LS Angewandte Physik / Sensorik
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- FG Angewandte Physik und Halbleiterspektroskopie (13) (remove)
The method of microscopic imaging using X-rays and diffractive lenses was developed at synchrotron radiation facilities and it was recently transferred to systems with laboratory X-ray sources. The first part of this thesis focuses on instrumentation, in particular on the fabrication, characterization, and application of multilayer Laue lenses (MLL). The second part describes a micromechanical in-situ test that is used to study crack propagation with X-ray microscopy in microchips in a dedicated fracture mechanics experiment called micro double cantilever beam test (MicroDCB).
MLLs were fabricated from WSi2/Si multilayer coatings using mechanical preparation and focused ion beam milling. Initial characterization of the obtained lenses using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microscopy was used to evaluate the quality of the multilayer stack and particularly to identify geometrical imperfections of individual lens elements. Crossed partial MLLs were assembled as a compact lens device for two-dimensional operation, i.e. point focusing of synchrotron radiation or full-field transmission imaging. The optical properties were simulated using a geometrical optics approximation and a physical optics model. Experimental results verify full-field imaging using crossed partial MLLs with a focal length of 8.0 mm for Cu-Ka radiation in a laboratory X-ray microscope. Sub-100 nm resolution is shown and remaining aberrations are discussed. So-called wedged MLLs employ dynamic diffraction to increase the diffraction efficiency. A fabrication process is presented that allows a subsequent geometrical modification of the lens element using a stress layer. Thus, the wedged geometry is realized independently of the multilayer coating. The resulting layer tilt is measured using a laboratory X-ray microscope. First investigations of such wedged MLLs with synchrotron radiation at a photon energy E=15.25 keV show an enhancement of the diffraction efficiency of 57 % in comparison to a tilted MLL with the same dimensions.
The long working distance of the X-ray microscope facilitates the integration of customized equipment to perform in-situ experiments. The MicroDCB tester was designed and built to drive a crack in an appropriately prepared specimen. It is compatible with the X-ray microscope and it allows tomographic studies under load. In particular, the method was applied to investigate crack propagation in the on-chip interconnect stack of advanced microelectronics products. Stable crack propagation at this location was achieved. Subsequent tomographies were acquired at several load steps. The reconstructed datasets show no critical distortions. This test is assumed to provide valuable information about crack propagation such heterogeneous structures, what is of interest to address reliability issues.
Aluminium based micro mirrors exposed to UV laser light – in situ performance and degradation
(2014)
The present thesis characterises aluminium based micro mirrors exposed to UV laser light. Such micro mirrors, used in highly integrated spatial light modulators, can for example be used as programmable masks in DUV micro lithography. Therefore they are sensitive to any performance loss arising from material degradation or changes in the mirror curvature. The key question addressed in this thesis is the investigation of the in situ curvature change, which means characterisation during a real laser irradiation. For this purpose a measuring station was designed, combining a phase-shift interferometer, an optical microscope and the laser irradiation of the sample at 248nm. The Phase-shift interferometry technique used is a very sensitive contactless optical measurement principle, which allows a resolution of the sample surface in the single-digit nanometer range.
A multitude of irradiation tests were performed to describe the change of mirror curvature as a function of different irradiation parameters such as the pulse energy, the laser repetition rate or the ambient atmosphere. The most significant effect was detected by the variation of the applied pulse energy, which was in the range of 10⁻⁵J/cm²-10⁻²J/cm². A general conclusion was that a minimum energy of 10⁻⁵J/cm² at a repetition rate of 1kHz is required to detect any laser induced change of the mirror curvature. At higher energy levels two characteristic behaviours can be distinguished. Up to a level of 10⁻³J/cm² the mirrors show a permanent concave bowing in the range of λ/100. A further increase of the pulse energy causes an accumulating bowing in the opposite direction (convex) of λ/10 within some ten million laser pulses. However this convex bowing partially relaxes after the irradiation is stopped.
Another aspect of the thesis was the determination of laser induced material degradation. For this purpose irradiated mirrors were investigated by means of different devices and analytical techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), reflectometry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The AFM analysis showed a slight increase of surface roughness and a directional change of the grain size. As a result of the TEM analysis it turned out that arrangement and shape of the grains seems not to have changed. But after the irradiation the growth of a porous oxide layer up to 20nm on the upper mirror surface was noticed.
Finally different hypotheses are proposed to explain the mechanisms behind the observed concave and convex bowing at particular pulse energies. In this connection it is assumed that the mirrors at pulse energies larger than 10⁻³J/cm² do not show a static bowing at all. It is rather assumed that the mirror bow oscillates with the laser repetition rate.
In the framework of this thesis synchrotron radiation spectroscopy is applied to study the electronic structure of organic semiconductors, of Graphene, and of transition metal (TM) oxide water splitting catalysts (Co-PI) with emphasis on excitonic and polaronic effects. For a correct theoretical description of the electronic structure of these material classes electron-phonon and electron-electron coupling as well as polarization and excitonic effects have to be considered. Excitons and Polarons are localized in-gap states. They are known to affect the optical properties of the material. Their influence can also be revealed in the resonant Auger decay profile. Even in TM-oxides Polarons and Excitons are observed as a consequence of an oxygen 2p to TM3d charge transfer. Therefor, the following three material classes are chosen for the fundamental study of Excitons and Polarons in resonant Auger decay processes. First, the existence of localized polaronic and excitonic states is investigated for regioregular-Poly(3 hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (rr-P3HT) and Phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) used as a light absorber in organic solar cells. The existence of 2D-Polarons, singlet Exciton, and triplet Exciton is demonstrated for rr-P3HT whereas for PCBM only singlet Excitons are observed. Singlet Excitons show an influence on the resonant Auger decay by a combined spectator-participator (S+P) Auger decay in the π*-band. Second, for a more detailed study of the (S+P) decay Highly Ordered Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG) is chosen. For Graphene as a single layer of HOPG without van der Waals force another combination of Auger decays can be observed: a double spectator Auger (S+S) and a double spectator Auger-Gain (S+S)* decay. Third, Co-PI (cobalt oxide compound) is investigated. It is a TM-oxide catalyst used for the oxygen evolution reaction in photo-electrochemical cells. Self-trapped Excitons formed by resonant core electron excitation into self-trapped hole states give rise to a combined Auger decay process (S+P). For all three novel Auger decay processes {(S+P), (S+S), and (S+S)*} a model is proposed.
In this thesis the detailed investigations concerning processing and stability of thin films including carbon species and their possible application as materials of a low dielectric constant (low k) are presented. In order to gather a complex information regarding the chemical, morphological and dielectric properties of the produced layer a combination of the spectroscopy: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), microscopy: atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electrical characterization: capacitance-voltage technique (CV) have been applied. The films deposited by means of variety of techniques have been described, ranging from evaporation, through spraying and dropping to spin-coating. Regarding the possible low-k application, a considerable attention has been paid to the hybrid organic-inorganic 3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane (APTMS) based composite materials enriched with carbon species coming from the following dopants: C60 fullerenes, [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid (PCBM), copper phthalocyanine (CuPc), and tris(dimethylvinylsilyloxy)-POSS (POSS). In the following thesis progressive steps leading to gradual decreasing of the resulting permittivity of the hybrid material is presented. As revealed by the performed investigations, the replacement of C60 within the APTMS based matrix by its better soluble derivative PCBM allows the increase of the concentration of the carbon species within the composite films. The introduction of POSS as an additional dopant gave the opportunity of increasing the resistance of the produced material against the ambient influence. With the excess of the POSS concentration an original fractal-shaped cluster formation has been observed. Finally, the dispersion of the properly chosen low concentration of CuPc and POSS molecules within the APTMS based matrix led to the fabrication of homogenous layer with an ultra-low dielectric constant of 1.8.
Modern dielectrics in combination with appropriate metal electrodes have a great potential to solve many difficulties associated with continuing miniaturization process in the microelectronic industry. One significant branch of microelectronics incorporates dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market. The DRAM devices scaled for over 35 years starting from 4 kb density to several Gb nowadays. The scaling process led to the dielectric material thickness reduction, resulting in higher leakage current density, and as a consequence higher power consumption. As a possible solution for this problem, alternative dielectric materials with improved electrical and material science parameters were intensively studied by many research groups. The higher dielectric constant allows the use of physically thicker layers with high capacitance but strongly reduced leakage current density. This work focused on deposition and characterization of thin insulating layers. The material engineering process was based on Si cleanroom compatible HfO2 thin films deposited on TiN metal electrodes. A combined materials science and dielectric characterization study showed that Ba added HfO2 (BaHfO3) films and Ti added BaHfO3 (BaHf0.5Ti0.5O3) layers are promising candidates for future generation of state of the art DRAMs. In especial a strong increase of the dielectric permittivity k was achieved for thin films of cubic BaHfO3 (k~38) and BaHf0.5Ti0.5O3 (k~90) with respect to monoclinic HfO2 (k~19). Meanwhile the CET values scaled down to 1 nm for BaHfO3 and ~0.8 nm for BaHf0.5Ti0.5O3 with respect to HfO2 (CET=1.5 nm). The Hf4+ ions substitution in BaHfO3 by Ti4+ ions led to a significant decrease of thermal budget from 900°C for BaHfO3 to 700°C for BaHf0.5Ti0.5O3. Future studies need to focus on the use of appropriate metal electrodes (high work function) and on film deposition process (homogeneity) for better current leakage control.
We have grown HfO2 on Si(001) by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using HfCl4, TEMAHf, TDMAHf and H2O as precursors. The early stages of the ALD were investigated with high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. We observed the changes occurring in the Si2p, O1s, Hf4f, Hf4d, and Cl2p (for HfCl4 experiment) core level lines after each ALD cycle up to the complete formation of two layers of HfO2. The investigation was carried out in-situ giving the possibility to determine the properties of the grown film after every ALD cycle or even after a half cycle. This work focused on the advantages of the in-situ approach in comparison to ex-situ experiments. The study provides to follow the evolution of the important properties of HfO2: contamination level, density and stoichiometry, and influence of the experimental parameters to the interface layer formation during ALD. Our investigation shows that the in-situ XPS approach for ALD gives much more information than ex-situ experiments.
In the framework of this thesis, synchrotron radiation based spectroscopy methods are applied to study the electronic structures of stoichiometric Rutile single crystals and TiO2 thin films, and the initial stage of chromium and cobalt growth on TiO2 thin films. Resonance photoemission spectroscopy of clean TiO2 at the Ti L2,3 edges led to Auger-like features, with kinetic energies corresponding to the Ti L2,3M4,5M4,5 Auger decay channels. The presence of these features is assigned to origin from a d2L2 charge transfer state. The resonance of the Ti L3M2,3V Auger channel at the Ti L2 edge is assigned to the L2L3V Coster-Kronig Auger, followed by the normal L3M2,3V Auger decay. The deposition of chromium on the TiO2 film causes a strong interaction at the interface, in which TiO(2-x) is formed together with chromium in the Cr 3+ state. Besides the oxidized component, contribution of metallic chromium is found as well. In the ultra-low coverage regime, post-deposition oxidation is observed, in which metallic chromium is oxidized to Cr2O3, accompanied by re-oxidation of the substrate to TiO2. The interface reaction is also reflected by the appearance of two defect states in the band gap. Resonant photo-emission at the Cr 2p and Ti 2p edges shows well distinguishable Cr 3d respectively Ti 3d character of the respective states. Indications for self-cleaning properties are found by removal of surface carbon during storage in UHV, but the influence of chromium on these properties is not studied in detail. The interaction between cobalt and TiO2 is weaker than that of chromium and TiO2. Nevertheless, an interface reaction is found, in which some of the deposited cobalt is oxidized, while the oxide support is partly reduced. The particular oxidation state of Cobalt is identified by means of multiplet calculation including charge transfer and crystal field effects. The calculated XAS and XPS spectra indicate Co 2+ in a tetrahedral coordination with four oxygen atoms. The metallic component of cobalt gives rise to a broad resonance in the valence band down to -20 eV, with a pronounced satellite feature that reflects the oxidized component.
Spin-cast films of the ferroelectric copolymer P(VDF-TrFE) are attractive for various applications. For such films the question arises whether there exists a depending on film thickness of ferroelectric functionality. In this work, ultra-thin films of P(VDF-TrFE) up to 0.35nm of thickness have been successfully spin coated, which is quite promising in respect of low cost approach in the electronic industry. This thesis focuses on the preparation of the ultra-thin P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer film and its characterizations to find out a scientific guideline for the suitable application as a non-volatile memory element. Therefore, the ultra-thin film preparations have been investigated initially. Optimization of annealing parameters has been done to get the ferroelectric beta phase and thickness determination is also done carefully. The copolymer layer thickness could be determined down to about 0.35 nm. Photoelectron spectroscopy is used extensively for the characterization of the thin film. Eventually, longer time X-ray irradiation of the P(VDF-TrFE) sample may cause a phase change from ferroelectric to paraelectric. Therefore the X-ray irradiation time was also optimized. With photoelectron spectroscopy, the interface chemistry of the P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer and different electrode materials was studied. The interfaces aluminum/P(VDF-TrFE) and PEDOT:PSS/P(VDF-TrFE) are compared. PEDOT:PSS is a conducting polymer, Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxidethiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate). This data suggested that an interface layer is formed for electrodes, made of aluminum. An interface reaction occurs in both cases: for aluminum as top and as bottom electrode. In contract, the organic PEDOT:PSS electrode shows no chemical interaction with the P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer. The much lower reactivity of organic electrode, compare to aluminum, gives a direct hint to improved functional properties of thin organic ferroelectric films. In terms of a low cost approach for electronics, based on organic devices, the introduction of organic non volatile memories is of great importance. P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer is the material with a very hopeful perspective. In next part electrical measurements with P(VDF-TrFE) have been done. By capacitance voltage measurements, the ferroelectric behavior of the polymer by measurements at elevated temperatures (Curie-Point) is confirmed, a threshold for remanent poalrization for films below 100 nm is found, if aluminum electrodes are used, but with inert electrodes, a downscaling of a low coercitive field was possible down to ten nm. This is very important, because due to the high coercitive field of the copolymer (>50 MV/m), ultrathin films for low operation voltages are needed. A prerequisite for memory applications is a high retention time, this was also confirmed. By the help of Near edge X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (NEXAFS) the possible ferroelectric dipole orientation have been also investigated. The average dipole orientation (perpendicular to the substrate) is observed up to 0.35 nm P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer films when PEDOT:PSS/Si substrate is used. The ferroelectric properties of ultrathin films down to a layer thickness of 10nm were characterized using spectroscopic (F1s NEXAFS) and electrical methods (Capacitance voltage). The results indicates an extrinsic switching mechanism with a much lower opera-tion voltage than for a collective intrinsic switching. Both independent methods agree that there is no critical thickness for spincoated copolymer films down to 10 nm, if an adapted system of electrodes is used.
Effects of advanced process approaches on electromigration degradation of Cu on-chip interconnects
(2007)
This thesis provides a methodology for the investigation of electromigration (EM) in Cu-based interconnects. An experimental framework based on in-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigations was developed for that purpose. It is capable to visualize the EM-induced void formation and evolution in multi-level test structures in real time. Different types of interconnects were investigated. Furthermore, stressed and unstressed samples were studied applying advanced physical analysis techniques in order to obtain additional information about the microstructure of the interconnects as well as interfaces and grain boundaries. These data were correlated to the observed degradation phenomena. Correlations of the experimental results to recently established theoretical models were highlighted. Three types of Cu-based interconnects were studied. Pure Cu interconnects were compared to Al-alloyed (CuAl) and CoWP-coated interconnects. The latter two represent potential approaches that address EM-related reliability concerns. It was found that in such interconnects the dominant diffusion path is no longer the Cu/capping layer interface for interconnects as in pure Cu interconnects. Instead, void nucleation occurs at the bottom Cu/barrier interface with significant effects from grain boundaries. Moreover, the in-situ investigations revealed that the initial void nucleation does not occur at the cathode end of the lines but several micrometers away from it. The mean times-to-failure of CuAl and CoWP-coated interconnects were increased by at least one order of magnitude compared to Cu interconnects. The improvements were attributed to the presence of foreign metal atoms at the Cu/capping layer interface. Post-mortem EBSD investigations were used to reveal the microstructure of the tested samples. The data were correlated to the in-situ observations.
The thesis discusses a fundamental question of reconstruction on the Si(100) surface as well as three material combinations, which are important for perspective microelectronics technologies: Si/Pr2O3/Si(100), W/WNx/poly-Si/SiO2/Si(100), and CoSix/Si(100). A refined mixed ad-dimer model is developed for the Si(100)-c(4´4) reconstruction on the basis of scanning tunnelling microscopy investigations. A thermal stability of Pr2O3/Si(100) and Si/Pr2O3/Si(100) structures is studied with ion sputtering assisted Auger electron spectroscopy. The latter technique is also applied for precise determination of O and N content in the new W/WNx/poly-Si/SiO2/Si(100) structure, and to study the preferential sputtering of Si in CoSi2, CoSi, and Co2Si phases on Si(100) surface. The WSix/poly-Si/SiO2/Si(100) system, which was previously used in microelectronics, is studied for comparison. The preferential sputtering of Si in WSix is shown to be qualitatively similar as in the CoSix case.