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The passivation of n-type InP (100) using sulfur in combination with a gadolinium aluminate (GAO) dielectric layer has been studied. Photoluminescence, minority-carrier lifetime, and capacitance–voltage measurements indicate that a (NH4)2S vapor passivation step prior to atomic layer deposition of the oxide effectively lowers the interface state density. Surface and interface chemistry were studied by synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES). The effect of ex situ surface passivation after native oxide removal in HCl solution was examined. It was observed that surface reoxidation occurred during (NH4)2S vapor exposure, leading to the formation of Inx(HPO4)y. S was present on the surface as a sulfide in both surface and subsurface sites. After atomic layer deposition of GAO, sulfates were detected in addition to Inx(HPO4)y, which was confirmed by near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure analysis. The S in the stack was quantified using reference-free grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence an...

Triple junction solar cells are the heart of concentrated photovoltaic systems. We present here microfabrication processes that are especially developed to enable advanced triple junction solar cells structures that have a potential of improvement of the CPV competitivity. Plasma etching processes and redistribution layer fabrication methods are reported and applied to fabricate solar cells with base and emitter contacts both on the front side or both on the rear side of the cells.

Nano-ridge engineering (NRE) is a novel heteroepitaxial approach for the monolithic integration of lattice-mismatched III-V devices on Si substrates. It has been successfully applied to GaAs for the realization of nano-ridge (NR) laser diodes and heterojunction bipolar transistors on 300 mm Si wafers. In this report we extend NRE to GaSb for the integration of narrow bandgap heterostructures on Si. GaSb is deposited by selective area growth in narrow oxide trenches fabricated on 300 mm Si substrates to reduce the defect density by aspect ratio trapping. The GaSb growth is continued and the NR shape on top of the oxide pattern is manipulated via NRE to achieve a broad (001) NR surface. The impact of different seed layers (GaAs and InAs) on the threading dislocation and planar defect densities in the GaSb NRs is investigated as a function of trench width by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI), which provides significantly better defect statistics in comparison to TEM only. An InAs/GaSb multi-layer heterostructure is added on top of an optimized NR structure. The high crystal quality and low defect density emphasize the potential of this monolithic integration approach for infrared optoelectronic devices on 300 mm Si substrates.

III-V materials are known for their high surface states densities which degrade the performances of photonic and electronic devices. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of SixNy is commonly used to passivate surface states and to encapsulate III-V devices and circuits. The plasma is generated with an RF excitation source usually set at a high frequency of 13.56 MHz. To obtain a high quality III-V/SixNy interface, many chemical surface treatments are required before deposition, as well as post-deposition thermal annealing. In this work, we demonstrate that a low-frequency plasma allows for an efficient passivation process by a simple deposition of SixNy, without any wet chemical pretreatment nor post-deposition annealing. This dry process is more compatible with the passivation and encapsulation of completed III-V devices and circuits. Metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitors were fabricated by depositing SixNy on GaAs at a frequency of 90 kHz. C V measurements indicated the unpinning of the Fermi level and a low density of surface states in the mid 1011 cm−2 eV−1 range. X-ray photoelectron spectra have shown the complete suppression of native oxides and an important reduction of elemental arsenic from the GaAs surface. The mechanisms of surface passivation by ionic hydrogen bombardment inherent to the low-frequency plasma deposition of SixNy are discussed.

Incorporation of source–drain stressors (S/D) for FinFETs to boost the channel mobility is a promising scaling approach. Typically SiGe:B S/D stressors are used for p FinFETs and Si:C:P S/D stressors for n FinFETs. The deposition of such Si:C:P S/D stressors requires a low thermal budget to freeze the C in substitutional sites and also to avoid problems associated with surface reflow of Si fins. In this work, we report the material properties of Si:C and Si:C:P epitaxial layers grown by chemical vapor deposition, in terms of their defectivity and C incorporation as a function of different process conditions. The undoped Si:C layers were found to be defect free for total C contents below 1%. Above this concentration defects were incorporated and the defect density increased with increasing C content. Abrupt epitaxial breakdown occurred beyond a total C content of 2.3% resulting in amorphous layers. P doping of Si:C layers brought down the resistivity and also thicker Si:C:P films underwent epitaxial breakdown. Additionally, the use of nitrogen instead of hydrogen as carrier gas resulted in an increase of the growth rate and substitutional C incorporation both by a factor of two, while the surface defect density reduced.

The synthesis of nickel silicide thin films via a vapor–solid reaction has been studied by exposing thin (10 nm) Ni films to silane (SiH4). The crystalline phases, the Ni/Si stoichiometric ratios, as well as the surface and interface properties of the resulting silicide films were investigated as a function of the growth parameters such as the SiH4 partial pressure, the reaction temperature, and the exposure time. At low temperature (300 °C), SiH4 exposure led to the self-limiting deposition of Si on Ni by catalytic decomposition of SiH4 but not to silicate formation. Between 350 and 400 °C, phase pure orthorhombic NiSi films were obtained that were formed directly without any apparent intermediate Ni-rich silicide phases. A transformation to NiSi2 occurred at 450 °C and above, and at 500 °C phase pure NiSi2 was obtained. Here, the transient formation of NiSi was observed that transformed into NiSi2 for prolonged SiH4 exposure. The results indicate that the Si solubility governs the phase formation sequen...

In GaN-on-silicon there are many challenges which are currently encountered when making this technology compatible with standard Si-CMOS fabs especially the bow. Bringing this technology to CMOS fabs can potentially drive the costs down, in addition to the cost advantage expected from large wafer sizes. We report here on the impact of AlN nucleation layer on crystal quality and bow. The focus will be on V/III ratios and pre-dose conditions for AlN, which have considerable effect on the AlN/AlGaN/GaN buffer structures. We will also discuss how AlN thickness can be used to tune the bow. Finally, a brief description on the effect of surface pits will be presented.(© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

We report the large area growth of highly conductive carbon nanosheets (CNS) composed of few layer graphene on 200 mm diameter Si substrates using conventional radio frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. Raman spectroscopy is used to characterise the evolution of the CNS nucleation and growth with time in conjunction with TEM revealing the nano-sized graphene-like nature of these films and the intimate contact to the substrate. An individual sheet can have edges as thin as 3 graphene layers. The influence of the growth support layer is also discussed as film growth is compared on titanium nitride (TiN) and directly on Si. Electrochemical cyclic voltammogram (CV) measurements reveal these layers to form an excellent electrical contact to the underlying substrate with excellent stability towards oxidation whilst having a large electrochemical surface area. The resistance of a 150 nm film was measured to be as low as 20 μohm cm. The high percentage of narrow few layer graphene edge sites exposed allows for faster electrochemical reaction rates compared to carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and other electrode materials (glassy carbon and Pt).

The atomic layer deposition of titanium oxide TiO2 on ruthenium and oxidized ruthenium with titanium methoxide as metal precursor and H2O and O3 as oxidant was investigated by Rutherford backscattering (RBS) and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOFSIMS). An ultra-thin layer of TiO2 deposited a priori with H2O plays the role of protection of Ru(Ox) substrates against etching by O3. Information about thin films (~3 nm) interfacial reactions, thickness and structure was brought by Medium Energy Ion Scattering Spectroscopy (MEIS) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements. The growth enhancements observed in the first stages of the deposition depends on the pre-treatment (pre-oxidation, H2O based interlayer thickness) of the Ru substrate. Thick films (~14 nm) were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The as deposited TiO2 films are crystalline with rutile structure, as resulted from structural analyzes. However, the presence of small amounts of anatase was detected by soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and is strongly influenced by the surface pre-treatment of the Ru substrate. The electrical properties (equivalent oxide thickness and leakage current density) correlate with a different rutile/anatase ratio present in the films.

The 16 Cyg system is composed of two solar analogs with similar masses and ages. A red dwarf is in orbit around 16 Cyg A whereas 16 Cyg B hosts a giant planet. The abundances of heavy elements are similar in the two stars but lithium is much more depleted in 16 Cyg B that in 16 Cyg A, by a factor of at least 4.7. The interest of studying the 16 Cyg system is that the two star have the same age and the same initial composition. The presently observed differences must be due to their different evolution, related to the fact that one of them hosts a planet contrary to the other one. We computed models of the two stars which precisely fit the observed seismic frequencies. We used the Toulouse Geneva Evolution Code (TGEC) that includes complete atomic diffusion (including radiative accelerations). We compared the predicted surface abundances with the spectroscopic observations and confirmed that another mixing process is needed. We then included the effect of accretion-induced fingering convection. The accretion of planetary matter does not change the metal abundances but leads to lithium destruction which depends on the accreted mass. A fraction of earth mass is enough to explain the lithium surface abundances of 16 Cyg B. We also checked the beryllium abundances. In the case of accretion of heavy matter onto stellar surfaces, the accreted heavy elements do not remain in the outer convective zones but they are mixed downwards by fingering convection induced by the unstable $\mu$-gradient. Depending on the accreted mass, this mixing process may transport lithium down to its nuclear destruction layers and lead to an extra lithium depletion at the surface. A fraction of earth mass is enough to explain a lithium ratio of 4.7 in the 16 Cyg system. In this case beryllium is not destroyed. Such a process may be frequent in planet host stars and should be studied in other cases in the future., Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, publication in A&A

The laser-assisted Atom Probe has been proposed as a metrology tool for semiconductor technology to meet the requirements accompanying the analysis of the ever smaller and more complex structures targeted for fabrication. In order to support its routine application, we carried out a quantitative assessment of the performance of the Atom Probe (AP) on semiconductor compound multilayers. We analyzed a silicon, silicon-germanium multilayer structure with Atom Probe Tomography (APT), SIMS, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), and studied the impact of the laser power on the accuracy. Under optimized conditions, the AP outperforms SIMS by a factor of 3 in terms of depth resolution providing a decay length of less than 0.4–0.6 nm/dec whereas the compositions and layer thicknesses are in close agreement with the SIMS, HRXRD and TEM results. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Vertical InAs nanowires (NWs) grown on a Si substrate are promising building-blocks for next generation vertical gate-all-around transistor fabrication. We investigate the initial stage of InAs NW selective area epitaxy (SAE) on a patterned Si (111) substrate with a focus on the interfacial structures. The direct epitaxy of InAs NWs on a clean Si (111) surface is found to be challenging. The yield of vertical InAs NWs is low, as the SAE is accompanied by high proportions of empty holes, inclined NWs, and irregular blocks. In contrast, it is improved when the NW contains gallium, and the yield of vertical InxGa1-xAs NWs increased with higher Ga content. Meanwhile, unintentional Ga surface contamination on a patterned Si substrate induces high yield vertical InAs NW SAE, which is attributed to a GaAs-like seeding layer formed at the InAs/Si interface. The role of Ga played in the III-V NW nucleation on Si is further discussed. It stabilizes the B-polarity on a non-polar Si (111) surface and enhances the nuc...

A 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane-derived self-assembled monolayer (NH 2 SAM) is investigated as a barrier against copper diffusion for application in back-end-of-line (BEOL) technology. The essential characteristics studied include thermal stability to BEOL processing, inhibition of copper diffusion, and adhesion to both the underlying SiO 2 dielectric substrate and the Cu over-layer. Time-of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and X-ray spectroscopy (XPS) analysis reveal that the copper over-layer closes at 1-2-nm thickness, comparable with the 1.3-nm closure of state-of-the-art Ta/TaN Cu diffusion barriers. That the NH 2 SAM remains intact upon Cu deposition and subsequent annealing is unambiguously revealed by energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy supported by XPS. The SAM forms a well-defined carbon-rich interface with the Cu over-layer and electron energy loss spectroscopy shows no evidence of Cu penetration into the SAM. Interestingly, the adhesion of the Cu/NH 2 SAM/SiO 2 system increases with annealing temperature up to 7.2 J m -2 at 400°C, comparable to Ta/TaN (7.5 J m -2 at room temperature). The corresponding fracture analysis shows that when failure does occur it is located at the Cu/SAM interface. Overall, these results demonstrate that NH 2 SAM is a suitable candidate for subnanometer-scale diffusion barrier application in a selective coating for copper advanced interconnects.

The thermal stability of Ni(Pt)-silicides by carbon implantation was evaluated. The Ni(Pt)-silicide morphology and phase formation were studied by means of sheet resistance (Rs) measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) inspection, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The substrate crystallinity, carbon implantation dose and energy and the anneal conditions determine the stability of the silicide. Platinum and carbon increase the phase stability of Ni-silicide at high temperatures by increasing the disilicide nucleation temperature. The dominant degradation mechanism is morphological degradation for the NiPtSi:C films whereas transition to the NiSi2 phase is the dominant degradation mechanism for NiSi:C films. As compared to carbon incorporation by epitaxial growth of Si:C, the carbon implant has the advantage of being a simple technique that can also be applied to pMOS devices.

This paper presents an investigation of the impact of a Highly Doped Drain (HDD) implantation after epitaxial deposition on Si1-xGex S/D junction characteristics. While the no HDD diodes exhibit the usual scaling of the leakage current density with Perimeter to Area (P/A) ratio, this is not the case for the HDD diodes, showing a smaller perimeter current density JP for smaller window size structures, corresponding with larger P/A. This points to a lower density of surface states at the Shallow Trench Isolation (STI)/silicon interface, which could result from a lower compressive stress. In order to examine the role of the HDD implantation damage, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) inspections have been undertaken, which demonstrate the presence of stacking faults in small active SiGe regions. These defects give rise to local strain relaxation and, therefore, could be at the origin of the lower STI/Si interface state density. The window size effect then comes from the active area dependence of the implantation defect formation.

The efficiency of multijunction solar cells used in concentrated photovoltaic systems is limited by shading from the grid line top electrode and electrical losses in the top epilayers. We propose to use through cell vias contacts to suppress the top electrode. Simulations show that the combination of through cell vias contacts with thin fingers has a potential absolute efficiency gain of 2 to 3% for concentration factors between 500 and 2000x. In addition, bus bars suppression improves by more than 20% the power extracted from a 6” wafer. Such an architecture requires additional technological steps. We discuss the challenges associated with via etching and report promising etching results for III-V heterostructures and germanium.

The in-situ fabrication of rectangular concentration-depth profiles of phosphorus in germanium, with electrically active concentrations approaching 1020 cm-3 is reported. The growth method is atmospheric chemical vapor deposition using germane and phosphine with N2 as carrier gas. Best results have been achieved using a relatively low growth temperature of 350ºC and a low PH3/GeH4 flow ratio, enabling a high concentration of P to be incorporated substitutionally. No P clusters are visible in high-angle annular dark-field STEM images. The results show excellent crystalline quality and acceptable surface uniformity, achieved with growth rates in the range of 5-10 nm / min. There is evidence that further improvements in active concentrations may be achievable by a further reduction in growth temperature and optimization of the gas flow conditions. The process holds promise for future n+junction fabrication in germanium.

Ternary oxides (GdScO 3 , DyScO 3 and LaScO 3 —in general RE ScO 3 whereas RE stands for rare earth) were studied as alternative high- κ -dielectrics. Thin amorphous films were deposited on Si (1 0 0) using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) with two different geometries (on-axis and off-axis). The films were characterized using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), XRD, AFM, SEM and capacitors by CV and leakage current measurements. GdScO 3 and DyScO 3 remain in the amorphous phase while heating up to 1000 °C. The films produced in the on-axis-geometry are of higher quality concerning stoichiometry, morphology and electrical properties than the off-axis films. A composition close to the stoichiometry of RE ScO 3 is found. In summary, a film density of 95% of crystalline samples, a surface roughness of about 1 A RMS, a permittivity of about 20 and leakage current densities of 10 −8 A/cm 2 for a film thickness of 5 nm were achieved.

A comparison between atomic layer chemical vapor deposition (ALCVD) and metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) HfO2 layers on Ge indicate that ALCVD layers have some improved capacitor characteristics. An NH3 pre-treatment was essential to obtain MOS C–V characteristics for the deposited HfO2 layer. We also report for the first time, deep sub-micron Ge pFETs made in a silicon-like process flow with a directly etched metal gate stack on a HfO2 dielectric. The results indicate that for improving Ge devices, more understanding on the dopant diffusion control and the reduction of interface state density will be necessary.

Current techniques for definition of the junction recess suffer from degradation of the Si crystal quality. We demonstrate the suitability of in situ chemical vapour etching (CVE) by HCl as an alternative Si etch back technique. The process has been developed in a standard epitaxial growth system and allows Si thinning without defect creation and without contamination of the remaining Si surface. In situ combination of Si etch back with facet free selective epitaxial in situ doped SiGe re-growth, makes the technique very attractive. It is a suitable technology for the fabrication of ultra-shallow source/drain junctions. The replacement of Si by SiGe might be a possible route to reduce source/drain contact resistance.

For deep submicron technologies it is of crucial importance to grow ultra-thin (

Crystalline nanometer-sized Cu 2 O and CuO particle formation was studied by vapor thermal decomposition of copper (II) acetylacetonate in a vertical laminar flow reactor at ambient pressure. Experiments were carried out at 3 furnace temperature profiles (maximum values of t furn = 432, 596, 705°C) and with 2 carrier gases (oxygen/nitrogen with mixture ratios of 0.5/99.5 and 10.0/90.0). The results of computational fluid dynamics simulations are presented. The introduction of oxygen into the system was found to increase the decomposition rate and removed impurities from particles. The size of produced primary particles varied from 10 to 200 nm. Particle crystallinity was found to depend on both the oxygen concentration and the furnace temperature. A model taking into account the detailed chemical reaction mechanisms during the particle formation is proposed. The model allows one to build a dynamic phase diagram of the condensed products formed during the decomposition and is in good agreement with the experimental results.

Monolithically integrating BaTiO3 on silicon substrates has attracted attention because of the wide spectrum of potential novel applications ranging from electronics to photonics. For optimal device performance, it is important to control the BaTiO3 domain orientation during thin film preparation. Here, we use molecular beam epitaxy to prepare crystalline BaTiO3 on Si(001) substrates using a SrTiO3 buffer layer. A systematic investigation is performed to understand how to control the BaTiO3 domain orientation through the thickness engineering of the SrTiO3 buffer layer and the BaTiO3 layer itself. This provides different possibilities for obtaining a given BaTiO3 orientation as desired for a specific device application.

Crystalline nanometer-size copper and copper (I) oxide particle formation was studied by thermal decomposition of copper acetylacetonate Cu(acac)2 vapor using a vertical flow reactor at ambient nitrogen pressure. The experiments were performed in the precursor vapor pressure range of Pprec = 0.06 to 44 Pa at furnace temperatures of 431.5 ◦ C, 596.0 ◦ C, and 705.0 ◦ C. Agglomerates of primary particles were formed at Pprec > 0.1 Pa at all temperatures. At 431.5 ◦ C the number mean size of the primary particles increased from Dp = 3.7 nm (with geometric standard deviation σg = 1.42) to Dp = 7. 2n m (σg = 1.33) with the increasing precursor vapor particle pressure from 1.8 to 16 Pa. At 705.0 ◦ C the primary particle size decreased from Dp = 24. 0n m (σg = 1.57) to Dp = 7. 6n m (σg = 1.54), respectively. At furnace temperatures of 431.5 ◦ C and 596.0 ◦ C only crystalline copper particles were produced. At 705.0 ◦ C the crystalline product of the decomposition depended on the precursor vapor pressure: copper particles were formed at Pprec > 10 Pa, copper (I) oxide at Pprec ≤ 1 Pa, and a mixture of the metal and its oxide at intermediate vapor pressures. A kinetic restriction on copper particle growth was shown, which leads to the main role of Cu2 molecule participation in the particle formation. The formation of copper (I) oxide particles occurs due to the surface reaction of the decomposition products (mainly carbon dioxide). For the explanation of the experimental results, a model is proposed to build a semiempirical phase diagram of the precursor decomposition products.

Anatase crystallization in amorphous particles was investigated during droplet-to-particle synthesis of titania. Ethanolic solution of carboxylic acid-modified titanium tetrabutoxide precursor, including water, was dispersed and conveyed to a tube flow reactor at 350–600°C. The formed submicron-sized particles were characterized by aerosol measurements, X-ray diffraction, and electron microscopy. An aerosol number mode was observed at particle diameter of 250 nm representing the particles formed of droplet drying. Additional ultrafine particles were formed in air atmosphere at 450°C and in nitrogen at 600°C from decomposition and outgassing of precursor species and a subsequent particle formation. An anatase crystalline phase was observed in the particles produced at 500°C in nitrogen. The location of anatase formation was investigated by TEM from thinned sections of the particles. The crystals were observed near the surfaces and indicating columnar growth.

Crystalline rutile TiO2 films were grown by atomic layer deposition on oxidized Ru electrodes using a titanium methoxide as the metal precursor and O3 as the oxidant. A protective layer of ∼0.3 nm TiO2 grown with H2O as the oxidant was first deposited in order to avoid etching of the Ru bottom electrode by the O3 used for the growth of the TiO2 (bulk) layer. Electrical evaluation of the capacitor stacks with TiO2 as dielectric, RuO2/Ru and Pt as the bottom and top electrodes respectively, resulted in superior characteristics of the rutile phase as compared to the anatase. (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The fabrication of nanoscale semiconductor devices for use in future electronics, energy, and health is among others based on the precise placement of dopant atoms into the crystal lattice of semiconductors and their concurrent or subsequent electrical activation. Dopants are built into the lattice by fabrication processes like ion implantation, plasma-based doping, and thermal annealing. Throughout the fabrication processes fundamental phenomena like dopant diffusion, activation, and clustering occur concurrently with damaging and subsequently recovering the crystal lattice. These processes are described by atomic-scale mechanisms of ion-host atom interaction and have an immense impact on the electrical performance of the resulting devices. Insight in their fundamental nature is of utmost importance for optimizing the performance of nanoscale technologies. In this paper, we demonstrate direct three-dimensional imaging of boron clusters and atoms in crystal defects using field ion microscopy. Our approach allows for the first time the complete characterization of the size and crystallographic orientation of boron-decorated crystal defects. This new method opens a path to image a wide variety of dopant-cluster forms and hence to study the formation and dissolution of boron clusters in silicon on the atomic scale.

We investigate the thermal stability of boron-doped junctions formed by Ge preamorphization and solid phase epitaxial regrowth. Isochronal annealing and characterization by sheet resistance, secondary-ion mass spectrometry, and spreading-resistance measurement are used to extract detailed information on the thermal stability of the boron activation. Using a previously established model of self-interstitial defect evolution from clusters to dislocation loops, we perform simulations of the release of interstitials from the end-of-range region. The simulations indicate that the measured deactivation is driven by interstitials emerging from the end-of-range defect region.

Aims. We present a spectroscopic analysis of a sample of evolved stars in M67 (turn-off, subgiant and giant stars) in order to bring observational constraints to evolutionary models taking into account non-standard transport processes. Methods. We determined the stellar parameters (Teff, log g, [Fe/H]), microturbulent and rotational velocities and, Lithium abundances (ALi) for 27 evolved stars of M67 with the spectral synthesis method based on MARCS model atmospheres. We also computed non-standard stellar evolution models, taking into account atomic diffusion and rotation-induced transport of angular momentum and chemicals that were compared with this set of homogeneous data. Results. The lithium abundances that we derive for the 27 stars in our sample follow a clear evolutionary pattern ranging from the turn-off to the Red Giant Branch. Our abundance determination confirms the well known decrease of lithium content for evolved stars. For the first time, we provide a consistent interpretation of both the surface rotation velocity and of the lithium abundance patterns observed in an homogeneous sample of TO and evolved stars of M67. We show that the lithium evolution is determined by the evolution of the angular momentum through rotation-induced mixing in low-mass stars, in particular for those with initial masses larger than 1.30 M_\odot at solar metallicity., 13 pages, 8 figures

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are known to be materials with potential for manufacturing sub-20 nm high aspect ratio vertical interconnects in future microchips. In order to be successful with respect to contending against established tungsten or copper based interconnects, though, CNT must fulfil their promise of also providing low electrical resistance in integrated structures using scalable integration processes fully compatible with silicon technology. Hence, carefully engineered growth and integration solutions are required before we can fully exploit their potentialities. This work tackles the problem of optimizing a CNT integration process from the electrical perspective. The technique of measuring the CNT resistance as a function of the CNT length is here extended to CNT integrated in vertical contacts. This allows extracting the linear resistivity and the contact resistance of the CNT, two parameters to our knowledge never reported separately for vertical CNT contacts and which are of utmost importance, as they respectively measure the quality of the CNT and that of their metal contacts. The technique proposed allows electrically distinguishing the impact of each processing step individually on the CNT resistivity and the CNT contact resistance. Hence it constitutes a powerful technique for optimizing the process and developing CNT contacts of superior quality. This can be of relevant technological importance not only for interconnects but also for all those applications that rely on the electrical properties of CNT grown with a catalytic chemical vapor deposition method at low temperature.

This work aims at attaining a more complete understanding of the principles governing resistive contrast imaging (RCI) of copper/low-k interconnects used for dielectric breakdown studies in a nanoprober scanning electron microscope (SEM) system. RCI is employed in such in situ dielectric breakdown studies to facilitate the localization of interconnect defect sites related to various stages in the degradation process of the low-k dielectric material. This work shows that RCI is suitable for detecting high-resistance sites, like opens, in copper/low-k interconnects. Moreover, RCI demonstrates potential in locating defects that lie deep in the test structure and are, thus, not detectable by SEM. A model is also proposed to explain the formation of RCI images of specific interconnect test structures with complex layout.

Based on spectroscopic constraints derived from NLTE line formation, we explore the likely range of stellar parameters (T_eff and log g) for the hyper-metal-poor (HMP) star HE 1327-2326. Combining the constraints from Balmer line profiles and the Ca I/II ionization equilibrium, a subgiant stage of evolution is indicated. This result is further supported by spectrophotometric observations of the Balmer jump. If a higher T_eff value was used (as favoured by some photometric calibrations), the spectroscopic analysis would indicate a turnoff-point stage of evolution. Using a stellar-structure code that treats the effects of atomic diffusion throughout the star in detail, we evolve a low-mass model star to reach the HR-diagram position of HE 1327-2326 after roughly 13 Gyr. While the surface abundances are modified significantly (by more than 1 dex for the case of uninhibited diffusion), such corrections can not resolve the discrepancy between the abundance inferred from the non-detection of the Li I resonance line at 6707 Angstroem and the WMAP-based primordial lithium abundance. As there are numerous processes that can destroy lithium, any cosmological interpretation of a lower-than-expected lithium abundance at the lowest metallicities will have to await sample sizes of unevolved hyper-metal-poor stars that are one order of magnitude larger. The situation remains equally inconclusive concerning atomic-diffusion corrections. Here, attempts have to be made to better constrain internal mixing processes, both observationally and by means of sophisticated modelling. With constraints on additional mixing processes taken from a recent globular-cluster study, the likeliest scenario is that HE 1327-2326's surface abundances have undergone mild depletion (of order 0.2 dex)., Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, accepted by ApJ

Aims. Exoplanet-host stars (EHS) are known to present superficial chemical abundances different from those of stars without any detected planet (NEHS). EHS are, on the average, overmetallic compared to the Sun. The observations also show that, for cool stars, lithium is more depleted in EHS than in NEHS. The aim of this paper is to obtain constraints on possible models able to explain this difference, in the framework of overmetallic models compared to models with solar abundances. Methods. We have computed main sequence stellar models with various masses and metallicities. The results show different behaviour for the lithium destruction according to those parameters. We compare these results to the spectroscopic observations of lithium. Results. Our models show that the observed lithium differences between EHS and NEHS are not directly due to the overmetallicity of the EHS: some extra mixing is needed below the convective zones. We discuss possible explanations for the needed extra mixing, in particular an increase of the mixing efficiency associated with the development of shear instabilities below the convective zone, triggered by angular momentum transfer due to the planetary migration., 7 pages, 4 figures

We report, for the first time, a comprehensive study on various capping integration options for WF engineering in MuGFET devices with TiN gate electrode: HfSiO/cap/TiN, cap/HfSiO/TiN and HfSiO/TiN/cap/TiN vs. reference deposition sequence HfSiO/TiN (cap = Al2O3 for pmos, and Dy2O3 or La2O3 for nmos). We show that: 1) low-VT values (Lt 0.3 V) are achieved for both nmos and pmos, with excellent process control and device behavior down to Lg ap 50 nm and WFIN ap 20 nm, for optimized gate stack configurations; 2) inserting a cap layer in-between TiN layers instead of HfSiO/cap/TiN leads to improved mobility, reduced CET without impacting JG, similar noise response and improved BTI behavior, with correction of the abnormal PBTI degradation seen for HfSiO/DyO/TiN. Is also enables simplified and more robust CMOS co-integration of low- and med-VT devices in the same wafer, avoiding loss in CET and damage of the host dielectric with the cap removal process.

The damage layer induced by the patterning plasma process in silica-based low-k material is studied by energy-filtered TEM. It is found that the damage layer, ∼10 nm thick, has a lower carbon content and a higher oxygen content than the bulk of the low-k material.

The measurement of the cosmic microwave background has strongly constrained the cosmological parameters of the Universe. When the measured density of baryons (ordinary matter) is combined with standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis calculations, the amounts of hydrogen, helium and lithium produced shortly after the Big Bang can be predicted with unprecedented precision. The predicted primordial lithium abundance is a factor of two to three higher than the value measured in the atmospheres of old stars. With estimated errors of 10 to 25%, this cosmological lithium discrepancy seriously challenges our understanding of stellar physics, Big Bang nucleosynthesis or both. Certain modifications to nucleosynthesis have been proposed, but found experimentally not to be viable. Diffusion theory, however, predicts atmospheric abundances of stars to vary with time, which offers a possible explanation of the discrepancy. Here we report spectroscopic observations of stars in the metalpoor globular cluster NGC 6397 that reveal trends of atmospheric abundance with evolutionary stage for various elements. These element-specific trends are reproduced by stellar-evolution models with diffusion and turbulent mixing. We thus conclude that diffusion is predominantly responsible for the low apparent stellar lithium abundance in the atmospheres of old stars by transporting the lithium deep into the star., 10 pages, 3 two-panel figures, 2 tables, includes all Supplementary Information otherwise accessible online via www.nature.com

Aims.We report the serendipitous discovery of a lithium-rich subgiant star, S1242. This object is member of a large eccentricity spectroscopic binary system in the solar-age open cluster M 67. Methods.Using VLT/FLAMES-UVES observations and synthetic spectrum analysis, we derived for this star stellar parameters (temperature, gravity, metallicity and rotational velocity) and a surface Li abundance () larger than the higher abundance of M 67 stars near the turn-off. Results.The high Li abundance we found in S1242 points to an excess of lithium at the subgiant stage. We discuss two possible explanations for this unusually high Li content in this binary system: a preservation of the Li at the turn-off stage due to tidal effects, or an efficient dredge-up of Li, hidden below the convective zone by atomic diffusion occuring in the post turn-off stage Aims.We report the serendipitous discovery of a lithium-rich subgiant star, S1242. This object is member of a large eccentricity spectroscopic binary system in the solar-age open cluster M 67. Methods.Using VLT/FLAMES-UVES observations and synthetic spectrum analysis, we derived for this star stellar parameters (temperature, gravity, metallicity and rotational velocity) and a surface Li abundance () larger than the higher abundance of M 67 stars near the turn-off. Results.The high Li abundance we found in S1242 points to an excess of lithium at the subgiant stage. We discuss two possible explanations for this unusually high Li content in this binary system: a preservation of the Li at the turn-off stage due to tidal effects, or an efficient dredge-up of Li, hidden below the convective zone by atomic diffusion occuring in the post turn-off stage

The electrical and material characterization of Ti(C)N deposited by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique, as metal gate electrode for advanced CMOS technology is investigated. The effects of the plasma treatment, post anneal treatment and the thickness variation of the Ti(C)N film on the flat band voltage (VFB) and effective work function (WF) of the Poly-Si/Ti(C)N/SiO2 Poly-Si/Ti(C)N/SiO2 gate stack s are reported. We found that both the in-situ plasma treatment and post anneal treatment help in reducing the carbon content (organic) in the film making it more metallic compared to the as-deposited films. However, the post anneal treatment was found to be a better option for getting rid of hydrocarbons as compared to plasma treatment from the gate dielectric integrity point of view. The thickness variation of post annealed Ti(C)N film ranged from 2.5 nm to 10 nm lead to WF shift of upto ~350 mV for both Poly-Si/Ti(C)N/SiO2 and Poly-Si/Ti(C)N/HfO2 gate stacks.

Focused ion beam milling for cross-section imaging and specimen preparation for analysis by transmission electron microscopy leaves copper surfaces in a non-passivated state which is highly susceptible to different kinds of corrosion effects. This work discusses the corrosion effects on specimens stored in air for longer time. It is shown that investigation by TEM accelerates the subsequent corrosion, while treatment in an O2/Ar plasma strongly suppresses the corrosion.

The density of hafnium oxide films grown by atomic layer deposition for high-κ gate dielectric applications was investigated for films with thickness in the nanometer range. The density, measured by combining the film thickness from transmission electron microscopy with the amount of hafnium deposited from Rutherford backscattering, decreased with decreasing film thickness. The dielectric constant of hafnium oxide remained constant with decreasing film thickness, however. The main reason for the decrease in the measured density seemed not to be a decrease in the inherent material density. Instead, the relative importance of interface roughness in the density measurement increased with decreasing film thickness.

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."

In this paper, we study the growth properties of HfO/sub 2/ on Ge by MOCVD, using TDEAH and O/sub 2/ precursors and compare the results to similar layers deposited on silicon substrates. Analysis techniques include ellipsometry, Rutherford Backscattering Spectra (RBS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM),X-ray diffraction (XRD), and time of flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (TOFSIMS).

New solar models are presented, which have been computed with the most recent physical inputs (nuclear reaction rates, equation of state, opacities, microscopic diffusion). Rotation-induced mixing has been introduced in a way which includes the feed-back effect of the $\mu$-gradient induced by helium settling. A parametrization of the tachocline region below the convective zone has also been added in the computations. The sound velocities have been computed in the models and compared to the seismic sun. Our best model is described in some detail. Besides the new physical inputs, the most important improvement concerns the computations of $\mu$-gradients during the solar evolution and their influence in slowing down rotation-induced mixing. This process can explain why lithium is depleted in the present Sun while beryllium is not, and meanwhile why $^3$He has not increased at the solar surface for at least 3 Gyrs., Comment: to be published in Solar Physics

In the path to the introduction of high-k dielectric into IC components, a large number of challenges have still to be solved. Some of the major issues concern the low mobility of carriers and the reliability of the devices. Trapped charges in the stack have been identified as being the cause of these issues. With this in mind, we used Conducting Atomic Force Microscopy, combined with physical analysis to understand the nature of these charges. In this contribution, we have studied the uniformity of thin HfO2 layers, with and without anneal. The Conducting Atomic Force microscopy measurements show spots of higher conductivity. Recording local IV's in those ‘weak’ spots suggests that they consist of positive charge. On the other hand, XPS and ToFSIMS analysis show a diffusion of the interfacial SiO2 upwards into the high-k layer. Finally, the comparison of samples with differing high-k material and crystallinity indicates a strong correlation between the weak spots and the presence of silicon in the film.

Targeting very thin equivalent oxides (

Hafnium-based dielectrics are under wide consideration for high-K gate dielectric applications. Since the gate electrode typically used in CMOS integration consists of polysilicon with n- or p-type dopants, compatibility of the HfO2layer with the polySi deposition and dopant activation steps is critical. Capacitors were fabricated with HfO2films deposited by ALD and MOCVD, and using polysilicon gate electrodes deposited by CVD processes. These devices showed leakage failures with yields that were observed to depend on the area, dielectric thickness and annealing conditions during the process. Investigation of the root cause of these leakage failures suggested that the leakage failures may be caused by a defect-related mechanism. The implication of this is that the leakage occurs at localized ‘defect’ sites rather than broadly through the HfO2layer. Emission microscopy analysis and physical characterization of the HfO2film were used to corroborate the proposed model. Defect density was observed to be strongly dependent on the processing of the dielectric film. In order to make Hf-based dielectric stacks compatible with polysilicon for conventional CMOS transistor integration with acceptable yield, further postdeposition treatment may be necessary to eliminate or cure the defects.

This paper discusses metal organic chemical vapor deposited (MOCVD) HfO2 layers using tetrakis(diethylamido)hafnium (TDEAH) as precursor. We have studied the influence of the starting surface and deposition temperature on the growth kinetics and physical properties of the HfO2 layers. Important characteristics such as crystalline state, density, and organic contamination in the layers were found to be dependent on these parameters.Typical for this deposition process is the formation of an interfacial layer underneath the high-k layer. Its composition and thickness, affecting scaling of the equivalent oxide thickness, are shown to be closely related to the HfO2 process parameters mentioned above.Finally, we will show electrical results for HfO2/polySi gate stacks indicating the effect for deposition temperature.

Size and morphology transformation as well as the crystallization path of monodisperse titanium dioxide particles were studied in aerosol flow reactor. Solid, hydrated titanium oxide particles were prepared from titanium alkoxide by a droplet hydrolysis and a subsequent size classification. The particles were carried to a reactor in air at temperature range of 20–1500°C. The inlet particle size of 100 and 200 nm gradually decreased 40% with increasing temperature as investigated by a tandem differential mobility analyzer (TDMA) system. The decrease was due to decomposition of the hydrated Ti–O particles, densification of the forming TiO2 particles, and a phase change from anatase to rutile. Above 1000°C the mobility size increased due to crystal-habit formation that created faceted, elongated particles and consequently an increased dynamic shape factor. Microstructure investigations with a transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed that nanocrystalline anatase particles were present at 600°C and transformed to rutile up to 1100°C with simultaneous crystallite growth. Single-crystal rutile particles were observed at temperatures with the increased mobility diameters.