Search

Raman mapping is performed to study the lateral damage in supported monolayer graphene carved by 30keV focused Ga+ beams. The evolution of the lateral damage is tracked based on the profiles of the intensity ratio between the D (1341cm-1) and G (1582cm-1) peaks (ID/IG) of the Raman spectra. The ID/IG profile clearly reveals the transition from stage 2 disorder into stage 1 disorder in graphene along the direction away from the carved area. The critical lateral damage distance spans from <1μm up to more than 30μm in the experiment, depending on the parameters used for carving the graphene. The wide damage in the lateral direction is attributed to the deleterious tail of unfocused ions in the ion beam probe. The study raises the attention on potential sample damage during direct patterning of graphene nanostructures using the focused ion beam technique. Minimizing the total carving time is recommended to mitigate the lateral damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adhesive and cohesive properties of organosilicate thin films are remarkably insensitive to UV curing. We demonstrate how to maximize these properties with UV standing waves together with an optical spacer underlying layer. Using a simulation of the UV cure profile through the film thickness, we demonstrate how a UV transparent SiN optical spacer layer can be selected to maximize curing at both sides of the organosilicate film with marked increases in interfacial fracture energy. On the contrary, a UV absorbing SiCN underlying layer resulted in significantly reduced UV intensities and small improvements of the interfacial fracture energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ electromigration experiments were carried out to study electromigration-induced failure in the upper and lower layers in dual-damascene Cu test structures. The observations revealed electromigration-induced void movement along the Cu/dielectric cap interface. It supports the premise that Cu/Si3N4 interface acts as the dominant electromigration path. However, the observed void nucleation occurs in the Cu/Si3N4 interface at locations which are far from the cathode, and void movement along the Cu/Si3N4 interface in opposite direction of electron flow eventually causes void agglomeration at the via in the cathode end. The different electromigration behaviors of the upper and lower layer dual-damascene structures are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]