Simulations of the Dependence of Gas Physical Parameters on Deposition Variables during HFCVD Diamond Films

During the growth of the hot filament chemical vapor deposition （HFCVD） diamond films, numerical simulations in a 2-D mathematical model were employed to investigate the influence of various deposition parameters on the gas physical parameters, including the temperature, velocity and volume density of gas. It was found that, even in the case of optimized deposition parameters, the space distributions of gas parameters were heterogeneous due primarily to the thermal blockage come from the hot filaments and cryogenic pump effect arisen from the cold reactor wall. The distribution of volume density agreed well with the thermal round-flow phenomenon, one of the key obstacles to obtaining high growth rate in HFCVD process. In virtue of isothermal boundary with high temperature or adiabatic boundary condition of reactor wall, however, the thermal roundflow was profoundly reduced and as a consequence, the uniformity of gas physical parameters was considerably improved, as identified by the experimental films growth.

Doped-TiO_2 Photocatalysts and Synthesis Methods to Prepare TiO_2 Films

TiO2 is a promising photocatalyst. However, the low photocatalytic efficiency calls for the modification of TiO2. Metal- and nonmetal-doping of TiO2 have been proved to be effective ways to enhance photocatalytic properties. This review provides a deep insight into the understanding of the metal- and nonmetal-doped TiO2 photocatalysts. This article begins with the introduction of the crystal structures of TiO2 and applications of TiO2 materials. We then reviewed the doped-TiO2 system in two categories： （1） metal-doped TiO2 photocatalysts system, and （2） nonmetal-doped TiO2 photocatalysts system. Both experimental results and theoretical analyses are elaborated in this section. In the following part, for the advantages of TiO2 thin films over particles, various preparation methods to obtain TiO2 thin films are briefly discussed. Finally, this review ends with a concise conclusion and outlook of new trends in the development of TiO2-based photocatalysts.

Effects of Power Density and Post Annealing Process on the Microstructure and Wettability of TiO_2 Films Deposited by Mid-frequency Magnetron Reactive Sputtering

The relationship of ＂preparation parameters-microstructures-wettability＂ of TiO2 films was reported. In this work, TiO2 films were deposited onto glass and silicon substrates by using mid-frequency dual magnetron sputtering technique at ambient temperature with various power densities and deposition time. After deposition, the films were heat treated at different annealing temperatures. X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Raman spectroscopy, and field-emission scanning electron microscopy （FE-SEM） were utilized to characterize TiO2 films. The wettability of the films was evaluated by water contact angle measurement. The phase transition temperature of TiO2 films depended on the power density. It was demonstrated that wettability was strongly structure dependent and the film with the thickness of 610 nm （the power density was 2.22 W/cm^2） showed the lowest contact angle （8°）. It can be concluded that smaller crystallite size, the rutile phase with （110） face being parallel to the surface, and tensile stress favored the hydrophilicity of the TiO2 films.

Effects of Substrate Temperature on the Growth of Polycrystalline Si Films Deposited with SiH_4+Ar

Polycrystalline silicon （poly-Si） films were deposited using Ar diluted SiH4 gaseous mixture by electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition （ECR-PECVD）. The effects of the substrate temperature on deposition rate, crystallinity, grain size and the configuration of H existing in poly-Si film were investigated. The results show that, comparing with H2 dilution, Ar dilution could significantly decrease the concentration of H on the growing surface. When the substrate temperature increased, the deposition rate increased and the concentration of H decreased monotonously, but the crystallinity and the grain size of poly-Si films exhibited sophisticated trends. It is proposed that the crystallinity of the films is determined by a competing balance of the self-diffusion activity of Si atoms and the deposition rate. At substrate temperature of 200℃, the deposited film exhibits the maximum poly-Si volume fraction of 79%. Based on these results, higher substrate temperature is suggested to prepare the poly-Si films with advanced stability and compromised crystallinity at high deposition rate.

Effect of Sample Configuration on Droplet-Particles of TiN Films Deposited by Pulse Biased Arc Ion Plating

Orthogonal experiments are used to design the pulsed bias related parameters, including bias magnitude, duty cycle and pulse frequency, during arc ion deposition of TiN films on stainless steel substrates in the case of samples placing normal to the plasma flux. The effect of these parameters on the amount and the size distribution of droplet-particles are investigated, and the results have provided sufficient evidence for the physical model, in which particles reduction is due to the case that the particles are negatively charged and repulsed from negative pulse electric field. The effect of sample configuration on amount and size distribution of the particles are analyzed. The results of the amount and size distribution of the particles are compared to those in the case of samples placing parallel to the plasma flux.

Effect of Ar on Polycrystalline Si Films Deposited by ECR-PECVD using SiH_4

In this paper, polycrystalline silicon films were deposited by electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition （ECR-PECVD） using SiH4/Ar and SiH4/H2 gaseous mixture. Effects of argon flow rate on the deposition efficiency and the film property were investigated by comparing with H2. The results indicated that the deposition rate of using Ar as discharge gas was 1.5-2 times higher than that of using H2, while the preferred orientations and the grain sizes of the films were analogous. Film crystallinity increased with the increase of Ar flow rate. Optimized flow ratio of SiH4 to Ar was obtained as F（SiH4）： F（Ar）=10：70 for the highest deposition rate.

Influence of an External Magnetic Field on the Growth of Nanocrystalline Silicon Films Grown by MF Magnetron Sputtering

The effects of an external magnetic field originating from two solenoid coils on the magnetic field configuration, plasma state of a dual unbalanced magnetron sputter system and the structure of nanocrystalline Si films were examined. Numerical simulations of the magnetic field configuration showed that increasing the coil current significantly changed the magnetic field distribution between the substrate and targets. The saturated ion current density Ji in the substrate position measured by using a circular flat probe increased from 0.18 to 0.55 mA/cm2 with the coil current ranging from 0 to 6 A. X-ray diffraction and Raman results revealed that increasing the ion density near the substrate would benefit crystallization of films and the preferential growth along [lI1] orientation. From analysis of the surface morphology and the microstructure of Si films grown under different plasma conditions, it is found that with increasing the Ji, the surface of the film was smoothed and the alteration in the surface roughness was mainly correlated to the localized surface diffusion of the deposited species and the crystallization behavior of the films.