Ion Beam Voltage Research Articles

Non-stoichiometric silicon nitride for future gravitational wave detectors

Silicon nitride thin films were deposited at room temperature employing a custom ion beam deposition (IBD) system. The stoichiometry of these films was tuned by controlling the nitrogen gas flow through the ion source and a process gas ring. A correlation is established between the process parameters, such as ion beam voltage and ion current, and the optical and mechanical properties of the films based on post-deposition heat treatment. The results show that with increasing heat treatment temperature, the mechanical loss of these materials as well as their optical absorption decreases producing films with an extinction coefficient as low as k=6.2(±0.5)×10−7 at 1064 nm for samples annealed at 900 ∘C. This presents the lowest value for IBD SiN x within the context of gravitational wave detector applications. The mechanical loss of the films was measured to be ϕ=2.1(±0.6)×10−4 once annealed post deposition to 900 ∘C.

MC design and FIB preparation of a YSZ biochemical material microstructure

Aiming at the difficulty of traditional machining of Y2O3–ZrO2 (YSZ) inert ceramic materials, a different method using focused ion beam to selectively create nanoscale microscale structures on the surface of materials was proposed. The sputtering yield, surface damage, and the energy loss of YSZ materials was investigated using the SRIM software using the Monte Carlo method. It is shown that the sputtering yield increases with ion energy in the range 0–30 keV, reaching a maximum of 9.4 atoms/ion at 30 keV. At an ion beam voltage of 30 keV, the most severe damage to the material is 8 mm on the surface. At the same time, the main forms of energy loss in the treatment are phonon energy loss and ionization energy loss, of which phonon energy loss due to the recoil atoms is the largest. In addition, we continue to perform focused ion beam processing experiments on YSZ materials, combining previous MC modeling to optimize different operating conditions such as ion beam, voltage and processing mode. The optimized processing parameters are 30 keV and 2.5 nA. It is shown that the quality of the deep grooves gradually improves with decreasing ion beam current at the same ion beam voltage. However, an excessively small ion beam current leads to an excessively large depth of the deep grooves and lengthy processing times.

Optimization of reactive ion beam sputtered Ta2O5 for III–V compounds

We report the optimization of the process parameters used in ion beam sputtering of dielectric Ta2O5 thin films on III–V semiconductor surfaces, with an aim of minimizing the deterioration of semiconductor surfaces and their opto-electric performance. We demonstrate that linear tuning of the three main sputtering parameters, namely, the primary source radiofrequency power, the ion beam current, and the ion beam voltage, allows optimizing the deposition conditions of Ta2O5 minimizing the damage to the III–V surfaces. The effect of parametrization is evaluated by deposition of a Ta2O5 antireflection coating on GaAs-based multijunction solar cells employing AlGaAs and AlInP window layers. Numerical study reveals that the main source of damage is the scattered primary ions, in this case argon ions, that have not contributed to the sputtering process of the Ta2O5 at the target. Moreover, it is likely that the reactive oxygen atmosphere oxidizes the semiconductor surfaces in the initial phase of the deposition process. A similar optimization procedure should be employed for any other thin film directly deposited by reactive ion beam sputtering on III–V surfaces and optoelectronics devices to avoid deposition induced damage.

Ultra-low stress high reflective film by dual-ion-beam sputtering deposition

The correlation between the process parameters of auxiliary ion source and the SiO2 film stress was systematically studied using dual-ion-sputtering deposition. Spectrophotometer and ellipsometer were used to measure the SiO2 film’s transmittance spectrum and reflection ellipsometry. The refractive index and thickness of SiO2 film were obtained by total spectrum inversion calculation. The laser interferometer measures the substrate surface shape to obtain film stress. The experimental result shows that film stress is related to sputtering energy during deposition, high-energy oxygen ion assisted deposition can significantly reduce it and the assisted ion beam voltage plays an important role in controlling it by data normalization analysis. Ultra-low stress high reflective film was prepared by dual-ion-beam sputtering deposition, where stress was 70% lower than traditional film. At the same time, this film can ensure sufficiently high optical quality to keep it reliable and stable in high-precision laser systems.

Optimization of ion-beam-deposited Mo/Si multilayers for extreme ultraviolet masks

The aim of our work is to investigate deposition conditions to further optimize the reflectivity of Mo/Si multilayers (MLs) for reflective coatings of extreme ultraviolet mask blanks. Dark-field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements imply interfacial roughness values of 80 to 150 pm. Bright-field TEM images indicate intermixed layer thicknesses of 0.4 to 1.8 nm. We present reflectivity calculations including these two ML imperfections and compare against prior empirical results. Both interfacial roughness and intermixing are predicted to lower the maximum reflectivity. For example, interfacial roughness of 400 pm lowers the maximum reflectivity by ∼2 % . Smoother interfaces with sub-100 pm allow recovery of ∼1.5 % of the reflectivity. Mo/Si intermixing is predicted to lower the maximum reflectivity by up to 6% relative to an ideal ML. Reflectivity could be recovered by ∼3 % by reducing the intermixing depth by only 20% to 30%. We demonstrate ways to reduce roughness or intermixing by ion beam deposition (IBD). Ion bombardment simulations provide estimates of the atom energy distribution arriving at the mask blank surface during Mo and Si deposition and of stopping depths of each atom into the underlying layer. Key IBD parameters to reduce the deposition energy, and hence the intermixing depth, are summarized: beam voltage and deposition pressure. Lower ion beam voltage or higher pressure can together reduce the intermixing depth by at least 20% to 30%. Bright-field TEM measurements of MLs deposited at various deposition conditions confirm the intermixing predictions.

Study of DLC Formation with Ion-Beam Assisted Magnetron Sputtering Deposition

TiC-containing DLC films are deposited by magnetron sputtering by means of ion beam deposition using acetylene as carbon source. The deposition rate of the films is three times as fast as that by ion beam deposition alone. The minimum roughness is 2.2 nm and the highest hardness is 11.97 GPa for the synthesized DLC films. The effects of ion beam voltage and deposition temperature on the composition, microstructures, and surface states are studied using infrared spectroscopy, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and AFM. Mechanical properties of the DLC films from nanoindentation tests are analyzed with the variation of H and TiC, as well as content of sp3 bonds.

Analysis of the primary experimental results on a 5 cm diameter ECR ion thruster

An ECR ion thruster with a diameter of 5 cm has been developed and tested. Four different antenna positions were experimentally and numerically investigated, and the results suggest that the optimal location for the antenna is where it is perfectly surrounded by the electron cyclotron resonance layer. We also evaluated two different antenna configurations, and found that the star configuration is preferable to the circular configuration, and also that the circular antenna is only 40% as efficient as the star antenna. The experimental curve of the ion beam current and voltage agrees with the fitting results from the analytic solution. The simulation of the magnetic topology in the discharging chamber with different back yoke heights indicates that it needs to be further verified.

Ion Beam Etch for Patterning of Resistive RAM (ReRAM) Devices

ABSTRACTWe investigate the feasibility of inert ion beam etch (IBE) for subtractive patterning of ReRAM-type structures. We report on the role of the angle-dependent ion beam etch rates in device area control and the minimization of sidewall re-deposition. The etch rates of key ReRAM materials are presented versus incidence angle and ion beam energy. As the ion beam voltage is increased, we demonstrate a significant enhancement in the relative etch rate at glancing incidence (for example, by a factor of 2 for HfO2). Since the feature sidewall is typically exposed to glancing incidence, this energy-dependence plays a role in optimization of the feature shape and in sidewall re-deposition removal.We present results of SRIM simulations to estimate depth of ion-bombardment damage to the TMO sidewall. Damage is minimized by minimizing ion energy; its depth can be reduced by roughly a factor of 5 over typical IBE energy ranges. For example, ion energies of less than ∼250 eV are indicated to maintain damage below ∼1nm. Multi-angle and multi-energy etch schemes are proposed to maximize sidewall angle and minimize damage, while eliminating re-deposition across the TMO. We utilize 2-D geometry/3-D etch model to simulate IBE patterning of tight-pitched ReRAM features, and generate etched feature shapes.

Effects of the ion-beam voltage on the properties of the diamond-like carbon thin film prepared by ion-beam sputtering deposition**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61235011) and the Science Foundation of the Science and Technology Commission of Tianjin Municipality, China (Grant Nos. 13JCYBJC17300 and 12JCQNIC01200).

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin film is one of the most widely used optical thin films. The fraction of chemical bondings has a great influence on the properties of the DLC film. In this work, DLC thin films are prepared by ion-beam sputtering deposition in Ar and CH4 mixtures with graphite as the target. The influences of the ion-beam voltage on the surface morphology, chemical structure, mechanical and infrared optical properties of the DLC films are investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, nanoindentation, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, respectively. The results show that the surface of the film is uniform and smooth. The film contains sp2 and sp3 hybridized carbon bondings. The film prepared by lower ion beam voltage has a higher sp3 bonding content. It is found that the hardness of DLC films increases with reducing ion-beam voltage, which can be attributed to an increase in the fraction of sp3 carbon bondings in the DLC film. The optical constants can be obtained by the whole infrared optical spectrum fitting with the transmittance spectrum. The refractive index increases with the decrease of the ion-beam voltage, while the extinction coefficient decreases.

Application of Taguchi Method to the Optimization of a-C:H Coatings Deposited Using Ion Beam Assisted Physical Vapor Deposition

The Taguchi design method is used to optimize the adhesion, hardness, and wear resistance properties of a-C:H coatings deposited on AISI M2 steel substrates using the ion beam assisted physical vapor deposition method. The adhesion strength of the coatings is evaluated by means of scratch tests, while the hardness is measured using a nanoindentation tester. Finally, the wear resistance is evaluated by performing cyclic ball-on-disc wear tests. The Taguchi experimental results show that the optimal deposition parameters are as follows: a substrate bias voltage of 90 V, an ion beam voltage of 1 kV, an acetylene flow rate of 21 sccm, and a working distance of 7 cm. Given these optimal processing conditions, the a-C:H coating has a critical load of 99.8 N, a hardness of 25.5 GPa, and a wear rate of 0.4 × 10−6 mm3/Nm.

Structure and electrical properties of quaternary Cr–Si–Ni–W films prepared by ion beam sputter deposition

Si-rich Cr–Si–Ni–W films were deposited by ion beam sputter deposition (IBSD) using a mother alloy target on polished Al2O3 substrates. Effects of ion beam voltage, annealing temperature and deposition time on sheet resistance and TCR of Cr–Si–Ni–W films were studied. Experimental results reveal that the as-deposited Cr–Si–Ni–W films obtained by IBSD show a crystalline state because of a high mobility of deposition atoms and molecules with more energy obtained from high energy ions. XRD and AFM analysis show that the big massive particles mainly composed of Si and CrSi2 in Cr–Si–Ni–W films are formed in the process of IBSD rather than in post-annealing stage. Long deposition time is significantly important to a decrease of the number and size of gaps between big particles in Cr–Si–Ni–W films and to an improvement of the continuity and compactness of film structure, influencing resistivity and TCR of deposition film. The conduction mechanism was discussed based on microscopic analysis and the conductive model proposed for Cr–Si–Ni–W films mainly composed of big particles.

Correlation between properties of HfO2 films and preparing parameters by ion beam sputtering deposition

Ion beam sputtering is one of the most important technologies for preparing hafnium dioxide thin films. In this paper, the correlation between properties of hafnium dioxide thin films and preparing parameters was systematically researched by using the orthogonal experiment design method. The properties of hafnium oxide films (refractive index, extinction coefficient, deposition rate, stress, and inhomogeneity of refractive index) were studied. The refractive index, extinction coefficient, physical thickness, and inhomogeneity of refractive index were obtained by the multiple wavelength curve-fitting method from the reflectance and transmittance of single layers. The stress of thin film was measured by elastic deformation of the thin film-substrate system. An orthogonal experimental strategy was designed using substrate temperature, ion beam voltage, ion beam current, and oxygen flow rate as the variables. The experimental results indicated that the temperature of the substrate is the key influencing parameter on the properties of hafnium oxide films, while other preparing parameters are also correlated with specific properties. The experimental results are significant for selecting proper parameters for preparing hafnium oxide films with different applications.

Influence of ion assistance on LaF3 films deposited by molybdenum boat evaporation

LaF3 thin films at 193 nm were deposited by the molybdenum boat evaporation with ion-assisted deposition (IAD). Various optical characteristics, stress, and microstructures that formed under different ion-beam voltages of IAD deposition were investigated. The relation between these properties is also discussed. LaF3 films deposited with IAD exhibited small rough surfaces and large optical loss at 193 nm. The largest value of optical loss for films at 193 nm, which were prepared at an ion-beam voltage of 400 V, was 1.55% and the extinction coefficient was smaller than 0.0015. Microstructures and crystalline structures of films were influenced and changed by the ion-assisted deposition process. Tensile stress value of films increased as the ion-beam voltage rose. Refractive index, related to the packing density and microstructures, also increased as the ion-beam voltage rose.

FIB-SEM cathodoluminescence tomography: practical and theoretical considerations

Focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) tomography is a powerful application in obtaining three-dimensional (3D) information. The FIB creates a cross section and subsequently removes thin slices. The SEM takes images using secondary or backscattered electrons, or maps every slice using X-rays and/or electron backscatter diffraction patterns. The objective of this study is to assess the possibilities of combining FIB-SEM tomography with cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging. The intensity of CL emission is related to variations in defect or impurity concentrations. A potential problem with FIB-SEM CL tomography is that ion milling may change the defect state of the material and the CL emission. In addition the conventional tilted sample geometry used in FIB-SEM tomography is not compatible with conventional CL detectors. Here we examine the influence of the FIB on CL emission in natural diamond and the feasibility of FIB-SEM CL tomography. A systematic investigation establishes that the ion beam influences CL emission of diamond, with a dependency on both the ion beam and electron beam acceleration voltage. CL emission in natural diamond is enhanced particularly at low ion beam and electron beam voltages. This enhancement of the CL emission can be partly explained by an increase in surface defects induced by ion milling. CL emission enhancement could be used to improve the CL image quality. To conduct FIB-SEM CL tomography, a recently developed novel specimen geometry is adopted to enable sequential ion milling and CL imaging on an untilted sample. We show that CL imaging can be manually combined with FIB-SEM tomography with a modified protocol for 3D microstructure reconstruction. In principle, automated FIB-SEM CL tomography should be feasible, provided that dedicated CL detectors are developed that allow subsequent milling and CL imaging without manual intervention, as the current CL detector needs to be manually retracted before a slice can be milled. Due to the required high electron beam acceleration voltage for CL emission, the resolution for FIB-SEM CL tomography is currently limited to several hundreds of nm in XY and up to 650 nm in Z for diamonds. Opaque materials are likely to have an improved Z resolution, as CL emission generated deeper in the material is not able to escape from it.

Removal of Ar+ beam‐induced damaged layers from polyimide surfaces with argon gas cluster ion beams

AbstractAn Ar Gas Cluster Ion Beam (GCIB) has been shown to remove previous Ar+ ion beam‐induced surface damage to a bulk polyimide (PI) film. After removal of the damaged layer with a GCIB sputter source, XPS measurements show minor changes to the carbon, nitrogen and oxygen atomic concentrations relative to the original elemental bulk concentrations. The GCIB sputter depth profiles showed that there is a linear relationship between the Ar+ ion beam voltage within the range from 0.5 to 4.0 keV and the dose of argon cluster ions required to remove the damaged layer. The rate of recovery of the original PI atomic composition as a function of GCIB sputtering is similar for carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, indicating that there was no preferential sputtering for these elements. The XPS chemical state analysis of the N 1s spectra after GCIB sputtering revealed a 17% damage ratio of altered nitrogen chemical state species. Further optimization of the GCIB sputtering conditions should lead to lower nitrogen damage ratios with the elemental concentrations closer to those of bulk PI. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reduction of residual stress in optical silicon nitcide thin films prepared by radio-frequency ion beam sputtering deposition

In this study, we investigate the deposition of SiNx thin films by radio-frequency ion-beam sputtering deposition. By varying the amount of N2 and Ar flow and ion-beam voltage, we can obtain an optimal refractive index of 2.07, extinction coefficient (at the central wavelength of 500 nm) of 3.44×10−4, and deposition rate of 0.166 nm/s. The x-ray photoelectron spectra of SiNx films deposited with different beam voltages are also analyzed. The residual stress of the SiNx films varied from −1.38 to −2.17 GPa, depending on the beam voltage. The residual stress is reduced from −2.17 to −1.40 GPa when the film is divided into four layers with three interfaces.

Effect of assist ion beam voltage on intrinsic stress and optical properties of Ta 2O 5 thin films deposited by dual ion beam sputtering

The optical properties and intrinsic stress of Ta 2O 5 thin films deposited by dual ion beam sputtering (DIBS) were studied as a function of the assist ion beam voltage (250–650 V). When the assist ion beam voltage was in the range of 350–450 V, the transmittance at the quarter-wave point reached its highest value (lowest absorption). The refractive index increased to 2.185 as the assist ion beam voltage increased from 250 to 350 V, but decreased as the assist ion beam voltage was further increased from 350 to 650 V.

Effects of ion beam voltage on properties of indium tin oxide films prepared by ion beam sputtering

Indium tin oxide (ITO) films were deposited by ion beam sputtering under various bias voltages. The deposition rate and surface roughness increased with increasing beam voltage. The ITO films showed amorphous structure and were obviously non-stoichiometric. The carrier concentration increased with increasing beam voltage. The conductive electrons of ITO films primarily originated from the oxygen vacancies Vo. The resistivity decreased to a minimum of 3·34 × 10−4 Ω cm at 450 V. The optical transmission in the visible region decreased with increasing beam voltage. Indium tin oxide films with high electron concentration had higher optical energy gap and resulted in blue shift.

Effects of nitrogen partial pressure on electrical properties and thermal stability of TiAlN films by ion beam sputter deposition

TiAlN films prepared using ion beam sputter deposition (IBSD) method are planed to be used as both the bottom electrode and diffusion barrier for a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) (Ba,Sr)TiO 3 (BST) capacitor in our study. We had shown the effects of ion beam voltage, substrate temperature on electrical properties, and thermal stability of TiAlN films in our previous study. In this paper, effects of nitrogen partial pressure ( P N2) during the IBSD process on TiAlN films properties and their effect on the electrical resistivity and thermal stability were investigated. It was found that P N2 affects the crystallographic structure, crystallinity, and composition of the films, resulting in varied performance in electrical resistivity and thermal stability. As P N2 increased, the degree of predominance in the (200) plane and the crystallinity of films decreased, resulting in the increase of electrical resistivity. It is believed that the diminishing degree of predominance in the (200) plane and the crystallinity of the films can be attributed to a decreased kinetic energy of adatoms with increasing P N2. Changing the amount of P N2 also affected the composition of deposited films. Thermal stability decreased with decreasing Al content and the crystallinity of films. It is worth mentioning that due to the dense film quality nature of the IBSD method, the TiAlN films deposited under optimum conditions ( P N2 = 4.4 × 10 −3 Pa) exhibited good thermal stability up to 700 °C in an oxygen atmosphere and the resistivity remained lower than 500μΩ × cm.

均一・高密度プラズマ生成アンテナを用いたマイクロ波放電型イオンスラスタの高性能化

The dependency of thrust performance on thruster configurations such as antenna length, antenna height, number of antenna, magnetic field configuration, and microwave frequency, was investigated with the objective of improving the thrust performance of microwave discharge ion thruster using antennas for uniform and dense plasma production. The experimental results showed that there was an optimum length of the antennas, and it was 3/4 times the wave length of incident microwaves. The ion beam current reaches its maximum value when the antenna was set at 2mm downstream of an electron cyclotron resonance layer. There was an optimum number of the antennas. This is due to the tradeoff between the coupling of plasma with microwave and the surface recombination on the antenna. The expansion of ionization zone was made successfully by changing magnetic field configuration. In addition, the thrust performance was slightly improved with increase in incident microwave frequency from 2.45GHz to 4.2GHz. A value for the ion beam current with 2.45GHz is compensated by high electron number density and less magnetized ions for the disadvantage of small plasma number density. Overall, the propellant utilization efficiency, ion production cost, and estimated thrust were found to be 0.62, 300W/A and 6.2mN, respectively at mass flow rate of 0.22mg/s for xenon, ion beam voltage of 1,500V and 2.45GHz microwave incident power at 32W.