• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.8 no.12
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• pp.1158-1164
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• 1998

Aluminium sulfate solution was prepared by sulfuric acid treatment from gibbsite. Aluminium sulfate hydrate [$Al_2(SO_4)_3$ · $nH_2O$] was precipitated from aluminium sulfate solution by adding it into ethylalcohol. From XRD analysis as-prepared $Al_2(SO_4)_3$ · $nH_2O$ was confirmed to have mixed-crystalization water(n=18, 16, 12, 6). The average water of crystalization calculated from thermogravimetry(TG) was 14.7. Aluminium sulfate hydrate [$Al_2(SO_4)_3$ · $nH_2O$] was thermally decomposed and converted to $Al_2(SO_4)_3$ at $800^{\circ}C$, $\gamma-Al_2O_3$ at $900-1000^{\circ}C$, and $\alpha-Al_2O_3$ at $1200^{\circ}C$. Ni-doped $\gamma-Al_2O_3$, was synthesized from the slurry of as-prepared $\gamma-Al_2O_3$, with the ratio of [Ni]/[Al]=0.5. The reaction conditions of synthesis were determined as initial pH 9.0 and temperature $80^{\circ}C$ The basicity(pH) of slurry was controlled by using urea and $NH_4OH$ solution. Urea was also used for deposition-precipitation. For determining termination of reaction, the data acquisition was performed by oxidation reduction potential(ORP), conductivity and pH value in the process of reaction. Termination of the reaction was decided by observing the reaction steps and rapid decrease in conductivity. On the other hand, BET(Brunauer, Emmett and Teller) and thermal diffusity of Ni- doped $\gamma-Al_2O_3$, with various content of Ni were measured and compared. Thermal stability of Ni- doped $\gamma-Al_2O_3$ at $1250^{\circ}C$ was confirmed from BET and XRD analysis. The surface state of Ni-doped $\gamma-Al_2O_3$ was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). The binding energy at $Ni2P_{3/2}$ increased with increasing the formation of $NiAl_2O_4$ phase.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.528-537
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• 2008

60 nm and 20 nm thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon(a-Si:H) layers were deposited on 200 nm $SiO_2$/single-Si substrates by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition(ICP-CVD). Subsequently, 30 nm-Ni layers were deposited by an e-beam evaporator. Finally, 30 nm-Ni/(60 nm and 20 nm) a-Si:H/200 nm-$SiO_2$/single-Si structures were prepared. The prepared samples were annealed by rapid thermal annealing(RTA) from $200^{\circ}C$ to $500^{\circ}C$ in $50^{\circ}C$ increments for 40 sec. A four-point tester, high resolution X-ray diffraction(HRXRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), and scanning probe microscopy(SPM) were used to examine the sheet resistance, phase transformation, in-plane microstructure, cross-sectional microstructure, and surface roughness, respectively. The nickel silicide from the 60 nm a-Si:H substrate showed low sheet resistance from $400^{\circ}C$ which is compatible for low temperature processing. The nickel silicide from 20 nm a-Si:H substrate showed low resistance from $300^{\circ}C$. Through HRXRD analysis, the phase transformation occurred with silicidation temperature without a-Si:H layer thickness dependence. With the result of FE-SEM and TEM, the nickel silicides from 60 nm a-Si:H substrate showed the microstructure of 60 nm-thick silicide layers with the residual silicon regime, while the ones from 20 nm a-Si:H formed 20 nm-thick uniform silicide layers. In case of SPM, the RMS value of nickel silicide layers increased as the silicidation temperature increased. Especially, the nickel silicide from 20 nm a-Si:H substrate showed the lowest RMS value of 0.75 at $300^{\circ}C$.