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- Ellipsometry (7)
- Gas sensing (4)
- Optical properties (4)
- Ellipsometrie (3)
- Thin films (3)
- Doped tin oxide (2)
- Haftfestigkeit (2)
- Kohlenstoffschichten (2)
- Oberflächentechnik (2)
- Qualitätssicherung (2)
Organisationseinheit der BAM
Standardisation of ellipsometry is mainly based on three documents: pioneering work at NIST [1] on film standards, a publicly available specification and stan-dard testing procedure [2] for real-world samples by BAM and a standard specification for integrated metrology by SEMI [3]. Other activities refer to inter-laboratory comparisons for selected layer/substrate systems and analytical methods including ellipsometry [4] and the development of combined standards for thickness d and step height h [5].
Generally, precision of ellipsmetry in terms of raw data Ψ and Δ meets the major demands for all ellipsometric principles (RPE, RAE, PME, RCE, NE).
As a result, fingerprint capabilty is al-most perfect for various layer/substrate systems. However, this is not true for accuracy in terms of physical quantities such as thickness d, optical (n, k) and dielectric constans (ε1, ε2,) as modelling is required. Hence, the layer/substrate and material dependent validation of models is nowadays a key issue.
In contrast to the sub-nanometer sensi-tivity in vertical direction, the effective lateral resolution of almost all ellipso-metric principles except for imaging null
ellipsometry is rather poor, usually be-yond 100 µm.
Hence, nanometer-scaled homogeneity testing and the measurement of micro- and nanopatterned structures is not feasible by standard configurations.
Functionality of optical systems requires optical coatings of
high quality which have to be adapted to the application in
terms of the performance of optical parameters such as
reflectivity (AR, low, defined, high), the substrate material of
interest (polymers, ceramics, and glass), the environmental
conditions (such as temperature or humidity), and the service
conditions (such spectral range and power density). Moreover,
in many cases, additional non-optical requirements have
to be met, including mechanical features such as scratch
resistance, hardness and modulus.
Consequently, thickness and overall uniformity requirements
are steadily increasing. In general, these demands can usually
not be achieved by a single film or coating. Instead, films with
specific design features (such as gradients), layer stacks and
multilayers are a prerequisite for high quality layers and their
reliability. For the development of such layer systems, a
versatile cluster deposition system consisting of three clusters
and a cluster-to-cluster handler has been designed. Besides a
PECVD cluster for DLC coatings, two PVD clusters implement
ion assisted electron beam evaporation and plasmabased
sputter technology. In addition to metallic films, preparation
of oxide and nitride optical coatings (SiO2, TiO2, Ta2O5,
ITO, Al2O3, TiN, AlN) in various process modifications (nonreactive,
partially reactive, full-reactive; rf-, dc-, mf- mode;
PEM control) has been carried out.
Within this paper, the effect of several process parameters on
layer quality (optical constants, density, and uniformity) is
discussed for selected applications examples (AR- and HR
coatings, applications at elevated temperatures and applications
of enhanced mechanical performance).
It has been shown that specific features of ion and plasma
assisted PVD processes, including ion-beam and plasma preand
post-treatment of substrates and layer systems, may
widen the application range and improve functionality features
of given coating/substrate systems.
The synthesis of polymerlike amorphous carbon (a-C:H) thin-films by microwave excited collisional hydrocarbon plasma process is reported. Stable and highly aromatic a-C:H were obtained containing significant inclusions of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV). PPV confers universal optoelectronic properties to the synthesized material. That is a-C:H with tailor-made refractive index are capable of becoming absorption-free in visible (red)-near infrared wavelength range. Production of large aromatic hydrocarbon including phenyl clusters and/or particles is attributed to enhanced coagulation of elemental plasma species under collisional plasma conditions. Detailed structural and morphological changes that occur in a-C:H during the plasma synthesis are also described.
Dielectric, anti-reflective or high reflective systems consist of low and high refractive index layers. Common systems are oxides. The preparation of low refractive index MgF2-films of optical quality by means of an anhydrous low temperature solgel synthesis is presented. The MgF2-sol is prepared by spin-coating on silicon and glass substrates. Various film thicknesses between 20 nm and 435 nm have been deposited. It has been shown that the thickness increase is proportional to the number of coating steps. The deposited MgF2-films consist of 10 nm to 20 nm large nanoparticles and have smooth surfaces with an average roughness (Ra) of (1.7 ± 0.3) nm. The optical constants n and k of the films are in agreement with the literature data of bulk-MgF2.
A gas sensor system based on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect in a 44 nm Au layer was studied. The usability of this sensor system was investigated for several analyte gases and gas mixtures which are interesting due to their flammability, toxicity or greenhouse effect. The SPR effect of gold was measured in nitrogen and compared with the gaseous alkane series which caused a shift of the position of the SPR effect. For in situ measurements, the phase shift Δ at the SPR angle (ψ minimum) in the analyte gas mixtures was measured for investigated gases in comparison with nitrogen. With this method, detection limits of different gases could be determined, which lie in a range interesting for safety engineering. Furthermore the aging effect of the gold layers which leads to loss in sensitivity of the sensor was investigated.
Hydrogen-Containing Amorphous Carbon Layers as Optical Materials in the Near-IR Spectral Range
(2007)
Hydrogenated amorphous carbon layers were deposited on various substrates by means of a plasma CVD process with a RF substrate bias as well as an ECR plasma source. The optical properties of the a-C:H layers were obtained via spectroscopic ellipsometry and correlated with their mechanical and chemical properties. The layers from pure RF plasma exhibit a higher absorption constant in the visible spectral range and a higher refractive index. All layers are nearly transparent in the NIR spectral range making them candidates for optical thin layer systems. The laser damage behaviour of the a-C:H layers was investigated with ultrashort pulses. The damage thresholds were consistent with the absorption constants of the layers. Interesting damage morphologies were observed indicating a sensitivity of this experiment to sub-structures in the layer.
The present study investigates the use of imaging and mapping ellipsometry to determine the properties of non-ideal and patterned thin film samples. Samples which are candidates for future references and standards were prepared for this purpose. The samples investigated were lithographically patterned SiO2 and photoresist layers. The thickness and the optical constants of the two materials were determined using spectroscopic ellipsometry in the visible spectral range. On a larger lateral scale of several mm lateral resolution, the homogeneity was investigated using a goniospectral rotating compensator ellipsometer. A nulling imaging ellipsometer was used to determine the properties of the sample on a smaller scale of 25–150 µm.
Die Oberflächentechnik ist eine Schlüsseltechnologie in nahezu zu allen industriellen Branchen. Mit Ausnahme der mechanischen Stabilität, die das Substrat bereitstellt, werden verschiedenartigste Funktionen materialsparend, zum Teil hochintegriert mit maßgeschneiderten Schichtdesigns unter Ausnutzung von Nano- und Quanteneffekten auf Oberflächen appliziert. Ein Großteil der Fertigungskosten in der Mikro- und Nanotechnik wird durch Reinräume und die Umsetzung ausgeklügelter Reinigungsstrategien zur Vermeidung von Restverschmutzungen und partikulären Belegungen
verursacht, da diese unweigerlich zum Bauteilversagen führen. Die Validierung des Reinigungszustandes ist somit von zentraler Bedeutung für die Schichtqualität und Produktfunktionalität. Dies gilt in Abhängigkeit von der Applikation und den vertikalen Schicht- bzw. lateralen Strukturdimensionen sowohl für Fertigungsprozesse im Reinraum als auch für solche in robuster Umgebung. In der Praxis kommt es häufig vor, dass man mikroskopisch scheinbar saubere Substrate erst durch die Beschichtung „enttarnt" und dann Defekte oft mit bloßem Auge sichtbar werden. Noch problematischer ist der Einbau von Verunreinigungen während der Schichtabscheidung, die zunächst nicht sichtbar sind, dann aber zum Bauteilversagen führen.