Ellipsometry analysis

An ozone treatment (10 minutes at room temperature) of the HF-etched SiC surface before the metallization step was introduced as a very convenient processing step to produce Schottky diode gas sensors with an increased stability and reproducibility. The use of spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis and also photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation showed that an oxide, 1-nm in thickness, was formed by the ozone exposure [74, 75]. The oxide was also found to be close to stochiometric SiO in composition. This thin oxide increased the stability of the SiC Schottky diodes considerably, without the need for any further interfacial layer such as Ta or TaSi which have been frequently used. Schottky diodes employing a porous Pt gate electrode and the ozone-produced interfacial layer have been successfully operated in both diesel exhausts and flue gases [76, 77]. 

Fig. 10. Ellipsometry analysis in real-time of Si exposed to a CF4 plasma, V and A as a function of pressure or of gas mixture (reprinted with permission from J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A 11 (1993) 34 [39]).

The ellipsometry analysis indicated that the thickness of film 1 was fairly uniform, giving an average of 2168 A. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the film was smooth. No pattern was observed in powder X-ray diffraction of the film, indicating that the film was amorphous, a desired feature of diffusion barriers. 

Ellipsometry is very sensitive to sample surface and interface structures. Hence, to incorporate these structures into an optical model for the investigated sample is necessary in ellipsometry data analysis. The effective medium approximation (EMA) [66] has been applied to calculating the complex refractive indices and dielectric constants of surface roughness and interface layers. In addition, the volume fractions in composite materials can be got from ellipsometry analysis using EMA. 

Dielectric constants of metals, semiconductors and insulators can be detennined from ellipsometry measurements [38, 39]. Since the dielectric constant can vary depending on the way in which a fihn is grown, the measurement of accurate film thicknesses relies on having accurate values of the dielectric constant. One connnon procedure for detennining dielectric constants is by using a Kramers-Kronig analysis of spectroscopic reflectance data [39]. This method suffers from the series-tennination error as well as the difficulty of making corrections for the presence of overlayer contaminants. The ellipsometry method is for the most part free of both these sources of error and thus yields the most accurate values to date [39]. 

Early work in ellipsometry focused on improving the technique, whereas attention now emphasizes applications to materials analysis. New uses continue to be found however, ellipsometry traditionally has been used to determine film thicknesses (in the rang 1-1000 nm), as well as optical constants. " Common systems are oxide and nitride films on silicon v ers, dielectric films deposited on optical sur ces, and multilayer semiconductor strucmres. 

Manual null ellipsometry is accurate but infrequently done, due to the length of time needed to acquire sufficient data for any meaningffil materials analysis. Automated null ellipsometers are used, for example, in the infrared, but are still slow. Numerous versions of last automated ellipsometers have been built. Examples... 

Ellipsometry in the vacuum UV (< 190 nm) enables the analysis of materials for the next generation lithography (photoresist, AR coatings) at the latest exposure wavelengths (157 nm and 193 nm). The short wavelengths increase the sensitivity of ellipsometric measurements of ultra thin films (<10 nm). New prospects are expected for the analysis of thin metallic and dielectric layers. 

There are still other surface analysis techniques including ellipsometry, surface enhanced Raman scattering, light scattering, nano-hardness measurements etc. which are used for specific investigations. It is, however, already evident from this discussion that many new and powerful techniques now are available which offer the capability of investigating various aspects of polymer surfaces on a molecular level. Some of those techniques are surface specific while others can be used for the analysis of buried interfaces, too. 

The film thickness and retractive index were calculated using spectroscopic ellipsometry. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used for composition analysis. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) was used to investigate the depth profiles of the film. 

Plasma analysis is essential in order to compare plasma parameters with simulated or calculated parameters. From the optical emission of the plasma one may infer pathways of chemical reactions in the plasma. Electrical measurements with electrostatic probes are able to verify the electrical properties of the plasma. Further, mass spectrometry on neutrals, radicals, and ions, either present in or coming out of the plasma, will elucidate even more of the chemistry involved, and will shed at least some light on the relation between plasma and material properties. Together with ellipsometry experiments, all these plasma analysis techniques provide a basis for the model of deposition. 

With all its complications and uncertainties, impedance spectroscopy, as seen at the end of the twentieth century, is a growing technique in fundamental electrodic analysis [cf. the seminal contributions of (independently) D. D. and J. R. MacDonald]. Among its advantages is that the necessary equipment is less expensive than that of competing spectroscopic equipment and that it can provide information on any electrochemical situation (e.g., it is not limited by, say, the need for specular reflectance, as in ellipsometry). 

In research on the mechanisms gouverning the modification reactions, the thin silica layers allow the application of various surface analytical techniques, which are of no use for analysis inside porous systems. Reaction mechanisms are simplified by the elimination of porosity and may be studied by direct surface techniques such as ellipsometry, as well as microscopic techniques such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).59... 

Characterization. The PPNVP and PPNVP/PEUU films were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), ellipsometry, and water contact angles in air. Two independent methods, a modification of the radioimmunoassay used by Ziats, et. al. (14) and an immunochemical stain based on the ABC immunohistochemical staining method (15) were developed to assay the binding of GOx to the PPNVP/PEUU support. 

---