Development Of Thin Film Technology Research Articles

Developing the Nondevelopable: Creating Curved-Surface Electronics from Nonstretchable Devices.

The incorporation of electronics onto curved surfaces promises to bring new levels of intelligence to the ergonomic, aesthetic, aerodynamic, and optical surfaces that are ever-present in ourlives. However, since many of these surfaces have 2D (i.e., nondevelopable) curvature, they cannot be formed from the deformation of a flat, nonstretchable sheet. This means that curved electronics cannot capitalize on the rapid technological advances taking place in the field of ultrathin electronics, since ultrathin devices, though ultraflexible, are not stretchable. In this work, a shrink-based paradigm is presented to apply such thin-film electronics to nondevelopable surfaces, expanding the capabilities of current nondevelopable electronics, and linking future developments in thin-film technology to similar developments in curved devices. The wrinkling of parylene-based devices and the effects of shrinkage on common electrical components are examined, culminating in shrinkable touch sensors and organic photovoltaics, laminated to various nondevelopable surfaces without loss of performance.

Research and development of vacuum thin-film nanotechnology for creating electrode materials for current sources

Traditional thick-film production technology CCS for almost 20 years not only does not provide the necessary dynamics of growth of specific energy intensity, but also tends to reduce it in order to increase the safety of operation of products. The development of thinfilm technologies and new electrochemical systems with a higher resource (more than 10,000 charge – discharge cycles-20 years of operation) and a higher specific energy (500…1000 W∙h/kg) is considered to be the most important breakthrough tasks at the moment. A promising direction is considered to be the use of elastic conducting matrices based on carbon in the creation of nanocomposite structures. To develop a complex of vacuum thin-film nanotechnologies for creating electrode materials for current sources based on a flexible carbon matrix with a highly developed surface. A complex of vacuum thin-film nanotechnologies for creating electrode materials for current sources has been Developed. Based on the developed electrode material, chemical current sources (CCS), ultra-high-capacity capacitor structures (UCS) and pseudocapacitors and hybrid capacitors were manufactured and studied. Analysis of the results of specific energomasha super powerful capacitor structures (UCS), has superb capacitor structures with metallization, hybrid UCS based on cobaltate lithium capacitors with pseudoeunotia showed that the specific energy consumption of hybrid UCS based on cobaltate lithium capacitors with pseudoeunotia oxide of manganese, have a value exceeding the specific energy of UCS 4.5 and 4.8 times, respectively. The developed technology allows increasing the energy consumption of cells and reducing their internal resistance.The developed complex of vacuum thin-film nanotechnologies allows creating electrode materials based on a flexible carbon matrix with a highly developed surface. The resulting electrode materials can be used in energy storage.

Analisa Desain dan Perancangan Ruang Vakum Medium Sebagai Media Pembangkitan Plasma Oksigen Menggunakan Gelombang Mikro 2,45 GHZ

In line with the development of thin-film technology, its also developing plasma-based removal techniques such as plasma ashing. Plasma is an ionized gas-like phase. Ionized gas when the temperature approaches or exceeds atomic ionization energy. The atoms are ionized into positive and negative ions. The purpose of this research to analyze the working system of plasma generation using 2,45GHz microwaves. The plasma reactor was successfully operating, but it only maintain to generate plasma in short time. The reactor broke because it couldn’t hold the bombardment energy of particles which the energy was 1,623x10-24 for each every second. At last, the reactor could maintain the plasma only for ±240 s. Keywords: microwave, plasma, ashing, vacuum, mean free path, ionization.

Nacre crystal growth as a paradigm of island growth mode: Hydrophobic substrate is one of the keys to the biomineralization

Nacre is a multilayered film material consisting of alternating layers of aragonitic tablets and organic membranes (OMs). However, at this time, no authors have discussed the growth mode of nacre from the perspective of the science of typical film materials. Here, for the first time, we focus on measuring the contact angles of the nacre growth surface (GS) using the contact angle meter. Additionally, we also investigate the GS's structure and phases using field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometer, respectively. We firstly found that: (1) The contact angles of the GS are always greater than 90°, with a maximum value of 113° and minimum value of 91°, indicating that the GS is hydrophobic. (2) The growth mode of GS is similar to the island growth mode (V-W) of the typical films. (3) The hydrophobicity of OMs plays an important role in the nucleation and growth of nacre. This research may provide new insights into the mechanism underlying nacre formation. In the field of thin-film, this conclusion will provide a new direction for the preparation and research of hydrophobic substrates, and a new idea for the development of thin-film technology.

Perspectives on exfoliated two-dimensional spintronics

Magnetic orderings, i.e., the spontaneous alignment of electron spins below a critical temperature, have been playing key roles in modern science and technologies for both the wide applications of magnetic recording for information storage and the vibrant potential of solid state electronic spin devices (also known as spintronics) for logic operations. In the past decades, thanks to the development of thin film technologies, magnetic thin films via sputtering or epitaxial growth have made the spintronic devices possible at the industrial scale. Yet thinner materials at lower costs with more versatile functionalities are highly desirable for advancing future spintronics. Recently, van der Waals magnetic materials, a family of magnets that can in principle be exfoliated down to the monolayer limit, seem to have brought tremendous opportunities: new generation van der Waals spintronic devices can be seamlessly assembled with possible applications such as optoelectronics, flexible electronics, and etc. Moreover, those exfoliated spintronic devices can potentially be compatible with the famed metal-oxide field effect transistor architectures, allowing the harness of spin performances through the knob of an electrostatic field.

Effects of Aging and Environmental Factors on Performance of CdTe and CIS Thin-Film Photovoltaic Modules

The effects of aging and environmental factors on the performance of cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium selenide (CIS) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules have been analyzed. Recent developments in thin-film technology have resulted in reduced manufacturing costs and increased cell efficiency, making thin-film PV modules desirable for future solar-energy-generation systems. Such PV modules are currently used for various power system applications; however, their performance during the operational lifetime is greatly affected by aging and module failures caused by environmental factors. In this study, x-ray diffraction and infrared radiation imaging were used to characterize the imperfect surfaces of CdTe and CIS samples taken from a real application under various aging and environmental conditions. The performance of the modules was also evaluated by measuring the current, voltage, power, and efficiency over 3.5 years. During this period, we mainly detected corrosion, delamination, micro-cracks, and hot-spot failures. At the end of the study, the module degradation factors (MDFs) were calculated based on the measured results. The micro-crack and delamination failures resulted in MDFs of 14.49% for the CdTe modules and 21.24% for the CIS modules. With these MDFs, the installed system inevitably experienced substantial power loss in generation: 21.7% for the CdTe modules and 31.5% for the CIS modules. Consequently, our findings indicate that the performance of a PV system is susceptible to aging, meteorological conditions, and the PV technology; these factors should thus be considered before implementing PV system designs to achieve the most efficient and cost-effective power generation.

Development of Thin Film Technology for High-Density Magnetic Recording Media

The paper briefly reviews the development of thin film technology of longitudinal and perpendicular magnetic recording media. Based on experimental results on current high-end perpendicular media, future possibilities are discussed. Limitations associated with granular-type media are reduced by introducing a new-type media, bit patterned media (BPM) with which the thermal stability, the resolution, and the signal to noise ratio of recorded bit information can be more easily maintained. The shift from granular media to BPM will take place at any areal density ranging between 1 - 6 Tb/in2. When a magnetic material with very high Ku is applied to BPM, an areal density of more than 60 Tb/in2 seems feasible.

Development of Thin Film Technology for High-Density Magnetic Recording Media

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Recent Developments in Electronic, Functional, and Biological Thin Films

The use of surface modification by humans dates back several millennia. As noted by Myers, the art of Cro-Magnon man in 15,000 B.C. can be considered to be a decorative coating. Oddy noted that applying gold to surfaces has been performed for at least 5000 years. Processing of thin films for applications other than gilding began in earnest in the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Luigi Brugnatelli used electroplating to deposit gold; by the middle of that century, deposition of a variety of metals had been demonstrated. Sir Robert Grove described a process that he termed ‘‘cathodic disintegration’’ in 1852; Sir John Thompson later renamed this process ‘‘sputtering.’’ As noted by Mattox, Michael Faraday described sputtering within a glow discharge tube for deposition of films in the mid-nineteenth century. At the turn of the last century, Thomas Edison used sputtering to deposit gold coatings on master wax cylinders, which were subsequently used to produce ‘‘Gold Moulded Records.’’ The origin of chemical vapor deposition has been traced to early studies by von Guericke and Henry. It was used for development of light bulb materials in the 1880s and for purification of refractory metals in the 1940s. Over the past half century, rapid developments in thin film technology were associated with increases in complexity and reductions in size of electronic and optical devices. For example, Smith and Turner used evaporation by a ruby laser to create films of a variety of materials, including As2S3, Ge, MoO3, PbTe, Sb2S3, Se, Te, and ZnTe. Currently, pulsed laser deposition is commonly used for deposition of a variety of thin films, including multicomponent systems and biologically relevant materials, at low temperatures. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, significant thin film research activities involve the development of thin films for medical and energy applications. In this issue, Gupta et al. considered the protein adsorption and wettability of composite materials containing ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene, hydroxyapatite, alumina, and carbon nanotubes; these materials have potential use in joint replacement prostheses. Palkowski et al. created a three-layered stainless steel/polypropylene copolymer/stainless steel sandwich sheet material with biomimetic properties. Skoog et al. deposited ultrananocrystalline diamond films on microporous silicon nitride membranes using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition and evaluated the growth of human epidermal keratinocytes on these materials. Shet et al. prepared zinc oxide thin films using radio frequency sputtering in the presence of a gas ambient containing argon and nitrogen. They demonstrated that aligned nanoscale structures with enhanced photoelectrochemical response were prepared under an appropriate gas ambient. It is hoped that this special issue helps to generate discussions in industry, academia, and government regarding use of thin film technology for electronic, functional, and biological applications.

TEM-simulation of amorphous carbon films: influence of supercell packaging

Recent developments in thin film technology allow to prepare deliberately amorphous carbon films with structures widely varying between graphite-like (sp 2) and diamond-like (sp 3) atomic bonds. This leads to amorphous structures with correspondingly varying densities. By periodically changing deposition conditions, nanometer multilayers may be prepared consisting of carbon layers of different density. Simulation of the electron microscopic imaging allows to differentiate between such real structural details (on the nanometer scale) and artefacts induced by the imaging procedure. But it must be assured that the modeled structure reflects the real one with sufficient accuracy. Thorough comparison of different simulation strategies shows that for the adequate simulation of TEM imaging of amorphous materials, the thickness of the layer with independently distributed atoms has to exceed a certain limit. Then, the statistical scattering of the randomly distributed atoms will be averaged. Otherwise, if the model of the transmission electron microscopy sample is constructed as iteration of thin identical supercells, the superposition of scattering waves with constant phase differences results in enhanced local fluctuations burying the multilayer structure. For thicker packages of supercells with independent random distributions, the effect of statistical atomic arrangements is more and more leveled off. Hence, nanometer structures based on regions with different density will be visible more distinctively in the random background. For carbon, this critical thickness amounts to about 4 nm. This is of special importance for the visualization of nanoscaled heterogeneities like multilayers or nanotube-like inclusions in amorphous matrices.

Correlation of film stress and the mechanical response of Au thin films

The investigation of the mechanical properties of nanostructured materials is critical to the continuing development of thin film technology. For example, the semiconductor industry must understand how stress and strain effect the electronic properties of superlattices and cause the delamination of metal interconnect films. A variety of nano-indentation techniques have been developed as tools to investigate the mechanical behavior of thin films. In a previous study the interfacial force microscope (IFM) was used to survey the mechanical response of 200nm thick Au films deposited on various substrates under various deposition conditions. By combining the methods of contact mechanics and classic indentation techniques, quantitative investigations of the effective elastic modulus and the maximum shear-stress at the plastic threshold were tabulated. The results indicated a large variation in these parameters for the various film/substrates, while the values were consistent over a single film/substrate. The observed variation could be explained by several factors: differences in the films morphology, adhesion to the substrate, or residual stress.

Present status and future prospects for advanced space solar cells

Abstract This paper presents an overview of the present status of advanced space solar cells and of our research activities. The emphasis is on high-efficiency single-junction GaAs cells, radiation-resistant InP solar cell, thin-film GaAs-on-Si cells and super high efficency III–V compound-based tandem solar cells. The future prospects for advanced space cells will also be discussed. For widespread applications of advanced cells, the research and development of thin-film technologies and tandem cells for super-high efficiency and low-cost cells are necessary.

Oberflächen‐ und Dünnschichttechniken in der Industrie

AbstractSurface and thin film technology in industry. Modern surface and thin film technology enables us to consider the bulk and surface properties of a material independently of each other. The advantages for industrial production are therefore the potential savings in materials and processing. This paper discusses selection of processes which have already become established in the automotive industry. A major topic in research and development of thin film technology is the change from open loop processes to closed loop processes. For that reason it is necessary to work on improvements to the analytical tools, on the one hand, and on the theoretical modelling of thin film structures on the other.

Multilayers observed by transmission electron microscopy

Multilayers are structures in which two (or more) materials are alternately deposited, giving a periodicity which causes the sample to act as a Bragg diffractor. Recent developments in thin film technology have made possible the construction of such layered synthetic microstructures in the range of layer thicknesses of 10 Å or so. They would serve as valuable experimental tools in many areas of X-ray and extreme UV instrumentation. We present here a few micrographs obtained by transmission electron microscopy of the layered synthetic microstructure cross section. The sample studied was produced by r.f. diode sputtering and was composed of 17 layers of tungsten (120 Å) and carbon (200 Å) arranged alternately.

Layered synthetic microstructures as Bragg diffractors for X rays and extreme ultraviolet: theory and predicted performance

Recent developments in thin film technology have made possible the construction of multilayered thin film structures that act as efficient Bragg diffractors for x rays and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation. These structures (which we term layered synthetic microstructures or LSMs) are analogous to multilayer interference filters for the visible spectral region and have important potential applications in many areas of x-ray/EUV instrumentation. In this paper the theory of x-ray diffraction by periodic structures is applied to LSMs, and approximate formulas for estimating their performance are presented. A more complete computation scheme based on optical multilayer theory is described, and it is shown that, by adjusting the refractive indices and thicknesses of the component layers, the diffracting properties may be tailored to specific applications. Finally, it is shown how the theory may be modified to take account of imperfections in the LSM structure and to compute the properties of nonperiodic structures.

Thin films in restricted geometries

The most notable characteristic in the development of thin film technology as used in integrated circuits is the continuous effort towards the reduction of dimensions: a thickness and size of 500 and 5000 atomic layers, respectively, are now easily obtainable with high reproducibility, and still smaller dimensions will be acheived in the near future. Such structures are characterized by strong border effects and consequently shape becomes an important factor that influences the performance of the devices. Hence, in addition to the fundamental necessity of controlling thickness (by a suitable growth technique) and size (by photolithography), for thin films there is the further problem of controlling shape.

State of the Art of Thin Film Components

The main reasons for the development of thin film technology are miniaturisation, reliability and high frequency applications. A comparison with conventional components, and with the demands of system engineers shows that the thin film resistor problem is solved and that there are thin film capacitors for many applications, whereas coils of only small values and low Q can be made. As the distances between thin film circuit elements can be extremely small, low conductor resistance between components is possible. The inherent advantages of thin film technology are good reliability because of fewer connections, the possibility of functional trimming, small TCR and TCC variation in a circuit, and TCR-TCC balancing. Furthermore parasitic effects can be well controlled, distributed elements realized and large scale integration carried out.