In this paper, we present technique to fabricate nanopatterns on Cu thin films via an electrochemical nanomachining (ECN) using an atomic force microscope (AFM). A conductive AFM cantilever tip (Pt/Ir5 coated) was used to form an electric field between tip and Cu substrate with applying a voltage pulse, resulting in the generation of an etched nanopattern. In order to precisely construct the nanopatterns, an ultra-short pulse was applied onto the Cu film through the AFM cantilever tip. The line width of the nanopatterns (the lateral dimension) increased with increased pulse amplitude, on-time, and frequency. The tip velocity effect on the nanopattern line width was also investigated that the line width is decreased with increasing tip velocity. Experimental results were compared with an equivalent electrochemical circuit model representing an ECN technique. The study described here provides important insight for fabricating nanopatterns precisely using electrochemical methods with an AFM cantilever tip.

We investigated the pressure dependence of the inductive coupled plasma (ICP) oxidation on the electrical characteristics of the thin oxide films. Activation energies and electron temperatures with different pressures were estimated. To demonstrate the pressure effect on the plasma oxide quality, simple N type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS) transistors were fabricated and investigated in a few electrical properties. At higher pressure than 200mTorr, plasma oxide has a slightly higher on-current and a lower interfacial trap density. The on-current gain seems to be related to the field mobility increase and the lower defective interface to the electron temperature during oxidation.

Bonding process using indium-silver alloy which can withstand high temperature was investigated at relatively low temperature. We used a thermal evaporator and vacuum coater for making indium-silver contact. From the result of experiment, we observed that indium and silver films which have good quality are formed. From phase diagram of In-Ag alloy, we can find that melting point of these compounds increases with the silver content, i.e. eutectic (144° C) <AgIn2 (166° C) < (300° C) < (670° C) < (695° C). And these compounds are determined by the composition ratio of the source metal. Now we confirmed the thermal characteristics of Indium-Silver alloy is controlled by silver. Consequently we have developed Ag/In/Ag multi-layer composite which has higher melting point than that of normal contact. The melting point of Ag/In/Ag multi-layer is about 700° C. The joint cross-sections are studied using SEM(scanning electron microscopy) and EDX(Energy Dispersive X-rays). From these data, we observed that the composition and microstructure of Ag/In/Ag multi-layer were reliable and this bonding procedure is a better technique compared to the conventional structure of quantum well LED and GaN/Si LED structure was made by using sapphire for substrate and might be good for high temperature electronic devices in the future.

The large optical detection systems that are typically utilized at present may not be able to reach their full potential as portable analysis tools. Accurate, early, and fast diagnosis for many diseases requires the direct detection of biomolecules such as DNA, proteins, and cells. In this research, a glass microchip with integrated microelectrodes has been fabricated, and the performance of electrochemical impedance detection was investigated for the biomolecules. We have used label-free λ-DNA as a sample biomolecule. By changing the distance between microelectrodes, the significant difference between DW and the TE buffer solution is obtained from the impedance-frequency measurements. In addition, the comparison for the impedance magnitude of DW, the TE buffer, and λ-DNA at the same distance was analyzed.

We investigated the photoluminescence as well as the crystal structure and optical energy gaps of the Zn1-xCdxAl2Se4-4xS4x solid solution system based on the Al-related compounds of ZnAl2Se4, ZnAl2S4, CdAl2Se4, and CdAl2S4. The single crystals of the system with 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0 were grown by the chemical transport reaction technique. The Zn1-xCdxAl2Se4-4xS4x crystallizes in a defect chalcopyrite structure for a whole composition and has an optical energy gap ranging from 3.525 to 3.577 eV at 13 K. The photoluminescence spectra at 13 K showed a strong emission band in the blue spectral region and a weak broad emission band in the visible region due to donor–acceptor pair recombination. The composition and temperature dependence of these bands were examined in the investigated regions. The simple energy band scheme for the radiative mechanisms of the Zn1-xCdxAl2Se4-4xS4x is proposed on the basis of our experimental results along with photo-induced current transient spectroscopy measurements.

The lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films were fabricated using sol-gel spin coating onto Pt/Ti/glass substrates. Effects of the holding time for pyrolysis and the coating cycle on the preferred orientation of the PZT thin films were studied. The films were fabricated with different coating cycles (3, 5, 7, 9, 11), dried at 330 °C for different holding times (5, 30, 60 min), and then annealed at the same temperature of 650 °C using rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The preferred orientations of the films were investigated using x-ray diffraction and glancing angle x-ray diffraction. The microstructure and the selected area diffraction pattern of the PZT thin films were also investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively.

Lead lanthanum titanate [(Pb, La)TiO3] sol-gel films have been prepared to investigate the effect of heat treatment on the fabrication of uniform and crack-free thick films by applying different heating schedules. The surface morphology as well as the optical properties such as refractive index, optical transmission, and optical propagation loss of the films was examined, depending on the film thickness. Because the slower and longer heating is enough to remove the organic and nitrate residues and diminish the thermal shock while heating the films, slower and longer heating can produce the uniform and crack-free thick films having higher refractive index as well as lower optical propagation loss. Also, the drying and heating of the films on a hot plate in every coating resulted in the fabrication of thick films having above 8000 Å without any defects and microcracks. This film presented the highest refractive index as well as the lowest optical propagation loss which grows exponentially with increasing the film thickness due to the scattering of defects in the film.

Lead lanthanum titanate ((Pb1−x/100Lax)Ti1−x/400O3, x=10, 20, 28) sol-gel thin films were prepared on SiO2/Si and glass substrates using lanthanum nitrate as a La precursor. The effect of the processing conditions was investigated and the optical properties of the films were measured to obtain good films for waveguide applications. The perovskite crystalline phase is achieved regardless of the heating condition but the slower heating creates better quality films. La content in the film does not effect on the refractive index and transparency of the film.

SrTiO3 thin films were prepared on Si(p-type 100) and Pt/SiO2/Si substrates using ECR plasma (or without ECR plasma) assisted MOCVD. Sr(TMI-D)2 and Ti-isopropoxide were used as Sr and Ti metal organic sources, respectively. Perovskite SrTiO3 films were obtained at relatively low temperature of 500°C (using ECR oxygen plasma. Experimental results indicated that higher deposition temperature and ECR oxygen plasma increase the crystallinity, the dielectric constant and the leakage current density. The dielectric constant and the dielectric loss were 222 and 0.04, respectively, for 1234 Å thin SrTiO3 film (Sr/(Sr+Ti)=0.5). The leakage current density was 3.78 × 10−7 A/cm2 at 1.0V, and the dielectric breakdown field was 0.57MV/cm. SEM analyses showed that SrTiO3 films have a uniform and fine grain structure. In terms of step coverage, a lateral step coverage of 50% at 0.8 μm step (the aspect ratio was 1) was obtained with the thickness uniformity of ± 0.5% and the composition uniformity of ±1.2% at 4′′ wafer.

Epitaxial lead lanthanum zirconate titanate [PLZT(9/50/50)] thin films were fabricated on various single crystal substrates using the spin coating of metallo-organic solutions. The films were heat-treated at 700 °C for 1 h using the direct insertion method. The films were epitaxially grown with (100), (100), and (110) being parallel to the SrTiO3(100), the MgO(100), and the sapphire (0112) substrates, respectively. The epitaxy of the films was investigated using x-ray diffraction, pole figures, rocking curves, and scanning electron microscopy.

Highly preferentially oriented lead lathanum zirconate titanate(PLZT) thin films were fabricated on various substrates using the spin coating of metal organic solutions having the composition of (9/50/50) and (10/0/100). The substrates used in this study were SrTiO3(100), MgO(100), r-plane sapphire, PLT-coated glass, and Pt/Ti/MgO substrates. The films were heat-treated at 600°C and 700°C using the direct insertion method. The phases and the orientation of the PLZT thin films were examined using X-ray diffraction(XRD). Pole figure and X-ray rocking curves were measured to study the film orientation. The films were grown with (100), (110), and (001) plane being parallel to the surfaces of SrTiO3, sapphire, and Pt/Ti/MgO, respectively. The dielectric and optical properties of both the oriented films and the noncrystalline films were measured and discussed.

The (100), (111) and randomly oriented PZT thin films were fabricated on Pt/Ti/Coming 7059 glass using sol-gel method. The thin films having different orientation were fabricated by different drying conditions for pyrolysis. The preferred orientations of the PZT thin films were observed using XRD, rocking curves, and pole figures. The microstructures were investigated using SEM. The hysteresis loops and capacitance-voltage characteristics of the films were investigated using a standardized ferroelectric test system. The dielectric constant and current-voltage characteristics of the films were investigated using an impedance analyzer and pA meter, respectively. The films oriented in a particular direction showed superior electrical characteristics to the randomly oriented films.

The microstructure and the composition profile of lead lanthanum zirconate titanate thin film fabricated using the sol-gel method were analyzed using the scanning electron microscope and scanning Auger microscope. The PLZT thin film consists of micron-scale spheroidal perovskite grains and nano-scale pyrochlore grains. The perovskite grain has a higher lead and lower oxygen and zirconium contents than the pyrochlore grain. The Auger spectra of the two phases were similar except for energy shift and extra fine structure of oxygen peaks. The Auger depth profile and SEM observation of the cross-sectional fracture surface showed higher perovskite content near the interface between PLZT and ITO films than the surface of the PLZT film.