• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.11
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• pp.762-769
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• 2008

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon(a-Si : H) layers, 120 nm and 50 nm in thickness, 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 E-beam evaporation. Finally, 30 nm-Ni/120 nm a-Si : H/200 $nm-SiO_2$/single-Si and 30 nm-Ni/50 nm a-Si:H/200 $nm-SiO_2$/single-Si 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 30 minute. 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 on the 120 nm a-Si:H substrate showed high sheet resistance($470{\Omega}/{\Box}$) at T(temperature) < $450^{\circ}C$ and low sheet resistance ($70{\Omega}/{\Box}$) at T > $450^{\circ}C$. The high and low resistive regions contained ${\zeta}-Ni_2Si$ and NiSi, respectively. In case of microstructure showed mixed phase of nickel silicide and a-Si:H on the residual a-Si:H layer at T < $450^{\circ}C$ but no mixed phase and a residual a-Si:H layer at T > $450^{\circ}C$. The surface roughness matched the phase transformation according to the silicidation temperature. The nickel silicide on the 50 nm a-Si:H substrate had high sheet resistance(${\sim}1k{\Omega}/{\Box}$) at T < $400^{\circ}C$ and low sheet resistance ($100{\Omega}/{\Box}$) at T > $400^{\circ}C$. This was attributed to the formation of ${\delta}-Ni_2Si$ at T > $400^{\circ}C$ regardless of the siliciation temperature. An examination of the microstructure showed a region of nickel silicide at T < $400^{\circ}C$ that consisted of a mixed phase of nickel silicide and a-Si:H without a residual a-Si:H layer. The region at T > $400^{\circ}C$ showed crystalline nickel silicide without a mixed phase. The surface roughness remained constant regardless of the silicidation temperature. Our results suggest that a 50 nm a-Si:H nickel silicide layer is advantageous of the active layer of a thin film transistor(TFT) when applying a nano-thick layer with a constant sheet resistance, surface roughness, and ${\delta}-Ni_2Si$ temperatures > $400^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.322-329
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• 2009

60 nm- and 20 nm-thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layers were deposited on 200 nm $SiO_2/Si$ substrates using ICP-CVD (inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition). A 10 nm-Ni layer was then deposited by e-beam evaporation. Finally, 10 nm-Ni/60 nm a-Si:H/200 nm-$SiO_2/Si$ and 10 nm-Ni/20 nm a-Si:H/200 nm-$SiO_2/Si$ structures were prepared. The samples were annealed by rapid thermal annealing for 40 seconds at $200{\sim}500^{\circ}C$ to produce $NiSi_x$. The resulting changes in sheet resistance, microstructure, phase, chemical composition and surface roughness were examined. The nickel silicide on a 60 nm a-Si:H substrate showed a low sheet resistance at T (temperatures) >$450^{\circ}C$. The nickel silicide on the 20 nm a-Si:H substrate showed a low sheet resistance at T > $300^{\circ}C$. HRXRD analysis revealed a phase transformation of the nickel silicide on a 60 nm a-Si:H substrate (${\delta}-Ni_2Si{\rightarrow}{\zeta}-Ni_2Si{\rightarrow}(NiSi+{\zeta}-Ni_2Si)$) at annealing temperatures of $300^{\circ}C{\rightarrow}400^{\circ}C{\rightarrow}500^{\circ}C$. The nickel silicide on the 20 nm a-Si:H substrate had a composition of ${\delta}-Ni_2Si$ with no secondary phases. Through FE-SEM and TEM analysis, the nickel silicide layer on the 60 nm a-Si:H substrate showed a 60 nm-thick silicide layer with a columnar shape, which contained both residual a-Si:H and $Ni_2Si$ layers, regardless of annealing temperatures. The nickel silicide on the 20 nm a-Si:H substrate had a uniform thickness of 40 nm with a columnar shape and no residual silicon. SPM analysis shows that the surface roughness was < 1.8 nm regardless of the a-Si:H-thickness. It was confirmed that the low temperature silicide process using a 20 nm a-Si:H substrate is more suitable for thin film transistor (TFT) active layer applications.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.101-108
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• 1993

$TiO_{2}$/Se : Te heterojunction for color sensor has been fabricated by RF reactive sputtering and thermal evaporation methods onto glass substrate. The optimum deposition condition of $TiO_{2}$ films was such that RF power was 120 W, substrate temperature was $100^{\circ}C$, oxygen concentration was 50%, working pressure was 50 mTorr for the $TiO_{2}$ film thickness of $1000{\AA}$. In this case, the optical transmittance of $TiO_{2}$ film at 550 nm-wavelength was 85%, resistivity was $2{\times}10^9{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$, refractive index was 2.3, and optical bandgap was 3.58 eV. The composition ratio of 0 to Ti by AES analysis was 1.7. When $TiO_{2}$ films were annealed at $400^{\circ}C$ for 30 min. in $O_{2}$ ambient, the optical transmittance of $TiO_{2}$ films at the wavelength range of $300{\sim}580$ nm was improved from 0 to 25%. When Se : Te films were annealed at $190^{\circ}C$ for 1 min., photosensitivity under illumination of 1000 lux was 0.75. The optical bandgap of Se : Te films was 1.7 eV. The structures of Se : Te films were the hexagonal with (100) and (110) orientation. The spectral response of a-Se was improved by the addition of Te, especially in the long wavelength region. The $TiO_{2}$/Se : Te heterojunction showed wide spectral response, and more improved one than that of a-Si film in the blue light region.