Semiconductor modes

AFM measures the spatial distribution of the forces between an ultrafme tip and the sample. This distribution of these forces is also highly correlated with the atomic structure. STM is able to image many semiconductor and metal surfaces with atomic resolution. AFM is necessary for insulating materials, however, as electron conduction is required for STM in order to achieve tiumelling. Note that there are many modes of operation for these instruments, and many variations in use. In addition, there are other types of scaiming probe microscopies under development. 

Fig. 1. Photoexcitation modes iu a semiconductor having band gap energy, E, and impurity states, E. The photon energy must be sufficient to release an electron (° ) iato the conduction band (CB) or a hole (o) iato the valence band (VB) (a) an intrinsic detector (b) and (c) extrinsic donor and acceptor...

Materials are usually classified according to the specific conductivity mode, eg, as insulators, which have low conductivity and low mobihty of carriers. Metahic conductors, which include some oxides, have a high conductivity value which is not a strong (exponential) function of temperature. Semiconductors are intermediate and have an exponential temperature dependence. Figure 1 gives examples of electrical conductivities at room temperature for these various materials. 

An example of a contact mode of electromodulation would be the semiconduc-tor-insulator-metal configuration, which consists of a semiconductor, about 200 A of an insulator like AI2O3, and a semitransparent metal (about 50 A of Ni or Au). Modulating (ac) and bias (dc) voltages are applied between the front semitransparent metal and a contact on the back of the sample. To employ this mode the sample must be conducting. 

Phonon modes of metals and films, semiconductors, and insulators... 

NAA is well suited for Si semiconductor impurities analysis. The sensitivity and the bulk mode of analysis make this an important tool for controlling trace impurities during crystal growth or fer monitoring cleanliness of various processing operations for device manufacturing. It is expected that research reactors will ser e as the central analytical facilities for NAA in the industry. Since reactors are already set up to handle radioactive materials and waste, this makes an attractive choice over installing individual facilities in industries. 

Like XPS, the application of AES has been very widespread, particularly in the earlier years of its existence more recently, the technique has been applied increasingly to those problem areas that need the high spatial resolution that AES can provide and XPS, currently, cannot. Because data acquisition in AES is faster than in XPS, it is also employed widely in routine quality control by surface analysis of random samples from production lines of for example, integrated circuits. In the semiconductor industry, in particular, SIMS is a competing method. Note that AES and XPS on the one hand and SIMS/SNMS on the other, both in depth-profiling mode, are complementary, the former gaining signal from the sputter-modified surface and the latter from the flux of sputtered particles. 

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