Evaluation on residual stresses of silicon-doped CVD diamond films using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy

The effect of silicon doping on the residual stress of CVD diamond films is examined using both X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and Raman spectroscopy measurements. The examined Si-doped diamond films are deposited on WC-Co substrates in a home-made bias-enhanced HFCVD apparatus. Ethyl silicate (Si(OC2H5)4) is dissolved in acetone to obtain various Si/C mole ratio ranging from 0.1% to 1.4% in the reaction gas. Characterizations with SEM and XRD indicate increasing silicon concentration may result in grain size decreasing and diamond [110] texture becoming dominant. The residual stress values of as-deposited Si-doped diamond films are evaluated by both sin2ψ method, which measures the (220) diamond Bragg diffraction peaks using XRD, with ψ-values ranging from 0° to 45°, and Raman spectroscopy, which detects the diamond Raman peak shift from the natural diamond line at 1332 cm-1. The residual stress evolution on the silicon doping level estimated from the above two methods presents rather good agreements, exhibiting that all deposited Si-doped diamond films present compressive stress and the sample with Si/C mole ratio of 0.1% possesses the largest residual stress of ~1.75 GPa (Raman) or ~2.3 GPa (XRD). As the silicon doping level is up further, the residual stress reduces to a relative stable value around 1.3 GPa.

Numerical and analytical investigations for the SOI LDMOS with alternated high-k dielectric and step doped silicon pillars

This paper presents a new silicon-on-insulator(SOI) lateral-double-diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor transistor(LDMOST) device with alternated high-k dielectric and step doped silicon pillars(HKSD device). Due to the modulation of step doping technology and high-k dielectric on the electric field and doped profile of each zone, the HKSD device shows a greater performance. The analytical models of the potential, electric field, optimal breakdown voltage, and optimal doped profile are derived. The analytical results and the simulated results are basically consistent, which confirms the proposed model suitable for the HKSD device. The potential and electric field modulation mechanism are investigated based on the simulation and analytical models. Furthermore, the influence of the parameters on the breakdown voltage(BV) and specific on-resistance(R_(on,sp)) are obtained. The results indicate that the HKSD device has a higher BV and lower R_(on,sp) compared to the SD device and HK device.

Mg-doped,carbon-coated,and prelithiated SiO_(x) as anode materials with improved initial Coulombic efficiency for lithium-ion batteries

Silicon suboxide(SiO_(x),x≈1)is promising in serving as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries with high capacity,but it has a low initial Coulombic efficiency(ICE)due to the irreversible formation of lithium silicates during the first cycle.In this work,we modify SiO_(x) by solid-phase Mg doping reaction using low-cost Mg powder as a reducing agent.We show that Mg reduces SiO_(2) in SiO_(x) to Si and forms MgSiO_(3) or Mg_(2)SiO_(4).The MgSiO_(3) or Mg_(2)SiO_(4) are mainly distributed on the surface of SiO_(x),which suppresses the irreversible lithium-ion loss and enhances the ICE of SiO_(x).However,the formation of MgSiO_(3) or Mg_(2)SiO_(4) also sacrifices the capacity of SiO_(x).Therefore,by controlling the reaction process between Mg and SiO_(x),we can tune the phase composition,proportion,and morphology of the Mg-doped SiO_(x) and manipulate the performance.We obtain samples with a capacity of 1226 mAh g^(–1) and an ICE of 84.12%,which show significant improvement over carbon-coated SiO_(x) without Mg doping.By the synergistical modification of both Mg doping and prelithiation,the capacity of SiO_(x) is further increased to 1477 mAh g^(–1) with a minimal compromise in the ICE(83.77%).

Elucidating the role of embedding dispersed cobalt sites in nitrogen-doped carbon frameworks in Si-based anodes for stable and superior storage

Unsatisfactory conductivity and volume effects have hindered the commercial application of siliconbased materials as advanced anode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. Herein, nitrogen doped carbon silicon matrix composite with atomically dispersed Co sites(Si/Co-N-C) is obtained via the design of the frame structure loaded with nano-components and the multi-element hybrid strategy. Co atoms are uniformly fixed to the N-C frame and tightly packed with nanoscale silicon particles as an activation and protection building block. The mechanism of the N-C framework of loaded metal Co in the Si alloying process is revealed by electrochemical kinetic analysis and ex situ characterization tests.Impressively, the nitrogen-doped Co site activates the intercalation of the outer carbon matrix to supplement the additional capacity. The Co nanoparticles with high conductivity and support enhance the conductivity and structural stability of the composite, accelerating the Li^(+)/Na^(+) diffusion kinetics. Density functional theory(DFT) calculation confirms that the hetero-structure Si/Co-N-C adjusts the electronic structure to obtain good lithium-ion adsorption energy, reduces the Li^(+)/Na^(+) migration energy barrier.This work provides meaningful guidance for the development of high-performance metal/non-metal modified anode materials.

Preparation, Curing Reactivity and Thermal Properties of Titanium-doped Silicone Resins

Novel titanium-doped silicone resins were synthesized from low-cost silane monomers and tetrabutyl titanate as raw materials and hydrochloric acid as catalyst, with titanium element as dopant into principal chain of Si-O-Si. The resins were characterized by means of FTIR, IH NMR and 13C NMR spectra, their thermal properties and curing properties were investigated and their corresponding films were determined. The results show that the thermal stability and storage stability of the resins were influenced by the types of silane monomers containing dif- ferent carbon atomicities of organic group. The thermal stability of the titanium-doped silicone resin with a molar ratio of silane monomer B（n-propyl triethoxysilane） to silane monomer C（n-octyl triethoxysilane） being 1：1 is superior to that of the resin with a molar ratio of silane monomer B to silane monomer C being 1：3. However, the storage stability of the former is inferior to that of the latter. This work also showed that the synthesized titanium-doped silicone resins have the highest thermal stability up to 450--500℃ with an atomicity molar ratio of 1：4 of titanium to silicon in the reactants. But the best storage stability of the resin prepared from the reactants with an atomicity molar ratio of 1：6[n（Ti）：n（Si）] was obtained. The effect of the type and content of curing agent on the curing properties of the resin was also studied. Moreover, thermal mechanism and curing mechanism were proposed in this work.

Density of States in Intrinsic and n/p-Doped Hydrogenated Amorphous and Microcrystalline Silicon

Gap states in amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H) doped and microcrystalline silicon doped n and p were examined by analysis of subgap absorption spectra obtained by the Constant Photocurrent Method (CPM) and the Photothermal Deflection Spectroscopy (PDS). Assuming a Gaussian distribution of defect states in the gap, broad distribution of states was found in a-Si:H and doped a-Si:H. A dependence of the defect concentration on Fermi energy was detected and analysed by thermodynamic model of defect formation in a-Si:H.

Probing Structure, Thermochemistry, Electron Affinity and Magnetic Moment of Dysprosium-doped Silicon Clusters DySi_n(n = 3～10) and Their Anions with Double-hybrid Density Functional Theory

The equilibrium geometries, electronic structures and electronic properties including adiabatic electron affinity（AEA）, vertical detachment energy（VDE）, simulated photoelectron spectroscopy, HOMO-LUMO gap, charge transfer, and magnetic moment for DySi_n（n = 3~10） clusters and their anions were systematically investigated by using the ABCluster global search technique combined with the B3 LYP and B2 PLYP density functional methods. The results showed that the lowest energy structure of neutral DySi_n（n = 3~10） can be regarded as substituting a Si atom of the ground state structure of Si_（n＋1） with a Dy atom. For anions, the extra electron effect on the structure is significant. Starting from n = 6, the lowest energy structures of DySi_n~？（n = 3~10） differ from those of neutral. The ground state is quintuplet electronic state for DySi_n（n = 3~10） excluding DySi_4 and DySi_9, which is a septet electronic state. For anions, the ground state is a sextuplet electronic state. The reliable AEA and VDE of DySi_n（n = 3~10） are reported. Analyses of HOMO-LUMO gaps indicated that doping Dy atom to silicon clusters can improve significantly their photochemical reactivity, especially for DySi_9. Analyses of NPA revealed that the 4 f electrons of Dy in DySi_4, DySi_9, and DySi_n~？ with n = 4 and 6~10 participate in bonding. That is, DySi_nbelongs to the AB type. The 4 f electrons of Dy atom provide substantially the total magnetic moments for DySi_n and their anions. The dissociation energies of Ln（Ln = Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Ho, and Dy） fromLn Sin and their anions were evaluated to examine the relative stabilities.

Characterization of doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon films prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition

The B- and P-doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon films （nc-Si：H） are prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition （PECVD）. The microstructures of doped nc-Si＇H films are carefully and systematically characterized by using high resolution electron microscopy （HREM）, Raman scattering, x-ray diffraction （XRD）, Auger electron spectroscopy （AES）, and resonant nucleus reaction （RNR）. The results show that as the doping concentration of PH3 increases, the average grain size （d） tends to decrease and the crystalline volume percentage （Xc） increases simultaneously. For the B-doped samples, as the doping concentration of B2H6 increases, no obvious change in the value of d is observed, but the value of Xc is found to decrease. This is especially apparent in the case of heavy B2H6 doped samples, where the films change from nanocrystalline to amorphous.

Holmium-doped Porous Silicon Prepared by a New Electrochemical Approach and Its Photoluminescence

Porous silicon(PS) was found to emit visible luminescence at room temperature. This phenomenon implies a potential application of silicon in optoelectronics. The luminescence of PS can be improved by doping with rare earth elements. A new electrochemical doping approach, constant potential electrolysis, and a new electrolyte system for doping of porous silicon with holmium were reported. By this approach and system, the doping products were well controlled, and Ho doped PS(HDPS) was found to emit much intenser visible photoluminescence with blue shift in wavelength and higher luminescence stability at room temperature than that for corresponding PS wafer. The effects of various kinds of holmium compounds, solvents, applied voltage, concentration of holmium nitrate and doping time on photoluminescence of HDPS were investigated, and the optimum doping conditions were fixed. The luminescence mechanisms for PS and HDPS were discussed.

Detailed Micro Raman Spectroscopy Analysis of Doped Silicon Thin Film Layers and Its Feasibility for Heterojunction Silicon Wafer Solar Cells

Hydrogenated doped silicon thin films deposited using RF (13.56 MHz) PECVD were studied in detail using micro Raman spectroscopy to investigate the impact of doping gas flow, film thickness, and substrate type on the film characteristics. In particular, by deconvoluting the micro Raman spectra into amorphous and crystalline components, qualitative and quantitative information such as bond angle disorder, bond length, film stress, and film crystallinity can be determined. By selecting the optimum doped silicon thin film deposition conditions, and combining our p-doped and n-doped silicon thin films in different heterojunction structures, we demonstrate both (i) an efficient field effect passivation and (ii) further improvement to c-Si/a-Si:H(i) interface defect density with observed improvement in implied open-circuit voltage VOC and minority carrier lifetimes across all injections levels of interest. In particular, the heterojunction structure (a-Si:H(p)/a-Si:H(i)/c-Si(n)/a-Si:H(i)/a-Si:H(p)) demonstrates a minority carrier lifetime of 2.4 ms at an injection level of 1015 cm-3, and a high implied open-circuit voltage of 725 mV. Simulation studies reveal a strong dependence of the interface defect density Dit on the heterojunction silicon wafer solar cell performance, affected by the deposition conditions of the overlying doped silicon thin film layers. Using our films, and a fitted Dit of 5 × 1010 cm-2·eV-1, we demonstrate that a solar cell efficiency of ~22.5% can be potentially achievable.

Hyperdoped silicon:Processing,properties,and devices

Hyperdoping that introduces impurities with concentrations exceeding their equilibrium solubility has been attract-ing great interest since the tuning of semiconductor properties increasingly relies on extreme measures.In this review we fo-cus on hyperdoped silicon(Si)by introducing methods used for the hyperdoping of Si such as ion implantation and laser dop-ing,discussing the electrical and optical properties of hyperdoped bulk Si,Si nanocrystals,Si nanowires and Si films,and present-ing the use of hyperdoped Si for devices like infrared photodetectors and solar cells.The perspectives of the development of hy-perdoped Si are also provided.

Modelling of Thermal Behavior N-Doped Silicon Resistor

From the analysis of the frequently models of mobility used in the literature, we determine by an identification method the temperature coefficients α and β of a silicon resistance doped with donor atoms. Their variations show a non linear dependence according to the doping and the existence of a minimal value at particular concentration. Moreover, the comparison between the obtained results and those of a P-type resistance shows that there is a strong similarity in their thermal behaviours, except for a particular couple of α and β.

Four-wave mixing in silicon-nanocrystal embedded high-index doped silica micro-ring resonator

A nonlinear integrated optical platform that allows the fabrication of waveguide circuits with different material composition,and at small dimensions,offers advantages in terms of field enhancement and increased interaction length,thereby facilitating the observation of nonlinear optics effects at a much lower power level.To enhance the nonlinearity of the conventional waveguide structure,in this work,we propose and demonstrate a microstructured waveguide where silicon rich layer is embedded in the core of the conventional waveguide in order to increase its nonlinearity.By embedding a 20 nm thin film of silicon nanocrystal(Si-nc),we achieve a twofold increase of the nonlinear parameter,γ.The linear relationship between the fourwave mixing conversion efficiency and pump power reveals the negligible nonlinear absorption and small dispersion in the micro-ring resonators.This simple approach of embedding an ultra-thin Si-nc layer into conventional high-index doped silica dramatically increases its nonlinear performance,and could potentially find applications in all-optical processing functions.

FORMATION AND PROPERTIES 0F POROUS SILICON LAYER ON HEAVILY DOPED n-Si

The anodic voltammetric curves of heavily doped n-Si in HF solution, on which three different regions have emerged, and were plotted, A porous silicon layer with fine morphology was formed in linear region.

Parity Alternation of Silicon-doped Ternary Cationic Clusters HC_nSi_2^+(n=1～9)

Systematic study on the electronic/geometrical structures and the parity alternation effect of silicon-doped ternary cationic clusters HCnSi2＋（n = 1 ~9） have been carried out at the coupled cluster level. The ground-state （G-S） isomers of the clusters have been defined. The C, chains of the G-S isomers display polyacetylene-like structures. The even-n cations are more stable than the odd-n ones. Such a trend of even/odd alternation has been elaborated based on concepts of the bond character, atomic charge, incremental binding energy, ionization potential, proton affinity and fragmentation energies of the systems. The findings accord with the relative intensities of HC,,Si2＋ species recorded in the related mass spectrometric experiments.

Formation of Epitaxial Heavy-doped Silicon Films by PECVD Method

Plasma-enhanced CVD（PECVD） epitaxy at 200℃ was used to deposit heavy doped n-type silicon films. Post-annealing by rapid thermal processing was applied to improve the properties of the epitaxial layer. By analyzing the Raman spectra and the imaginary part of the dielectric constant spectra of the samples, it was found that high-quality heavy-doped epitaxial n-type silicon layer can be obtained by optimizing the parameters of the PECVD depositing process. Reducing the electrodes distance of the PECVD had a great effect on the crystallzation of the epitaxialed n-type silicon films. Sillicon films with high-crystallization were obtained with the electrodes distance of 18 mm. Post-annealing process can improve the crystallization and reduce the resistance of the epitaxial films. In our research, it was found that the sheet resistance（R□） of the post-annealed films with thickness of about 50 nm has a simple relationship with RPH3/SiH4（ratio of the flow rate of PH3 and SiH4） of the PECVD processing： R□=-184-125 lg（R（PH3/SiH4））. In the end, high-quality epitaxial n-type silicon film was obtained with R□ of 15 Ω/□ and thickness of ~50 nm.

Transport of Electrons in Donor-Doped Silicon at Any Degree of Degeneracy of Electron Gas

The general expressions, based on the Fermi distribution of the free electrons, are applied for calculation of the kinetic coefficients in donor-doped silicon at arbitrary degree of the degeneracy of electron gas under equilibrium conditions. The classical statistics lead to large errors in estimation of the transport parameters for the materials where Fermi level is located high above the conduction band edge unless the effective density of randomly moving electrons is introduced. The obtained results for the diffusion coefficient and drift mobility are discussed together with practical approximations applicable for non-degenerate electron gas and materials with arbitrary degree of degeneracy. In particular, the drift mobility of randomly moving electrons is found to depend on the degree of degeneracy and can exceed the Hall mobility considerably. When the effective density is introduced, the traditional Einstein relation between the diffusion coefficient and the drift mobility of randomly moving electrons is conserved at any level of degeneracy. The main conclusions and formulae can be applicable for holes in acceptor-doped silicon as well.

Electroless deposition of W-doped Ag films onto p-Si(100)from diluted HF solution

Tungsten-doped silver films were prepared by immersing hydrogen-terminated silicon wafers into the solution of 2.5 mmol/L[Ag2WO4]+0.1 mol/L HF at 50℃.Their growth and composition were characterized with atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,respectively.The effect of tungstate ions on the deposition of silver was investigated by X-ray diffraction(XRD)and scanning electron microscopy(SEM)by comparing W-doped Ag film with Ag film.It is found that the molar fraction of tungsten in the deposits is about 2.3%and the O to W molar ratio was about 4.0 and W-doped Ag films have good anti-corrosion in air at 350℃.The doping of tungsten cannot change the deposition of silver.

Electrochemical characteristics of phosphorus doped Si-C composite for anode active material of lithium secondary batteries

Phosphorus doped silicon-carbon composite particles were synthesized through a DC arc plasma torch.Silane(SiH4) and methane(CH4) were introduced into the reaction chamber as the precursor of silicon and carbon,respectively.Phosphine(PH3) was used as a phosphorus dopant gas.Characterization of synthesized particles were carried out by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray diffractometry(XRD),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and bulk resistivity measurement.Electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic test and electrochemical voltage spectroscopy(EVS).In the experimental range,phosphorus doped silicon-carbon composite electrode exhibits enhanced cycle performance than intrinsic silicon and phosphorus doped silicon.It can be explained that incorporation of carbon into silicon acts as a buffer matrix and phosphorus doping plays an important role to enhance the conductivity of the electrode,which leads to the improvement of the cycle performance of the cell.

Vanadium-Doped Semi-Insulating 6H-SiC for Microwave Power Device Applications

Two-inch semi-insulating SiC bulk crystals with resistivity higher than 1 × 10^6 Qcm were achieved by vanadium doping during sublimation. Secondary-ion-mass-spectrometry （SIMS） was employed to determine the concentration of impurities in the crystals, such as B, AI, V and N. These results indicated that the concentration of nitrogen and aluminum kept on decreasing and the concentration of B and V was almost constant during the whole growth. An inner crucible was used to control the exhausting of vanadium, which made the uniformity of the high resistivity （〉1×10^6 Ωcm） in the wafer up to 80%. High-performance AlGaN/GaN high-electronmobility-transistor （HEMT） materials and devices were grown and fabricated on semi-insulating 6H-SiC sub- strates. The two-dimensional electron gas （2DEG） mobility at room-temperature was 1795 cm^2/V-s. The charge carrier concentration of the substrate determined by capacitance-voltage （C-V） test was 7.3×10^15 cm^-3. The device with a gate width of I mm exhibits a maximum output power of 5.5 W at 8 GHz, which proves the semi-insulating property of the substrates indirectly.