Search

In situ and ex situ characterization methods have been applied to investigate the properties of (Ag,Cu)InSe2 (ACIS) thin films. Data acquired from real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) experiments were analyzed to extract the evolution of the nucleating, bulk, and surface roughness layer thicknesses. The evolution of these layer thicknesses suggests a transition from Volmer-Weber to Stranski-Krastanov type behavior when Cu is replaced by Ag. The complex dielectric functions of ACIS at both deposition and room temperature as a function of film composition were also extracted from the RTSE data, enabling parameterization of the alloy optical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver nanoparticle films were deposited by sputtering at room temperature and were annealed while monitoring by real time spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). The nanoparticle dielectric functions (0.75 eV-6.5 eV) obtained by SE were modeled using Lorentz and generalized oscillators for the nanoparticle plasmon polariton (NPP) and interband transitions, respectively. The nanoparticle melting point could be identified from variations in the oscillator parameters during annealing, and this identification was further confirmed after cooling through significant, irreversible changes in these parameters relative to the as-deposited film. The variation in melting point with physical thickness, and thus average nanoparticle diameter, as measured by SE enables calculation of the surface energy density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ spectroscopic ellipsometry was applied to measure the dielectric functions &eh; of polycrystalline CdTe thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering. The observable critical point (CP) energies determined for the films in best fits to d2&eh;/dE2 are shifted relative to those for single crystal CdTe. The energy shift of the critical point designated as En is attributed to in-plane stress X with linear stress coefficient CX(En). By analyzing these shifts, it was found that stress (1) builds with thickness in as-deposited films, (2) relaxes with increasing substrate temperature at fixed thickness, and (3) is relaxed uniformly in CdCl2 treated films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dielectric function of Ag nanoparticle films, deduced from an analysis of in situ real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) measurements, is found to evolve with time during deposition in close consistency with the film structure, deduced in the same RTSE analysis. In the nucleation regime, the intraband dielectric function component is absent and plasmon polariton behavior dominates. Only at nuclei contact, does the intraband amplitude appear, increasing above zero. Both intraband and plasmon amplitudes coexist during surface smoothening associated with coalescence. The intraband relaxation time increases rapidly after surface smoothening is complete, also in consistency with the thin film structural evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dielectric functions [variant_greek_epsilon] of polycrystalline CdS and CdTe thin films sputter deposited onto Si wafers were measured from 0.75 to 6.5 eV by in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry. Differences in [variant_greek_epsilon] due to processing variations are well understood using an excited carrier scattering model. For each sample, a carrier mean free path λ is defined that is found to be inversely proportional to the broadening of each of the band structure critical points (CPs) deduced from [variant_greek_epsilon]. The rate at which broadening occurs with λ-1 is different for each CP, enabling a carrier group speed υg to be identified for the CP. With the database for υg, [variant_greek_epsilon] can be analyzed to evaluate the quality of materials used in CdS/CdTe photovoltaic heterojunctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry (RTSE) is shown to be an effective contactless probe of radio frequency magnetron sputtered molybdenum thin films used as the back electrode in chalcopyrite [Cu(In,Ga)Se2] solar cells. A series of Mo thin films was sputtered onto soda-lime glass substrates at Ar pressures ranging from 4 to 20 mTorr. RTSE measurements reveal how Ar pressure affects the nucleation and growth mechanisms that influence the films’ ultimate grain structure and properties. Determinations of the free electron relaxation times at optical frequencies reveal that higher pressures lead to a smaller average grain size and increased void volume fraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BiFeO3 thin films have been deposited on (001) SrTiO3 substrates by adsorption-controlled reactive molecular-beam epitaxy. For a given bismuth overpressure and oxygen activity, single-phase BiFeO3 films can be grown over a range of deposition temperatures in accordance with thermodynamic calculations. Four-circle x-ray diffraction reveals phase-pure, epitaxial films with ω rocking curve full width at half maximum values as narrow as 29 arc sec (0.008°). Multiple-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry reveals a direct optical band gap at 2.74 eV for stoichiometric as well as 5% bismuth-deficient single-phase BiFeO3 films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time spectroscopic ellipsometry with an ultraviolet-extended spectral range (1.5-6.5 eV) has been applied to investigate the sputter deposition of boron nitride (BN) thin films with high cubic content in terms of a two-layer optical model. In this model, the inner and outer layers represent sp[sup 2]- and sp[sup 3]-bonded BN (hBN and cBN), respectively. The thickness evolution of the two layers as well as their dielectric functions over the extended spectral range have been determined. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ ellipsometry experiments have been used to probe the structural changes that occur in the initial stages of the growth of microcrystalline silicon ( μc-Si) on single-crystal Si substrates. The initial nucleation of μc-Si appears to occur at well-dispersed sites and ∼100 Å of material with significantly different optical properties than the bulk is buried at the film/substrate interface. The different optical structure of this interface layer is attributed to voids which are trapped when crystalline nuclei merge. These results are contrasted with recent data for hydrogenated amorphous silicon which show that nuclei converge after about 50 Å, leaving material with bulklike optical properties at the substrate interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon film growth in diamond-like and polymer-like forms has been studied by in situ ellipsometry. The experiments provide accurate values of the optical functions, thickness, and deposition rate in real time. Reactions between the substrate and the gas phase species or film in the initial stages of growth, inaccessible to ex situ probes, have been detected with monolayer resolution. Monolayer changes in near-surface bonding have also been detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multichannel spectroscopic ellipsometer based on the rotating-compensator principle has been applied to obtain the evolution of spectra (1.5–4.0 eV) in the normalized Stokes vector of the light beam reflected from the surface of a nanocrystalline diamond film during growth. Spectra in the ellipsometry angles (ψ, Δ) provide the time evolution of the microstructure and optical properties of the film in thin layers, whereas the spectra in the degree of polarization provide the time evolution of nonuniformities in the growth process attributed to light scattering by diamond nuclei in the initial stage of growth and to thickness gradients over the probed area in thicker layers. © 1998 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]