The sensitivity of thin-film materials and devices to defects motivates extensive research into the optimization of film morphology. This research could be accelerated by automated experiments that characterize the response of film morphology to synthesis conditions. Optical imaging can resolve morphological defects in thin films and is readily integrated into automated experiments but the large volumes of images produced by such systems require automated analysis. Existing approaches to automatically analyzing film morphologies in optical images require application-specific customization by software experts and are not robust to changes in image content or imaging conditions. Here we present a versatile convolutional neural network (CNN) for thin-film image analysis which can identify and quantify the extent of a variety of defects and is applicable to multiple materials and imaging conditions. This CNN is readily adapted to new thin-film image analysis tasks and will facilitate the use of imaging in automated thin-film research systems.
In this work we present results acquired by applying magnetic field imaging technique based on Nitrogen-Vacancy centres in diamond crystal for characterization of magnetic thin films defects. We used the constructed wide-field magnetic microscope for measurements of two kinds of magnetic defects in thin films. One family of defects under study was a result of non-optimal thin film growth conditions. The magnetic field maps of several regions of the thin films created under very similar conditions to previously published research revealed microscopic impurity islands of ferromagnetic defects, that potentially could disturb the magnetic properties of the surface. The second part of the measurements was dedicated to defects created post deposition - mechanical defects introduced in ferromagnetic thin films. In both cases, the measurements identify the magnetic field amplitude and distribution of the magnetic defects. In addition, the magnetic field maps were correlated with the corresponding optical images. As this method has great potential for quality control of different stages of magnetic thin film manufacturing process and it can rival other widely used measurement techniques, we also propose solutions for the optimization of the device in the perspective of high throughput.
Vanadium dioxide is a complex oxide material, which shows large resistivity and optical reflectance change while transitioning from the insulator to metal phase at ~68 {deg}C. In this work, we use a modified atmospheric thermal oxidation method to oxidize RF-sputtered Vanadium films. Structural, surface-morphology and phase-transition properties of the oxidized films as a function of oxidation duration are presented. Phase-pure VO2 films are obtained by oxidizing ~130 nm Vanadium films in short oxidation duration of ~30 seconds. Compared to previous reports on VO2 synthesis using atmospheric oxidation of Vanadium films of similar thickness, we obtain a reduction in oxidation duration by more than one order. Synthesized VO2 thin film shows resistance switching of ~3 orders of magnitude. We demonstrate optical reflectance switching in long-wave infrared wavelengths in VO2 films synthesized using atmospheric oxidation of Vanadium. The extracted refractive index of VO2 in the insulating and in the metallic phase is in good agreement with VO2 synthesized using other methods. The considerable reduction in oxidation time of VO2 synthesis while retaining good resistance and optical switching properties will help in integration of VO2 in limited thermal budget processes, enabling further applications of this phase-transition material.
We report the development of nanowire field-effect transistors featuring an ultra-thin parylene film as a polymer gate insulator. The room temperature, gas-phase deposition of parylene is an attractive alternative to oxide insulators prepared at high temperatures using atomic layer deposition. We discuss our custom-built parylene deposition system, which is designed for reliable and controlled deposition of <100 nm thick parylene films on III-V nanowires standing vertically on a growth substrate or horizontally on a device substrate. The former case gives conformally-coated nanowires, which we used to produce functional $Omega$-gate and gate-all-around structures. These give sub-threshold swings as low as 140 mV/dec and on/off ratios exceeding $10^3$ at room temperature. For the gate-all-around structure, we developed a novel fabrication strategy that overcomes some of the limitations with previous lateral wrap-gate nanowire transistors. Finally, we show that parylene can be deposited over chemically-treated nanowire surfaces; a feature generally not possible with oxides produced by atomic layer deposition due to the surface `self-cleaning effect. Our results highlight the potential for parylene as an alternative ultra-thin insulator in nanoscale electronic devices more broadly, with potential applications extending into nanobioelectronics due to parylenes well-established biocompatible properties.
Amorphous molybdenum silicide compounds have attracted significant interest for potential device applications, particularly in single-photon detector. In this work, the temperature-dependent resistance and magneto-resistance behaviors were measured to reveal the charge transport mechanism, which is of great importance for applications but is still insufficient. It is found that Mott variable hopping conductivity dominates the transport of sputtered amorphous molybdenum silicide thin films. Additionally, the observed magneto-resistance crossover from negative to positive is ascribed to the interference enhancement and the shrinkage of electron wave function, both of which vary the probability of hopping between localized sites.
Hybrid-halide perovskite (HHP) films exhibit exceptional photo-electric properties. These materials are utilized for highly efficient solar cells and photoconductive technologies. Both ion migration and polarization have been proposed as the source of enhanced photoelectric activity, but the exact origin of these advantageous device properties has remained elusive. Here, we combined microscale and device-scale characterization to demonstrate that polarization-assisted conductivity governs photoconductivity in thin HHP films. Conductive atomic force microscopy under light and variable temperature conditions showed that the photocurrent is directional and is suppressed at the tetragonal-to-cubic transformation. It was revealed that polarization-based conductivity is enhanced by light, whereas dark conductivity is dominated by non-directional ion migration, as was confirmed by large-scale device measurements. Following the non-volatile memory nature of polarization domains, photoconductive memristive behavior was demonstrated. Understanding the origin of photoelectric activity in HHP allows designing devices with enhanced functionality and lays the grounds for photoelectric memristive devices.
Nina Taherimakhsousi
,Benjamin P. MacLeod
,Fraser G. L. Parlane
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(2020)
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"Quantifying Defects in Thin Films using Machine Vision"
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Curtis Berlinguette
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