Mariusz Martyniuk

Evaluation of elastic modulus and hardness of thin films by nanoindentation

Simple equations are proposed for determining elastic modulus and hardness properties of thin films on substrates from nanoindentation experiments. An empirical formulation relates the modulus E and hardness H of the film/substrate bilayer to corresponding material properties of the constituent materials via a power-law relation. Geometrical dependence of E and H is wholly contained in the power-law exponents, expressed here as sigmoidal functions of indenter penetration relative to film thickness. The formulation may be inverted to enable deconvolution of film properties from data on the film/substrate bilayers. Berkovich nanoindentation data for dense oxide and nitride films on silicon substrates are used to validate the equations and to demonstrate the film property deconvolution. Additional data for less dense nitride films are used to illustrate the extent to which film properties may depend on the method of fabrication.

New concepts in infrared photodetector designs

In 1959, Lawson and co-workers published the paper which triggered development of variable band gap Hg1−xCdxTe (HgCdTe) alloys providing an unprecedented degree of freedom in infrared detector design. HgCdTe ternary alloy has been used for realization of detectors operating under various modalities including: photoconductor, photodiode, and metal-insulator-semiconductor detector designs. Over the last five decades, this material system has successfully overcome the challenges from other material systems. It is important to notice that none of these competitors can compete in terms of fundamental properties. The competition may represent more mature technology but not higher performance or, with the exception of thermal detectors, higher operating temperatures (HOTs) for ultimate performance. In the last two decades, several new concepts for improvement of the performance of photodetectors have been proposed. These new concepts are particularly addressing the drive towards the so called HOT detectors aiming to increase detector operating temperatures. In this paper, new strategies in photodetector designs are reviewed, including barrier detectors, unipolar barrier photodiodes, multistage detectors and trapping detectors. Some of these new solutions have emerged as a real competitor to HgCdTe photodetectors.

Stress in low-temperature plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposited silicon nitride thin films

Two experimental techniques have been investigated to examine residual stress in low-temperature plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposited (PECVD) SiNx thin films: one that measures the stress-induced substrate curvature, and the other that takes advantage of the stress-induced deformation of freestanding diagnostic microstructures. A general linear dependence of residual stress on SiNx deposition temperature is observed, with the magnitude of stress changing linearly from ~300 MPa tensile stress to ~600 MPa compressive stress as the deposition temperature is decreased from 300 to 100 °C. However, the results deviate from the linear dependence by a different degree for both measurement techniques at low deposition temperatures. The stress values obtained via the substrate curvature method deviate from the linear dependence for deposition temperatures below 200 °C, whereas the values obtained via the diagnostic microstructures method deviate from the linear dependence for deposition temperatures below 100 °C. Stress uniformity over the deposition area is also investigated.

Effects of deposition temperature on the mechanical and physical properties of silicon nitride thin films

This study investigates the mechanical and physical properties of low-temperature plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor-deposited silicon nitride thin films, with particular respect to the effect of deposition temperature. The mechanical properties of the films were evaluated by both nanoindentation and microcantilever beam-bending techniques. The cantilever beam specimens were fabricated from silicon nitride thin films deposited on (100) silicon wafer by bulk micromachining. The density of the films was determined from quartz crystal microbalance measurements, as well as from the resonant modes of the cantilever beams, which were mechanically excited using an atomic force microscope. It was found that both the Young’s modulus and density of the films were significantly reduced with decreasing deposition temperature. The decrease in Young’s modulus is attributed to the decreasing material density. The decrease in density with decreasing deposition temperature is believed to be due to the slower diffusion rates o...

Uniform Dispersion of Lanthanum Hexaboride Nanoparticles in a Silica Thin Film: Synthesis and Optical Properties

Silica thin films containing uniformly dispersed lanthanum hexaboride (LaB₆) nanoparticles have been prepared by spin-coating a sol-gel silica solution containing cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)-stabilized LaB₆ nanoparticles onto a glass substrate followed by a standard heat treatment. The production of this thin film involved three steps: (i) a CTAB-stabilized LaB₆ nanoparticle dispersion was prepared in water and then dried, (ii) the dried nanoparticles were redispersed in a small amount of water and mixed with tetraethoxyorthosilane (TEOS), ethanol, and a little acid to initiate the sol-gel reaction, and (iii) this reaction mixture was spun to produce a thin film and then was annealed. A range of techniques such as zeta potential, laser sizing, energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM), scanning TEM (STEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDS) were employed to characterize the particles size, elemental composition, and stability and the optical properties of silica thin films with LaB₆ nanoparticles. On the basis of the optical transmittance and reflectance spectra of an annealed silica thin film with LaB₆ nanoparticles, the annealed thin films clearly showed positive absorption of radiation in the near infrared (NIR) region meeting a main objective of this study. A potential optical micro-electromechanical sensing system in the NIR range can be realized on the basis of this silica thin film with LaB₆ nanoparticles.

Nanoindentation of HgCdTe prepared by molecular beam epitaxy

Nanoindentation has been used to investigate the elastoplastic behavior of Hg0.7Cd0.3Te prepared by molecular beam epitaxy. It was found that Hg0.7Cd0.3Te had a modulus of elasticity of ∼50GPa and hardness of ∼0.66GPa. The HgCdTe response to nanoindentation was found to be purely elastic for low loads and developed into ∼10% elastic and ∼90% plastic response for higher-load indentation exhibiting significant amounts of creep. The onset of plasticity has been observed to be marked by discontinuities or “pop-in” events in the indenter load-penetration curves at sheer stresses of ∼1.8GPa, and has been correlated with the homogeneous nucleation and propagation of dislocations.

Model and Analysis of a High Sensitivity Resonant Optical Read-Out Approach Suitable for Cantilever Sensor Arrays

We investigate an optically resonant cavity which is created between a reflecting micro-cantilever and a diffraction grating etched into a silicon waveguide. Changes in cavity resonance, induced by small deflections of the micro-cantilever result in large changes in an optical signal transmitted through the waveguide. An analytical model can predict the cantilever position for maximum and minimum transmission and is confirmed by three-dimensional finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations. This approach can be used to accurately determine the position of a micro-cantilever with a predicted optimal shot noise limited deflection noise density of 4.1 fm/ Hz.

Environmental stability and cryogenic thermal cycling of low-temperature plasma-deposited silicon nitride thin films

Stress in low-temperature plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited silicon nitride (SiNx) thin films subject to cryogenic thermal cycling (100–323K) has been measured. It is observed that the SiNx deposition temperature strongly influences the thin film characteristics. For films deposited between 200 and 300°C, the thermal expansion coefficient is similar to that of silicon over the 180–323K temperature range. The room temperature thermal expansion coefficient of SiNx films is found to decrease sublinearly from 5.2×10−6to2.6×10−6K−1 as the temperature of the deposition process is increased from 50to300°C. The negative correlation between deposition temperature and thin film thermal expansion coefficient, and the positive correlation between deposition temperature and the thin film Young’s modulus inferred from nanoindentation are postulated to be associated with the local bonding environment within the thin film. The stress state of SiNx films deposited above 150°C is stable under atmospheric conditions,...

Local bonding environment of plasma deposited nitrogen-rich silicon nitride thin films

Plasma deposited nitrogen-rich silicon nitride thin films were prepared at temperatures between 80 and 300 °C. The infrared transmission (400–4000cm−1) was measured, and selected absorption bands were quantified through a multiple Lorentzian oscillator parametric analysis. It is observed that the concentration of silicon-centered tetrahedra bonded together through nitrogen atoms increases monotonically with increasing deposition temperature. A qualitative model is presented to highlight the impact of the active adsorption site density on the degree of stepped (ordered) nucleation at the vapor-film interface. The importance of this growth profile, in particular for micro-systems-technology, is discussed in conjunction with measurements of the biaxial modulus and residual stress of the thin films. A mechanism for residual stress controllability is also presented. The atomic concentrations of silicon, nitrogen, and hydrogen in the thin films were calculated using infrared calibration factors derived from the...

Determination of mechanical properties of silicon nitride thin films using nanoindentation

Thin-film MEMS are essential to realization of intelligent integrated microsystems. Of critical importance in such microsystems is the determination and control of mechanical properties in the thin films used for construction of the MEMS, which can be the decisive factor in the realization and subsequent performance, reliability, and long-term stability of the system. In future microsystems the need to fabricate MEMS on temperature sensitive, non-standard substrates will be of particular importance. In this work, mechanical properties of low-temperature (50-300°C) plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposited silicon nitride thin films have been investigated using depth sensing indentation. Young’s modulus, E, and hardness, H, values obtained for the examined film/substrate bilayers were found to vary asymptotically from the thin film properties for shallow indents to the substrate properties for deep indents. A simple empirical formulation is shown to relate E and H obtained for the film/substrate bilayers to corresponding material properties of the constituent materials via a power-law relation. The temperature of the deposition process was found to strongly influence the thin film mechanical properties. Values of E ~ 150-160GPa and H ~ 14-15GPa were observed for depositions above 225°C. Decreasing the deposition temperature initially caused a moderate and linear decrease in E and H parameters, which was followed by an abrupt decrease in E and H once the deposition temperature was lowered below 100°C, such that E ~ 50GPa and H ~ 3.5GPa at a deposition temperature of 50°C.