Silicon Nitride Interface Engineering for Fermi Level Depinning and Realization of Dopant-Free MOSFETs

Problems with doping in nanoscale devices or low temperature applications are widely known. Our approach to replace the degenerate doping in source/drain (S/D)-contacts is silicon nitride interface engineering. We measured Schottky diodes and MOSFETs with very thin silicon nitride layers in between silicon and metal. Al/SiN/p-Si diodes show Fermi level depinning with increasing SiN thickness. The diode fabricated with rapid thermal nitridation at 900 ∘C reaches the theoretical value of the Schottky barrier to the conduction band ΦSB,n=0.2 eV. As a result, the contact resistivity decreases and the ambipolar behavior can be suppressed. Schottky barrier MOSFETs with depinned S/D-contacts consisting of a thin silicon nitride layer and contact metals with different work functions are fabricated to demonstrate unipolar behavior. We presented n-type behavior with Al and p-type behavior with Co on samples which only distinguish by the contact metal. Thus, the thermally grown SiN layers are a useful method suppress Fermi level pinning and enable reconfigurable contacts by choosing an appropriate metal.

Gas-discharge plasma application for ion-beam treatment of the holes’ inner surfaces

The possibility to modify the holes and pipes’ inner surface with focused high-intensity low-energy ion beams was first shown in this work. The studies were carried out using an axially symmetric single-grid system for the ions’ extraction from a free plasma boundary with subsequent ballistic focusing of the ion beam. Ion implantation of the inner surface was carried out in the region of the ion beam defocusing. The studies considered the effect of a nitrogen ions’ beam with energy of 1.4 keV on the inner surface of a tube with a diameter of 20 mm made of stainless steel AISI 321. The beams were formed with a repetition rate of 40 kHz and pulse durations of 5, 7.5 and 10 μs. It is shown that the mutual deposition of the sputtered material on the tube’ opposite sides partly compensates for ion sputtering. As a result of implantation of the inner surface of a pipe made of stainless steel AISI 321, the nitride layers with a thickness of more than 15 microns with a nitrogen dopant content of 22-30 at.% were obtained.

Improving the Properties of Composite Titanium Nitride Layers on the AZ91D Magnesium Alloy Using Hydrothermal Treatment

Coating magnesium alloys with nitride surface layers is a prospective way of improving their intrinsically poor surface properties; in particular, their tribological and corrosion resistance. These layers are usually produced using PVD methods using magnetron sputtering or arc evaporation. Even though the thus-produced layers significantly increase the wear resistance of the alloys, their effects on corrosion resistance are unsatisfactory because of the poor tightness, characteristic of PVD-produced products. Tightness acquires crucial significance when the substrate is a highly-active magnesium alloy, hence our idea to tighten the layers by subjecting them to a post-deposition chemical-hydrothermal-type treatment. This paper presents the results of our experiments with a new hybrid surface engineering method, using a final tightening pressure hydrothermal gas treatment in overheated steam of the composite titanium nitride layers PVD, produced on AZ91D magnesium alloy. The proposed method resulted in an outstanding improvement of the performance properties, in particular resistance to corrosion and wear, yielding values that exceed those exhibited by commercially anodized alloys and austenitic stainless 316L steel. The developed hybrid method produces new, high-performance corrosion and wear resistant, lightweight magnesium base materials, suitable for heavy duty applications.

New polymorphic varieties of boron nitride with graphene-like structures

First-principle calculations of the structure and electronic properties of four new polymorphic varieties of graphene-like boron nitride, the structure of which is similar to the structure of graphene polymorphs, the atoms in which are in the spirit of different structural positions, were performed by the density functional theory method in the generalized gradient approximation. As a result of the studies carried out, the possibility of stable existence of three monoatomic boron nitride layers: BN-L4-6-8a, BN-L4-6-8b and BN-L4-10 has been established. The BN-L4-12 layer is transformed into the BN-L4-6-8 layer during geometric optimization. The lengths of interatomic bonds in boron nitride monolayers vary in the range 1.4353 Å ÷ 1.4864 Å, and the bond angles in the range 84.05° ÷ 152.26°. The band gap of the BN layers varies from 3.16 eV to 3.90 eV. Sublimation energies are in the range from 16.67 eV/(BN) to 17.61 eV/(BN).

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of the 55CrMoV4 Steel Exposed to Boriding and Nitriding Treatments

In this study boriding and nitriding treatments were carried out on 55CrMoV4 low alloyed steel. The thermochemical treatments were carried out in solid medium by the powder technique at 900℃ for 4 hours for boriding treatment and at a temperature of 550℃ for 12 hours for nitriding treatment. The phases analysis of the boride and nitrite layers formed on the surface was carried out by optical microscopy (OM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results of the surface analysis show that the boride and nitride layers a presence of FeB, Fe2B, CrN, Fe3N and Fe4N compounds. The thickness of boride layers and nitride layers was found to be 55 and 12 µm, respectively. Microhardness of boride and nitride layers are between 800 HV0.2 and 1200 HV0.2. Corrosion tests by immersion in a 1M HCl solution have shown the beneficial effect of boriding and nitriding treatments on treated steels. Increase in corrosion resistances was observed after nitriding and boriding treatment steel 55CrMoV4 was around 6 times.