• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.119-119
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• 2015

Ion beam sputtering has been widely used in Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) for depth profile or surface cleaning. However, mainly due to severe matrix effects such as surface composition change from its original composition and damage of the surface generated by ion beam bombardment, conventional sputtering skills using mono-atomic primary ions with energy ranging from a few hundred to a thousand volts are not sufficient for the practical surface analysis of next-generation organic/inorganic device materials characterization. Therefore, minimization of the surface matrix effects caused by the ion beam sputtering is one of the key factors in surface analysis. In this work, the electronic structure of a $Ta_2O_5$ thin film on $SiO_2/Si$ (100) after Ar Gas Cluster Ion Beam (GCIB) sputtering was investigated using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy and compared with those obtained via mono-atomic Ar ion beam sputtering. The Ar ion sputtering had a great deal of influence on the electronic structure of the oxide thin film. Ar GCIB sputtering without sample rotation also affected the electronic structure of the oxide thin film. However, Ar GCIB sputtering during sample rotation did not exhibit any significant transition of the electronic structure of the $Ta_2O_5$ thin films. Our results showed that Ar GCIB can be useful for potential applications of oxide materials with sample rotation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.96-97
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• 2012

In nitride and oxide film deposition, sputtered metals react with nitrogen or oxygen gas in a vacuum chamber to form metal nitride or oxide films on a substrate. The physical properties of sputtered films (metals, oxides, and nitrides) are strongly influenced by magnetron plasma density during the deposition process. Typical target power densities on the magnetron during the deposition process are ~ (5-30) W/cm2, which gives a relatively low plasma density. The main challenge in reactive sputtering is the ability to generate a stable, arc free discharge at high plasma densities. Arcs occur due to formation of an insulating layer on the target surface caused by the re-deposition effect. One current method of generating an arc free discharge is to use the commercially available Pinnacle Plus+ Pulsed DC plasma generator manufactured by Advanced Energy Inc. This plasma generator uses a positive voltage pulse between negative pulses to attract electrons and discharge the target surface, thus preventing arc formation. However, this method can only generate low density plasma and therefore cannot allow full control of film properties. Also, after long runs ~ (1-3) hours, depends on duty cycle the stability of the reactive process is reduced due to increased probability of arc formation. Between 1995 and 1999, a new way of magnetron sputtering called HIPIMS (highly ionized pulse impulse magnetron sputtering) was developed. The main idea of this approach is to apply short ${\sim}(50-100){\mu}s$ high power pulses with a target power densities during the pulse between ~ (1-3) kW/cm2. These high power pulses generate high-density magnetron plasma that can significantly improve and control film properties. From the beginning, HIPIMS method has been applied to reactive sputtering processes for deposition of conductive and nonconductive films. However, commercially available HIPIMS plasma generators have not been able to create a stable, arc-free discharge in most reactive magnetron sputtering processes. HIPIMS plasma generators have been successfully used in reactive sputtering of nitrides for hard coating applications and for Al2O3 films. But until now there has been no HIPIMS data presented on reactive sputtering in cluster tools for semiconductors and MEMs applications. In this presentation, a new method of generating an arc free discharge for reactive HIPIMS using the new Cyprium plasma generator from Zpulser LLC will be introduced. Data (or evidence) will be presented showing that arc formation in reactive HIPIMS can be controlled without applying a positive voltage pulse between high power pulses. Arc-free reactive HIPIMS processes for sputtering AlN, TiO2, TiN and Si3N4 on the Applied Materials ENDURA 200 mm cluster tool will be presented. A direct comparison of the properties of films sputtered with the Advanced Energy Pinnacle Plus + plasma generator and the Zpulser Cyprium plasma generator will be presented.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2002.07a
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• pp.232-235
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• 2002

An 150 kV gas cluster ion accelerator was fabricated and assessed. The change of surface morphology and surface roughness were examined by an atom force microscope (AFM) after irradiation of $CO_2$ gas clusters on Si (100) surfaces at the acceleration voltages of 50 kV. The density of hillocks induced by cluster ion impact was gradually increased with the dosage up to 5$\times$10$^{11}$ ions/$\textrm{cm}^2$. At the boundary of the ion dosage of 10$^{12}$ ions/$\textrm{cm}^2$, the density of the induced hillocks was decreased and RMS (root mean square) surface roughness was not deteriorated further. At the dosage of 5x10$^{13}$ ions/$\textrm{cm}^2$, the induced hillocks completely disappeared and the surface became very flat. In addition, the irradiated region was sputtered. $CO_2$ cluster ions are irradiated at the acceleration voltage of 25 kV to remove hillocks on indium tin oxide (ITO) surface and thus to attain highly smooth surfaces. $CO_2$ monomer ions are also bombarded on the ITO surface at the same acceleration voltage to compare sputtering phenomena. From the AFM results, the irradiation of monomer ions make the hillocks sharper and the surfaces rougher On the other hand, the irradiation of $CO_2$ cluster ions reduces the hight of hillocks and planarize the ITO surfaces. From the experiment of isolated cluster ion impact on the Si surfaces, the induced hillocks m high had the surfaces embossed at the lower ion dosages. The surface roughness was slightly increased with the hillock density and the ion dosage. At higher than a critical ion dosage, the induced hillocks were sputtered and the sputtered particles migrated in order to fill valleys among the hillocks. After prolonged irradiation of cluster ions, the irradiated region was very flat and etched.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2003

A 150 kV gas cluster ion accelerator was constructed and the cluster sizes of $CO_2$ and $N_2O$ gases were measured using time-of-flight mast spectrometry. Through isolated cluster ion impact on a HOPG, hillock with 1 nm height and a few tenth m in diameter were found to be formed by an atomic force microscope. When monomer ion beams were irradiated on the hillocks existed on a ITO surface, they became sharper and the surface became rougher. But they changed into round-shaped ones by cluster ion irradiation and the surface became smooth after the irradiation of $5\times10^{-14}\textrm{cm}^2$ at 25 kV. As the cluster ion dose was varied, the change of surface morphology and roughness of Si was examined. At the lower dose, the density of hillocks and surface roughness were increased, called surface embossment process. And then after the critical dose at which the area of the formed hillocks equals to the unirradiated area, the sputtering from the hillocks was predominantly evolved, and dislocated atoms were diffused and filled among the valleys, called surface sputtering and smoothing process. At the higher ion dose, the surface consisting of loosely bounded atoms was effectively sputtered into the depth and etching phenomenon was happened, called surface etching process.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.255-260
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• 2020

In this study, we developed a method of improving the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) response characteristics by depositing a nanoporous Ag metal thin film through cluster source sputtering after forming a pyramidal texture structure on the Si substrate surface. A reactive ion etching (RIE) system with a metal mesh inside the system was used to form a pyramidal texture structure on the Si surface without following a complicated photolithography process, unlike in case of the conventional RIE system. The size of the texture structure increased with the RIE process time. However, after a process time of 60 min, the size of the structure did not increase but tended to saturate. When the RF power increased from 200 to 250 W, the size of the pyramidal texture structure increased from 0.45 to 0.8 ㎛. The SERS response characteristics were measured by depositing approximately 1.5 ㎛ of nanoporous Ag metal thin film through cluster sputtering on the formed texture structure by varying the RIE process conditions. The Raman signal strength of the nanoporous Ag metal thin film deposited on the Si substrate with the texture structure was higher than that deposited on the general silicon substrate by up to 19%. The Raman response characteristics were influenced by the pyramid size and the number of pyramids per unit area but appeared to be influenced more by the number of pyramids per unit area. Therefore, further studies are required in this regard.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 1992.05a
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• pp.6-6
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• 1992

Ionized cluster beam deposition (ICBD) technique has been employed to fabricate high-purity crystalline polyimide (PI) film. The pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and oxydianiline (ODA) were deposited using dual ICB sources, Fourier trans forminfraredspectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)study show that the bulk and surface chemical properties and the crystalline structure are very sensitive to the ICBD conditions such as cluster ion acceleration voltage and ionization voltage, At optimum ICBD conditions, the PI films have a maximum imidization, negligible impurities(∼1% isoimide), and a good crystalline structure probably due to the high surface migration energy and surface cleaning effect. These characteristics are superior to those of films deposited by other techniques such as colvent cast, vapowr deposition, or sputtering techniques.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.389-390
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• 2012

In this study, we fabricate a superhydrophobic surface made of hierarchical nanostructures that combine wax crystalline structure with moth-eye structure using vacuum cluster system and measure their hydrophobicity and durability. Since the lotus effect was found, much work has been done on studying self-cleaning surface for decades. The surface of lotus leaf consists of multi-level layers of micro scale papillose epidermal cells and epicuticular wax crystalloids [1]. This hierarchical structure has superhydrophobic property because the sufficiently rough surface allows air pockets to form easily below the liquid, the so-called Cassie state, so that the relatively small area of water/solid interface makes the energetic cost associated with corresponding water/air interfaces smaller than the energy gained [2]. Various nanostructures have been reported for fabricating the self-cleaning surface but in general, they have the problem of low durability. More than two nanostructures on a surface can be integrated together to increase hydrophobicity and durability of the surface as in the lotus leaf [3,5]. As one of the bio-inspired nanostructures, we introduce a hierarchical nanostructure fabricated with a high vacuum cluster system. A hierarchical nanostructure is a combination of moth-eye structure with an average pitch of 300 nm and height of 700 nm, and the wax crystalline structure with an average width and height of 200 nm. The moth-eye structure is fabricated with deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) process. $SiO_2$ layer is initially deposited on a glass substrate using PECVD in the cluster system. Then, Au seed layer is deposited for a few second using DC sputtering process to provide stochastic mask for etching the underlying $SiO_2$ layer with ICP-RIE so that moth-eye structure can be fabricated. Additionally, n-hexatriacontane paraffin wax ($C_{36}H_{74}$) is deposited on the moth-eye structure in a thermal evaporator and self-recrystallized at $40^{\circ}C$ for 4h [4]. All of steps are conducted utilizing vacuum cluster system to minimize the contamination. The water contact angles are measured by tensiometer. The morphology of the surface is characterized using SEM and AFM and the reflectance is measured by spectrophotometer.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.441-448
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• 1993

The Ba1-xSrxTiO3 thin films deposited on ITO-coated glass substrate at 55$0^{\circ}C$ by rf magnetron sputtering method have individual preferential orientations as a function of composition (X=0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) due to the stress relief interactions among the intrinsic compressive stress, thermal tensile stress adn extrinsic compressive stress (compressive stress in case of BaTiO3(Tc=12$0^{\circ}C$) and Ba0.75Sr0.25TiO3(Tc=57$^{\circ}C$)). This behavior also appears on the (BaSr)TiO3 thin films (X=0.5) deposited on ITO-coated glass substrate at deposition temperature between 35$0^{\circ}C$ and 55$0^{\circ}C$. The composition of Ba1-xSrxTiO3 thin films deposited on ITO-coated glass substrate at 55$0^{\circ}C$ is close to stoichiometry (1.009~1.089 in A/B ratio), but the compositional deviation from a stoichiometry is larger as SrTiO3 is added. The morphology of Ba1-xSrxTiO3 thin films is very similar for over all substrate temperatures, and the roughness due to the differences of cluster size is the smallest at X=0.25.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.149-151
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• 2007

The AlCrN films were grown by RF reactive sputtering method under the selected conditions. The Cr concentration was varied by the number of Cr pieces placed on the Al target. The sample quality has been studied by XRD, Auger spectroscopy, optical absorption and electrical resistant measurements. The XRD and Auger results show that the samples consist of a major phase with the $Al_{1-x}Cr_xN$ formula, which has a hexagonal structure, and a few percents at. of oxygen, which may form $Al_2O_3$. There exist the Cr clusters in the samples with high concentration of Cr. The optical absorption measurement provides the information about the band gap that relates strongly to the quality of samples. The quality of samples is also clearly reflected in electrical measurement, i.e., the temperature dependence of resistance exhibits a semiconductor characteristic only for the samples that have no Cr cluster. In these cases, the values of ionization energies $E_a$ can be derived from R(T) plots by using the function R(T) = Ro exp $(E_a/k_BT)$.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.37 no.8
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• pp.731-738
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• 2000

KLN(K3Li2Nb5O15) has attracted a great deal of attention for their potential usefulness in piezoelectric, electro-optic, nonlinear optic, and pyroelectirc devices. Especially, the KLN single crystal has been studied in the field of optics and electronics. However it is hard to produce good quality single crystals due to the crack propagation during crystal growing. One of the solutions of this problem is prepartion of thin film. But the intensive study has not been conducted so far. In this study, after the KLN thin film were prepared by R.F. magnetron Sputtering method on SiO2/Si substrate, the post-annealing methods of RTA(rapid thermal annealin) and IPA(insitu post annealing) were employed. The deposition condition of KLN thin film was RF power(100 W), Working pressure(100 mtorr). The commonness of both RAT and IPA was that the higher were deposition and post annealing temperature, the higher was the intensity of XRD but the less surface roughness. The difference of post-annealing methods affected XRD phase and surface condition very much. And in IPA process, the influence of O2 had much effect on the formation of KLN phase.