Overgrowth of Single Crystal Diamond Using Defect-Selective Etching and Epitaxy Technique in Chemical Vapor Deposition

In this study, we demonstrated the defect-selective etching and epitaxy technique for defect reduction of a heteroepitaxial chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond substrate. First, an 8 nm layer of nickel was deposited on the diamond surface using an e-beam evaporator. Then, defect-selective etching was conducted through an in situ single process using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD). After defect-selective etching, the diamond layer was overgrown by MPCVD. The defect density measured from the atomic force microscope image decreased from 3.27×108 to 2.02×108 cm−2. The first-order Raman peak of diamond shifted from 1340 to 1336 cm−1, and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) decreased from 9.66 to 7.66 cm−1. Through the defect-selective etching and epitaxy technique, it was confirmed that the compressive stress was reduced and the crystal quality improved.

Reconstruction of Atomic Force Microscope Image Using Estimated Tip Shape from Impulse Response Technique

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is the useful tool for measuring the micro fabricated devices. Measuring sample surface with AFM, tip-induced distortions are serious problem for accurate measurement. In order to overcome this problem, many studies are reported to reconstruct surface image to original sample surface. We studied method of reconstruction technique of the AFM image by using estimated 3-D tip shape from the impulse response technique. To reconstruct the image of the sample surface, we used a morphological reconstruction process. We demonstrated how to obtain the 3-D tip from the using impulse response technique and then how to reconstruct the 3-D AFM image using estimated tip shape.

Comparison of Etch Pit Shapes on Off-Oriented 4H-SiC Using Different Halogen Gases

An etch pit shape of off-angled 4H-SiC Si-face formed by different halogen gases such as chlorine trifluoride (ClF3) and a mixed gas (O2+Cl2) of oxygen and chlorine in nitrogen (N2) ambience has been studied. One kind of etch pit with the crooked hexagon was formed at etching temperature under 500oC. The angle of etch pit measured by the cross-sectional atomic force microscope image was about 10o from the [11-20] view. A dislocation type of the etch pit was discussed in comparison with the etch pit shape and an X-ray topography image.

Investigation of Nano/Microcrystalline Diamond Composite Films for Thermal Applications

A newly developed nano/microcrystalline diamond composite film for thermal applications was prepared in this investigation. A microcrystalline diamond (MCD) film was deposited onto silicon substrate by hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) method, and then a nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) film was grown onto this MCD film to obtain a NCD/MCD composite film. The root-mean-square (RMS) value of surface roughness for the composite film estimated from the atomic force microscope image was 42.7nm. Compared with 85.9nm for the MCD film. And it was also found that the thermal diffusivity increased from 32.61mm2/s to 37.63mm2/s by further growing a NCD film. Results indicated that the deposition of NCD film reduced the rough surface of the MCD film with grain sizes of the order of microns, and thus increased the efficiency of diamond films as thermal spreading device. It was found that the NCD/MCD composite film had a smoother surface and a higher thermal diffusivity compared with MCD film.

AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells grown by using atomic layer deposition technique

ABSTRACTIn this work, we report on the growth of ultraviolet (UV) AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) structure using atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. The AlGaN/GaN MQW sample grown on the sapphire substrate consisted of three GaN QWs and four AlGaN barriers comprised AlN/GaN superlattices (SLs). The root-mean-square value of the surface morphology was only 0.35 nm observed from the atomic force microscope image and no crack was found on the surface. Both of the high resolution X-ray diffraction curves and transmission electron microscope images showed sharp interfaces between SLs layers and QWs with good periodicity. These results demonstrate that the ALD could be a very useful technique for controlling the crystalline quality and thickness of the III-nitride epilayer.

Formation of Gold Nanowires on MgO Surfaces

ABSTRACTGold nanowires were fabricated on the stepped MgO (100) surfaces. The stepped MgO (100) surfaces were produced by polishing (100) surfaces at an inclined angle ∼1° toward a [110] direction. An atomic force microscope image indicates that gold nanowires have grown at the steps on MgO (100) surface with a height of ∼ 2 nm and a width of ∼60 nm.