Effects Of Microwave Annealing Research Articles

Effect of Microwave Annealing on the Sensing Characteristics of HfO2 Thin Film for High Sensitive pH-EGFET Sensor.

Recently, certain challenges have persisted in PH sensor applications, especially when employing hafnium oxide (HfO2) thin films as sensing layers, where issues related to sensitivity, hysteresis, and long-term stability hamper performance. Microwave annealing (MWA) technology, as a promising solution for addressing these challenges, has gained significant attraction due to its unique advantages. In this article, the effects of microwave annealing (MWA) treatment on the sensing behaviors of Extended-Gate Field-Effect Transistors (EGFETs) utilizing HfO2 as a sensing film have been investigated for the first time. Various power levels of MWA treatment (1750 W/2100 W/2450 W) were selected to explore the optimal processing conditions. A thorough physical analysis was conducted to characterize the surface of the MWA-treated HfO2 sensing thin film using techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our findings reveal that MWA treatment effectively increased the surface sites (Ns) in the HfO2 sensing thin film, consequently leading to an increase in the pH sensitivity of EGFETs to 59.6 mV/pH, as well as a reduction in hysteresis and an enhancement in long-term stability. These results suggest that MWA offers a straightforward, energy-efficient method to enhance overall HfO2 sensing film performance in EGFETs, offering insights for HfO2 applications and broader microelectronics challenges.

Effect of microwave annealing on Tin Oxide nanomaterials

We herein reported SnO2 (Tin Oxide) nanoparticles (NPs) synthesis using microwave assisted method. Stannous Chloride is used as a source of Sn, pH level 8 was maintained throughout the reaction for one hour using liquid ammonia. Domestic microwave oven with frequency of 2.54 GHz was used to treat the precipitate. Microwave treatment with different power modes (High power, low power, and direct heating mode) was given to collected dried synthesized samples for 30 min duration. Synthesized nanoparticles were investigated using UV–Vis, XRD, and FTIR spectroscopy. Crystallite size obtained using Scherrer formula. Tetragonal Rutile crystal structure has been obtained in XRD investigation. Prominent existence of (110) and (101) reflection has been revealed in X ray diffractogram. Microstrain and dislocation density shows dependence on microwave power. Optical features are investigated using UV–Vis spectroscopy. Band gap shows variation upon increase in microwave power. Stretching band modes were investigated using FTIR spectroscopy. There are multiple advantages of microwave assisted method. Microwave assisted method is fast, cost effective as well as scalable method. Domestic Microwave was deployed for the purpose of nanoparticle synthesis. Various power modes available were used innovatively for reported synthesis.

Effect of microwave annealing on the performance of dye sensitized solar cell with Beta vulgaris as natural dye

In this paper, a natural dye extracted from Beta vulgaris was used as photosensitizer for fabricating dye sensitized solar cells. The effect of conventional annealing and microwave annealing on the surface morphology of titanium dioxide layer and on the performance of dye sensitized solar cells were studied. The photovoltaic parameters: short circuit current (Isc ), maximum current (Imax ), open circuit voltage (Voc ), maximum voltage (Vmax ), fill factor and efficiency (η) of dye sensitized solar cells are reported. The efficiency of conventionally annealed dye sensitized solar cells was found to be ∼1.20 and the efficiency of microwave annealed dye sensitized solar cells were about ∼0.29. However, a maximum voltage of 0.26 V was obtained in dye sensitized solar cells annealed under microwave radiation for 10 min.

Reliability of Atmosphere Pressure-Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Deposited Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide Resistive Random Access Memory Device with Microwave Annealing.

Recently resistive random access memory (RRAM) is considered to be the most promising one to become the next generation memory since its simple Metal/Insulator/Metal (MIM) structure, lower power consumption and fabrication cost (Meena, J.S., et al., 2014. Overview of emerging nonvolatile memory technologies. Nanoscale Research Letters, 9(1), p.526). Due to some bottlenecks for current flash memory, such as high operation voltage, low operation speed, poor retention time and endurance, RRAM device is regarded as an alternative solution (Fuh, C.S., et al., 2011. Role of environmental and annealing conditions on the passivation-free In-Ga-Zn-O TFT. Thin Solid Films, 520, pp.1489-1494). In this investigation, the memory layer of RRAM device is IGZO, and it is deposited with AP-PECVD technique which can operate under atmosphere, reduce cost of the process. Microwave annealing (MWA) is used to enhance the RRAM device reliability (Fuh, C.S., et al., 2011. Role of environmental and annealing conditions on the passivation-free In-Ga-Zn-O TFT. Thin Solid Films, 520, pp.1489-1494). Experiment shows that with appropriate MWA treatment, the IGZO RRAM device exhibits better electrical characteristics, reliability issues such as numbers of switching cycle and data retention time are also improved (Teng, L.F., et al., 2012. Effects of microwave annealing on electrical enhancement of amorphous oxide semiconductor thin film transistor. Applied Physics Letters, 101, p.132901).

Structural and Magnetic Characterization of Fe-Based Amorphous Alloy Prepared by Microwave Annealing Treatment

Fe-based nanocrystalline soft-magnetic alloy presents the advantages of high permeability and low hysteresis loss and is widely used in the power electronics industry due to its excellent soft-magnetic properties. The effects of microwave annealing on the crystallization process and properties of Fe80.5Si10B8Cu1Nb0.5 amorphous alloy have been studied by differential scanning calorimetry, x-ray diffraction analysis, and vibrating-sample magnetometry. The crystallization process of Fe80.5Si10B8Cu1Nb0.5 amorphous alloy consists of two stages: α-Fe(Si) phase and Fe2B phase. The microwave annealing process enables a significant improvement in the soft-magnetic properties of Fe-based amorphous alloy, with the optimum magnetic properties being obtained for the alloys annealed at 1000 W for 10 min.

Effect of Microwave Annealing on the Interface Properties Between the Top Silicon and Buried Oxide Layers in Silicon-on-Insulator MOSFETs

In this paper, a post-annealing process that uses microwaves to remove the back-interface thermal damage at the interface between the top silicon layer and the buried oxide layer of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) device caused during rapid thermal annealing (RTA) was studied. RTA, which is widely used in highly integrated short-channel silicon device manufacturing processes, deteriorates the electrical characteristics of SOI pseudo metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET) by affecting the interfacial properties between the top silicon and buried oxide layers. In order to replenish these interfacial properties, microwave annealing (MWA) was performed on the device under various conditions. Because MWA utilizes the direct energy transfer (DET) method, the RTA-induced thermal damage on the back interface was effectively removed despite a short processing time. The improvement was comparable to that of conventional thermal annealing at a higher temperature for a long period of time. Therefore, MWA is expected to be a very effective post-RTA heat-treatment technology for fabricating ultrathin-body SOI MOSFETs because of its low thermal budget.

Effects of Microwave Annealing on High-k Dielectric HfO₂ Thin Films.

In this study, the effect of microwave annealing (MWA), which has been attracting considerable attention as a low-thermal-budget method, on the high-k materials required for next-generation ultrahigh-integration semiconductor devices is investigated. Metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor-structure devices are fabricated using HfO₂ films, which are typical high-k materials; post deposition annealing (PDA) is then performed by MWA and compared to conventional thermal annealing (CTA). The current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of the fabricated HfO₂ MOS capacitors are measured to evaluate the leakage current, time-zero dielectric breakdown (TZDB), time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB), and frequency dispersion. Compared to the as-deposited state, the PDA-treated HfO₂ dielectric film is found to have reduced trap density, improved dielectric breakdown, frequency dispersion, and lifetime. In particular, the high-k HfO₂ thin films treated with MWA exhibit excellent surface properties, including a low root-mean square roughness (Rq) of 0.141 nm, thickness of 49.3 nm, and low inter face trap density (Dit) of 7.82 × 1012 cm-2eV-1 and electrical properties such as a high breakdown electric field (EBD) of 10 MV/cm, and high breakdown to charge (QBD) of 1,000 C/cm². As a result, the MWA-treated high-k HfO₂ thin films are smoother and denser than the CTA-treated thin films, and show better electrical properties and reliability, suggesting that the defects at Si the interface as well as in the high-k films are effectively removed.

Characteristics of Amorphous In‐Ga‐Zn‐O Thin Films with Various Compositions Under Microwave Annealing

In this study, the effects of microwave annealing (MWA) on the electrical properties of amorphous In‐Ga‐Zn‐O thin‐film transistors (a‐IGZO TFTs) are evaluated. To measure the transfer and output characteristics of as‐deposited, conventional thermal annealed (CTA), or microwave annealed TFTs, the devices are fabricated by varying the compositional ratios of IGZO films (In2O3:Ga2O3:ZnO = 1:1:1, 1:1:2, and 2:1:2 at%). The reliability is evaluated by measuring the threshold voltage shift under the gate bias stress and by analyzing the charge trapping characteristics according to the operating temperature. In addition, the interface trap density of the a‐IGZO channel/gate insulator and the volume density of the shallow trap of the channel layer are extracted to evaluate the difference in trap density according to the channel composition and the variation in the trap density as a result of the annealing process. Lastly, the sub‐gap density of states (DOS) of the TFTs is investigated to verify the compositional ratio and the annealing effect on the electrical characteristics and reliability of the devices. Based on these results, it is demonstrated that high‐performance a‐IGZO TFTs can be fabricated by using the low thermal budget MWA technique and by controlling the composition of the IGZO channel.

Effect of Microwave Annealing on Transparent In–Ga–ZnO Thin-Film Transistors With Graphene Source and Drain Electrodes

In this letter, we investigated the effects of microwave heat treatment on amorphous In–Ga–ZnO (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with transparent graphene source and drain (S/D) electrodes. Microwave annealing (MWA) was simultaneously applied to post-deposition annealing of the a-IGZO channel layer and post-metallization annealing of the graphene S/D electrode, and then, the influence of MWA on the a-IGZO channel and graphene S/D electrode was evaluated and compared with conventional thermal annealing. We measured the ${I}$ – ${V}$ characteristics of the a-IGZO TFTs, analyzed the trap density of the channel layer, the interface trap density between the gate oxide and the channel, and the instability of device was evaluated. In addition, the effect of MWA on the contact resistance and process stability of transparent graphene electrodes was analyzed. As a result, we improved the electrical properties of the a-IGZO TFTs, simplified the annealing step, and reduced the thermal budget without damaging the graphene S/D electrode for transparent and flexible displays.

Metallic Schottky barrier source/drain nanowire transistors using low-temperature microwave annealed nickel, ytterbium, and titanium silicidation

This work presents the formation of intrinsic and dopant-segregated Schottky barrier nanowire transistors using microwave-annealed silicidation. To gain a sound understanding of applying the microwave annealing on fabricating metallic source/drain nanowire devices, three metals, nickel, ytterbium, and titanium, were utilized to form the Schottky barrier source/drain. Effects of microwave annealing on silicidation as well as segregation were intensively examined by comparing with those using rapid-thermal annealing. The drain current of ytterbium-based examples depend mildly on the applied microwave power from 200–400%, whereas the higher 300% or 400% power is most appropriate to optimize nickel-based nanowire transistors. The maximum 500% power is required on forming titanium silicidation for intrinsic or dopant-segregated nanowire devices. Relatively, temperature of 600℃ is required to form the nanowire source/drain with nickel or ytterbium, and temperature of 900℃ is needed for titanium-based devices. Experimental results show that the microwave annealing offers low-temperature processing against the rapid-thermal method to ensure favorable device characteristics, serving as a promising approach for 3D integration of CMOS technologies.

Influence of Passivation Layers on Characteristics of High Mobility Amorphous Indium-Zinc-Tin-Oxide Thin-Film Transistors

Amorphous oxide semiconductors (AOS) have recently attracted much attention as potential channel layer in thin film transistors (TFTs) due to high carrier mobility, transparency in visible light and room-temperature deposition. Among various materials, the TFTs based on amorphous Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (a-IGZO) are expected to be a promising technology for the next generation novel flat panel display development [1], in particular for high resolution Liquid Cristal Display (LCD) [2]. The average field-effect mobility of TFT with sputter-deposited a-IGZO thin film as a channel layer is around 10 cm2/Vs and it’s not high enough (20 cm2/Vs) for future display applications such as ultra-high definition (UHD) display, active matrix organic light-emitting diode displays (AMOLEDs) and system driving circuits integrated with the TFT array process [3, 4]. Compared with other amorphous oxide semiconductor materials, amorphous indium-zinc-tin oxide (a-IZTO) is promising candidate for achieving high mobility oxide TFTs [5, 6]. Although the properties of oxide semiconductor films can be easily controlled by radio-frequency (RF) sputtering, the subsequent processes, particularly the passivation layer growth, often cause destructive impacts on channel layer [7]. The challenge in fabricating high performance a-IZTO TFTs actually lies in the post processes rather than in the a-IZTO film deposition. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the effect of the passivation layers on the characteristics of a-IZTO TFTs. In this study, we investigated the effect of the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) deposited passivation layer (SiO2) on the characteristics of a-IZTO TFTs. The threshold voltage (Vth ) of the TFTs was found to be highly dependent on the deposition condition of passivation layer, which is ascribed to ion bombardment induced by PECVD process. By adjusting the post annealing temperature, the Vth of the TFTs can be well controlled to the desired range. We investigated the influence of passivation-layer deposition on the characteristics of a-InZnSnO thin-film transistors (TFTs). The threshold voltage (Vth ) of the TFTs shifted markedly as a result of the ion bombardment induced by the passivation layers above. By adjusting the post annealing temperature, the performance of the TFTs can be modulated. The a-InZnSnO TFTs after passivation exhibited good performance with a field-effect mobility of 21.34 cm2 /Vs, a threshold voltage of -5.03V, and a subthreshold slope of 0.52 V/decade. Reference [1] M. A. Marrs, C. D. Moyer, E. J. Bawolek, et al., " Control of Threshold Voltage and Saturation Mobility Using Dual-Active-Layer Device Based on Amorphous Mixed Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor on Flexible Plastic Substrates," IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. 58, pp. 3428-3434, 2011. [2] T. Kamiya, K. Nomura, and H. Hosono, “Present status of amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O thin-film transistors,” Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater., vol. 11, no. 4, Aug. 2010, Art ID 044305. [3] J. U. Bae, D. H. Kim, K. Kim, K. Jung, W. Shin, I. Kang and S. Yeo, “Development of oxide TFT’s structures,” in SID Symp. Dig., Jun. 2013, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 89–92. [4] L.F. Teng, P.T. Liu, Y.J. Lo, and Y.J. Lee, “Effects of microwave annealing on electrical enhancement of amorphous oxide semiconductor thin film transistor,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 101, no. 13, p. 132901, Sep. 2012. [5] K. Jang, J. Raja, Y.J. Lee, D. Kim, and J. Yi, “Effects of carrier concentration, indium content, and crystallinity on the electrical properties of indium-tin-zinc-oxide thin-film transistors,” IEEE Electron Device Lett., vol. 34, no. 9, pp. 1151–1153, Sep. 2013. [6] N. Morosawa et al., “High-mobility self-aligned top-gate oxide TFT for high-resolution AM-OLED,” in SID Symp. Dig., Jun. 2013, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 85–88. [7] T. T. T. Nguyen, B. Aventurier, T. Terlier, J. P. Barnes, and F. Templier, “Impact of Passivation Conditions on Characteristics of Bottom-Gate IGZO Thin-Film Transistors,” J. Display Technol., vol. 11, no. 6, pp. 554–558, June. 2015

Performance enhancement of amorphous indium-zinc-oxide thin film transistors by microwave annealing

The effect of microwave annealing on the field effect mobility and threshold voltage of amorphous indium zinc oxide (a-IZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) is reported. A control device with traditional hotplate annealing at 200°C for 1h was applied for comparison. The results show that both microwave annealing and low-temperature hotplate annealing increase the field effect mobility from 12.3cm2/Vs in as-deposited state to ∼19cm2/Vs in annealed state. However, the negative shift in threshold voltage with microwave annealing (from 0.23V to −2.86V) is smaller than that with low-temperature hotplate annealing (to −9V). A mechanism related with the electrical properties of a-IZO material is proposed. This rapid low-temperature annealing technology makes a-IZO TFTs promising for use in flexible, transparent electronics.

Dopant segregated Schottky barrier nanowire transistors using low-temperature microwave annealed ytterbium silicide

Thermal budget is one of the major concerns to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) transistors using practical CMOS technologies. In this work, low-temperature microwave annealing is utilized for the fabrication of dopant segregated Schottky barrier gate-all-around nanowire transistors. Low electron Schottky barrier of ytterbium silicide was combined with Phosphorus segregation to form metallic source/drain for high-performance N-channel nanowire transistors. Effects of microwave annealing on metal silicidation as well as dopants segregation are intensively examined by comparing with those using rapid thermal annealing. The minimum microwave power of 200% and processing time of 200 s can be used during annealing to minimize the thermal energy while retaining sufficient activation and silicidation. Experimental results show that the microwave annealing produce better electrical characteristics of dopant segregated Schottky barrier nanowire transistors, serving as a promising approach to fabricate metallic source/drain nanowire transistors for future 3D integration of CMOS technologies.

Effects of microwave annealing on electrical enhancement of amorphous oxide semiconductor thin film transistor

By using microwave annealing technology instead of thermal furnace annealing, this work elucidates the electrical characteristics of amorphous InGaZnO thin film transistor (a-IGZO TFT) with a carrier mobility of 13.5 cm2/Vs, threshold voltage of 3.28 V, and subthreshold swing of 0.43 V/decade. This TFT performance with microwave annealing of 100 s is well competitive with its counterpart with furnace annealing at 450 °C for 1 h. A physical mechanism for the electrical improvement is also deduced. Owing to its low thermal budget and selective heating to materials of interest, microwave annealing is highly promising for amorphous oxide in semiconductor TFT manufacturing.

Effect of Microwave Annealing on the Structure and Magnetic Properties of Co-based Amorphous Ribbons

We investigated the structure and magnetic properties of CoFeSiB amorphous ribbons in the presence of microwave emission. Samples have been emitted onto in the microwave cavity with working frequency of 2.45 GHz at different times of emission. Structure and surface properties of samples emitted to have been investigated by X-ray diffraction and Atomic force microscopy. Also, magnetic properties of samples were investigated by magneto-optical Kerr effect measurement. Our results show that increasing in annealing time may change the crystalline state of samples and also decrease the magnetic coercivity and surface roughness.

The effect of microwave annealing on the electrical characteristics of lanthanum doped bismuth titanate films obtained by the polymeric precursor method

Lanthanum doped bismuth titanate thin films (Bi 3.25La 0.75Ti 3O 12 – BLT) were produced by the polymeric precursor method and crystallized in a domestic microwave oven and in conventional furnace. Using platinum coated silicon substrates configuration, ferroelectric properties of the films were determined with remanent polarization P r and a coercive field E c of 3.9 μC/cm 2 and 70 kV/cm for the film annealed in the microwave oven and 20 μC/cm 2 and 52 kV/cm for the film annealed in conventional furnace, respectively. The films annealed in conventional furnace exhibited excellent retention-free characteristics at low infant periods indicating that BLT thin films can be a promise material for use in non-volatile memories. On the other hand, the pinning of domains wall causes a strong decay at low infant periods for the films annealed in the microwave furnace which makes undesireable the application for future FeRAMS memories.

Effect of microwave annealing on silicon dioxide/silicon carbide structures

The methods of atomic force microscopy and optical absorption spectroscopy are applied to study the effect of microwave treatment on the properties of SiO2/SiC structures obtained by rapid thermal annealing and conventional thermal oxidation in steam. From the variation of the sample optical density with total time of microwave treatment, it is concluded that the structures prepared by rapid thermal annealing are more stable against microwave radiation. It is shown that long-term microwave treatment flattens the oxide film surface at the nanolevel regardless of the method of silicon carbide oxidation.