Thin films property determinants

Surface acoustic waves (SAW), which are sensitive to surface changes, are especially sensitive to mass loading and theoretically orders of magnitude more sensitive than bulk acoustic waves [43]. Adsorption of gas onto the device surface causes a perturbation in the propagation velocity of the surface acoustic wave, this effect can be used to observe very small changes in mass density of 10 g/cm (the film has to be deposited on a piezoelectric substrate). SAW device can be useful as sensors for vapour or solution species and as monitors for thin film properties such as diffusivity. They can be used for example as a mass sensor or microbalance to determine the adsorption isotherms of small thin film samples (only 0.2 cm of sample are required in the cell) [42]. 

The reason for pentacene being superior for the production of TFT devices [7, 8] when compared with other molecules [9] is still not obvious. In this chapter, we will discuss to what extent the peculiar growth properties [10] of pentacene on metallic contacts and gate dielectrics contribute to the device performance. For this purpose, first the early growth state of pentacene films and the molecular structure of the so called thin film phase is reviewed. Then, major sources of crystal defects in thin films as determined by advanced synchrotron diffiaction techniques are discussed. The relation of these defects to the frequently discussed electronic traps that strongly influence transport properties of TFTs [6, 11, 12] is indicated. Finally, the spatially resolved photo response of pentacene OTFTs will be discussed in the context of injection barriers and contact homogeneity. 

Another distinguishing feature of ferroelectric behavior is the polarization versus electric field P—B) hysteresis loop. The hysteresis loop results from the domain reorientation which occurs as the electric field direction is varied. The size and shape of the loop is determined by the magnitude of the dipole moment of the unit cell and the domain-switching characteristics of the material. Hysteresis loop behavior is measured using either a Sawyer—Tower circuit or a Diamant—Pepinsky bridge. Details of the construction and operation of a Sawyer—Tower circuit are given in Reference 24. Thin film properties have also been measmed with these two devices, and in addition, a commercially available measurement system has been widely used. ... 

It is possible to express the mismatch stress in term of mismatch strain for general anisotropy without reference to the substrate because the issue has been pursued under the same set of assumptions that underlie the derivation of the Stoney formula as outlined in Section 2.1. Recall the earlier assumptions that the film is very thin compared to the substrate and that the change in film strain associated with curvature of the substrate is small compared to the mismatch strain itself. Under these conditions, the film strain and film properties determine the stress which results in substrate curvature. The details of the resulting curvature do indeed depend on the properties of the substrate, and this issue will be taken up in Section 3.7. 

As described in Chapter 2, the M-Test structures are useful for determining thin film properties as well as testing electrical functionality. By applying increasing voltages to the M-Test structures, they can be optically inspected to determine the voltage that is required for pull-in. These simple test structures enable a rapid assessment to determine quickly if released parts are able to be actuated as expected using electrostatic forces. 

Acoustic Measurements. Measurement of the propagation of ultrasonic acoustic waves has been found useful for determining the viscoelastic properties of thin films of adhesives. In this method, the specimen is clamped between transmitting and receiving transducers. The change in pulse shape between successive reverberation of the pulse is dependent on the viscoelastic properties of the transmitting material. Modulus values can be calculated (267,268). 

Thin films of metals, alloys and compounds of a few micrometres diickness, which play an important part in microelectronics, can be prepared by die condensation of atomic species on an inert substrate from a gaseous phase. The source of die atoms is, in die simplest circumstances, a sample of die collision-free evaporated beam originating from an elemental substance, or a number of elementary substances, which is formed in vacuum. The condensing surface is selected and held at a pre-determined temperature, so as to affect die crystallographic form of die condensate. If diis surface is at room teiiiperamre, a polycrystalline film is usually formed. As die temperature of die surface is increased die deposit crystal size increases, and can be made practically monocrystalline at elevated temperatures. The degree of crystallinity which has been achieved can be determined by electron diffraction, while odier properties such as surface morphology and dislocation sttiicmre can be established by electron microscopy. 

X-ray Diffraction (XRD) is a powerful technique used to uniquely identify the crystalline phases present in materials and to measure the structural properties (strain state, grain size, epitaxy, phase composition, preferred orientation, and defect structure) of these phases. XRD is also used to determine the thickness of thin films and multilayers, and atomic arrangements in amorphous materials (including polymers) and at inter ces. 

Thin-film XRD is important in many technological applications, because of its abilities to accurately determine strains and to uniquely identify the presence and composition of phases. In semiconduaor and optical materials applications, XRD is used to measure the strain state, orientation, and defects in epitaxial thin films, which affect the film s electronic and optical properties. For magnetic thin films, it is used to identify phases and to determine preferred orientations, since these can determine magnetic properties. In metallurgical applications, it is used to determine strains in surfiice layers and thin films, which influence their mechanical properties. For packaging materials, XRD can be used to investigate diffusion and phase formation at interfaces... 

Indentation has been used for over 100 years to determine hardness of materials [8J. For a given indenter geometry (e.g. spherical or pyramidal), hardness is determined by the ratio of the applied load to the projected area of contact, which was determined optically after indentation. For low loads and contacts with small dimensionality (e.g. when indenting thin films or composites), a new way to determine the contact size was needed. Depth-sensing nanoindentation [2] was developed to eliminate the need to visualize the indents, and resulted in the added capability of measuring properties like elastic modulus and creep. 

The area of colloids, surfactants, and fluid interfaces is large in scope. It encompasses all fluid-fluid and fluid-solid systems in which interfacial properties play a dominant role in determining the behavior of the overall system. Such systems are often characterized by large surface-to-volume ratios (e.g., thin films, sols, and foams) and by the formation of macroscopic assembhes of molecules (e.g., colloids, micelles, vesicles, and Langmuir-Blodgett films). The peculiar properties of the interfaces in such media give rise to these otherwise unlikely (and often inherently unstable) structures. 

Mirzamaani et al. [74, 75] point out that the earlier studies of the interrelationships between structure and magnetics have examined films substantially thicker than those now being used in thin-film disks. These authors have examined very thin CoP films and have studied the relative roles of shape anisotropy, stress anisotropy, and crystal anisotropy in determining the magnetic properties. For their CoP-deposition system, shape anisotropy dominated the other factors in determining the film magnetic properties. The shape anisotropy of a particular deposit was determined by the surface condition of the substrate on which the CoP was deposited. 

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