Amorphous metal thin films (AMTFs) are of potential use for metal-insulator-metal (MIM) tunnel diode applications due to their ultra-smooth surfaces, a consequence of their amorphous microstructure. The objective of this thesis is to design a thermally-stable AMTF capable of maintaining MIM tunnel diode performance after a post-deposition anneal in excess...
Due to a lack of grain boundaries, an amorphous metal thin film (AMTF) possesses advantageous mechanical properties and enhanced chemical stability that is potentially useful for thermal inkjet (TIJ) printing applications. The use of an AMTF as a TIJ resistor or cavitation plate could lead to a thinner TIJ cavitation...
Current cadmium telluride and copper indium gallium diselenide thin-film solar cells
(TFSCs) utilize thick absorbers (2 - 4 μm). For efficient carrier extraction in these TFSCs,
the absorber layer requires high carrier mobilities and a long minority carrier lifetime, which
necessitates the use of a high purity, defect-free thin film....
This thesis focuses on two aspects of oxide-based thin-film transistors (TFTs), contact resistance and instability assessment.
First, determination of the contact resistance of indium tin oxide (ITO) on two wide-band gap semiconductors, zinc oxide (ZnO) and indium gallium oxide (IGO), is attempted and the effects of contact resistance on device...
A study of deep levels of the emitter region of a
heterojunction bipolar transistor is investigated using deep
level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), deep level admittance
spectroscopy (DLAS), thermally stimulated capacitance
(TSCAP), and capacitance-voltage (C-V) profiling. The DX
center, with an activation energy of 0.45 eV, is the only
deep level...
Hot carrier effects in sub-micron lightly doped drain (LDD) n-channel
MOSFETs under static (DC) stress are studied in order to establish the degradation
mechanisms of such devices. Degradation is monitored as a function of time at various
gate voltages. Under accelerated aging conditions (i.e. large drain voltages) the gate
voltage...
The research presented herein represents an effort to combine the ultra-smooth surface of an amorphous metal thin film (AMTF) with a solution-processed dielectric synthesized via prompt inorganic condensation (PIC). Analysis of dielectric film quality is carried out via electrical measurements of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes. Anneals at 500 and 700 °C...