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Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used in applications where inorganic material layers with uniform thickness down to the nanometer range are required. For such thicknesses, the growth mode, defining how the material is arranged on the surface during the growth, is of critical importance. In this work, the growth mode of the zirconium tetrachloride/water and the trimethyl aluminum/water ALD process on hydrogen-terminated silicon was investigated by combining information on the total amount of material deposited with information on the surface fraction of the material. The total amount of material deposited was measured by Rutherford backscattering, x-ray fluorescence, and inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy, and the surface fractions by low-energy ion scattering. Growth mode modeling was made assuming two-dimensional growth or random deposition (RD), with a “shower model” of RD recently developed for ALD. Experimental surface fractions of the ALD-grown zirconium oxide and aluminum oxide films were lower than the surface fractions calculated assuming RD, suggesting the occurrence of island growth. Island growth was confirmed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements, from which the island size and number of islands per unit surface area could also be estimated. The conclusion of island growth for the aluminum oxide deposition on hydrogen-terminated silicon contradicts earlier observations. In this work, physical aluminum oxide islands were observed in TEM after 15 ALD reaction cycles. Earlier, thicker aluminum oxide layers have been analyzed, where islands have not been observed because they have already coalesced to form a continuous film. The unreactivity of hydrogen-terminated silicon surface towards the ALD reactants, except for reactive defect areas, is proposed as the origin of island growth. Consequently, island growth can be regarded as “undesired surface-selective ALD.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an interesting type of a two-section folded wave-guide (TSFW) slow wave structure (SWS) for the development of sub-Terahertz (sub-THz) extended interaction oscillator (EIO) is proposed. In this sub-THz device, the prebunching electron beam is produced by the TSFW SWS, which results in the enhancement of the output power. To verify this concept, the TSFW for sub- THz EIO is developed, which includes the design, simulation, and some fabrications. A small size of electron optics system (EOS), the TSFW SWS for beam-wave interactions, and the output structure are studied with simulations. Through the codes Egun and Superfish, the EOS is designed and optimized. With a help of CST studio and 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation CHIPIC, the characteristics of beam-wave interaction generated by the TSFW are studied. The results of PIC simulation show that the output power is remarkably enhanced by a factor of 3, which exceeds 200W at the frequency of 108 GHz. Based on the optimum parameters, the TSFW is manufactured with a high speed numerical mill, and the test transmission characteristic ∣S21∣ is 13 dB. At last, the output structure with a pill-box window is optimized, fabricated, integrated, and tested, and the result shows that the voltage standing-wave ratio of the window is about 2.2 at an operating frequency of 108 GHz. This design and simulation can provide an effective method to develop high power THz sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though microwave annealing appears to be very appealing due to its unique features, lacking an in-depth understanding and accurate model hinder its application in semiconductor processing. In this paper, the physics-based model and accurate calculation for the microwave annealing of silicon are presented. Both thermal effects, including ohmic conduction loss and dielectric polarization loss, and non-thermal effects are thoroughly analyzed. We designed unique experiments to verify the mechanism and extract relevant parameters. We also explicitly illustrate the dynamic interaction processes of the microwave annealing of silicon. This work provides an in-depth understanding that can expedite the application of microwave annealing in semiconductor processing and open the door to implementing microwave annealing for future research and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lens focused proton radiograph on thin objects is demonstrated using an 11-MeV proton cyclotron at China Academy of Engineering Physics. The proton beam exiting from the tested objects is focused onto the image plane by a magnetic lens system mitigating image blur caused by multiple Coulomb scattering. Both simulations and experiments show that clear images can be obtained with a lens system for the objects with thickness up to 2.7 × 10-2 g/cm2 and the error for the areal density measurement is measured to be less than 2.3%. For the objects with thickness between 2.7 × 10-3 g/cm2 and 2.7 × 10-2 g/cm2, 100-200 μm of spatial resolution is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Received 15 November 2015; accepted 10 March 2016; published 23 March 2016) The interface between silicon nitride (SiNx) gate dielectric grown by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) and III-nitride heterostructure is investigated by a systematical comparison of AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) and metal-insulator-semiconductor HEMTs (MIS-HEMTs). A 20-nm LPCVD-SiNx grown at 650 °C features a high breakdown E-field of 13 MV/cm and a large conduction-band offset of 2.75 eV to GaN. High ON/OFF current ratio (~1010) as well as breakdown voltage (~878 V) is realized by employing the LPCVD-SiNx layer as both the gate and passivation dielectrics. Most important of all, about 2.6×1013cm-2 positive fixed charges are confirmed to be present at the LPCVD-SiNx/III-nitride interface, as revealed by pulsed transfer characterizations and energy-band simulations. The trap density at LPCVD-SiNx/ III-nitride interface is also experimentally determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical mechanism of low-thermal-budget Au-free ohmic contacts to AlGaN/GaN heterostructures is systematically investigated with current-voltage, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and temperature-dependent contact resistivity characterizations. With a low annealing temperature of 600 °C, pre-ohmic recess etching of the AlGaN barrier down to several nanometers is demonstrated to be an effective method to reduce the contact resistance between Ti/Al/Ti/W ohmic metals and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. However, further over recess of the AlGaN barrier leads to only sidewall contact to 2D electron gas channel and thus degraded contact performance. It is verified by temperature-dependent contact resistivity measurements that field emission(tunneling) dominates the current transport mechanism in Au-free ohmic contacts with AlGaN barrier partially and over recessed, while both field emission and thermionic emission contribute to traditional Ti/Al/Ni/Au ohmic contacts to AlGaN/GaN heterostructures that annealed at high temperature (850 °C). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For accurate measurements of the secondary cosmic rays by using passive dosimeters, the relative responses of the thermoluminescence dosimeter (TLD), optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimeter, and radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter (RPLGD) were studied. The cosmic-ray shower generator was used to simulate the secondary cosmic rays at the sea level. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to calculate the air kerma and absorbed doses in each kind of dosimeter. The results showed that compared with their responses to gamma rays of 137Cs, the relative responses of the TLD, OSL, and RPLGD were 0.786, 0.707, and 0.735 to the hard component of cosmic rays, respectively, and the values were 0.904, 0.838, and 0.857 to the soft component of cosmic rays, respectively. To verify the simulations results, an in situ measurement with the three kinds of dosimeters was performed at the same place. The results indicated that the secondary cosmic rays monitored with the three kinds of dosimeters were well consistent with each other provided their relative responses were taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been widely recognized that surface charge in nanomaterials can significantly affect their electrical properties. In this letter, we demonstrate that polarity of surface charge on pyrene modified silicon nanowires (SiNWs) can be switched by illumination of UV light. Unlike the reported conversion method via changing the surrounding pH value, switching process reported here takes place in real-time and does not require introduction of any other chemical species. Mechanisms of the surface charge polarity switching and potential applications of such systems were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vertical offsets of hysteresis loops of compositionally graded Nd-substituted Bi4Ti3O12 (BNdT) ferroelectric films were studied as functions of the Nd gradient, the temperature, and the amplitude of driving voltage. We show that graded BNdT films may exhibit no offsets at room temperature and both graded and nongraded BNdT films exhibit pronounced offsets at elevated temperatures. The offset does not have a direct relation with the composition gradient but increases as the maximum voltage is increased. It is verified that the offset increases with the increase in asymmetry of leakage currents at positive and negative biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]