Porous-shaped silicon carbide ultraviolet photodetectors on porous silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naderi, N.; Hashim, M.R.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Porous-shaped silicon carbide thin film was deposited on porous silicon substrate. ► Thermal annealing was followed to enhance the physical properties of samples. ► Metal–semiconductor-metal ultraviolet detectors were fabricated on samples. ► The effect of annealing temperature on electrical performance of devices was studied. ► The efficiency of photodetectors was enhanced by annealing at elevated temperatures. -- Abstract: A metal–semiconductor-metal (MSM) ultraviolet photodetector was fabricated based on a porous-shaped structure of silicon carbide (SiC). For increasing the surface roughness of SiC and hence enhancing the light absorption effect in fabricated devices, porous silicon (PS) was chosen as a template; SiC was deposited on PS substrates via radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Therefore, the deposited layers followed the structural pattern of PS skeleton and formed a porous-shaped SiC layer on PS substrate. The structural properties of samples showed that the as-deposited SiC was amorphous. Thus, a post-deposition annealing process with elevated temperatures was required to convert its amorphous phase to crystalline phase. The morphology of the sputtered samples was examined via scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. The grain size and roughness of the deposited layers clearly increased upon an increase in the annealing temperature. The optical properties of sputtered SiC were enhanced due to applying high temperatures. The most intense photoluminescence peak was observed for the sample with 1200 °C of annealing temperature. For the metallization of the SiC substrates to fabricate MSM photodetectors, two interdigitated Schottky contacts of Ni with four fingers for each electrode were deposited onto all the porous substrates. The optoelectronic characteristics of MSM UV photodetectors with porous-shaped SiC substrates were studied in the dark and under UV illumination. The electrical characteristics of fabricated

Solution growth of microcrystalline silicon on amorphous substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heimburger, Robert

2010-07-05

material is proposed. MoSi{sub 2} thin films on glass, produced by annealing near-stoichiometric Mo-Si multilayers, are shown to resist solution contact. Subsequent investigation of feasibility of the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism revealed the success of indium microdroplet formation to be determined by both, the multilayer deposition parameters and the substrate temperature during indium deposition. Steady-state solution growth at 610 C was utilized to enlarge silicon seed crystals to diameters of up to 200 {mu}m. The grown material has been subject of characterization regarding the crystallinity, orientation and purity. Additionally, morphological anomalies are considered. The outgrown material was found to be bound by {l_brace}111{r_brace} facets. Many of these microcrystallites contain at least two twin domains. Twin-assisted growth at formed re-entrant edges promotes high growth rates even at low supersaturation. Additionally, many crystallites exhibit hoppers at the center of their facets. This is explained by a solute concentration inhomogeneity within the diffusion boundary layer of the nutrient solution leading to solute depletion at the facet centers and to morphological instability. The feasibility of the process for growth of microcrystalline silicon on glass has been shown in principle. Nevertheless, limitations exist regarding the achievable crystalline solidity ratio and the size of crystallites grown under stable conditions. (orig.)

Optimization and characterization of biomolecule immobilization on silicon substrates using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and glutaraldehyde linker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunda, Naga Siva Kumar; Singh, Minashree; Norman, Lana; Kaur, Kamaljit; Mitra, Sushanta K.

2014-01-01

In the present work, we developed and optimized a technique to produce a thin, stable silane layer on silicon substrate in a controlled environment using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES). The effect of APTES concentration and silanization time on the formation of silane layer is studied using spectroscopic ellipsometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Biomolecules of interest are immobilized on optimized silane layer formed silicon substrates using glutaraldehyde linker. Surface analytical techniques such as ellipsometry, FTIR, contact angle measurement system, and atomic force microscopy are employed to characterize the bio-chemically modified silicon surfaces at each step of the biomolecule immobilization process. It is observed that a uniform, homogenous and highly dense layer of biomolecules are immobilized with optimized silane layer on the silicon substrate. The developed immobilization method is successfully implemented on different silicon substrates (flat and pillar). Also, different types of biomolecules such as anti-human IgG (rabbit monoclonal to human IgG), Listeria monocytogenes, myoglobin and dengue capture antibodies were successfully immobilized. Further, standard sandwich immunoassay (antibody–antigen–antibody) is employed on respective capture antibody coated silicon substrates. Fluorescence microscopy is used to detect the respective FITC tagged detection antibodies bound to the surface after immunoassay.

Optimization and characterization of biomolecule immobilization on silicon substrates using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and glutaraldehyde linker

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gunda, Naga Siva Kumar [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2G8 (Canada); Singh, Minashree [Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 1C9 (Canada); Norman, Lana [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2V4 (Canada); Kaur, Kamaljit [Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 1C9 (Canada); Mitra, Sushanta K., E-mail: sushanta.mitra@ualberta.ca [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2G8 (Canada)

2014-06-01

In the present work, we developed and optimized a technique to produce a thin, stable silane layer on silicon substrate in a controlled environment using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES). The effect of APTES concentration and silanization time on the formation of silane layer is studied using spectroscopic ellipsometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Biomolecules of interest are immobilized on optimized silane layer formed silicon substrates using glutaraldehyde linker. Surface analytical techniques such as ellipsometry, FTIR, contact angle measurement system, and atomic force microscopy are employed to characterize the bio-chemically modified silicon surfaces at each step of the biomolecule immobilization process. It is observed that a uniform, homogenous and highly dense layer of biomolecules are immobilized with optimized silane layer on the silicon substrate. The developed immobilization method is successfully implemented on different silicon substrates (flat and pillar). Also, different types of biomolecules such as anti-human IgG (rabbit monoclonal to human IgG), Listeria monocytogenes, myoglobin and dengue capture antibodies were successfully immobilized. Further, standard sandwich immunoassay (antibody–antigen–antibody) is employed on respective capture antibody coated silicon substrates. Fluorescence microscopy is used to detect the respective FITC tagged detection antibodies bound to the surface after immunoassay.

Influence of substrate and film thickness on polymer LIPSS formation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cui, Jing; Nogales, Aurora; Ezquerra, Tiberio A. [Instituto de Estructura de la Materia (IEM-CSIC), Serrano 121, Madrid 28006 (Spain); Rebollar, Esther, E-mail: e.rebollar@csic.es [Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano (IQFR-CSIC), Serrano 119, Madrid 28006 (Spain)

2017-02-01

Highlights: • The estimation of temperature upon pulse accumulation shows that a small positive offset is caused by each individual pulse. • Number of pulses needed for LIPSS formation in PS thin films depends on polymer thickness. • Thermal conductivity and diffusivity of supporting substrate influence the onset for LIPSS formation and their quality. • Quality of LIPSS is affected by the substrate optical properties. - Abstract: Here we focus on the influence of both, substrate and film thickness on polymer Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS) formation in polymer films. For this aim a morphological description of ripples structures generated on spin-coated polystyrene (PS) films by a linearly polarized laser beam with a wavelength of 266 nm is presented. The influence of different parameters on the quality and characteristics of the formed laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) was investigated. We found that well-ordered LIPSS are formed either on PS films thinner than 200 nm or thicker than 400 nm supported on silicon substrates as well as on thicker free standing films. However less-ordered ripples are formed on silicon supported films with intermediate thicknesses in the range of 200–380 nm. The effect of the thermal and optical properties of the substrate on the quality of LIPSS was analyzed. Differences observed in the fluence and number of pulses needed for the onset of surface morphological modifications is explained considering two main effects which are: (1) The temperature increase on polymer surface induced by the action of cumulative laser irradiation and (2) The differences in thermal conductivity between the polymer and the substrate which strongly affect the heat dissipation generated by irradiation.

Biofunctionalization on Alkylated Silicon Substrate Surfaces via “Click” Chemistry

OpenAIRE

Qin, Guoting; Santos, Catherine; Zhang, Wen; Li, Yan; Kumar, Amit; Erasquin, Uriel J.; Liu, Kai; Muradov, Pavel; Trautner, Barbara Wells; Cai, Chengzhi

2010-01-01

Biofunctionalization of silicon substrates is important to the development of silicon-based biosensors and devices. Compared to conventional organosiloxane films on silicon oxide intermediate layers, organic monolayers directly bound to the non-oxidized silicon substrates via Si-C bonds enhance the sensitivity of detection and the stability against hydrolytic cleavage. Such monolayers presenting a high density of terminal alkynyl groups for bioconjugation via copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne 1,3...

Dewetting and deposition of thin films with insoluble surfactants from curved silicone hydrogel substrates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bhamla, M.S.; Balemans, C.; Fuller, G.G.

2015-01-01

We investigate the stabilizing effect of insoluble surfactant monolayers on thin aqueous films. We first describe an experimental platform that enables the formation of aqueous films laden with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) monolayers on curved silicone hydrogel (SiHy) substrates. We show

Formation of nanocrystals embedded in a silicon nitride film at a low temperature ({<=}200 deg. C)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Kyoung-Min; Kim, Tae-Hwan [Department of Nano Science and Technology, University of Seoul, Seoul 130-743 (Korea, Republic of); Hong, Wan-Shick [Department of Nano Science and Technology, University of Seoul, Seoul 130-743 (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: wshong@uos.ac.kr

2008-12-15

Silicon-rich silicon nitride films with embedded silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) were fabricated successfully on plastic substrates at a low temperature by catalytic chemical vapor deposition. A mixture of SiH{sub 4}, NH{sub 3} and H{sub 2} was used as a source gas. Formation of the silicon nanocrystals was analyzed by photoluminescence spectra and was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The formation of Si NCs required an H{sub 2}/SiH{sub 4} mixture ratio that was higher than four.

Effects of varying oxygen partial pressure on molten silicon-ceramic substrate interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Ownby, D. P.; Barsoum, M. W.

1980-01-01

The silicon sessile drop contact angle was measured on hot pressed silicon nitride, silicon nitride coated on hot pressed silicon nitride, silicon carbon coated on graphite, and on Sialon to determine the degree to which silicon wets these substances. The post-sessile drop experiment samples were sectioned and photomicrographs were taken of the silicon-substrate interface to observe the degree of surface dissolution and degradation. Of these materials, silicon did not form a true sessile drop on the SiC on graphite due to infiltration of the silicon through the SiC coating, nor on the Sialon due to the formation of a more-or-less rigid coating on the liquid silicon. The most wetting was obtained on the coated Si3N4 with a value of 42 deg. The oxygen concentrations in a silicon ribbon furnace and in a sessile drop furnace were measured using the protable thoria-yttria solid solution electrolyte oxygen sensor. Oxygen partial pressures of 10 to the minus 7 power atm and 10 to the minus 8 power atm were obtained at the two facilities. These measurements are believed to represent nonequilibrium conditions.

Formation of SiC using low energy CO2 ion implantation in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sari, A.H.; Ghorbani, S.; Dorranian, D.; Azadfar, P.; Hojabri, A.R.; Ghoranneviss, M.

2008-01-01

Carbon dioxide ions with 29 keV energy were implanted into (4 0 0) high-purity p-type silicon wafers at nearly room temperature and doses in the range between 1 x 10 16 and 3 x 10 18 ions/cm 2 . X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) was used to characterize the formation of SiC in implanted Si substrate. The formation of SiC and its crystalline structure obtained from above mentioned technique. Topographical changes induced on silicon surface, grains and evaluation of them at different doses observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Infrared reflectance (IR) and Raman scattering measurements were used to reconfirm the formation of SiC in implanted Si substrate. The electrical properties of implanted samples measured by four point probe technique. The results show that implantation of carbon dioxide ions directly leads to formation of 15R-SiC. By increasing the implantation dose a significant changes were also observed on roughness and sheet resistivity properties.

The effect of silicon crystallographic orientation on the formation of silicon nanoclusters during anodic electrochemical etching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Timokhov, D. F.; Timokhov, F. P.

2009-01-01

Possible ways for increasing the photoluminescence quantum yield of porous silicon layers have been investigated. The effect of the anodization parameters on the photoluminescence properties for porous silicon layers formed on silicon substrates with different crystallographic orientations was studied. The average diameters for silicon nanoclusters are calculated from the photoluminescence spectra of porous silicon. The influence of the substrate crystallographic orientation on the photoluminescence quantum yield of porous silicon is revealed. A model explaining the effect of the substrate orientation on the photoluminescence properties for the porous silicon layers formed by anode electrochemical etching is proposed.

High quality silicon-based substrates for microwave and millimeter wave passive circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Belaroussi, Y.; Rack, M.; Saadi, A. A.; Scheen, G.; Belaroussi, M. T.; Trabelsi, M.; Raskin, J.-P.

2017-09-01

Porous silicon substrate is very promising for next generation wireless communication requiring the avoidance of high-frequency losses originating from the bulk silicon. In this work, new variants of porous silicon (PSi) substrates have been introduced. Through an experimental RF performance, the proposed PSi substrates have been compared with different silicon-based substrates, namely, standard silicon (Std), trap-rich (TR) and high resistivity (HR). All of the mentioned substrates have been fabricated where identical samples of CPW lines have been integrated on. The new PSi substrates have shown successful reduction in the substrate's effective relative permittivity to values as low as 3.7 and great increase in the substrate's effective resistivity to values higher than 7 kΩ cm. As a concept proof, a mm-wave bandpass filter (MBPF) centred at 27 GHz has been integrated on the investigated substrates. Compared with the conventional MBPF implemented on standard silicon-based substrates, the measured S-parameters of the PSi-based MBPF have shown high filtering performance, such as a reduction in insertion loss and an enhancement of the filter selectivity, with the joy of having the same filter performance by varying the temperature. Therefore, the efficiency of the proposed PSi substrates has been well highlighted. From 1994 to 1995, she was assistant of physics at (USTHB), Algiers . From 1998 to 2011, she was a Researcher at characterization laboratory in ionized media and laser division at the Advanced Technologies Development Center. She has integrated the Analog Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits team as Researcher since 2011 until now in Microelectronic and Nanotechnology Division at Advanced Technologies Development Center (CDTA), Algiers. She has been working towards her Ph.D. degree jointly at CDTA and Ecole Nationale Polytechnique, Algiers, since 2012. Her research interest includes fabrication and characterization of microwave passive devices on porous

Selective formation of porous silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Fathauer, Robert W. (Inventor); Jones, Eric W. (Inventor)

1993-01-01

A pattern of porous silicon is produced in the surface of a silicon substrate by forming a pattern of crystal defects in said surface, preferably by applying an ion milling beam through openings in a photoresist layer to the surface, and then exposing said surface to a stain etchant, such as HF:HNO3:H2O. The defected crystal will preferentially etch to form a pattern of porous silicon. When the amorphous content of the porous silicon exceeds 70 percent, the porous silicon pattern emits visible light at room temperature.

Annealing behavior of oxygen in-diffusion from SiO2 film to silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abe, T.; Yamada-Kaneta, H.

2004-01-01

Diffusion behavior of oxygen at (near) the Si/SiO 2 interface was investigated. We first oxidized the floating-zone-grown silicon substrates, and then annealed the SiO 2 -covered substrates in an argon ambient. We examined two different conditions for oxidation: wet and dry oxidation. By the secondary-ion-mass spectrometry, we measured the depth profiles of the oxygen in-diffusion of these heat-treated silicon substrates: We found that the energy of dissolution (in-diffusion) of an oxygen atom that dominates the oxygen concentration at the Si/SiO 2 interface depends on the oxidation condition: 2.0 and 1.7 eV for wet and dry oxidation, respectively. We also found that the barrier heights for the oxygen diffusion in argon anneal were significantly different for different ambients adopted for the SiO 2 formation: 3.3 and 1.8 eV for wet and dry oxidation, respectively. These findings suggest that the microscopic behavior of the oxygen atoms at the Si/SiO 2 interface during the argon anneal depends on the ambient adopted for the SiO 2 formation

Mechanically flexible optically transparent porous mono-crystalline silicon substrate

KAUST Repository

Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto; Syed, Ahad A.; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2012-01-01

For the first time, we present a simple process to fabricate a thin (≥5μm), mechanically flexible, optically transparent, porous mono-crystalline silicon substrate. Relying only on reactive ion etching steps, we are able to controllably peel off a thin layer of the original substrate. This scheme is cost favorable as it uses a low-cost silicon <100> wafer and furthermore it has the potential for recycling the remaining part of the wafer that otherwise would be lost and wasted during conventional back-grinding process. Due to its porosity, it shows see-through transparency and potential for flexible membrane applications, neural probing and such. Our process can offer flexible, transparent silicon from post high-thermal budget processed device wafer to retain the high performance electronics on flexible substrates. © 2012 IEEE.

Dual-side and three-dimensional microelectrode arrays fabricated from ultra-thin silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du, Jiangang; Masmanidis, Sotiris C; Roukes, Michael L

2009-01-01

A method for fabricating planar implantable microelectrode arrays was demonstrated using a process that relied on ultra-thin silicon substrates, which ranged in thickness from 25 to 50 µm. The challenge of handling these fragile materials was met via a temporary substrate support mechanism. In order to compensate for putative electrical shielding of extracellular neuronal fields, separately addressable electrode arrays were defined on each side of the silicon device. Deep reactive ion etching was employed to create sharp implantable shafts with lengths of up to 5 mm. The devices were flip-chip bonded onto printed circuit boards (PCBs) by means of an anisotropic conductive adhesive film. This scalable assembly technique enabled three-dimensional (3D) integration through formation of stacks of multiple silicon and PCB layers. Simulations and measurements of microelectrode noise appear to suggest that low impedance surfaces, which could be formed by electrodeposition of gold or other materials, are required to ensure an optimal signal-to-noise ratio as well a low level of interchannel crosstalk

Non-agglomerated silicon nanoparticles on (0 0 1) silicon substrate formed by PLA and their photoluminescence properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Jun; Tu Hailing; Wang Lei

2009-01-01

In this work, non-agglomerated silicon nanoparticles formed on Si(0 0 1) substrate were synthesized by pulsed laser ablation (PLA) and their photoluminescence (PL) properties were studied. The controllable parameters in PLA process include mainly pulsed laser energy, target-to-substrate distance and buffer gas pressure. In particular, the effect of buffer gas pressure on the formation of non-agglomerated and size-controlled silicon nanoparticles has been discussed. The results show that non-agglomerated and size-controlled silicon nanoparticles can be fabricated with particle size in the range of 2-10 nm when Ar buffer gas pressure was varied from 50 to 10 Pa. Most of these nanoparticles are in form of single crystal with less surface oxidation in the as-deposited samples. The PL peak positions are located at 581-615 nm for Si nanoparticles with size of 2-10 nm. When exposed to air for up to 60 days, the core/shell structure of Si nanoparticles would be formed, which in turn could be responsible for the blue shift of PL peak position. Pt noble metal coating has passivation effect for surface stabilization of Si nanoparticles and shows relatively satisfied time-stability of PL intensity. These results suggest that the Si nanoparticles prepared by PLA have a large potential for the fabrication of optically active photonic devices based on the Si technology.

Characterization of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on silicon substrate comparative with polymer substrate for Escherichia coli O157:H7 detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moldovan, Carmen; Mihailescu, Carmen; Stan, Dana; Ruta, Lavinia; Iosub, Rodica; Gavrila, Raluca; Purica, Munizer; Vasilica, Schiopu

2009-01-01

This article presents the characterization of two substrates, silicon and polymer coated with gold, that are functionalized by mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in order to efficiently immobilize the anti-Escherichia coli O157:H7 polyclonal purified antibody. A biosurface functionalized by SAMs (self-assembled monolayers) technique has been developed. Immobilization of goat anti-E. coli O157:H7 antibody was performed by covalently bonding of thiolate mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) realized on two substrates: polymer coated with gold and silicon coated with gold. The F(ab') 2 fragments of the antibodies have been used for eliminating nonspecific bindings between the Fc portions of antibodies and the Fc receptor on cells. The properties of the monolayers and the biofilm formatted with attached antibody molecules were analyzed at each step using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). In our study the gold-coated silicon substrates approach yielded the best results. These experimental results revealed the necessity to investigate each stage of the immobilization process taking into account in the same time the factors that influence the chemistry of the surface and the further interactions as well and also provide a solid basis for further studies aiming at elaborating sensitive and specific immunosensor or a microarray for the detection of E. coli O157:H7.

Characterization of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on silicon substrate comparative with polymer substrate for Escherichia coli O157:H7 detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moldovan, Carmen, E-mail: carmen.moldovan@imt.ro [National Institute for R and D in Microtechnologies, IMT-Bucharest, 126A Erou Iancu Nicolae, 077190 Bucharest (Romania); Mihailescu, Carmen, E-mail: carmen_mihail28@yahoo.com [University of Bucharest, 90-92 Sos Panduri, Bucharest (Romania); Stan, Dana, E-mail: dana_stan2005@yahoo.com [DDS Diagnostic, 1 Segovia Street, Bucharest (Romania); Ruta, Lavinia, E-mail: laviniacoco@yahoo.com [University of Bucharest, 90-92 Sos Panduri, Bucharest (Romania); Iosub, Rodica, E-mail: rodica.iosub@imt.ro [National Institute for R and D in Microtechnologies, IMT-Bucharest, 126A Erou Iancu Nicolae, 077190 Bucharest (Romania); Gavrila, Raluca, E-mail: raluca.gavrila@imt.ro [National Institute for R and D in Microtechnologies, IMT-Bucharest, 126A Erou Iancu Nicolae, 077190 Bucharest (Romania); Purica, Munizer, E-mail: munizer.purica@imt.ro [National Institute for R and D in Microtechnologies, IMT-Bucharest, 126A Erou Iancu Nicolae, 077190 Bucharest (Romania); Vasilica, Schiopu, E-mail: vasilica.schiopu@imt.ro [National Institute for R and D in Microtechnologies, IMT-Bucharest, 126A Erou Iancu Nicolae, 077190 Bucharest (Romania)

2009-08-30

This article presents the characterization of two substrates, silicon and polymer coated with gold, that are functionalized by mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in order to efficiently immobilize the anti-Escherichia coli O157:H7 polyclonal purified antibody. A biosurface functionalized by SAMs (self-assembled monolayers) technique has been developed. Immobilization of goat anti-E. coli O157:H7 antibody was performed by covalently bonding of thiolate mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) realized on two substrates: polymer coated with gold and silicon coated with gold. The F(ab'){sub 2} fragments of the antibodies have been used for eliminating nonspecific bindings between the Fc portions of antibodies and the Fc receptor on cells. The properties of the monolayers and the biofilm formatted with attached antibody molecules were analyzed at each step using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). In our study the gold-coated silicon substrates approach yielded the best results. These experimental results revealed the necessity to investigate each stage of the immobilization process taking into account in the same time the factors that influence the chemistry of the surface and the further interactions as well and also provide a solid basis for further studies aiming at elaborating sensitive and specific immunosensor or a microarray for the detection of E. coli O157:H7.

The tensile effect on crack formation in single crystal silicon irradiated by intense pulsed ion beam

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Guoying; Shen, Jie; Zhang, Jie; Zhong, Haowen; Cui, Xiaojun; Yan, Sha; Zhang, Xiaofu; Yu, Xiao; Le, Xiaoyun

2017-10-01

Improving antifatigue performance of silicon substrate is very important for the development of semiconductor industry. The cracking behavior of silicon under intense pulsed ion beam irradiation was studied by numerical simulation in order to understand the mechanism of induced surface peeling observed by experimental means. Using molecular dynamics simulation based on Stillinger Weber potential, tensile effect on crack growth and propagation in single crystal silicon was investigated. Simulation results reveal that stress-strain curves of single crystal silicon at a constant strain rate can be divided into three stages, which are not similar to metal stress-strain curves; different tensile load velocities induce difference of single silicon crack formation speed; the layered stress results in crack formation in single crystal silicon. It is concluded that the crack growth and propagation is more sensitive to strain rate, tensile load velocity, stress distribution in single crystal silicon.

ZnO nanocoral reef grown on porous silicon substrates without catalyst

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdulgafour, H.I.; Yam, F.K.; Hassan, Z.; AL-Heuseen, K.; Jawad, M.J.

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → Porous silicon (PS) technology is utilized to grow coral reef-like ZnO nanostructures on the surface of Si substrates. → Flower-like aligned ZnO nanorods are fabricated directly onto the silicon substrates through zinc powder evaporation using a simple thermal evaporation method without a catalyst for comparison. → The PL spectra show that for ZnO nanocoral reefs the UV emission shifts slightly towards lower frequency. → This non-catalyst growth technique on the rough surface of substrates may have potential applications in the fabrication of nanoelectronic and nanooptical devices. - Abstract: Porous silicon (PS) technology is utilized to grow coral reef-like ZnO nanostructures on the surface of Si substrates with rough morphology. Flower-like aligned ZnO nanorods are also fabricated directly onto the silicon substrates through zinc powder evaporation using a simple thermal evaporation method without a catalyst for comparison. The characteristics of these nanostructures are investigated using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, grazing-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence (PL) measurements of structures grown on both Si and porous Si substrates. The texture coefficient obtained from the XRD spectra indicates that the coral reef-like nanostructures are highly oriented on the porous silicon substrate with decreasing nanorods length and diameter from 800-900 nm to 3.5-5.5 μm and from 217-229 nm to 0.6-0.7 μm, respectively. The PL spectra show that for ZnO nanocoral reefs the UV emission shifts slightly towards lower frequency and the intensity increase with the improvement of ZnO crystallization. This non-catalyst growth technique on the rough surface of substrates may have potential applications in the fabrication of nanoelectronic and nanooptical devices.

ZnO nanocoral reef grown on porous silicon substrates without catalyst

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abdulgafour, H.I., E-mail: hind_alshaikh@yahoo.com [School of Physics, University Sains Malaysia 11800 Penang (Malaysia); Yam, F.K.; Hassan, Z.; AL-Heuseen, K.; Jawad, M.J. [School of Physics, University Sains Malaysia 11800 Penang (Malaysia)

2011-05-05

Research highlights: > Porous silicon (PS) technology is utilized to grow coral reef-like ZnO nanostructures on the surface of Si substrates. > Flower-like aligned ZnO nanorods are fabricated directly onto the silicon substrates through zinc powder evaporation using a simple thermal evaporation method without a catalyst for comparison. > The PL spectra show that for ZnO nanocoral reefs the UV emission shifts slightly towards lower frequency. > This non-catalyst growth technique on the rough surface of substrates may have potential applications in the fabrication of nanoelectronic and nanooptical devices. - Abstract: Porous silicon (PS) technology is utilized to grow coral reef-like ZnO nanostructures on the surface of Si substrates with rough morphology. Flower-like aligned ZnO nanorods are also fabricated directly onto the silicon substrates through zinc powder evaporation using a simple thermal evaporation method without a catalyst for comparison. The characteristics of these nanostructures are investigated using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, grazing-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence (PL) measurements of structures grown on both Si and porous Si substrates. The texture coefficient obtained from the XRD spectra indicates that the coral reef-like nanostructures are highly oriented on the porous silicon substrate with decreasing nanorods length and diameter from 800-900 nm to 3.5-5.5 {mu}m and from 217-229 nm to 0.6-0.7 {mu}m, respectively. The PL spectra show that for ZnO nanocoral reefs the UV emission shifts slightly towards lower frequency and the intensity increase with the improvement of ZnO crystallization. This non-catalyst growth technique on the rough surface of substrates may have potential applications in the fabrication of nanoelectronic and nanooptical devices.

Formation of multiple levels of porous silicon for buried insulators and conductors in silicon device technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Blewer, Robert S.; Gullinger, Terry R.; Kelly, Michael J.; Tsao, Sylvia S.

1991-01-01

A method of forming a multiple level porous silicon substrate for semiconductor integrated circuits including anodizing non-porous silicon layers of a multi-layer silicon substrate to form multiple levels of porous silicon. At least one porous silicon layer is then oxidized to form an insulating layer and at least one other layer of porous silicon beneath the insulating layer is metallized to form a buried conductive layer. Preferably the insulating layer and conductive layer are separated by an anodization barrier formed of non-porous silicon. By etching through the anodization barrier and subsequently forming a metallized conductive layer, a fully or partially insulated buried conductor may be fabricated under single crystal silicon.

Heterogenous integration of a thin-film GaAs photodetector and a microfluidic device on a silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Fuchuan; Xiao, Jing; Udawala, Fidaali; Seo, Sang-Woo

2011-01-01

In this paper, heterogeneous integration of a III–V semiconductor thin-film photodetector (PD) with a microfluidic device is demonstrated on a SiO 2 –Si substrate. Thin-film format of optical devices provides an intimate integration of optical functions with microfluidic devices. As a demonstration of a multi-material and functional system, the biphasic flow structure in the polymeric microfluidic channels was co-integrated with a III–V semiconductor thin-film PD. The fluorescent drops formed in the microfluidic device are successfully detected with an integrated thin-film PD on a silicon substrate. The proposed three-dimensional integration structure is an alternative approach to combine optical functions with microfluidic functions on silicon-based electronic functions.

Indium-bump-free antimonide superlattice membrane detectors on silicon substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zamiri, M., E-mail: mzamiri@chtm.unm.edu, E-mail: skrishna@chtm.unm.edu; Klein, B.; Schuler-Sandy, T.; Dahiya, V.; Cavallo, F. [Center for High Technology Materials, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 (United States); Myers, S. [SKINfrared, LLC, Lobo Venture Lab, 801 University Blvd., Suite 10, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 (United States); Krishna, S., E-mail: mzamiri@chtm.unm.edu, E-mail: skrishna@chtm.unm.edu [Center for High Technology Materials, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 (United States); SKINfrared, LLC, Lobo Venture Lab, 801 University Blvd., Suite 10, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 (United States)

2016-02-29

We present an approach to realize antimonide superlattices on silicon substrates without using conventional Indium-bump hybridization. In this approach, PIN superlattices are grown on top of a 60 nm Al{sub 0.6}Ga{sub 0.4}Sb sacrificial layer on a GaSb host substrate. Following the growth, the individual pixels are transferred using our epitaxial-lift off technique, which consists of a wet-etch to undercut the pixels followed by a dry-stamp process to transfer the pixels to a silicon substrate prepared with a gold layer. Structural and optical characterization of the transferred pixels was done using an optical microscope, scanning electron microscopy, and photoluminescence. The interface between the transferred pixels and the new substrate was abrupt, and no significant degradation in the optical quality was observed. An Indium-bump-free membrane detector was then fabricated using this approach. Spectral response measurements provided a 100% cut-off wavelength of 4.3 μm at 77 K. The performance of the membrane detector was compared to a control detector on the as-grown substrate. The membrane detector was limited by surface leakage current. The proposed approach could pave the way for wafer-level integration of photonic detectors on silicon substrates, which could dramatically reduce the cost of these detectors.

Design and Fabrication of Silicon-on-Silicon-Carbide Substrates and Power Devices for Space Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gammon P.M.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A new generation of power electronic semiconductor devices are being developed for the benefit of space and terrestrial harsh-environment applications. 200-600 V lateral transistors and diodes are being fabricated in a thin layer of silicon (Si wafer bonded to silicon carbide (SiC. This novel silicon-on-silicon-carbide (Si/SiC substrate solution promises to combine the benefits of silicon-on-insulator (SOI technology (i.e device confinement, radiation tolerance, high and low temperature performance with that of SiC (i.e. high thermal conductivity, radiation hardness, high temperature performance. Details of a process are given that produces thin films of silicon 1, 2 and 5 μm thick on semi-insulating 4H-SiC. Simulations of the hybrid Si/SiC substrate show that the high thermal conductivity of the SiC offers a junction-to-case temperature ca. 4× less that an equivalent SOI device; reducing the effects of self-heating, and allowing much greater power density. Extensive electrical simulations are used to optimise a 600 V laterally diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (LDMOSFET implemented entirely within the silicon thin film, and highlight the differences between Si/SiC and SOI solutions.

Investigation on nonlinear optical properties of MoS2 nanoflakes grown on silicon and quartz substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Bayesteh, Samaneh; Zahra Mortazavi, Seyedeh; Reyhani, Ali

2018-05-01

In this study, MoS2 nanoflakes were directly grown on different substrates—Si/SiO2 and quartz—by one-step thermal chemical vapor deposition using MoO3 and sulfide powders as precursors. Scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction patterns demonstrated the formation of MoS2 structures on both substrates. Moreover, UV-visible and photoluminescence analysis confirmed the formation of MoS2 few-layer structures. According to Raman spectroscopy, by assessment of the line width and frequency shift differences between the and A 1g, it was inferred that the MoS2 grown on the silicon substrate was monolayer and that grown on the quartz substrate was multilayer. In addition, open-aperture and close-aperture Z-scan techniques were employed to study the nonlinear optical properties including nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction of the grown MoS2. All experiments were performed using a diode laser with a wavelength of 532 nm as the light source. It is noticeable that both samples demonstrate obvious self-defocusing behavior. The monolayer MoS2 grown on the silicon substrate displayed considerable two-photon absorption while, the multilayer MoS2 synthesized on the quartz exhibited saturable absorption. In general, few-layered MoS2 would be useful for the development of nanophotonic devices like optical limiters, optical switchers, etc.

Formation of aluminum films on silicon by ion beam deposition: a comparison with ionized cluster beam deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuhr, R.A.; Haynes, T.E.; Galloway, M.D.; Tanaka, S.; Yamada, A.; Yamada, I.

1991-01-01

The direct ion beam deposition (IBD) technique has been used to study the formation of oriented aluminum films on single crystal silicon substrates. In the IBD process, thin film growth is accomplished by decelerating a magnetically analyzed ion beam to low energies (10-200 eV) for direct deposition onto the substrate under UHV conditions. The aluminum-on-silicon system is one which has been studied extensively by ionized cluster beam (ICB) deposition. This technique has produced intriguing results for aluminum, with oriented crystalline films being formed at room temperature in spite of the 25% mismatch in lattice constant between aluminum and silicon. In this work, we have studied the formation of such films by IBD, with emphasis on the effects of ion energy, substrate temperature, and surface cleanliness. Oriented films have been grown on Si(111) at temperatures from 40 to 300degC and with ion energies of 30-120 eV per ion. Completed films were analyzed by ion scattering, X-ray diffraction, scanning-electron microscopy, and optical microscopy. Results achieved for thin films grown by IBD are comparable to those for similar films grown by ICB deposition. (orig.)

Fabrication of High-Frequency pMUT Arrays on Silicon Substrates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Thomas; Zawada, Tomasz; Hansen, Karsten

2010-01-01

A novel technique based on silicon micromachining for fabrication of linear arrays of high-frequency piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducers (pMUT) is presented. Piezoelectric elements are formed by deposition of lead zirconia titanate into etched features of a silicon substrate...

Electrical leakage phenomenon in heteroepitaxial cubic silicon carbide on silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Pradeepkumar, Aiswarya; Zielinski, Marcin; Bosi, Matteo; Verzellesi, Giovanni; Gaskill, D. Kurt; Iacopi, Francesca

2018-06-01

Heteroepitaxial 3C-SiC films on silicon substrates are of technological interest as enablers to integrate the excellent electrical, electronic, mechanical, thermal, and epitaxial properties of bulk silicon carbide into well-established silicon technologies. One critical bottleneck of this integration is the establishment of a stable and reliable electronic junction at the heteroepitaxial interface of the n-type SiC with the silicon substrate. We have thus investigated in detail the electrical and transport properties of heteroepitaxial cubic silicon carbide films grown via different methods on low-doped and high-resistivity silicon substrates by using van der Pauw Hall and transfer length measurements as test vehicles. We have found that Si and C intermixing upon or after growth, particularly by the diffusion of carbon into the silicon matrix, creates extensive interstitial carbon traps and hampers the formation of a stable rectifying or insulating junction at the SiC/Si interface. Although a reliable p-n junction may not be realistic in the SiC/Si system, we can achieve, from a point of view of the electrical isolation of in-plane SiC structures, leakage suppression through the substrate by using a high-resistivity silicon substrate coupled with deep recess etching in between the SiC structures.

Multifunctional epitaxial systems on silicon substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singamaneni, Srinivasa Rao, E-mail: ssingam@ncsu.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Materials Science Division, Army Research Office, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 (United States); Department of Physics, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968 (United States); Prater, John Thomas [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States); Materials Science Division, Army Research Office, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 (United States); Narayan, Jagdish [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States)

2016-09-15

Multifunctional heterostructures can exhibit a wide range of functional properties, including colossal magneto-resistance, magnetocaloric, and multiferroic behavior, and can display interesting physical phenomena including spin and charge ordering and strong spin-orbit coupling. However, putting this functionality to work remains a challenge. To date, most of the work reported in the literature has dealt with heterostructures deposited onto closely lattice matched insulating substrates such as DyScO{sub 3}, SrTiO{sub 3} (STO), or STO buffered Si(100) using concepts of lattice matching epitaxy (LME). However, strain in heterostructures grown by LME is typically not fully relaxed and the layers contain detrimental defects such as threading dislocations that can significantly degrade the physical properties of the films and adversely affect the device characteristics. In addition, most of the substrates are incompatible with existing CMOS-based technology, where Si (100) substrates dominate. This review discusses recent advances in the integration of multifunctional oxide and non-oxide materials onto silicon substrates. An alternative thin film growth approach, called “domain matching epitaxy,” is presented which identifies approaches for minimizing lattice strain and unwanted defects in large misfit systems (7%–25% and higher). This approach broadly allows for the integration of multifunctional materials onto silicon substrates, such that sensing, computation, and response functions can be combined to produce next generation “smart” devices. In general, pulsed laser deposition has been used to epitaxially grow these materials, although the concepts developed here can be extended to other deposition techniques, as well. It will be shown that TiN and yttria-stabilized zirconia template layers provide promising platforms for the integration of new functionality into silicon-based computer chips. This review paper reports on a number of thin

Intrinsic gettering of nickel impuriy deep levels in silicon substrate ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The intrinsic gettering of nickel impurity in p-type silicon substrate has been investigated. The density of electrically active nickel in intentionally contaminated silicon was determined before and after oxygen precipitation by means of resistivity measurements. These data, coupled with minority carrier lifetime and infrared ...

Selective growth of carbon nanotube on silicon substrates

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZOU Xiao-ping; H. ABE; T. SHIMIZU; A. ANDO; H. TOKUMOT; ZHU Shen-ming; ZHOU Hao-shen

2006-01-01

The carbon nanotube (CNT) growth of iron oxide-deposited trench-patterns and the locally-ordered CNT arrays on silicon substrate were achieved by simple thermal chemical vapor deposition(STCVD) of ethanol vapor. The CNTs were uniformly synthesized with good selectivity on trench-patterned silicon substrates. This fabrication process is compatible with currently used semiconductor-processing technologies,and the carbon-nanotube fabrication process can be widely applied for the development of electronic devices using carbon-nanotube field emitters as cold cathodes and can revolutionize the area of field-emitting electronic devices. The site-selective growth of CNT from an iron oxide nanoparticle catalyst patterned were also achieved by drying-mediated self-assembly technique. The present method offers a simple and cost-effective method to grow carbon nanotubes with self-assembled patterns.

Vapor phase epitaxy of silicon on meso porous silicon for deposition on economical substrate and low cost photovoltaic application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quoizola, S.

2003-01-01

The silicon is more and more used in the industry. Meanwhile the production cost is a problem to solve to develop the photovoltaic cells production. This thesis presents a new technology based on the use of a meso-porous silicon upper layer,to grow the active silicon layer of 50 μm width. The photovoltaic cell is then realized, the device is removed and placed on a low cost substrate. The silicon substrate of beginning can be used again after cleaning. The first chapter presents the operating and the characteristics of the silicon photovoltaic cell. The second chapter is devoted to the growth technique, the vapor phase epitaxy, and the third chapter to the epitaxy layer. The chapter four deals with the porous silicon and the structure chosen in this study. The chapter five is devoted to the characterization of the epitaxy layer on porous silicon. The photovoltaic cells realized on these layers are presented in the last chapter. (A.L.B.)

Thin Single Crystal Silicon Solar Cells on Ceramic Substrates: November 2009 - November 2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, A.; Ravi, K. V.

2011-06-01

In this program we have been developing a technology for fabricating thin (< 50 micrometres) single crystal silicon wafers on foreign substrates. We reverse the conventional approach of depositing or forming silicon on foreign substrates by depositing or forming thick (200 to 400 micrometres) ceramic materials on high quality single crystal silicon films ~ 50 micrometres thick. Our key innovation is the fabrication of thin, refractory, and self-adhering 'handling layers or substrates' on thin epitaxial silicon films in-situ, from powder precursors obtained from low cost raw materials. This 'handling layer' has sufficient strength for device and module processing and fabrication. Successful production of full sized (125 mm X 125 mm) silicon on ceramic wafers with 50 micrometre thick single crystal silicon has been achieved and device process flow developed for solar cell fabrication. Impurity transfer from the ceramic to the silicon during the elevated temperature consolidation process has resulted in very low minority carrier lifetimes and resulting low cell efficiencies. Detailed analysis of minority carrier lifetime, metals analysis and device characterization have been done. A full sized solar cell efficiency of 8% has been demonstrated.

Non-silicon substrate bonding mediated by poly(dimethylsiloxane) interfacial coating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Hainan [Department of BioNano Technology, Gachon University, Gyeonggi-do 461-701 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Nae Yoon, E-mail: nylee@gachon.ac.kr [Department of BioNano Technology, Gachon University, Gyeonggi-do 461-701 (Korea, Republic of); Gachon Medical Research Institute, Gil Medical Center, Inchon 405-760 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-02-01

Graphical abstract: Low-molecular-weight PDMS coating on the surfaces of non-silicon substrates such as thermoplastics ensures permanent sealing with a silicone elastomer, PDMS, simply by surface oxidization followed by ambient condition bonding, mediated by a robust siloxane bond formation at the interface. - Highlights: • Non-silicon thermoplastic was bonded with poly(dimethylsiloxane) silicone elastomer. • Low-molecular-weight PDMS interfacial layer was chemically coated on thermoplastic. • Bonding was realized by corona treatment and physical contact under ambient condition. • Bonding is universally applicable regardless of thermoplastic type and property. • Homogeneous PDMS-like microchannel was obtained inside the thermoplastic-PDMS microdevice. - Abstract: In this paper, we introduce a simple and robust strategy for bonding poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) with various thermoplastic substrates to fabricate a thermoplastic-based closed microfluidic device and examine the feasibility of using the proposed method for realizing plastic–plastic bonding. The proposed bonding strategy was realized by first coating amine functionality on an oxidized thermoplastic surface. Next, the amine-functionalized surface was reacted with a monolayer of low-molecular-weight PDMS, terminated with epoxy functionality, by forming a robust amine-epoxy bond. Both the PDMS-coated thermoplastic and PDMS were then oxidized and permanently assembled at 25 °C under a pressure of 0.1 MPa for 15 min, resulting in PDMS-like surfaces on all four inner walls of the microchannel. Surface characterizations were conducted, including water contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and fluorescence measurement, to confirm the successful coating of the thin PDMS layer on the plastic surface, and the bond strength was analyzed by conducting a peel test, burst test, and leakage test. Using the proposed method, we could successfully bond various thermoplastics such

Effect of the substrate orientation on the formation of He-plates in Si

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vallet, M.; Barbot, J. F.; Declémy, A.; Beaufort, M. F.; Reboh, S.

2013-01-01

The effect of the crystalline orientation on the implantation-induced strain/stress and on the formation of He-plates was studied by combining high-resolution X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy. The highest strains are obtained in (001)-oriented implanted substrates regardless of the fluence and of the channeling effects. The anisotropic properties of the silicon that generate an anisotropic elastic response of the substrate were taken into account to explain these different values of strain. Upon specific thermal annealing, it is shown that the formation of He-plates occurs only in the (001) habit planes regardless of the orientation of the substrates, non-tilted and tilted (001)-, (110)-, and (111)-substrates. Moreover, the distribution of He-plates in the (001) variants was found to be strongly dependent on the angle of the habit plane with the surface and on the intensity of the implantation-induced strain/stress. The implantation-induced stress thus favors the formation of He-plates in specific planes (of low angle with the surface) forming different defect configurations. The nucleation and growth of He-plates are thus discussed with regard to the implantation-induced stress

Substrate and p-layer effects on polymorphous silicon solar cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abolmasov S.N.

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The influence of textured transparent conducting oxide (TCO substrate and p-layer on the performance of single-junction hydrogenated polymorphous silicon (pm-Si:H solar cells has been addressed. Comparative studies were performed using p-i-n devices with identical i/n-layers and back reflectors fabricated on textured Asahi U-type fluorine-doped SnO2, low-pressure chemical vapor deposited (LPCVD boron-doped ZnO and sputtered/etched aluminum-doped ZnO substrates. The p-layers were hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbon and microcrystalline silicon oxide. As expected, the type of TCO and p-layer both have a great influence on the initial conversion efficiency of the solar cells. However they have no effect on the defect density of the pm-Si:H absorber layer.

Spectroellipsometric detection of silicon substrate damage caused by radiofrequency sputtering of niobium oxide

Science.gov (United States)

Lohner, Tivadar; Serényi, Miklós; Szilágyi, Edit; Zolnai, Zsolt; Czigány, Zsolt; Khánh, Nguyen Quoc; Petrik, Péter; Fried, Miklós

2017-11-01

Substrate surface damage induced by deposition of metal atoms by radiofrequency (rf) sputtering or ion beam sputtering onto single-crystalline silicon (c-Si) surface has been characterized earlier by electrical measurements. The question arises whether it is possible to characterize surface damage using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). In our experiments niobium oxide layers were deposited by rf sputtering on c-Si substrates in gas mixture of oxygen and argon. Multiple angle of incidence spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements were performed, a four-layer optical model (surface roughness layer, niobium oxide layer, native silicon oxide layer and ion implantation-amorphized silicon [i-a-Si] layer on a c-Si substrate) was created in order to evaluate the spectra. The evaluations yielded thicknesses of several nm for the i-a-Si layer. Better agreement could be achieved between the measured and the generated spectra by inserting a mixed layer (with components of c-Si and i-a-Si applying the effective medium approximation) between the silicon oxide layer and the c-Si substrate. High depth resolution Rutherford backscattering (RBS) measurements were performed to investigate the interface disorder between the deposited niobium oxide layer and the c-Si substrate. Atomic resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy investigation was applied to visualize the details of the damaged subsurface region of the substrate.

Formation of nanosize poly(p-phenylene vinylene) in porous silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Rendu, P.; Nguyen, T.P.; Cheah, K.; Joubert, P.

2003-01-01

We report the results of optical investigations in porous silicon (PS)/poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) systems obtained by filling the pores of silicon wafers with polymer. By scanning electron microscopy (SEM), IR, and Raman spectroscopy, we observed that the porous silicon layer was thoroughly filled by the polymer with no significant change in the structure of the materials. This suggests that there is no interaction between the components. On the other hand, the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the devices investigated at different temperatures (from 11 to 290 K) showed that both materials are active at low temperatures. Porous silicon has a band located at 398 nm while PPV has two bands at 528 and 570 nm. As the temperature increases, the PL intensity of porous silicon decreases and that PPV is blue shifted. A new band emerging at 473 nm may indicate an energy transfer from the porous silicon to PPV, involving short segments of the polymer. The band of PPV located at 515 nm becomes more dominant and indicates that the nanosize polymer films are formed in the pores of the silicon layer, in agreement with the results obtained by SEM, IR, and Raman analyses

A CMOS-compatible silicon substrate optimization technique and its application in radio frequency crosstalk isolation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Chen; Liao Huailin; Huang Ru; Wang Yangyuan

2008-01-01

In this paper, a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible silicon substrate optimization technique is proposed to achieve effective isolation. The selective growth of porous silicon is used to effectively suppress the substrate crosstalk. The isolation structures are fabricated in standard CMOS process and then this post-CMOS substrate optimization technique is carried out to greatly improve the performances of crosstalk isolation. Three-dimensional electro-magnetic simulation is implemented to verify the obvious effect of our substrate optimization technique. The morphologies and growth condition of porous silicon fabricated have been investigated in detail. Furthermore, a thick selectively grown porous silicon (SGPS) trench for crosstalk isolation has been formed and about 20dB improvement in substrate isolation is achieved. These results demonstrate that our post-CMOS SGPS technique is very promising for RF IC applications. (cross-disciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Formation of iron disilicide on amorphous silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Erlesand, U.; Östling, M.; Bodén, K.

1991-11-01

Thin films of iron disilicide, β-FeSi 2 were formed on both amorphous silicon and on crystalline silicon. The β-phase is reported to be semiconducting with a direct band-gap of about 0.85-0.89 eV. This phase is known to form via a nucleation-controlled growth process on crystalline silicon and as a consequence a rather rough silicon/silicide interface is usually formed. In order to improve the interface a bilayer structure of amorphous silicon and iron was sequentially deposited on Czochralski silicon in an e-gun evaporation system. Secondary ion mass spectrometry profiling (SIMS) and scanning electron micrographs revealed an improvement of the interface sharpness. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and X-ray diffractiometry showed β-FeSi 2 formation already at 525°C. It was also observed that the silicide growth was diffusion-controlled, similar to what has been reported for example in the formation of NiSi 2 for the reaction of nickel on amorphous silicon. The kinetics of the FeSi 2 formation in the temperature range 525-625°C was studied by RBS and the activation energy was found to be 1.5 ± 0.1 eV.

Intercalation of metals and silicon at the interface of epitaxial graphene and its substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Li; Xu Wen-Yan; Que Yan-De; Mao Jin-Hai; Meng Lei; Pan Li-Da; Li Geng; Wang Ye-Liang; Du Shi-Xuan; Gao Hong-Jun; Liu Yun-Qi

2013-01-01

Intercalations of metals and silicon between epitaxial graphene and its substrates are reviewed. For metal intercalation, seven different metals have been successfully intercalated at the interface of graphene/Ru(0001) and form different intercalated structures. Meanwhile, graphene maintains its original high quality after the intercalation and shows features of weakened interaction with the substrate. For silicon intercalation, two systems, graphene on Ru(0001) and on Ir(111), have been investigated. In both cases, graphene preserves its high quality and regains its original superlative properties after the silicon intercalation. More importantly, we demonstrate that thicker silicon layers can be intercalated at the interface, which allows the atomic control of the distance between graphene and the metal substrates. These results show the great potential of the intercalation method as a non-damaging approach to decouple epitaxial graphene from its substrates and even form a dielectric layer for future electronic applications. (topical review - low-dimensional nanostructures and devices)

Fabrication and characterization of surface barrier detector from commercial silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Fabio Eduardo da; Silva, Julio Batista Rodrigues da

2015-01-01

This work used 5 silicon substrates, n-type with resistivity between 500-20,000 Ω.cm, with 12 mm diameter and 1 mm thickness, from Wacker - Chemitronic, Germany. To produce the surface barrier detectors, the substrates were first cleaned, then, they were etched with HNO 3 solution. After this, a deposition of suitable materials on the crystal was made, to produce the desired population inversion of the crystal characteristics. The substrates received a 10 mm diameter gold contact in one of the surfaces and a 5 mm diameter aluminum in the other. The curves I x V and the energy spectra for 28 keV and 59 keV, for each of the produced detectors, were measured. From the 5 substrates, 4 of them resulted in detectors and one did not present even diode characteristics. The results showed that the procedures used are suitable to produce detectors with this type of silicon substrates. (author)

Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) active pixel sensors with the photosite implemented in the substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Xinyu (Inventor); Pain, Bedabrata (Inventor)

2005-01-01

Active pixel sensors for a high quality imager are fabricated using a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process by integrating the photodetectors on the SOI substrate and forming pixel readout transistors on the SOI thin-film. The technique can include forming silicon islands on a buried insulator layer disposed on a silicon substrate and selectively etching away the buried insulator layer over a region of the substrate to define a photodetector area. Dopants of a first conductivity type are implanted to form a signal node in the photodetector area and to form simultaneously drain/source regions for a first transistor in at least a first one of the silicon islands. Dopants of a second conductivity type are implanted to form drain/source regions for a second transistor in at least a second one of the silicon islands. Isolation rings around the photodetector also can be formed when dopants of the second conductivity type are implanted. Interconnections among the transistors and the photodetector are provided to allow signals sensed by the photodetector to be read out via the transistors formed on the silicon islands.

Growth of carbon nanotubes by Fe-catalyzed chemical vapor processes on silicon-based substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Angelucci, Renato; Rizzoli, Rita; Vinciguerra, Vincenzo; Fortuna Bevilacqua, Maria; Guerri, Sergio; Corticelli, Franco; Passini, Mara

2007-03-01

In this paper, a site-selective catalytic chemical vapor deposition synthesis of carbon nanotubes on silicon-based substrates has been developed in order to get horizontally oriented nanotubes for field effect transistors and other electronic devices. Properly micro-fabricated silicon oxide and polysilicon structures have been used as substrates. Iron nanoparticles have been obtained both from a thin Fe film evaporated by e-gun and from iron nitrate solutions accurately dispersed on the substrates. Single-walled nanotubes with diameters as small as 1 nm, bridging polysilicon and silicon dioxide “pillars”, have been grown. The morphology and structure of CNTs have been characterized by SEM, AFM and Raman spectroscopy.

Characterization of electron beam evaporated carbon films and compound formation on titanium and silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luthin, J.; Linsmeier, C.

2001-01-01

The formation of carbon-based mixed materials is unavoidable on the plasma-facing components (e.g. first wall and divertor) of fusion devices when carbon is used together with other materials. On the surfaces of these components very different conditions with respect to particle and energy impact occur. To predict the mixed material formation under these conditions the precise knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms governing these interactions is essential. In this paper we present the results of carbon interaction with titanium and silicon, as model substances for metallic and covalent carbides, during thermal treatment. To perform basic studies of the reactions of carbon with different elements, thin carbon films are produced by electron beam evaporation on the different substrates under UHV conditions. All measurements for chemical analysis are performed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). We discuss first the properties of the deposited carbon films. The carbon films are characterized on inert gold surfaces and are compared to bulk graphite. Annealing of the carbon films up to 970 K leads to a transition from a disordered carbon network into a graphitic structure. Preparation of carbon films at room temperature on titanium or silicon leads to a limited carbide formation at the carbon/substrate interface. Carbon deposited in excess of several monolayers is present in elementary form. Annealing of the samples leads to complete carbidization consuming the available carbon in both cases. Titanium reacts to TiC and additional substoichiometric carbide, silicon forms SiC with exact stoichiometry. (orig.)

Evaluation of substrate noise suppression method to mitigate crosstalk among trough-silicon vias

Science.gov (United States)

Araga, Yuuki; Kikuchi, Katsuya; Aoyagi, Masahiro

2018-04-01

Substrate noise from a single through-silicon via (TSV) and the noise attenuation by a substrate tap and a guard ring are clarified. A CMOS test vehicle is designed, and 6-µm-diameter TSVs are manufactured on a 20-µm-thick silicon substrate by the via-last method. An on-chip waveform-capturing circuitry is embedded in the test vehicle to capture transient waveforms of substrate noise. The embedded waveform-capturing circuitry demonstrates small and local noise propagation. Experimental results show increased substrate noise level induced by TSVs and the effectiveness of the substrate tap and guard ring for mitigating the crosstalk among TSVs. An analytical model to explain substrate noise propagation is developed to validate experimental results. Results obtained using the substrate model with a multilayer mesh shows good consistency with experimental results, indicating that the model can be used for examination of noise suppression methods.

Dewetting and deposition of thin films with insoluble surfactants from curved silicone hydrogel substrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhamla, M Saad; Balemans, Caroline; Fuller, Gerald G

2015-07-01

We investigate the stabilizing effect of insoluble surfactant monolayers on thin aqueous films. We first describe an experimental platform that enables the formation of aqueous films laden with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) monolayers on curved silicone hydrogel (SiHy) substrates. We show that these surfactant layers extend the lifetime of the aqueous films. The films eventually "dewet" by the nucleation and growth of dry areas and the onset of this dewetting can be controlled by the surface rheology of the DPPC layer. We thus demonstrate that increasing the interfacial rheology of the DPPC layer leads to stable films that delay dewetting. We also show that dewetting can be exploited to controllably pattern the underlying curved SiHy substrates with DPPC layers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Formation and properties of porous silicon layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vitanov, P.; Kamenova, M.; Dimova-Malinovska, D.

1993-01-01

Preparation, properties and application of porous silicon films are investigated. Porous silicon structures were formed by an electrochemical etching process resulting in selective dissolution of the silicon substrate. The silicon wafers used with a resistivity of 5-10Ω.cm were doped with B to concentrations 6x10 18 -1x10 19 Ω.cm -3 in the temperature region 950 o C-1050 o C. The density of each porous films was determined from the weight loss during the anodization and it depends on the surface resistivity of the Si wafer. The density decreases with decreasing of the surface resistivity. The surface of the porous silicon layers was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy which indicates the presence of SiF 4 . The kinetic dependence of the anode potential and the porous layer thickness on the time of anodization in a galvanostatic regime for the electrolytes with various HF concentration were studied. In order to compare the properties of the resulting porous layers and to establish the dependence of the porosity on the electrolyte, three types of electrolytes were used: concentrated HF, diluted HF:H 2 O=1:1 and ethanol-hydrofluoric solutions HF:C 2 H 5 OH:H 2 O=2:1:1. High quality uniform and reproducible layers were formed using aqueous-ethanol-hydrofluoric electrolyte. Both Kikuchi's line and ring patterns were observed by TEM. The porous silicon layer was single crystal with the same orientation as the substrate. The surface shows a polycrystalline structure only. The porous silicon layers exhibit visible photoluminescence (PL) at room temperature under 480 nm Ar + laser line excitation. The peak of PL was observed at about 730 nm with FWHM about 90 nm. Photodiodes was made with a W-porous silicon junction. The current voltage and capacity voltage characteristics were similar to those of an isotype heterojunction diode. (orig.)

Nanopatterned Silicon Substrate Use in Heterojunction Thin Film Solar Cells Made by Magnetron Sputtering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shao-Ze Tseng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a method for fabricating silicon heterojunction thin film solar cells with an ITO/p-type a-Si : H/n-type c-Si structure by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering. A short-circuit current density and efficiency of 28.80 mA/cm2 and 8.67% were achieved. Novel nanopatterned silicon wafers for use in cells are presented. Improved heterojunction cells are formed on a nanopatterned silicon substrate that is prepared with a self-assembled monolayer of SiO2 nanospheres with a diameter of 550 nm used as an etching mask. The efficiency of the nanopattern silicon substrate heterojunction cells was 31.49% greater than that of heterojunction cells on a flat silicon wafer.

Preparation of Mica and Silicon Substrates for DNA Origami Analysis and Experimentation

Science.gov (United States)

Pillers, Michelle A.; Shute, Rebecca; Farchone, Adam; Linder, Keenan P.; Doerfler, Rose; Gavin, Corey; Goss, Valerie; Lieberman, Marya

2015-01-01

The designed nature and controlled, one-pot synthesis of DNA origami provides exciting opportunities in many fields, particularly nanoelectronics. Many of these applications require interaction with and adhesion of DNA nanostructures to a substrate. Due to its atomically flat and easily cleaned nature, mica has been the substrate of choice for DNA origami experiments. However, the practical applications of mica are relatively limited compared to those of semiconductor substrates. For this reason, a straightforward, stable, and repeatable process for DNA origami adhesion on derivatized silicon oxide is presented here. To promote the adhesion of DNA nanostructures to silicon oxide surface, a self-assembled monolayer of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) is deposited from an aqueous solution that is compatible with many photoresists. The substrate must be cleaned of all organic and metal contaminants using Radio Corporation of America (RCA) cleaning processes and the native oxide layer must be etched to ensure a flat, functionalizable surface. Cleanrooms are equipped with facilities for silicon cleaning, however many components of DNA origami buffers and solutions are often not allowed in them due to contamination concerns. This manuscript describes the set-up and protocol for in-lab, small-scale silicon cleaning for researchers who do not have access to a cleanroom or would like to incorporate processes that could cause contamination of a cleanroom CMOS clean bench. Additionally, variables for regulating coverage are discussed and how to recognize and avoid common sample preparation problems is described. PMID:26274888

Bidisperse silica nanoparticles close-packed monolayer on silicon substrate by three step spin method

Science.gov (United States)

Khanna, Sakshum; Marathey, Priyanka; Utsav, Chaliawala, Harsh; Mukhopadhyay, Indrajit

2018-05-01

We present the studies on the structural properties of monolayer Bidisperse silica (SiO2) nanoparticles (BDS) on Silicon (Si-100) substrate using spin coating technique. The Bidisperse silica nanoparticle was synthesised by the modified sol-gel process. Nanoparticles on the substrate are generally assembled in non-close/close-packed monolayer (CPM) form. The CPM form is obtained by depositing the colloidal suspension onto the silicon substrate using complex techniques. Here we report an effective method for forming a monolayer of bidisperse silica nanoparticle by three step spin coating technique. The samples were prepared by mixing the monodisperse solutions of different particles size 40 and 100 nm diameters. The bidisperse silica nanoparticles were self-assembled on the silicon substrate forming a close-packed monolayer film. The scanning electron microscope images of bidisperse films provided in-depth film structure of the film. The maximum surface coverage obtained was around 70-80%.

Defects study of hydrogenated amorphous silicon samples and their relation with the substrate and deposition conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darwich, R.

2009-07-01

The goal of this work is to study the properties of the defects aiming to explore the types of defects and the effect of various deposition parameters such as substrate temperature, the kind of the substrate, gas pressure and deposition rate. Two kinds of samples have been used; The first one was a series of Schottky diodes, and the second one a series of solar cells (p-i-n junction) deposited on crystalline silicon or on corning glass substrates with different deposition parameters. The deposition parameters were chosen to obtain materials whose their structures varying from amorphous to microcrystalline silicon including polymorphous silicon. Our results show that the polymorphous silicon samples deposited at high deposition rates present the best photovoltaic properties in comparison with those deposited at low rates. Also we found that the defects concentration in high deposition rate samples is less at least by two orders than that obtained in low deposition rate polymorphous, microcrystalline and amorphous samples. This study shows also that there is no effect of the substrate, or the thin films of highly doped amorphous silicon deposited on the substrate, on the creation and properties of these defects. Finally, different experimental methods have been used; a comparison between their results has been presented. (author)

Stable configurations of graphene on silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Javvaji, Brahmanandam; Shenoy, Bhamy Maithry [Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Mahapatra, D. Roy, E-mail: droymahapatra@aero.iisc.ernet.in [Department of Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Ravikumar, Abhilash [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal 575025 (India); Hegde, G.M. [Center for Nano Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012 (India); Rizwan, M.R. [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal 575025 (India)

2017-08-31

Highlights: • Simulations of epitaxial growth process for silicon–graphene system is performed. • Identified the most favourable orientation of graphene sheet on silicon substrate. • Atomic local strain due to the silicon–carbon bond formation is analyzed. - Abstract: Integration of graphene on silicon-based nanostructures is crucial in advancing graphene based nanoelectronic device technologies. The present paper provides a new insight on the combined effect of graphene structure and silicon (001) substrate on their two-dimensional anisotropic interface. Molecular dynamics simulations involving the sub-nanoscale interface reveal a most favourable set of temperature independent orientations of the monolayer graphene sheet with an angle of ∽15° between its armchair direction and [010] axis of the silicon substrate. While computing the favorable stable orientations, both the translation and the rotational vibrations of graphene are included. The possible interactions between the graphene atoms and the silicon atoms are identified from their coordination. Graphene sheet shows maximum bonding density with bond length 0.195 nm and minimum bond energy when interfaced with silicon substrate at 15° orientation. Local deformation analysis reveals probability distribution with maximum strain levels of 0.134, 0.047 and 0.029 for 900 K, 300 K and 100 K, respectively in silicon surface for 15° oriented graphene whereas the maximum probable strain in graphene is about 0.041 irrespective of temperature. Silicon–silicon dimer formation is changed due to silicon–carbon bonding. These results may help further in band structure engineering of silicon–graphene lattice.

Effect of preliminary annealing of silicon substrates on the spectral sensitivity of photodetectors in bipolar integrated circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blynskij, V.I.; Bozhatkin, O.A.; Golub, E.S.; Lemeshevskaya, A.M.; Shvedov, S.V.

2010-01-01

We examine the results of an effect of preliminary annealing on the spectral sensitivity of photodetectors in bipolar integrated circuits, formed in silicon grown by the Czochralski method. We demonstrate the possibility of substantially improving the sensitivity of photodetectors in the infrared region of the spectrum with twostep annealing. The observed effect is explained by participation of oxidation in the gettering process, where oxidation precedes formation of a buried n + layer in the substrate. (authors)

Investigations of different doping concentration of phosphorus and boron into silicon substrate on the variable temperature Raman characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiaoli; Ding, Kai; Liu, Jian; Gao, Junxuan; Zhang, Weifeng

2018-01-01

Different doped silicon substrates have different device applications and have been used to fabricate solar panels and large scale integrated circuits. The thermal transport in silicon substrates are dominated by lattice vibrations, doping type, and doping concentration. In this paper, a variable-temperature Raman spectroscopic system is applied to record the frequency and linewidth changes of the silicon peak at 520 cm-1 in five chips of silicon substrate with different doping concentration of phosphorus and boron at the 83K to 1473K temperature range. The doping has better heat sensitive to temperature on the frequency shift over the low temperature range from 83K to 300K but on FWHM in high temperature range from 300K to 1473K. The results will be helpful for fundamental study and practical applications of silicon substrates.

Chemical resistivity of self-assembled monolayer covalently attached to silicon substrate to hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, N.; Youda, S.; Hayashi, K.; Sugimura, H.; Takai, O.

2003-06-01

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were prepared on hydrogen-terminated silicon substrates through chemical vapor deposition using 1-hexadecene (HD) as a precursor. The HD-SAMs prepared in an atmosphere under a reduced pressure (≈50 Pa) showed better chemical resistivities to hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride (NH 4F) solutions than that of an organosilane SAM formed on oxide-covered silicon substrates. The surface covered with the HD-SAM was micro-patterned by vacuum ultraviolet photolithography and consequently divided into two areas terminated with HD-SAM or silicon dioxide. This micro-patterned sample was immersed in a 40 vol.% NH 4F aqueous solution. Surface images obtained by an optical microscopy clearly show that the micro-patterns of HD-SAM/silicon dioxide were successfully transferred into the silicon substrate.

Flexible and tunable silicon photonic circuits on plastic substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yu; Li, Huan; Li, Mo

2012-09-01

Flexible microelectronics has shown tremendous promise in a broad spectrum of applications, especially those that cannot be addressed by conventional microelectronics in rigid materials and constructions. These unconventional yet important applications range from flexible consumer electronics to conformal sensor arrays and biomedical devices. A recent paradigm shift in implementing flexible electronics is to physically transfer highly integrated devices made in high-quality, crystalline semiconductors on to plastic substrates. Here we demonstrate a flexible form of silicon photonics using the transfer-and-bond fabrication method. Photonic circuits including interferometers and resonators have been transferred onto flexible plastic substrates with preserved functionalities and performance. By mechanically deforming, the optical characteristics of the devices can be tuned reversibly over a remarkably large range. The demonstration of the new flexible photonic systems based on the silicon-on-plastic (SOP) platform could open the door to many future applications, including tunable photonics, optomechanical sensors and biomechanical and bio-photonic probes.

Characterization of defects in hydrogenated amorphous silicon deposited on different substrates by capacitance techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darwich, R.; Roca i Cabarrocas, P.

2011-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films deposited on crystalline silicon and Corning glass substrate were analyzed using different capacitance techniques. The distribution of localized states and some electronic properties were studied using the temperature, frequency and bias dependence of the Schottky barrier capacitance and deep level transient spectroscopy. Our results show that the distribution of the gap states depends on the type of substrate. We have found that the films deposited on c-Si substrate represent only one positively charged or prerelaxed neutral deep state and one interface state, while the films deposited on glass substrate have one interface state and three types of deep defect states, positively or prerelaxed neutral, neutral and negatively charged.

Dimer and String Formation during Low Temperature Silicon Deposition on Si(100)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smith, A. P.; Jonsson, Hannes

1996-01-01

We present theoretical results based on density functional theory and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of silicon deposition and address observations made in recently reported low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy studies. A mechanism is presented which explains dimer formation on top...... of the substrate's dimer rows at 160 K and up to room temperature, while between-row dimers and longer strings of adatoms (''diluted dimer rows'') form at higher temperature. A crossover occurs at around room temperature between two different mechanisms for adatom diffusion in our model....

Growth of misfit dislocation-free p/p+ thick epitaxial silicon wafers on Ge-B-codoped substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Huihua; Yang Deren; Ma Xiangyang; Tian Daxi; Li Liben; Que Duanlin

2006-01-01

The growth of p/p + silicon epitaxial silicon wafers (epi-wafers) without misfit dislocations has been successfully achieved by using heavily boron-doped Czochralski (CZ) silicon wafers codoped with desirable level of germanium as the substrates. The lattice compensation by codoping of germanium and boron into the silicon matrix to reduce the lattice mismatch between the substrate (heavily boron-doped) and epi-layer (lightly boron-doped) is the basic idea underlying in the present achievement. In principle, the codoping of germanium and boron in the CZ silicon can be tailored to achieve misfit dislocation-free epi-layer with required thickness. It is reasonably expected that the presented solution to elimination of misfit dislocations in the p/p + silicon wafers can be applied in the volume production

Electron-spin-resonance study of radiation-induced paramagnetic defects in oxides grown on (100) silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Y.Y.; Lenahan, P.M.

1988-01-01

We have used electron-spin resonance to investigate radiation-induced point defects in Si/SiO 2 structures with (100) silicon substrates. We find that the radiation-induced point defects are quite similar to defects generated in Si/SiO 2 structures grown on (111) silicon substrates. In both cases, an oxygen-deficient silicon center, the E' defect, appears to be responsible for trapped positive charge. In both cases trivalent silicon (P/sub b/ centers) defects are primarily responsible for radiation-induced interface states. In earlier electron-spin-resonance studies of unirradiated (100) substrate capacitors two types of P/sub b/ centers were observed; in oxides prepared in three different ways only one of these centers, the P/sub b/ 0 defect, is generated in large numbers by ionizing radiation

Substrate and Passivation Techniques for Flexible Amorphous Silicon-Based X-ray Detectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Marrs, Michael A; Raupp, Gregory B

2016-07-26

Flexible active matrix display technology has been adapted to create new flexible photo-sensing electronic devices, including flexible X-ray detectors. Monolithic integration of amorphous silicon (a-Si) PIN photodiodes on a flexible substrate poses significant challenges associated with the intrinsic film stress of amorphous silicon. This paper examines how altering device structuring and diode passivation layers can greatly improve the electrical performance and the mechanical reliability of the device, thereby eliminating one of the major weaknesses of a-Si PIN diodes in comparison to alternative photodetector technology, such as organic bulk heterojunction photodiodes and amorphous selenium. A dark current of 0.5 pA/mm² and photodiode quantum efficiency of 74% are possible with a pixelated diode structure with a silicon nitride/SU-8 bilayer passivation structure on a 20 µm-thick polyimide substrate.

Process for depositing an oxide epitaxially onto a silicon substrate and structures prepared with the process

Science.gov (United States)

McKee, Rodney A.; Walker, Frederick J.

1993-01-01

A process and structure involving a silicon substrate utilizes an ultra high vacuum and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) methods to grow an epitaxial oxide film upon a surface of the substrate. As the film is grown, the lattice of the compound formed at the silicon interface becomes stabilized, and a base layer comprised of an oxide having a sodium chloride-type lattice structure grows epitaxially upon the compound so as to cover the substrate surface. A perovskite may then be grown epitaxially upon the base layer to render a product which incorporates silicon, with its electronic capabilities, with a perovskite having technologically-significant properties of its own.

Al-Si alloy point contact formation and rear surface passivation for silicon solar cells using double layer porous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moumni, Besma; Ben Jaballah, Abdelkader; Bessais, Brahim

2012-01-01

Lowering the rear surface recombination velocities by a dielectric layer has fascinating advantages compared with the standard fully covered Al back-contact silicon solar cells. In this work the passivation effect by double layer porous silicon (PS) (wide band gap) and the formation of Al-Si alloy in narrow p-type Si point contact areas for rear passivated solar cells are analysed. As revealed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, we found that a thin passivating aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) layer is formed. Scanning electron microscopy analysis performed in cross sections shows that with bilayer PS, liquid Al penetrates into the openings, alloying with the Si substrate at depth and decreasing the contact resistivity. At the solar cell level, the reduction in the contact area and resistivity leads to a minimization of the fill factor losses.

Novel method of separating macroporous arrays from p-type silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng Bobo; Wang Fei; Liu Tao; Yang Zhenya; Wang Lianwei; Fu, Ricky K. Y.; Chu, Paul K.

2012-01-01

This paper presents a novel method to fabricate separated macroporous silicon using a single step of photo-assisted electrochemical etching. The method is applied to fabricate silicon microchannel plates in 100 mm p-type silicon wafers, which can be used as electron multipliers and three-dimensional Li-ion microbatteries. Increasing the backside illumination intensity and decreasing the bias simultaneously can generate additional holes during the electrochemical etching which will create lateral etching at the pore tips. In this way the silicon microchannel can be separated from the substrate when the desired depth is reached, then it can be cut into the desired shape by using a laser cutting machine. Also, the mechanism of lateral etching is proposed. (semiconductor materials)

Impact of deposition temperature on the properties of SnS thin films grown over silicon substrate—comparative study of structural and optical properties with films grown on glass substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Assili, Kawther; Alouani, Khaled; Vilanova, Xavier

2017-11-01

Tin sulfide (SnS) thin films were chemically deposited over silicon substrate in a temperature range of 250 °C-400 °C. The effects of deposition temperature on the structural, morphological and optical properties of the films were evaluated. All films present an orthorhombic SnS structure with a preferred orientation along (040). High absorption coefficients (in the range of 105 cm-1) were found for all obtained films with an increase in α value when deposition temperature decreases. Furthermore, the effects of substrate type were investigated based on comparison between the present results and those obtained for SnS films grown under the same deposition conditions but over glass substrate. The results suggest that the formation of SnS films onto glass substrate is faster than onto silicon substrate. It is found that the substrate nature affects the orientation growth of the films and that SnS films deposited onto Si present more defects than those deposited onto glass substrate. The optical transmittance is also restricted by the substrate type, mostly below 1000 nm. The obtained results for SnS films onto silicon suggest their promising integration within optoelectronic devices.

Silicon nitride and intrinsic amorphous silicon double antireflection coatings for thin-film solar cells on foreign substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Da; Kunz, Thomas; Wolf, Nadine; Liebig, Jan Philipp; Wittmann, Stephan; Ahmad, Taimoor; Hessmann, Maik T.; Auer, Richard; Göken, Mathias; Brabec, Christoph J.

2015-01-01

Hydrogenated intrinsic amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) was investigated as a surface passivation method for crystalline silicon thin film solar cells on graphite substrates. The results of the experiments, including quantum efficiency and current density-voltage measurements, show improvements in cell performance. This improvement is due to surface passivation by an a-Si:H(i) layer, which increases the open circuit voltage and the fill factor. In comparison with our previous work, we have achieved an increase of 0.6% absolute cell efficiency for a 40 μm thick 4 cm 2 aperture area on the graphite substrate. The optical properties of the SiN x /a-Si:H(i) stack were studied using spectroscopic ellipsometer techniques. Scanning transmission electron microscopy inside a scanning electron microscope was applied to characterize the cross section of the SiN x /a-Si:H(i) stack using focus ion beam preparation. - Highlights: • We report a 10.8% efficiency for thin-film silicon solar cell on graphite. • Hydrogenated intrinsic amorphous silicon was applied for surface passivation. • SiN x /a-Si:H(i) stacks were characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometer techniques. • Cross-section micrograph was obtained by scanning transmission electron microscopy. • Quantum efficiency and J-V measurements show improvements in the cell performance

Surface thiolation of silicon for antifouling application.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoning; Gao, Pei; Hollimon, Valerie; Brodus, DaShan; Johnson, Arion; Hu, Hongmei

2018-02-07

Thiol groups grafted silicon surface was prepared as previously described. 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol (PFDT) molecules were then immobilized on such a surface through disulfide bonds formation. To investigate the contribution of PFDT coating to antifouling, the adhesion behaviors of Botryococcus braunii (B. braunii) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) were studied through biofouling assays in the laboratory. The representative microscope images suggest reduced B. braunii and E. coli accumulation densities on PFDT integrated silicon substrate. However, the antifouling performance of PFDT integrated silicon substrate decreased over time. By incubating the aged substrate in 10 mM TCEP·HCl solution for 1 h, the fouled PFDT coating could be removed as the disulfide bonds were cleaved, resulting in reduced absorption of algal cells and exposure of non-fouled silicon substrate surface. Our results indicate that the thiol-terminated substrate can be potentially useful for restoring the fouled surface, as well as maximizing the effective usage of the substrate.

INFLUENCE OF THE SILICON INTERLAYER ON DIAMOND-LIKE CARBON FILMS DEPOSITED ON GLASS SUBSTRATES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deiler Antonio Lima Oliveira

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Diamond-like carbon (DLC films as a hard protective coating have achieved great success in a diversity of technological applications. However, adhesion of DLC films to substrates can restrict their applications. The influence of a silicon interlayer in order to improve DLC adhesion on glass substrates was investigated. Amorphous silicon interlayer and DLC films were deposited using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition from silane and methane, respectively. The bonding structure, transmittance, refraction index, and adherence of the films were also evaluated regarding the thickness of the silicon interlayer. Raman scattering spectroscopy did not show any substantial difference in DLC structure due to the interlayer thickness of the silicon. Optical measurements showed a sharp decrease of transmittance in the ultra-violet region caused by the fundamental absorption of the light. In addition, the absorption edge of transmittance shifted toward longer wavelength side in the ultra-violet region as the thickness of the silicon interlayer increased. The tribological results showed an increase of DLC adherence as the silicon interlayer increased, which was characterized by less cracks around the grooves.

Progress in the Development of SERS-Active Substrates Based on Metal-Coated Porous Silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Bandarenka, Hanna V; Girel, Kseniya V; Zavatski, Sergey A; Panarin, Andrei; Terekhov, Sergei N

2018-05-21

The present work gives an overview of the developments in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with metal-coated porous silicon used as an active substrate. We focused this review on the research referenced to SERS-active materials based on porous silicon, beginning from the patent application in 2002 and enclosing the studies of this year. Porous silicon and metal deposition technologies are discussed. Since the earliest studies, a number of fundamentally different plasmonic nanostructures including metallic dendrites, quasi-ordered arrays of metallic nanoparticles (NPs), and metallic nanovoids have been grown on porous silicon, defined by the morphology of this host material. SERS-active substrates based on porous silicon have been found to combine a high and well-reproducible signal level, storage stability, cost-effective technology and handy use. They make it possible to identify and study many compounds including biomolecules with a detection limit varying from milli- to femtomolar concentrations. The progress reviewed here demonstrates the great prospects for the extensive use of the metal-coated porous silicon for bioanalysis by SERS-spectroscopy.

Progress in the Development of SERS-Active Substrates Based on Metal-Coated Porous Silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanna V. Bandarenka

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The present work gives an overview of the developments in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS with metal-coated porous silicon used as an active substrate. We focused this review on the research referenced to SERS-active materials based on porous silicon, beginning from the patent application in 2002 and enclosing the studies of this year. Porous silicon and metal deposition technologies are discussed. Since the earliest studies, a number of fundamentally different plasmonic nanostructures including metallic dendrites, quasi-ordered arrays of metallic nanoparticles (NPs, and metallic nanovoids have been grown on porous silicon, defined by the morphology of this host material. SERS-active substrates based on porous silicon have been found to combine a high and well-reproducible signal level, storage stability, cost-effective technology and handy use. They make it possible to identify and study many compounds including biomolecules with a detection limit varying from milli- to femtomolar concentrations. The progress reviewed here demonstrates the great prospects for the extensive use of the metal-coated porous silicon for bioanalysis by SERS-spectroscopy.

Self-assembled monolayers of perfluoroalkylsilane on plasma-hydroxylated silicon substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Lin; Cai, Lu; Liu, Anqi; Wang, Wei; Yuan, Yanhua [College of Textile, Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215021 (China); National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, Suzhou 215123 (China); Li, Zhanxiong, E-mail: lizhanxiong@suda.edu.cn [College of Textile, Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou 215021 (China); State Key Laboratory of Disaster Prevention & Mitigation of Explosion & Impact, Nanjing 210007 (China)

2015-09-15

Highlights: • A novel kind of fluoroalkylsilane monomers with different fluoroalkyl chain length was synthesized. • The fluoroalkyl-terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on silanol-terminated silicon substrates were chemically fabricated using the liquid phase deposition method. • Fluoroalkylsilanes were used for the self-assembly rather than the silane coupling agents and fluorochemicals to fabricate controllable, ordered SAMs. • The angle-dependent XPS study was conducted to investigate the changes of surface structures as well as elemental compositions of the SAMs. • The results indicated that fluoroalkyl groups would migrate from the inner part of the monolayers to the outermost interface after heat treatment, resulting into the microphase separation of the SAMs surface. - Abstract: In this study, a novel kind of fluoroalkylsilane monomers with different fluoroalkyl chain lengths was synthesized via three steps method and characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, {sup 1}H and {sup 19}F nuclear magnetic resonance ({sup 1}H NMR and {sup 19}F NMR), and mass spectra (MS). Fluoroalkyl-terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on silanol-terminated silicon substrates (O{sub 2} plasma treatment) were chemically fabricated via –Si–O– covalent bonds using the liquid phase deposition method (LPD). The wetabilities of the SAMs were characterized by water contact angles (CA), surface free energies and adhesive force (AF) measurements. 3-(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyloxycarbonyl) -propionamidepropyl-triethoxysilane (PFOPT) assembled monolayer was chosen for in-depth investigation as its CA was higher than the others. Attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to validate the attachment of PFOPT on the silicon substrate, together with the chemical composition and structure of the SAMs. The surface morphologies and roughness of the monolayers were obtained and

Metal Nanoparticles Deposited on Porous Silicon Templates as Novel Substrates for SERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lara Mikac

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, results on preparation of stable and uniform SERS solid substrates using macroporous silicon (pSi with deposited silver and gold are presented. Macroporous silicon is produced by anodisation of p-type silicon in hydrofluoric acid. The as prepared pSi is then used as a template for Ag and Au depositions. The noble metals were deposited in three different ways: by immersion in silver nitrate solution, by drop-casting silver colloidal solution and by pulsed laser ablation (PLA. Substrates obtained by different deposition processes were evaluated for SERS efficiency using methylene blue (MB and rhodamine 6G (R6G at 514.5, 633 and 785 nm. Using 514.5 nm excitation and R6G the limits of detection (LOD for macroporous Si samples with noble metal nanostructures obtained by immersion of pSi sample in silver nitrate solution and by applying silver colloidal solution to pSi template were 10–9 M and 10–8 M respectively. Using 633 nm laser and MB the most noticeable SERS activity gave pSi samples ablated with 30000 and 45000 laser pulses where the LODs of 10–10 M were obtained. The detection limit of 10–10 M was also reached for 4 mA cm–2-15 min pSi sample, silver ablated with 30000 pulses. Macroporous silicon proved to be a good base for the preparation of SERS substrates.

RF plasma cleaning of silicon substrates with high-density polyethylene contamination

Science.gov (United States)

Cagomoc, Charisse Marie D.; De Leon, Mark Jeffry D.; Ebuen, Anna Sophia M.; Gilos, Marlo Nicole R.; Vasquez, Magdaleno R., Jr.

2018-01-01

Upon contact with a polymeric material, microparticles from the polymer may adhere to a silicon (Si) substrate during device processing. The adhesion contaminates the surface and, in turn, leads to defects in the fabricated Si-based microelectronic devices. In this study, Si substrates with artificially induced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) contamination was exposed to 13.56 MHz radio frequency (RF) plasma utilizing argon and oxygen gas admixtures at a power density of 5.6 W/cm2 and a working pressure of 110 Pa for up to 6 min of treatment. Optical microscopy studies revealed the removal of up to 74% of the polymer contamination upon plasma exposure. Surface free energy (SFE) increased owing to the removal of contaminants as well as the formation of polar groups on the Si surface after plasma treatment. Atomic force microscopy scans showed a decrease in surface roughness from 12.25 nm for contaminated samples to 0.77 nm after plasma cleaning. The smoothening effect can be attributed to the removal of HDPE particles from the surface. In addition, scanning electron microscope images showed that there was a decrease in the amount of HDPE contaminants adhering onto the surface after plasma exposure.

Fabrication and characterization of surface barrier detector from commercial silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Julio Batista Rodrigues

2016-01-01

In this work it was developed radiation detectors silicon surface barrier that were capable of detecting the presence of gamma radiation from a low energy of iodine-125 seeds used in brachytherapy treatments. >From commercial silicon substrates detectors were developed, one sequence left of chemical treatments to the surfaces of these substrates with the intention of minimizing the possible noise generated, validation of the samples obtained as diodes, ensuring detector characteristics and effective use as detector for Iodine-125 radioactive sources with energy of about 25 keV and Americium-251 with energy on the order of 59 keV. Finished performing the analysis of the obtained energy spectra and so it was possible to observe the ability of these detectors to measure the energy from these seeds. (author)

Porous Silicon Covered with Silver Nanoparticles as Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Substrate for Ultra-Low Concentration Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Kosović, Marin; Balarin, Maja; Ivanda, Mile; Đerek, Vedran; Marciuš, Marijan; Ristić, Mira; Gamulin, Ozren

2015-12-01

Microporous and macro-mesoporous silicon templates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates were produced by anodization of low doped p-type silicon wafers. By immersion plating in AgNO3, the templates were covered with silver metallic film consisting of different silver nanostructures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of these SERS substrates showed diverse morphology with significant difference in an average size and size distribution of silver nanoparticles. Ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) reflection spectroscopy showed plasmonic absorption at 398 and 469 nm, which is in accordance with the SEM findings. The activity of the SERS substrates was tested using rhodamine 6G (R6G) dye molecules and 514.5 nm laser excitation. Contrary to the microporous silicon template, the SERS substrate prepared from macro-mesoporous silicon template showed significantly broader size distribution of irregular silver nanoparticles as well as localized surface plasmon resonance closer to excitation laser wavelength. Such silver morphology has high SERS sensitivity that enables ultralow concentration detection of R6G dye molecules up to 10(-15) M. To our knowledge, this is the lowest concentration detected of R6G dye molecules on porous silicon-based SERS substrates, which might even indicate possible single molecule detection.

Formation of copper precipitates in silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Flink, Christoph; Feick, Henning; McHugo, Scott A.; Mohammed, Amna; Seifert, Winfried; Hieslmair, Henry; Heiser, Thomas; Istratov, Andrei A.; Weber, Eicke R.

1999-12-01

The formation of copper precipitates in silicon was studied after high-temperature intentional contamination of p- and n-type FZ and Cz-grown silicon and quench to room temperature. With the Transient Ion Drift (TID) technique on p-type silicon a critical Fermi level position at EC-0.2 eV was found. Only if the Fermi level position, which is determined by the concentrations of the acceptors and the copper donors, surpasses this critical value precipitation takes place. If the Fermi level is below this level the supersaturated interstitial copper diffuses out. An electrostatic precipitation model is introduced that correlates the observed precipitation behavior with the electrical activity of the copper precipitates as detected with Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) on n-type and with Minority Carrier Transient Spectroscopy (MCTS) on p-type silicon.

Collapsed adhesion of carbon nanotubes on silicon substrates: continuum mechanics and atomistic simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Xuebo; Wang, Youshan

2018-02-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can undergo collapse from the ordinary cylindrical configurations to bilayer ribbons when adhered on substrates. In this study, the collapsed adhesion of CNTs on the silicon substrates is investigated using both classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and continuum analysis. The governing equations and transversality conditions are derived based on the minimum potential energy principle and the energy-variational method, considering both the van der Waals interactions between CNTs and substrates and those inside CNTs. Closed-form solutions for the collapsed configuration are obtained which show good agreement with the results of MD simulations. The stability of adhesive configurations is investigated by analyzing the energy states. It is found that the adhesive states of single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) (n, n) on the silicon substrates can be categorized by two critical radii, 0.716 and 0.892 nm. For SWCNTs with radius larger than 0.892 nm, they would fully collapse on the silicon substrates. For SWCNTs with radius less than 0.716 nm, the initial cylindrical configuration is energetically favorable. For SWCNTs with radius between two critical radii, the radially deformed state is metastable. The non-contact ends of all collapsed SWCNTs are identical with the same arc length of 2.38 nm. Finally, the role of number of walls on the adhesive configuration is investigated quantitatively. For multi-walled CNTs with the number of walls exceeding a certain value, the cylindrical configuration is stable due to the increasing bending stiffness. The present study can be useful for the design of CNT-based nanodevices.

Development of Silicon-substrate Based Fabry-Perot Etalons for far-IR Astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Stacey, Gordon

.8 mm thick) silicon substrate and the silicon nanofabrication techniques and include the effects of (1) precisely tuned reflective surfaces, (2) very smooth mirror surfaces leading to greater cavity efficiency, (3) reduced susceptibility to vibrations due the silicon support structures, (4) reduced susceptibility to defect finesse due to reduced mounting stress, and (5) greatly improved mechanical robustness that could result in space-qualified hardware. These improvements are enabled by the combination of silicon-based technologies and our sophisticated electromagnetic modeling. The finished products have many science applications. For example, the SSB mirrors within an MCSF would convert the FORCAST or HAWC+ cameras on SOFIA into imaging spectrometers capable of widescale mapping of the mid to far-IR fine structure lines from the Galactic Center, Galactic star formation regions and external galaxies. In fact, this new etalon technology could be used in any mid to far-IR camera, converting the camera into a moderate (100 to 4000) to high resolving power (~100,000) imaging spectrometer at modest cost. A particularly interesting application could be a large format (~10 cm diameter) FPI that could deliver resolving powers in excess of 5000 for a 10 m space telescope, which might be the incarnation of the next major far-IR space mission (see NASA Cosmic Origins Newsletter, V4, No. 1, March 2015). Our program addresses NASA's Strategic goal 1: "Expand the frontiers of knowledge, capability, and opportunity in space."; Objective 1.6: "Discover how the Universe works, explore how it began and evolved, and search for life on planets around other stars,"• specifically "Technology development and demonstration."• It also addresses Strategic Goal 2 via Objective 2.4: "Advance the Nation's STEM education and workforce pipeline by working collaborative with other agencies to engage students, teachers, and faculty in NASA's missions and unique assets."•

A novel approach for osteocalcin detection by competitive ELISA using porous silicon as a substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahimi, Fereshteh; Mohammadnejad Arough, Javad; Yaghoobi, Mona; Davoodi, Hadi; Sepehri, Fatemeh; Amirabadizadeh, Masood

2017-11-01

In this study, porous silicon (PSi) was utilized instead of prevalent polystyrene platforms, and its capability in biomolecule screening was examined. Here, two types of porous structure, macroporous silicon (Macro-PSi) and mesoporous silicon (Meso-PSi), were produced on silicon wafers by electrochemical etching using different electrolytes. Moreover, both kinds of fresh and oxidized PSi samples were investigated. Next, osteocalcin as a biomarker of the bone formation process was used as a model biomarker, and the colorimetric detection was performed by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Both Macro-PSi and Meso-PSi substrates in the oxidized state, specifically the Meso-porous structure, were reported to have higher surface area to volume ratio, more capacitance of surface-antigen interaction, and more ability to capture antigen in comparison with the prevalent platforms. Moreover, the optical density signal of osteocalcin detected by the ELISA technique was notably higher than the common platforms. Based on the findings of this study, PSi can potentially be used in the ELISA to achieve better results and consequently more sensitivity. A further asset of incorporating such a nanometer structure in the ELISA technique is that the system response to analyte concentration could be maintained by consuming lower monoclonal antibody (or antigen) and consequently reduces the cost of the experiment. © 2016 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Crystallization and growth of Ni-Si alloy thin films on inert and on silicon substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Grimberg, I.; Weiss, B. Z.

1995-04-01

The crystallization kinetics and thermal stability of NiSi2±0.2 alloy thin films coevaporated on two different substrates were studied. The substrates were: silicon single crystal [Si(100)] and thermally oxidized silicon single crystal. In situ resistance measurements, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy were used. The postdeposition microstructure consisted of a mixture of amorphous and crystalline phases. The amorphous phase, independent of the composition, crystallizes homogeneously to NiSi2 at temperatures lower than 200 °C. The activation energy, determined in the range of 1.4-2.54 eV, depends on the type of the substrate and on the composition of the alloyed films. The activation energy for the alloys deposited on the inert substrate was found to be lower than for the alloys deposited on silicon single crystal. The lowest activation energy was obtained for nonstoichiometric NiSi2.2, the highest for NiSi2—on both substrates. The crystallization mode depends on the structure of the as-deposited films, especially the density of the existing crystalline nuclei. Substantial differences were observed in the thermal stability of the NiSi2 compound on both substrates. With the alloy films deposited on the Si substrate, only the NiSi2 phase was identified after annealing to temperatures up to 800 °C. In the films deposited on the inert substrate, NiSi and NiSi2 phases were identified when the Ni content in the alloy exceeded 33 at. %. The effects of composition and the type of substrate on the crystallization kinetics and thermal stability are discussed.

Silicon effects on formation of EPO oxide coatings on aluminum alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, L.; Nie, X.

2006-01-01

Electrolytic plasma processes (EPP) can be used for cleaning, metal-coating, carburizing, nitriding, and oxidizing. Electrolytic plasma oxidizing (EPO) is an advanced technique to deposit thick and hard ceramic coatings on a number of aluminum alloys. However, the EPO treatment on Al-Si alloys with a high Si content has rarely been reported. In this research, an investigation was conducted to clarify the effects of silicon contents on the EPO coating formation, morphology, and composition. Cast hypereutectic 390 alloys (∼ 17% Si) and hypoeutectic 319 alloys (∼ 7% Si) were chosen as substrates. The coating morphology, composition, and microstructure of the EPO coatings on those substrates were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD). A stylus roughness tester was used for surface roughness measurement. It was found that the EPO process had four stages where each stage was corresponding to various coating surface morphology, composition, and phase structures, characterised by different coating growth mechanisms

Tribology study of reduced graphene oxide sheets on silicon substrate synthesized via covalent assembly.

Science.gov (United States)

Ou, Junfei; Wang, Jinqing; Liu, Sheng; Mu, Bo; Ren, Junfang; Wang, Honggang; Yang, Shengrong

2010-10-19

Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets were covalently assembled onto silicon wafers via a multistep route based on the chemical adsorption and thermal reduction of graphene oxide (GO). The formation and microstructure of RGO were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and water contact angle (WCA) measurements. Characterization by atomic force microscopy (AFM) was performed to evaluate the morphology and microtribological behaviors of the samples. Macrotribological performance was tested on a ball-on-plate tribometer. Results show that the assembled RGO possesses good friction reduction and antiwear ability, properties ascribed to its intrinsic structure, that is, the covalent bonding to the substrate and self-lubricating property of RGO.

Growth of Gold-assisted Gallium Arsenide Nanowires on Silicon Substrates via Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramon M. delos Santos

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Gallium arsenide nanowires were grown on silicon (100 substrates by what is called the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS growth mechanism using a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE system. Good quality nanowires with surface density of approximately 108 nanowires per square centimeter were produced by utilizing gold nanoparticles, with density of 1011 nanoparticles per square centimeter, as catalysts for nanowire growth. X-ray diffraction measurements, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy revealed that the nanowires are epitaxially grown on the silicon substrates, are oriented along the [111] direction and have cubic zincblende structure.

Monolithic amorphous silicon modules on continuous polymer substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grimmer, D.P. (Iowa Thin Film Technologies, Inc., Ames, IA (United States))

1992-03-01

This report examines manufacturing monolithic amorphous silicon modules on a continuous polymer substrate. Module production costs can be reduced by increasing module performance, expanding production, and improving and modifying production processes. Material costs can be reduced by developing processes that use a 1-mil polyimide substrate and multilayers of low-cost material for the front encapsulant. Research to speed up a-Si and ZnO deposition rates is needed to improve throughputs. To keep throughput rates compatible with depositions, multibeam fiber optic delivery systems for laser scribing can be used. However, mechanical scribing systems promise even higher throughputs. Tandem cells and production experience can increase device efficiency and stability. Two alternative manufacturing processes are described: (1) wet etching and sheet handling and (2) wet etching and roll-to-roll fabrication.

Very high frequency plasma deposited amorphous/nanocrystalline silicon tandem solar cells on flexible substrates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liu, Y.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304831743

2010-01-01

The work in this thesis is to develop high quality intrinsic layers (especially nc-Si:H) for micromorph silicon tandem solar cells/modules on plastic substrates following the substrate transfer method or knows as the Helianthos procedure. Two objectives are covered in this thesis: (1) preliminary

Aligned three-dimensional prismlike magnesium nanostructures realized onto silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Kaili; Rossi, Carole; Tenailleau, Christophe; Alphonse, Pierre

2008-01-01

A simple approach is proposed to realize three-dimensional (3D) prismlike Mg nanostructures, which has several advantages over previous investigations such as suitable for mass production, reduced impurities, tailored dimensions, and easier integration into microsystem. 3D Mg nanostructures are realized onto silicon substrate using a conventional thermal evaporator, where the incident angle of Mg vapor flux with respect to the substrate surface normal is fixed at 88 deg. The as-prepared 3D Mg nanostructures are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, energy dispersive x-ray analysis, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and surface area measurement

Wet-chemical passivation of atomically flat and structured silicon substrates for solar cell application

Science.gov (United States)

Angermann, H.; Rappich, J.; Korte, L.; Sieber, I.; Conrad, E.; Schmidt, M.; Hübener, K.; Polte, J.; Hauschild, J.

2008-04-01

Special sequences of wet-chemical oxidation and etching steps were optimised with respect to the etching behaviour of differently oriented silicon to prepare very smooth silicon interfaces with excellent electronic properties on mono- and poly-crystalline substrates. Surface photovoltage (SPV) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigations were utilised to develop wet-chemical smoothing procedures for atomically flat and structured surfaces, respectively. Hydrogen-termination as well as passivation by wet-chemical oxides were used to inhibit surface contamination and native oxidation during the technological processing. Compared to conventional pre-treatments, significantly lower micro-roughness and densities of surface states were achieved on mono-crystalline Si(100), on evenly distributed atomic steps, such as on vicinal Si(111), on silicon wafers with randomly distributed upside pyramids, and on poly-crystalline EFG ( Edge-defined Film-fed- Growth) silicon substrates. The recombination loss at a-Si:H/c-Si interfaces prepared on c-Si substrates with randomly distributed upside pyramids was markedly reduced by an optimised wet-chemical smoothing procedure, as determined by PL measurements. For amorphous-crystalline hetero-junction solar cells (ZnO/a-Si:H(n)/c-Si(p)/Al) with textured c-Si substrates the smoothening procedure results in a significant increase of short circuit current Isc, fill factor and efficiency η. The scatter in the cell parameters for measurements on different cells is much narrower, as compared to conventional pre-treatments, indicating more well-defined and reproducible surface conditions prior to a-Si:H emitter deposition and/or a higher stability of the c-Si surface against variations in the a-Si:H deposition conditions.

Intensifying the Casimir force between two silicon substrates within three different layers of materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seyedzahedi, A.; Moradian, A.; Setare, M.R.

2016-01-01

We investigate the Casimir force for a system composed of two thick slabs as substrates within three different homogeneous layers. We use the scattering approach along with the Matsubara formalism in order to calculate the Casimir force at finite temperature. First, we focus on constructing the reflection matrices and then we calculate the Casimir force for a water–lipid system. According to the conventional use of silicon as a substrate, we apply the formalism to calculate the Casimir force for layers of Au, VO 2 , mica, KCl and foam rubber on the thick slabs of silicon. Afterwards, introducing an increasing factor, we compare our results with Lifshitz force in the vacuum between two semispaces of silicon in order to illustrate the influence of the layers on intensifying the Casimir force. We also calculate the Casimir force between two slabs of the forementioned materials with finite thicknesses to indicate the substrate's role in increasing the obtained Casimir force. Our simple calculation is interesting since one can extend it along with the Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis to systems containing inhomogeneous layers as good candidates for designing nanomechanical devices.

Intensifying the Casimir force between two silicon substrates within three different layers of materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seyedzahedi, A. [Department of Science, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Moradian, A., E-mail: a.moradian@uok.ac.ir [Department of Science, Campus of Bijar, University of Kurdistan, Bijar (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Setare, M.R., E-mail: rezakord@ipm.ir [Department of Science, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-04-01

We investigate the Casimir force for a system composed of two thick slabs as substrates within three different homogeneous layers. We use the scattering approach along with the Matsubara formalism in order to calculate the Casimir force at finite temperature. First, we focus on constructing the reflection matrices and then we calculate the Casimir force for a water–lipid system. According to the conventional use of silicon as a substrate, we apply the formalism to calculate the Casimir force for layers of Au, VO{sub 2}, mica, KCl and foam rubber on the thick slabs of silicon. Afterwards, introducing an increasing factor, we compare our results with Lifshitz force in the vacuum between two semispaces of silicon in order to illustrate the influence of the layers on intensifying the Casimir force. We also calculate the Casimir force between two slabs of the forementioned materials with finite thicknesses to indicate the substrate's role in increasing the obtained Casimir force. Our simple calculation is interesting since one can extend it along with the Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis to systems containing inhomogeneous layers as good candidates for designing nanomechanical devices.

Deep levels induced by low energy B+ implantation into Ge-preamorphised silicon in correlation with end of range formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benzohra, Mohamed; Olivie, Francois; Idrissi-Benzohra, Malika; Ketata, Kaouther; Ketata, Mohamed

2002-01-01

It is well established that low energy B + ion implantation into Ge- (or Si) implantation pre-amorphised silicon allows ultra-shallow p + n junctions formation. However, this process is known to generate defects such as dislocation loops, vacancies and interstitials which can act as vehicles to different mechanisms inducing electrically active levels into the silicon bulk. The junctions studied have been obtained using 3 keV/10 15 cm -2 B + implantation into Ge-implantation pre-amorphised substrates and into a reference crystalline substrate. Accurate measurements using deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and isothermal transient capacitance ΔC(t,T) were performed to characterise these levels. Such knowledge is crucial to improve the device characteristics. In order to sweep the silicon band gap, various experimental conditions were considered. The analysis of DLTS spectra have first showed three deep levels associated to secondary induced defects. Their concentration profiles were derived from isothermal transient capacitance at depths up to 3.5 μm into the silicon bulk and allowed us to detect a new deep level. The evolution of such defect distribution in correlation with the technological steps is discussed. The end of range (EOR) defect influence on electrical activity of secondary induced defects in ultra-shallow p + n diodes is clearly demonstrated

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle attachment on array of micro test tubes and microbeakers formed on p-type silicon substrate for biosensor applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raja Sufi

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract A uniformly distributed array of micro test tubes and microbeakers is formed on a p-type silicon substrate with tunable cross-section and distance of separation by anodic etching of the silicon wafer in N, N-dimethylformamide and hydrofluoric acid, which essentially leads to the formation of macroporous silicon templates. A reasonable control over the dimensions of the structures could be achieved by tailoring the formation parameters, primarily the wafer resistivity. For a micro test tube, the cross-section (i.e., the pore size as well as the distance of separation between two adjacent test tubes (i.e., inter-pore distance is typically approximately 1 μm, whereas, for a microbeaker the pore size exceeds 1.5 μm and the inter-pore distance could be less than 100 nm. We successfully synthesized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs, with average particle size approximately 20 nm and attached them on the porous silicon chip surface as well as on the pore walls. Such SPION-coated arrays of micro test tubes and microbeakers are potential candidates for biosensors because of the biocompatibility of both silicon and SPIONs. As acquisition of data via microarray is an essential attribute of high throughput bio-sensing, the proposed nanostructured array may be a promising step in this direction.

Gas microstrip detectors on polymer, silicon and glass substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barasch, E.F.; Demroff, H.P.; Drew, M.M.; Elliott, T.S.; Gaedke, R.M.; Goss, L.T.; Kasprowicz, T.B.; Lee, B.; Mazumdar, T.K.; McIntyre, P.M.; Pang, Y.; Smith, D.D.; Trost, H.J.; Vanstraelen, G.; Wahl, J.

1993-01-01

We present results on the performance of Gas Microstrip Detectors on various substrates. These include a 300 μm anode-anode pitch pattern on Tempax borosilicate glass and ABS/copolyether, a 200 μm pattern on Upilex ''S'' polyimide, Texin 4215, Tedlar, ion-implanted Kapton, orientation-dependent etched flat-topped silicon (''knife-edge chamber''), and iron-vanadium glass, and a 100 μm pitch pattern on Upilex ''S'' and ion-implanted Kapton. (orig.)

Room-temperature operation of a 2.25 μm electrically pumped laser fabricated on a silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez, J. B.; Cerutti, L.; Grech, P.; Tournie, E.

2009-01-01

We report on a GaSb-based type-I laser structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a (001) silicon substrate. A thin AlSb nucleation layer followed by a 1 μm thick GaSb buffer layer was used to accommodate the very large lattice mismatch existing with the silicon substrate. Processed devices with mesa geometry exhibited laser operation in pulsed mode with a duty cycle up to 10% at room temperature

Growth on elastic silicone substrate elicits a partial myogenic response in periodontal ligament derived stem cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Pelaez

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The processes of cellular differentiation and phenotypic maintenance can be influenced by stimuli from a variety of different factors. One commonly overlooked factor is the mechanical properties of the growth substrate in which stem cells are maintained or differentiated down various lineages. Here we explored the effect that growth on an elastic silicone substrate had on the myogenic expression and cytoskeletal morphology of periodontal ligament derived stem cells. Cells were grown on either collagen I coated tissue culture polystyrene plates or collagen I coated elastic silicone membranes for a period of 4 days without further induction from soluble factors in the culture media. Following the 4-day growth, gene expression and immunohistochemical analysis for key cardiomyogenic markers was performed along with a morphological assessment of cytoskeletal organization. Results show that cells grown on the elastic substrate significantly upregulate key markers associated with contractile activity in muscle tissues. Namely, the myosin light chain polypeptides 2 and 7, as well as the myosin heavy chain polypeptide 7 genes underwent a statistically significant upregulation in the cells grown on elastic silicone membranes. Similarly, the cells on the softer elastic substrate stained positive for both sarcomeric actin and cardiac troponin t proteins following just 4 days of growth on the softer material. Cytoskeletal analysis showed that substrate stiffness had a marked effect on the organization and distribution of filamentous actin fibers within the cell body. Growth on silicone membranes produced flatter and shorter cellular morphologies with filamentous actin fibers projecting anisotropically throughout the cell body. These results demonstrate how crucial the mechanical properties of the growth substrate of cells can be on the ultimate cellular phenotype. These observations highlight the need to further optimize differentiation protocols to enhance

Large-grain polycrystalline silicon film by sequential lateral solidification on a plastic substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yong-Hae; Chung, Choong-Heui; Yun, Sun Jin; Moon, Jaehyun; Park, Dong-Jin; Kim, Dae-Won; Lim, Jung Wook; Song, Yoon-Ho; Lee, Jin Ho

2005-01-01

A large-grain polycrystalline silicon film was obtained on a plastic substrate by sequential lateral solidification. With various combinations of sputtering powers and Ar working gas pressures, the conditions for producing dense amorphous silicon (a-Si) and SiO 2 films were optimized. The successful crystallization of the a-Si film is attributed to the production of a dense a-Si film that has low argon content and can endure high-intensity laser irradiation

Comparative analysis of germanium-silicon quantum dots formation on Si(100), Si(111) and Sn/Si(100) surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Lozovoy, Kirill; Kokhanenko, Andrey; Voitsekhovskii, Alexander

2018-02-01

In this paper theoretical modeling of formation and growth of germanium-silicon quantum dots in the method of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on different surfaces is carried out. Silicon substrates with crystallographic orientations (100) and (111) are considered. Special attention is paid to the question of growth of quantum dots on the silicon surface covered by tin, since germanium-silicon-tin system is extremely important for contemporary nano- and optoelectronics: for creation of photodetectors, solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and fast-speed transistors. A theoretical approach for modeling growth processes of such semiconductor compounds during the MBE is presented. Both layer-by-layer and island nucleation stages in the Stranski-Krastanow growth mode are described. A change in free energy during transition of atoms from the wetting layer to an island, activation barrier of the nucleation, critical thickness of 2D to 3D transition, as well as surface density and size distribution function of quantum dots in these systems are calculated with the help of the established model. All the theoretical speculations are carried out keeping in mind possible device applications of these materials. In particular, it is theoretically shown that using of the Si(100) surface covered by tin as a substrate for Ge deposition may be very promising for increasing size homogeneity of quantum dot array for possible applications in low-noise selective quantum dot infrared photodetectors.

Plasma deposition of thin film silicon at low substrate temperature and at high growth rate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verkerk, A.D.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304831719

2009-01-01

To expand the range of applications for thin film solar cells incorporating hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H), the growth rate has to be increased 0.5 or less to several nm/s and the substrate temperature should be lowered to around 100 C. In

Study on defects and impurities in cast-grown polycrystalline silicon substrates for solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arafune, K.; Sasaki, T.; Wakabayashi, F.; Terada, Y.; Ohshita, Y.; Yamaguchi, M.

2006-01-01

We focused on the defects and impurities in polycrystalline silicon substrates, which deteriorate solar cell efficiency. Comparison of the minority carrier lifetime with the grain size showed that the region with short minority carrier lifetimes did not correspond to the region with small grains. Conversely, the minority carrier lifetime decreased as the etch-pit density (EPD) increased, suggesting that the minority carrier lifetime is strongly affected by the EPD. Electron beam induced current measurements revealed that a combination of grain boundaries and point defects had high recombination activity. Regarding impurities, the interstitial oxygen concentration was relatively low compared with that in a Czochralski-grown silicon substrate, the total carbon concentration exceeded the solubility limit of silicon melt. X-ray microprobe fluorescence measurements revealed a large amount of iron in the regions where there were many etch-pits and grain boundaries with etch-pits. X-ray absorption near edge spectrum analysis revealed trapped iron in the form of oxidized iron

Free-standing silicon micro machined resistors from (110) substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernardini, R.; Diligenti, A.; Nannini, A.; Piotto, M.

1998-01-01

A simple process to obtain silicon planes released from the substrate and provided with large area pads for ohmic contacts is described. Resistors 500 μm long with a 40 μm x 1 μm cross section were obtained. Resistance measurements showed that the current flows in a reduced cross section, probably owing to the presence of a superficial depletion layer. Preliminary magnetoresistance measurements are presented. Reduction of the resistor cross section can be obtained by thermal oxidation

a-Si:H crystallization from isothermal annealing and its dependence on the substrate used

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rojas-Lopez, M., E-mail: marlonrl@yahoo.com.mx [CIBA-Tlaxcala, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Tepetitla, Tlax. 90700 (Mexico); Orduna-Diaz, A.; Delgado-Macuil, R.; Gayou, V.L.; Bibbins-Martinez, M. [CIBA-Tlaxcala, Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Tepetitla, Tlax. 90700 (Mexico); Torres-Jacome, A.; Trevino-Palacios, C.G. [INAOE, Tonantzintla, Puebla, Pue. 72000 (Mexico)

2010-10-25

We present hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films which were deposited on two different substrates (glass and mono-crystalline silicon) after an isothermal annealing treatment at 250 deg. C for up to 14 h. The annealed amorphous films were analyzed using atomic force microscopy, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. Films deposited on glass substrate experienced an amorphous-crystalline phase transition after annealing because of the metal-induced crystallization effect, reaching approximately 70% conversion after 14 h of annealing. An absorption frequency of the TO-phonon mode that varies systematically with the substoichiometry of the silicon oxide in the 1046-1170 cm{sup -1} region was observed, revealing the reactivity of the film with the annealing time. For similar annealing time, films deposited on mono-crystalline silicon substrate remained mainly amorphous with minimal Si-crystalline formation. Therefore, the crystalline formations and the shape of the films surfaces depends on the annealing time as well as on the substrate employed during the deposition process of the a-Si:H film.

Human aortic endothelial cell morphology influenced by topography of porous silicon substrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Formentín, Pilar; Catalán, Úrsula; Fernández-Castillejo, Sara; Alba, Maria; Baranowska, Malgorzata; Solà, Rosa; Pallarès, Josep; Marsal, Lluís F

2015-10-01

Porous silicon has received much attention because of its optical properties and for its usefulness in cell-based biosensing, drug delivery, and tissue engineering applications. Surface properties of the biomaterial are associated with cell adhesion and with proliferation, migration, and differentiation. The present article analyzes the behavior of human aortic endothelial cells in macro- and nanoporous collagen-modified porous silicon samples. On both substrates, cells are well adhered and numerous. Confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were employed to study the effects of porosity on the morphology of the cells. On macroporous silicon, filopodia is not observed but the cell spreads on the surface, increasing the lamellipodia surface which penetrates the macropore. On nanoporous silicon, multiple filopodia were found to branch out from the cell body. These results demonstrate that the pore size plays a key role in controlling the morphology and growth rate of human aortic endothelial cells, and that these forms of silicon can be used to control cell development in tissue engineering as well as in basic cell biology research. © The Author(s) 2015.

ZnO buffer layer for metal films on silicon substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Ihlefeld, Jon

2014-09-16

Dramatic improvements in metallization integrity and electroceramic thin film performance can be achieved by the use of the ZnO buffer layer to minimize interfacial energy between metallization and adhesion layers. In particular, the invention provides a substrate metallization method utilizing a ZnO adhesion layer that has a high work of adhesion, which in turn enables processing under thermal budgets typically reserved for more exotic ceramic, single-crystal, or metal foil substrates. Embodiments of the present invention can be used in a broad range of applications beyond ferroelectric capacitors, including microelectromechanical systems, micro-printed heaters and sensors, and electrochemical energy storage, where integrity of metallized silicon to high temperatures is necessary.

Implantation of oxygen ions for the realization of SOS (silicon on insulator) structures: SIMOX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Margail, J.

1987-03-01

Highdose oxygen implantation is becoming a serious candidate for SOI (silicon on insulator) structure realization. The fabrication condition study of these substrates allowed to show up the implantation and annealing parameter importance for microstructure, and particularly for crystal quality of silicon films. It has been shown that the use of high temperature annealings leads to high quality substrates: monocrystal silicon film without any precipitate, at the card scale; Si/Si O 2 interface formation. After annealing at 1340 O C, Hall mobilities have been measured in silicon film, and its residual doping is very low. First characteristics and performance of submicron CMOS circuits prooves the electric quality of these substrates [fr

Synthesis of silicon nanocomposite for printable photovoltaic devices on flexible substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Odo, E. A.; Faremi, A. A.

2017-06-01

Renewed interest has been established in the preparation of silicon nanoparticles for electronic device applications. In this work, we report on the production of silicon powders using a simple ball mill and of silicon nanocomposite ink for screen-printable photovoltaic device on a flexible substrate. Bulk single crystalline silicon was milled for 25 h in the ball mill. The structural properties of the produced silicon nanoparticles were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the particles remained highly crystalline, though transformed from their original single crystalline state to polycrystalline. The elemental composition using energy dispersive X-ray florescence spectroscopy (EDXRF) revealed that contamination from iron (Fe) and chromium (Cr) of the milling media and oxygen from the atmosphere were insignificant. The size distribution of the nanoparticles follows a lognormal pattern that ranges from 60 nm to about 1.2 μm and a mean particle size of about 103 nm. Electrical characterization of screen-printed PN structures of the nanocomposite formed by embedding the powder into a suitable water-soluble polymer on Kapton sheet reveals an enhanced photocurrent transport resulting from photo-induced carrier generation in the depletion region with energy greater that the Schottky barrier height at the metal-composite interface.

Coated silicon comprising material for protection against environmental corrosion

Science.gov (United States)

Hazel, Brian Thomas (Inventor)

2009-01-01

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, an article is disclosed. The article comprises a gas turbine engine component substrate comprising a silicon material; and an environmental barrier coating overlying the substrate, wherein the environmental barrier coating comprises cerium oxide, and the cerium oxide reduces formation of silicate glass on the substrate upon exposure to corrodant sulfates.

Light emitting structures porous silicon-silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monastyrskii, L.S.; Olenych, I.B.; Panasjuk, M.R.; Savchyn, V.P.

1999-01-01

The research of spectroscopic properties of porous silicon has been done. Complex of photoluminescence, electroluminescence, cathodoluminescence, thermostimulated depolarisation current analyte methods have been applied to study of geterostructures and free layers of porous silicon. Light emitting processes had tendency to decrease. The character of decay for all kinds of luminescence were different

Growth of light-emitting SiGe heterostructures on strained silicon-on-insulator substrates with a thin oxide layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baidakova, N. A., E-mail: banatale@ipmras.ru [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Physics of Microstructures (Russian Federation); Bobrov, A. I. [University of Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation); Drozdov, M. N.; Novikov, A. V. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Physics of Microstructures (Russian Federation); Pavlov, D. A. [University of Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation); Shaleev, M. V.; Yunin, P. A.; Yurasov, D. V.; Krasilnik, Z. F. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Physics of Microstructures (Russian Federation)

2015-08-15

The possibility of using substrates based on “strained silicon on insulator” structures with a thin (25 nm) buried oxide layer for the growth of light-emitting SiGe structures is studied. It is shown that, in contrast to “strained silicon on insulator” substrates with a thick (hundreds of nanometers) oxide layer, the temperature stability of substrates with a thin oxide is much lower. Methods for the chemical and thermal cleaning of the surface of such substrates, which make it possible to both retain the elastic stresses in the thin Si layer on the oxide and provide cleaning of the surface from contaminating impurities, are perfecte. It is demonstrated that it is possible to use the method of molecular-beam epitaxy to grow light-emitting SiGe structures of high crystalline quality on such substrates.

Continuous fine pattern formation by screen-offset printing using a silicone blanket

Science.gov (United States)

Nomura, Ken-ichi; Kusaka, Yasuyuki; Ushijima, Hirobumi; Nagase, Kazuro; Ikedo, Hiroaki; Mitsui, Ryosuke; Takahashi, Seiya; Nakajima, Shin-ichiro; Iwata, Shiro

2014-09-01

Screen-offset printing combines screen-printing on a silicone blanket with transference of the print from the blanket to a substrate. The blanket absorbs organic solvents in the ink, and therefore, the ink does not disperse through the material. This prevents blurring and allows fine patterns with widths of a few tens of micrometres to be produced. However, continuous printing deteriorates the pattern’s shape, which may be a result of decay in the absorption abilities of the blanket. Thus, we have developed a new technique for refreshing the blanket by substituting high-boiling-point solvents present on the blanket surface with low-boiling-point solvents. We analyse the efficacy of this technique, and demonstrate continuous fine pattern formation for 100 screen-offset printing processes.

Continuous fine pattern formation by screen-offset printing using a silicone blanket

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomura, Ken-ichi; Kusaka, Yasuyuki; Ushijima, Hirobumi; Nagase, Kazuro; Ikedo, Hiroaki; Mitsui, Ryosuke; Takahashi, Seiya; Nakajima, Shin-ichiro; Iwata, Shiro

2014-01-01

Screen-offset printing combines screen-printing on a silicone blanket with transference of the print from the blanket to a substrate. The blanket absorbs organic solvents in the ink, and therefore, the ink does not disperse through the material. This prevents blurring and allows fine patterns with widths of a few tens of micrometres to be produced. However, continuous printing deteriorates the pattern’s shape, which may be a result of decay in the absorption abilities of the blanket. Thus, we have developed a new technique for refreshing the blanket by substituting high-boiling-point solvents present on the blanket surface with low-boiling-point solvents. We analyse the efficacy of this technique, and demonstrate continuous fine pattern formation for 100 screen-offset printing processes. (paper)

Plasmonic properties of gold nanoparticles on silicon substrates: Understanding Fano-like spectra observed in reflection

Science.gov (United States)

Bossard-Giannesini, Léo; Cruguel, Hervé; Lacaze, Emmanuelle; Pluchery, Olivier

2016-09-01

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are known for their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) that can be measured with UV-visible spectroscopy. AuNPs are often deposited on silicon substrates for various applications, and the LSPR is measured in reflection. In this case, optical spectra are measured by surface differential reflectance spectroscopy (SDRS) and the absorbance exhibits a negative peak. This article studies both experimentally and theoretically on the single layers of 16 nm diameter spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) grafted on silicon. The morphology and surface density of AuNPs were investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The plasmon response in transmission on the glass substrate and in reflection on the silicon substrate is described by an analytical model based on the Fresnel equations and the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory (FMG). The FMG model shows a strong dependence to the incidence angle of the light. At low incident angles, the peak appears negatively with a shallow intensity, and at angles above 30°, the usual positive shape of the plasmon is retrieved. The relevance of the FMG model is compared to the Mie theory within the dipolar approximation. We conclude that no Fano effect is responsible for this derivative shape. An easy-to-use formula is derived that agrees with our experimental data.

Influence of calcium and silicon supplementation into Pleurotus ostreatus substrates on quality of fresh and canned mushrooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Thongsook, T; Kongbangkerd, T

2011-08-01

Supplements of gypsum (calcium source), pumice (silicon source) and pumice sulfate (silicon and calcium source) into substrates for oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) were searched for their effects on production as well as qualities of fresh and canned mushrooms. The addition of pumice up to 30% had no effect on total yield, size distribution and cap diameters. The supplementation of gypsum at 10% decreased the total yield; and although gypsum at 5% did not affect total yield, the treatment increased the proportion of large-sized caps. High content (>10%) of pumice sulfate resulted in the lower yield. Calcium and silicon contents in the fruit bodies were not influenced by supplementations. The centrifugal drip loss values and solid content of fresh mushrooms, and the percentage of weight gained and firmness of canned mushrooms, cultivated in substrates supplemented with gypsum, pumice and pumice sulfate were significantly (p≤0.05) higher than those of the control. Scanning electron micrographs revealed the more compacted hyphae of mushroom stalks supplemented with silicon and/or calcium after heat treatment, compared to the control. Supplementation of P. ostreatus substrates with 20% pumice was the most practical treatment because it showed no effect on yield and the most cost-effective.

Networks of neuroblastoma cells on porous silicon substrates reveal a small world topology

KAUST Repository

Marinaro, Giovanni; La Rocca, Rosanna; Toma, Andrea; Barberio, Marianna; Cancedda, Laura; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.; Decuzzi, Paolo C W; Gentile, Francesco T.

2015-01-01

The human brain is a tightly interweaving network of neural cells where the complexity of the network is given by the large number of its constituents and its architecture. The topological structure of neurons in the brain translates into its increased computational capabilities, low energy consumption, and nondeterministic functions, which differentiate human behavior from artificial computational schemes. In this manuscript, we fabricated porous silicon chips with a small pore size ranging from 8 to 75 nm and large fractal dimensions up to Df ∼ 2.8. In culturing neuroblastoma N2A cells on the described substrates, we found that those cells adhere more firmly to and proliferate on the porous surfaces compared to the conventional nominally flat silicon substrates, which were used as controls. More importantly, we observed that N2A cells on the porous substrates create highly clustered, small world topology patterns. We conjecture that neurons with a similar architecture may elaborate information more efficiently than in random or regular grids. Moreover, we hypothesize that systems of neurons on nano-scale geometry evolve in time to form networks in which the propagation of information is maximized. This journal is

Growth and characterization of thick cBN coatings on silicon and tool substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bewilogua, K.; Keunecke, M.; Weigel, K.; Wiemann, E.

2004-01-01

Recently some research groups have achieved progress in the deposition of cubic boron nitride (cBN) coatings with a thickness of 2 μm and more, which is necessary for cutting tool applications. In our laboratory, thick cBN coatings were sputter deposited on silicon substrates using a boron carbide target. Following a boron carbide interlayer (few 100 nm thick), a gradient layer with continuously increasing nitrogen content was prepared. After the cBN nucleation, the process parameters were modified for the cBN film growth to a thickness of more than 2 μm. However, the transfer of this technology to technically relevant substrates, like cemented carbide cutting inserts, required some further process modifications. At first, a titanium interlayer had to be deposited followed by a more than 1-μm-thick boron carbide layer. The next steps were identical to those on silicon substrates. The total coating thickness was in the range of 3 μm with a 0.5- to nearly 1-μm-thick cBN top layer. In spite of the enormous intrinsic stress, both the coatings on silicon and on cemented carbide exhibited a good adhesion and a prolonged stability in humid air. Oxidation experiments revealed a stability of the coating system on cemented carbide up to 700 deg. C and higher. Coated cutting inserts were tested in turning operations with different metallic workpiece materials. The test results will be compared to those of well-established cutting materials, like polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) and oxide ceramics, considering the wear of coated tools

Physical and electrical characterization of corundum substrates and epitaxial silicon layers in view of fabricating integrated circuits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trilhe, J.; Legal, H.; Rolland, G.

1975-01-01

The S.O.S. technology (silicon on insulating substrate) allows compact, radiation hard, fast integrated circuits to be fabricated. It is noticeable that complex integrated circuits on corundum substrates obtained with various fabrication processes have various electrical characteristics. Possible correlations between the macroscopic defects of the substrate and the electrical characteristics of the circuit were investigated [fr

Substrate bias effect on crystallinity of polycrystalline silicon thin films prepared by pulsed ion-beam evaporation method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ali, Fazlat; Gunji, Michiharu; Yang, Sung-Chae; Suzuki, Tsuneo; Suematsu, Hisayuki; Jiang, Weihua; Yatsui, Kiyoshi [Nagaoka Univ. of Technology, Extreme Energy-Density Research Inst., Nagaoka, Niigata (Japan)

2002-06-01

The deposition of polycrystalline silicon thin films has been tried by a pulsed ion-beam evaporation method, where high crystallinity and deposition rate have been achieved without heating the substrate. The crystallinity and the deposition rate were improved by applying bias voltage to the substrate, where instantaneous substrate heating might have occurred by ion-bombardment. (author)

Substrate bias effect on crystallinity of polycrystalline silicon thin films prepared by pulsed ion-beam evaporation method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, Fazlat; Gunji, Michiharu; Yang, Sung-Chae; Suzuki, Tsuneo; Suematsu, Hisayuki; Jiang, Weihua; Yatsui, Kiyoshi

2002-01-01

The deposition of polycrystalline silicon thin films has been tried by a pulsed ion-beam evaporation method, where high crystallinity and deposition rate have been achieved without heating the substrate. The crystallinity and the deposition rate were improved by applying bias voltage to the substrate, where instantaneous substrate heating might have occurred by ion-bombardment. (author)

Unveiling the Formation Pathway of Single Crystalline Porous Silicon Nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Xing; Qu, Yongquan; Lin, Yung-Chen; Liao, Lei; Duan, Xiangfeng

2011-01-01

Porous silicon nanowire is emerging as an interesting material system due to its unique combination of structural, chemical, electronic, and optical properties. To fully understand their formation mechanism is of great importance for controlling the fundamental physical properties and enabling potential applications. Here we present a systematic study to elucidate the mechanism responsible for the formation of porous silicon nanowires in a two-step silver-assisted electroless chemical etching method. It is shown that silicon nanowire arrays with various porosities can be prepared by varying multiple experimental parameters such as the resistivity of the starting silicon wafer, the concentration of oxidant (H2O2) and the amount of silver catalyst. Our study shows a consistent trend that the porosity increases with the increasing wafer conductivity (dopant concentration) and oxidant (H2O2) concentration. We further demonstrate that silver ions, formed by the oxidation of silver, can diffuse upwards and re-nucleate on the sidewalls of nanowires to initiate new etching pathways to produce porous structure. The elucidation of this fundamental formation mechanism opens a rational pathway to the production of wafer-scale single crystalline porous silicon nanowires with tunable surface areas ranging from 370 m2·g−1 to 30 m2·g−1, and can enable exciting opportunities in catalysis, energy harvesting, conversion, storage, as well as biomedical imaging and therapy. PMID:21244020

Mechanically flexible optically transparent silicon fabric with high thermal budget devices from bulk silicon (100)

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2013-05-30

Today’s information age is driven by silicon based electronics. For nearly four decades semiconductor industry has perfected the fabrication process of continuingly scaled transistor – heart of modern day electronics. In future, silicon industry will be more pervasive, whose application will range from ultra-mobile computation to bio-integrated medical electronics. Emergence of flexible electronics opens up interesting opportunities to expand the horizon of electronics industry. However, silicon – industry’s darling material is rigid and brittle. Therefore, we report a generic batch fabrication process to convert nearly any silicon electronics into a flexible one without compromising its (i) performance; (ii) ultra-large-scale-integration complexity to integrate billions of transistors within small areas; (iii) state-of-the-art process compatibility, (iv) advanced materials used in modern semiconductor technology; (v) the most widely used and well-studied low-cost substrate mono-crystalline bulk silicon (100). In our process, we make trenches using anisotropic reactive ion etching (RIE) in the inactive areas (in between the devices) of a silicon substrate (after the devices have been fabricated following the regular CMOS process), followed by a dielectric based spacer formation to protect the sidewall of the trench and then performing an isotropic etch to create caves in silicon. When these caves meet with each other the top portion of the silicon with the devices is ready to be peeled off from the bottom silicon substrate. Release process does not need to use any external support. Released silicon fabric (25 μm thick) is mechanically flexible (5 mm bending radius) and the trenches make it semi-transparent (transparency of 7%). © (2013) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Mechanically flexible optically transparent silicon fabric with high thermal budget devices from bulk silicon (100)

KAUST Repository

Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa; Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto; Sevilla, Galo T.

2013-01-01

Today’s information age is driven by silicon based electronics. For nearly four decades semiconductor industry has perfected the fabrication process of continuingly scaled transistor – heart of modern day electronics. In future, silicon industry will be more pervasive, whose application will range from ultra-mobile computation to bio-integrated medical electronics. Emergence of flexible electronics opens up interesting opportunities to expand the horizon of electronics industry. However, silicon – industry’s darling material is rigid and brittle. Therefore, we report a generic batch fabrication process to convert nearly any silicon electronics into a flexible one without compromising its (i) performance; (ii) ultra-large-scale-integration complexity to integrate billions of transistors within small areas; (iii) state-of-the-art process compatibility, (iv) advanced materials used in modern semiconductor technology; (v) the most widely used and well-studied low-cost substrate mono-crystalline bulk silicon (100). In our process, we make trenches using anisotropic reactive ion etching (RIE) in the inactive areas (in between the devices) of a silicon substrate (after the devices have been fabricated following the regular CMOS process), followed by a dielectric based spacer formation to protect the sidewall of the trench and then performing an isotropic etch to create caves in silicon. When these caves meet with each other the top portion of the silicon with the devices is ready to be peeled off from the bottom silicon substrate. Release process does not need to use any external support. Released silicon fabric (25 μm thick) is mechanically flexible (5 mm bending radius) and the trenches make it semi-transparent (transparency of 7%). © (2013) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Impact of the silicon substrate resistivity and growth condition on the deep levels in Ni-Au/AlN/Si MIS Capacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chong; Simoen, Eddy; Zhao, Ming; Li, Wei

2017-10-01

Deep levels formed under different growth conditions of a 200 nm AlN buffer layer on B-doped Czochralski Si(111) substrates with different resistivity were investigated by deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) on metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitors. Growth-temperature-dependent Al diffusion in the Si substrate was derived from the free carrier density obtained by capacitance-voltage measurement on samples grown on p- substrates. The DLTS spectra revealed a high concentration of point and extended defects in the p- and p+ silicon substrates, respectively. This indicated a difference in the electrically active defects in the silicon substrate close to the AlN/Si interface, depending on the B doping concentration.

Gold nanoparticle growth control - Implementing novel wet chemistry method on silicon substrate

KAUST Repository

Al-Ameer, Ammar

2013-04-01

Controlling particle size, shape, nucleation, and self-assembly on surfaces are some of the main challenges facing electronic device fabrication. In this work, growth of gold nanoparticles over a wide range of sizes was investigated by using a novel wet chemical method, where potassium iodide is used as the reducing solution and gold chloride as the metal precursor, on silicon substrates. Four parameters were studied: soaking time, solution temperature, concentration of the solution of gold chloride, and surface pre-treatment of the substrate. Synthesized nanoparticles were then characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The precise control of the location and order of the grown gold overlayer was achieved by using focused ion beam (FIB) patterning of a silicon surface, pre-treated with potassium iodide. By varying the soaking time and temperature, different particle sizes and shapes were obtained. Flat geometrical shapes and spherical shapes were observed. We believe, that the method described in this work is potentially a straightforward and efficient way to fabricate gold contacts for microelectronics. © 2013 IEEE.

Analysis of signals propagating in a phononic crystal PZT layer deposited on a silicon substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Hladky-Hennion, Anne-Christine; Vasseur, Jérôme; Dubus, Bertrand; Morvan, Bruno; Wilkie-Chancellier, Nicolas; Martinez, Loïc

2013-12-01

The design of a stop-band filter constituted by a periodically patterned lead zirconate titanate (PZT) layer, polarized along its thickness, deposited on a silicon substrate and sandwiched between interdigitated electrodes for emission/reception of guided elastic waves, is investigated. The filter characteristics are theoretically evaluated by using finite element simulations: dispersion curves of a patterned PZT layer with a specific pattern geometry deposited on a silicon substrate present an absolute stop band. The whole structure is modeled with realistic conditions, including appropriate interdigitated electrodes to propagate a guided mode in the piezoelectric layer. A robust method for signal analysis based on the Gabor transform is applied to treat transmitted signals; extract attenuation, group delays, and wave number variations versus frequency; and identify stop-band filter characteristics.

Black Silicon formation using dry etching for solar cells applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murias, D.; Reyes-Betanzo, C.; Moreno, M.; Torres, A.; Itzmoyotl, A.; Ambrosio, R.; Soriano, M.; Lucas, J.; Cabarrocas, P. Roca i

2012-01-01

A study on the formation of Black Silicon on crystalline silicon surface using SF 6 /O 2 and SF 6 /O 2 /CH 4 based plasmas in a reactive ion etching (RIE) system is presented. The effect of the RF power, chamber pressure, process time, gas flow rates, and gas mixtures on the texture of silicon surface has been analyzed. Completely Black Silicon surfaces containing pyramid like structures have been obtained, using an optimized mask-free plasma process. Moreover, the Black Silicon surfaces have demonstrated average values of 1% and 4% for specular and diffuse reflectance respectively, feature that is suitable for the fabrication of low cost solar cells.

Catalytic growth of carbon nanowires on composite diamond/silicon substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sellam, Amine [Université de Lorraine, Institut Jean Lamour, Département CP2S (UMR CNRS 7198), Parc de Saurupt, F-54042 Nancy Cedex (France); Miska, Patrice [Université de Lorraine, Institut Jean Lamour, Département P2M (UMR CNRS 7198), Parc de Saurupt, F-54042 Nancy Cedex (France); Ghanbaja, Jaafar [Université de Lorraine, Institut Jean Lamour, Département CP2S (UMR CNRS 7198), Parc de Saurupt, F-54042 Nancy Cedex (France); Barrat, Silvère, E-mail: Silvere.Barrat@ijl.nancy-universite.fr [Université de Lorraine, Institut Jean Lamour, Département CP2S (UMR CNRS 7198), Parc de Saurupt, F-54042 Nancy Cedex (France)

2014-01-01

Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) films and carbon nanowires (CNWs) provide individually highly attractive properties for science and technology applications. The possibility of carbon composite materials made from a combination of these materials remains a potential approach widely discussed in literature but modestly investigated. We report in this work an early attempt to explore this opportunity in the light of some specific experimental considerations. Carbon nanowires (CNWs) are grown at low temperature without the conventional use of external hydrocarbon vapor source on silicon substrates partially covered by a thin film of coalesced micrometric CVD diamond. Composite substrates constituted by PCD on silicon were first cleaned with H{sub 2} plasma then used for the PVD deposition of 5 nm Ni thin films. Then, samples were heat treated in a CVD reactor at 580 °C in the presence of pure H{sub 2} pressure of 60 hPa at different annealing times. Comparative effect of annealing time on the dewetting of Ni thin films and the subsequent CNWs growth process was considered in this work using systematic observations by SEM. Possible mechanisms underlying CNWs growth in pure H{sub 2} gas were proposed. The nature and structure of these CNWs have been investigated by TEM microscopy and by Raman spectroscopy on the sample showing the highest CNWs density.

Formation of silicon carbide by laser ablation in graphene oxide-N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone suspension on silicon surface

Science.gov (United States)

Jaleh, Babak; Ghasemi, Samaneh; Torkamany, Mohammad Javad; Salehzadeh, Sadegh; Maleki, Farahnaz

2018-01-01

Laser ablation of a silicon wafer in graphene oxide-N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (GO-NMP) suspension was carried out with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser (pulse duration = 250 ns, wavelength = 1064 nm). The surface of silicon wafer before and after laser ablation was studied using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The results showed that the ablation of silicon surface in liquid by pulsed laser was done by the process of melt expulsion under the influence of the confined plasma-induced pressure or shock wave trapped between the silicon wafer and the liquid. The X-ray diffraction‌ (XRD) pattern of Si wafer after laser ablation showed that 4H-SiC layer is formed on its surface. The formation of the above layer was also confirmed by Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy‌ (XPS), as well as EDX was utilized. The reflectance of samples decreased with increasing pulse energy. Therefore, the morphological alteration and the formation of SiC layer at high energy increase absorption intensity in the UV‌-vis regions. Theoretical calculations confirm that the formation of silicon carbide from graphene oxide and silicon wafer is considerably endothermic. Development of new methods for increasing the reflectance without causing harmful effects is still an important issue for crystalline Si solar cells. By using the method described in this paper, the optical properties of solar cells can be improved.

Realization of dual-heterojunction solar cells on ultra-thin ∼25 μm, flexible silicon substrates

KAUST Repository

Onyegam, Emmanuel U.; Sarkar, Dabraj; Hilali, Mohamed M.; Saha, Sayan; Mathew, Leo; Rao, Rajesh A.; Smith, Ryan S.; Xu, Dewei; Jawarani, Dharmesh; Garcia, Ricardo; Ainom, Moses; Banerjee, Sanjay K.

2014-01-01

Silicon heterojunction (HJ) solar cells with different rear passivation and contact designs were fabricated on ∼ 25 μ m semiconductor-on-metal (SOM) exfoliated substrates. It was found that the performance of these cells is limited by recombination at the rear-surface. Employing the dual-HJ architecture resulted in the improvement of open-circuit voltage (Voc) from 605 mV (single-HJ) to 645 mV with no front side intrinsic amorphous silicon (i-layer) passivation. Addition of un-optimized front side i-layer passivation resulted in further enhancement in Voc to 662 mV. Pathways to achieving further improvement in the performance of HJ solar cells on ultra-thin SOM substrates are discussed. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Realization of dual-heterojunction solar cells on ultra-thin ∼25 μm, flexible silicon substrates

KAUST Repository

Onyegam, Emmanuel U.

2014-04-14

Silicon heterojunction (HJ) solar cells with different rear passivation and contact designs were fabricated on ∼ 25 μ m semiconductor-on-metal (SOM) exfoliated substrates. It was found that the performance of these cells is limited by recombination at the rear-surface. Employing the dual-HJ architecture resulted in the improvement of open-circuit voltage (Voc) from 605 mV (single-HJ) to 645 mV with no front side intrinsic amorphous silicon (i-layer) passivation. Addition of un-optimized front side i-layer passivation resulted in further enhancement in Voc to 662 mV. Pathways to achieving further improvement in the performance of HJ solar cells on ultra-thin SOM substrates are discussed. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.

Formation of CrSi2 studied by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tobbeche, S.; Benazzouz, C.; Boussaa, N.; Zilabdi, M.; Benouatas, A.; Bouabellou, A.; Halimi, R.

1994-01-01

Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) is used to study the growth of Cr silicides formed by thin film reactions. Thin films of Cr were deposited on phosphorus-implanted silicon and unimplanted silicon substrates. Thermal annealing was subsequently carried out. The analysis has shown a growth of a CrSi 2 phase and allowed the determination of formation kinetics. A retardation effect of the CrSi 2 growth is observed in the case of the phosphorus-implanted silicon substrate. (Author)

TRANSFORMATIONS IN NANO-DIAMONDS WITH FORMATION OF NANO-POROUS SILICON CARBIDE AT HIGH PRESSURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. N. Kovalevsky

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The paper contains investigations on regularities of diamond - silicon carbide composite structure formation at impact-wave excitation. It has been determined that while squeezing a porous blank containing Si (SiC nano-diamond by explosive detonation products some processes are taking place such as diamond nano-particles consolidation, reverse diamond transition into graphite, fragments formation from silicon carbide. A method for obtaining high-porous composites with the presence of ultra-disperse diamond particles has been developed. Material with three-dimensional high-porous silicon-carbide structure has been received due to nano-diamond graphitation at impact wave transmission and plastic deformation. The paper reveals nano-diamonds inverse transformation into graphite and its subsequent interaction with the silicon accompanied by formation of silicon-carbide fragments with dimensions of up to 100 nm.

Microcrystalline silicon growth by low laser energy crystallization on a plastic substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, D. Y.; Seo, C. K.; Shim, M. S.; Kim, C. H.; Yi, J.

2004-01-01

We are reporting the crystallization of amorphous silicon (a-Si) using a XeCl excimer laser treatment. Although polycarbonate (PC) plastic substrates are very weak at high temperatures of more than 150 .deg. C, they are very useful for applications to microelectronics because of light weight, high transmittance, and flexibility. In order to crystallize a-Si films on plastic substrates, we suggest that a CeO 2 seed layer will be very helpful at a low laser energy density. The seed layer is deposited at room temperature by rf using magnetron sputtering. A seed layer deposition method will be also presented in detail in this article. We compare a-Si crytallization without a seed layer with one with a seed layer deposited between the a-Si and the plastic substrate. The a-Si was deposited on the plastic substrate by using inductively coupled plasma Chemical-Vapor Deposition (ICPCVD) at the room temperature. In this paper, we will present the crystallization properties of a-Si with and without a CeO 2 seed layer on the plastic substrate.

Real-time observations of interface formation for barium strontium titanate films on silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, A. H.; Suvorova, N. A.; Irene, E. A.; Auciello, O.; Schultz, J. A.

2002-05-01

Ba.5Sr.5TiO3 (BST) film growth by ion sputtering on bare and thermally oxidized silicon was observed in real time using in-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry and time of flight ion scattering and recoil spectrometry techniques. At the outset of BST film deposition on silicon, an approximately 30 Å film with intermediate static dielectric constant (K˜12) and refractive index (n˜2.6 at photon energies of 1.5-3.25 eV) interface layer formed on bare silicon. The interface layer growth rate was greatly reduced on an oxidized silicon substrate. The results have profound implications on the static dielectric constant of BST.

Real-time observations of interface formation for barium strontium titanate films on silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, A.H.; Suvorova, N.A.; Irene, E.A.; Auciello, O.; Schultz, J.A.

2002-01-01

Ba .5 Sr .5 TiO 3 (BST) film growth by ion sputtering on bare and thermally oxidized silicon was observed in real time using in-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry and time of flight ion scattering and recoil spectrometry techniques. At the outset of BST film deposition on silicon, an approximately 30 Aa film with intermediate static dielectric constant (K∼12) and refractive index (n∼2.6 at photon energies of 1.5-3.25 eV) interface layer formed on bare silicon. The interface layer growth rate was greatly reduced on an oxidized silicon substrate. The results have profound implications on the static dielectric constant of BST

Heat explosion approach to radiofrequency heating of a conductor film on silicon substrate: Application for silicide film formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pelleg, J.; Rosenberg, S.; Sinder, M.

2011-01-01

A qualitative analysis of the kinetics of phase formation in a conductor film/Si substrate system by radiofrequency (RF) heating is presented. The analysis is done by using the mathematical approach of the heat explosion theory. It is shown that the system can experience heating at constant temperature or a sudden temperature increase, i.e. heat explosion. The relation between the parameters of the system in the heat explosion regime is presented in a simple analytical form. It was found that measurable quantities, such as film thickness, sheet resistance, specimen dimensions and applied magnetic field, determine whether the process occurs in the constant heating or heat explosion stages. The model was tested for the Ta-Ti-Si system by considering some of the mentioned measurable quantities which were obtained by RF induction heating of Ta-Ti film on Si(1 1 1) and Si(1 0 0) substrates. The agreement of theory with experiment is reasonable. Concentration of Ta in the conductor film, film thickness and the orientation of the Si substrate might influence the reaction rate. On Si(1 1 1) substrates the reaction goes to completion, whereas on Si(1 0 0) intermediate phases remain. This observation was explained in terms of an interface reaction-controlled process of Si atoms transferring from the substrate to the film.

White-light emission from porous-silicon-aluminium Schottky junctions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masini, G.; La Monica, S.; Maiello, G.

1996-01-01

Porous-silicon-based white-light-emitting devices are presented. The fabrication process on different substrates is described. The peculiarities of technological steps for device fabrication (porous-silicon formation and aluminium treatment) are underlined. Doping profile of the porous layer, current-voltage characteristics, time response, lifetime tests and electroluminescence emission spectrum of the device are presented. A model for electrical behaviour of Al/porous silicon Schottky junction is presented. Electroluminescence spectrum of the presented devices showed strong similarities with white emission from crystalline silicon junctions in the breakdown region

{alpha}-Man monolayer formation via Si-C bond formation and protein recognition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Funato, Koji [School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan); Shirahata, Naoto [National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047 (Japan); Miura, Yoshiko, E-mail: miuray@jaist.ac.j [School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan)

2009-11-30

An acetylenyl-terminated saccharide was synthesized and the thin layer formation on the hydrogen-terminated silicon was investigated. The acetylenyl-terminated saccharide was synthesized by the condensation reaction of hexynoic acid and p-aminophenyl saccharide. This was reacted with hydrogen-terminated silicon (Si-H) by a photochemical reaction. The resulting saccharide modified substrate was analyzed by ellipsometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which showed the formation of a uniform monolayer. The surface's ability to recognize proteins was analyzed by fluorescent microscopy, and showed specific interactions with sugar recognition proteins.

Formation of different micro-morphologies from VO2 and ZnO crystallization using macro-porous silicon substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Salazar-Kuri, U.; Antúnez, E. E.; Estevez, J. O.; Olive-Méndez, Sion F.; Silva-González, N. R.; Agarwal, V.

2017-05-01

Square-shaped macropores produced by electrochemical anodization of n- and p-type Si wafers have been used as centers of nucleation to crystallize VO2 and ZnO. Substrate roughness dependent formation of different morphologies is revealed in the form of squared particles, spheres, bars and ribbons in the case of VO2 and hexagonal piles and spheres in the case of ZnO, have been observed.The presence of nano-/micro-metric crystals was studied through field emission scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mapping. Crystal structure of metal oxides was confirmed by micro-Raman spectroscopy. The growth of the different morphologies has been explained in terms of the surface free energy of a bare Si/SiO2 substrate and its modification originated from the roughness of the surface and of the walls of the porous substrates. This energy plays a crucial role on the minimization of the required energy to induce heterogeneous nucleation and crystal growth. Present work strengthens and provides an experimental evidence of roughness dependent metal oxide crystal growth with well-defined habits from pore corners and rough sides of the pore walls, similar to already reported protein crystals.

Silicon nanowire-based tunneling field-effect transistors on flexible plastic substrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Myeongwon; Koo, Jamin; Chung, Eun-Ae; Jeong, Dong-Young; Koo, Yong-Seo; Kim, Sangsig

2009-11-11

A technique to implement silicon nanowire (SiNW)-based tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs) on flexible plastic substrates is developed for the first time. The p-i-n configured Si NWs are obtained from an Si wafer using a conventional top-down CMOS-compatible technology, and they are then transferred onto the plastic substrate. Based on gate-controlled band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) as their working principle, the SiNW-based TFETs show normal p-channel switching behavior with a threshold voltage of -1.86 V and a subthreshold swing of 827 mV/dec. In addition, ambipolar conduction is observed due to the presence of the BTBT between the heavily doped p+ drain and n+ channel regions, indicating that our TFETs can operate in the n-channel mode as well. Furthermore, the BTBT generation rates for both the p-channel and n-channel operating modes are nearly independent of the bending state (strain = 0.8%) of the plastic substrate.

Silicon nanowire-based tunneling field-effect transistors on flexible plastic substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Myeongwon; Koo, Jamin; Chung, Eun-Ae; Jeong, Dong-Young; Kim, Sangsig; Koo, Yong-Seo

2009-01-01

A technique to implement silicon nanowire (SiNW)-based tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs) on flexible plastic substrates is developed for the first time. The p-i-n configured Si NWs are obtained from an Si wafer using a conventional top-down CMOS-compatible technology, and they are then transferred onto the plastic substrate. Based on gate-controlled band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) as their working principle, the SiNW-based TFETs show normal p-channel switching behavior with a threshold voltage of -1.86 V and a subthreshold swing of 827 mV/dec. In addition, ambipolar conduction is observed due to the presence of the BTBT between the heavily doped p + drain and n + channel regions, indicating that our TFETs can operate in the n-channel mode as well. Furthermore, the BTBT generation rates for both the p-channel and n-channel operating modes are nearly independent of the bending state (strain = 0.8%) of the plastic substrate.

Silicon nanowire-based tunneling field-effect transistors on flexible plastic substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Myeongwon; Koo, Jamin; Chung, Eun-Ae; Jeong, Dong-Young; Kim, Sangsig [Department of Electrical Engineering and Institute for Nano Science, Korea University, 5-1, Anam-Dong, Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul 136-701 (Korea, Republic of); Koo, Yong-Seo, E-mail: sangsig@korea.ac.k [Department of Electrical Engineering, Seokyeong University, 16-1, Jungneung-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 136-704 (Korea, Republic of)

2009-11-11

A technique to implement silicon nanowire (SiNW)-based tunneling field-effect transistors (TFETs) on flexible plastic substrates is developed for the first time. The p-i-n configured Si NWs are obtained from an Si wafer using a conventional top-down CMOS-compatible technology, and they are then transferred onto the plastic substrate. Based on gate-controlled band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) as their working principle, the SiNW-based TFETs show normal p-channel switching behavior with a threshold voltage of -1.86 V and a subthreshold swing of 827 mV/dec. In addition, ambipolar conduction is observed due to the presence of the BTBT between the heavily doped p{sup +} drain and n{sup +} channel regions, indicating that our TFETs can operate in the n-channel mode as well. Furthermore, the BTBT generation rates for both the p-channel and n-channel operating modes are nearly independent of the bending state (strain = 0.8%) of the plastic substrate.

Growth, microstructure, and field-emission properties of synthesized diamond film on adamantane-coated silicon substrate by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiwari, Rajanish N.; Chang Li

2010-01-01

Diamond nucleation on unscratched Si surface is great importance for its growth, and detailed understanding of this process is therefore desired for many applications. The pretreatment of the substrate surface may influence the initial growth period. In this study, diamond films have been synthesized on adamantane-coated crystalline silicon {100} substrate by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition from a gaseous mixture of methane and hydrogen gases without the application of a bias voltage to the substrates. Prior to adamantane coating, the Si substrates were not pretreated such as abraded/scratched. The substrate temperature was ∼530 deg. C during diamond deposition. The deposited films are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectrometry, x-ray diffraction, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. These measurements provide definitive evidence for high-crystalline quality diamond film, which is synthesized on a SiC rather than clean Si substrate. Characterization through atomic force microscope allows establishing fine quality criteria of the film according to the grain size of nanodiamond along with SiC. The diamond films exhibit a low-threshold (55 V/μm) and high current-density (1.6 mA/cm 2 ) field-emission (FE) display. The possible mechanism of formation of diamond films and their FE properties have been demonstrated.

Effects of substrates on biofilm formation observed by atomic force microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Y.J.; Lee, N.R.; Jo, W.; Jung, W.K.; Lim, J.S.

2009-01-01

Formation of biofilm is known to be strongly dependent on substrates including topography, materials, and chemical treatment. In this study, a variety of substrates are tested for understanding biofilm formation. Sheets of aluminum, steel, rubber, and polypropylene have been used to examine their effects on formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm. In particular, the morphological variation, transition, and adhesiveness of biofilm were investigated through local measurement by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Mechanism of removing biofilm from adhering to substrate is also analyzed, thus the understanding of the mechanism can be potentially useful to prevent the biofilm formation. The results reveal that formation of biofilm can remain on rough surface regardless of substrates in hot water, which may easily induce extra-polymeric substances detachment from bacterial surface. By probing using AFM, local force-distance characterization of extra-cellular materials extracted from the bacteria can exhibit the progress of the biofilm formation and functional complexities.

Dry aerosol jet printing of conductive silver lines on a heated silicon substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Efimov, A. A.; Arsenov, P. V.; Protas, N. V.; Minkov, K. N.; Urazov, M. N.; Ivanov, V. V.

2018-02-01

A new method for dry aerosol jet printing conductive lines on a heated substrate is presented. The method is based on the use of a spark discharge generator as a source of dry nanoparticles and a heating plate for their sintering. This method allows creating conductive silver lines on a heated silicon substrate up to 300 °C without an additional sintering step. It was found that for effective sintering lines of silver nanoparticles the temperature of the heated substrate should be about more than 200-250 °C. Average thickness of the sintered silver lines was equal to ∼20 µm. Printed lines showed electrical resistivity equal to 35 μΩ·cm, which is 23 times greater than the resistivity of bulk silver.

First-principles investigation of indium diffusion in a silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Kwan-Sun; Hwang, Chi-Ok; Yoo, Jae-Hyun; Won, Tae-Young

2006-01-01

In this paper, we report the total energy, the minimum energy path, and the migration energy of indium in a silicon substrate by using ab-initio calculations. Stable configurations during indium diffusion were obtained from the calculation of the total energy, and we estimated the minimum energy path (MEP) with the nudged elastic band (NEB) method. After finding the MEP, we found the energy barrier for the diffusion of indium to be 0.8 eV from an exact calculation of the total energies at the minimum and the transition state.

Thin-Film layers with Interfaces that reduce RF Losses on High-Resistivity Silicon Substrates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evseev, S. B.; Milosavljevic, S.; Nanver, L. K.

2017-01-01

Radio-Frequency (RF) losses on High-Resistivity Silicon (HRS) substrates were studied for several different surface passivation layers comprising thin-films of SiC, SiN and SiO2 In many combinations, losses from conductive surface channels were reduced and increasing the number of interfaces between

Pulsed Laser Deposition of Zinc Sulfide Thin Films on Silicon: The influence of substrate orientation and preparation on thin film morphology and texture

OpenAIRE

Heimdal, Carl Philip J

2014-01-01

The effect of orientation and preparation of silicon substrates on the growth morphology and crystalline structure of ZnS thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD). ZnS thin films were grown on silicon (100) and (111), on HF-treated and untreated silicon (100) as well as substrates coated with Al, Ge and Au. The ZnS films showed entirely different morphologies for ZnS f...

High-temperature laser annealing for thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cell on glass substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Chowdhury, A.; Schneider, J.; Dore, J.; Mermet, F.; Slaoui, A.

2012-06-01

Thin film polycrystalline silicon films grown on glass substrate were irradiated with an infrared continuous wave laser for defects annealing and/or dopants activation. The samples were uniformly scanned using an attachment with the laser system. Substrate temperature, scan speed and laser power were varied to find suitable laser annealing conditions. The Raman spectroscopy and Suns- V oc analysis were carried out to qualify the films quality after laser annealing. A maximum enhancement of the open circuit voltage V oc of about 100 mV is obtained after laser annealing of as-grown polysilicon structures. A strong correlation was found between the full width half maximum of the Si crystalline peak and V oc. It is interpreted as due to defects annealing as well as to dopants activation in the absorbing silicon layer. The maximum V oc reached is 485 mV after laser treatment and plasma hydrogenation, thanks to defects passivation.

Preparation of highly aligned silicon oxide nanowires with stable intensive photoluminescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duraia, El-Shazly M.; Mansurov, Z.A.; Tokmolden, S.; Beall, Gary W.

2010-01-01

In this work we report the successful formation of highly aligned vertical silicon oxide nanowires. The source of silicon was from the substrate itself without any additional source of silicon. X-ray measurement demonstrated that our nanowires are amorphous. Photoluminescence measurements were conducted through 18 months and indicated that there is a very good intensive emission peaks near the violet regions. The FTIR measurements indicated the existence of peaks at 463, 604, 795 and a wide peak at 1111 cm -1 and this can be attributed to Si-O-Si and Si-O stretching vibrations. We also report the formation of the octopus-like silicon oxide nanowires and the growth mechanism of these structures was discussed.

Preparation of highly aligned silicon oxide nanowires with stable intensive photoluminescence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duraia, El-Shazly M., E-mail: duraia_physics@yahoo.co [Suez Canal University, Faculty of Science, Physics Department, Ismailia (Egypt); Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty (Kazakhstan); Institute of Physics and Technology, 11 Ibragimov Street, 050032 Almaty (Kazakhstan); Mansurov, Z.A. [Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty (Kazakhstan); Tokmolden, S. [Institute of Physics and Technology, 11 Ibragimov Street, 050032 Almaty (Kazakhstan); Beall, Gary W. [Texas State University-San Marcos, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, 601 University Dr., San Marcos, TX 78666 (United States)

2010-02-15

In this work we report the successful formation of highly aligned vertical silicon oxide nanowires. The source of silicon was from the substrate itself without any additional source of silicon. X-ray measurement demonstrated that our nanowires are amorphous. Photoluminescence measurements were conducted through 18 months and indicated that there is a very good intensive emission peaks near the violet regions. The FTIR measurements indicated the existence of peaks at 463, 604, 795 and a wide peak at 1111 cm{sup -1} and this can be attributed to Si-O-Si and Si-O stretching vibrations. We also report the formation of the octopus-like silicon oxide nanowires and the growth mechanism of these structures was discussed.

Photo and electroluminescence of porous silicon layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keshmini, S.H.; Samadpour, S.; Haji-Ali, E.; Rokn-Abadi, M.R.

1995-01-01

Porous silicon (PSi) layers were prepared by both chemical and electrochemical methods on n- and p-type Si substrates. In the former technique, light emission was obtained from p-type and n-type samples. It was found that intense light illumination during the preparation process was essential for PSi formation on n-type substrates. An efficient electrochemical cell with some useful features was designed for electrochemical etching of silicon. Various preparation parameters were studied and photoluminescence emissions ranging from dark red to light blue were obtained from PSi samples prepared on p-type substrates. N-type samples produced emission ranging from dark red to orange yellow. Electroluminescence of porous silicon samples showed that the color of the emission was the same as the photoluminescence color of the sample, and its intensity and duration depended on the current density passed through the sample. The effects of exposure of samples to air, storage in vacuum and heat treatment in air on luminescence intensity of the samples and preparation of patterned porous layers were also studied. (author)

Deposition of functionalized gold nanoparticles onto modified silicon substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Riskin, A.; Dobbelaere, C. de; Elen, K.; Rul, H. van den; Mullens, J.; Hardy, A. [Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek (Belgium); D' Haen, J. [Imecvzw Division IMOMEC, Diepenbeek (Belgium); Electrical and Physical Characterization, Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek (Belgium); Bael, M.K. van [Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek (Belgium); Imecvzw Division IMOMEC, Diepenbeek (Belgium)

2010-04-15

In this report, an existing phase transfer method for the synthesis of alkylamine- or alkanethiol-functionalized gold nanoparticles (NPs) is investigated. A parameter study shows that the concentration of the gold salt used is important for the stability of the resulting sol, but has little effect on the final average particle size or the size distribution. By adding dodecanethiol before the reduction, the formation of NPs was inhibited, providing evidence for the autocatalytic pathway for the formation of metallic NPs in wet chemical synthesis proposed in the literature. The resulting functionalized gold NPs are deposited onto Si-OH, octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) or 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane modified SiO{sub 2}/Si substrates. scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to analyze the ordering behavior and surface coverage of the NPs and it is shown that the difference in affinity for the substrate has a profound effect on the deposition behavior. The functionalization of the substrates and of the NPs is confirmed by grazing angle attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (GATR-FTIR). (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

In vacuo substrate pretreatments for enhancing nanodiamond formation in electron cyclotron resonance plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teii, Kungen; Kouzuma, Yutaka; Uchino, Kiichiro

2006-01-01

Substrate pretreatment conditions at low pressures have been examined for enhancing nanocrystalline diamond formation on silicon in electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma. Three kinds of pretreatments (I) exposure to an ECR H 2 plasma with application of a substrate bias from -100 to +30 V (II) hot-filament heating in H 2 gas, and (III) hot-filament heating in vacuum, were used alone or followed by carburization prior to a two-step process of ion-enhanced nucleation in an ECR plasma and subsequent growth in a hot-filament system. The number density of diamond particles after the final growth step was greatly increased up to the order of 10 7 -10 8 cm -2 when applying pretreatment (I) at the bias of 0 V corresponding to the ion-bombardment energy of around 10 eV. In this treatment, a clean and smooth surface with minimal damage was made by the dominance of anisotropic etching by hydrogen ions over isotropic etching by hydrogen atoms. The number density of diamond particles was still more increased when applying pretreatment (II), but the treated surface was unfavorably contaminated and roughened

Formation of CrSi[sub 2] studied by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tobbeche, S.; Benazzouz, C.; Boussaa, N.; Zilabdi, M. (Centre de Developpement des Techniques Nucleaires (CDTN), Algiers (Algeria)); Benouatas, A.; Bouabellou, A.; Halimi, R. (Constantine Univ. (Algeria))

1994-04-01

Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) is used to study the growth of Cr silicides formed by thin film reactions. Thin films of Cr were deposited on phosphorus-implanted silicon and unimplanted silicon substrates. Thermal annealing was subsequently carried out. The analysis has shown a growth of a CrSi[sub 2] phase and allowed the determination of formation kinetics. A retardation effect of the CrSi[sub 2] growth is observed in the case of the phosphorus-implanted silicon substrate. (Author).

Integrated Circuit Interconnect Lines on Lossy Silicon Substrate with Finite Element Method

OpenAIRE

Sarhan M. Musa,; Matthew N. O. Sadiku

2014-01-01

The silicon substrate has a significant effect on the inductance parameter of a lossy interconnect line on integrated circuit. It is essential to take this into account in determining the transmission line electrical parameters. In this paper, a new quasi-TEM capacitance and inductance analysis of multiconductor multilayer interconnects is successfully demonstrated using finite element method (FEM). We specifically illustrate the electrostatic modeling of single and coupled in...

Experimental study on surface wrinkling of silicon monoxide film on compliant substrate under thermally induced loads

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chuanwei; Kong, Yingxiao; Jiang, Wenchong; Wang, Zhiyong; Li, Linan; Wang, Shibin

2017-06-01

The wrinkling of a silicon monoxide thin film on a compliant poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) substrate structure was experimentally investigated in this study. The self-expansion effect of PDMS during film deposition was utilized to impose a pretensile strain on the structure through a specially made fixture. A laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) system with an in situ heating stage was employed for the real-time measurement. The Young’s modulus of the silicon monoxide thin film as well as the PDMS substrate was measured on the basis of the elasticity theory. Moreover, the effects of temperature variations on geometric parameters in the postbuckling state, such as wavelength and amplitude, were analyzed. It was proved that wavelength is relatively immune to thermal loads, while amplitude is much more sensitive.

Deposition of magnetoelectric hexaferrite thin films on substrates of silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zare, Saba; Izadkhah, Hessam; Vittoria, Carmine

2016-12-15

Magnetoelectric M-type hexaferrite thin films (SrCo{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}Fe{sub 8}O{sub 19}) were deposited using Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique on Silicon substrate. A conductive oxide layer of Indium-Tin Oxide (ITO) was deposited as a buffer layer with the dual purposes of 1) to reduce lattice mismatch between the film and silicon and 2) to lower applied voltages to observe magnetoelectric effects at room temperature on Silicon based devices. The film exhibited magnetoelectric effects as confirmed by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques in voltages as low as 0.5 V. Without the oxide conductive layer the required voltages to observe magnetoelectric effects was typically about 1000 times larger. The magnetoelectric thin films were characterized by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer, and ferromagnetic resonance techniques. We measured saturation magnetization of 650 G, and coercive field of about 150 Oe for these thin films. The change in remanence magnetization was measured in the presence of DC voltages and the changes in remanence were in the order of 15% with the application of only 0.5 V (DC voltage). We deduced a magnetoelectric coupling, α, of 1.36×10{sup −9} s m{sup −1} in SrCo{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}Fe{sub 8}O{sub 19} thin films.

Investigating Microbial Biofilm Formations on Crustal Rock Substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Weiser, M.; D'Angelo, T.; Carr, S. A.; Orcutt, B.

2017-12-01

Ocean crust hosts microbial life that, in some cases, alter the component rocks as a means of obtaining energy. Variations in crust lithology, included trace metal and mineral content, as well as the chemistry of the fluids circulating through them, provide substrates for some microbes to metabolize, leading to formation of biofilm community structures. Microbes have different parameters for the situations in which they will form biofilms, but they must have some source of energy in excess at the site of biofilm formation for them to become stationary and form the carbohydrate-rich structures connecting the cells to one another and the substrate. Generally, the requirements for microbes to form biofilms on crustal minerals are unclear. We designed two experiments to test (1) mineral preference and biofilm formation rates by natural seawater microbial communities, and (2) biofilm development as a function of phosphate availability for an organism isolated from subseafloor ocean crust. In Experiment 1, we observed that phyric basalt groundmass is preferentially colonized over aphyric basalt or metal sulfides in a shallow water and oxic seawater environment. In experiment 2, tests of the anaerobic heterotroph Thalassospira bacteria isolated from oceanic crustal fluids showed that they preferentially form biofilms, lose motility, and increase exponentially in number over time in higher-PO4 treatments (50 micromolar), including with phosphate-doped basalts, than in treatments with low phosphate concentrations (0.5 micromolar) often found in crustal fluids. These observations suggest phosphate as a main driver of biofilm formation in subsurface crust. Overall, these data suggest that the drivers of microbial biofilm formation on crustal substrates are selective to the substrate conditions, which has important implications for estimating the global biomass of life harbored in oceanic crust.

Silicon on insulator self-aligned transistors

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Anthony M.

2003-11-18

A method for fabricating thin-film single-crystal silicon-on-insulator (SOI) self-aligned transistors. Standard processing of silicon substrates is used to fabricate the transistors. Physical spaces, between the source and gate, and the drain and gate, introduced by etching the polysilicon gate material, are used to provide connecting implants (bridges) which allow the transistor to perform normally. After completion of the silicon substrate processing, the silicon wafer is bonded to an insulator (glass) substrate, and the silicon substrate is removed leaving the transistors on the insulator (glass) substrate. Transistors fabricated by this method may be utilized, for example, in flat panel displays, etc.

Formation and properties of the buried isolating silicon-dioxide layer in double-layer “porous silicon-on-insulator” structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolotov, V. V.; Knyazev, E. V.; Ponomareva, I. V.; Kan, V. E., E-mail: kan@obisp.oscsbras.ru; Davletkildeev, N. A.; Ivlev, K. E.; Roslikov, V. E. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Omsk Scientific Center, Siberian Branch (Russian Federation)

2017-01-15

The oxidation of mesoporous silicon in a double-layer “macroporous silicon–mesoporous silicon” structure is studied. The morphology and dielectric properties of the buried insulating layer are investigated using electron microscopy, ellipsometry, and electrical measurements. Specific defects (so-called spikes) are revealed between the oxidized macropore walls in macroporous silicon and the oxidation crossing fronts in mesoporous silicon. It is found that, at an initial porosity of mesoporous silicon of 60%, three-stage thermal oxidation leads to the formation of buried silicon-dioxide layers with an electric-field breakdown strength of E{sub br} ~ 10{sup 4}–10{sup 5} V/cm. Multilayered “porous silicon-on-insulator” structures are shown to be promising for integrated chemical micro- and nanosensors.

Gas phase considerations for the deposition of thin film silicon solar cells by VHF-PECVD at low substrate temperatures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rath, J.K.; Verkerk, A.D.; Brinza, M.; Schropp, R.E.I.; Goedheer, W.J.; Krzhizhanovskaya, V.V.; Gorbachev, Y.E.; Orlov, K.E.; Khilkevitch, E.M.; Smirnov, A.S.

2008-01-01

Fabrication of thin film silicon solar cells on cheap plastics or paper-like substrate requires deposition process at very low substrate temperature, typically ≤ 100 °C. In a chemical vapor deposition process, low growth temperatures lead to materials with low density, high porosity, high disorder

Hot-Electron Bolometer Mixers on Silicon-on-Insulator Substrates for Terahertz Frequencies

Science.gov (United States)

Skalare, Anders; Stern, Jeffrey; Bumble, Bruce; Maiwald, Frank

2005-01-01

A terahertz Hot-Electron Bolometer (HEB) mixer design using device substrates based on Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) technology is described. This substrate technology allows very thin chips (6 pm) with almost arbitrary shape to be manufactured, so that they can be tightly fitted into a waveguide structure and operated at very high frequencies with only low risk for power leakages and resonance modes. The NbTiN-based bolometers are contacted by gold beam-leads, while other beamleads are used to hold the chip in place in the waveguide test fixture. The initial tests yielded an equivalent receiver noise temperature of 3460 K double-sideband at a local oscillator frequency of 1.462 THz and an intermediate frequency of 1.4 GHz.

Process Simulation and Characterization of Substrate Engineered Silicon Thin Film Transistor for Display Sensors and Large Area Electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashmi, S M; Ahmed, S

2013-01-01

Design, simulation, fabrication and post-process qualification of substrate-engineered Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) are carried out to suggest an alternate manufacturing process step focused on display sensors and large area electronics applications. Damage created by ion implantation of Helium and Silicon ions into single-crystalline n-type silicon substrate provides an alternate route to create an amorphized region responsible for the fabrication of TFT structures with controllable and application-specific output parameters. The post-process qualification of starting material and full-cycle devices using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) and Proton or Particle induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) techniques also provide an insight to optimize the process protocols as well as their applicability in the manufacturing cycle

Thin film silicon by a microwave plasma deposition technique: Growth and devices, and, interface effects in amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Jagannathan, Basanth

Thin film silicon (Si) was deposited by a microwave plasma CVD technique, employing double dilution of silane, for the growth of low hydrogen content Si films with a controllable microstructure on amorphous substrates at low temperatures (prepared by this technique. Such films showed a dark conductivity ˜10sp{-6} S/cm, with a conduction activation energy of 0.49 eV. Film growth and properties have been compared for deposition in Ar and He carrier systems and growth models have been proposed. Low temperature junction formation by undoped thin film silicon was examined through a thin film silicon/p-type crystalline silicon heterojunctions. The thin film silicon layers were deposited by rf glow discharge, dc magnetron sputtering and microwave plasma CVD. The hetero-interface was identified by current transport analysis and high frequency capacitance methods as the key parameter controlling the photovoltaic (PV) response. The effect of the interface on the device properties (PV, junction, and carrier transport) was examined with respect to modifications created by chemical treatment, type of plasma species, their energy and film microstructure interacting with the substrate. Thermally stimulated capacitance was used to determine the interfacial trap parameters. Plasma deposition of thin film silicon on chemically clean c-Si created electron trapping sites while hole traps were seen when a thin oxide was present at the interface. Under optimized conditions, a 10.6% efficient cell (11.5% with SiOsb2 A/R) with an open circuit voltage of 0.55 volts and a short circuit current density of 30 mA/cmsp2 was fabricated.

Stoichiometry of Silicon Dioxide Films Obtained by Ion-Beam Sputtering

Science.gov (United States)

Telesh, E. V.; Dostanko, A. P.; Gurevich, O. V.

2018-03-01

The composition of SiOx films produced by ion-beam sputtering (IBS) of silicon and quartz targets were studied by infrared spectrometry. Films with thicknesses of 150-390 nm were formed on silicon substrates. It was found that increase in the partial pressure of oxygen in the working gas, increase in the temperature of the substrate, and the presence of a positive potential on the target during reactive IBS of silicon shifted the main absorption band νas into the high-frequency region and increased the composition index from 1.41 to 1.85. During IBS of a quartz target the stoichiometry of the films deteriorates with increase of the energy of the sputtering argon ions. This may be due to increase of the deposition rate. Increase in the current of the thermionic compensator, increase of the substrate temperature, and addition of oxygen led to the formation of SiOx films with improved stoichiometry.

Study of thickness and uniformity of oxide passivation with DI-O3 on silicon substrate for electronic and photonic applications

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Mamta; Hazra, Purnima; Singh, Satyendra Kumar

2018-05-01

Since the beginning of semiconductor fabrication technology evolution, clean and passivated substrate surface is one of the prime requirements for fabrication of Electronic and optoelectronic device fabrication. However, as the scale of silicon circuits and device architectures are continuously decreased from micrometer to nanometer (from VLSI to ULSI technology), the cleaning methods to achieve better wafer surface qualities has raised research interests. The development of controlled and uniform silicon dioxide is the most effective and reliable way to achieve better wafer surface quality for fabrication of electronic devices. On the other hand, in order to meet the requirement of high environment safety/regulatory standards, the innovation of cleaning technology is also in demand. The controlled silicon dioxide layer formed by oxidant de-ionized ozonated water has better uniformity. As the uniformity of the controlled silicon dioxide layer is improved on the substrate, it enhances the performance of the devices. We can increase the thickness of oxide layer, by increasing the ozone time treatment. We reported first time to measurement of thickness of controlled silicon dioxide layer and obtained the uniform layer for same ozone time.

The role of the substrate in Graphene/Silicon photodiodes

Science.gov (United States)

Luongo, G.; Giubileo, F.; Iemmo, L.; Di Bartolomeo, A.

2018-01-01

The Graphene/Silicon (Gr/Si) junction can function as a Schottky diode with performances strictly related to the quality of the interface. Here, we focus on the substrate geometry and on its effects on Gr/Si junction physics. We fabricate and study the electrical and optical behaviour of two types of devices: one made of a Gr/Si planar junction, the second realized with graphene on an array of Si nanotips. We show that the Gr/Si flat device exhibits a reverse photocurrent higher than the forward current and achieves a photoresponsivity of 2.5 A/W. The high photoresponse is due to the charges photogenerated in Si below a parasitic graphene/SiO2/Si structure, which are injected into the Gr/Si junction region. The other device with graphene on Si-tips displays a reverse current that grows exponentially with the bias. We explain this behaviour by taking into account the tip geometry of the substrate, which magnifies the electric field and shifts the Fermi level of graphene, thus enabling fine-tuning of the Schottky barrier height. The Gr/Si-tip device achieves a higher photoresponsivity, up to 3 A/W, likely due to photocharge internal multiplication.

Upconversion and tribological properties of β-NaYF{sub 4}:Yb,Er film synthesized on silicon substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Chuanying [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Cheng, Xianhua, E-mail: xhcheng@sjtu.edu.cn [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China)

2016-05-15

Highlights: • β-NaYF{sub 4}:Yb,Er upconversion (UC) film was synthesized on silicon substrate. • Tribological test was used to qualitatively evaluate the adhesion of the UC film. • The UC film was combined with Si substrate by covalent chemical bonds. • The method used in this work can be applicable for other UC films. - Abstract: In this work, β-NaYF{sub 4}:Yb,Er upconversion (UC) film was successfully prepared on silicon (Si) substrate via self-assemble method for the first time. The chemical composition and surface morphology of the UC film were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), water contact angle (WCA), X-ray power diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements. To investigate the effects of KH-560 primer film and chemical reactions on the UC luminescence properties of β-NaYF{sub 4}:Yb,Er UC film, decay profiles of the 540 nm and 655 nm radiations were measured. Furthermore, tribological test was applied to qualitatively evaluate the adhesion of the UC film. The results indicate that the UC film has been successfully prepared on Si substrate by covalent chemical bonds. This work provides a facile way to synthesize β-NaYF{sub 4}:Yb,Er UC film with robust adhesion to the substrate, which can be applicable for other UC films.

MgB2 thin films on silicon nitride substrates prepared by an in situ method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monticone, Eugenio; Gandini, Claudio; Portesi, Chiara; Rajteri, Mauro; Bodoardo, Silvia; Penazzi, Nerino; Dellarocca, Valeria; Gonnelli, Renato S

2004-01-01

Large-area MgB 2 thin films were deposited on silicon nitride and sapphire substrates by co-deposition of Mg and B. After a post-annealing in Ar atmosphere at temperatures between 773 and 1173 K depending on the substrate, the films showed a critical temperature higher than 35 K with a transition width less than 0.5 K. The x-ray diffraction pattern suggested a c-axis preferential orientation in films deposited on amorphous substrate. The smooth surface and the good structural properties of these MgB 2 films allowed their reproducible patterning by a standard photolithographic process down to dimensions of the order of 10 μm and without a considerable degradation of the superconducting properties

Nanoscale investigation on Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formed on porous silicon using atomic force microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kannan, Ashwin; Karumanchi, Subbalakshmi Latha; Krishna, Vinatha; Thiruvengadam, Kothai; Ramalingam, Subramaniam; Gautam, Pennathur

2014-01-01

Colonization of surfaces by bacterial cells results in the formation of biofilms. There is a need to study the factors that are important for formation of biofilms since biofilms have been implicated in the failure of semiconductor devices and implants. In the present study, the adhesion force of biofilms (formed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa) on porous silicon substrates of varying surface roughness was quantified using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The experiments were carried out to quantify the effect of surface roughness on the adhesion force of biofilm. The results show that the adhesion force increased from 1.5 ± 0.5 to 13.2 ± 0.9 nN with increase in the surface roughness of silicon substrate. The results suggest that the adhesion force of biofilm is affected by surface roughness of substrate. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Epitaxial growth of silicon for layer transfer

Science.gov (United States)

Teplin, Charles; Branz, Howard M

2015-03-24

Methods of preparing a thin crystalline silicon film for transfer and devices utilizing a transferred crystalline silicon film are disclosed. The methods include preparing a silicon growth substrate which has an interface defining substance associated with an exterior surface. The methods further include depositing an epitaxial layer of silicon on the silicon growth substrate at the surface and separating the epitaxial layer from the substrate substantially along the plane or other surface defined by the interface defining substance. The epitaxial layer may be utilized as a thin film of crystalline silicon in any type of semiconductor device which requires a crystalline silicon layer. In use, the epitaxial transfer layer may be associated with a secondary substrate.

Fabrication of Si-based planar type patch clamp biosensor using silicon on insulator substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Z.L.; Asano, T.; Uno, H.; Tero, R.; Suzui, M.; Nakao, S.; Kaito, T.; Shibasaki, K.; Tominaga, M.; Utsumi, Y.; Gao, Y.L.; Urisu, T.

2008-01-01

The aim of this paper is to fabricate the planar type patch clamp ion-channel biosensor, which is suitable for the high throughput screening, using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. The micropore with 1.2 μm diameter is formed through the top Si layer and the SiO 2 box layer of the SOI substrate by focused ion beam (FIB). Then the substrate is assembled into the microfluidic circuit. The human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK-293) cell transfected with transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) is positioned on the micropore and the whole-cell configuration is formed by the suction. Capsaicin is added to the extracellular solution as a ligand molecule, and the channel current showing the desensitization unique to TRPV1 is measured successfully

Fabrication of Si-based planar type patch clamp biosensor using silicon on insulator substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Z.L.; Asano, T. [Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8585 (Japan); Uno, H. [Institute for Molecular Science, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8585 (Japan); Tero, R. [Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8585 (Japan); Institute for Molecular Science, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8585 (Japan); Suzui, M.; Nakao, S. [Institute for Molecular Science, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8585 (Japan); Kaito, T. [SII NanoTechnology Inc., 36-1, Takenoshita, Oyama-cho, Sunto-gun, Shizuoka, 410-1393 (Japan); Shibasaki, K.; Tominaga, M. [Okazaki Institute for Integrative Bioscience, 5-1, Higashiyama, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8787 (Japan); Utsumi, Y. [Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology for Industry, University of Hyogo, 3-1-2, Koto, Kamigori, Ako-gun, Hyogo, 678-1205 (Japan); Gao, Y.L. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester University, Rochester, New York 14627 (United States); Urisu, T. [Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8585 (Japan); Institute for Molecular Science, Myodaiji, Okazaki, 444-8585 (Japan)], E-mail: urisu@ims.ac.jp

2008-03-03

The aim of this paper is to fabricate the planar type patch clamp ion-channel biosensor, which is suitable for the high throughput screening, using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. The micropore with 1.2 {mu}m diameter is formed through the top Si layer and the SiO{sub 2} box layer of the SOI substrate by focused ion beam (FIB). Then the substrate is assembled into the microfluidic circuit. The human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK-293) cell transfected with transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) is positioned on the micropore and the whole-cell configuration is formed by the suction. Capsaicin is added to the extracellular solution as a ligand molecule, and the channel current showing the desensitization unique to TRPV1 is measured successfully.

Catalyst free growth of CNTs by CVD on nanoscale rough surfaces of silicon substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Damodar, D.; Sahoo, R. K.; Jacob, C.

2013-06-01

Catalyst free growth of carbon nanotubes (CNT) has been achieved using atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) on surface modified Si(111) substrates. The effect of the substrate surface has been observed by partially etching with KOH (potassium hydroxide) solution which is an anisotropic etchant. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed the formation of CNTs over most of the area of the substrate where substrates were anisotropically etched. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to observe the internal structure of the CNTs. Raman spectroscopy further confirmed the formation of the carbon nanostructures and also their graphitic crystallinity.

A proposed mechanism for investigating the effect of porous silicon buffer layer on TiO{sub 2} nanorods growth

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rahmani, N. [Department of Physics, Alzahra University, Tehran, 1993893973 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Dariani, R.S., E-mail: dariani@alzahra.ac.ir [Department of Physics, Alzahra University, Tehran, 1993893973 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rajabi, M. [Deparment of Advanced Materials and Renewable Energies, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran 3353136846 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-03-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • TiO{sub 2} nanorods (NRs) are synthesized on silicon and porous silicon (PS) substrates by hydrothermal method. • TiO{sub 2} NRs grown on PS substrates have a better growth compared to those grown on silicon. • Also increasing substrate porosity leads to an increase in density of the NRs. • We proposed a growth mechanism to explain how can control the local surface chemical potential. - Abstract: In this study, we have synthesized TiO{sub 2} nanorods (NRs) on silicon and porous silicon (PS) substrates by hydrothermal method. The PS substrates with different porosities were fabricated by electrochemical anodization on silicon. According to the field emission electron microscopy images, TiO{sub 2} NRs grown on PS substrates have a better growth compared to those grown on silicon. Also increasing substrate porosity leads to an increase in density of the NRs. Atomic force microscopy observation demonstrates that porous layer formation due to etching of silicon surface leads to an increase of its roughness. Results indicate surface roughness evolution with porosity increasing enhances TiO{sub 2} nucleation on substrate and thus increases TiO{sub 2} NRs density. We propose a growth mechanism to explain how we can control the local surface chemical potential and thus the nucleation and alignment of TiO{sub 2} NRs by surface roughness variation. Also, photoluminescence studies show a red-shift in band gap energy of NRs compared to that of common bulk TiO{sub 2}.

Formation of Mach angle profiles during wet etching of silica and silicon nitride materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghulinyan, M., E-mail: ghulinyan@fbk.eu [Centre for Materials and Microsystems, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, I-38123 Povo (Italy); Bernard, M.; Bartali, R. [Centre for Materials and Microsystems, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, I-38123 Povo (Italy); Deptartment of Physics, University of Trento, I-38123 Povo (Italy); Pucker, G. [Centre for Materials and Microsystems, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, I-38123 Povo (Italy)

2015-12-30

Highlights: • Photoresist adhesion induces the formation of complex etch profiles in dielectrics. • Hydrofluoric acid etching of silica glass and silicon nitride materials was studied. • The phenomenon has been modeled in analogy with sonic boom propagation. • The material etch rate and resist adhesion/erosion define the final profile. - Abstract: In integrated circuit technology peeling of masking photoresist films is a major drawback during the long-timed wet etching of materials. It causes an undesired film underetching, which is often accompanied by a formation of complex etch profiles. Here we report on a detailed study of wedge-shaped profile formation in a series of silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride and silicon nitride materials during wet etching in a buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF) solution. The shape of etched profiles reflects the time-dependent adhesion properties of the photoresist to a particular material and can be perfectly circular, purely linear or a combination of both, separated by a knee feature. Starting from a formal analogy between the sonic boom propagation and the wet underetching process, we model the wedge formation mechanism analytically. This model predicts the final form of the profile as a function of time and fits the experimental data perfectly. We discuss how this knowledge can be extended to the design and the realization of optical components such as highly efficient etch-less vertical tapers for passive silicon photonics.

Buried oxide layer in silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Sadana, Devendra Kumar; Holland, Orin Wayne

2001-01-01

A process for forming Silicon-On-Insulator is described incorporating the steps of ion implantation of oxygen into a silicon substrate at elevated temperature, ion implanting oxygen at a temperature below 200.degree. C. at a lower dose to form an amorphous silicon layer, and annealing steps to form a mixture of defective single crystal silicon and polycrystalline silicon or polycrystalline silicon alone and then silicon oxide from the amorphous silicon layer to form a continuous silicon oxide layer below the surface of the silicon substrate to provide an isolated superficial layer of silicon. The invention overcomes the problem of buried isolated islands of silicon oxide forming a discontinuous buried oxide layer.

Nano-Welding of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on Silicon and Silica Surface by Laser Irradiation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanping Yuan

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In this study, a continuous fiber laser (1064 nm wavelength, 30 W/cm2 is used to irradiate multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs on different substrate surfaces. Effects of substrates on nano-welding of MWCNTs are investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM. For MWCNTs on silica, after 3 s irradiation, nanoscale welding with good quality can be achieved due to breaking C–C bonds and formation of new graphene layers. While welding junctions can be formed until 10 s for the MWCNTs on silicon, the difference of irradiation time to achieve welding is attributed to the difference of thermal conductivity for silica and silicon. As the irradiation time is prolonged up to 12.5 s, most of the MWCNTs are welded to a silicon substrate, which leads to their frameworks of tube walls on the silicon surface. This is because the accumulation of absorbed energy makes the temperature rise. Then chemical reactions among silicon, carbon and nitrogen occur. New chemical bonds of Si–N and Si–C achieve the welding between the MWCNTs and silicon. Vibration modes of Si3N4 appear at peaks of 363 cm−1 and 663 cm−1. There are vibration modes of SiC at peaks of 618 cm−1, 779 cm−1 and 973 cm−1. The experimental observation proves chemical reactions and the formation of Si3N4 and SiC by laser irradiation.

Nano-Welding of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on Silicon and Silica Surface by Laser Irradiation

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Yanping; Chen, Jimin

2016-01-01

In this study, a continuous fiber laser (1064 nm wavelength, 30 W/cm2) is used to irradiate multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on different substrate surfaces. Effects of substrates on nano-welding of MWCNTs are investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). For MWCNTs on silica, after 3 s irradiation, nanoscale welding with good quality can be achieved due to breaking C–C bonds and formation of new graphene layers. While welding junctions can be formed until 10 s for the MWCNTs on silicon, the difference of irradiation time to achieve welding is attributed to the difference of thermal conductivity for silica and silicon. As the irradiation time is prolonged up to 12.5 s, most of the MWCNTs are welded to a silicon substrate, which leads to their frameworks of tube walls on the silicon surface. This is because the accumulation of absorbed energy makes the temperature rise. Then chemical reactions among silicon, carbon and nitrogen occur. New chemical bonds of Si–N and Si–C achieve the welding between the MWCNTs and silicon. Vibration modes of Si3N4 appear at peaks of 363 cm−1 and 663 cm−1. There are vibration modes of SiC at peaks of 618 cm−1, 779 cm−1 and 973 cm−1. The experimental observation proves chemical reactions and the formation of Si3N4 and SiC by laser irradiation. PMID:28344293

Femtosecond laser irradiation-induced infrared absorption on silicon surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qinghua Zhu

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The near-infrared (NIR absorption below band gap energy of crystalline silicon is significantly increased after the silicon is irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses at a simple experimental condition. The absorption increase in the NIR range primarily depends on the femtosecond laser pulse energy, pulse number, and pulse duration. The Raman spectroscopy analysis shows that after the laser irradiation, the silicon surface consists of silicon nanostructure and amorphous silicon. The femtosecond laser irradiation leads to the formation of a composite of nanocrystalline, amorphous, and the crystal silicon substrate surface with microstructures. The composite has an optical absorption enhancement at visible wavelengths as well as at NIR wavelength. The composite may be useful for an NIR detector, for example, for gas sensing because of its large surface area.

Deep level transient spectroscopic investigation of phosphorus-doped silicon by self-assembled molecular monolayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xuejiao; Guan, Bin; Mesli, Abdelmadjid; Chen, Kaixiang; Dan, Yaping

2018-01-09

It is known that self-assembled molecular monolayer doping technique has the advantages of forming ultra-shallow junctions and introducing minimal defects in semiconductors. In this paper, we report however the formation of carbon-related defects in the molecular monolayer-doped silicon as detected by deep-level transient spectroscopy and low-temperature Hall measurements. The molecular monolayer doping process is performed by modifying silicon substrate with phosphorus-containing molecules and annealing at high temperature. The subsequent rapid thermal annealing drives phosphorus dopants along with carbon contaminants into the silicon substrate, resulting in a dramatic decrease of sheet resistance for the intrinsic silicon substrate. Low-temperature Hall measurements and secondary ion mass spectrometry indicate that phosphorus is the only electrically active dopant after the molecular monolayer doping. However, during this process, at least 20% of the phosphorus dopants are electrically deactivated. The deep-level transient spectroscopy shows that carbon-related defects are responsible for such deactivation.

Design, fabrication and characterisation of advanced substrate crosstalk suppression structures in silicon on insulator substrates with buried ground planes (GPSOI)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stefanou, Stefanos

2002-07-01

Substrate crosstalk or coupling has been acknowledged to be a limiting factor in mixed signal RF integration. Although high levels of integration and high frequencies of operation are desirable for mixed mode RF and microwave circuits, they make substrate crosstalk more pronounced and may lead to circuit performance degradation. High signal isolation is dictated by requirements for low power dissipation, reduced number of components and lower integration costs for feasible system-on-chip (SoC) solutions. Substrate crosstalk suppression in ground plane silicon-on-insulator (GPSOI) substrates is investigated in this thesis. Test structures are designed and fabricated on SOI substrates with a buried WSi 2 plane that is connected to ground; hence it is called a ground plane. A Faraday cage structure that exhibits very high degrees of signal isolation is presented and compared to other SOI isolation schemes. The Faraday cage structure is shown to achieve 20 dB increased isolation in the frequency range of 0.5-50 GHz compared to published data for high resistivity (200 Ωcm) thin film SOI substrates with no ground planes, but where capacitive guard rings were used. The measurement results are analysed with the aid of planar electromagnetic simulators and compact lumped element models of all the fabricated test structures are developed. The accuracy of the lumped models is validated against experimental measurements. (author)

Numerical study of self-heating effects of small-size MOSFETs fabricated on silicon-on-aluminum nitride substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding Yanfang; Zhu Ziqiang; Zhu Ming; Lin Chenglu

2006-01-01

Compared with bulk-silicon technology, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology possesses many advantages but it is inevitable that the buried silicon dioxide layer also thermally insulates the metal-oxide-silicon field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) from the bulk due to the low thermal conductivity. One of the alternative insulator to replace the buried oxide layer is aluminum nitride (MN), which has a thermal conductivity that is about 200 times higher than that of SiO 2 (320 W·m -1 ·K -1 versus 1.4 W·m -1 ·K -l ). To investigate the self-heating effects of small-size MOSFETs fabricated on silicon-on-aluminum nitride (SOAN) substrate, a two-dimensional numerical analysis is performed by using a device simulator called MEDICI run on a Solaris workstation to simulate the electrical characteristics and temperature distribution by comparing with those of bulk and standard SOI MOSFETs. Our study suggests that AIN is a suitable alternative to silicon dioxide as a buried dielectric in SOI and expands the applications of SOI to high temperature conditions. (authors)

Triple-junction thin-film silicon solar cell fabricated on periodically textured substrate with a stabilized efficiency of 13.6%

Science.gov (United States)

Sai, Hitoshi; Matsui, Takuya; Koida, Takashi; Matsubara, Koji; Kondo, Michio; Sugiyama, Shuichiro; Katayama, Hirotaka; Takeuchi, Yoshiaki; Yoshida, Isao

2015-05-01

We report a high-efficiency triple-junction thin-film silicon solar cell fabricated with the so-called substrate configuration. It was verified whether the design criteria for developing single-junction microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) solar cells are applicable to multijunction solar cells. Furthermore, a notably high short-circuit current density of 32.9 mA/cm2 was achieved in a single-junction μc-Si:H cell fabricated on a periodically textured substrate with a high-mobility front transparent contacting layer. These technologies were also combined into a-Si:H/μc-Si:H/μc-Si:H triple-junction cells, and a world record stabilized efficiency of 13.6% was achieved.

Depth profiling using C60+ SIMS-Deposition and topography development during bombardment of silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gillen, Greg; Batteas, James; Michaels, Chris A.; Chi, Peter; Small, John; Windsor, Eric; Fahey, Albert; Verkouteren, Jennifer; Kim, K.J.

2006-01-01

A C 60 + primary ion source has been coupled to an ion microscope secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) instrument to examine sputtering of silicon with an emphasis on possible application of C 60 + depth profiling for high depth resolution SIMS analysis of silicon semiconductor materials. Unexpectedly, C 60 + SIMS depth profiling of silicon was found to be complicated by the deposition of an amorphous carbon layer which buries the silicon substrate. Sputtering of the silicon was observed only at the highest accessible beam energies (14.5 keV impact) or by using oxygen backfilling. C 60 + SIMS depth profiling of As delta-doped test samples at 14.5 keV demonstrated a substantial (factor of 5) degradation in depth resolution compared to Cs + SIMS depth profiling. This degradation is thought to result from the formation of an unusual platelet-like grain structure on the SIMS crater bottoms. Other unusual topographical features were also observed on silicon substrates after high primary ion dose C 60 + bombardment

Optimization of plasma parameters for the production of silicon nano-crystals

CERN Document Server

Chaabane, N; Vach, H; Cabarrocas, P R I

2003-01-01

We use silane-hydrogen plasmas to synthesize silicon nano-crystals in the gas phase and thermophoresis to collect them onto a cooled substrate. To distinguish between nano-crystals formed in the plasma and those grown on the substrate, as a result of surface and subsurface reactions, we have simultaneously deposited films on a conventional substrate heated at 250 deg. C and on a second substrate cooled down to 90 deg. C. A series of samples deposited at various discharge pressures, in the range of 400 mTorr to 1.2 Torr, have been characterized by Raman spectroscopy and ellipsometry. At low pressure (400-500 mTorr), the films are amorphous on the cold substrate and micro-crystalline on the hot one. As pressure increases, gas phase reactions lead to the formation of nano-crystalline particles which are attracted by the cold substrate due to thermophoresis. Consequently, we obtain nano-crystalline silicon thin films on the cold substrate and amorphous thin films on the heated one in the pressure range of 600-900...

Effect of Current Density on Thermal and Optical Properties of p-Type Porous Silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasra Behzad; Wan Mahmood Mat Yunus; Zainal Abidin Talib; Azmi Zakaria; Afarin Bahrami

2011-01-01

The different parameters of the porous silicon (PSi) can be tuned by changing some parameters in preparation process. We have chosen the anodization as formation method, so the related parameters should be changed. In this study the porous silicon (PSi) layers were formed on p-type Si wafer. The samples were anodized electrically in a fixed etching time under some different current densities. The structural and optical properties of porous silicon (PSi) on silicon (Si) substrates were investigated using photoluminescence (PL) and Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (PAS). (author)

Dellen formation as a complication of subconjunctival silicone oil following microincision vitrectomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahgoub MM

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Mohamed M Mahgoub,1,2 Maged M Roshdy,1,2 Sherine S Wahba1,2 1Ophthalmology Department, Ain Shams University, 2Ophthalmology Department, Al Watany Eye Hospital, Cairo, Egypt Purpose: To study the subconjunctival silicone oil (SCSO parameters associated with dellen formation following microincision vitrectomy (MIV.Patients and methods: This was a case–control study of 20 eyes with SCSO following MIV. Ten of them suffered postoperative dellen formation. Dellen occurrence, their sizes, number of loci, and distance between SCSO and the limbus were recorded. The outcome after silicone-oil removal was evaluated.Results: The SCSO was at 3.1±1.2 mm from the limbus. All cases with dellen had SCSO within 2 mm of the limbus (P<0.001. No other factors were found to be associated with dellen formation (age, P=0.414; sex, P=0.656; laterality, P=1; indication for pars plana vitrectomy, P=0.655; instrument gauge, P=0.211; circumference involved by SCSO, P=0.252. All the dellen healed after surgical evacuation of SCSO (P<0.001, leaving scars.Conclusion: Dellen can be associated with MIV secondary to SCSO near the limbus. Resolution with scarring occurred following SCSO evacuation. Therefore, SCSO should be evacuated as early as possible to avoid long-term peripheral corneal morbidity. Keywords: silicone oil-removal, subconjunctival silicone oil, dellen, vitrectomy

Optical and electrical characteristics of zirconium oxide thin films deposited on silicon substrates by spray pyrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguilar-Frutis, M.; Araiza, J.J.; Falcony, C.; Garcia, M.

2002-01-01

The optical and electrical characteristics of zirconium oxide thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis on silicon substrates are reported. The films were deposited from a spraying solution of zirconium acetylacetonate in N,N-dimethylformamide using an ultrasonic mist generator on (100) Si substrates. The substrate temperature during deposition was in the range of 400 to 600 grad C. Deposition rates up to 16 A/sec were obtained depending on the spraying solution concentration and on the substrate temperature. A refraction index of the order of 2.0 was measured on these films by ellipsometry. The electrical characteristics of the films were determined from the capacitance and current versus voltage measurements. The addition of water mist during the spraying deposition process was also studied in the characteristics of the films. (Authors)

Three-dimensionally structured silicon as a substrate for the MOVPE growth of GaN nanoLEDs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuendling, Soenke; Li, Shunfeng; Soekmen, Uensal; Merzsch, Stephan; Peiner, Erwin; Wehmann, Hergo-Heinrich; Waag, Andreas [Institut fuer Halbleitertechnik, TU Braunschweig, Braunschweig (Germany); Hinze, Peter; Weimann, Thomas [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig (Germany); Jahn, Uwe; Trampert, Achim; Riechert, Henning [Paul-Drude-Institut fuer Festkoerperelektronik, Berlin (Germany)

2009-06-15

Three-dimensionally patterned Si(111) substrates are used to grow GaN based heterostructures by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy, with the goal of fabricating well controlled, defect reduced GaN-based nanoLEDs. In contrast to other approaches to achieve GaN nanorods, we employed silicon substrates with deep etched nanopillars to control the GaN nanorods growth by varying the size and distance of the Si pillars. The small footprint of GaN nanorods grown on Si pillars minimise the influence of the lattice mismatched substrate and improve the material quality. For the Si pillars an inductively coupled plasma dry-etching process at cryogenic temperature has been developed. An InGaN/GaN multi quantum well (MQW) structure has been incorporated into the GaN nanorods. We found GaN nanostructures grown on top of the silicon pillars with a pyramidal shape. This shape results from a competitive growth on different facets as well as from surface diffusion of the growth species. Spatially resolved optical properties of the structures are analysed by cathodoluminescence. Strongly spatial-dependent MQW emission spectra indicate the growth rate differences on top of the rods. (copyright 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Rapid thermal process by RF heating of nano-graphene layer/silicon substrate structure: Heat explosion theory approach

Science.gov (United States)

Sinder, M.; Pelleg, J.; Meerovich, V.; Sokolovsky, V.

2018-03-01

RF heating kinetics of a nano-graphene layer/silicon substrate structure is analyzed theoretically as a function of the thickness and sheet resistance of the graphene layer, the dimensions and thermal parameters of the structure, as well as of cooling conditions and of the amplitude and frequency of the applied RF magnetic field. It is shown that two regimes of the heating can be realized. The first one is characterized by heating of the structure up to a finite temperature determined by equilibrium between the dissipated loss power caused by induced eddy-currents and the heat transfer to environment. The second regime corresponds to a fast unlimited temperature increase (heat explosion). The criterions of realization of these regimes are presented in the analytical form. Using the criterions and literature data, it is shown the possibility of the heat explosion regime for a graphene layer/silicon substrate structure at RF heating.

Substrate temperature dependence of microcrystallinity in plasma-deposited, boron-doped hydrogenated silicon alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajeswaran, G.; Kampas, F.J.; Vanier, P.E.; Sabatini, R.L.; Tafto, J.

1983-01-01

The glow-discharge decomposition of silane diluted in hydrogen using diborane as a dopant results in the deposition of p-type microcrystalline silicon films at relatively low temperatures. The conductivity of these films is critically dependent on the substrate temperature when the ratio of silane flow rate to total gas flow rate is 1%. Electron micrographs show that highly conducting films contain numerous clusters of 2.5-nm crystallites that are embedded in an amorphous medium

Electroless porous silicon formation applied to fabrication of boron-silica-glass cantilevers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teva, Jordi; Davis, Zachary James; Hansen, Ole

2010-01-01

This work describes the characterization and optimization of anisotropic formation of porous silicon in large volumes (0.5-1 mm3) of silicon by an electroless wet etching technique. The main goal is to use porous silicon as a sacrificial volume for bulk micromachining processes, especially in cases...... where etching of the full wafer thickness is needed. The porous silicon volume is formed by a metal-assisted etching in a wet chemical solution composed of hydrogen peroxide (30%), hydrofluoric acid (40%) and ethanol. This paper focuses on optimizing the etching conditions in terms of maximizing...... for bio-chemical sensors. The porous silicon volume is formed in an early step of the fabrication process, allowing easy handling of the wafer during all of the micromachining processes in the process flow. In the final process step, the porous silicon is quickly etched by immersing the wafer in a KOH...

Micro knife-edge optical measurement device in a silicon-on-insulator substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Yi; Pan, Jiun-Hung

2007-05-14

The knife-edge method is a commonly used technique to characterize the optical profiles of laser beams or focused spots. In this paper, we present a micro knife-edge scanner fabricated in a silicon-on-insulator substrate using the micro-electromechanical-system technology. A photo detector can be fabricated in the device to allow further integration with on-chip signal conditioning circuitry. A novel backside deep reactive ion etching process is proposed to solve the residual stress effect due to the buried oxide layer. Focused optical spot profile measurement is demonstrated.

Design and fabrication of non silicon substrate based MEMS energy harvester for arbitrary surface applications

Science.gov (United States)

Balpande, Suresh S.; Pande, Rajesh S.

2016-04-01

Internet of Things (IoT) uses MEMS sensor nodes and actuators to sense and control objects through Internet. IOT deploys millions of chemical battery driven sensors at different locations which are not reliable many times because of frequent requirement of charging & battery replacement in case of underground laying, placement at harsh environmental conditions, huge count and difference between demand (24 % per year) and availability (energy density growing rate 8% per year). Energy harvester fabricated on silicon wafers have been widely used in manufacturing MEMS structures. These devices require complex fabrication processes, costly chemicals & clean room. In addition to this silicon wafer based devices are not suitable for curved surfaces like pipes, human bodies, organisms, or other arbitrary surface like clothes, structure surfaces which does not have flat and smooth surface always. Therefore, devices based on rigid silicon wafers are not suitable for these applications. Flexible structures are the key solution for this problems. Energy transduction mechanism generates power from free surrounding vibrations or impact. Sensor nodes application has been purposefully selected due to discrete power requirement at low duty cycle. Such nodes require an average power budget in the range of about 0.1 microwatt to 1 mW over a period of 3-5 seconds. Energy harvester is the best alternate source in contrast with battery for sensor node application. Novel design of Energy Harvester based on cheapest flexible non silicon substrate i.e. cellulose acetate substrate have been modeled, simulated and analyzed on COMSOL multiphysics and fabricated using sol-gel spin coating setup. Single cantilever based harvester generates 60-75 mV peak electric potential at 22Hz frequency and approximately 22 µW power at 1K-Ohm load. Cantilever array can be employed for generating higher voltage by replicating this structure. This work covers design, optimization, fabrication of harvester and

Substrate-bias effect on the breakdown characteristic in a new silicon high-voltage device structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Qi; Wang Weidong; Zhao Qiuming; Wei Xueming

2012-01-01

A novel silicon double-RESURF LDMOS structure with an improved breakdown characteristic by substrate bias technology (SB) is reported. The P-type epitaxial layer is embedded between an N-type drift region and an N-type substrate to block the conduction path in the off-state and change the distributions of the bulk electric field. The substrate bias strengthens the charge share effect of the drift region near the source, and the vertical electric field peak under the drain is decreased, which is especially helpful in improving the vertical breakdown voltage in a lateral power device with a thin drift region. The numerical results by MEDICI indicate that the breakdown voltage of the proposed device is increased by 97% compared with a conventional LDMOS, while maintaining a lowon-resistance. (semiconductor devices)

An investigation of the adhesion of gold contacts on silicon detectors of nuclear radiation as a function of the substrate temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gumnerova, L.; Mikhajlov, M.

1981-01-01

The dependence of the adhesion of a thin gold film to an etched single crystal silicon substrate temperature and duration of aging is investigated. N-type silicon samples of 3Ω/m specific resistivity and 0.002 m thick are used. These samples are lapped by a series of abrasive powders with a grain diameter of 40 μm to 7 μm and etched by a 1:3:0.5 (HF:HNO 3 :CH 3 COOH) etching agent. The principal schemes of the evaporation equipment and the adhesion testing device are presented. Gold contacts are deposited at substrate temperature ranging from room temperature up to 433 K. The obtained gold films on the silicon substrates are tested and the results are given. It is seen that the adhesion of the gold film to the sample heated up to 373 K is about 50 times higher than the adhesion of the fresh unheated sample. The comparison between samples subjected to aging shows that the adhesion of heated samples is about 10 times higher and does not change essentially after ageing. Some possible explanations of this phenomena are given

Enhanced optical output power of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes grown on a silicon (111) substrate with a nanoporous GaN layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kwang Jae; Chun, Jaeyi; Kim, Sang-Jo; Oh, Semi; Ha, Chang-Soo; Park, Jung-Won; Lee, Seung-Jae; Song, Jae-Chul; Baek, Jong Hyeob; Park, Seong-Ju

2016-03-07

We report the growth of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on a silicon (111) substrate with an embedded nanoporous (NP) GaN layer. The NP GaN layer is fabricated by electrochemical etching of n-type GaN on the silicon substrate. The crystalline quality of crack-free GaN grown on the NP GaN layer is remarkably improved and the residual tensile stress is also decreased. The optical output power is increased by 120% at an injection current of 20 mA compared with that of conventional LEDs without a NP GaN layer. The large enhancement of optical output power is attributed to the reduction of threading dislocation, effective scattering of light in the LED, and the suppression of light propagation into the silicon substrate by the NP GaN layer.

Adhesion energies of 2D graphene and MoS{sub 2} to silicon and metal substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torres, Jorge; Liu, Pei; Yun, Minhee [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Zhu, Yisi [Materials Science Division, Argonne National Lab, Lemont, IL (United States); Lim, Seong Chu [Department of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon (Korea, Republic of); Center for Integrated Nanostructure Physics, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon (Korea, Republic of)

2018-01-15

In this paper, results for the adhesion energy of graphene and MoS{sub 2} to silicon based and metal substrates using the intercalation of nanoparticles method are presented. In this method, nanoparticles are dispersed onto the substrates before transferring the 2D material onto the substrate. This causes a blister to form, the width and height of which can be measured by AFM. Using a simple model then allows for the adhesion energy to be found. The substrates tested are SiO{sub 2}, Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}, gold, and platinum. Gold is found to have the highest adhesion energy per area of 7687.10 and 1207.26 mJ m{sup -2} for graphene and MoS{sub 2} respectively. (copyright 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Formation of cross-cutting structures with different porosity on thick silicon wafers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vera A. Yuzova

2017-06-01

The second type pass-through structures include a macroporous silicon layer with a thickness of 250 μm which interlock in the depth of the silicon wafer to form a cavity with a size of 4–8 μm. For the formation of the second type structures we only used the first one of the abovementioned stages, the etching time being longer, i.e. 210 min. All the etching procedures were carried out in a cooling chamber at 5 °C. The developed technology will provided for easier and more reliable formation of the monolithic structures of membrane-electrode assembly micro fuel cells.

The effect of baking conditions on the effective contact areas of screen-printed silver layer on silicon substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tietun Sun; Jianmin Miao; Rongming Lin; Yongqing Fu [Nanyang Technological Univ., Micromachines Lab., Singapore (Singapore)

2005-01-01

In this paper, Ag-based paste was screen-printed on polished as well as on textured p-type (100) single crystalline silicon wafers. Three types of baking processes were studied: the tube furnace, the belt furnace and the hot plate baking. The effective contact areas of Ag/Si system were measured with a novel method, namely metal insulator semiconductor structure measurement. The results show that after baking on the hot plate at 400 deg C for 5 min, the size and number of pores in the Ag film layer as well as at the interface between silver layer and silicon decreases significantly, the effective contact area also increases about 20%, particularly on the textured silicon substrate. (Author)

The effect of baking conditions on the effective contact areas of screen-printed silver layer on silicon substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Tietun; Miao, Jianmin; Lin, Rongming; Fu, Yongqing [Micromachines Laboratory, School of Mechanical and Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

2005-01-01

In this paper, Ag-based paste was screen-printed on the polished as well as on the textured p-type (100) single crystalline silicon wafers. Three types of baking processes were studied: the tube furnace, the belt furnace and the hot plate baking. The effective contact areas of Ag/Si system were measured with a novel method, namely metal insulator semiconductor structure measurement. The results show that after baking on the hot plate at 400{sup o}C for 5min, the size and number of pores in the Ag film layer as well as at the interface between silver layer and silicon decreases significantly, the effective contact area also increases about 20%, particularly on the textured silicon substrate.

Size modulation of nanocrystalline silicon embedded in amorphous silicon oxide by Cat-CVD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsumoto, Y.; Godavarthi, S.; Ortega, M.; Sanchez, V.; Velumani, S.; Mallick, P.S.

2011-01-01

Different issues related to controlling size of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) embedded in hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiO x :H) deposited by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (Cat-CVD) have been reported. Films were deposited using tantalum (Ta) and tungsten (W) filaments and it is observed that films deposited using tantalum filament resulted in good control on the properties. The parameters which can affect the size of nc-Si domains have been studied which include hydrogen flow rate, catalyst and substrate temperatures. The deposited samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction, HRTEM and micro-Raman spectroscopy, for determining the size of the deposited nc-Si. The crystallite formation starts for Ta-catalyst around the temperature of 1700 o C.

Formation and Characterization of Stacked Nanoscale Layers of Polymers and Silanes on Silicon Surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Ochoa, Rosie; Davis, Brian; Conley, Hiram; Hurd, Katie; Linford, Matthew R.; Davis, Robert C.

2008-10-01

Chemical surface patterning at the nanoscale is a critical component of chemically directed assembly of nanoscale devices or sensitive biological molecules onto surfaces. Complete and consistent formation of nanoscale layers of silanes and polymers is a necessary first step for chemical patterning. We explored methods of silanizing silicon substrates for the purpose of functionalizing the surfaces. The chemical functionalization, stability, flatness, and repeatability of the process was characterized by use of ellipsometry, water contact angle, and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). We found that forming the highest quality functionalized surfaces was accomplished through use of chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Specifically, surfaces were plasma cleaned and hydrolyzed before the silane was applied. A polymer layer less then 2 nm in thickness was electrostatically bound to the silane layer. The chemical functionalization, stability, flatness, and repeatability of the process was also characterized for the polymer layer using ellipsometry, water contact angle, and AFM.

Thermal processing of strained silicon-on-insulator for atomically precise silicon device fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, W.C.T.; Bishop, N.; Thompson, D.L.; Xue, K.; Scappucci, G.; Cederberg, J.G.; Gray, J.K.; Han, S.M.; Celler, G.K.; Carroll, M.S.; Simmons, M.Y.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Strained silicon-on-insulator (sSOI) samples were flash-annealed at high temperature under ultra-high vacuum conditions. ► The extend of surface strain relaxation depends on the annealing temperature with no strain relaxation observed below 1020 °C. ► A 2 × 1 reconstructed surface with low defect density can be achieved. ► The annealed sSOI surface shows enhanced step undulations due to the unique energetics caused by surface strain. - Abstract: We investigate the ability to reconstruct strained silicon-on-insulator (sSOI) substrates in ultra-high vacuum for use in atomic scale device fabrication. Characterisation of the starting sSOI substrate using μRaman shows an average tensile strain of 0.8%, with clear strain modulation in a crosshatch pattern across the surface. The surfaces were heated in ultra-high vacuum from temperatures of 900 °C to 1100 °C and subsequently imaged using scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). The initial strain modulation on the surface is observed to promote silicon migration and the formation of crosshatched surface features whose height and pitch increases with increasing annealing temperature. STM images reveal alternating narrow straight S A steps and triangular wavy S B steps attributed to the spontaneous faceting of S B and preferential adatom attachment on S B under biaxial tensile strain. Raman spectroscopy shows that despite these high temperature anneals no strain relaxation of the substrate is observed up to temperatures of 1020 °C. Above 1100 °C, strain relaxation is evident but is confined to the surface.

Effect of annealing temperature on optical and electrical properties of metallophthalocyanine thin films deposited on silicon substrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Skonieczny R.

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc thin films (300 nm thick deposited on n-type silicon substrate have been studied using micro-Raman spectroscopy, atomic force spectroscopy (AFM and I-V measurement. The CoPc thin layers have been deposited at room temperature by the quasi-molecular beam evaporation technique. The micro-Raman spectra of CoPc thin films have been recorded in the spectral range of 1000 cm-1 to 1900 cm-1 using 488 nm excitation wavelength. Moreover, using surface Raman mapping it was possible to obtain information about polymorphic forms distribution (before and after annealing of metallophthalocyanine (α and β form from polarized Raman spectra. The I-V characteristics of the Au/CoPc/n-Si/Al Schottky barrier were also investigated. The obtained results showed that influence of the annealing process plays a crucial role in the ordering and electrical conductivity of the molecular structure of CoPc thin films deposited on n-type silicon substrate.

Design and simulation of a novel GaN based resonant tunneling high electron mobility transistor on a silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chowdhury, Subhra; Biswas, Dhrubes; Chattaraj, Swarnabha

2015-01-01

For the first time, we have introduced a novel GaN based resonant tunneling high electron mobility transistor (RTHEMT) on a silicon substrate. A monolithically integrated GaN based inverted high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) and a resonant tunneling diode (RTD) are designed and simulated using the ATLAS simulator and MATLAB in this study. The 10% Al composition in the barrier layer of the GaN based RTD structure provides a peak-to-valley current ratio of 2.66 which controls the GaN based HEMT performance. Thus the results indicate an improvement in the current–voltage characteristics of the RTHEMT by controlling the gate voltage in this structure. The introduction of silicon as a substrate is a unique step taken by us for this type of RTHEMT structure. (paper)

Enhanced Raman scattering in porous silicon grating.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jiajia; Jia, Zhenhong; Lv, Changwu

2018-03-19

The enhancement of Raman signal on monocrystalline silicon gratings with varying groove depths and on porous silicon grating were studied for a highly sensitive surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) response. In the experiment conducted, porous silicon gratings were fabricated. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were then deposited on the porous silicon grating to enhance the Raman signal of the detective objects. Results show that the enhancement of Raman signal on silicon grating improved when groove depth increased. The enhanced performance of Raman signal on porous silicon grating was also further improved. The Rhodamine SERS response based on Ag NPs/ porous silicon grating substrates was enhanced relative to the SERS response on Ag NPs/ porous silicon substrates. Ag NPs / porous silicon grating SERS substrate system achieved a highly sensitive SERS response due to the coupling of various Raman enhancement factors.

Phase transformation during silica cluster impact on crystal silicon substrate studied by molecular dynamics simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Ruling; Luo Jianbin; Guo Dan; Lu Xinchun

2008-01-01

The process of a silica cluster impact on a crystal silicon substrate is studied by molecular dynamics simulation. At the impact loading stage, crystal silicon of the impact zone transforms to a locally ordered molten with increasing the local temperature and pressure of the impact zone. And then the transient molten forms amorphous silicon directly as the local temperature and pressure decrease at the impact unloading stage. Moreover, the phase behavior between the locally ordered molten and amorphous silicon exhibits the reversible structural transition. The transient molten contains not only lots of four-fold atom but also many three- and five-fold atoms. And the five-fold atom is similar to the mixture structure of semi-Si-II and semi-bct5-Si. The structure transformation between five- and four-fold atoms is affected by both pressure and temperature. The structure transformation between three- and four-fold atoms is affected mostly by temperature. The direct structure transformation between five- and three-fold atoms is not observed. Finally, these five- and three-fold atoms are also different from the usual five- and three-fold deficient atoms of amorphous silicon. In addition, according to the change of coordination number of atoms the impact process is divided into six stages: elastic, plastic, hysteresis, phase regressive, adhesion and cooling stages

Direct-current substrate bias effects on amorphous silicon sputter-deposited films for thin film transistor fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jun, Seung-Ik; Rack, Philip D.; McKnight, Timothy E.; Melechko, Anatoli V.; Simpson, Michael L.

2005-01-01

The effect that direct current (dc) substrate bias has on radio frequency-sputter-deposited amorphous silicon (a-Si) films has been investigated. The substrate bias produces a denser a-Si film with fewer defects compared to unbiased films. The reduced number of defects results in a higher resistivity because defect-mediated conduction paths are reduced. Thin film transistors (TFTs) that were completely sputter deposited were fabricated and characterized. The TFT with the biased a-Si film showed lower leakage (off-state) current, higher on/off current ratio, and higher transconductance (field effect mobility) than the TFT with the unbiased a-Si film

Investigation of the phase formation from nickel coated nanostructured silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Shilyaeva, Yulia I.; Pyatilova, Olga V.; Berezkina, Alexandra Yu.; Sysa, Artem V.; Dudin, Alexander A.; Smirnov, Dmitry I.; Gavrilov, Sergey A.

2016-12-01

In this paper, the influence of the conditions of chemical and electrochemical nickel plating of nanostructured silicon and subsequent heat treatment on the phase composition of Si/Ni structures with advanced interface is studied. Nanostructured silicon formed by chemical and electrochemical etching was used for the formation of a developed interphase surface. The resulting Si/Ni samples were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and X-ray phase analysis. The experiments have revealed the differences in phase composition of the Si/Ni structures obtained by different methods, both before and after heat treatment.

Self-Assembled Local Artificial Substrates of GaAs on Si Substrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frigeri C

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract We propose a self-assembling procedure for the fabrication of GaAs islands by Droplet Epitaxy on silicon substrate. Controlling substrate temperature and amount of supplied gallium is possible to tune the base size of the islands from 70 up to 250 nm and the density from 107 to 109 cm−2. The islands show a standard deviation of base size distribution below 10% and their shape evolves changing the aspect ratio from 0.3 to 0.5 as size increases. Due to their characteristics, these islands are suitable to be used as local artificial substrates for the integration of III–V quantum nanostructures directly on silicon substrate.

Sol-gel bonding of silicon wafers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbe, C.J.; Cassidy, D.J.; Triani, G.; Latella, B.A.; Mitchell, D.R.G.; Finnie, K.S.; Short, K.; Bartlett, J.R.; Woolfrey, J.L.; Collins, G.A.

2005-01-01

Sol-gel bonds have been produced between smooth, clean silicon substrates by spin-coating solutions containing partially hydrolysed silicon alkoxides. The two coated substrates were assembled and the resulting sandwich fired at temperatures ranging from 60 to 600 deg. C. The sol-gel coatings were characterised using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and atomic force microscopy, while the corresponding bonded specimens were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Mechanical properties were characterised using both microindentation and tensile testing. Bonding of silicon wafers has been successfully achieved at temperatures as low as 60 deg. C. At 300 deg. C, the interfacial fracture energy was 1.55 J/m 2 . At 600 deg. C, sol-gel bonding provided superior interfacial fracture energy over classical hydrophilic bonding (3.4 J/m 2 vs. 1.5 J/m 2 ). The increase in the interfacial fracture energy is related to the increase in film density due to the sintering of the sol-gel interface with increasing temperature. The superior interfacial fracture energy obtained by sol-gel bonding at low temperature is due to the formation of an interfacial layer, which chemically bonds the two sol-gel coatings on each wafer. Application of a tensile stress on the resulting bond leads to fracture of the samples at the silicon/sol-gel interface

Combined Effect of Surface Nano-Topography and Delivery of Therapeutics on the Adhesion of Tumor Cells on Porous Silicon Substrates

KAUST Repository

De Vitis, S.

2016-02-23

Porous silicon is a nano material in which pores with different sizes, densities and depths are infiltrated in conventional silicon imparting it augmented properties including biodegradability, biocompatibility, photoluminescence. Here, we realized porous silicon substrates in which the pore size and the fractal dimension were varied over a significant range. We loaded the described substrates with a PtCl(O, O′ − acac)(DMSO) antitumor drug and determined its release profile as a function of pore size over time up to 15 days. We observed that the efficacy of delivery augments with the pore size moving from small (∼ 8nm, efficiency of delivery ∼ 0.2) to large (∼ 55nm, efficiency of delivery ∼ 0.7). Then, we verified the adhesion of MCF-7 breast cancer cells on the described substrates with and without the administration of the antitumor drug. This permitted to decouple and understand the coincidental effects of nano-topography and a controlled dosage of drugs on cell adhesion and growth. While large pore sizes guarantee elevated drug dosages, large fractal dimensions boost cell adhesion on a surface. For the particular case of tumor cells and the delivery of an anti-tumor drug, substrates with a small fractal dimension and large pore size hamper cell growth. The competition between nano-topography and a controlled dosage of drugs may either accelerate or block the adhesion of cells on a nanostructured surface, for applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, personalized lab-on-a-chips, and the rational design of implantable drug delivery systems.

A new detector concept for silicon photomultipliers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sadigov, A., E-mail: saazik@yandex.ru [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Ahmadov, F.; Ahmadov, G. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Ariffin, A.; Khorev, S. [Zecotek Photonics Inc., Vancouver (Canada); Sadygov, Z. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation); Suleymanov, S. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Zerrouk, F. [Zecotek Photonics Inc., Vancouver (Canada); Madatov, R. [Institute of Radiation Problems, Baku (Azerbaijan)

2016-07-11

A new design and principle of operation of silicon photomultipliers are presented. The new design comprises a semiconductor substrate and an array of independent micro-phototransistors formed on the substrate. Each micro-phototransistor comprises a photosensitive base operating in Geiger mode and an individual micro-emitter covering a small part of the base layer, thereby creating, together with this latter, a micro-transistor. Both micro-emitters and photosensitive base layers are connected with two respective independent metal grids via their individual micro-resistors. The total value of signal gain in the proposed silicon photomultiplier is a result of both the avalanche gain in the base layer and the corresponding gain in the micro-transistor. The main goals of the new design are: significantly lower both optical crosstalk and after-pulse effects at high signal amplification, improve speed of single photoelectron pulse formation, and significantly reduce the device capacitance.

Al and Cu Implantation into Silicon Substrate for Ohmic Contact in Solar Cell Fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sri Sulamdari; Sudjatmoko; Wirjoadi; Yunanto; Bambang Siswanto

2002-01-01

Research on the implantation of Al and Cu ions into silicon substrate for ohmic contact in solar cell fabrication has been carried using ion accelerator machine. Al and Cu ions are from 98% Al and 99.9% Cu powder ionized in ion source system. provided in ion implantor machine. Before implantation process, (0.5 x 1) cm 2 N type and P type silicon were washed in water and then etched in Cp-4A solution. After that, P type silicon were implanted with Al ions and N type silicon were implanted with Cu ions with the ions dose from 10 13 ion/cm 2 - 10 16 ion/cm 2 and energy 20 keV - 80 keV. Implanted samples were then annealed at temperature 400 o C - 850 o C. Implanted and annealed samples were characterized their resistivities using four point probe FPP-5000. It was found that at full electrically active conditions the ρ s for N type was 1.30 x 10 8 Ω/sq, this was achieved at ion dose 10 13 ion/cm 2 and annealing temperature 500 o C. While for P type, the ρ s was 1.13 x 10 2 Ω/sq, this was achieved at ion dose 10 13 ion/cm 2 and energy 40 keV, and annealing temperature 500 o C. (author)

Plastic properties of thin films on substrates as measured by submicron indentation hardness and substrate curvature techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doerner, M.F.; Gardner, D.S.; Nix, W.D.

1986-01-01

Substrate curvature and submicron indentation measurements have been used recently to study plastic deformation in thin films on substrates. In the present work both of these techniques have been employed to study the strength of aluminum and tungsten thin films on silicon substrates. In the case of aluminum films on silicon substrates, the film strength is found to increase with decreasing thickness. Grain size variations with film thickness do not account for the variations in strength. Wafer curvature measurements give strengths higher than those predicted from hardness measurements suggesting the substrate plays a role in strengthening the film. The observed strengthening effect with decreased thickness may be due to image forces on dislocations in the film due to the elastically stiffer silicon substrate. For sputtered tungsten films, where the substrate is less stiff than the film, the film strength decreases with decreasing film thickness

Formation of photoluminescent n-type macroporous silicon: Effect of magnetic field and lateral electric potential

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Antunez, E.E. [Centro de Investigación en Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, UAEM, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, CP 62210 (Mexico); Estevez, J.O. [Instituto de Física, B. Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, A.P. J-48, Puebla 72570 (Mexico); Campos, J. [Instituto de Energías Renovables, UNAM, Priv. Xochicalco S/N, Temixco, Morelos, CP 62580 (Mexico); Basurto-Pensado, M.A. [Centro de Investigación en Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, UAEM, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, CP 62210 (Mexico); Agarwal, V., E-mail: vagarwal@uaem.mx [Centro de Investigación en Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, UAEM, Av. Universidad 1001, Col. Chamilpa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, CP 62210 (Mexico)

2014-11-15

Metal electrode-free electrochemical etching of low doped n-type silicon substrates, under the combined effect of magnetic and lateral electric field, is used to fabricate photoluminescent n-type porous silicon structures in dark conditions. A lateral gradient in terms of structural characteristics (i.e. thickness and pore dimensions) along the electric field direction is formed. Enhancement of electric and magnetic field resulted in the increase of pore density and a change in the shape of the macropore structure, from circular to square morphology. Broad photoluminescence (PL) emission from 500 to 800 nm, with a PL peak wavelength ranging from 571 to 642 nm, is attributed to the wide range of microporous features present on the porous silicon layer.

Formation of apatite on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) film deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Xuanyong; Chu, Paul K.; Ding Chuanxian

2007-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were fabricated on p-type, 100 mm diameter silicon wafers by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using silane and hydrogen. The structure and composition of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were investigated using micro-Raman spectroscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). The hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were subsequently soaked in simulated body fluids to evaluate apatite formation. Carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite (bone-like apatite) was formed on the surface suggesting good bone conductivity. The amorphous structure and presence of surface Si-H bonds are believed to induce apatite formation on the surface of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon film. A good understanding of the surface bioactivity of silicon-based materials and means to produce a bioactive surface is important to the development of silicon-based biosensors and micro-devices that are implanted inside humans

Formation of apatite on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) film deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Xuanyong [Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China) and Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)]. E-mail: xyliu@mail.sic.ac.cn; Chu, Paul K. [Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)]. E-mail: paul.chu@cityu.edu.hk; Ding Chuanxian [Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China)

2007-01-15

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were fabricated on p-type, 100 mm diameter <1 0 0> silicon wafers by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using silane and hydrogen. The structure and composition of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were investigated using micro-Raman spectroscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). The hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were subsequently soaked in simulated body fluids to evaluate apatite formation. Carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite (bone-like apatite) was formed on the surface suggesting good bone conductivity. The amorphous structure and presence of surface Si-H bonds are believed to induce apatite formation on the surface of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon film. A good understanding of the surface bioactivity of silicon-based materials and means to produce a bioactive surface is important to the development of silicon-based biosensors and micro-devices that are implanted inside humans.

Low-field microwave absorption and magnetoresistance in iron nanostructures grown by electrodeposition on n-type lightly doped silicon substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Felix, J.F. [Universidade Federal de Viçosa-UFV, Departamento de Física, 36570-900 Viçosa, MG (Brazil); Universidade de Brasília-UnB, Instituto de Física, Núcleo de Física Aplicada, 70910-900 Brasília, DF (Brazil); Figueiredo, L.C. [Universidade de Brasília-UnB, Instituto de Física, Núcleo de Física Aplicada, 70910-900 Brasília, DF (Brazil); Mendes, J.B.S. [Universidade Federal de Viçosa-UFV, Departamento de Física, 36570-900 Viçosa, MG (Brazil); Morais, P.C. [Universidade de Brasília-UnB, Instituto de Física, Núcleo de Física Aplicada, 70910-900 Brasília, DF (Brazil); Huazhong University of Science and Technology, School of Automation, 430074 Wuhan (China); Araujo, C.I.L. de., E-mail: dearaujo@ufv.br [Universidade de Brasília-UnB, Instituto de Física, Núcleo de Física Aplicada, 70910-900 Brasília, DF (Brazil)

2015-12-01

In this study we investigate magnetic properties, surface morphology and crystal structure in iron nanoclusters electrodeposited on lightly doped (100) n-type silicon substrates. Our goal is to investigate the spin injection and detection in the Fe/Si lateral structures. The samples obtained under electric percolation were characterized by magnetoresistive and magnetic resonance measurements with cycling the sweeping applied field in order to understand the spin dynamics in the as-produced samples. The observed hysteresis in the magnetic resonance spectra, plus the presence of a broad peak in the non-saturated regime confirming the low field microwave absorption (LFMA), were correlated to the peaks and slopes found in the magnetoresistance curves. The results suggest long range spin injection and detection in low resistive silicon and the magnetic resonance technique is herein introduced as a promising tool for analysis of electric contactless magnetoresistive samples. - Highlights: • Electrodeposition of Fe nanostructures on high resistive silicon substrates. • Spin polarized current among clusters through Si suggested by isotropic magnetoresistance. • Low field microwave absorption arising from the sample shape anisotropy. • Contactless magnetoresistive device characterization by resonance measurements.

A study for the detection of ionizing particles with phototransistors on thick high-resistivity silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batignani, G.; Angelini, C.; Bisogni, M.G.; Boscardin, M.; Bettarini, S.; Bondioli, M.; Bosisio, L.; Bucci, F.; Calderini, G.; Carpinelli, M.; Ciacchi, M.; Dalla Betta, G.F.; Dittongo, S.; Forti, F.; Giorgi, M.A.; Gregori, P.; Han, D.J.; Manfredi, P.F.; Manghisoni, M.; Marchiori, G.; Neri, N.; Novelli, M.; Paoloni, E.; Piemonte, C.; Rachevskaia, I.; Rama, M.; Ratti, L.; Re, V.; Rizzo, G.; Ronchin, S.; Rosso, V.; Simi, G.; Speziali, V.; Stefanini, A.; Zorzi, N.

2004-01-01

We report on bipolar NPN phototransistors fabricated at ITC-IRST on thick high-resistivity silicon substrates. The phototransistor emitter is composed of a phosphorus n+ implant, the base is a diffused high-energy boron implant, and the collector is the 600-800 μm thick silicon bulk, contacted on the backplane. We have studied the current amplification for two different doping profiles of the emitter, obtaining values of β ranging from 60 to 3000. For various emitter and base configurations, we measured the static device characteristics and extracted the leakage currents and the base resistance, verifying the fundamental relationship between them and the total base capacitances. The use of such phototransistors to detect ionizing particles is exploited and discussed

A study for the detection of ionizing particles with phototransistors on thick high-resistivity silicon substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Batignani, G. E-mail: giovanni.batignani@pi.infn.it; Angelini, C.; Bisogni, M.G.; Boscardin, M.; Bettarini, S.; Bondioli, M.; Bosisio, L.; Bucci, F.; Calderini, G.; Carpinelli, M.; Ciacchi, M.; Dalla Betta, G.F.; Dittongo, S.; Forti, F.; Giorgi, M.A.; Gregori, P.; Han, D.J.; Manfredi, P.F.; Manghisoni, M.; Marchiori, G.; Neri, N.; Novelli, M.; Paoloni, E.; Piemonte, C.; Rachevskaia, I.; Rama, M.; Ratti, L.; Re, V.; Rizzo, G.; Ronchin, S.; Rosso, V.; Simi, G.; Speziali, V.; Stefanini, A.; Zorzi, N

2004-09-01

We report on bipolar NPN phototransistors fabricated at ITC-IRST on thick high-resistivity silicon substrates. The phototransistor emitter is composed of a phosphorus n+ implant, the base is a diffused high-energy boron implant, and the collector is the 600-800 {mu}m thick silicon bulk, contacted on the backplane. We have studied the current amplification for two different doping profiles of the emitter, obtaining values of {beta} ranging from 60 to 3000. For various emitter and base configurations, we measured the static device characteristics and extracted the leakage currents and the base resistance, verifying the fundamental relationship between them and the total base capacitances. The use of such phototransistors to detect ionizing particles is exploited and discussed.

Formation of a silicon micropore array of a two-dimension electron multiplier by photo electrochemical etching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Yanjun; Duanmu Qingduo; Wang Guozheng; Li Ye; Tian Jingquan

2009-01-01

A semiconductor PEC etching method is applied to fabricate the n-type silicon deep micropore channel array. In this method, it is important to arrange the direction of the micropore array along the crystal orientation of the Si substrate. Otherwise, serious lateral erosion will happen. The etching process is also relative to the light intensity and HF concentration. 5% HF concentration and 10-15 cm distance between the light source and the silicon wafer are demonstrated to be the best in our experiments. The n-type silicon deep micropore channel array with aperture of 3 μm and aspect ratio of 40-60, whose inner walls are smooth, is finally obtained.

RZ-to-NRZ format conversion at 50 Gbit/s based on a silicon microring resonator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ding, Yunhong; Peucheret, Christophe; Pu, Minhao

2010-01-01

We demonstrate RZ-to-NRZ format conversion at 50 Gbit/s based on silicon microring resonator with FSR of 100 GHz. Bit error rate measurements show a low power penalty compared to electrical NRZ signal for error free operation.......We demonstrate RZ-to-NRZ format conversion at 50 Gbit/s based on silicon microring resonator with FSR of 100 GHz. Bit error rate measurements show a low power penalty compared to electrical NRZ signal for error free operation....

Radiation accelerated formation of oxygen and carbon related complexes in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazrak, A.; Magnea, N.; Pautrat, J.L.

1984-06-01

During the pulling of silicon monocrystals by the Czochralsky method, oxygen is incorporated into the lattice. It is known from early works that low temperature annealings (400-1000 0 C) make this oxygen to precipitate and a number of different defects to be generated. In order to check whether the fast diffusivity of an oxygen silicon interstitial complex has to be taken in consideration it was interesting to examinate the possible role of radiation damage on the formation of oxygen related defects. Experimental results of an experiment are presented and discussed

Entropy-driven crystal formation on highly strained substrates

KAUST Repository

Savage, John R.

2013-05-20

In heteroepitaxy, lattice mismatch between the deposited material and the underlying surface strongly affects nucleation and growth processes. The effect of mismatch is well studied in atoms with growth kinetics typically dominated by bond formation with interaction lengths on the order of one lattice spacing. In contrast, less is understood about how mismatch affects crystallization of larger particles, such as globular proteins and nanoparticles, where interparticle interaction energies are often comparable to thermal fluctuations and are short ranged, extending only a fraction of the particle size. Here, using colloidal experiments and simulations, we find particles with short-range attractive interactions form crystals on isotropically strained lattices with spacings significantly larger than the interaction length scale. By measuring the free-energy cost of dimer formation on monolayers of increasing uniaxial strain, we show the underlying mismatched substrate mediates an entropy-driven attractive interaction extending well beyond the interaction length scale. Remarkably, because this interaction arises from thermal fluctuations, lowering temperature causes such substrate-mediated attractive crystals to dissolve. Such counterintuitive results underscore the crucial role of entropy in heteroepitaxy in this technologically important regime. Ultimately, this entropic component of lattice mismatched crystal growth could be used to develop unique methods for heterogeneous nucleation and growth of single crystals for applications ranging from protein crystallization to controlling the assembly of nanoparticles into ordered, functional superstructures. In particular, the construction of substrates with spatially modulated strain profiles would exploit this effect to direct self-assembly, whereby nucleation sites and resulting crystal morphology can be controlled directly through modifications of the substrate.

Ordered arrays of embedded Ga nanoparticles on patterned silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bollani, M; Bietti, S; Sanguinetti, S; Frigeri, C; Chrastina, D; Reyes, K; Smereka, P; Millunchick, J M; Vanacore, G M; Tagliaferri, A; Burghammer, M

2014-01-01

We fabricate site-controlled, ordered arrays of embedded Ga nanoparticles on Si, using a combination of substrate patterning and molecular-beam epitaxial growth. The fabrication process consists of two steps. Ga droplets are initially nucleated in an ordered array of inverted pyramidal pits, and then partially crystallized by exposure to an As flux, which promotes the formation of a GaAs shell that seals the Ga nanoparticle within two semiconductor layers. The nanoparticle formation process has been investigated through a combination of extensive chemical and structural characterization and theoretical kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. (papers)

Design and fabrication of non silicon substrate based MEMS energy harvester for arbitrary surface applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balpande, Suresh S., E-mail: balpandes@rknec.edu [Ph.D.. Scholar, Department of Electronics Engineering Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering & Management, Nagpur-13, (M.S.) (India); Pande, Rajesh S. [Professor, Department of Electronics Engineering Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering & Management, Nagpur-13, (M.S.) (India)

2016-04-13

Internet of Things (IoT) uses MEMS sensor nodes and actuators to sense and control objects through Internet. IOT deploys millions of chemical battery driven sensors at different locations which are not reliable many times because of frequent requirement of charging & battery replacement in case of underground laying, placement at harsh environmental conditions, huge count and difference between demand (24 % per year) and availability (energy density growing rate 8% per year). Energy harvester fabricated on silicon wafers have been widely used in manufacturing MEMS structures. These devices require complex fabrication processes, costly chemicals & clean room. In addition to this silicon wafer based devices are not suitable for curved surfaces like pipes, human bodies, organisms, or other arbitrary surface like clothes, structure surfaces which does not have flat and smooth surface always. Therefore, devices based on rigid silicon wafers are not suitable for these applications. Flexible structures are the key solution for this problems. Energy transduction mechanism generates power from free surrounding vibrations or impact. Sensor nodes application has been purposefully selected due to discrete power requirement at low duty cycle. Such nodes require an average power budget in the range of about 0.1 microwatt to 1 mW over a period of 3-5 seconds. Energy harvester is the best alternate source in contrast with battery for sensor node application. Novel design of Energy Harvester based on cheapest flexible non silicon substrate i.e. cellulose acetate substrate have been modeled, simulated and analyzed on COMSOL multiphysics and fabricated using sol-gel spin coating setup. Single cantilever based harvester generates 60-75 mV peak electric potential at 22Hz frequency and approximately 22 µW power at 1K-Ohm load. Cantilever array can be employed for generating higher voltage by replicating this structure. This work covers design, optimization, fabrication of

Design and fabrication of non silicon substrate based MEMS energy harvester for arbitrary surface applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balpande, Suresh S.; Pande, Rajesh S.

2016-01-01

Internet of Things (IoT) uses MEMS sensor nodes and actuators to sense and control objects through Internet. IOT deploys millions of chemical battery driven sensors at different locations which are not reliable many times because of frequent requirement of charging & battery replacement in case of underground laying, placement at harsh environmental conditions, huge count and difference between demand (24 % per year) and availability (energy density growing rate 8% per year). Energy harvester fabricated on silicon wafers have been widely used in manufacturing MEMS structures. These devices require complex fabrication processes, costly chemicals & clean room. In addition to this silicon wafer based devices are not suitable for curved surfaces like pipes, human bodies, organisms, or other arbitrary surface like clothes, structure surfaces which does not have flat and smooth surface always. Therefore, devices based on rigid silicon wafers are not suitable for these applications. Flexible structures are the key solution for this problems. Energy transduction mechanism generates power from free surrounding vibrations or impact. Sensor nodes application has been purposefully selected due to discrete power requirement at low duty cycle. Such nodes require an average power budget in the range of about 0.1 microwatt to 1 mW over a period of 3-5 seconds. Energy harvester is the best alternate source in contrast with battery for sensor node application. Novel design of Energy Harvester based on cheapest flexible non silicon substrate i.e. cellulose acetate substrate have been modeled, simulated and analyzed on COMSOL multiphysics and fabricated using sol-gel spin coating setup. Single cantilever based harvester generates 60-75 mV peak electric potential at 22Hz frequency and approximately 22 µW power at 1K-Ohm load. Cantilever array can be employed for generating higher voltage by replicating this structure. This work covers design, optimization, fabrication of

Plasma surface oxidation of 316L stainless steel for improving adhesion strength of silicone rubber coating to metal substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Latifi, Afrooz, E-mail: afroozlatifi@yahoo.com [Department of Biomaterials, Biomedical Engineering Faculty, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Imani, Mohammad [Novel Drug Delivery Systems Dept., Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O. Box 14965/115, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Khorasani, Mohammad Taghi [Biomaterials Dept., Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, P.O. Box 14965/159, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Daliri Joupari, Morteza [Animal and Marine Biotechnology Dept., National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, P.O. Box 14965/161, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2014-11-30

Highlights: • Stainless steel 316L was surface modified by plasma surface oxidation (PSO) and silicone rubber (SR) coating. • On the PSO substrates, concentration of oxide species was increased ca. 2.5 times comparing to non-PSO substrates. • The surface wettability was improved to 12.5°, in terms of water contact angle, after PSO. • Adhesion strength of SR coating on the PSO substrates was improved by more than two times comparing to non-PSO ones. • After pull-off test, the fractured area patterns for SR coating were dependent on the type of surface modifications received. - Abstract: Stainless steel 316L is one of the most widely used materials for fabricating of biomedical devices hence, improving its surface properties is still of great interest and challenging in biomaterial sciences. Plasma oxidation, in comparison to the conventional chemical or mechanical methods, is one of the most efficient methods recently used for surface treatment of biomaterials. Here, stainless steel specimens were surface oxidized by radio-frequency plasma irradiation operating at 34 MHz under pure oxygen atmosphere. Surface chemical composition of the samples was significantly changed after plasma oxidation by appearance of the chromium and iron oxides on the plasma-oxidized surface. A wettable surface, possessing high surface energy (83.19 mN m{sup −1}), was observed after plasma oxidation. Upon completion of the surface modification process, silicone rubber was spray coated on the plasma-treated stainless steel surface. Morphology of the silicone rubber coating was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A uniform coating was formed on the oxidized surface with no delamination at polymer–metal interface. Pull-off tests showed the lowest adhesion strength of coating to substrate (0.12 MPa) for untreated specimens and the highest (0.89 MPa) for plasma-oxidized ones.

Electrical properties of pressure quenched silicon by thermal spraying

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, S.Y.; Gambino, R.J.; Sampath, S.; Herman, H.

2007-01-01

High velocity thermal spray deposition of polycrystalline silicon film onto single crystal substrates, yields metastable high pressure forms of silicon in nanocrystalline form within the deposit. The phases observed in the deposit include hexagonal diamond-Si, R-8, BC-8 and Si-IX. The peculiar attribute of this transformation is that it occurs only on orientation silicon substrate. The silicon deposits containing the high pressure phases display a substantially higher electrical conductivity. The resistivity profile of the silicon deposit containing shock induced metastable silicon phases identified by X-ray diffraction patterns. The density of the pressure induced polymorphic silicon is higher at deposit/substrate interface. A modified two-layer model is presented to explain the resistivity of the deposit impacted by the pressure induced polymorphic silicon generated by the thermal spraying process. The pressure quenched silicon deposits on the p - silicon substrate, with or without metastable phases, display the barrier potential of about 0.72 eV. The measured hall mobility value of pressure quenched silicon deposits is in the range of polycrystalline silicon. The significance of this work lies in the fact that the versatility of thermal spray may enable applications of these high pressure forms of silicon

III/V nano ridge structures for optical applications on patterned 300 mm silicon substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kunert, B.; Guo, W.; Mols, Y.; Pantouvaki, M.; Van Campenhout, J.; Langer, R.; Barla, K. [imec, Kapeldreef 75, 3001 Heverlee (Belgium); Tian, B.; Wang, Z.; Shi, Y.; Van Thourhout, D. [Photonics Research Group, Ghent University, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 15, 9052 Gent (Belgium)

2016-08-29

We report on an integration approach of III/V nano ridges on patterned silicon (Si) wafers by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Trenches of different widths (≤500 nm) were processed in a silicon oxide (SiO{sub 2}) layer on top of a 300 mm (001) Si substrate. The MOVPE growth conditions were chosen in a way to guarantee an efficient defect trapping within narrow trenches and to form a box shaped ridge with increased III/V volume when growing out of the trench. Compressively strained InGaAs/GaAs multi-quantum wells with 19% indium were deposited on top of the fully relaxed GaAs ridges as an active material for optical applications. Transmission electron microcopy investigation shows that very flat quantum well (QW) interfaces were realized. A clear defect trapping inside the trenches is observed whereas the ridge material is free of threading dislocations with only a very low density of planar defects. Pronounced QW photoluminescence (PL) is detected from different ridge sizes at room temperature. The potential of these III/V nano ridges for laser integration on Si substrates is emphasized by the achieved ridge volume which could enable wave guidance and by the high crystal quality in line with the distinct PL.

Formation of nanoclusters of gadolinium atoms in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iliev, Kh.M.; Saparniyazova, Z.M.; Ismajlov, K.A.; Madzhitov, M.Kh.

2011-01-01

A technology of stage wise low temperature diffusion of gadolinium into silicon that makes it possible to form nanoclusters of impurity atoms with a significant magnetic moment distributed throughout the volume of the material has been developed. It is shown that, unlike the samples obtained by high temperature diffusion doping, the samples prepared by the new technology do not have surface erosion, and alloys and silicides are not formed in the near surface region. Nanoclusters of impurity atoms of gadolinium in the volume of the crystal lattice of the silicon are studied using an MIK-5 infrared microscope. It is found that, in the stage wise low temperature diffusion, the temperature and time of the diffusion have an effect not only on the depth of penetration of the impurities but also on the sizes of the resulting clusters; these factors can also prevent the formation of clusters. The study of the effect of low temperature treatments on the size and distribution of clusters shows that, upon annealing in the temperature range of 500-700 degrees Celsius, the ordering of the clusters of gadolinium impurity atoms is observed. A further increase in the annealing temperature leads to the destruction of gadolinium clusters in the silicon bulk. (authors)

Probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 biofilms on silicone substrates for bacterial interference against pathogen colonization.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Quan; Zhu, Zhiling; Wang, Jun; Lopez, Analette I; Li, Siheng; Kumar, Amit; Yu, Fei; Chen, Haoqing; Cai, Chengzhi; Zhang, Lijuan

2017-03-01

Bacterial interference is an alternative strategy to fight against device-associated bacterial infections. Pursuing this strategy, a non-pathogenic bacterial biofilm is used as a live, protective barrier to fence off pathogen colonization. In this work, biofilms formed by probiotic Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917 (EcN) are investigated for their potential for long-term bacterial interference against infections associated with silicone-based urinary catheters and indwelling catheters used in the digestive system, such as feeding tubes and voice prostheses. We have shown that EcN can form stable biofilms on silicone substrates, particularly those modified with a biphenyl mannoside derivative. These biofilms greatly reduced the colonization by pathogenic Enterococcus faecalis in Lysogeny broth (LB) for 11days. Bacterial interference is an alternative strategy to fight against device-associated bacterial infections. Pursuing this strategy, we use non-pathogenic bacteria to form a biofilm that serves as a live, protective barrier against pathogen colonization. Herein, we report the first use of preformed probiotic E. coli Nissle 1917 biofilms on the mannoside-presenting silicone substrates to prevent pathogen colonization. The biofilms serve as a live, protective barrier to fence off the pathogens, whereas current antimicrobial/antifouling coatings are subjected to gradual coverage by the biomass from the rapidly growing pathogens in a high-nutrient environment. It should be noted that E. coli Nissle 1917 is commercially available and has been used in many clinical trials. We also demonstrated that this probiotic strain performed significantly better than the non-commercial, genetically modified E. coli strain that we previously reported. Copyright © 2017 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Band engineering of amorphous silicon ruthenium thin film and its near-infrared absorption enhancement combined with nano-holes pattern on back surface of silicon substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guo, Anran; Zhong, Hao [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Li, Wei, E-mail: wli@uestc.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Gu, Deen; Jiang, Xiangdong [School of Optoelectronic Information, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Jiang, Yadong [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China)

2016-10-30

Highlights: • The increase of Ru concentration leads to a narrower bandgap of a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x} thin film. • The absorption coefficient of a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x} is higher than that of SiGe. • A double-layer absorber comprising of a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x} film and Si nano-holes layer is achieved. - Abstract: Silicon is widely used in semiconductor industry but has poor performance in near-infrared photoelectronic devices because of its bandgap limit. In this study, a narrow bandgap silicon rich semiconductor is achieved by introducing ruthenium (Ru) into amorphous silicon (a-Si) to form amorphous silicon ruthenium (a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x}) thin films through co-sputtering. The increase of Ru concentration leads to an enhancement of light absorption and a narrower bandgap. Meanwhile, a specific light trapping technique is employed to realize high absorption of a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x} thin film in a finite thickness to avoid unnecessary carrier recombination. A double-layer absorber comprising of a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x} thin film and silicon random nano-holes layer is formed on the back surface of silicon substrates, and significantly improves near-infrared absorption while the leaky light intensity is less than 5%. This novel absorber, combining narrow bandgap thin film with light trapping structure, may have a potential application in near-infrared photoelectronic devices.

Comparison of stress states in GaN films grown on different substrates: Langasite, sapphire and silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Byung-Guon; Saravana Kumar, R.; Moon, Mee-Lim; Kim, Moon-Deock; Kang, Tae-Won; Yang, Woo-Chul; Kim, Song-Gang

2015-09-01

We demonstrate the evolution of GaN films on novel langasite (LGS) substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, and assessed the quality of grown GaN film by comparing the experimental results obtained using LGS, sapphire and silicon (Si) substrates. To study the substrate effect, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectra were used to characterize the microstructure and stress states in GaN films. Wet etching of GaN films in KOH solution revealed that the films deposited on GaN/LGS, AlN/sapphire and AlN/Si substrates possess Ga-polarity, while the film deposited on GaN/sapphire possess N-polarity. XRD, Raman and PL analysis demonstrated that a compressive stress exist in the films grown on GaN/LGS, AlN/sapphire, and GaN/sapphire substrates, while a tensile stress appears on AlN/Si substrate. Comparative analysis showed the growth of nearly stress-free GaN films on LGS substrate due to the very small lattice mismatch ( 3.2%) and thermal expansion coefficient difference ( 7.5%). The results presented here will hopefully provide a new framework for the further development of high performance III-nitride-related devices using GaN/LGS heteroepitaxy.

Defect formation and recrystallization in the silicon on sapphire films under Si{sup +} irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shemukhin, A.A., E-mail: shemuhin@gmail.com [Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation); Nazarov, A.V.; Balakshin, Yu. V. [Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation); Chernysh, V.S. [Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation); Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2015-07-01

Silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) is one of the most promising silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technologies. SOS structures are widely used in microelectronics, but to meet modern requirements the silicon layer should be 100 nm thick or less. The problem is in amount of damage in the interface layer, which decreases the quality of the produced devices. In order to improve the crystalline structure quality SOS samples with 300 nm silicon layers were implanted with Si{sup +} ions with energies in the range from 180 up to 230 keV with fluences in the range from 10{sup 14} up to 5 × 10{sup 15} cm{sup −2} at 0 °C. The crystalline structure of the samples was studied with RBS and the interface layer was studied with SIMS after subsequent annealing. It has been found out that to obtain silicon films with high lattice quality it is necessary to damage the sapphire lattice near the silicon–sapphire interface. Complete destruction of the strongly defected area and subsequent recrystallization depends on the energy of implanted ions and the substrate temperature. No significant mixing in the interface layer was observed with the SIMS.

Fabrication of amorphous silicon nanoribbons by atomic force microscope tip-induced local oxidation for thin film device applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pichon, L; Rogel, R; Demami, F

2010-01-01

We demonstrate the feasibility of induced local oxidation of amorphous silicon by atomic force microscopy. The resulting local oxide is used as a mask for the elaboration of a thin film silicon resistor. A thin amorphous silicon layer deposited on a glass substrate is locally oxidized following narrow continuous lines. The corresponding oxide line is then used as a mask during plasma etching of the amorphous layer leading to the formation of a nanoribbon. Such an amorphous silicon nanoribbon is used for the fabrication of the resistor

Probing photo-carrier collection efficiencies of individual silicon nanowire diodes on a wafer substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitt, S W; Brönstrup, G; Shalev, G; Srivastava, S K; Bashouti, M Y; Döhler, G H; Christiansen, S H

2014-07-21

Vertically aligned silicon nanowire (SiNW) diodes are promising candidates for the integration into various opto-electronic device concepts for e.g. sensing or solar energy conversion. Individual SiNW p-n diodes have intensively been studied, but to date an assessment of their device performance once integrated on a silicon substrate has not been made. We show that using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with a nano-manipulator and an optical fiber feed-through for tunable (wavelength, power using a tunable laser source) sample illumination, the dark and illuminated current-voltage (I-V) curve of individual SiNW diodes on the substrate wafer can be measured. Surprisingly, the I-V-curve of the serially coupled system composed of SiNW/wafers is accurately described by an equivalent circuit model of a single diode and diode parameters like series and shunting resistivity, diode ideality factor and photocurrent can be retrieved from a fit. We show that the photo-carrier collection efficiency (PCE) of the integrated diode illuminated with variable wavelength and intensity light directly gives insight into the quality of the device design at the nanoscale. We find that the PCE decreases for high light intensities and photocurrent densities, due to the fact that considerable amounts of photo-excited carriers generated within the substrate lead to a decrease in shunting resistivity of the SiNW diode and deteriorate its rectification. The PCE decreases systematically for smaller wavelengths of visible light, showing the possibility of monitoring the effectiveness of the SiNW device surface passivation using the shown measurement technique. The integrated device was pre-characterized using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), TCAD simulations and electron beam induced current (EBIC) measurements to validate the properties of the characterized material at the single SiNW diode level.

Importance of Silicon and Mechanisms of Biosilica Formation in Plants

Science.gov (United States)

Siti Nor Akmar, Abdullah; Rafii, Mohd Y.; Tengoua, F. F.; Nurul Mayzaitul Azwa, Jamaludin; Shabanimofrad, M.

2015-01-01

Silicon (Si) is one of the most prevalent macroelements, performing an essential function in healing plants in response to environmental stresses. The purpose of using Si is to induce resistance to distinct stresses, diseases, and pathogens. Additionally, Si can improve the condition of soils, which contain toxic levels of heavy metals along with other chemical elements. Silicon minimizes toxicity of Fe, Al, and Mn, increases the availability of P, and enhances drought along with salt tolerance in plants through the formation of silicified tissues in plants. However, the concentration of Si depends on the plants genotype and organisms. Hence, the physiological mechanisms and metabolic activities of plants may be affected by Si application. Peptides as well as amino acids can effectively create polysilicic species through interactions with different species of silicate inside solution. The carboxylic acid and the alcohol groups of serine and asparagine tend not to engage in any significant role in polysilicates formation, but the hydroxyl group side chain can be involved in the formation of hydrogen bond with Si(OH)4. The mechanisms and trend of Si absorption are different between plant species. Furthermore, the transportation of Si requires an energy mechanism; thus, low temperatures and metabolic repressors inhibit Si transportation. PMID:25685787

Importance of Silicon and Mechanisms of Biosilica Formation in Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahbod Sahebi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Silicon (Si is one of the most prevalent macroelements, performing an essential function in healing plants in response to environmental stresses. The purpose of using Si is to induce resistance to distinct stresses, diseases, and pathogens. Additionally, Si can improve the condition of soils, which contain toxic levels of heavy metals along with other chemical elements. Silicon minimizes toxicity of Fe, Al, and Mn, increases the availability of P, and enhances drought along with salt tolerance in plants through the formation of silicified tissues in plants. However, the concentration of Si depends on the plants genotype and organisms. Hence, the physiological mechanisms and metabolic activities of plants may be affected by Si application. Peptides as well as amino acids can effectively create polysilicic species through interactions with different species of silicate inside solution. The carboxylic acid and the alcohol groups of serine and asparagine tend not to engage in any significant role in polysilicates formation, but the hydroxyl group side chain can be involved in the formation of hydrogen bond with Si(OH4. The mechanisms and trend of Si absorption are different between plant species. Furthermore, the transportation of Si requires an energy mechanism; thus, low temperatures and metabolic repressors inhibit Si transportation.

Nucleation of microcrystalline silicon: on the effect of the substrate surface nature and nano-imprint topography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palmans, J; Faraz, T; Verheijen, M A; Kessels, W M M; Creatore, M

2016-01-01

The nucleation of microcrystalline silicon thin-films has been investigated for various substrate natures and topographies. An earlier nucleation onset on aluminium-doped zinc oxide compared to glass substrates has been revealed, associated with a microstructure enhancement and reduced surface energy. Both aspects resulted in a larger crystallite density, following classical nucleation theory. Additionally, the nucleation onset was (plasma deposition) condition-dependent. Therefore, surface chemistry and its interplay with the plasma have been proposed as key factors affecting nucleation and growth. As such, preliminary proof of the substrate nature’s role in microcrystalline silicon growth has been provided. Subsequently, the impact of nano-imprint lithography prepared surfaces on the initial microcrystalline silicon growth has been explored. Strong topographies, with a 5-fold surface area enhancement, led to a reduction in crystalline volume fraction of ∼20%. However, no correlation between topography and microstructure has been found. Instead, the suppressed crystallization has been partially ascribed to a reduced growth flux, limited surface diffusion and increased incubation layer thickness, originating from the surface area enhancement when transiting from flat to nanostructured surfaces. Furthermore, fundamental plasma parameters have been reviewed in relation with surface topography. Strong topographies are not expected to affect the ion-to-growth flux ratio. However, the reduced ion flux (due to increasing surface area) further limited the already weak ion energy transfer to surface processes. Additionally, the atomic hydrogen flux, i.e. the driving force for microcrystalline growth, has been found to decrease by a factor of 10 when transiting from flat to nanostructured topography. This resulted in an almost 6-fold reduction of the hydrogen-to-growth flux ratio, a much stronger effect than the ion-to-growth flux ratio. Since previous studies regarding

Determination of the Wetting Angle of Germanium and Germanium-Silicon Melts on Different Substrate Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Kaiser, Natalie; Croell, Arne; Szofran, F. R.; Cobb. S. D.; Dold, P.; Benz, K. W.

1999-01-01

During Bridgman growth of semiconductors detachment of the crystal and the melt meniscus has occasionally been observed, mainly under microgravity (microg) conditions. An important factor for detached growth is the wetting angle of the melt with the crucible material. High contact angles are more likely to result in detachment of the growing crystal from the ampoule wall. In order to achieve detached growth of germanium (Ge) and germanium-silicon (GeSi) crystals under 1g and microg conditions, sessile drop measurements were performed to determine the most suitable ampoule material as well as temperature dependence of the surface tension for GeSi. Sapphire, fused quartz, glassy carbon, graphite, SiC, pyrolytic Boron Nitride (pBN), AIN, and diamond were used as substrates. Furthermore, different cleaning procedures and surface treatments (etching, sandblasting, etc.) of the same substrate material and their effect on the wetting behavior were studied during these experiments. pBN and AIN substrates exhibited the highest contact angles with values around 170 deg.

Method of forming buried oxide layers in silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Sadana, Devendra Kumar; Holland, Orin Wayne

2000-01-01

A process for forming Silicon-On-Insulator is described incorporating the steps of ion implantation of oxygen into a silicon substrate at elevated temperature, ion implanting oxygen at a temperature below 200.degree. C. at a lower dose to form an amorphous silicon layer, and annealing steps to form a mixture of defective single crystal silicon and polycrystalline silicon or polycrystalline silicon alone and then silicon oxide from the amorphous silicon layer to form a continuous silicon oxide layer below the surface of the silicon substrate to provide an isolated superficial layer of silicon. The invention overcomes the problem of buried isolated islands of silicon oxide forming a discontinuous buried oxide layer.

Formation of oxide-trapped charges in 6H-SiC MOS structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoshikawa, Masahito; Ohshima, Takeshi; Itoh, Hisayoshi; Nashiyama, Isamu [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan). Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment; Okumura, Hajime; Yoshida, Sadafumi

1997-03-01

The silicon and the carbon faces of hexagonal silicon carbide (6H-SiC) substrates were oxidized pyrogenically at 1100degC, and the metal-oxide-semiconductor structures were formed on these faces. The MOS capacitors developed using the silicon and the carbon faces were irradiated with {sup 60}Co gamma-rays under argon atmosphere at room temperature. The bias voltages with the different polarity were applied to the gate electrode during irradiation to examine the formation mechanisms of the trapped charges in the oxides of these MOS capacitors. The amount of the trapped charges in the oxide were obtained from capacitance pulse voltage characteristics. The generation of the trapped charges are affects with not only the absorbed dose but also the bias polarity applied to the gate electrodes during irradiation. The formation mechanisms of the trapped charges in the oxides were estimated in conjunction with the surface orientation of 6H-SiC substrates. (author)

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon p-i-n solar cells deposited under well controlled ion bombardment using pulse-shaped substrate biasing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wank, M. A.; van Swaaij, R.; R. van de Sanden,; Zeman, M.

2012-01-01

We applied pulse-shaped biasing (PSB) to the expanding thermal plasma deposition of intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers at substrate temperatures of 200 degrees C and growth rates of about 1?nm/s. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of intrinsic films showed a densification with

Formation of boride layers on steel substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stergioudis, G.

2006-01-01

Boronizing coatings were prepared by means of pack cementation technique. It was found that using the appropriate substrate and controlling parameters of the boribing process such as boron activity of the mixture, temperature and time of treatment, it is possible to obtain a structure predominantly consisting of the Fe 2 B phase. In the present study low alloy ferritic steels were chosen as substrates. Changing the boron carbide concentration in the mixture and the temperature and time of boronizing process the conditions of the boronizing were altered. As a result the formation of the Fe 2 B phase is enhanced. Characterization of the as-borided steels is discussed based on X-ray diffraction and Curie temperature measurements. (copyright 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Back contact to film silicon on metal for photovoltaic cells

Science.gov (United States)

Branz, Howard M.; Teplin, Charles; Stradins, Pauls

2013-06-18

A crystal oriented metal back contact for solar cells is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a photovoltaic device and methods for making the photovoltaic device are disclosed. The photovoltaic device includes a metal substrate with a crystalline orientation and a heteroepitaxial crystal silicon layer having the same crystal orientation of the metal substrate. A heteroepitaxial buffer layer having the crystal orientation of the metal substrate is positioned between the substrate and the crystal silicon layer to reduce diffusion of metal from the metal foil into the crystal silicon layer and provide chemical compatibility with the heteroepitaxial crystal silicon layer. Additionally, the buffer layer includes one or more electrically conductive pathways to electrically couple the crystal silicon layer and the metal substrate.

Fabrication of Up-Conversion Phosphor Films on Flexible Substrates Using a Nanostructured Organo-Silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Young-Sun; Kim, Tae-Un; Kim, Seon-Hoon; Lee, Young-Hwan; Choi, Pil-Son; Hwang, Kyu-Seog

2018-03-01

Up-conversion phosphors have attracted considerable attention because of their applications in solid-state lasers, optical communications, flat-panel displays, photovoltaic cells, and biological labels. Among them, NaYF4 is reported as one of the most efficient hosts for infrared to visible photon up-conversion of Yb3+ and Er3+ ions. However, a low-temperature method is required for industrial scale fabrication of photonic and optoelectronic devices on flexible organic substrates. In this study, hexagonal β-NaYF4: 3 mol% Yb3+, 3 mol% Er3+ up-conversion phosphor using Ca2+ was prepared by chemical solution method. Then, we synthesized a nanostructured organo-silicon compound from methyl tri-methoxysilane and 3-glycidoxy-propyl-trimethoxy-silane. The transmittance of the organo-silicon compound was found to be over 90% in the wavelength range of 400~1500 nm. Then we prepared a fluoride-based phosphor paste by mixing the organo-silicon compound with Na(Ca)YF4:Yb3+, Er3+. Subsequently, this paste was coated on polyethylene terephthalate, followed by heat-treatment at 120 °C. The visible emission of the infrared detection card was found to be at 655 nm and 661 nm an excitation wavelength of 980 nm.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon p–i–n solar cells deposited under well controlled ion bombardment using pulse-shaped substrate biasing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wank, M.A.; Swaaij, van R.A.C.M.M.; Sanden, van de M.C.M.; Zeman, M.

2012-01-01

We applied pulse-shaped biasing (PSB) to the expanding thermal plasma deposition of intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers at substrate temperatures of 200¿°C and growth rates of about 1¿nm/s. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of intrinsic films showed a densification with increasing

Deposition of silicon oxynitride films by low energy ion beam assisted nitridation at room temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Youroukov, S.; Kitova, S.; Danev, G.

2008-05-01

The possibility is studied of growing thin silicon oxynitride films by e-gun evaporation of SiO and SiO2 together with concurrent bombardment with low energy N2+ ions from a cyclotron resonance (ECR) source at room temperature of substrates. The degree of nitridation and oxidation of the films is investigated by means of X-ray spectroscopy. The optical characteristics of the films, their environmental stability and adhesion to different substrates are examined. The results obtained show than the films deposited are transparent. It is found that in the case of SiO evaporation with concurrent N2+ ion bombardment, reactive implantation of nitrogen within the films takes place at room temperature of the substrate with the formation of a new silicon oxynitride compound even at low ion energy (150-200 eV).

Biofilm formation and design features of indwelling silicone rubber tracheoesophageal voice prostheses - An electron microscopical study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leunisse, C; van Weissenbruch, R; Busscher, HJ; van der Mei, HC; Dijk, F; Albers, FWJ

2001-01-01

After total laryngectomy, voice can be restored with a silicone rubber tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis. However, biofilm formation and subsequent deterioration of the silicone material of the prosthesis will limit device life by impairing valve function. To simulate the natural process of biofilm

Grafting of functionalized polymer on porous silicon surface using Grignard reagent

Science.gov (United States)

Tighilt, F.-Z.; Belhousse, S.; Sam, S.; Hamdani, K.; Lasmi, K.; Chazalviel, J. N.; Gabouze, N.

2017-11-01

Recently, considerable attention has been paid to the manipulation and the control of the physicochemical properties of porous silicon surfaces because of their crucial importance to the modern microelectronics industry. Hybrid structures consisting of deposited polymer on porous silicon surfaces are important to applications in microelectronics, photovoltaics and sensors (Ensafi et al., 2016; Kashyout et al., 2015; Osorio et al.; 2015; Hejjo et al., 2002) [1-4]. In many cases, the polymer can provide excellent mechanical and chemical protection of the substrate, changes the electrochemical interface characteristics of the substrate, and provides new ways to the functionalization of porous silicon surfaces for molecular recognition and sensing. In this work, porous silicon surface was modified by anodic treatment in ethynylmagnesium bromide electrolyte leading to the formation of a polymeric layer bearing some bromine substituents. Subsequently, the formed polymer is functionalized with amine molecules containing functional groups (carboxylic acid or pyridine) by a substitution reaction between bromine sites and amine groups (Hofmann reaction). The chemical composition of the modified porous silicon surfaces was investigated and the grafting of polymeric chains and functional groups on the porous silicon surface was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) which displayed the principal characteristic peaks attributed to the different functional groups. Furthermore, the surface of the material was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Electroless porous silicon formation applied to fabrication of boron–silica–glass cantilevers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teva, J; Davis, Z J; Hansen, O

2010-01-01

This work describes the characterization and optimization of anisotropic formation of porous silicon in large volumes (0.5–1 mm 3 ) of silicon by an electroless wet etching technique. The main goal is to use porous silicon as a sacrificial volume for bulk micromachining processes, especially in cases where etching of the full wafer thickness is needed. The porous silicon volume is formed by a metal-assisted etching in a wet chemical solution composed of hydrogen peroxide (30%), hydrofluoric acid (40%) and ethanol. This paper focuses on optimizing the etching conditions in terms of maximizing the etching rate and reproducibility of the etching. In addition to that, a study of the morphology of the pore that is obtained by this technique is presented. The results from the characterization of the process are applied to the fabrication of boron–silica–glass cantilevers that serve as a platform for bio-chemical sensors. The porous silicon volume is formed in an early step of the fabrication process, allowing easy handling of the wafer during all of the micromachining processes in the process flow. In the final process step, the porous silicon is quickly etched by immersing the wafer in a KOH solution

Step voltage with periodic hold-up etching: A novel porous silicon formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naddaf, M.; Awad, F.; Soukeih, M.

2007-01-01

A novel etching method for preparing light-emitting porous silicon (PS) is developed. A gradient steps (staircase) voltage is applied and hold-up for different periods of time between p-type silicon wafers and a graphite electrode in HF based solutions periodically. The single applied staircase voltage (0-30 V) is ramped in equal steps of 0.5 V for 6 s, and hold at 30 V for 30 s at a current of 6 mA. The current during hold-up time (0 V) was less than 10 μA. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) behavior of the PS samples as a function of etching parameters has been investigated. The intensity of PL peak is initially increased and blue shifted on increasing etching time, but decreased after prolonged time. These are correlated with the study of changes in surface morphology using atomic force microscope (AFM), porosity and electrical conductance measurements. The time of holding-up the applied voltage during the formation process is found to highly affect the PS properties. On increasing the holding-up time, the intensity of PL peak is increased and blue shifted. The contribution of holding-up the applied steps during the formation process of PS is seen to be more or less similar to the post chemical etching process. It is demonstrated that this method can yield a porous silicon layer with stronger photoluminescence intensity and blue shifted than the porous silicon layer prepared by DC etching

Step voltage with periodic hold-up etching: A novel porous silicon formation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naddaf, M. [Department of Physics, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS), Damascus P.O. Box 6091 (Syrian Arab Republic)]. E-mail: scientific@aec.org.sy; Awad, F. [Department of Physics, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS), Damascus P.O. Box 6091 (Syrian Arab Republic); Soukeih, M. [Department of Physics, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS), Damascus P.O. Box 6091 (Syrian Arab Republic)

2007-05-16

A novel etching method for preparing light-emitting porous silicon (PS) is developed. A gradient steps (staircase) voltage is applied and hold-up for different periods of time between p-type silicon wafers and a graphite electrode in HF based solutions periodically. The single applied staircase voltage (0-30 V) is ramped in equal steps of 0.5 V for 6 s, and hold at 30 V for 30 s at a current of 6 mA. The current during hold-up time (0 V) was less than 10 {mu}A. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) behavior of the PS samples as a function of etching parameters has been investigated. The intensity of PL peak is initially increased and blue shifted on increasing etching time, but decreased after prolonged time. These are correlated with the study of changes in surface morphology using atomic force microscope (AFM), porosity and electrical conductance measurements. The time of holding-up the applied voltage during the formation process is found to highly affect the PS properties. On increasing the holding-up time, the intensity of PL peak is increased and blue shifted. The contribution of holding-up the applied steps during the formation process of PS is seen to be more or less similar to the post chemical etching process. It is demonstrated that this method can yield a porous silicon layer with stronger photoluminescence intensity and blue shifted than the porous silicon layer prepared by DC etching.

Gold Nanoparticles on Functionalized Silicon Substrate under Coulomb Blockade Regime: An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Pluchery, Olivier; Caillard, Louis; Dollfus, Philippe; Chabal, Yves J

2018-01-18

Single charge electronics offer a way for disruptive technology in nanoelectronics. Coulomb blockade is a realistic way for controlling the electric current through a device with the accuracy of one electron. In such devices the current exhibits a step-like increase upon bias which reflects the discrete nature of the fundamental charge. We have assembled a double tunnel junction on an oxide-free silicon substrate that exhibits Coulomb staircase characteristics using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as Coulomb islands. The first tunnel junction is an insulating layer made of a grafted organic monolayer (GOM) developed for this purpose. The GOM also serves for attaching AuNPs covalently. The second tunnel junction is made by the tip of an STM. We show that this device exhibits reproducible Coulomb blockade I-V curves at 40 K in vacuum. We also show that depending on the doping of the silicon substrate, the whole Coulomb staircase can be adjusted. We have developed a simulation approach based on the orthodox theory that was completed by calculating the bias dependent tunnel barriers and by including an accurate calculation of the band bending. This model accounts for the experimental data and the doping dependence of Coulomb oscillations. This study opens new perspectives toward designing new kind of single electron transistors (SET) based on this dependence of the Coulomb staircase with the charge carrier concentration.

Electrical characterizations of biomimetic molecular layers on gold and silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chilcott, T C; Wong, E L S; Coster, H G L; Böcking, T

2008-01-01

Electrical impedance technology was used to characterize DNA recognition in a monolayer containing single-stranded DNA probes immobilized on a gold substrate using thiol self-assembly chemistry. Recognition of targeted complementary DNA was principally correlated with an eight-fold increase in the conductance of the monolayer and attributed to electron conduction through double helices formed upon the binding of the DNA targets to the probes. The high recognitive sensitivity was possible without the use of the redox labels or large bias voltages required for recognition using cyclic and Osteryoung square wave voltammetry. The impedance technology also provided atomic resolution of a hybrid bimolecular lipid membrane formed by deposition of a phospholipid:cholesterol monolayer onto a hydrophobic alkyl monolayer covalently attached to a silicon substrate via silicon–carbon bonds. Atomic resolution was achieved through preparation of membranes on surfaces approaching atomic flatness and the performance of impedance measurements over precisely defined areas of the surface in contact with solutions. Principally capacitive properties distinguished between the immobilized (octadecyl) and more fluidic (lipid:cholesterol) leaflets of the hybrid membrane. The lipid:cholesterol leaflets were structurally similar to those leaflets in free-standing bimolecular lipid membranes. The hybrid membrane therefore provides a highly stable and physiologically relevant surface for studying biomolecular interactions with membrane surfaces

Porous silicon technology for integrated microsystems

Science.gov (United States)

Wallner, Jin Zheng

With the development of micro systems, there is an increasing demand for integrable porous materials. In addition to those conventional applications, such as filtration, wicking, and insulating, many new micro devices, including micro reactors, sensors, actuators, and optical components, can benefit from porous materials. Conventional porous materials, such as ceramics and polymers, however, cannot meet the challenges posed by micro systems, due to their incompatibility with standard micro-fabrication processes. In an effort to produce porous materials that can be used in micro systems, porous silicon (PS) generated by anodization of single crystalline silicon has been investigated. In this work, the PS formation process has been extensively studied and characterized as a function of substrate type, crystal orientation, doping concentration, current density and surfactant concentration and type. Anodization conditions have been optimized for producing very thick porous silicon layers with uniform pore size, and for obtaining ideal pore morphologies. Three different types of porous silicon materials: meso porous silicon, macro porous silicon with straight pores, and macro porous silicon with tortuous pores, have been successfully produced. Regular pore arrays with controllable pore size in the range of 2mum to 6mum have been demonstrated as well. Localized PS formation has been achieved by using oxide/nitride/polysilicon stack as masking materials, which can withstand anodization in hydrofluoric acid up to twenty hours. A special etching cell with electrolytic liquid backside contact along with two process flows has been developed to enable the fabrication of thick macro porous silicon membranes with though wafer pores. For device assembly, Si-Au and In-Au bonding technologies have been developed. Very low bonding temperature (˜200°C) and thick/soft bonding layers (˜6mum) have been achieved by In-Au bonding technology, which is able to compensate the potentially

Thermally-isolated silicon-based integrated circuits and related methods

Science.gov (United States)

Wojciechowski, Kenneth; Olsson, Roy H.; Clews, Peggy J.; Bauer, Todd

2017-05-09

Thermally isolated devices may be formed by performing a series of etches on a silicon-based substrate. As a result of the series of etches, silicon material may be removed from underneath a region of an integrated circuit (IC). The removal of the silicon material from underneath the IC forms a gap between remaining substrate and the integrated circuit, though the integrated circuit remains connected to the substrate via a support bar arrangement that suspends the integrated circuit over the substrate. The creation of this gap functions to release the device from the substrate and create a thermally-isolated integrated circuit.

Method of making thermally-isolated silicon-based integrated circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Wojciechowski, Kenneth; Olsson, Roy; Clews, Peggy J.; Bauer, Todd

2017-11-21

Thermally isolated devices may be formed by performing a series of etches on a silicon-based substrate. As a result of the series of etches, silicon material may be removed from underneath a region of an integrated circuit (IC). The removal of the silicon material from underneath the IC forms a gap between remaining substrate and the integrated circuit, though the integrated circuit remains connected to the substrate via a support bar arrangement that suspends the integrated circuit over the substrate. The creation of this gap functions to release the device from the substrate and create a thermally-isolated integrated circuit.

Passivation coating for flexible substrate mirrors

Science.gov (United States)

Tracy, C. Edwin; Benson, David K.

1990-01-01

A protective diffusion barrier for metalized mirror structures is provided by a layer or coating of silicon nitride which is a very dense, transparent, dielectric material that is impervious to water, alkali, and other impurities and corrosive substances that typically attack the metal layers of mirrors and cause degradation of the mirrors' reflectivity. The silicon nitride layer can be deposited on the substrate before metal deposition thereon to stabilize the metal/substrate interface, and it can be deposited over the metal to encapsulate it and protect the metal from corrosion or other degradation. Mirrors coated with silicon nitride according to this invention can also be used as front surface mirrors. Also, the silver or other reflective metal layer on mirrors comprising thin, lightweight, flexible substrates of metal or polymer sheets coated with glassy layers can be protected with silicon nitride according to this invention.

Effects of RF plasma treatment on spray-pyrolyzed copper oxide films on silicon substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Madera, Rozen Grace B.; Martinez, Melanie M.; Vasquez, Magdaleno R., Jr.

2018-01-01

The effects of radio-frequency (RF) argon (Ar) plasma treatment on the structural, morphological, electrical and compositional properties of the spray-pyrolyzed p-type copper oxide films on n-type (100) silicon (Si) substrates were investigated. The films were successfully synthesized using 0.3 M copper acetate monohydrate sprayed on precut Si substrates maintained at 350 °C. X-ray diffraction revealed cupric oxide (CuO) with a monoclinic structure. An apparent improvement in crystallinity was realized after Ar plasma treatment, attributed to the removal of residues contaminating the surface. Scanning electron microscope images showed agglomerated monoclinic grains and revealed a reduction in size upon plasma exposure induced by the sputtering effect. The current-voltage characteristics of CuO/Si showed a rectifying behavior after Ar plasma exposure with an increase in turn-on voltage. Four-point probe measurements revealed a decrease in sheet resistance after plasma irradiation. Fourier transform infrared spectral analyses also showed O-H and C-O bands on the films. This work was able to produce CuO thin films via spray pyrolysis on Si substrates and enhancement in their properties by applying postdeposition Ar plasma treatment.

Stretchable and foldable silicon-based electronics

KAUST Repository

Cavazos Sepulveda, Adrian Cesar

2017-03-30

Flexible and stretchable semiconducting substrates provide the foundation for novel electronic applications. Usually, ultra-thin, flexible but often fragile substrates are used in such applications. Here, we describe flexible, stretchable, and foldable 500-μm-thick bulk mono-crystalline silicon (100) “islands” that are interconnected via extremely compliant 30-μm-thick connectors made of silicon. The thick mono-crystalline segments create a stand-alone silicon array that is capable of bending to a radius of 130 μm. The bending radius of the array does not depend on the overall substrate thickness because the ultra-flexible silicon connectors are patterned. We use fracture propagation to release the islands. Because they allow for three-dimensional monolithic stacking of integrated circuits or other electronics without any through-silicon vias, our mono-crystalline islands can be used as a “more-than-Moore” strategy and to develop wearable electronics that are sufficiently robust to be compatible with flip-chip bonding.

Stretchable and foldable silicon-based electronics

KAUST Repository

Cavazos Sepulveda, Adrian Cesar; Diaz Cordero, M. S.; Carreno, Armando Arpys Arevalo; Nassar, Joanna M.; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2017-01-01

Flexible and stretchable semiconducting substrates provide the foundation for novel electronic applications. Usually, ultra-thin, flexible but often fragile substrates are used in such applications. Here, we describe flexible, stretchable, and foldable 500-μm-thick bulk mono-crystalline silicon (100) “islands” that are interconnected via extremely compliant 30-μm-thick connectors made of silicon. The thick mono-crystalline segments create a stand-alone silicon array that is capable of bending to a radius of 130 μm. The bending radius of the array does not depend on the overall substrate thickness because the ultra-flexible silicon connectors are patterned. We use fracture propagation to release the islands. Because they allow for three-dimensional monolithic stacking of integrated circuits or other electronics without any through-silicon vias, our mono-crystalline islands can be used as a “more-than-Moore” strategy and to develop wearable electronics that are sufficiently robust to be compatible with flip-chip bonding.

Silicon-micromachined microchannel plates

CERN Document Server

Beetz, C P; Steinbeck, J; Lemieux, B; Winn, D R

2000-01-01

Microchannel plates (MCP) fabricated from standard silicon wafer substrates using a novel silicon micromachining process, together with standard silicon photolithographic process steps, are described. The resulting SiMCP microchannels have dimensions of approx 0.5 to approx 25 mu m, with aspect ratios up to 300, and have the dimensional precision and absence of interstitial defects characteristic of photolithographic processing, compatible with positional matching to silicon electronics readouts. The open channel areal fraction and detection efficiency may exceed 90% on plates up to 300 mm in diameter. The resulting silicon substrates can be converted entirely to amorphous quartz (qMCP). The strip resistance and secondary emission are developed by controlled depositions of thin films, at temperatures up to 1200 deg. C, also compatible with high-temperature brazing, and can be essentially hydrogen, water and radionuclide-free. Novel secondary emitters and cesiated photocathodes can be high-temperature deposite...

Nanosized graphene sheets enhanced photoelectric behavior of carbon film on p-silicon substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lei; Hu, Gaijuan; Zhang, Dongqing; Diao, Dongfeng

2016-07-01

We found that nanosized graphene sheets enhanced the photoelectric behavior of graphene sheets embedded carbon (GSEC) film on p-silicon substrate, which was deposited under low energy electron irradiation in electron cyclotron resonance plasma. The GSEC/p-Si photodiode exhibited good photoelectric performance with photoresponsivity of 206 mA/W, rise and fall time of 2.2, and 4.3 μs for near-infrared (850 nm) light. The origin of the strong photoelectric behavior of GSEC film was ascribed to the appearance of graphene nanosheets, which led to higher barrier height and photoexcited electron-collection efficiency. This finding indicates that GSEC film has the potential for photoelectric applications.

Effect of starting point formation on the crystallization of amorphous silicon films by flash lamp annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Daiki; Ohdaira, Keisuke

2018-04-01

We succeed in the crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films by flash lamp annealing (FLA) at a low fluence by intentionally creating starting points for the trigger of explosive crystallization (EC). We confirm that a partly thick a-Si part can induce the crystallization of a-Si films. A periodic wavy structure is observed on the surface of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) on and near the thick parts, which is a clear indication of the emergence of EC. Creating partly thick a-Si parts can thus be effective for the control of the starting point of crystallization by FLA and can realize the crystallization of a-Si with high reproducibility. We also compare the effects of creating thick parts at the center and along the edge of the substrates, and a thick part along the edge of the substrates leads to the initiation of crystallization at a lower fluence.

Microelectromechanical pump utilizing porous silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Lantz, Jeffrey W [Albuquerque, NM; Stalford, Harold L [Norman, OK

2011-07-19

A microelectromechanical (MEM) pump is disclosed which includes a porous silicon region sandwiched between an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber. The porous silicon region is formed in a silicon substrate and contains a number of pores extending between the inlet and outlet chambers, with each pore having a cross-section dimension about equal to or smaller than a mean free path of a gas being pumped. A thermal gradient is provided along the length of each pore by a heat source which can be an electrical resistance heater or an integrated circuit (IC). A channel can be formed through the silicon substrate so that inlet and outlet ports can be formed on the same side of the substrate, or so that multiple MEM pumps can be connected in series to form a multi-stage MEM pump. The MEM pump has applications for use in gas-phase MEM chemical analysis systems, and can also be used for passive cooling of ICs.

Deposition of silicon oxynitride films by low energy ion beam assisted nitridation at room temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Youroukov, S; Kitova, S; Danev, G [Central Laboratory of Photoprocesses, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Bl. 109, 113 Sofia (Bulgaria)], E-mail: skitova@clf.bas.bg

2008-05-01

The possibility is studied of growing thin silicon oxynitride films by e-gun evaporation of SiO and SiO{sub 2} together with concurrent bombardment with low energy N{sub 2}{sup +} ions from a cyclotron resonance (ECR) source at room temperature of substrates. The degree of nitridation and oxidation of the films is investigated by means of X-ray spectroscopy. The optical characteristics of the films, their environmental stability and adhesion to different substrates are examined. The results obtained show than the films deposited are transparent. It is found that in the case of SiO evaporation with concurrent N{sub 2}{sup +} ion bombardment, reactive implantation of nitrogen within the films takes place at room temperature of the substrate with the formation of a new silicon oxynitride compound even at low ion energy (150-200 eV)

Nonlinear Analysis of Actuation Performance of Shape Memory Alloy Composite Film Based on Silicon Substrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shuangshuang Sun

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The mechanical model of the shape memory alloy (SMA composite film with silicon (Si substrate was established by the method of mechanics of composite materials. The coupled action between the SMA film and Si substrate under thermal loads was analyzed by combining static equilibrium equations, geometric equations, and physical equations. The material nonlinearity of SMA and the geometric nonlinearity of bending deformation were both considered. By simulating and analyzing the actuation performance of the SMA composite film during one cooling-heating thermal cycle, it is found that the final cooling temperature, boundary condition, and the thickness of SMA film have significant effects on the actuation performance of the SMA composite film. Besides, the maximum deflection of the SMA composite film is affected obviously by the geometric nonlinearity of bending deformation when the thickness of SMA film is very large.

Technology for the compatible integration of silicon detectors with readout electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmer, G.

1984-01-01

Compatible integration of detectors and readout electronics on the same silicon substrate is of growing interest. As the methods of microelectronics technology have already been adapted for detector fabrication, a common technology basis for detectors and readout electronics is available. CMOS technology exhibits most attractive features for the compatible realization of readout electronics when advanced LSI processing steps are combined with detector requirements. The essential requirements for compatible integration are the availability of high resistivity (100)-oriented single crystalline silicon substrate, the formation of suitably doped areas for MOS circuits and the isolation of the low voltage circuit from the detector operated at much higher supply voltage. Junction isolation as a first approach based on present production technology and dielectric isolation based on an advanced SOI-LSI technology are discussed as the most promising solutions for present and future applications, respectively. (orig.)

Vertically aligned ZnO nanorods on porous silicon substrates: Effect of growth time

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R. Shabannia

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Vertically aligned ZnO nanorods were successfully grown on porous silicon (PS substrates by chemical bath deposition at a low temperature. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, and photoluminescence (PL analyses were carried out to investigate the effect of growth duration (2 h to 8 h on the optical and structural properties of the aligned ZnO nanorods. Strong and sharp ZnO (0 0 2 peaks of the ZnO nanorods proved that the aligned ZnO nanorods were preferentially fabricated along the c-axis of the hexagonal wurtzite structure. FESEM images demonstrated that the ZnO nanorod arrays were well aligned along the c-axis and perpendicular to the PS substrates regardless of the growth duration. The TEM image showed that the top surfaces of the ZnO nanorods were round with a smooth curvature. PL spectra demonstrated that the ZnO nanorods grown for 5 h exhibited the sharpest and most intense PL peaks within the ultraviolet range among all samples.

Light extraction from GaN-based LED structures on silicon-on-insulator substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tripathy, S.; Teo, S.L.; Lin, V.K.X.; Chen, M.F. [Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology, and Research), 117602 (Singapore); Dadgar, A.; Krost, A. [Institut fuer Exerimentelle Physik, Otto-von Guericke Universitaet Magdeburg, Universitaetsplatz 1, 39016 Magdeburg (Germany); AZZURRO Semiconductors AG, Universitaetsplatz 1, 39016 Magdeburg (Germany); Christen, J. [Institut fuer Exerimentelle Physik, Otto-von Guericke Universitaet Magdeburg, Universitaetsplatz 1, 39016 Magdeburg (Germany)

2010-01-15

Nano-patterning of GaN-based devices is a promising technology in the development of high output power devices. Recent researches have been focused on the realization of two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal (PhC) structure to improve light extraction efficiency and to control the direction of emission. In this study, we have demonstrated improved light extraction from green light emitting diode (LED) structures on thin silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates using surface nanopatterning. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to probe the size, shape, and etch depth of nano-patterns on the LED surfaces. Different types of nanopatterns were created by e-beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma etching. The LED structures after post processing are studied by photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The GaN nanophotonic structures formed by ICP etching led to more than five-fold increase in the intensity of the green emission. The improved light extraction is due to the combination of SOI substrate reflectivity and photonic structures on top GaN LED surfaces. (copyright 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Influence of rare earth elements on radiation defect formation in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazyrov, D.E.

2006-01-01

Full text: It is known that efficiency of form and kinetics annealing of radiation defects influence greatly presence of initial in controlling electrically active or inactive impurities, their concentration and position in a lattice of a semiconductor. From this point of view of impurities of group of rare earths elements (REE) are of great interest, they interact with primary radiation defects creating electrically passive complexes such as . Thus they increase radiation stability of silicon. The purpose of the given work was the investigation of effect of irradiation by γ-quanta 60 Co properties of silicon doped REE-by samarium, gadolinium and erbium. The doping of silicon was carried out by growth process. Concentration of REE - samarium, gadolinium and erbium in silicon according to neutron-activation analysis equaled 10 14 /5·10 18 cm 2 . Silicon doped by phosphorus - 15/50 Ωcm were used as control samples. The results of investigations were obtained from DLTS (deep level transient spectroscopy) measurements, Hall effect and electrical measurements on definition of a resistivity, lifetime of minority carriers of a charge and optically active of concentrations of oxygen and carbon. The optical recharge by the infrared light emitting diode (P=10 mV, λ=0,95 μm) was used for investigation of deep levels (DL) situated in lower half of band gap. In control samples irradiated by the γ-quanta 60 Co with a dose 10 16 / 5·10 18 cm -2 formation DL was found in band, the parameters of which are well-known: A-, E-centers etc. Depending on a dose of an effect of irradiate in an energy spectrum of radiation defects in Si of essential changes, except for concentration is not observed. The deep levels concentration the E c -0,17 eV and E c -0,4 eV in Si is essentially reduced with respect control samples. The comparison the dose of associations of observable levels in irradiated n-Si with similar associations in control samples shows, that a velocity of introduction

An investigation of excess noise in transition-edge sensors on a solid silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crowder, S.G.; Lindeman, M.A.; Anderson, M.B.; Bandler, S.R.; Bilgri, N.; Bruijn, M.P.; Chervenak, J.; Figueroa-Feliciano, E.; Finkbeiner, F.; Germeau, A.; Hoevers, H.F.C.; Iyomoto, N.; Kelly, R.; Kilbourne, C.A.; Lai, T.; Man, J.; McCammon, D.; Nelms, K.L.; Porter, F.S.; Rocks, L.; Saab, T.; Sadleir, J.; Vidugiris, G.

2006-01-01

Transition-edge sensors (TESs) exhibit two major types of excess noise above the expected and unavoidable thermodynamic fluctuation noise (TFN) to the heat sink and Johnson noise. High-resistance TESs such as those made by the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) show excess noise consistent with internal TFN (ITFN) caused by random energy transport within the TES itself while low resistance TESs show an excess voltage noise of unknown origin seemingly unrelated to temperature fluctuations. Running a high-resistance TES on a high thermal conductivity substrate should suppress ITFN and allow detection of any excess voltage noise. We tested two TESs on a solid silicon substrate fabricated by SRON of a relatively high normal state resistance of ∼200 mΩ. After determining a linear model of the TES response to noise for the devices, we found little excess TFN and little excess voltage noise for bias currents of up to ∼20 μA

Silicon-micromachined microchannel plates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beetz, Charles P.; Boerstler, Robert; Steinbeck, John; Lemieux, Bryan; Winn, David R.

2000-01-01

Microchannel plates (MCP) fabricated from standard silicon wafer substrates using a novel silicon micromachining process, together with standard silicon photolithographic process steps, are described. The resulting SiMCP microchannels have dimensions of ∼0.5 to ∼25 μm, with aspect ratios up to 300, and have the dimensional precision and absence of interstitial defects characteristic of photolithographic processing, compatible with positional matching to silicon electronics readouts. The open channel areal fraction and detection efficiency may exceed 90% on plates up to 300 mm in diameter. The resulting silicon substrates can be converted entirely to amorphous quartz (qMCP). The strip resistance and secondary emission are developed by controlled depositions of thin films, at temperatures up to 1200 deg. C, also compatible with high-temperature brazing, and can be essentially hydrogen, water and radionuclide-free. Novel secondary emitters and cesiated photocathodes can be high-temperature deposited or nucleated in the channels or the first strike surface. Results on resistivity, secondary emission and gain are presented

Bovine serum albumin adsorption on passivated porous silicon layers

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, David; Boukherroub, Rabah

2005-03-01

Hydrogen-terminated porous silicon (pSi) films were fabricated through electrochemical anodization of crystalline Si in HF-based solutions. The pSi-H surface was chemically functionalized by thermal reaction with undecylenic acid to produce an organic monolayer covalently attached to the silicon surface through Si-C bonds and bearing an acid terminal group. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was then adsorbed onto the modified surface. SEM showed that the porous films were damaged and partially lifted off the Si substrate after a prolonged BSA adsorption. Ellipsometry revealed that the BSA had penetrated ˜ 1.3 micrometers into the porous structure. The film damage results from BSA anchoring itself tightly through strong electrostatic interactions to the acid-covered Si sidewalls. A change in surface tension during BSA film formation then causes the pSi layer to buckle and lift-off the underlying Si substrate. FTIR results from the modified pSi surfaces showed the presence of strong characteristic Amide I, II and III vibrational bands after BSA adsorption.

Laser process for extended silicon thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hessmann, M.T.; Kunz, T.; Burkert, I.; Gawehns, N.; Schaefer, L.; Frick, T.; Schmidt, M.; Meidel, B.; Auer, R.; Brabec, C.J.

2011-01-01

We present a large area thin film base substrate for the epitaxy of crystalline silicon. The concept of epitaxial growth of silicon on large area thin film substrates overcomes the area restrictions of an ingot based monocrystalline silicon process. Further it opens the possibility for a roll to roll process for crystalline silicon production. This concept suggests a technical pathway to overcome the limitations of silicon ingot production in terms of costs, throughput and completely prevents any sawing losses. The core idea behind these thin film substrates is a laser welding process of individual, thin silicon wafers. In this manuscript we investigate the properties of laser welded monocrystalline silicon foils (100) by micro-Raman mapping and spectroscopy. It is shown that the laser beam changes the crystalline structure of float zone grown silicon along the welding seam. This is illustrated by Raman mapping which visualizes compressive stress as well as tensile stress in a range of - 147.5 to 32.5 MPa along the welding area.

Electrochemical Fabrication of Nanostructures on Porous Silicon for Biochemical Sensing Platforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Euna; Hwang, Joonki; Kim, Ji Hye; Lee, Joo Heon; Lee, Sung Hwan; Tran, Van-Khue; Chung, Woo Sung; Park, Chan Ho; Choo, Jaebum; Seong, Gi Hun

2016-01-01

We present a method for the electrochemical patterning of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) or silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on porous silicon, and explore their applications in: (1) the quantitative analysis of hydroxylamine as a chemical sensing electrode and (2) as a highly sensitive surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate for Rhodamine 6G. For hydroxylamine detection, AuNPs-porous silicon can enhance the electrochemical oxidation of hydroxylamine. The current changed linearly for concentrations ranging from 100 μM to 1.32 mM (R(2) = 0.995), and the detection limit was determined to be as low as 55 μM. When used as SERS substrates, these materials also showed that nanoparticles decorated on porous silicon substrates have more SERS hot spots than those decorated on crystalline silicon substrates, resulting in a larger SERS signal. Moreover, AgNPs-porous silicon provided five-times higher signal compared to AuNPs-porous silicon. From these results, we expect that nanoparticles decorated on porous silicon substrates can be used in various types of biochemical sensing platforms.

Emerging heterogeneous integrated photonic platforms on silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fathpour Sasan

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Silicon photonics has been established as a mature and promising technology for optoelectronic integrated circuits, mostly based on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI waveguide platform. However, not all optical functionalities can be satisfactorily achieved merely based on silicon, in general, and on the SOI platform, in particular. Long-known shortcomings of silicon-based integrated photonics are optical absorption (in the telecommunication wavelengths and feasibility of electrically-injected lasers (at least at room temperature. More recently, high two-photon and free-carrier absorptions required at high optical intensities for third-order optical nonlinear effects, inherent lack of second-order optical nonlinearity, low extinction ratio of modulators based on the free-carrier plasma effect, and the loss of the buried oxide layer of the SOI waveguides at mid-infrared wavelengths have been recognized as other shortcomings. Accordingly, several novel waveguide platforms have been developing to address these shortcomings of the SOI platform. Most of these emerging platforms are based on heterogeneous integration of other material systems on silicon substrates, and in some cases silicon is integrated on other substrates. Germanium and its binary alloys with silicon, III–V compound semiconductors, silicon nitride, tantalum pentoxide and other high-index dielectric or glass materials, as well as lithium niobate are some of the materials heterogeneously integrated on silicon substrates. The materials are typically integrated by a variety of epitaxial growth, bonding, ion implantation and slicing, etch back, spin-on-glass or other techniques. These wide range of efforts are reviewed here holistically to stress that there is no pure silicon or even group IV photonics per se. Rather, the future of the field of integrated photonics appears to be one of heterogenization, where a variety of different materials and waveguide platforms will be used for

Wafer scale formation of monocrystalline silicon-based Mie resonators via silicon-on-insulator dewetting.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbarchi, Marco; Naffouti, Meher; Vial, Benjamin; Benkouider, Abdelmalek; Lermusiaux, Laurent; Favre, Luc; Ronda, Antoine; Bidault, Sébastien; Berbezier, Isabelle; Bonod, Nicolas

2014-11-25

Subwavelength-sized dielectric Mie resonators have recently emerged as a promising photonic platform, as they combine the advantages of dielectric microstructures and metallic nanoparticles supporting surface plasmon polaritons. Here, we report the capabilities of a dewetting-based process, independent of the sample size, to fabricate Si-based resonators over large scales starting from commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. Spontaneous dewetting is shown to allow the production of monocrystalline Mie-resonators that feature two resonant modes in the visible spectrum, as observed in confocal scattering spectroscopy. Homogeneous scattering responses and improved spatial ordering of the Si-based resonators are observed when dewetting is assisted by electron beam lithography. Finally, exploiting different thermal agglomeration regimes, we highlight the versatility of this technique, which, when assisted by focused ion beam nanopatterning, produces monocrystalline nanocrystals with ad hoc size, position, and organization in complex multimers.

Fabrication of a Silicon Nanowire on a Bulk Substrate by Use of a Plasma Etching and Total Ionizing Dose Effects on a Gate-All-Around Field-Effect Transistor

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Dong-Il; Han, Jin-Woo; Meyyappan, Meyya

2016-01-01

The gate all around transistor is investigated through experiment. The suspended silicon nanowire for the next generation is fabricated on bulk substrate by plasma etching method. The scallop pattern generated by Bosch process is utilized to form a floating silicon nanowire. By combining anisotropic and istropic silicon etch process, the shape of nanowire is accurately controlled. From the suspended nanowire, the gate all around transistor is demonstrated. As the silicon nanowire is fully surrounded by the gate, the device shows excellent electrostatic characteristics.

Porous silicon localization for implementation in matrix biosensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benilov, A.; Cabrera, M.; Skryshevsky, V.; Martin, J.-R.

2007-01-01

The search of appropriate substrates and methods of surface DNA functionalisation is one of the important tasks of semiconductor biosensors. In this work we develop a method of light-assisted porous silicon etching in order to localize porous silicon spots on silicon substrate for matrix fluorophore-labeled DNA sensors implementation. The principal difference of porous spots localization proposed is considered for n- and p-type Si substrates under the condition of supplementary illumination. The tuning of the porous profile via applying of lateral electric field is proposed and experimentally proved

Nanosized graphene sheets enhanced photoelectric behavior of carbon film on p-silicon substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Lei; Hu, Gaijuan; Zhang, Dongqing [Key Laboratory of Education Ministry for Modern Design and Rotor-Bearing System, School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China); Diao, Dongfeng, E-mail: dfdiao@szu.edu.cn [Institute of Nanosurface Science and Engineering (INSE), Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060 (China)

2016-07-18

We found that nanosized graphene sheets enhanced the photoelectric behavior of graphene sheets embedded carbon (GSEC) film on p-silicon substrate, which was deposited under low energy electron irradiation in electron cyclotron resonance plasma. The GSEC/p-Si photodiode exhibited good photoelectric performance with photoresponsivity of 206 mA/W, rise and fall time of 2.2, and 4.3 μs for near-infrared (850 nm) light. The origin of the strong photoelectric behavior of GSEC film was ascribed to the appearance of graphene nanosheets, which led to higher barrier height and photoexcited electron-collection efficiency. This finding indicates that GSEC film has the potential for photoelectric applications.

Nanosized graphene sheets enhanced photoelectric behavior of carbon film on p-silicon substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Lei; Hu, Gaijuan; Zhang, Dongqing; Diao, Dongfeng

2016-01-01

We found that nanosized graphene sheets enhanced the photoelectric behavior of graphene sheets embedded carbon (GSEC) film on p-silicon substrate, which was deposited under low energy electron irradiation in electron cyclotron resonance plasma. The GSEC/p-Si photodiode exhibited good photoelectric performance with photoresponsivity of 206 mA/W, rise and fall time of 2.2, and 4.3 μs for near-infrared (850 nm) light. The origin of the strong photoelectric behavior of GSEC film was ascribed to the appearance of graphene nanosheets, which led to higher barrier height and photoexcited electron-collection efficiency. This finding indicates that GSEC film has the potential for photoelectric applications.

Fabrication of double-dot single-electron transistor in silicon nanowire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jo, Mingyu; Kaizawa, Takuya; Arita, Masashi; Fujiwara, Akira; Ono, Yukinori; Inokawa, Hiroshi; Choi, Jung-Bum; Takahashi, Yasuo

2010-01-01

We propose a simple method for fabricating Si single-electron transistors (SET) with coupled dots by means of a pattern-dependent-oxidation (PADOX) method. The PADOX method is known to convert a small one-dimensional Si wire formed on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate into a SET automatically. We fabricated a double-dot Si SET when we oxidized specially designed Si nanowires formed on SOI substrates. We analyzed the measured electrical characteristics by fitting the measurement and simulation results and confirmed the double-dot formation and the position of the two dots in the Si wire.

Silicon nanowires: structure and properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nezhdanov, A.V.; Mashin, A.I.; Razuvaev, A.G.; Ershov, A.V.; Ignatov, S.K.

2006-01-01

An attempt to grow silicon nanowires has been made by electron beam evaporation on highly oriented pyrolytic substrate. Needle-like objects are located along the normal to a substrate (density 2 x 10 11 cm -2 ). For modeling quasi-one-dimensional objects calculations of nuclear structure and energy spectra have been accomplished. A fullerene-like structure Si 24 is proposed as a basic atomic configuration of silicon nanowires [ru

Photoconductivity relaxation and electron transport in macroporous silicon structures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L.A. Karachevtseva

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Kinetics and temperature dependence of photoconductivity were measured in macroporous silicon at 80…300 K after light illumination with the wavelength 0.9 μm. The influence of mechanisms of the charge carrier transport through the macropore surface barrier on the kinetics of photoconductivity at various temperatures was investigated. The kinetics of photoconductivity distribution in macroporous silicon and Si substrate has been calculated using the finite-difference time-domain method. The maximum of photoconductivity has been found both in the layer of macroporous silicon and in the monocrystalline substrate. The kinetics of photoconductivity distribution in macroporous silicon showed rapid relaxation of the photoconductivity maximum in the layer of macroporous silicon and slow relaxation of it in the monocrystalline substrate.

The use of silicone occlusive sheeting (Sil-K) and silicone occlusive gel (epiderm) in the prevention of hypertrophic scar formation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niessen, FB; Spauwen, PHM; Robinson, PH; Fidler, [No Value; Kon, M

The development of hypertrophic scars and keloids is an unsolved problem in the process of found healing. For this reason, a successful treatment to prevent excessive scar formation still has not been found. Over the last decade, however, a promising new treatment has been introduced. Silicone

Chiral silicon nanostructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schubert, E.; Fahlteich, J.; Hoeche, Th.; Wagner, G.; Rauschenbach, B.

2006-01-01

Glancing angle ion beam assisted deposition is used for the growth of amorphous silicon nanospirals onto [0 0 1] silicon substrates in a temperature range from room temperature to 475 deg. C. The nanostructures are post-growth annealed in an argon atmosphere at various temperatures ranging from 400 deg. C to 800 deg. C. Recrystallization of silicon within the persisting nanospiral configuration is demonstrated for annealing temperatures above 800 deg. C. Transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy are used to characterize the silicon samples prior and after temperature treatment

Transistors using crystalline silicon devices on glass

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Anthony M.

1995-01-01

A method for fabricating transistors using single-crystal silicon devices on glass. This method overcomes the potential damage that may be caused to the device during high voltage bonding and employs a metal layer which may be incorporated as part of the transistor. This is accomplished such that when the bonding of the silicon wafer or substrate to the glass substrate is performed, the voltage and current pass through areas where transistors will not be fabricated. After removal of the silicon substrate, further metal may be deposited to form electrical contact or add functionality to the devices. By this method both single and gate-all-around devices may be formed.

arXiv Signal coupling to embedded pitch adapters in silicon sensors

CERN Document Server

Artuso, M.; Bezshyiko, I.; Blusk, S.; Bruendler, R.; Bugiel, S.; Dasgupta, R.; Dendek, A.; Dey, B.; Ely, S.; Lionetto, F.; Petruzzo, M.; Polyakov, I.; Rudolph, M.; Schindler, H.; Steinkamp, O.; Stone, S.

2018-01-01

We have examined the effects of embedded pitch adapters on signal formation in n-substrate silicon microstrip sensors with data from beam tests and simulation. According to simulation, the presence of the pitch adapter metal layer changes the electric field inside the sensor, resulting in slowed signal formation on the nearby strips and a pick-up effect on the pitch adapter. This can result in an inefficiency to detect particles passing through the pitch adapter region. All these effects have been observed in the beam test data.

Influence of pretreatment temperature cycling on the radiating defect formation in silicon doped by samarium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdurakhmanov, K.P.; Nazyrov, D.E.

2006-01-01

Full text: The raise of thermal and radiation stability as it is known, is one of actual problems of physics semiconductors. Recently it is established, that the rare-earth elements (REE) raise a stability of silicon to exterior action. In this connection the investigation of silicon doped REE by samarium and influence on its properties of heat treatments and radiation exposure is important. In sectional operation the outcomes of investigations of influence of samarium on thermal (600 degree C are reduced; 600 deg. + 900 deg. C; 900 deg. C; 900 deg. C + 600 deg. C; 1100 deg. C; 600 deg. C + 900 deg. C + 1100 deg. C; 900 deg. C + 600 deg. C + 1100 deg. C) thermal defect formation and radiation defect formation (exposure of γ-quanta 60 Co) both in beforehand wrought, and in thermally unfinished samples. After each cycle of heat treatments samples cool fast (throwing off in oil) or slowly (together with the furnace). Doping n-silicon REE by gadolinium and samarium was carried out during cultivation. The concentration of gadolinium and samarium in silicon, on sectional of a neutron-activation analysis was equaled 10 14 - 10 18 cm -3 . As control is model monocrystal silicon such as KEP-15/50. Para-meters of deep levels originating in control and doped REE samples, both past heat treatment or temperature cycling, and irradiated by the γ-quanta are defined by methods of a capacity spectroscopy: DLTS and IRC. The obtained outcomes have shown, that in irradiated with the γ-quanta 60 Co deep levels samples are formed with energies: E C -0,17 eV, E C -0,32 eV, EC-0,41 eV. Thus the parameters of deep levels vary depending on requirements of prestress heat treatment. For example heat treatment at 600 deg. C essentially increments a velocity of introduction of and centre (deep level of E C -0,17 eV), in comparison with a velocity of introduction of this level in samples with prestress heat treatment at 900 deg. C. In samples n-Si doped by samarium effectiveness of formation

Bainite Formation in Medium-Carbon Low-Silicon Spring Steels Accounting for Chemical Segregation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goulas, C.; Mecozzi, M.G.; Sietsma, J.

2016-01-01

In this paper, the effect of chemical inhomogeneity on the isothermal bainite formation is investigated in medium-carbon low-silicon spring steel by dilatometry and microscopy. The analysis of the microstructure at different times during transformation shows that chemical segregation of

Self-organized nickel nanoparticles on nanostructured silicon substrate intermediated by a titanium oxynitride (TiNxOy) interface

Science.gov (United States)

Morales, M.; Droppa, R., Jr.; de Mello, S. R. S.; Figueroa, C. A.; Zanatta, A. R.; Alvarez, F.

2018-01-01

In this work we report an experimental approach by combining in situ sequential top-down and bottom-up processes to induce the organization of nanosized nickel particles. The top-down process consists in xenon ion bombardment of a crystalline silicon substrate to generate a pattern, followed by depositing a ˜15 nm titanium oxynitride thin film to act as a metallic diffusion barrier. Then, metallic nanoparticles are deposited by argon ion sputtering a pure nickel target, and the sample is annealed to promote the organization of the nickel nanoparticles (a bottom-up process). According to the experimental results, the surface pattern and the substrate biaxial surface strain are the driving forces behind the alignment and organization of the nickel nanoparticles. Moreover, the ratio between the F of metallic atoms arriving at the substrate relative to its surface diffusion mobility determines the nucleation regime of the nickel nanoparticles. These features are presented and discussed considering the existing technical literature on the subject.

Silicon-germanium and platinum silicide nanostructures for silicon based photonics

Science.gov (United States)

Storozhevykh, M. S.; Dubkov, V. P.; Arapkina, L. V.; Chizh, K. V.; Mironov, S. A.; Chapnin, V. A.; Yuryev, V. A.

2017-05-01

This paper reports a study of two types of silicon based nanostructures prospective for applications in photonics. The first ones are Ge/Si(001) structures forming at room temperature and reconstructing after annealing at 600°C. Germanium, being deposited from a molecular beam at room temperature on the Si(001) surface, forms a thin granular film composed of Ge particles with sizes of a few nanometers. A characteristic feature of these films is that they demonstrate signs of the 2 x 1 structure in their RHEED patterns. After short-term annealing at 600°C under the closed system conditions, the granular films reconstruct to heterostructures consisting of a Ge wetting layer and oval clusters of Ge. A mixed type c(4x2) + p(2x2) reconstruction typical to the low-temperature MBE (Tgr Ge. The other type of the studied nanostructures is based on Pt silicides. This class of materials is one of the friendliest to silicon technology. But as silicide film thickness reaches a few nanometers, low resistivity becomes of primary importance. Pt3Si has the lowest sheet resistance among the Pt silicides. However, the development of a process of thin Pt3Si films formation is a challenging task. This paper describes formation of a thin Pt3Si/Pt2Si structures at room temperature on poly-Si films. Special attention is paid upon formation of poly-Si and amorphous Si films on Si3N4 substrates at low temperatures.

Formation and photoluminescence of "Cauliflower" silicon nanoparticles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tang, W.; Eilers, J.J.; Huis, van M.A.; Wang, D.; Schropp, R.E.I.; Vece, Di M.

2015-01-01

The technological advantages of silicon make silicon nanoparticles, which can be used as quantum dots in a tandem configuration, highly relevant for photovoltaics. However, producing a silicon quantum dot solar cell structure remains a challenge. Here we use a gas aggregation cluster source to

Effect of Processing Parameters on Thickness of Columnar Structured Silicon Wafers Directly Grown from Silicon Melts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin-Seok Lee

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In order to obtain optimum growth conditions for desired thickness and more effective silicon feedstock usage, effects of processing parameters such as preheated substrate temperatures, time intervals, moving velocity of substrates, and Ar gas blowing rates on silicon ribbon thickness were investigated in the horizontal growth process. Most of the parameters strongly affected in the control of ribbon thickness with columnar grain structure depended on the solidification rate. The thickness of the silicon ribbon decreased with an increasing substrate temperature, decreasing time interval, and increasing moving velocity of the substrate. However, the blowing of Ar gas onto a liquid layer existing on the surface of solidified ribbon contributed to achieving smooth surface roughness but did not closely affect the change of ribbon thickness in the case of a blowing rate of ≥0.65 Nm3/h because the thickness of the solidified layer was already determined by the exit height of the reservoir.

Surface treatment effect on Si (111) substrate for carbon deposition using DC unbalanced magnetron sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aji, A. S., E-mail: aji.ravazes70@gmail.com; Sahdan, M. F.; Hendra, I. B.; Dinari, P.; Darma, Y. [Quantum Semiconductor and Devices Lab., Physics of Material Electronics Research Division, Department of Physics, Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia)

2015-04-16

In this work, we studied the effect of HF treatment in silicon (111) substrate surface for depositing thin layer carbon. We performed the deposition of carbon by using DC Unbalanced Magnetron Sputtering with carbon pallet (5% Fe) as target. From SEM characterization results it can be concluded that the carbon layer on HF treated substrate is more uniform than on substrate without treated. Carbon deposition rate is higher as confirmed by AFM results if the silicon substrate is treated by HF solution. EDAX characterization results tell that silicon (111) substrate with HF treatment have more carbon fraction than substrate without treatment. These results confirmed that HF treatment on silicon Si (111) substrates could enhance the carbon deposition by using DC sputtering. Afterward, the carbon atomic arrangement on silicon (111) surface is studied by performing thermal annealing process to 900 °C. From Raman spectroscopy results, thin film carbon is not changing until 600 °C thermal budged. But, when temperature increase to 900 °C, thin film carbon is starting to diffuse to silicon (111) substrates.

Internal friction study of microplasticity of aluminum thin films on silicon substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishio, Y.; Tanahashi, K.; Asano, S. [Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya (Japan)

1995-12-01

Internal friction in aluminum thin films 0.2 to 2.0 {mu}m thick on silicon substrates has been investigated between 180 and 360 K as a function of strain amplitude by means of a free-decay method of flexural vibration. According to the constitutive equation, the internal friction in the film alone can be evaluated separately from the data on the film/substrate composite. The amplitude-dependent part of internal friction in aluminum films is found in the strain range approximately two orders of magnitude higher than that for bulk aluminum. On the basis of the microplasticity theory, the amplitude-dependent internal friction can be converted into the plastic strain as a function of the effective stress on dislocation motion. The mechanical responses thus obtained for aluminum films show that the plastic strain of the order of 10-9 in creases nonlinearly with increasing stress. These curves tend to shift to a higher stress with decreasing film thickness and also with decreasing temperature, both indicating a suppression of the microplastic deformation. At all temperatures examined, the microflow stress at a constant level of the plastic strain varies inversely with the film thickness, which qualitatively agrees with the variation in macroscopic yield stress. 36 refs., 7 figs.

Formation of aluminium nitride and segregation of Cu impurity atoms in aluminium implanted by high dose nitrogen ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin Chenglu; Hemment, P.L.F.; Li Jinhua; Zou Shichang

1994-01-01

Aluminium films with a thickness of 7000 A (containing 0.85% copper) were deposited on silicon substrates. 400 keV N 2 + or 350 keV N + ions were implanted into the aluminium films or at the interface between the aluminium and silicon, respectively. Automatic spreading resistance (ASR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Rutherford backscattering (RBS) and channelling were used to characterize the formation of aluminium nitride and the depth distribution of the Cu impurity in the aluminium films after ion implantation and post-annealing. The formation of a stoichiometric AlN layer with high resistance was evident from ASR, RBS analysis and FTIR measurements by the presence of the absorption band at 650 cm -1 . When the implanted nitrogen is near the interface between the aluminium and silicon, a multilayer structure can be obtained, which consists of aluminium, aluminium nitride and the silicon substrate. Cu, which is a background impurity in the deposited aluminium films, segregated into the synthesised aluminium nitride during high dose nitrogen ion implantation. This is due to irradiation-induced segregation during ion implantation. (orig.)

Role of masking oxide on silicon in processes of defect generation at formation of SIMOX structures

CERN Document Server

Askinazi, A Y; Miloglyadova, L V

2002-01-01

One investigated into Si-SiO sub 2 structures formed by implantation of oxygen ions into silicon (SIMOX-technology) by means of techniques based on measuring of high-frequency volt-farad characteristics and by means of electroluminescence. One determined existence of electrically active centres and of luminescence centres in the formed oxide layer near boundary with silicon. One clarified the role SiO sub 2 masking layer in silicon in defect generation under formation of the masked oxide layer. One established dependence of concentration of electrically active and luminescence centres on thickness of masking layer

Low-energy ion beam synthesis of Ag endotaxial nanostructures in silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Nagarajappa, Kiran; Guha, Puspendu; Thirumurugan, Arun; Satyam, Parlapalli V.; Bhatta, Umananda M.

2018-06-01

Coherently, embedded metal nanostructures (endotaxial) are known to have potential applications concerning the areas of plasmonics, optoelectronics and thermoelectronics. Incorporating appropriate concentrations of metal atoms into crystalline silicon is critical for these applications. Therefore, choosing proper dose of low-energy ions, instead of depositing thin film as a source of metal atoms, helps in avoiding surplus concentration of metal atoms that diffuses into the silicon crystal. In this work, 30 keV silver negative ions are implanted into a SiO x /Si(100) at two different fluences: 1 × 1015 and 2.5 × 1015 Ag- ions/cm2. Later, the samples are annealed at 700 °C for 1 h in Ar atmosphere. Embedded silver nanostructures have been characterized using planar and cross-sectional TEM (XTEM) analysis. Planar TEM analysis shows the formation of mostly rectangular silver nanostructures following the fourfold symmetry of the substrate. XTEM analysis confirms the formation of prism-shaped silver nanostructures embedded inside crystalline silicon. Endotaxial nature of the embedded crystals has been discussed using selected area electron diffraction analysis.

Investigation of MeV-Cu implantation and channeling effects into porous silicon formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, M.; Naddaf, M.

2011-01-01

P-type (1 1 1) silicon wafers were implanted by copper ions (2.5 MeV) in channeling and random directions using ion beam accelerator of the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS). The effect of implantation direction on formation process of porous silicon (PS) using electrochemical etching method has been investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. SEM observations revealed that the size, shape and density of the formed pores are highly affected by the direction of beam implantation. This in turn is seen to influence the PL behavior of the PS.

Investigation of MeV-Cu implantation and channeling effects into porous silicon formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, M.; Naddaf, M.

2012-01-01

P-type (1 1 1) silicon wafers were implanted by copper ions (2.5 MeV) in channeling and random directions using ion beam accelerator of the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS). The effect of implantation direction on formation process of porous silicon (PS) using electrochemical etching method has been investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. SEM observations revealed that the size, shape and density of the formed pores are highly affected by the direction of beam implantation. This in turn is seen to influence the PL behavior of the PS.(author)

Investigation of MeV-Cu implantation and channeling effects into porous silicon formation

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, M.; Naddaf, M.

2011-11-01

P-type (1 1 1) silicon wafers were implanted by copper ions (2.5 MeV) in channeling and random directions using ion beam accelerator of the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria (AECS). The effect of implantation direction on formation process of porous silicon (PS) using electrochemical etching method has been investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. SEM observations revealed that the size, shape and density of the formed pores are highly affected by the direction of beam implantation. This in turn is seen to influence the PL behavior of the PS.

Quantum efficiency of InAs/InP nanowire heterostructures grown on silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anufriev, Roman; Chauvin, Nicolas; Bru-Chevallier, Catherine; Khmissi, Hammadi; Naji, Khalid; Gendry, Michel; Patriarche, Gilles

2013-01-01

Photoluminescence (PL) quantum efficiency (QE) is experimentally investigated, using an integrating sphere, as a function of excitation power on both InAs/InP quantum rod nanowires (QRod-NWs) and radial quantum well nanowires (QWell-NWs) grown on silicon substrates. The measured values of the QE are compared with those of the planar analogues such as quantum dash and quantum well samples, and found to be comparable for the quantum well structures at relatively low power density. Further studies reveal that the values of QE of the QRod-NWs and QWell-NWs are limited by the low quality of the InP NW structure and the quality of radial quantum well, respectively. (copyright 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Macroscopic results for a novel oxygenated silicon material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watts, S.J.; Da Via', C.; Karpenko, A.

2002-01-01

High-resistivity FZ silicon diodes have been processed in order to increase their oxygen dimer (O 2i ) concentration. Deep level transient spectroscopy measurements have been performed after proton irradiation showing that the formation of the VO centre is suppressed. The substrates had a starting resistivity of 2-4 kΩ cm, with an oxygen concentration of 10 15 and 10 17 cm -3 . Results for doping changes, leakage current and annealing behaviour after irradiation with 24 GeV/c protons are shown

Epitaxial growth of silicon and germanium on (100-oriented crystalline substrates by RF PECVD at 175 °C

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauguin O.

2012-11-01

Full Text Available We report on the epitaxial growth of crystalline Si and Ge thin films by standard radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition at 175 °C on (100-oriented silicon substrates. We also demonstrate the epitaxial growth of silicon films on epitaxially grown germanium layers so that multilayer samples sustaining epitaxy could be produced. We used spectroscopic ellipsometry, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction to characterize the structure of the films (amorphous, crystalline. These techniques were found to provide consistent results and provided information on the crystallinity and constraints in such lattice-mismatched structures. These results open the way to multiple quantum-well structures, which have been so far limited to few techniques such as Molecular Beam Epitaxy or MetalOrganic Chemical Vapor Deposition.

A protocol for amide bond formation with electron deficient amines and sterically hindered substrates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Due-Hansen, Maria E; Pandey, Sunil K; Christiansen, Elisabeth

2016-01-01

A protocol for amide coupling by in situ formation of acyl fluorides and reaction with amines at elevated temperature has been developed and found to be efficient for coupling of sterically hindered substrates and electron deficient amines where standard methods failed.......A protocol for amide coupling by in situ formation of acyl fluorides and reaction with amines at elevated temperature has been developed and found to be efficient for coupling of sterically hindered substrates and electron deficient amines where standard methods failed....

A model for the formation of lattice defects at silicon oxide precipitates in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanhellemont, J.; Gryse, O. de; Clauws, P.

2003-01-01

The critical size of silicon oxide precipitates and the formation of lattice defects by the precipitates are discussed. An expression is derived allowing estimation of self-interstitial emission by spherical precipitates as well as strain build-up during precipitate growth. The predictions are compared with published experimental data. A model for stacking fault nucleation at oxide precipitates is developed based on strain and self-interstitial accumulation during the thermal history of the wafer. During a low-temperature treatment high levels of strain develop. During subsequent high-temperature treatment, excess strain energy in the precipitate is released by self-interstitial emission leading to favourable conditions for stacking fault nucleation

Annealing effect on thermodynamic and physical properties of mesoporous silicon: A simulation and nitrogen sorption study

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Pushpendra; Huber, Patrick

2016-04-01

Discovery of porous silicon formation in silicon substrate in 1956 while electro-polishing crystalline Si in hydrofluoric acid (HF), has triggered large scale investigations of porous silicon formation and their changes in physical and chemical properties with thermal and chemical treatment. A nitrogen sorption study is used to investigate the effect of thermal annealing on electrochemically etched mesoporous silicon (PS). The PS was thermally annealed from 200˚C to 800˚C for 1 hr in the presence of air. It was shown that the pore diameter and porosity of PS vary with annealing temperature. The experimentally obtained adsorption / desorption isotherms show hysteresis typical for capillary condensation in porous materials. A simulation study based on Saam and Cole model was performed and compared with experimentally observed sorption isotherms to study the physics behind of hysteresis formation. We discuss the shape of the hysteresis loops in the framework of the morphology of the layers. The different behavior of adsorption and desorption of nitrogen in PS with pore diameter was discussed in terms of concave menisci formation inside the pore space, which was shown to related with the induced pressure in varying the pore diameter from 7.2 nm to 3.4 nm.

Nickel silicide formation in silicon implanted nickel

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Z.; Williams, J. S.; Pogany, A. P.; Sood, D. K.; Collins, G. A.

1995-04-01

Nickel silicide formation during the annealing of very high dose (≥4.5×1017 ions/cm2) Si implanted Ni has been investigated, using ion beam analytical techniques, electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction analysis. An initial amorphous Si-Ni alloy, formed as a result of high dose ion implantation, first crystallized to Ni2Si upon annealing in the temperature region of 200-300 °C. This was followed by the formation of Ni5Si2 in the temperature region of 300-400 °C and then by Ni3Si at 400-600 °C. The Ni3Si layer was found to have an epitaxial relationship with the substrate Ni, which was determined as Ni3Si∥Ni and Ni3Si∥Ni for Ni(100) samples. The minimum channeling yield in the 2 MeV He Rutherford backscattering and channeling spectra of this epitaxial layer improved with higher annealing temperatures up to 600 °C, and reached a best value measured at about 8%. However, the epitaxial Ni3Si dissolved after long time annealing at 600 °C or annealing at higher temperatures to liberate soluble Si into the Ni substrate. The epitaxy is attributed to the excellent lattice match between the Ni3Si and the Ni. The annealing behavior follows the predictions of the Ni-Si phase diagram for this nickel-rich binary system.

PVD Silicon Carbide as a Thin Film Packaging Technology for Antennas on LCP Substrates for Harsh Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Scardelletti, Maximilian C.; Stanton, John W.; Ponchak, George E.; Jordan, Jennifer L.; Zorman, Christian A.

2010-01-01

This paper describes an effort to develop a thin film packaging technology for microfabricated planar antennas on polymeric substrates based on silicon carbide (SiC) films deposited by physical vapor deposition (PVD). The antennas are coplanar waveguide fed dual frequency folded slot antennas fabricated on liquid crystal polymer (LCP) substrates. The PVD SiC thin films were deposited directly onto the antennas by RF sputtering at room temperature at a chamber pressure of 30 mTorr and a power level of 300 W. The SiC film thickness is 450 nm. The return loss and radiation patterns were measured before and after the SiC-coated antennas were submerged into perchloric acid for 1 hour. No degradation in RF performance or physical integrity of the antenna was observed.

Monolithic amorphous silicon modules on continuous polymer substrate. Final subcontract report, 9 January 1991--14 April 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grimmer, D.P. [Iowa Thin Film Technologies, Inc., Ames, IA (US)

1992-03-01

This report examines manufacturing monolithic amorphous silicon modules on a continuous polymer substrate. Module production costs can be reduced by increasing module performance, expanding production, and improving and modifying production processes. Material costs can be reduced by developing processes that use a 1-mil polyimide substrate and multilayers of low-cost material for the front encapsulant. Research to speed up a-Si and ZnO deposition rates is needed to improve throughputs. To keep throughput rates compatible with depositions, multibeam fiber optic delivery systems for laser scribing can be used. However, mechanical scribing systems promise even higher throughputs. Tandem cells and production experience can increase device efficiency and stability. Two alternative manufacturing processes are described: (1) wet etching and sheet handling and (2) wet etching and roll-to-roll fabrication.

Nitride-based Quantum-Confined Structures for Ultraviolet-Visible Optical Devices on Silicon Substrates

KAUST Repository

Janjua, Bilal

2017-04-01

III–V nitride quantum-confined structures embedded in nanowires (NWs), also known as quantum-disks-in-nanowires (Qdisks-in-NWs), have recently emerged as a new class of nanoscale materials exhibiting outstanding properties for optoelectronic devices and systems. It is promising for circumventing the technology limitation of existing planar epitaxy devices, which are bounded by the lattice-, crystal-structure-, and thermal- matching conditions. This work presents significant advances in the growth of good quality GaN, InGaN and AlGaN Qdisks-in-NWs based on careful optimization of the growth parameters, coupled with a meticulous layer structure and active region design. The NWs were grown, catalyst-free, using plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE) on silicon (Si) substrates. A 2-step growth scheme was developed to achieve high areal density, dislocation free and vertically aligned NWs on Ti/Si substrates. Numerical modeling of the NWs structures, using the nextnano3 software, showed reduced polarization fields, and, in the presence of Qdisks, exhibited improved quantum-confinement; thus contributing to high carrier radiative-recombination rates. As a result, based on the growth and device structure optimization, the technologically challenging orange and yellow NWs light emitting devices (LEDs) targeting the ‘green-yellow’ gap were demonstrated on scalable, foundry compatible, and low-cost Ti coated Si substrates. The NWs work was also extended to LEDs emitting in the ultraviolet (UV) range with niche applications in environmental cleaning, UV-curing, medicine, and lighting. In this work, we used a Ti (100 nm) interlayer and Qdisks to achieve good quality AlGaN based UV-A (320 - 400 nm) device. To address the issue of UV-absorbing polymer, used in the planarization process, we developed a pendeo-epitaxy technique, for achieving an ultra-thin coalescence of the top p-GaN contact layer, for a self-planarized Qdisks-in-NWs UV-B (280 – 320 nm) LED grown

Laser ablation of a silicon target in chloroform: formation of multilayer graphite nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Abderrafi, Kamal; García-Calzada, Raúl; Sanchez-Royo, Juan F.; Chirvony, Vladimir S.; Agouram, Saïd; Abargues, Rafael; Ibáñez, Rafael; Martínez-Pastor, Juan P.

2013-04-01

With the use of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy methods of analysis we show that the laser ablation of a Si target in chloroform (CHCl3) by nanosecond UV pulses (40 ns, 355 nm) results in the formation of about 50-80 nm core-shell nanoparticles with a polycrystalline core composed of small (5-10 nm) Si and SiC mono-crystallites, the core being coated by several layers of carbon with the structure of graphite (the shell). In addition, free carbon multilayer nanostructures (carbon nano-onions) are also found in the suspension. On the basis of a comparison with similar laser ablation experiments implemented in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), where only bare (uncoated) Si nanoparticles are produced, we suggest that a chemical (solvent decomposition giving rise to highly reactive CH-containing radicals) rather than a physical (solvent atomization followed by carbon nanostructure formation) mechanism is responsible for the formation of graphitic shells. The silicon carbonization process found for the case of laser ablation in chloroform may be promising for silicon surface protection and functionalization.

Silicon germanium mask for deep silicon etching

KAUST Repository

Serry, Mohamed

2014-07-29

Polycrystalline silicon germanium (SiGe) can offer excellent etch selectivity to silicon during cryogenic deep reactive ion etching in an SF.sub.6/O.sub.2 plasma. Etch selectivity of over 800:1 (Si:SiGe) may be achieved at etch temperatures from -80 degrees Celsius to -140 degrees Celsius. High aspect ratio structures with high resolution may be patterned into Si substrates using SiGe as a hard mask layer for construction of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices and semiconductor devices.

Silicon germanium mask for deep silicon etching

KAUST Repository

Serry, Mohamed; Rubin, Andrew; Refaat, Mohamed; Sedky, Sherif; Abdo, Mohammad

2014-01-01

Polycrystalline silicon germanium (SiGe) can offer excellent etch selectivity to silicon during cryogenic deep reactive ion etching in an SF.sub.6/O.sub.2 plasma. Etch selectivity of over 800:1 (Si:SiGe) may be achieved at etch temperatures from -80 degrees Celsius to -140 degrees Celsius. High aspect ratio structures with high resolution may be patterned into Si substrates using SiGe as a hard mask layer for construction of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices and semiconductor devices.

Surface evolution and stability transition of silicon wafer subjected to nano-diamond grinding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shisheng Cai

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In order to obtain excellent physical properties and ultrathin devices, thinning technique plays an important role in semiconductor industry with the rapid development of wearable electronic devices. This study presents a physical nano-diamond grinding technique without any chemistry to obtain ultrathin silicon substrate. The nano-diamond with spherical shape repeats nano-cutting and penetrating surface to physically etch silicon wafer during grinding process. Nano-diamond grinding induces an ultrathin “amorphous layer” on silicon wafer and thus the mismatch strain between the amorphous layer and substrate leads to stability transition from the spherical to non-spherical deformation of the wafer. Theoretical model is proposed to predict and analyze the deformation of amorphous layer/silicon substrate system. Furthermore, the deformation bifurcation behavior of amorphous layer/silicon substrate system is analyzed. As the mismatch strain increases or thickness decreases, the amorphous layer/silicon substrate system may transit to non-spherical deformation, which is consistent to the experimental results. The amorphous layer stresses are also obtained to predict the damage of silicon wafer.

Probing the formation of silicon nano-crystals (Si-ncs) using variable energy positron annihilation spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Knights, A. P.; Bradley, J. D. B.; Hulko, O.; Stevanovic, D. V.; Edwards, C. J.; Kallis, A.; Coleman, P. G.; Crowe, I. F.; Halsall, M. P.; Gwilliam, R. M.

2011-01-01

We describe preliminary results from studies of the formation of silicon nano-crystals (Si-ncs) embedded in stoichiometric, thermally grown SiO2 using Variable Energy Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy (VEPAS). We show that the VEPAS technique is able to monitor the introduction of structural damage. In SiO2 through the high dose Si+ ion implantation required to introduce excess silicon as a precursor to Si-nc formation. VEPAS is also able to characterize the rate of the removal of this damage with high temperature annealing, showing strong correlation with photoluminescence. Finally, VEPAS is shown to be able to selectively probe the interface between Si-ncs and the host oxide. Introduction of hydrogen at these interfaces suppresses the trapping of positrons at the interfaces.

Argon plasma treatment of silicon nitride (SiN) for improved antireflection coating on c-Si solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ghosh, Hemanta; Mitra, Suchismita; Saha, Hiranmay; Datta, Swapan Kumar; Banerjee, Chandan, E-mail: chandanbanerjee74@gmail.com

2017-01-15

Highlights: • Antireflection properties of argon plasma treated silicon nitride layer and its effect on crystalline silicon solar cell. • The reduction in reflection due to the formation of a silicon oxynitride/silicon nitride double layer. • EQE reveals a relative increase of 2.72% in J{sub sc} and 4.46% in conversion efficiency. - Abstract: Antireflection properties of argon plasma treated silicon nitride layer and its effect on crystalline silicon solar cell is presented here. Hydrogenated silicon nitride (a-SiN:H) layer has been deposited on a silicon substrate by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) using a mixture of silane (SiH{sub 4}), ammonia (NH{sub 3}) and hydrogen (H{sub 2}) gases followed by a argon plasma treatment. Optical analysis reveals a significant reduction in reflectance after argon plasma treatment of silicon nitride layer. While FESEM shows nanostructures on the surface of the silicon nitride film, FTIR reveals a change in Si−N, Si−O and N−H bonds. On the other hand, ellipsometry shows the variation of refractive index and formation of double layer. Finally, a c-Si solar cell has been fabricated with the said anti-reflection coating. External quantum efficiency reveals a relative increase of 2.72% in the short circuit current density and 4.46% in conversion efficiency over a baseline efficiency of 16.58%.

Photonic integration and photonics-electronics convergence on silicon platform

CERN Document Server

Liu, Jifeng; Baba, Toshihiko; Vivien, Laurent; Xu, Dan-Xia

2015-01-01

Silicon photonics technology, which has the DNA of silicon electronics technology, promises to provide a compact photonic integration platform with high integration density, mass-producibility, and excellent cost performance. This technology has been used to develop and to integrate various photonic functions on silicon substrate. Moreover, photonics-electronics convergence based on silicon substrate is now being pursued. Thanks to these features, silicon photonics will have the potential to be a superior technology used in the construction of energy-efficient cost-effective apparatuses for various applications, such as communications, information processing, and sensing. Considering the material characteristics of silicon and difficulties in microfabrication technology, however, silicon by itself is not necessarily an ideal material. For example, silicon is not suitable for light emitting devices because it is an indirect transition material. The resolution and dynamic range of silicon-based interference de...

Electrical characterization of high-pressure reactive sputtered ScOx films on silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castan, H.; Duenas, S.; Gomez, A.; Garcia, H.; Bailon, L.; Feijoo, P.C.; Toledano-Luque, M.; Prado, A. del; San Andres, E.; Lucia, M.L.

2011-01-01

Al/ScO x /SiN x /n-Si and Al/ScO x /SiO x /n-Si metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitors have been electrically characterized. Scandium oxide was grown by high-pressure sputtering on different substrates to study the dielectric/insulator interface quality. The substrates were silicon nitride and native silicon oxide. The use of a silicon nitride interfacial layer between the silicon substrate and the scandium oxide layer improves interface quality, as interfacial state density and defect density inside the insulator are decreased.

Research of morphology and structure of 3C–SiC thin films on silicon by electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander S. Gusev

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Thin films of silicon carbide possessing unique properties attract increasing attention of researchers both in the field of semiconductor physics and in the technology of new semiconductor devices for high power, RF and optoelectronics. The growth of the production of silicon carbide based devices promotes the search for more resource saving and safe SiC layer synthesis technologies. Potential method is pulse laser deposition (PLD in vacuum. This technology does not require the use of chemically aggressive and explosive gases and allows forming thin and continuous coatings with thicknesses of from several nanometers at relatively low substrate temperatures. Submicron thickness silicon carbide films have been grown on single crystal silicon by vacuum laser ablation of a ceramic target. The physical and technological parameters of silicon carbide thin film low temperature synthesis by PLD have been studied and, in particular, the effect of temperature and substrate crystalline orientation on the composition, structural properties and morphology of the surface of the experimental specimens has been analyzed. At above 500 °C the crystalline β-SiC phase forms on Si (100 and (111. At a substrate temperature of 950 °C the formation of textured heteroepitaxial 3C–SiC films was observed.

Chemically immobilised carbon nanotubes on silicon: Stable surfaces for aqueous electrochemistry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flavel, Benjamin S., E-mail: ben.flavel@flinders.edu.a [Department of Chemistry, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 (New Zealand); School of Chemistry, Physics and Earth Sciences, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia 5001 (Australia); Garrett, David J.; Lehr, Joshua [Department of Chemistry, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 (New Zealand); MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 (New Zealand); Shapter, Joseph G. [School of Chemistry, Physics and Earth Sciences, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia 5001 (Australia); Downard, Alison J., E-mail: alison.downard@canterbury.ac.n [Department of Chemistry, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 (New Zealand); MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140 (New Zealand)

2010-04-30

Diazonium ion chemistry has been used to electrochemically graft aminophenyl layers onto p-type silicon (1 0 0) substrates. A condensation reaction was used to immobilise single-walled carbon nanotubes with high carboxylic acid functionality directly to this layer. Electrochemical monitoring of the aminophenyl groups confirmed the formation of an amide linkage between the single-walled carbon nanotubes and the aminophenyl layer. The carbon nanotube electrode showed high stability and good electrochemical performance in aqueous solution. At moderate scan rates the Ru(NH{sub 3}){sub 6}{sup +3/+2} couple exhibited quasi-reversible electron transfer kinetics with a standard heterogenous rate constant of 1.2 x 10{sup -3} cm s{sup -1} at the covalently-linked carbon nanotube surface. The electrode thus combines the advantages of a silicon substrate for easy integration into sophisticated electrical and electronic devices, carbon nanotubes for desirable electrochemical properties, and stability in aqueous medium for future applications in environmental sensing.

Chemically immobilised carbon nanotubes on silicon: Stable surfaces for aqueous electrochemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flavel, Benjamin S.; Garrett, David J.; Lehr, Joshua; Shapter, Joseph G.; Downard, Alison J.

2010-01-01

Diazonium ion chemistry has been used to electrochemically graft aminophenyl layers onto p-type silicon (1 0 0) substrates. A condensation reaction was used to immobilise single-walled carbon nanotubes with high carboxylic acid functionality directly to this layer. Electrochemical monitoring of the aminophenyl groups confirmed the formation of an amide linkage between the single-walled carbon nanotubes and the aminophenyl layer. The carbon nanotube electrode showed high stability and good electrochemical performance in aqueous solution. At moderate scan rates the Ru(NH 3 ) 6 +3/+2 couple exhibited quasi-reversible electron transfer kinetics with a standard heterogenous rate constant of 1.2 x 10 -3 cm s -1 at the covalently-linked carbon nanotube surface. The electrode thus combines the advantages of a silicon substrate for easy integration into sophisticated electrical and electronic devices, carbon nanotubes for desirable electrochemical properties, and stability in aqueous medium for future applications in environmental sensing.

Integration of lateral porous silicon membranes into planar microfluidics.

Science.gov (United States)

Leïchlé, Thierry; Bourrier, David

2015-02-07

In this work, we present a novel fabrication process that enables the monolithic integration of lateral porous silicon membranes into single-layer planar microchannels. This fabrication technique relies on the patterning of local electrodes to guide pore formation horizontally within the membrane and on the use of silicon-on-insulator substrates to spatially localize porous silicon within the channel depth. The feasibility of our approach is studied by current flow analysis using the finite element method and supported by creating 10 μm long mesoporous membranes within 20 μm deep microchannels. The fabricated membranes are demonstrated to be potentially useful for dead-end microfiltration by adequately retaining 300 nm diameter beads while macromolecules such as single-stranded DNA and immunoglobulin G permeate the membrane. The experimentally determined fluidic resistance is in accordance with the theoretical value expected from the estimated pore size and porosity. The work presented here is expected to greatly simplify the integration of membranes capable of size exclusion based separation into fluidic devices and opens doors to the use of porous silicon in planar lab on a chip devices.

The morphology of coating/substrate interface in hot-dip-aluminized steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Awan, Gul Hameed; Hasan, Faiz ul

2008-01-01

In hot-dip-aluminized (HAD) steels, the morphology and the profile of the interface between the aluminum coating and the substrate steel, are affected both by the composition of the molten aluminum as well as by the composition, and even the microstructure, of the substrate steel. This effect has been investigated using optical and scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The reaction between the steel and the molten aluminum leads to the formation of Fe-Al inter-metallic compounds on the steel surface. The thickness of the inter-metallic compound layer as well as the morphology of the interface between the steel and the interlayer varies with the silicon content of the molten aluminum. In hot-dip-aluminizing with pure aluminum, the interlayer is 'thick' and exhibits a finger-like growth into the steel. With a gradually increasing addition of silicon into the aluminum melt, the thickness of the interlayer decreases while the interface between the interlayer and the substrate gradually becomes 'smoother'. With an increase in the carbon content of the substrate steel the growth of the interlayer into the steel is impeded by the pearlite phase, whereas the ferrite phase appears to dissolve more readily. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic studies showed that the interlayer formed in samples aluminized in pure aluminum, essentially consisted of orthorhombic Fe 2 Al 5 . It was further observed that the finger-like grains of Fe 2 Al 5 phase exhibited a preferred lattice orientation. With a gradual addition of silicon into the aluminum melt, a cubic phase based on Fe 3 Al also started to form in the interlayer and replaced most of the Fe 2 Al 5

Electrical response of electron selective atomic layer deposited TiO2‑x heterocontacts on crystalline silicon substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Ahiboz, Doğuşcan; Nasser, Hisham; Aygün, Ezgi; Bek, Alpan; Turan, Raşit

2018-04-01

Integration of oxygen deficient sub-stoichiometric titanium dioxide (TiO2‑x) thin films as the electron transporting-hole blocking layer in solar cell designs are expected to reduce fabrication costs by eliminating high temperature processes while maintaining high conversion efficiencies. In this paper, we conducted a study to reveal the electrical properties of TiO2‑x thin films grown on crystalline silicon (c-Si) substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. Effect of ALD substrate temperature, post deposition annealing, and doping type of the c-Si substrate on the interface states and TiO2‑x bulk properties were extracted by performing admittance (C-V, G-V) and current-voltage (J-V) measurements. Moreover, the asymmetry in C-V and J-V measurements between the p-n type and n-n TiO2‑x-c-Si heterojunction types were examined and the electron transport selectivity of TiO2‑x was revealed.

Surface wettability of silicon substrates enhanced by laser ablation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tseng, Shih-Feng [National Applied Research Laboratories, Instrument Technology Research Center, Hsinchu (China); National Chiao Tung University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hsinchu (China); Hsiao, Wen-Tse; Huang, Kuo-Cheng; Hsiao, Sheng-Yi [National Applied Research Laboratories, Instrument Technology Research Center, Hsinchu (China); Chen, Ming-Fei [National Changhua University of Education, Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Changhua (China); Lin, Yung-Sheng [Hungkuang University, Department of Applied Cosmetology and Graduate Institute of Cosmetic Science, Taichung (China); Chou, Chang-Pin [National Chiao Tung University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hsinchu (China)

2010-11-15

Laser-ablation techniques have been widely applied for removing material from a solid surface using a laser-beam irradiating apparatus. This paper presents a surface-texturing technique to create rough patterns on a silicon substrate using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser system. The different degrees of microstructure and surface roughness were adjusted by the laser fluence and laser pulse duration. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a 3D confocal laser-scanning microscope are used to measure the surface micrograph and roughness of the patterns, respectively. The contact angle variations between droplets on the textured surface were measured using an FTA 188 video contact angle analyzer. The results indicate that increasing the values of laser fluence and laser pulse duration pushes more molten slag piled around these patterns to create micro-sized craters and leads to an increase in the crater height and surface roughness. A typical example of a droplet on a laser-textured surface shows that the droplet spreads very quickly and almost disappears within 0.5167 s, compared to a contact angle of 47.9 on an untextured surface. This processing technique can also be applied to fabricating Si solar panels to increase the absorption efficiency of light. (orig.)

Fluorescence and thermoluminescence in silicon oxide films rich in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berman M, D.; Piters, T. M.; Aceves M, M.; Berriel V, L. R.; Luna L, J. A.

2009-10-01

In this work we determined the fluorescence and thermoluminescence (TL) creation spectra of silicon rich oxide films (SRO) with three different silicon excesses. To study the TL of SRO, 550 nm of SRO film were deposited by Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition technique on N-type silicon substrates with resistivity in the order of 3 to 5 Ω-cm with silicon excess controlled by the ratio of the gases used in the process, SRO films with Ro= 10, 20 and 30 (12-6% silicon excess) were obtained. Then, they were thermally treated in N 2 at high temperatures to diffuse and homogenize the silicon excess. In the fluorescence spectra two main emission regions are observed, one around 400 nm and one around 800 nm. TL creation spectra were determined by plotting the integrated TL intensity as function of the excitation wavelength. (Author)

Biofunctionalization of silicone rubber with microgroove-patterned surface and carbon-ion implantation to enhance biocompatibility and reduce capsule formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei ZY

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Ze-yuan Lei, Ting Liu, Wei-juan Li, Xiao-hua Shi, Dong-li Fan Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, XinQiao Hospital, The Third Military Medical University, ChongQing, People’s Republic of China Purpose: Silicone rubber implants have been widely used to repair soft tissue defects and deformities. However, poor biocompatibility can elicit capsule formation, usually resulting in prosthesis contracture and displacement in long-term usage. To overcome this problem, this study investigated the properties of silicone rubber materials with or without a microgroove-patterned surface and with or without carbon (C-ion implantation. Materials and methods: Atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and a water contact angle test were used to characterize surface morphology and physicochemical properties. Cytocompatibility was investigated by a cell adhesion experiment, immunofluorescence staining, a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, and scanning electron microscopy in vitro. Histocompatibility was evaluated by studying the inflammatory response and fiber capsule formation that developed after subcutaneous implantation in rats for 7 days, 15 days, and 30 days in vivo. Results: Parallel microgrooves were found on the surfaces of patterned silicone rubber (P-SR and patterned C-ion-implanted silicone rubber (PC-SR. Irregular larger peaks and deeper valleys were present on the surface of silicone rubber implanted with C ions (C-SR. The silicone rubber surfaces with microgroove patterns had stable physical and chemical properties and exhibited moderate hydrophobicity. PC-SR exhibited moderately increased dermal fibroblast cell adhesion and growth, and its surface microstructure promoted orderly cell growth. Histocompatibility experiments on animals showed that both the anti-inflammatory and antifibrosis properties of PC-SR were slightly better than those of the other materials, and there was also a lower capsular contracture rate and less

Effect of substrate bias on deposition behaviour of charged silicon nanoparticles in ICP-CVD process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Seung-Wan; Kim, Jung-Hyung; Seong, Dae-Jin; You, Shin-Jae; Seo, Byong-Hoon; Hwang, Nong-Moon

2017-01-01

The effect of a substrate bias on the deposition behaviour of crystalline silicon films during inductively coupled plasma chemical vapour deposition (ICP-CVD) was analysed by consideration of non-classical crystallization, in which the building block is a nanoparticle rather than an individual atom or molecule. The coexistence of positively and negatively charged nanoparticles in the plasma and their role in Si film deposition are confirmed by applying bias voltages to the substrate, which is sufficiently small as not to affect the plasma potential. The sizes of positively and negatively charged nanoparticles captured on a carbon membrane and imaged using TEM are, respectively, 2.7–5.5 nm and 6–13 nm. The film deposited by positively charged nanoparticles has a typical columnar structure. In contrast, the film deposited by negatively charged nanoparticles has a structure like a powdery compact with the deposition rate about three times higher than that for positively charged nanoparticles. All the films exhibit crystallinity even though the substrate is at room temperature, which is attributed to the deposition of crystalline nanoparticles formed in the plasma. The film deposited by negatively charged nanoparticles has the highest crystalline fraction of 0.84. (paper)

Porous silicon formation by hole injection from a back side p+/n junction for electrical insulation applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fèvre, A; Menard, S; Defforge, T; Gautier, G

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose to study the formation of porous silicon (PS) in low doped (1 × 10 14 cm −3 ) n-type silicon through hole injection from a back side p + /n junction in the dark. This technique is investigated within the framework of electrical insulation. Three different types of junctions are investigated. The first one is an epitaxial n-type layer grown on p + doped silicon wafer. The two other junctions are carried out by boron diffusion leading to p + regions with junction depths of 20 and 115 μm. The resulting PS morphology is a double layer with a nucleation layer (NL) and macropores fully filled with mesoporous material. This result is unusual for low doped n-type silicon. Morphology variations are described depending on the junction formation process, the electrolyte composition, the anodization current density and duration. In order to validate the more interesting industrial potentialities of the p + /n injection technique, a comparison is achieved with back side illumination in terms of resulting morphology and experiments confirm comparable results. Electrical characterizations of the double layer, including NL and fully filled macropores, are then performed. To our knowledge, this is the first electrical investigation in low doped n type silicon with this morphology. Compared to the bulk silicon, the measured electrical resistivities are 6–7 orders of magnitude higher at 373 K. (paper)

Crystalline silicon films sputtered on molybdenum A study of the silicon-molybdenum interface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinig, P.; Fenske, F.; Fuhs, W.; Schoepke, A.; Selle, B

2003-04-15

Polycrystalline silicon films were grown on molybdenum (Mo)-coated substrates at high deposition rate using the pulsed magnetron sputtering technique. Our study investigates the silicon-molybdenum interface of these films to elucidate stimulating mechanisms for an ordered crystalline silicon thin film growth. Both Auger electron spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering reveal that at a substrate temperature as low as T{sub S}=450 deg. C during the deposition process intermixing of Si and Mo at the Si-Mo interface takes place leading to a compositional ratio Mo:Si of about 1:2. By Raman spectroscopy hexagonal {beta}-MoSi{sub 2} could be identified as the dominant phase in this intermixed region. The dependence of the resulting thickness of the reacted interface layer on the deposition conditions is not fully understood yet.

Crystalline silicon films sputtered on molybdenum A study of the silicon-molybdenum interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reinig, P.; Fenske, F.; Fuhs, W.; Schoepke, A.; Selle, B.

2003-01-01

Polycrystalline silicon films were grown on molybdenum (Mo)-coated substrates at high deposition rate using the pulsed magnetron sputtering technique. Our study investigates the silicon-molybdenum interface of these films to elucidate stimulating mechanisms for an ordered crystalline silicon thin film growth. Both Auger electron spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering reveal that at a substrate temperature as low as T S =450 deg. C during the deposition process intermixing of Si and Mo at the Si-Mo interface takes place leading to a compositional ratio Mo:Si of about 1:2. By Raman spectroscopy hexagonal β-MoSi 2 could be identified as the dominant phase in this intermixed region. The dependence of the resulting thickness of the reacted interface layer on the deposition conditions is not fully understood yet

X-ray characterization of Ge dots epitaxially grown on nanostructured Si islands on silicon-on-insulator substrates.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaumseil, Peter; Kozlowski, Grzegorz; Yamamoto, Yuji; Schubert, Markus Andreas; Schroeder, Thomas

2013-08-01

On the way to integrate lattice mismatched semiconductors on Si(001), the Ge/Si heterosystem was used as a case study for the concept of compliant substrate effects that offer the vision to be able to integrate defect-free alternative semiconductor structures on Si. Ge nanoclusters were selectively grown by chemical vapour deposition on Si nano-islands on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. The strain states of Ge clusters and Si islands were measured by grazing-incidence diffraction using a laboratory-based X-ray diffraction technique. A tensile strain of up to 0.5% was detected in the Si islands after direct Ge deposition. Using a thin (∼10 nm) SiGe buffer layer between Si and Ge the tensile strain increases to 1.8%. Transmission electron microscopy studies confirm the absence of a regular grid of misfit dislocations in such structures. This clear experimental evidence for the compliance of Si nano-islands on SOI substrates opens a new integration concept that is not only limited to Ge but also extendable to semiconductors like III-V and II-VI materials.

Enhancement of the power factor in two-phase silicon-boron nanocrystalline alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narducci, Dario; Lorenzi, Bruno [Department of Materials Science, University of Milano Bicocca, Milan (Italy); Zianni, Xanthippe [Department of Aircraft Technologies, Technological Educational Institution of Sterea Ellada, Psachna (Greece); Department of Microelectronics, IAMPPNM, NCSR Demokritos, Athens (Greece); Neophytou, Neophytos [Institute for Microelectronics, TUV, Vienna (Austria); School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry (United Kingdom); Frabboni, Stefano [Department of FIM, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena (Italy); CNR-Institute of Nanoscience-S3, Modena (Italy); Gazzadi, Gian Carlo [CNR-Institute of Nanoscience-S3, Modena (Italy); Roncaglia, Alberto; Suriano, Francesco [IMM-CNR, Bologna (Italy)

2014-06-15

In previous publications it was shown that the precipitation of silicon boride around grain boundaries may lead to an increase of the power factor in nanocrystalline silicon. Such an effect was further explained by computational analyses showing that the formation of an interphase at the grain boundaries along with high boron densities can actually lead to a concurrent increase of the electrical conductivity σ and of the Seebeck coefficient S. In this communication we report recent evidence of the key elements ruling such an unexpected effect. Nanocrystalline silicon films deposited onto a variety of substrates were doped to nominal boron densities in excess of 10{sup 20} cm{sup -3} and were annealed up to 1000 C to promote boride precipitation. Thermoelectric properties were measured and compared with their microstructure. A concurrent increase of σ and S with the carrier density was found only upon formation of an interphase. Its dependency on the film microstructure and on the deposition and processing conditions will be discussed. (copyright 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Plasmonic and silicon spherical nanoparticle antireflective coatings

Science.gov (United States)

Baryshnikova, K. V.; Petrov, M. I.; Babicheva, V. E.; Belov, P. A.

2016-03-01

Over the last decade, plasmonic antireflecting nanostructures have been extensively studied to be utilized in various optical and optoelectronic systems such as lenses, solar cells, photodetectors, and others. The growing interest to all-dielectric photonics as an alternative optical technology along with plasmonics motivates us to compare antireflective properties of plasmonic and all-dielectric nanoparticle coatings based on silver and crystalline silicon respectively. Our simulation results for spherical nanoparticles array on top of amorphous silicon show that both silicon and silver coatings demonstrate strong antireflective properties in the visible spectral range. For the first time, we show that zero reflectance from the structure with silicon coatings originates from the destructive interference of electric- and magnetic-dipole responses of nanoparticle array with the wave reflected from the substrate, and we refer to this reflection suppression as substrate-mediated Kerker effect. We theoretically compare the silicon and silver coating effectiveness for the thin-film photovoltaic applications. Silver nanoparticles can be more efficient, enabling up to 30% increase of the overall absorbance in semiconductor layer. Nevertheless, silicon coatings allow up to 64% absorbance increase in the narrow band spectral range because of the substrate-mediated Kerker effect, and band position can be effectively tuned by varying the nanoparticles sizes.

Observations of Ball-Lightning-Like Plasmoids Ejected from Silicon by Localized Microwaves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Sztucki

2013-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents experimental characterization of plasmoids (fireballs obtained by directing localized microwave power (<1 kW at 2.45 GHz onto a silicon-based substrate in a microwave cavity. The plasmoid emerges up from the hotspot created in the solid substrate into the air within the microwave cavity. The experimental diagnostics employed for the fireball characterization in this study include measurements of microwave scattering, optical spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS, scanning electron microscopy (SEM and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS. Various characteristics of these plasmoids as dusty plasma are drawn by a theoretical analysis of the experimental observations. Aggregations of dust particles within the plasmoid are detected at nanometer and micrometer scales by both in-situ SAXS and ex-situ SEM measurements. The resemblance of these plasmoids to the natural ball-lightning (BL phenomenon is discussed with regard to silicon nano-particle clustering and formation of slowly-oxidized silicon micro-spheres within the BL. Potential applications and practical derivatives of this study (e.g., direct conversion of solids to powders, material identification by breakdown spectroscopy (MIBS, thermite ignition, and combustion are discussed.

Resistivity and morphology of TiSi2 formed on Xe+-implanted polycrystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuwano, H.; Phillips, J.R.; Mayer, J.W.

1990-01-01

Xe ion irradiation of polycrystalline silicon before Ti deposition is found to affect subsequent silicide formation. Silicide films were prepared by implanting 60, 100, or 240 keV Xe + ions into 500-nm-thick undoped polycrystalline silicon before depositing Ti and annealing in vacuum. Preimplantation altered the subsequent silicide resistivity, x-ray diffraction patterns, and morphology as compared to films prepared on unimplanted polycrystalline Si substrates. We found that minimal TiSi 2 resistivities were achieved at lower temperatures with preimplantation, indicating that the Xe-implanted substrate promotes a lower temperature transition from the metastable C49 phase to the low-resistivity equilibrium C54 phase of TiSi 2 . X-ray diffraction results confirmed the lower temperature formation of the C54 phase with preimplantation. Low-temperature annealing (650 degree C, 30 min) of 6x10 16 cm -2 , 240 keV Xe + -implanted samples yielded low-resistivity (∼22 μΩ cm) silicide films, while simultaneously annealed samples without preimplantation had resistivity five times higher. Lower doses were effective at lower implant energies, with low resistivity achieved after 725 degree C, 30 min annealing for 2x10 15 cm -2 , 60 keV Xe + preimplantation

Comparative study on electrical properties of atomic layer deposited high-permittivity materials on silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duenas, S.; Castan, H.; Garcia, H.; Barbolla, J.; Kukli, K.; Ritala, M.; Leskelae, M.

2005-01-01

Deep level transient spectroscopy, capacitance-voltage and conductance transient measurement techniques have been applied in order to evaluate the electrical quality of thin high-permittivity oxide layers on silicon. The oxides studied included HfO 2 film grown from two different oxygen-free metal precursors and Ta 2 O 5 and Nb 2 O 5 nanolaminates. The interface trap densities correlated to the oxide growth chemistry and semiconductor substrate treatment. No gap state densities induced by structural disorder were measured in the films grown on chemical SiO 2 . Trap densities were also clearly lower in HfO 2 films compared to Ta 2 O 5 -Nb 2 O 5

Research and development of photovoltaic power system. Development of novel technologies for fabrication of high quality silicon thin films for solar cells; Taiyoko hatsuden system no kenkyu kaihatsu. Kohinshitsu silicon usumaku sakusei gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shimizu, T [Kanazawa University, Ishikawa (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1994-12-01

Described herein are the results of the FY1994 research program for development of novel technologies for fabrication of high quality thin films of silicon for solar cells. The study on the mechanisms and effects of chemical annealing reveals that the film structure greatly varies depending on substrate temperature during the hydrotreatment process, based on the tests with substrate temperature, deposition of superthin film (T1) and hydrotreatment (T2) as the variable parameters. Chemical annealing at low temperature produces a high-quality a-Si:H film of low defect content. The study on fabrication of thin polycrystalline silicon films at low temperature observes on real time the process of deposition of the thin films on polycrystalline silicon substrates, where a natural oxide film is removed beforehand from the substrate. The results indicate that a thin polycrystalline silicon film of 100% crystallinity can be formed even on a polycrystalline silicon substrate by controlling starting gas composition and substrate temperature. The layer-by-layer method is used as the means for forming the seed crystals on a glass substrate, where deposition and hydrotreatment are repeated alternately, to produce the thin crystalline silicon films of high crystallinity. 3 figs.

Synthesis of silicon nanocrystals in silane plasmas for nanoelectronics and large area electronic devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roca i Cabarrocas, P; Nguyen-Tran, Th; Djeridane, Y; Abramov, A; Johnson, E; Patriarche, G

2007-01-01

The synthesis of silicon nanocrystals in standard radio-frequency glow discharge systems is studied with respect to two main objectives: (i) the production of devices based on quantum size effects associated with the small dimensions of silicon nanocrystals and (ii) the synthesis of polymorphous and polycrystalline silicon films in which silicon nanocrystals are the elementary building blocks. In particular we discuss results on the mechanisms of nanocrystal formation and their transport towards the substrate. We found that silicon nanocrystals can contribute to a significant fraction of deposition (50-70%) and that they can be positively charged. This has a strong influence on their deposition because positively charged nanocrystals will be accelerated towards the substrate with energy of the order of the plasma potential. However, the important parameter with respect to the deposition of charged nanocrystals is not the accelerating voltage but the energy per atom and thus a doubling of the diameter will result in a decrease in the energy per atom by a factor of 8. To leverage this geometrical advantage we propose the use of more electronegative gases, which may have a strong effect on the size and charge distribution of the nanocrystals. This is illustrated in the case of deposition from silicon tetrafluoride plasmas in which we observe low-frequency plasma fluctuations, associated with successive generations of nanocrystals. The contribution of larger nanocrystals to deposition results in a lower energy per deposited atom and thus polycrystalline films

Porous silicon gettering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsuo, Y.S.; Menna, P.; Pitts, J.R. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)] [and others

1996-05-01

The authors have studied a novel extrinsic gettering method that uses the large surface areas produced by a porous-silicon etch as gettering sites. The annealing step of the gettering used a high-flux solar furnace. They found that a high density of photons during annealing enhanced the impurity diffusion to the gettering sites. The authors used metallurgical-grade Si (MG-Si) prepared by directional solidification casing as the starting material. They propose to use porous-silicon-gettered MG-Si as a low-cost epitaxial substrate for polycrystalline silicon thin-film growth.

Metallization of DNA on silicon surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puchkova, Anastasiya Olegovna; Sokolov, Petr; Petrov, Yuri Vladimirovich; Kasyanenko, Nina Anatolievna

2011-01-01

New simple way for silver deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based nanowires preparation on silicon surface was developed. The electrochemical reduction of silver ions fixed on DNA molecule provides the forming of tightly matched zonate silver clusters. Highly homogeneous metallic clusters have a size about 30 nm. So the thickness of nanowires does not exceed 30–50 nm. The surface of n-type silicon monocrystal is the most convenient substrate for this procedure. The comparative analysis of DNA metallization on of n-type silicon with a similar way for nanowires fabrication on p-type silicon, freshly cleaved mica, and glass surface shows the advantage of n-type silicon, which is not only the substrate for DNA fixation but also the source of electrons for silver reduction. Images of bound DNA molecules and fabricated nanowires have been obtained using an atomic force microscope and a scanning ion helium microscope. DNA interaction with silver ions in a solution was examined by the methods of ultraviolet spectroscopy and circular dichroism.

N-type polycrystalline silicon films formed on alumina by aluminium induced crystallization and overdoping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tuezuen, O. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg (France)], E-mail: Ozge.Tuzun@iness.c-strasbourg.fr; Slaoui, A. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg (France); Gordon, I. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Focsa, A. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg (France); Ballutaud, D. [GEMaC-UMR 8635 CNRS, 1 place Aristide Briand, F-92195 Meudon (France); Beaucarne, G.; Poortmans, J. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium)

2008-08-30

In this work, we investigated the formation of n-type polysilicon films on alumina substrates by overdoping a p-type silicon layer obtained by aluminium induced crystallization of amorphous silicon (AIC), and subsequent epitaxy. The phosphorus doping of the AIC was carried out by thermal diffusion from a solid source. The structural quality of the n-type Si film was monitored by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The doping efficiency was determined by resistivity measurements and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The sheet resitivity changed from 2700{omega}/sq to 19.6{omega}/sq after thermal diffusion at 950 deg. C for 1h, indicating the overdoping effect. The SIMS profile carried out after the high temperature epitaxy exhibits a two steps phosphorus distribution, indicating the formation of an n{sup +}n structure.

Single and multijunction silicon based thin film solar cells on a flexible substrate with absorber layers made by hot-wire CVD

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Hongbo

2007-09-01

With the worldwide growing concern about reliable energy supply and the environmental problems of fossil and nuclear energy production, the need for clean and sustainable energy sources is evident. Solar energy conversion, such as in photovoltaic systems, can play a major role in the urgently needed energy transition in electricity production. Solar cells based on thin film silicon and its alloys are a promising candidate that is capable of fulfilling the fast increasing demand of a reliable solar cell supply. The conventional method to deposit silicon thin films is based on plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) techniques, which have the disadvantage of increasing film inhomogeneity at a high deposition rate when scaling up for the industrial production. In this thesis, we study the possibility of making high efficiency single and multijunction thin film silicon solar cells with the so-called hot-wire CVD technique, in which no strong electromagnetic field is involved in the deposition. Therefore, the up-scaling for industrial production is straightforward. We report and discuss our findings on the correlation of substrate surface rms roughness and the main output parameter of a solar cell, the open circuit voltage Voc of c-Si:H n i p cells. By considering all the possible reasons that could influence the Voc of such cells, we conclude that the near linear correlation of Voc and substrate surface rms roughness is the result the two most probable reasons: the unintentional doping through the cracks originated near the valleys of the substrate surface due to the in-diffusion of impurities, and the high density electrical defects formed by the collision of columnar silicon structures. Both of them relate to the morphology of substrate surface. Therefore, to have the best cell performance on a rough substrate surface, a good control on the substrate surface morphology is necessary. Another issue influencing the performance of c-Si:H solar cells is the

Silicone Substrate with Collagen and Carbon Nanotubes Exposed to Pulsed Current for MSC Osteodifferentiation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniyal Jamal

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Autologous human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs have the potential for clinical translation through their induction into osteoblasts for regeneration. Bone healing can be driven by biophysical stimulation using electricity for activating quiescent adult stem cells. It is hypothesized that application of electric current will enhance their osteogenic differentiation, and addition of conductive carbon nanotubes (CNTs to the cell substrate will provide increased efficiency in current transmission. Cultured MSCs were seeded and grown onto fabricated silicone-based composites containing collagen and CNT fibers. Chemical inducers, namely, glycerol phosphate, dexamethasone, and vitamin C, were then added to the medium, and pulsatile submilliampere electrical currents (about half mA for 5 cycles at 4 mHz, twice a week were applied for two weeks. Calcium deposition indicative of MSC differentiation and osteoblastic activity was quantified through Alizarin Red S and spectroscopy. It was found that pulsed current significantly increased osteodifferentiation on silicone-collagen films without CNTs. Under no external current, the presence of 10% (m/m CNTs led to a significant and almost triple upregulation of calcium deposition. Both CNTs and current parameters did not appear to be synergistic. These conditions of enhanced osteoblastic activities may further be explored ultimately towards future therapeutic use of MSCs.

Pulsed laser deposition of SiC thin films at medium substrate temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katharria, Y.S.; Kumar, Sandeep; Choudhary, R.J.; Prakash, Ram; Singh, F.; Lalla, N.P.; Phase, D.M.; Kanjilal, D.

2008-01-01

Systematic studies of thin silicon carbide (SiC) films deposited on Si (100) substrates using pulsed laser deposition technique at room temperature, 370 deg. C and 480 deg. C are carried out. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed the formation of SiC bonds in the films at these temperatures along with some graphitic carbon clusters. Fourier transform infrared analysis also confirmed the formation of SiC nanocrystallites in the films. Transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction were used to study the structural properties of nanocrystallites formed in the films. Surface morphological analysis using atomic force microscopy revealed the growth of smooth films

Patterning human neuronal networks on photolithographically engineered silicon dioxide substrates functionalized with glial analogues.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Mark A; Brennan, Paul M; Bunting, Andrew S; Cameron, Katherine; Murray, Alan F; Shipston, Mike J

2014-05-01

Interfacing neurons with silicon semiconductors is a challenge being tackled through various bioengineering approaches. Such constructs inform our understanding of neuronal coding and learning and ultimately guide us toward creating intelligent neuroprostheses. A fundamental prerequisite is to dictate the spatial organization of neuronal cells. We sought to pattern neurons using photolithographically defined arrays of polymer parylene-C, activated with fetal calf serum. We used a purified human neuronal cell line [Lund human mesencephalic (LUHMES)] to establish whether neurons remain viable when isolated on-chip or whether they require a supporting cell substrate. When cultured in isolation, LUHMES neurons failed to pattern and did not show any morphological signs of differentiation. We therefore sought a cell type with which to prepattern parylene regions, hypothesizing that this cellular template would enable secondary neuronal adhesion and network formation. From a range of cell lines tested, human embryonal kidney (HEK) 293 cells patterned with highest accuracy. LUHMES neurons adhered to pre-established HEK 293 cell clusters and this coculture environment promoted morphological differentiation of neurons. Neurites extended between islands of adherent cell somata, creating an orthogonally arranged neuronal network. HEK 293 cells appear to fulfill a role analogous to glia, dictating cell adhesion, and generating an environment conducive to neuronal survival. We next replaced HEK 293 cells with slower growing glioma-derived precursors. These primary human cells patterned accurately on parylene and provided a similarly effective scaffold for neuronal adhesion. These findings advance the use of this microfabrication-compatible platform for neuronal patterning. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

CMOS compatible generic batch process towards flexible memory on bulk monocrystalline silicon (100)

KAUST Repository

Ghoneim, Mohamed T.

2014-12-01

Today\\'s mainstream flexible electronics research is geared towards replacing silicon either totally, by having organic devices on organic substrates, or partially, by transferring inorganic devices onto organic substrates. In this work, we present a pragmatic approach combining the desired flexibility of organic substrates and the ultra-high integration density, inherent in silicon semiconductor industry, to transform bulk/inflexible silicon into an ultra-thin mono-crystalline fabric. We also show the effectiveness of this approach in achieving fully flexible electronic systems. Furthermore, we provide a progress report on fabricating various memory devices on flexible silicon fabric and insights for completely flexible memory modules on silicon fabric.

CMOS compatible generic batch process towards flexible memory on bulk monocrystalline silicon (100)

KAUST Repository

Ghoneim, Mohamed T.; Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto; Kutbee, Arwa T.; Hanna, Amir; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2014-01-01

Today's mainstream flexible electronics research is geared towards replacing silicon either totally, by having organic devices on organic substrates, or partially, by transferring inorganic devices onto organic substrates. In this work, we present a pragmatic approach combining the desired flexibility of organic substrates and the ultra-high integration density, inherent in silicon semiconductor industry, to transform bulk/inflexible silicon into an ultra-thin mono-crystalline fabric. We also show the effectiveness of this approach in achieving fully flexible electronic systems. Furthermore, we provide a progress report on fabricating various memory devices on flexible silicon fabric and insights for completely flexible memory modules on silicon fabric.

Investigation on nonlinear optical properties of MoS2 nanoflake, grown on silicon and quartz substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Bayesteh, S.; Mortazavi, S. Z.; Reyhani, A.

2018-03-01

In this study, MoS2 was directly synthesized by one-step thermal chemical vapour deposition (TCVD), on different substrates including Si/SiO2 and quartz, using MoO3 and sulfide powders as precursor. The XRD patterns demonstrate the high crystallinity of MoS2 on Si/SiO2 and quartz substrates. SEM confirmed the formation of MoS2 grown on both substrates. According to line width and frequency difference between the E1 2g and A1g in Raman spectroscopy, it is inferred that the MoS2 grown on Si/SiO2 substrate is monolayer and the MoS2 grown on quartz substrate is multilayer. Moreover, by assessment of MoS2 nanoflake band gap via UV-visible analysis, it verified the formation of few layer structures. In addition, the open-aperture and close-aperture Z-scan techniques were employed to study the nonlinear optical properties including nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction of the synthesized MoS2. All experiments were performed using a diode laser with a wavelength of 532 nm as light source. The monolayer MoS2 synthesized on Si/SiO2, display considerable two-photon absorption. However, the multilayer MoS2 synthesized on quartz displayed saturable absorption (SA). It is noticeable that both samples demonstrate obvious self-defocusing behaviour.

Macroscopic results for a novel oxygenated silicon material

CERN Document Server

Watts, S J; Karpenko, A

2002-01-01

High-resistivity FZ silicon diodes have been processed in order to increase their oxygen dimer (O sub 2 sub i) concentration. Deep level transient spectroscopy measurements have been performed after proton irradiation showing that the formation of the VO centre is suppressed. The substrates had a starting resistivity of 2-4 k OMEGA cm, with an oxygen concentration of 10 sup 1 sup 5 and 10 sup 1 sup 7 cm sup - sup 3. Results for doping changes, leakage current and annealing behaviour after irradiation with 24 GeV/c protons are shown.

Mechanical Characterization of Flexible and Stretchable Electronic Substrates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, L.

2010-01-01

Conventional IC packages form a rigid shell around silicon IC dies. Their purpose is to provide environmental protection, electrical interconnect and heat dissipation. Despite the fact that majority of current silicon IC?s are realized in a very thin top layer of the silicon substrate (<10µm), the

Silver endotaxy in silicon under various ambient conditions and their use as surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juluri, R.R.; Ghosh, A.; Bhukta, A.; Sathyavathi, R.; Satyam, P.V.

2015-01-01

Search for reliable, robust and efficient substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) leads to the growth of various shapes and nanostructures of noble metals, and in particular, Ag nanostructures for this purpose. Coherently embedded (also known as endotaxial) Ag nanostructures in silicon substrates can be made robust and reusable SERS substrates. In this paper, we show the possibility of the growth of Ag endotaxial structures in Si crystal during Ar and low-vacuum annealing conditions while this is absent in O 2 and ultra high vacuum (UHV) annealing conditions and along with their respective use as SERS substrates. Systems annealed under air-annealing and low-vacuum conditions were found to show larger enhancement factors (typically ≈ 5 × 10 5 in SERS measurement for 0.5 nM Crystal Violet (CV) molecule) while the systems prepared under UHV-annealing conditions (where no endotaxial Ag structures were formed) were found to be not effective as SERS substrates. Extensive electron microscopy, synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry techniques were used to understand the structural aspects. - Highlights: • Various aspects on the growth of endotaxial Ag nanostructures are presented. • Optimum amount of oxygen is necessary for the growth of endotaxial structures. • Reaction of oxygen with GeOx and SiOx plays a crucial role. • Ag nanostructures prepared under UHV conditions show low SERS activity • SERS enhancement is better for low-vacuum and argon annealing conditions

Evaluation of silicon nitride as a substrate for culture of PC12 cells: an interfacial model for functional studies in neurons.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johan Jaime Medina Benavente

Full Text Available Silicon nitride is a biocompatible material that is currently used as an interfacial surface between cells and large-scale integration devices incorporating ion-sensitive field-effect transistor technology. Here, we investigated whether a poly-L-lysine coated silicon nitride surface is suitable for the culture of PC12 cells, which are widely used as a model for neural differentiation, and we characterized their interaction based on cell behavior when seeded on the tested material. The coated surface was first examined in terms of wettability and topography using contact angle measurements and atomic force microscopy and then, conditioned silicon nitride surface was used as the substrate for the study of PC12 cell culture properties. We found that coating silicon nitride with poly-L-lysine increased surface hydrophilicity and that exposing this coated surface to an extracellular aqueous environment gradually decreased its roughness. When PC12 cells were cultured on a coated silicon nitride surface, adhesion and spreading were facilitated, and the cells showed enhanced morphological differentiation compared to those cultured on a plastic culture dish. A bromodeoxyuridine assay demonstrated that, on the coated silicon nitride surface, higher proportions of cells left the cell cycle, remained in a quiescent state and had longer survival times. Therefore, our study of the interaction of the silicon nitride surface with PC12 cells provides important information for the production of devices that need to have optimal cell culture-supporting properties in order to be used in the study of neuronal functions.

Effect of TMAH Etching Duration on the Formation of Silicon Nano wire Transistor Patterned by AFM Nano lithography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutagalung, S.D.; Lew, K.C.

2012-01-01

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) lithography was applied to produce nano scale pattern for silicon nano wire transistor fabrication. This technique takes advantage of imaging facility of AFM and the ability of probe movement controlling over the sample surface to create nano patterns. A conductive AFM tip was used to grow the silicon oxide nano patterns on silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer. The applied tip-sample voltage and writing speed were well controlled in order to form pre-designed silicon oxide nano wire transistor structures. The effect of tetra methyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) etching duration on the oxide covered silicon nano wire transistor structure has been investigated. A completed silicon nano wire transistor was obtained by removing the oxide layer via hydrofluoric acid etching process. The fabricated silicon nano wire transistor consists of a silicon nano wire that acts as a channel with source and drain pads. A lateral gate pad with a nano wire head was fabricated very close to the channel in the formation of transistor structures. (author)

Silicon nanowire hybrid photovoltaics

KAUST Repository

Garnett, Erik C.

2010-06-01

Silicon nanowire Schottky junction solar cells have been fabricated using n-type silicon nanowire arrays and a spin-coated conductive polymer (PEDOT). The polymer Schottky junction cells show superior surface passivation and open-circuit voltages compared to standard diffused junction cells with native oxide surfaces. External quantum efficiencies up to 88% were measured for these silicon nanowire/PEDOT solar cells further demonstrating excellent surface passivation. This process avoids high temperature processes which allows for low-cost substrates to be used. © 2010 IEEE.

Silicon nanowire hybrid photovoltaics

KAUST Repository

Garnett, Erik C.; Peters, Craig; Brongersma, Mark; Cui, Yi; McGehee, Mike

2010-01-01

Silicon nanowire Schottky junction solar cells have been fabricated using n-type silicon nanowire arrays and a spin-coated conductive polymer (PEDOT). The polymer Schottky junction cells show superior surface passivation and open-circuit voltages compared to standard diffused junction cells with native oxide surfaces. External quantum efficiencies up to 88% were measured for these silicon nanowire/PEDOT solar cells further demonstrating excellent surface passivation. This process avoids high temperature processes which allows for low-cost substrates to be used. © 2010 IEEE.

Formation of intra-island grain boundaries in pentacene monolayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jian; Wu, Yu; Duhm, Steffen; Rabe, Jürgen P; Rudolf, Petra; Koch, Norbert

2011-12-21

To assess the formation of intra-island grain boundaries during the early stages of pentacene film growth, we studied sub-monolayers of pentacene on pristine silicon oxide and silicon oxide with high pinning centre density (induced by UV/O(3) treatment). We investigated the influence of the kinetic energy of the impinging molecules on the sub-monolayer growth by comparing organic molecular beam deposition (OMBD) and supersonic molecular beam deposition (SuMBD). For pentacene films fabricated by OMBD, higher pentacene island-density and higher polycrystalline island density were observed on UV/O(3)-treated silicon oxide as compared to pristine silicon oxide. Pentacene films deposited by SuMBD exhibited about one order of magnitude lower island- and polycrystalline island densities compared to OMBD, on both types of substrates. Our results suggest that polycrystalline growth of single islands on amorphous silicon oxide is facilitated by structural/chemical surface pinning centres, which act as nucleation centres for multiple grain formation in a single island. Furthermore, the overall lower intra-island grain boundary density in pentacene films fabricated by SuMBD reduces the number of charge carrier trapping sites specific to grain boundaries and should thus help achieving higher charge carrier mobilities, which are advantageous for their use in organic thin-film transistors.

The performance of Y2O3 as interface layer between La2O3 and p-type silicon substrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shulong Wang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In this study, the performance of Y2O3 as interface layer between La2O3 and p-type silicon substrate is studied with the help of atomic layer deposition (ALD and magnetron sputtering technology. The surface morphology of the bilayer films with different structures are observed after rapid thermal annealing (RTA by atomic force microscopy (AFM. The results show that Y2O3/Al2O3/Si structure has a larger number of small spikes on the surface and its surface roughness is worse than Al2O3/Y2O3/Si structure. The reason is that the density of Si substrate surface is much higher than that of ALD growth Al2O3. With the help of high-frequency capacitance-voltage(C-V measurement and conductivity method, the density of interface traps can be calculated. After a high temperature annealing, the metal silicate will generate at the substrate interface and result in silicon dangling bond and interface trap charge, which has been improved by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and interface trap charge density calculation. The interface trapped charge density of La2O3/Al2O3/Si stacked gate structure is lower than that of La2O3/Y2O3/Si gate structure. If Y2O3 is used to replace Al2O3 as the interfacial layer, the accumulation capacitance will increase obviously, which means lower equivalent oxide thickness (EOT. Our results show that interface layer Y2O3 grown by magnetron sputtering can effectively ensure the interface traps near the substrate at relative small level while maintain a relative higher dielectric constant than Al2O3.

Porous silicon: silicon quantum dots for photonic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pavesi, L.; Guardini, R.

1996-01-01

Porous silicon formation and structure characterization are briefly illustrated. Its luminescence properties rae presented and interpreted on the basis of exciton recombination in quantum dot structures: the trap-controlled hopping mechanism is used to describe the recombination dynamics. Porous silicon application to photonic devices is considered: porous silicon multilayer in general, and micro cavities in particular are described. The present situation in the realization of porous silicon LEDs is considered, and future developments in this field of research are suggested. (author). 30 refs., 30 figs., 13 tabs

In situ study of the growth and degradation processes in tetragonal lysozyme crystals on a silicon substrate by high-resolution X-ray diffractometry

Science.gov (United States)

Kovalchuk, M. V.; Prosekov, P. A.; Marchenkova, M. A.; Blagov, A. E.; D'yakova, Yu. A.; Tereshchenko, E. Yu.; Pisarevskii, Yu. V.; Kondratev, O. A.

2014-09-01

The results of an in situ study of the growth of tetragonal lysozyme crystals by high-resolution X-ray diffractometry are considered. The crystals are grown by the sitting-drop method on crystalline silicon substrates of different types: both on smooth substrates and substrates with artificial surface-relief structures using graphoepitaxy. The crystals are grown in a special hermetically closed crystallization cell, which enables one to obtain images with an optical microscope and perform in situ X-ray diffraction studies in the course of crystal growth. Measurements for lysozyme crystals were carried out in different stages of the crystallization process, including crystal nucleation and growth, developed crystals, the degradation of the crystal structure, and complete destruction.

Growth of bi- and tri-layered graphene on silicon carbide substrate via molecular dynamics simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Min, Tjun Kit; Yoon, Tiem Leong [School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang (Malaysia); Lim, Thong Leng [Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Multimedia University, Melaka Campus, 75450 Melaka (Malaysia)

2015-04-24

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with simulated annealing method is used to study the growth process of bi- and tri-layered graphene on a 6H-SiC (0001) substrate via molecular dynamics simulation. Tersoff-Albe-Erhart (TEA) potential is used to describe the inter-atomic interactions among the atoms in the system. The formation temperature, averaged carbon-carbon bond length, pair correlation function, binding energy and the distance between the graphene formed and the SiC substrate are quantified. The growth mechanism, graphitization of graphene on the SiC substrate and characteristics of the surface morphology of the graphene sheet obtained in our MD simulation compare well to that observed in epitaxially grown graphene experiments and other simulation works.

Wetting Behavior and Reactivity of Molten Silicon with h-BN Substrate at Ultrahigh Temperatures up to 1750 °C

Science.gov (United States)

Polkowski, Wojciech; Sobczak, Natalia; Nowak, Rafał; Kudyba, Artur; Bruzda, Grzegorz; Polkowska, Adelajda; Homa, Marta; Turalska, Patrycja; Tangstad, Merete; Safarian, Jafar; Moosavi-Khoonsari, Elmira; Datas, Alejandro

2017-12-01

For a successful implementation of newly proposed silicon-based latent heat thermal energy storage systems, proper ceramic materials that could withstand a contact heating with molten silicon at temperatures much higher than its melting point need to be developed. In this regard, a non-wetting behavior and low reactivity are the main criteria determining the applicability of ceramic as a potential crucible material for long-term ultrahigh temperature contact with molten silicon. In this work, the wetting of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) by molten silicon was examined for the first time at temperatures up to 1750 °C. For this purpose, the sessile drop technique combined with contact heating procedure under static argon was used. The reactivity in Si/h-BN system under proposed conditions was evaluated by SEM/EDS examinations of the solidified couple. It was demonstrated that increase in temperature improves wetting, and consequently, non-wetting-to-wetting transition takes place at around 1650 °C. The contact angle of 90° ± 5° is maintained at temperatures up to 1750 °C. The results of structural characterization supported by a thermodynamic modeling indicate that the wetting behavior of the Si/h-BN couple during heating to and cooling from ultrahigh temperature of 1750 °C is mainly controlled by the substrate dissolution/reprecipitation mechanism.

Resonant tunnelling from nanometre-scale silicon field emission cathodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, S.; Markwitz, A.

2005-01-01

In this paper we report the field emission properties of self-assembled silicon nanostructures formed on an n-type silicon (100) substrate by electron beam annealing. The nanostructures are square based, with an average height of 8 nm and are distributed randomly over the entire substrate surface. Following conditioning, the silicon nanostructure field emission characteristics become stable and reproducible with electron emission occurring for fields as low as 3 Vμm-1. At higher fields, a superimposed on a background current well described by conventional Fowler-Nordheim theory. These current peaks are understood to result from enhanced tunnelling through resonant states formed at the substrate-nanostructure and nanostructure-vacuum interface. (author). 13 refs., 3 figs

Transfer-free electrical insulation of epitaxial graphene from its metal substrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Lizzit, Silvano; Larciprete, Rosanna; Lacovig, Paolo; Dalmiglio, Matteo; Orlando, Fabrizio; Baraldi, Alessandro; Gammelgaard, Lauge; Barreto, Lucas; Bianchi, Marco; Perkins, Edward; Hofmann, Philip

2012-09-12

High-quality, large-area epitaxial graphene can be grown on metal surfaces, but its transport properties cannot be exploited because the electrical conduction is dominated by the substrate. Here we insulate epitaxial graphene on Ru(0001) by a stepwise intercalation of silicon and oxygen, and the eventual formation of a SiO(2) layer between the graphene and the metal. We follow the reaction steps by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and demonstrate the electrical insulation using a nanoscale multipoint probe technique.

Transfer-Free Electrical Insulation of Epitaxial Graphene from its Metal Substrate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lizzit, Silvano; Larciprete, Rosanna; Lacovig, Paolo

2012-01-01

High-quality, large-area epitaxial graphene can be grown on metal surfaces, but its transport properties cannot be exploited because the electrical conduction is dominated by the substrate. Here we insulate epitaxial graphene on Ru(0001) by a stepwise intercalation of silicon and oxygen......, and the eventual formation of a SiO2 layer between the graphene and the metal. We follow the reaction steps by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and demonstrate the electrical insulation using a nanoscale multipoint probe technique....

Effects of incident energy and angle on carbon cluster ions implantation on silicon substrate: a molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Ye; Sang, Shengbo; Zhou, Bing; Deng, Xiao; Chai, Jing; Ji, Jianlong; Ge, Yang; Huo, Yuanliang; Zhang, Wendong

2017-09-01

Carbon cluster ion implantation is an important technique in fabricating functional devices at micro/nanoscale. In this work, a numerical model is constructed for implantation and implemented with a cutting-edge molecular dynamics method. A series of simulations with varying incident energies and incident angles is performed for incidence on silicon substrate and correlated effects are compared in detail. Meanwhile, the behavior of the cluster during implantation is also examined under elevated temperatures. By mapping the nanoscopic morphology with variable parameters, numerical formalism is proposed to explain the different impacts on phrase transition and surface pattern formation. Particularly, implantation efficiency (IE) is computed and further used to evaluate the performance of the overall process. The calculated results could be properly adopted as the theoretical basis for designing nano-structures and adjusting devices’ properties. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51622507, 61471255, 61474079, 61403273, 51502193, 51205273), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi (Nos. 201601D021057, 201603D421035), the Youth Foundation Project of Shanxi Province (Nos. 2015021097), the Doctoral Fund of MOE of China (No. 20131402110013), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (No. 2015AA042601), and the Specialized Project in Public Welfare from The Ministry of Water Resources of China (Nos. 1261530110110).

Performance improvement of silicon solar cells by nanoporous silicon coating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dzhafarov T. D.

2012-04-01

Full Text Available In the present paper the method is shown to improve the photovoltaic parameters of screen-printed silicon solar cells by nanoporous silicon film formation on the frontal surface of the cell using the electrochemical etching. The possible mechanisms responsible for observed improvement of silicon solar cell performance are discussed.

Effect of potential steps on porous silicon formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Xuan; Feng Zude; Luo Guangfeng

2003-01-01

Porous silicon microstructures were fabricated by applying potential steps through which both anodic and cathodic potentials were periodically applied to silicon wafers. The electrochemical behaviors of porous silicon layers were examined by performing polarization measurements, followed by analyzing the open-circuit potential (E ocp ) and the reaction rate in terms of corrosion current density (j corr ). The surface morphologies and surface products of porous silicon were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that the values of E ocp and j corr varied more significantly and irregularly during different polarization stages when the potentials were continuously applied to the wafer surface, while virtually unchanged after 2 min of periodic potential application. In addition, slower reaction rates were observed with applying potential steps, as indicated by smaller values of j corr . The enhancement on refreshment of silicon surfaces by periodic potential polarization significantly accelerated the growth of porous silicon. The microstructures became more uniformed and better defined due to the improved passivating nature of wafer surfaces

Phenomenological model of photoluminescence degradation and photoinduced defect formation in silicon nanocrystal ensembles under singlet oxygen generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gongalsky, Maxim B., E-mail: mgongalsky@gmail.com; Timoshenko, Victor Yu. [Faculty of Physics, Moscow State M.V. Lomonosov University, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation)

2014-12-28

We propose a phenomenological model to explain photoluminescence degradation of silicon nanocrystals under singlet oxygen generation in gaseous and liquid systems. The model considers coupled rate equations, which take into account the exciton radiative recombination in silicon nanocrystals, photosensitization of singlet oxygen generation, defect formation on the surface of silicon nanocrystals as well as quenching processes for both excitons and singlet oxygen molecules. The model describes well the experimentally observed power law dependences of the photoluminescence intensity, singlet oxygen concentration, and lifetime versus photoexcitation time. The defect concentration in silicon nanocrystals increases by power law with a fractional exponent, which depends on the singlet oxygen concentration and ambient conditions. The obtained results are discussed in a view of optimization of the photosensitized singlet oxygen generation for biomedical applications.

Air-flow resistances of silicone rubber voice prostheses after formation of bacterial and fungal biofilms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elving, GJ; van der Mei, HC; Busscher, HJ; van Weissenbruch, R; Albers, FWJ

Laryngectomized patients use silicone rubber voice prostheses to rehabilitate their voice. However, biofilm formation limits the lifetime of voice prostheses by causing leakage or an increased air-flow resistance and the prosthesis has to be replaced. To determine which bacterial or yeast strains,

Optical substrate materials for synchrotron radiation beamlines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howells, M.R.; Paquin, R.A.

1997-06-01

The authors consider the materials choices available for making optical substrates for synchrotron radiation beam lines. They find that currently the optical surfaces can only be polished to the required finish in fused silica and other glasses, silicon, CVD silicon carbide, electroless nickel and 17-4 PH stainless steel. Substrates must therefore be made of one of these materials or of a metal that can be coated with electroless nickel. In the context of material choices for mirrors they explore the issues of dimensional stability, polishing, bending, cooling, and manufacturing strategy. They conclude that metals are best from an engineering and cost standpoint while the ceramics are best from a polishing standpoint. They then give discussions of specific materials as follows: silicon carbide, silicon, electroless nickel, Glidcop trademark, aluminum, precipitation-hardening stainless steel, mild steel, invar and superinvar. Finally they summarize conclusions and propose ideas for further research

Fluorocarbon polymer formation, characterization, and reduction in polycrystalline-silicon etching with CF4-added plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Songlin; Sun Zhiwen; Chen Arthur; Qian Xueyu; Podlesnik, Dragan

2001-01-01

Addition of CF 4 into HBr-based plasma for polycrystalline-silicon gate etching reduces the deposition of an etch byproduct, silicon oxide, onto the chamber wall but tends to generate organic polymer. In this work, a detailed study has been carried out to analyze the mechanism of polymerization and to characterize the polymer composition and quantity. The study has shown that the polymer formation is due to the F-radical depletion by H atoms dissociated from HBr. The composition of the polymer changes significantly with CF 4 concentration in the gas feed, and the polymer deposition rate depends on CF 4 % and other process conditions such as source power, bias power, and pressure. Surface temperature also affects the polymer deposition rate. Adding O 2 into the plasma can clean the organic polymer, but the O 2 amount has to be well controlled in order to prevent the formation of silicon oxide. Based on a series of tests to evaluate polymer deposition and oxide cleaning with O 2 addition, an optimized process regime in terms of O 2 -to-CF 4 ratio has been identified to simultaneously suppress the polymer and oxide deposition so that the etch process becomes self-cleaning

Thin film transistors on plastic substrates with reflective coatings for radiation protection

Science.gov (United States)

Wolfe, Jesse D [Fairfield, CA; Theiss, Steven D [Woodbury, MN; Carey, Paul G [Mountain View, CA; Smith, Patrick M [San Ramon, CA; Wickbold, Paul [Walnut Creek, CA

2006-09-26

Fabrication of silicon thin film transistors (TFT) on low-temperature plastic substrates using a reflective coating so that inexpensive plastic substrates may be used in place of standard glass, quartz, and silicon wafer-based substrates. The TFT can be used in large area low cost electronics, such as flat panel displays and portable electronics such as video cameras, personal digital assistants, and cell phones.

Surface modification of silicon wafer by grafting zwitterionic polymers to improve its antifouling property

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yunlong; Chen, Changlin; Xu, Heng; Lei, Kun; Xu, Guanzhe; Zhao, Li; Lang, Meidong

2017-10-01

Silicon (111) wafer was modified by triethoxyvinylsilane containing double bond as an intermedium, and then P4VP (polymer 4-vinyl pyridine) brush was "grafted" onto the surface of silicon wafer containing reactive double bonds by adopting the "grafting from" way and Si-P4VP substrate (silicon wafer grafted by P4VP) was obtained. Finally, P4VP brush of Si-P4VP substrate was modified by 1,3-propanesulfonate fully to obtain P4VP-psl brush (zwitterionic polypyridinium salt) and the functional Si-P4VP-psl substrate (silicon wafer grafted by zwitterionic polypyridinium salt based on polymer 4-vinyl pyridine) was obtained successfully. The antifouling property of the silicon wafer, the Si-P4VP substrate and the Si-P4VP-psl substrate was investigated by using bovine serum albumin, mononuclear macrophages (RAW 264.7) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) ATTC25922 as model bacterium. The results showed that compared with the blank sample-silicon wafer, the Si-P4VP-psl substrate had excellent anti-adhesion ability against bovine serum albumin, cells and bacterium, due to zwitterionic P4VP-psl brush (polymer 4-vinyl pyridine salt) having special functionality like antifouling ability on biomaterial field.

Nickel Electroless Plating: Adhesion Analysis for Mono-Type Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Eun Gu; Rehman, Atteq ur; Lee, Sang Hee; Lee, Soo Hong

2015-10-01

The adhesion of the front electrodes to silicon substrate is the most important parameters to be optimized. Nickel silicide which is formed by sintering process using a silicon substrate improves the mechanical and electrical properties as well as act as diffusion barrier for copper. In this experiment p-type mono-crystalline czochralski (CZ) silicon wafers having resistivity of 1.5 Ω·cm were used to study one step and two step nickel electroless plating process. POCl3 diffusion process was performed to form the emitter with the sheet resistance of 70 ohm/sq. The Six, layer was set down as an antireflection coating (ARC) layer at emitter surface by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. Laser ablation process was used to open SiNx passivation layer locally for the formation of the front electrodes. Nickel was deposited by electroless plating process by one step and two step nickel electroless deposition process. The two step nickel plating was performed by applying a second nickel deposition step subsequent to the first sintering process. Furthermore, the adhesion analysis for both one step and two steps process was conducted using peel force tester (universal testing machine, H5KT) after depositing Cu contact by light induced plating (LIP).

Transformational silicon electronics

KAUST Repository

Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto

2014-02-25

In today\\'s traditional electronics such as in computers or in mobile phones, billions of high-performance, ultra-low-power devices are neatly integrated in extremely compact areas on rigid and brittle but low-cost bulk monocrystalline silicon (100) wafers. Ninety percent of global electronics are made up of silicon. Therefore, we have developed a generic low-cost regenerative batch fabrication process to transform such wafers full of devices into thin (5 μm), mechanically flexible, optically semitransparent silicon fabric with devices, then recycling the remaining wafer to generate multiple silicon fabric with chips and devices, ensuring low-cost and optimal utilization of the whole substrate. We show monocrystalline, amorphous, and polycrystalline silicon and silicon dioxide fabric, all from low-cost bulk silicon (100) wafers with the semiconductor industry\\'s most advanced high-κ/metal gate stack based high-performance, ultra-low-power capacitors, field effect transistors, energy harvesters, and storage to emphasize the effectiveness and versatility of this process to transform traditional electronics into flexible and semitransparent ones for multipurpose applications. © 2014 American Chemical Society.

Structural, Optical, and Vibrational Properties of ZnO Microrods Deposited on Silicon Substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Lahlouh, Bashar I.; Ikhmayies, Shadia J.; Juwhari, Hassan K.

2018-03-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) microrod films deposited by spray pyrolysis on silicon substrate at 350 ± 5°C have been studied and evaluated, and compared with thin films deposited by electron beam to confirm the identity of the studied samples. The films were characterized using different techniques. The microrod structure was studied and confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction analysis confirmed successful deposition of ZnO thin films with the expected wurtzite structure. Reflectance data showed a substantial drop across the whole studied wavelength range. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the studied samples showed a peak at ˜ 360 nm, representing a signature of ZnO. The shift in the PL peak position is due to defects and other species present in the films, as confirmed by FTIR and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy results.

Influence of the parameters of pulsed electron irradiation on the efficiency of formation of defects in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdusattarov, A.G.; Emtsev, V.V.; Mashovets, T.V.

1989-01-01

There is as yet no agreement about the mechanism of the influence of the rate of irradiation on the rate of radiation-defect formation in semiconductors. In the case of silicon some authors attribute this mechanism to the influence of excitation of the electron subsystem on the processes resulting in the formation of secondary defects. Other authors are of the opinion that the rate of excitation of the electron subsystem influences the ratio of the probabilities of separation and annihilation of components of a Frenkel pair. A more careful analysis of this situation however forces are to revise this point of view. The authors consider in greater detail the process of homogeneous annihilation of the components of a Frenkel pair in silicon

Flowmeter with silicon flow tube

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lammerink, Theodorus S.J.; Dijkstra, Marcel; Haneveld, J.; Lötters, Joost Conrad

2009-01-01

A flowmeter comprising a system chip with a silicon substrate provided on a carrier, in an opening whereof at least one silicon flow tube is provided for transporting a medium whose flow rate is to be measured, said tube having two ends that issue via a wall of the opening into channels coated with

Orientationally ordered ridge structures of aluminum films on hydrogen terminated silicon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Quaade, Ulrich; Pantleon, Karen

2006-01-01

Films of aluminum deposited onto Si(100) substrates show a surface structure of parallel ridges. On films deposited on oxidized silicon substrates the direction of the ridges is arbitrary, but on films deposited on hydrogen-terminated Si(100) the ridges are oriented parallel to the < 110 > direct......Films of aluminum deposited onto Si(100) substrates show a surface structure of parallel ridges. On films deposited on oxidized silicon substrates the direction of the ridges is arbitrary, but on films deposited on hydrogen-terminated Si(100) the ridges are oriented parallel to the ... > directions on the silicon substrate. The ridge structure appears when the film thickness is above 500 nm, and increasing the film thickness makes the structure more distinct. Anodic oxidation enhances the structure even further. X-ray diffraction indicates that grains in the film have mostly (110) facets...

Growth of Hexagonal Columnar Nanograin Structured SiC Thin Films on Silicon Substrates with Graphene–Graphitic Carbon Nanoflakes Templates from Solid Carbon Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wanshun Zhao

2013-04-01

Full Text Available We report a new method for growing hexagonal columnar nanograin structured silicon carbide (SiC thin films on silicon substrates by using graphene–graphitic carbon nanoflakes (GGNs templates from solid carbon sources. The growth was carried out in a conventional low pressure chemical vapor deposition system (LPCVD. The GGNs are small plates with lateral sizes of around 100 nm and overlap each other, and are made up of nanosized multilayer graphene and graphitic carbon matrix (GCM. Long and straight SiC nanograins with hexagonal shapes, and with lateral sizes of around 200–400 nm are synthesized on the GGNs, which form compact SiC thin films.

Mechanics of nanowire/nanotube in-surface buckling on elastomeric substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, J; Huang, Y [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); Ryu, S Y; Paik, U [Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Hanyang University, 17 Hangdang-dong, Sungdong-gu, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Hwang, K-C [Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Rogers, J A, E-mail: y-huang@northwestern.edu, E-mail: jrogers@uiuc.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Frederick-Seitz Materials Research Laboratory and Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois 61801 (United States)

2010-02-26

A continuum mechanics theory is established for the in-surface buckling of one-dimensional nanomaterials on compliant substrates, such as silicon nanowires on elastomeric substrates observed in experiments. Simple analytical expressions are obtained for the buckling wavelength, amplitude and critical buckling strain in terms of the bending and tension stiffness of the nanomaterial and the substrate elastic properties. The analysis is applied to silicon nanowires, single-walled carbon nanotubes, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and carbon nanotube bundles. For silicon nanowires, the measured buckling wavelength gives Young's modulus to be 140 GPa, which agrees well with the prior experimental studies. It is shown that the energy for in-surface buckling is lower than that for normal (out-of-surface) buckling, and is therefore energetically favorable.

Mechanics of nanowire/nanotube in-surface buckling on elastomeric substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, J; Huang, Y; Ryu, S Y; Paik, U; Hwang, K-C; Rogers, J A

2010-01-01

A continuum mechanics theory is established for the in-surface buckling of one-dimensional nanomaterials on compliant substrates, such as silicon nanowires on elastomeric substrates observed in experiments. Simple analytical expressions are obtained for the buckling wavelength, amplitude and critical buckling strain in terms of the bending and tension stiffness of the nanomaterial and the substrate elastic properties. The analysis is applied to silicon nanowires, single-walled carbon nanotubes, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, and carbon nanotube bundles. For silicon nanowires, the measured buckling wavelength gives Young's modulus to be 140 GPa, which agrees well with the prior experimental studies. It is shown that the energy for in-surface buckling is lower than that for normal (out-of-surface) buckling, and is therefore energetically favorable.

Study on structural properties of epitaxial silicon films on annealed double layer porous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yue Zhihao; Shen Honglie; Cai Hong; Lv Hongjie; Liu Bin

2012-01-01

In this paper, epitaxial silicon films were grown on annealed double layer porous silicon by LPCVD. The evolvement of the double layer porous silicon before and after thermal annealing was investigated by scanning electron microscope. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to investigate the structural properties of the epitaxial silicon thin films grown at different temperature and different pressure. The results show that the surface of the low-porosity layer becomes smooth and there are just few silicon-bridges connecting the porous layer and the substrate wafer. The qualities of the epitaxial silicon thin films become better along with increasing deposition temperature. All of the Raman peaks of silicon films with different deposition pressure are situated at 521 cm -1 under the deposition temperature of 1100 °C, and the Raman intensity of the silicon film deposited at 100 Pa is much closer to that of the monocrystalline silicon wafer. The epitaxial silicon films are all (4 0 0)-oriented and (4 0 0) peak of silicon film deposited at 100 Pa is more symmetric.

Hybrid Integrated Platforms for Silicon Photonics

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Di; Roelkens, Gunther; Baets, Roel; Bowers, John E.

2010-01-01

A review of recent progress in hybrid integrated platforms for silicon photonics is presented. Integration of III-V semiconductors onto silicon-on-insulator substrates based on two different bonding techniques is compared, one comprising only inorganic materials, the other technique using an organic bonding agent. Issues such as bonding process and mechanism, bonding strength, uniformity, wafer surface requirement, and stress distribution are studied in detail. The application in silicon photonics to realize high-performance active and passive photonic devices on low-cost silicon wafers is discussed. Hybrid integration is believed to be a promising technology in a variety of applications of silicon photonics.

Profilometry of thin films on rough substrates by Raman spectroscopy

KAUST Repository

Ledinský, Martin

2016-12-06

Thin, light-absorbing films attenuate the Raman signal of underlying substrates. In this article, we exploit this phenomenon to develop a contactless thickness profiling method for thin films deposited on rough substrates. We demonstrate this technique by probing profiles of thin amorphous silicon stripes deposited on rough crystalline silicon surfaces, which is a structure exploited in high-efficiency silicon heterojunction solar cells. Our spatially-resolved Raman measurements enable the thickness mapping of amorphous silicon over the whole active area of test solar cells with very high precision; the thickness detection limit is well below 1 nm and the spatial resolution is down to 500 nm, limited only by the optical resolution. We also discuss the wider applicability of this technique for the characterization of thin layers prepared on Raman/photoluminescence-active substrates, as well as its use for single-layer counting in multilayer 2D materials such as graphene, MoS2 and WS2.

Profilometry of thin films on rough substrates by Raman spectroscopy

KAUST Repository

Ledinský , Martin; Paviet-Salomon, Bertrand; Vetushka, Aliaksei; Geissbü hler, Jonas; Tomasi, Andrea; Despeisse, Matthieu; De Wolf, Stefaan; Ballif  , Christophe; Fejfar, Antoní n

2016-01-01

Thin, light-absorbing films attenuate the Raman signal of underlying substrates. In this article, we exploit this phenomenon to develop a contactless thickness profiling method for thin films deposited on rough substrates. We demonstrate this technique by probing profiles of thin amorphous silicon stripes deposited on rough crystalline silicon surfaces, which is a structure exploited in high-efficiency silicon heterojunction solar cells. Our spatially-resolved Raman measurements enable the thickness mapping of amorphous silicon over the whole active area of test solar cells with very high precision; the thickness detection limit is well below 1 nm and the spatial resolution is down to 500 nm, limited only by the optical resolution. We also discuss the wider applicability of this technique for the characterization of thin layers prepared on Raman/photoluminescence-active substrates, as well as its use for single-layer counting in multilayer 2D materials such as graphene, MoS2 and WS2.

Development of Large-Format Lithium-Ion Cells with Silicon Anode and Low Flammable Electrolyte

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, James J.; Hernandez-Lugo, D. M.; Smart, M. C.; Ratnakumar, B. V.; Miller, T. B.; Lvovich, V. F.; Lytle, J. K.

2014-01-01

NASA is developing safe, high energy and high capacity lithium-ion cell designs and batteries for future missions under NASAs Advanced Space Power System (ASPS) project. Advanced cell components, such as high specific capacity silicon anodes and low-flammable electrolytes have been developed for improving the cell specific energy and enhancing safety. To advance the technology readiness level, we have developed large-format flight-type hermetically sealed battery cells by incorporating high capacity silicon anodes, commercially available lithium nickel, cobalt, aluminum oxide (NCA) cathodes, and low-flammable electrolytes. In this report, we will present the performance results of these various battery cells. In addition, we will also discuss the post-test cell analysis results as well.

Effect of Radiation on Silicon and Borosilicate Glass

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Allred, Clark

2003-01-01

.... These two glasses are commonly used as substrates for silicon microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices, and radiation-induced compaction in a substrate can have deleterious effects on device performance...

Silicon integrated circuits part A : supplement 2

CERN Document Server

Kahng, Dawon

1981-01-01

Applied Solid State Science, Supplement 2: Silicon Integrated Circuits, Part A focuses on MOS device physics. This book is divided into three chapters-physics of the MOS transistor; nonvolatile memories; and properties of silicon-on-sapphire substrates devices, and integrated circuits. The topics covered include the short channel effects, MOSFET structures, floating gate devices, technology for nonvolatile semiconductor memories, sapphire substrates, and SOS integrated circuits and systems. The MOS capacitor, MIOS devices, and SOS process and device technology are also deliberated. This public

Substrate optimization for integrated circuit antennas

OpenAIRE

Alexopoulos, N. G.; Katehi, P. B.; Rutledge, D. B.

1982-01-01

Imaging systems in microwaves, millimeter and submillimeter wave applications employ printed circuit antenna elements. The effect of substrate properties is analyzed in this paper by both reciprocity theorem as well as integral equation approach for infinitesimally short as well as finite length dipole and slot elements. Radiation efficiency and substrate surface wave guidance is studied for practical substrate materials as GaAs, Silicon, Quartz and Duroid.