M. Scharnberg

Influence of Contamination on Zirconia Ceramic Bonding

The removal of contaminants prior to the bonding of ceramics is critical for the clinical success of a long-term durable resin bond. This study tested the null hypotheses that there are no contaminants on the zirconia ceramic surface left after try-in simulation, and there are no influences of contamination and cleaning methods on zirconia ceramic bonding durability with 10-methacryloyloxy-decyl dihydrogenphosphate-containing composite resins. After saliva immersion and the use of a silicone disclosing agent, airborne-particle-abraded ceramic specimens were cleaned with acetone, 36% phosphoric acid, additional airborne-particle abrasion, or only water spray. Chemical analyses of specimen surfaces were performed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The influences of contamination and cleaning methods on ceramic bond durability were examined by tensile testing after 3 or 150 days’ water storage with 37,500 thermal cycles. Contamination, existing after try-in simulation as confirmed by chemical analysis, significantly reduced zirconia ceramic-resin bonds. Airborne-particle abrasion may be the most effective cleaning method.

Tuning the threshold voltage of organic field-effect transistors by an electret encapsulating layer

Here, the authors present a technique to adjust the threshold voltage of an organic field-effect transistor (OFET) using a design similar to a dual-gate structure with an insulating Teflon-based electret layer as a second gate. The threshold voltage of a pentacene bottom gate OFET was shifted from +13.1to−2.3V by depositon of a 1.7μm thick electret layer, proving the principal feasibility of this approach. This controlled tuning of the threshold voltage compensates one of the main drawbacks of organic electronics and even allows switching from a depletion to an enhancement-type transistor behavior.

Radiotracer measurements as a sensitive tool for the detection of metal penetration in molecular-based organic electronics

The metallization of organic thin films is a crucial point in the development of molecular electronics. However, there is no method established yet to detect trace amounts of metal atoms in those thin films. Radiotracer measurements can quantify even very small amounts of material penetrating into the bulk, in our case less than 0.01% of a monolayer. Here, the application of this technique on two different well-characterized organic thin film systems (diindenoperylene and pentacene) is demonstrated. The results show that Ag is mainly adsorbed on the surface, but indicate that already at moderate deposition temperatures Ag can penetrate into the organic thin films and agglomerate at the film/substrate interface.

Ag-Diffusion in the Organic Semiconductor Diindenoperylene

The metallization of organic thin films is a crucial point in the development of organic electronic devices. There is no method established yet to detect trace amounts of metal atoms in the organic thin films after metal deposition. Radiotracer measurements are probably the most sensitive tool to study diffusion and to quantify even very small amounts of material penetrating into the bulk. So far, this has been shown for metals and polymers, but not for thin ordered molecular organic films. Here, the first application of this technique on a well-characterized organic thin film system, diindenoperylene using thermally evaporated Ag containing 110mAg radiotracers is shown. The results show that Ag is mainly adsorbed on the surface, but indicate that already at moderate substrate temperatures small concentrations of Ag can penetrate into the organic thin films and agglomerate at the interface during metallization.

Encapsulating the active Layer of organic Thin-Film Transistors

Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with W = 1000 μm and L = 1 μm were produced with a high batch reproducibility of the on-current of -63.3 μA +/- 17 μA (-40 VDS, - 40VGS) and the threshold voltage of 1.3 V +/- 1.44V. Unprotected organic devices suffer from degradation due to water damp and oxygen incorporation. To validate the function of an OTFT capsulation, interdigital transistor structures (W = 46.8cm, L = 20 μm) were prepared on p-type silicon wafers to drive a high current (initially -6.8 mA at -40 VDS, - 40VGS) in order to detect an explicit reaction to degradation. Subsequently, the OTFTs active layer was encapsulated with 1.5 μm of sputtered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) driving a current of -6.2 mA. A degradation experiment over 4 months in dark laboratory conditions revealed a reduced degradation compared to earlier experiments. The threshold voltage shifted in positive direction suggesting degradation only from oxygen. Obviously, the degradation from humidity was blocked. Otherwise, it would have caused a negative threshold voltage shift.

Employing Thin Film Failure Mechanisms to Form Templates for Nano-electronics

Recently, we showed that thin film stresses can be used to form well aligned and complex nanowire structures [1]. Within this approach we used stress to introduce cracks in a thin film. Subsequent vacuum deposition of metal leads to the formation of a metal layer on the thin film and of metal nanowires in the cracks of the film. Removal of the thin film together with the excess metal cover finishes the nanowire fabrication on the substrate. As stress can be intentionally introduced by choosing an appropriate thin film geometry that leads to a stress concentration, the cracks and consequently the nanowires can be well aligned. Meanwhile, we have demonstrated how to form thousands of parallel aligned nanowires, x-and y-junctions or nanowires with macroscopic contacts for sensor applications, simply by applying fracture mechanics in thin films. Christiansen and Gosele called this approach “constructive destruction” in a comment in Nature Materials [2]. This gives a hint how to overcome some problems of the approach, arising from the limits of thin film fracture. A generalization of the fracture approach by being “more destructive” can overcome this limitations. For example, it is difficult to form pairs of parallel wires with a nanometer distance of the pair, but a micrometer separation between the individual pairs. Structures like this are useful for many contact applications including sensor arrays or field effect transistors. As well as thin film fracture, thin film delamination can be well controlled by fracture mechanics. Our latest experiments show that the combination of both, fracture and delamination, forms an ideal shadow mask for vacuum deposition. Cracks with delaminated sides were used as templates for the deposition of pairs of parallel wires consisting out of different materials with only a few 10 nm separation. First, a metal was sputter deposited under an angle of approx. 45° through the delaminated crack, which was used as a shadow mask. Afterwards, a second deposition metal is deposited under the opposite 45° angle with respect to the sample normal, having the crack located in the middle between both deposition sources. The angle, the delamination height and the crack width determine the separation of the nanowire contacts. We present several examples which show how these mechanisms of mechanical failure of thin films can be turned into useful templates for various nanostructures. We will focus here on two thin film systems, that can be easily deposited in every lab. These are wet chemically deposited photo-resist and flash evaporated amorphous carbon. These examples are compared with finite element simulations of the thin film stress with the ANSYS program. Moreover, we show how the delamination cracks can be also used as masks for the removal of material. Channals with a width down to 20 nm produced by ion beam sputtering are shown.

Radiotracer Diffusion Measurements of Noble Metal Atoms in Semiconducting Organic Films.

The application of organic field effect transistors (OFETs) for large scale low-cost electronic devices has lead to intense research. Diindenoperylene (DIP) thin films on SiO 2 are a prominent system due to their high structural out-of-plane order. While bottom contact OFET structures can be realized easily, preparation of top contacts might cause diffusion of metal atoms (typically Ag or Au) deep into the organic film changing the injection properties at the interface. These properties are of great importance for device fabrication. Therefore, only by understanding the diffusion behaviour of metals into the organic layer, formation of well defined interfaces and control of their properties will become possible. For a better understanding of the diffusion of noble metal atoms into crystalline organic films, a radiotracer technique has been used to obtain diffusion profiles for Ag and Au diffusion in crystalline DIP films. For Ag diffusion in DIP, the decrease in Ag concentration of four orders of magnitude within the first few nanometers indicates that most of the metal atoms remain near the surface while small amounts can penetrate deep into the thin film and can even accumulate at the interface between organic film and the silicon substrate. A comparison with diffusion profiles obtained for polymers indicates that the interplay between diffusion and immobilization by aggregation also determine the diffusion behaviour of metals in organic crystalline materials. Latest experiments support this interpretation of the diffusion profiles. Single atoms are highly mobile in the organic crystalline material due to the weak interaction between the metal and the organic material. Therefore, most of the single atoms that penetrate into the material do so during the initial phase of the deposition. When more and more atoms arrive at the surface, cluster formation sets in. Due to the high cohesive energy of the metal the atoms can not leave the cluster and become immobilized. After deposition of a closed surface layer no further metal diffusion should be observed. With the knowledge about the diffusion processes gained by the radiotracer measurements control of process parameters and development of barrier layers in sub-monolayer range should be possible.