We have demonstrated resistance switching using polycrystalline HfO2 film with a Cu top electrode for nonvolatile memory applications and revealed the Cu diffusion into the HfO2 layer during the filament formation process. Resistive switching was clearly observed in the Cu/HfO2/Pt structure by performing a current–voltage measurement. The current step from a high-resistive state to a low-resistive state was of the order of 103–104 Ω, which provided a sufficient on/off ratio for use as a switching device. The filament formation process was investigated by employing hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy under bias operation. The application of a bias to the structure reduced the Cu2O state at the interface and the intensity ratio of Cu 2p3/2/Hf 3d5/2, providing evidence of Cu2O reduction and Cu diffusion into the HfO2 layer. These results also provide evidence that the resistance switching of the Cu/HfO2/Pt structure originates in a solid electrolyte (nanoionics model) containing Cu ions.

We developed a variable-temperature scanning microwave microscope (VT-SμM) that can perform high-throughput materials characterization in the temperature range between 4K and room temperature. As a sensor probe we used a high-Q coaxial cavity resonator, which was mounted on the low-temperature stage to allow variable-temperature measurements. We carried out systematic studies on the thermal degradation of the conducting polymers using the combinatorial libraries of polyaniline and polythiophene thin films, which showed rapid decrease of conductivity above 300C and 250C, respectively. The low-temperature performance of the VT-SμM was demonstrated by the measurement of composition-spread Nd1-xSrxMnO3 thin film, for which we succeeded in detecting the clear metal-insulator transition at 100K. We also propose a simple and easy method for the quantitative analysis of conductive thin films, by using the standard composition-spread thin films of Ti1-xNbxO2.

We have discovered new transparent conducting oxides (TCOs), anatase Ti1-xMxO2 (M=Nb,Ta), in thin film form. Both films with 0.03 ≤ × ≤ 0.06 showed resistivity of 2−3 × 10−4 Ωcm and internal transmittance of ∼95% in the visible light region (40 nm in thickness), at room temperature. These values are comparable to those of typical TCOs, such as In2−xSnxO3 (ITO).

We have demonstrated position controlled GaN nano structures with a combination of surface treatments and nucleation sites control assisted by low energy focused ion beam. Ga ions in the range of 100 eV - 10 keV were irradiated onto the surface of the As-terminated Si (100) to create the nucleation sites. The deposited Ga atoms migrated on the surface and were trapped at the nucleation sites to form Ga droplets. Subsequently an excited atomic nitrogen source was supplied to the surface. By SEM observation, the GaN microcrystals of diameter about 800 nm were found to be allocated every 2 μm periodically on the substrates, and cathodoluminescence peaks from GaN nano structures were observed.

We developed a scanning microwave microscope (SμM) designed for characterizing local electric properties at low temperatures. A high-Q λ/4coaxial cavity was used as a sensor probe, which can detect the change of quality factor due to the tip-sample interaction with enough accuracy. From the measurements of combinatorial samples, it was demonstrated that this SμM system has enough performance for high-throughput characterization of sample conductance under variable temperature conditions.

In this paper, we demonstrate the use of thermal probe method that is capable of mapping Seebeck coefficient, thermal conductivity and contact resistance on a micrometer scale. We show the successful screening example on pseudo binary (Bi1−xSbx)2Te3 (0.5<x<1) bulk composition-spread sample prepared by conventional powder metallurgy process. Another demonstration is a novel attempt to combine the combinatorial PLD and the thermal probe method. A pseudo ternary diagram of nickel-copper-manganese oxides fabricated on Nb doped STO substrate was used for the screening. The mapping of electrical resistance over the ternary diagram yields a lot of information, which is essential for materials researches on complex, multi-composition systems.

The prospect of lattice structure and ferroelectricity of SnTiO3 have been studied by first-principles calculations within local density approximation. The results showed that the SnTiO3 has the minimum total energy within almost tetragonal perovskite structure of a=b=3.80 Å, c=4.09 Å. The calculated electronic structure of SnTiO3 resembles that of PbTiO3 because the Ti 3d states, Sn 5s and 5p states hybridize with the O 2p orbitals. The moment of spontaneous polarization of SnTiO3 was estimated as 73 μ C/cm2, which is as large as that of PbTiO3.

This paper demonstrates a new technique to form a patterned metal-oxide film on a silicon wafer using a local electric field. The idea of the technique involves using an interaction between metal-organic molecules dissolved in a non-polar solvent and a local electric potential field on a substrate. In this paper, an alkoxide and a metal-organic complex were used as metalorganic precursors. The precursor molecules were selectively deposited at the electrified region of the substrate. The deposited precursor films were heated with an electric furnace to form oxide films. Patterned TiOx and Sr-Ti oxide films were formed on a SiOx/Si substrate. These patterned thin films are potentially applicable to electric and optical devices. We believe that this new technique provides a new bottom-up process of molecular assembly for nanofabrication.

A systematical growth temperature and oxygen ambient dependency of SrTiO3/Si interface structures were investigated using a growth temperature gradient pulse laser deposition (PLD) system and cross sectional high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). A SiO2 interfacial layer and an amorphized SrTiO3 layer were observed at the interface for the thin films grown on Si (100) at growth temperatures above 600°C. Our results show that at growth temperatures higher than 600°C, the formation of the amorphized SrTiO3 layer is strongly growth temperature and also oxygen partial pressure dependent.

Impurity effects were investigated in (Ba,Sr)TiO3 (BST) systems in order to suppress leakage currents under relatively low oxygen pressure conditions by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD). We tried to dope transition metals, such as Mo, Mn, Cr, W and Fe into the BST target and used the targets to fabricate the films. By measuring electrical properties, we found Fe-doping had a significant effect on suppressing leakage current. Subsequently, we changed the amount of Fe doping from 0.1mol% to 6%. As a result, with post annealing, the sample with Fe:4% showed the lowest leakage current among those analyzed. Even without post annealing, the sample with Fe:6% showed the lowest leakage current. As for the dielectric constants, they decreased as the doping increased. At most, a 30% reduction was observed, compared with non-doped BST. XANES (X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structures) results indicated that the valency of the Fe ion was 3+ and located at the B-site of BST.

A scanning microwave microscope (Sm M) for high-throughput characterization of combinatorial dielectric materials has been developed using a lumped constant resonator probe. The probe consists of a microwave oscillator module equipped with a thin conducting needle and an outer conductor ring, which detects the dielectric constant of the sample just beneath the needle as a frequency shift of the resonator. The quantitative analysis of the dielectric constant for the bulk and the thin-film samples was carried out based on the measurement of gap-length dependence of the frequency shift. The analysis method was successfully applied to the characterization of composition-spread BaxSr1-xTiO3 thin film sample. The evaluation of far-field contribution to the frequency shift was found to be crucial for the accurate determination of dielectric constant especially in the characterization of combinatorial thin films.

We have investigated a resist-trimming process for SAL601 chemically amplified negative electron beam resist. Ultra-fine SAL601 resist patterns with a width of 16nm were obtained by an isotropic trimming process in oxygen plasma. This pattern resolution in SAL601 could not be obtained through direct electron beam lithography alone. Using the trimmed electron beam resists, we have successfully fabricated ultra-fine poly-silicon patterns of less than 20nm width. We applied this nanolithography technique to fabricating an ultra-small metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistor (MOSFET) and revealed that this trimming process is a useful method for nanometer-scale silicon device fabrication.

Ordered GaAs micro crystal growth on a As-terminated Si (001) surface was demonstrated using a low energy focused ion beam. Si (001) surface was terminated by Arsenic. The surface showed a (2×1) structure with As dimers. The As layer was sputtered periodically with low energy focused Ga ion beam. Supplied Ga atoms migrated on the surface and trapped at the As removed region, forming Ga droplets. GaAs micro crystals were grown from Ga droplets by As molecule supply. The proposed method was shown to be effective as a fabrication method.

A selective growth of GaAs micro crystals was demonstrated on a Se-terminated GaAIAs surface by sequential supplies of Ga and As molecules for the quantum well box structure. After the growth, the surface consisted GaAs micro crystals with (111) facets and some Se clusters. The cross sectional investigations by the high resolution electron microscope revealed an epitaxial growth of GaAs micro crystals on the surface and a mixture of Ga2Se3 and A12Se3 layer formation at the interface of GaAs/Se-terminated GaAIAs. The selenidation process seems to be a reaction limited one. The Se cluster segregation could be avoided by selenidation in As molecule atmosphere.

The interface structure and electrical properties of CeO2/Si (111) grown by laser ablation in ultra high vacuum was investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy .Auger electron spectroscopy and capacitance-voltage measurement. The deposited film was single crystalline CeO2 as indicated by RHEED and x-ray diffraction observations. However, during the deposition, a reaction between CeO2 and Si occurred at the interface. This reaction resulted in the formation of an oxygen deficient amorphous CeOX layer and a S1O2 layer. Post annealing in oxygen atmosphere caused the disappearance of the amorphous CeOX and the regrowth of crystalline CeO2. The SiO2 thickness was also increased by annealing. The modified structure of CeO2/SiO2/Si showed a higher break down valtage, compared with the as-deposited sample. From these results, a combination of CeO2 and SiO2 can have a great potential for SOI structure.

A selective growth of GaAs microcrystals was demonstrated on a Se-terminated GaAlAs surface. Ga molecules were supplied to the Se-terminated GaAlAs surface at first. The surface consisted of Ga droplets and bared Se-terminated GaAlAs surface. After the following As molecule supply to the surface, a selective GaAs microcrystal growth from Ga droplets was observed. The cross sectional investigations by the high resolution electron microscope revealed epitaxial growth of GaAs microcrystals with (111) facets and a possibility of (GaAl)2Se3, layer formation at the GaAs/Se-terminated GaAlAs interface.