Area selective HfO2 thin film growth through atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been achieved on octadecyltrichlorosilane (ODTS) patterned Si substrates. Patterned hydrophobic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were first transferred to Si substrates by micro-contact printing. Using hafnium-tetrachloride or tetrakis(dimethylamido) hafnium(IV) and water as ALD precursors, amorphous HfO2 layers were then grown selectively on the SAM-free regions of the surface where native hydroxyl groups nucleate growth from the vapor phase. The HfO2 pattern was readily observed through scanning electron microscopy and scanning Auger imaging, demonstrating that soft lithography is a simple and promising method to achieve area selective ALD. To evaluate the selectivity, the resolution of the soft lithography based method was compared with that of area selective ALD of HfO2 by selective surface modification of patterned silicon oxide obtained using long-time SAM exposure. It was found that the selective surface modification showed much higher spatial resolution and selectivity, an observation consistent with previous studies indicating that highly ordered and densely packed ODTS films were important to achieve complete deactivation.

A series of self-assembled molecules have been investigated as deactivating agents for the HfO2 atomic layer deposition (ALD). Three important factors of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) deactivating efficiency towards ALD--chain length, reactivity and steric effect--have been investigated and discussed as well as the initial blocking mechanism of this process. This investigation shows that in order to achieve satisfactory deactivation, it is crucial to choose high reactivity, low steric effect molecules with certain chain length to form condensed, high hydrophobic organic monolayers.

Modulation Extrinsic photoconductivity spectra between 1.44eV and 1.75eV of unintentionally n-doped high resistance GaN film grown by MOCVD are measured at room temperature by using wavelength adjustable Ti:Sapphire laser. We find that there are two major deep levels in the GaN material in the used photon energy range. The relaxation time of excess carriers controlled by those levels are in the order of 10−4sec. The concentration of localized states are determined as 1.8×108cm−3 and 2.5×109cm−3, respectively. A physical model is developed to explain the results and process the data. Using a new method we have determined the optical absorption cross section of deep levels are 1.5×10−17cm2 and 2.7×10−18cm2, respectively.

In this paper we employed the TSC method to investigate the traps in GaN. The measured sample was a M-S-M UV-detector of high-resistance GaN on sapphire grown by LP-MOCVD. The relation of dark conductance to temperature clearly showed three major donor levels at 0.019, 0.13 and 0.74eV respectively. TSC measurements from 60 to 380K indicated that there were at least 11 traps in the GaN material. The active energy of those traps were 0.15, 0.19, 0.25, 0.28, 0.33, 0.39, 0.47, 0.55, 0.60, 0.63 and 0.67eV. The range of trap density is from 6 × l014cm-3 to 2 × l018cm-3. By comparing TSC spectrum to dark current, we consider there are at least 4 hole traps in the measured range with energy of 0.25, 0.28, 0.33 and 0.39eV. The illumination time effect was studied and discussed.

We find a significant alteration of the surface properties of SI- GaAs as a result of a thermal treatment with SiO under vacuum. Low temperature photoluminescence measurements reveal a tenfold increase in emissions attributed to free or donor bound excitons and the exciton bound to a silicon acceptor. A paramagnetic center is also generated as a result of this treatment. The EPR signal has a g-value of 2.0017 and a linewidth of 0.1 mT. The enhanced photoluminescence and the EPR signal are both quenched by a short exposure to hydrogen plasma at room temperature. Chemical and spectroscopic evidence indicates that the resonance is due to a silicon related center near the GaAs surface. The surface stabilization is attributed to a reaction or incorporation of SiO with the arsenic depleted GaAs surface.

We have detected two dominant paramagnetic centers in porous silicon by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). One of them is isotropic, assigned to a defect in amorphous silicon oxide in the porous silicon layer. The other is anisotropic, and is very much like a Pb center at a planar Si/SiO2 interface. This EPR center is unambiguously identified as an •Si≡Si3 moiety, a silicon with dangling orbital, back-bonded to three silicon atoms, by 29 Si hyperfine structure (HFS) associated with the dangling orbital, and 29 Si superHFS from three neighboring silicon atoms, as similarly observed in the usual planar surface Pb structure. The dangling orbitals are highly localized and heavily p character. The disposition of dangling orbitals is evidence that the skeletal structure of luminescent porous silicon is crystalline and has a lattice which is aligned and continuous with the wafer substrate. The possibility that these centers are the major photoluminescent killers or quenchers is not supported by our hydrogen annealing experiments.

The creation mechanisms of Si and N dangling bond defect centers in amorphous hydrogenated silicon nitride thin films by ultra-violet (UV) illumination are investigated. The creation efficiency and density of Si centers in the N-rich films are independent of illumination temperature, strongly suggesting that the creation mechanism of the spins is electronic in nature, i.e., a charge transfer mechanism. However, our results suggest that the creation of the Si dangling bond in the Si-rich films are different. Last, we find that the creation of the N dangling-bond in N-rich films can be fit to a stretched exponential time dependence, which is characteristic of dispersive charge transport.

Observation of Arsenic antisites (AsGa) in GaAs layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at low substrate temperatures (∼ 200°C) is reported, using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), magnetic circular dichroism in absorption (MCDA), and MCDA tagged by optically detected magnetic resonance (MCDA-ODMR). This experiment confirms that there is a MCD absorption band directly associated with AsGa in the GaAs layers. The AsGa concentration in the GaAs layers is found to decrease by about one order of magnitude after annealing at 600°C for two minutes.

Somatomedin C and other hormones, as well as blood metabolites, were measured during the dry period and during lactation in dairy cows, given different amounts of energy and protein, to study metabolic and endocrine adaptations. Somatomedin C, specifically measured by radioimmunoassay after separation from its binding protein, did not exhibit typical diurnal variations, in contrast to somatotropin and insulin, which increased particularly after concentrate intake. Somatomedin C markedly decreased at parturition and reached lowest values around the peak of lactation, while levels of somatotropin, nonesterified fatty acids and ketone bodies were high and those of glucose, insulin, thyroxine and triiodothyronine were low. Thereafter somatomedin C values slowly increased up to the 12th week of lactation and remained elevated. Low energy and protein balances were characterized by particularly low somatomedin C concentrations. An additional protein deficit at peak lactation, when cows were already provided with low amounts of energy, did not further decrease somatomedin C levels. However, when high amounts of energy were given in the form of starch or crystalline fat, somatomedin C increased. Overall, there was a positive correlation of somatomedin C primarily with energy, but also with protein balances and a negative correlation with milk yield. Conversely, somatotropin increased markedly after parturition and was positively correlated with milk production and negatively with protein and energy balances. Thus, somatomedin C levels were paradoxically low in the presence of high circulating somatotropin. Insulin most closely paralleled somatomedin C levels. Therefore the anabolic state of metabolism at the end of pregnancy was characterized by high somatomedin C and insulin and relatively low somatotropin, whereas the catabolic state of early lactation was characterized by high somatotropin, low somatomedin C, insulin and thyroid hormones.