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At least 19 records

Rapid Annealing Of Amorphous Hydrogenated Carbon

Report describes experiments to determine effects of rapid annealing on films of amorphous hydrogenated carbon. Study represents first efforts to provide information for applications of a-C:H films where rapid thermal processing required. Major finding, annealing causes abrupt increase in absorption and concomitant decrease in optical band gap. Most of change occurs during first 20 s, continues during longer annealing times. Extend of change increases with annealing temperature. Researchers hypothesize abrupt initial change caused by loss of hydrogen, while gradual subsequent change due to polymerization of remaining carbon into crystallites or sheets of graphite. Optical band gaps of unannealed specimens on silicon substrates lower than those of specimens on quartz substrates.

Alterovitz, Samuel A.↗

Chemical nature of silicon nitride-indium phosphide interface and rapid thermal annealing for InP MISFETs

A rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process in pure N2 or pure H2 was developed for ion-implanted and encapsulated indium phosphide compound semiconductors, and the chemical nature at the silicon nitride-InP interface before and after RTA was examined using XPS. Results obtained from SIMS on the atomic concentration profiles of the implanted silicon in InP before and after RTA are presented, together with electrical characteristics of the annealed implants. Using the RTA process developed, InP metal-insulator semiconductor FETs (MISFETS) were fabricated. The MISFETS prepared had threshold voltages of +1 V, transconductance of 27 mS/mm, peak channel mobility of 1200 sq cm/V per sec, and drain current drift of only 7 percent.

Biedenbender, M. D.↗

Rapid thermal annealing of indium phosphide compound semiconductors

The rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of indium phosphide (InP) substrates using a proximity contact method and silicon nitride encapsulation is investigated. The surface conditions of the InP substrates following cleaning with procedures A and B are analyzed. Procedure A involves using an iodic acid solution to remove work-damage InP surface layers and B is a degasssing process and hydrofluoric acid solution for native oxide removal. AES, XPS, and SIMS data of the proximity contact and silicon nitride encapsulated annealed samples are examined. The data reveal that RTA using proximity contact with silicon wafers does not provide adequate protection; however, the InP sample is successfully annealed when protected by a silicon nitride encapsulant.

Biedenbender, Michael D.↗

Raman scattering from rapid thermally annealed tungsten silicide

Raman scattering as a technique for studying the formation of tungsten silicide is presented. The tungsten silicide films have been formed by rapid thermal annealing of thin tungsten films sputter deposited on silicon substrates. The Raman data are interpreted by using data from resistivity measurements, Auger and Rutherford backscattering measurements, and scanning electron microscopy.

Kumar, Sandeep↗

Rapid Selective Annealing of Cu Thin Films on Si Using Microwaves

A major goal of the semiconductor indurstry is to lower the processing temperatures needed for interconnects in silicon integrated circuits. Typical rapid thermal annealing processes heat the film as well as the substrate, creating device problems.

silicon integrated circuits microwave thin films↗

Rapid thermal annealing of Amorphous Hydrogenated Carbon (a-C:H) films

Amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) films were deposited on silicon and quartz substrates by a 30 kHz plasma discharge technique using methane. Rapid thermal processing of the films was accomplished in nitrogen gas using tungsten halogen light. The rapid thermal processing was done at several fixed temperatures (up to 600 C), as a function of time (up to 1800 sec). The films were characterized by optical absorption and by ellipsometry in the near UV and the visible. The bandgap, estimated from extrapolation of the linear part of a Tauc plot, decreases both with the annealing temperature and the annealing time, with the temperature dependence being the dominating factor. The density of states parameter increases up to 25 percent and the refractive index changes up to 20 percent with temperature increase. Possible explanations of the mechanisms involved in these processes are discussed.

Alterovitz, Samuel A.↗

Annealing of electron damage in mid-IR transmitting fluoride glass

Damage in ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3 glass induced by high-energy electrons was studied by ESR and optical spectroscopy. An optical absorption band at 314 nm in the irradiated glass annealed rapidly above about 50 C, probably by a second-order reaction at room temperature; the ESR lines annealed very slowly at room temperature.

Bansal, Narottam P.↗

Thermal annealing of radiation damage in CMOS ICs in the temperature range -140 C to +375 C

Annealing of radiation damage was investigated in the commercial, Z- and J-processes of the RCA CD4007A ICs in the temperature range from -140 C to +375 C. Tempering curves were analyzed for activation energies of thermal annealing, following irradiation at -140 C. It was found that at -140 C, the radiation-induced shifts in the threshold potentials were similar for all three processes. The radiation hardness of the Z- and J-process is primarily due to rapid annealing of radiation damage at room temperature. In the region -140 to 20 C, no dopant-dependent charge trapping is seen, similar to that observed at higher temperatures. In the unbiased Z-process n-channels, after 1 MeV electron irradiation, considerable negative charge remains in the gate oxide.

Danchenko, V.↗

Annual Conference on Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects, 15th, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N. Mex., July 18-21, 1978, Proceedings

Radiation effects in MOS devices and circuits are considered along with radiation effects in materials, space radiation effects and spacecraft charging, SGEMP, IEMP, EMP, fabrication of radiation-hardened devices, radiation effects in bipolar devices and circuits, simulation, energy deposition, and dosimetry. Attention is given to the rapid anneal of radiation-induced silicon-sapphire interface charge trapping, cosmic ray induced errors in MOS memory cells, a simple model for predicting radiation effects in MOS devices, the response of MNOS capacitors to ionizing radiation at 80 K, trapping effects in irradiated and avalanche-injected MOS capacitors, inelastic interactions of electrons with polystyrene, the photoelectron spectral yields generated by monochromatic soft X radiation, and electron transport in reactor materials.

Simons, M.↗

The condensation and vaporization behavior of ices containing SO2, H2S, and CO2: Implications for Io

In an extension of previously reported work on ices containing CO, CO2, H2O, CH3OH, NH3, and H2, measurements of the physical and infrared spectral properties of ices containing molecules relevant to Jupiter's moon Io are presented. These include studies on ice systems containing SO2, H2S, and CO2. The condensation and sublimation behaviors of each ice system and surface binding energies of their components are discussed. The surface binding energies can be used to calculate the residence times of the molecules on a surface as a function of temperature and thus represent important parameters for any calculation that attempts to model the transport of these molecules on Io's surface. The derived values indicate that SO2 frosts on Io are likely to anneal rapidly, resulting in less fluffy, 'glassy' ices and that H2S can be trapped in the SO2 ices of Io during night-time hours provided that SO2 deposition rates are on the order of 5 micrometers/hr or larger.

Sandford, Scott A.↗

Microstructural and magnetic characterization of rapidly solidified and annealed Pt-Co-B alloys

Significant increases in intrinsic coercivity (Hic) of Pt-Co alloys have been obtained by the addition of boron and the application of rapid solidification processing. After rapid solidification by double anvil splat quenching with subsequent annealing at 650 C for 30 min, an alloy of Pt42Co45B13 exhibits an Hic as high as 14 kOe. Annealing of the Pt-Co-B influences the L1(0) superlattice structure and grain size of the matrix, the crystal structure and size of Co-boride precipitate, and the distribution of magnetic domain walls. A microstructural analysis shows that the maximum H(ic) occurs when Co borides, having the Co3B structure, are within the single magnetic domain size. The magnetic hardening mechanism in Pt-Co-B is believed to be a combination of inhibited magnetic domain nucleation and difficult reverse magnetic domain growth caused by the interaction of the magnetically anisotropic Co borides with the L1(0) Pt-Co matrix.

Qiu, N.↗

A comparison of FeO-rich, porphyritic olivine chondrules in unequilibrated chondrites and experimental analogues

Experimentally produced analogues of porphyritic olivine (PO) chondrules in ordinary chondrites provide an important insight into chondrule formation processes. We have studied experimental samples with PO textures grown at three different cooling rates (2, 5 and 100 C/h), and samples that have been annealed at high temperatures (1000-1200 C) subsequent to cooling. These are compared with natural chondrules of similar composition and texture from the ordinary chondrites Semarkona (LL3.0) and ALH 81251 (LL3.3). Zoning properties of olivine grains indicate that the Semarkona chondrules cooled at comparable rates to the experiments. Zoning in olivine from chondrules in ALH 81251 is not consistent with cooling alone but indicates that the chondrules underwent an annealing process. Chromium loss from olivine is very rapid during annealing and calculated diffusion coefficients for Cr in olivine are very similar to those of Fe-Mg interdiffusion coefficients under the same conditions. Annealed experimental samples contain an aluminous, low-Ca pyroxene which forms by reaction of olivine and liquid. No similar reaction texture is observed in ALH 81251 chondrules, and this may be evidence that annealing of the natural samples took place at considerably lower temperatures than the experimental analogues. The study supports the model of chondrule formation in a cool nebula and metamorphism of partly equilibrated chondrites during reheating episodes on the chondrite parent bodies.

Jones, Rhian H.↗

Models of Rapid Solidification

Laser annealing studies provide much information on various consequences of rapid solidification, including the trapping of impurities in the crystal, the generation of vacancies and twins, and on the fundamental limits to the speed of the crystal-melt interface. Some results obtained by molecular dynamics methods of the solidification of a Lennard-Jones liquid are reviewed. An indication of the relationship of interface speed to undercooling for certain materials can be derived from this model. Ising model simulations of impurity trapping in silicon are compared with some of the laser annealing results. The consequences of interface segregation and atomic strain are discussed.

Gilmer, G. H.↗

Laser annealing of amorphous/poly: Silicon solar cell material flight experiment

The preliminary design proposed for the microelectronics materials processing equipment is presented. An overall mission profile, description of all processing steps, analysis methods and measurement techniques, data acquisition and storage, and a preview of the experimental hardware are included. The goal of the project is to investigate the viability of material processing of semiconductor microelectronics materials in a micro-gravity environment. The two key processes are examined: (1) Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) of semiconductor thin films and damaged solar cells, and (2) thin film deposition using a filament evaporator. The RTA process will be used to obtain higher quality crystalline properties from amorphous/poly-silicon films. RTA methods can also be used to repair radiation-damaged solar cells. On earth this technique is commonly used to anneal semiconductor films after ion-implantation. The damage to the crystal lattice is similar to the defects found in solar cells which have been exposed to high-energy particle bombardment.

Cole, Eric E.↗

Carbon doping in molecular beam epitaxy of GaAs from a heated graphite filament

Carbon doping of GaAs grown by molecular beam epitaxy has been obtained for the first time by use of a heated graphite filament. Controlled carbon acceptor concentrations over the range of 10 to the 17th-10 to the 20th/cu cm were achieved by resistively heating a graphite filament with a direct current power supply. Capacitance-voltage, p/n junction and secondary-ion mass spectrometry measurements indicate that there is negligible diffusion of carbon during growth and with postgrowth rapid thermal annealing. Carbon was used for p-type doping in the base of Npn AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors. Current gains greater than 100 and near-ideal emitter heterojunctions were obtained in transistors with a carbon base doping of 1 x 10 to the 19th/cu cm. These preliminary results indicate that carbon doping from a solid graphite source may be an attractive substitute for beryllium, which is known to have a relatively high diffusion coefficient in GaAs.

Malik, R. J.↗

Ion-implanted high microwave power indium phosphide transistors

Encapsulated rapid thermal annealing (RTA) has been used in the fabrication of InP power MISFETs with ion-implanted source, drain, and active-channel regions. The MISFETs had a gate length of 1.4 microns. Six to ten gate fingers per device, with individual gate finger widths of 100 or 125 microns, were used to make MISFETs with total gate widths of 0.75, 0.8, or 1 mm. The source and drain contact regions and the channel region of the MISFETs were fabricated using Si implants in InP at energies from 60 to 360 keV with doses of (1-560) x 10 to the 12th/sq cm. The implants were activated using RTA at 700 C for 30 sec in N2 or H2 ambients using an Si3N4 encapsulant. The high-power high-efficiency MISFETs were characterized at 9.7 GHz, and the output microwave power density for the RTA conditions used was as high as 2.4 W/mm. For a 1-W input at 9.7 GHz gains up to 3.7 dB were observed, with an associated power-added efficiency of 29 percent and output power density 70 percent greater than that of GaAs MESFETs.

Biedenbender, Michael D.↗

Photoreflectance and DLTS evaluation of plasma-induced damage in GaAs and InP prior to solar cell fabrication

The effect is considered of plasma etching on both GaAs and InP followed by damage removal using rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Effects of these processes were studied by photoreflectance spectroscopy (PR) and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). These techniques are useful in evaluation of wafers prior to and effects of plasma processing during solar cell fabrication.

He, L.↗

Microwave properties of peeled HEMT devices sapphire substrates

The focus of this research is to demonstrate the first full radio frequency characterization of high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) device parameters. The results of this research are used in the design of circuits with peeled HEMT devices, e.g. 10 GHz amplifiers. Devices were fabricated using two HEMT structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy methods. A 500 A AlAs release layer for 'peel off' was included under the active layers of the structure. The structures are a homogeneously doped Al(0.3)GA(0.7)As/GaAs and a delta doped square well Al(.23)Ga(.77)As/GaAs HEMT structure. Devices were fabricated using a mesa isolation process. Contacts were done by sequentially evaporating Au/Ge/Au/Ni/Au followed by rapid thermal anneal at 400 C for 15 seconds. Gates were wet etch recessed and 1 to 1.4 micron Ti/Au gate metal was deposited. Devices were peeled off the GaAs substrate using Apiezon wax to support the active layer and a HF:DI (1:10) solution to remove the AlAs separation layer. Devices were then attached to sapphire substrates using van der Waals bonding.

Young, Paul G.↗