applications in electronic devices.

Effect of Atmospheres on Transformation of Heavy Metals during Thermal Treatment of MSWI Fly Ash: By Thermodynamic Equilibrium Calculation

The vaporization behaviors of eight heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Co, Mn, and Ni) in municipal solid wastes incineration (MSWI) fly ash during thermal treatment under air atmosphere (21% O2/79% N2), an inert atmosphere (100% N2), and a reducing atmosphere (50% CO/50% N2) were evaluated based on a thermodynamic equilibrium calculation by FactSage 8.1. The results show that the reducing atmosphere promotes the melting of MSWI fly ash, resulting in a more liquid phase than in air or an inert atmosphere. Except for Cd, the formation of liquids can dissolve heavy metals and reduce their vaporization ratio. In the air and inert atmospheres, Pb, Zn, Cu, Co, Mn, and Ni vaporize mainly in the form of metallic chlorides, while Cd volatilizes in the form of metallic Cd (g) and CdO (g). In the reducing atmosphere, Co, Mn, and Ni still vaporize as chlorides. Zn and Cd mainly vaporize in the form of Zn (g) and Cd (g), respectively. In terms of Pb, in addition to its chlorides, the volatiles of Pb contain some Pb (g) and PbS (g). Cr has a low vaporization ratio, accounting for 2.4% of the air atmosphere. Cr, on the other hand, readily reacts with Ca to form water-soluble CrCaO4, potentially increasing Cr leaching. Except for Cd, the results of this study suggest that the reducing atmosphere is used for the thermal treatment of MSWI fly ash because it promotes the melting of fly ash and thus prevents heavy metal vaporization.

Effect of thermochemical treatments on laser-induced luminescence spectra from strontium titanate: comparison with swift ion-beam irradiation experiments

Results recently reported on the effect of thermochemical treatments on the (He-Cd) laser-excited emission spectra of strontium titanate (STO) are re-analyzed here and compared with results obtained under ion-beam irradiation. Contributing bands centered at 2.4 eV and 2.8 eV, which appear under laser excitation, present intensities dependent upon previous thermal treatments in oxidizing (O2) or reducing atmosphere (H2). As a key result, the emission band centered at 2.8 eV is clearly enhanced in samples exposed to a reducing atmosphere. From a comparison with the ionoluminescence data, it is concluded that the laser-excited experiments can be rationalized within a framework developed from ion-beam excitation studies. In particular, the band at 2.8 eV, sometimes attributed to oxygen vacancies, behaves as expected for optical transitions from conduction-band (CB) states to the ground state level of the self-trapped exciton center. The band at 2.0 eV reported in ion-beam irradiated STO, and attributed to oxygen vacancies, is not observed in laser-excited crystals. As a consequence of our analysis, a consistent scheme of electronic energy levels and optical transitions can now be reliably offered for strontium titanate. Graphical abstract

Can Ultra-fast High Temperature Sintering (UHS) Boost Transparency of Alumina?

Established routes for consolidation of transparent alumina ceramics by pressure-less sintering requires several hours of dwelling in a reducing atmosphere at a temperature exceeding 1600 ℃. Here, for the first time, we report on low temperature and ultrafast consolidation of translucent alumina ceramics. Transparency was promoted by the synergistic of high initial green density (62.7 %) and rapid sintering using Ultra-fast High Temperature Sintering (UHS) technique. The proposed approach, using a heating rate of 430 ℃/min and dwelling time of 15 minutes, resulted in ultra-fine-grained translucent alumina ceramics at 1359 ± 57 ℃ with a grain size of 0.39 µm, and an in-line transmittance of 28.7 % at a wavelength of 700 nm. For comparison, conventionally fired counterparts were opaque due to their incomplete densification, pore coalescence.

Coloring of Bi4Ge3O12 – Mn crystals induced by electric field

The effect of the direct electric field on the optical transmittance of Bi4Ge3O12 single crystals doped with Mn is studied in the mode of using asymmetric contacts when only one electrode (Ag or In-Ga) is injected. It is found that changes in the optical transmittance spectra under the action of unipolar injection of electrons and holes are different. They also differ from the case of using symmetrical electrodes (double injection mode). The optimal temperature and field conditions for electrochromic coloring are determined from the correspondence between the manifestations of the electrochromic effect in Bi4Ge3O12 ─ Mn crystals and the current-voltage characteristics. It is shown that the maximum effect is achieved by injecting holes into a Bi4Ge3O12 ─ Mn sample annealed in a reducing atmosphere.