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Dr. Marc-Aurele Nicolet Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics, Emeritus 321
Steele Ph.D. - University of Basle, 1958 |
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| Expertise Studies of most recent date involve the synthesis and characterization of amorphous or near-amorphous ternary thin films typically composed of an early transistion metal, nitrogen or oxygen, and silicon or boron. They may be viewed as mixtures of two nitrides, oxides or borides that are immiscible in thermal equilibirum. The uncommon combination of useful attributes of these films has rapidly lead to practical applications. Unresolved issues relating to the application of MeV He backscattering spectrometry as an analytical technique have also been investigated. Field of Study The subjects investigated in our group center on issues of solid-state device technology, with emphasis on thin-film processes and surface layer phenomena. These subjects are interdisciplinary in nature, involving topics traditionally attributed to materials science, chemistry, physics, and electrical engineering. The research is experimental. The main synthetic tools employed are thin-film depositions and ion implantation; the principal analytical techniques are backscattering spectrometry, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and electrical measurements. One area of research involves the reaction of thin films with each other or with a substrate, particularly semiconductor substrates. Equally important for device technology is the inverse problem, namely how these reactions can be suppressed. Both aspects are investigated with two goals in mind; namely, to establish a basis of facts, and to derive laws and concepts from them that will explain the observations made here and elsewhere. This work has culminated in the formation of a generic concept for the design of stable metal-semiconductor contacts which now serves as a guideline for many studies in this field, including ours. A central element of this concept is the diffusion barrier, a film designed to minimize the interaction between two materials that are unstable in contact with each other. Our group has developed morphous or near-morphous ternary alloys for that purpose. They are composed of a trasition metal, silicon, and nitrogen. They outperform all previously known materials as barriers between silicon and copper, for example. The physical properties of these new alloys and their possible applications outside of the technology of semiconductors are currently under study. The reaction of metallic films with refractory semiconductors and their thermally reliable bonding are other topics under investigation. Selected Publication T. Kacsich, S. Gasser, Y. Tsuji, A. Dommann and M.-A. Nicolet, Wet Oxidation of Ti34Si23N43 Films, J. Appl. Phys., 85 (3), 1871-1875 (1999). S. Gasser, E. Kolawa, and M.-A. Nicolet, Reactively Sputtered Ru-Si-O Films, J. Appl. Phys., 86 (4), 1974-1981 (1999). M.-A. Nicolet, Reactively Sputtered Ternary Films of the Type TM-Si-N and Their Properties (TM=early transition metal), Vacuum, 59, 716-720 (2000). M.-A. Nicolet and P.H. Giauque, Highly Metastable Amorphous or Near-Amorphous Ternary Films (Mictamict Alloys), Microelect. Eng. 55, 357-367 (2001). P.H. Giauque and M.-A. Nicolet, Carbon Substrates for Backscattering Spectrometry Analysis, Rev. Sci. Instr. 72 (2), 1589-1590 (2001). |
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9 March, 2007
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