Matching Items (2)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
- Creators: Nemanich, Robert J
Description
Cubic boron nitride (c-BN) has potential for electronic applications as an electron emitter and serving as a base material for diodes, transistors, etc. However, there has been limited research on c-BN reported, and many of the electronic properties of c-BN and c-BN interfaces have yet to be reported. This dissertation focused on probing thin film c-BN deposited via plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) with in situ photoelectron spectroscopy (PES). PES measurements were used to characterize the electronic properties of c-BN films and interfaces with vacuum and diamond. First, the interface between c-BN and vacuum were characterized with ultraviolet PES (UPS). UPS measurements indicated that as-deposited c-BN, H2 plasma treated c-BN, and annealed c-BN post H2 plasma treatment exhibited negative electron affinity surfaces. A dipole model suggested dipoles from H-terminated N surface sites were found to be responsible for the NEA surface. Then, Si was introduced into c-BN films to realize n-type doped c-BN. The valence structure and work function of c-BN:Si films were characterized with XPS and UPS measurements. Measurements were unable to confirm n-type character, and it is concluded that silicon nitride formation was the primary effect for the observations. Finally, XPS measurements were employed to measure the band offsets at the c-BN/diamond interface. Measurements indicated the valence band maximum (VBM) of c-BN was positioned ~0.8 eV above the VBM of diamond.
ContributorsShammas, Joseph (Author) / Nemanich, Robert J (Thesis advisor) / Ponce, Fernando (Committee member) / Chen, Tingyong (Committee member) / Chamberlin, Ralph (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Cubic boron nitride (c-BN), hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and semiconducting diamond all have physical properties that make them ideal materials for applications in high power and high frequency electronics, as well as radiation detectors. However, there is limited research on the unique properties and growth of c-BN or h-BN thin films. This dissertation addresses the deposition of c-BN via plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on boron doped diamond substrates. In-Situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used to characterize the thickness and hexagonal to cubic ratio of boron nitride thin films. The effects of hydrogen concentration during the deposition of boron nitride are investigated. The boron nitride deposition rate is found to be dependent on the hydrogen gas flow. The sp2 to sp3 bonding is also found to be dependent on the hydrogen gas flow. Preferential growth of h-BN is observed when an excess of hydrogen is supplied to the reaction, while h-BN growth is suppressed when hydrogen flow is reduced to be the limiting reactant. Reduced hydrogen flow is also observed to promote preferential growth of c-BN.
The hydrogen limited reaction is used to deposit c-BN on single crystal (100) boron-doped diamond substrates. In-situ ultra-violet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) and XPS are used to deduce the valence band offset of the diamond/c-BN interface. A valence band offset of -0.3 eV is measured with the diamond VBM above the VBM of c-BN. This value is then discussed in context of previous experimental results and theoretical calculations.
Finally, UPS and XPS are used to characterize the surface states of phosphorus-doped diamond. Variations within the processing parameters for surface preparation and the effects on the electronic surface states are presented and discussed.
ContributorsBrown, Jesse (Author) / Nemanich, Robert J (Thesis advisor) / Alarcon, Ricardo (Committee member) / Lindsay, Stuart (Committee member) / Zaniewski, Anna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021