I’ve always wondered what the variability was in the pore statistics extracted from TEM images of different fields on the same membrane (SC 141). I took a series of ten images from random positions (corners, edges, center) and ran them through the pore processor. Here are the results: (images taken at 100 kx) position porosity…
After some experimentation with acetylene concentration and anneal temperature, I was able to find a carbonization recipe that appears to shrink our pores by 1/3 the original diameter. Below are images of an untreated sample (TEM 148: 15 nm pnc-Si 1000 RTP) and a carbonized sample (see recipe at end of post). A closer look…
Last week, we ran a series of wafers with three different Si thicknesses (15 nm, 30 nm, 50 nm). We wanted to explore how morphology shifted with film thickness. Below are three membranes that were annealed at 800 C with no susceptor and a ramp rate of 100 C/s. As expected, as film thickness increases…
A few weeks ago, we made wafers with three different silicon thicknesses: 15 nm, 30 nm, and 50 nm. The goal was to see how pore morphology changes with increasing thickness. The films were deposited at 450 C with a 25 W substrate bias. The annealing temperature was 800 C in the susceptor. Note that…
This is a follow up to Jess’ protein separation post. She mentioned that some of the SC 073 samples were annealed twice: the first was a 700 C 60 s anneal to crystallize (before etching) and the second was a 800 C 5 min anneal to stabilize the membrane (after etching). I took some TEMs…
The highly anticipated 3rd generation etch cell has arrived. NY Manufacturing did a great job with the design and fabrication. To give an idea of how far we’ve come, I’ve placed previous etch cells next to the newest. One of the major improvements is the introduction of a drain. We no longer have to lift…
The AJA sputtering system has 2 oxide targets and 1 silicon target that are focused with stainless steel chimneys. During our process, films inevitably deposit on the chimney and shutters and after a while start cracking causing flakes of material to fall on the targets. I have noticed that our thinner amorphous films (5 nm,…
Last week I showed some interesting images on the effects of annealing at a low temperature (700 C) with the susceptor. Below are images from a wafer that was annealed at 700 C with a ramp rate of 10 C/s outside the susceptor. Immediately following RTP, I saw that the outer part of the wafer…
Last week, JP and I resurrected using TEOS as the backside pattern and experimented with using a thermal oxide as the first protective oxide layer (instead of a sputtered oxide). The idea was to see how the reduced stress in the pattern (TEOS) would affect film morphology. The thermal oxide on the frontside was an…
Thanks to SiMPore’s push for TEM grids, we’ve produced a lot of amorphous material in the last month under different deposition conditions. Below I’ve illustrated the different film structures resulting from depositing with and without substrate bias and heating. Without bias, the amorphous film exhibits clusters of thicker/denser? material (darker spots). Intuitively, this makes sense…