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At the nanoscale, defects can significantlyimpact phase transformationprocesses and change materials properties. The material nickel silicidehas been the industry standard electrical contact of silicon microelectronicsfor decades and is a rich platform for scientific innovation at theconjunction of materials and electronics. Its formation in nanoscalesilicon devices that employ high levels of strain, intentional, andunintentional twins or grain boundaries can be dramatically differentfrom the commonly conceived bulk processes. Here, using in situ high-resolutiontransmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), we capture single eventsduring heterogeneous nucleation and atomic layer reaction of nickelsilicide at various crystalline boundaries in Si nanochannels forthe first time. We show through systematic experiments and analyticalmodeling that unlike other typical face-centered cubic materials suchas copper or silicon the twin defects in NiSi2have highinterfacial energies. We observe that these twin defects dramaticallychange the behavior of new phase nucleation and can have direct implicationsfor ultrascaled devices that are prone to defects or may utilize themto improve device performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equilibrium partial pressures of vapour species generated in halide activated pack powder mixtures at high temperatures were calculated for a series of compositions using thermochemical analysis tools. The results obtained were applied to identify suitable activators and pack compositions for codepositing Al and Si to form diffusion coatings on nickel base superalloys by the pack cementation process. The calculation results suggested that compositions of the packpowder mixtures activated by CrCl[sub 3].6H[sub 2]O may be adjusted to create deposition conditions favourable for codepositing Al and Si, but, those activated byAlF[sub 3]or AlCl[sub 3] may only deposit Al.A series of coating deposition experiments were also carried out at 1000 ° C and 1100 ° C and the results obtained confirmed that, with adequate control of pack compositions and deposition conditions, codeposition of Al and Si can be achieved with CrCl[sub 3].6H[sub 2]O activated pack powder mixtures. A mixture of elemental Al and Si powders may be used as a depositing source instead of using Al-Si master alloy powders as conventionally recommended. The coatings could be formed either through the inward diffusions of Al and Si or through the outward diffusion of Ni together with other substrate elements such as Cr and Co, depending on the deposition temperature used. Prolonged deposition at 1100 ° C ledtothe formationofa coatingwith amultilayeredstructure consistingofanouter nickelsilicide layerand a middle Simodified NiAl layer followed by a diffusion zone. The pack compositions and deposition conditions may be adjusted to control the microstructure of the coatings formed by the codeposition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the temporal evolution of nickel-silicide phase-formation and the simultaneous redistribution of platinum during silicidation of a 10 nm thick Ni0.95Pt0.05 film on a Si(100) substrate. Grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and atom-probe tomography (APT) measurements were performed on as-deposited films and after rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 320 or 420 °C for different times. Observation of the Ni2Si phase in as-deposited films, both with and without platinum alloying, is attributed to surface preparation. RTA at 320 °C for 5 s results in the formation of the low-resistivity NiSi intermetallic phase and nickel-rich phases, Ni2Si and Ni3Si2, as demonstrated by GIXRD measurements. At 420 °C for 5 s, the NiSi phase grows outward from the silicide/Si(100) interface by consuming the nickel-rich silicide phases. On increasing the annealing time at 420 °C to 30 min, this reaction is driven towards completion. The nickel-silicide/silicon interface is reconstructed in three-dimensions employing APT and its chemical root-mean-square roughness, based on a silicon isoconcentration surface, decreases to 0.6 nm with the formation of the NiSi phase during silicidation. Pt redistribution is affected by the simultaneous reaction between Ni and Si during silicidation, and it influences the resulting microstructure and thermal stability of the NiSi phase. Short-circuit diffusion of Pt via grain boundaries in NiSi is observed, which affects the resultant grain size, morphology, and possibly the preferred orientation of the NiSi grains. Pt segregates at the NiSi/Si(100) heterophase interface and may be responsible for the morphological stabilization of NiSi against agglomeration to temperatures greater than 650 °C. The Gibbsian interfacial excess of Pt at the NiSi/Si(100) interface after RTA at 420 °C for 5 s is 1.2 ± 0.01 atoms nm-2 and then increases to 2.1 ± 0.02 atoms nm-2 after 30 min at 420 °C, corresponding to a decrease in the interfacial free energy of 7.1 mJ m-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To operate an ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFETs) it is necessary to set the electrolyte potential using a reference electrode. Conventional reference electrodes are bulky, fragile, and too big for applications where the electrolyte volume is small. Several researchers have proposed tackling this issue using a solid-state planar micro-reference electrode or a reference field-effect transistor. However, these approaches are limited by poor robustness, high cost, or complex integration with other microfabrication processes. Here we report a simple method to create robust on-chip quasi-reference electrodes by electrodepositing polypyrrole on micro-patterned metal leads. The electrodes were fabricated through the polymerization of pyrrole on patterned metals with a cyclic voltammetry process. Open circuit potential measurements were performed to characterize the polypyrrole electrode performance, demonstrating good stability (±1 mV), low drift (∼1 mV h−1), and reduced pH response (5 mV per pH). In addition, the polypyrrole deposition was repeated in microelectrodes made of different metals to test compatibility with standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes. Our results suggest that nickel, a metal commonly used in semiconductor foundries for silicide formation, is a good candidate to form the polypyrrole quasi-reference electrodes. Finally, the polypyrrole microelectrodes were used to operate foundry fabricated ISFETs. These experiments demonstrated that transistors biased with polypyrrole electrodes have pH sensitivity and resolution comparable to ones that are biased with standard reference electrodes. Therefore, the simple fabrication, high compatibility, and robust electrical performance make polypyrrole an ideal choice for the fabrication of outstanding microreference electrodes that enable robust and sensitive operation of multiple ISFET sensors on a chip. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel ion bombardment (IB) technique is presented to fabricate and embed double-layer (DL) Ni nanocrystal (NC) in silicon nitride for TaN/Al2O3/Si3N4/SiO2/Si nonvolatile memory applications. In contrast to other methods of forming DL metal NC, the IB technique is a relatively simple fabrication method and completely compatible with the current IC manufacturing technologies. Using the IB technique, a high-quality ultrathin interlayer between top and bottom layered NCs can be easily formed and controlled. Compared with the control sample, the IB-induced DL Ni NC memory exhibits superior performance in terms of faster program and erase (P/E) speeds, longer data retention, better endurance, negligible program disturbance, and great potential for a multilevel operation. In addition, the IB-induced DL Ni NC device also shows higher P/E efficiency as well as similar excellent reliability by comparison with other conventional DL metal NC memories due to the high-quality ultrathin interlayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ternary system Nickel-Boron-Silicon was established at 850°C by means of X-ray diffraction, metallographic and micro-hardness examinations. The well known binary nickel borides and silicides resp. were confirmed. In the boron-silicon system two binary phases, SiB with x≈0.7 and SiB were found the latter in equilibrium with the β-rhombohedral boron. Confirming the two ternary silicon borides a greater homogeneity range was found for NiSiB, the phase NiSiB published by Uraz and Rundqvist can better be described by the formula NiSiB. In relation to further investigations we measured melting temperatures in ternary Ni-10 B−Si alloys by differential thermoanalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Process-induced basal plane dislocations (BPDs) formed by annealing after aluminum ion implantation were investigated, and their effect on the bipolar degradation of body diodes in 3.3 kV SiC MOSFETs was evaluated. Contact resistance in the p+ region decreases with ion dose but increases with implantation temperature due to the formation of the recrystallized layer at SiC surface and difference of acceptor activation rates in high and low temperature implantation. In the case of high ion dose implantation at room temperature, contact resistance was of 1.3 × 10−3 Ωcm2. However, process-induced BPDs formed with high ion dose implantation at room temperature, and could be suppressed with low ion dose or high implantation temperature. They were formed after activation annealing, and expanded to form stacking faults (SFs) under both continuous irradiation from a Hg lamp and current stress. Bipolar degradation occurred in the case of MOSFETs fabricated using high ion dose implantation at room temperature, but was not observed in the case of either low ion dose or high implantation temperature. The activation energy for SF expansion velocity in the 〈1–100〉 direction was estimated to be 0.20 eV at a forward current density of 125 A cm−2. Moreover, the results of a long duration current stress test with high current density and high junction temperature indicate that low ion dose or high implantation temperature can suppress the formation of process-induced BPDs. MOSFETs fabricated using optimized ion implantation conditions show high reliability under bipolar operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, there has been increasing interest in transferring the research advances in radiofrequency (RF) rectifiers, the quintessential element of the chip in the RF identification (RFID) tags, obtained on rigid substrates onto plastic (flexible) substrates. The growing demand for flexible RFID tags, wireless communications applications and wireless energy harvesting systems that can be produced at a low-cost is a key driver for this technology push. In this topical review, we summarise recent progress and status of flexible RF diodes and rectifying circuits, with specific focus on materials and device processing aspects. To this end, different families of materials (e.g. flexible silicon, metal oxides, organic and carbon nanomaterials), manufacturing processes (e.g. vacuum and solution processing) and device architectures (diodes and transistors) are compared. Although emphasis is placed on performance, functionality, mechanical flexibility and operating stability, the various bottlenecks associated with each technology are also addressed. Finally, we present our outlook on the commercialisation potential and on the positioning of each material class in the RF electronics landscape based on the findings summarised herein. It is beyond doubt that the field of flexible high and ultra-high frequency rectifiers and electronics as a whole will continue to be an active area of research over the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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