The prospect of spray pyrolyzed pure, Mn-doped, and Zn-doped nickel oxide thin films as TCO material.

Nickel Oxide films with Manganese (Mn) and Zinc (Zn) doping (NiO, Ni1-xMnxO, and Ni1-xZnxO; where x = 0, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.06) were fabricated using the spray pyrolysis technique on the glass substrates at 400 °C (673K) temperature. The XRD spectra revealed a polycrystalline nature of the films with cubic crystal structure and a favored growth orientation towards the (111) plane. The SEM micrographs revealed a smooth, homogeneous, and uniform surface, while the EDS spectra confirmed the presence of Ni, O, Zn, and Mn elements in the films. Optical analysis using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy demonstrated high transparency of the films in the visible region (400 nm-900 nm), and the transparency increased with higher Zn doping, reaching ∼85 % in Ni0.94Zn0.06O films. Conversely, Ni1-xMnxO films show a slight transmission decline with increasing Mn doping concentrations. The sheet resistance of the films was found to be decreased for low-concentration doping and again began to increase for highly doped Ni0.94Zn0.06O and Ni0.94Mn0.06O films. Among all the films, Ni0.98Zn0.02O exhibited the maximum figure of merit, showing the prospect for optoelectronic applications.

UV-Excited Luminescence in Porous Organosilica Films with Various Organic Components.

UV-induced photoluminescence of organosilica films with ethylene and benzene bridging groups in their matrix and terminal methyl groups on the pore wall surface was studied to reveal optically active defects and understand their origin and nature. The careful selection of the film's precursors and conditions of deposition and curing and analysis of chemical and structural properties led to the conclusion that luminescence sources are not associated with the presence of oxygen-deficient centers, as in the case of pure SiO2. It is shown that the sources of luminescence are the carbon-containing components that are part of the low-k-matrix, as well as the carbon residues formed upon removal of the template and UV-induced destruction of organosilica samples. A good correlation between the energy of the photoluminescence peaks and the chemical composition is observed. This correlation is confirmed by the results obtained by the Density Functional theory. The photoluminescence intensity increases with porosity and internal surface area. The spectra become more complicated after annealing at 400 °C, although Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy does not show these changes. The appearance of additional bands is associated with the compaction of the low-k matrix and the segregation of template residues on the surface of the pore wall.

Analytical Study of Porous Organosilicate Glass Films Prepared from Mixtures of 1,3,5- and 1,3-Alkoxysilylbenzenes.

Organosilicate glass (OSG)-based porous low dielectric constant (low-k) films with different molar ratios of 1,3,5-tris(triethoxysilyl)benzene to 1,3-bis(triethoxysilyl)benzene bridging organic groups (1:3 and 1:7) were spin-on deposited, followed by a soft bake in air and N2 at 150 °C and hard bake in air and N2 at 400 °C. Non-ionic template (Brij®30) concentrations were varied from 0 to 41 wt% to control the porosity of the films. The chemical composition of the matrix of the films was evaluated and discussed with the shrinkage of the film during the curing, refractive indices, mechanical properties, k-values, porosity and pore structure. The chemical composition of the film cured in both air and N2-containing ambient were evaluated and compared. The benzene bridging groups containing films change their porosity (0 to 43%) but keep the pore size constant and equal to 0.81 nm when porosity is lower than 30%. The k-value decreases with increasing porosity, as expected. The films containing benzene bridge have higher a Young's modulus than plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) methyl-terminated low-k films with the same porosity and show good hydrophobic properties after a hard bake and close to the values reported for 1,4-benzene-bridged films. The fabricated films show good stability after a long time of storage. However, the improvement of mechanical properties was lower than the values predicted by the published literature data. It was concluded that the concentration of 1,3,5-benzene bridges was below the stiffness threshold required for significant improvement of the mechanical properties. The films show UV-induced luminescence with a photon energy of 3.6 to 4.3 eV. The luminescence is related to the presence of oxygen-deficient-type defects or their combination with organic residues. The most intensive luminescence is observed in as-deposited and soft bake samples, then the intensity is reduced after a hard bake. It is assumed that the oxygen-deficient centers form because of the presence of Si-OC2H5 groups in the films and the concentration of these centers reduces when all these groups completely transformed into siloxane (Si-O-Si).

Effect of methyl terminal and ethylene bridging groups on porous organosilicate glass films: FTIR, ellipsometric porosimetry, luminescence dataset.

A dataset in this report is regarding an article, "A detailed ellipsometric porosimetry and positron annihilation spectroscopy study of porous organosilicate glass films with various ratios of methyl terminal and ethylene bridging groups" [1]. The data of porous organosilicate glass (OSG) low-k films was obtained by Fourier-Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Ellipsometric Porosimetry (EP), Photoluminescence (PL) Spectroscopy. The data shows that the mechanical properties of OSG low-k films are principally controlled by introducing both terminal methyl and bridging organic groups, and porosity with proper pore size. The dataset presented here gives additional details regarding properties of carbon bridged OSGs presented in the paper [1]. Also, the data may give the impact of both terminal methyl and bridging ethylene groups on as deposited and thermally cured OSG films. Particularly, we added some details about FTIR, EP (especially related to calculation of the internal surface area) and UV induced luminescence. The data allow to test experimental and theoretical investigations of OSG low-k materials that might use in microelectronic fabrication industry and also might be used to extend beyond the analysis reported in the accompanying manuscript, and may aid for other applications of OSG materials.

Effects of Methyl Terminal and Carbon Bridging Groups Ratio on Critical Properties of Porous Organosilicate-Glass Films.

Organosilicate glass-based porous low dielectic constant films with different ratios of terminal methyl to bridging organic (methylene, ethylene and 1,4-phenylene) groups are spin-on deposited by using a mixture of alkylenesiloxane with organic bridges and methyltrimethoxysilane, followed by soft baking at 120-200 °C and curing at 430 °C. The films' porosity was controlled by using sacrificial template Brij® L4. Changes of the films' refractive indices, mechanical properties, k-values, porosity and pore structure versus chemical composition of the film's matrix are evaluated and compared with methyl-terminated low-k materials. The chemical resistance of the films to annealing in oxygen-containing atmosphere is evaluated by using density functional theory (DFT). It is found that the introduction of bridging groups changes their porosity and pore structure, increases Young's modulus, but the improvement of mechanical properties happens simultaneously with the increase in the refractive index and k-value. The 1,4-phenylene bridging groups have the strongest impact on the films' properties. Mechanisms of oxidative degradation of carbon bridges are studied and it is shown that 1,4-phenylene-bridged films have the highest stability. Methylene- and ethylene-bridged films are less stable but methylene-bridged films show slightly higher stability than ethylene-bridged films.