Multilayers of Y1Ba2Cu3O7-y/Y1Ba2(Cu1−xNix)3O7-ysuperconducting thin films have been grown epitaxially on (100) ZrO2 substrates using a pulsed laser deposition technique. The thickness of the Y1Ba2Cu3O7-y layer was varied from 60 Å to 900 Å and the thickness of the Y1Ba2(Cu1−xNix3O7-y layer was varied from 60 A to 100 A to determine the effect of the Ni-doped layers on the superconducting properties. Variations of critical current density were investigated as a function of temperature in magnetic fields up to 5 T. Magnetic field dependence of normalized critical current density, Jc(H)/Jc(O), is improved by the growth of Ni-doped multilayer structures, possibly due to an increase in flux pinning force.

Samples with the stoichiometry (CaxY1−x)Ba2Cu4O8, x = 0, 0.1 were synthesized at P(O2) = 25 and 200 bar. High Resolution TEM images for the samples synthesized at 25 bar show a high density of planar defects as compared to almost defect free microstructure of Ca0.1Y0.9Ba2Cu4O8 synthesized at 200 bar. The intragrain critical current density of the high defect density samples is however about 100 times lower that that of Ca0.1Y0.9Ba2Cu4O8 synthesized at P(O2) = 200 bar.

The trapped magnetic fields in high energy proton irradiated melt-textured Y-Ba-Cu-O (MT-Y123) high temperature superconductors (HTS) materials have been studied. Prototype of mini-magnet, about 1 cm3 which retains about 14, 200 G @ 77 K, has been made with these proton irradiated samples. Quasi-persistent magnetic field near 3 to 5 Tesla in liquid nitrogen is feasible with our current MT-Y123 samples. Two types of motors have been tested successfully by replacing metallic permanent magnet with the trapped field in MT-Y123 samples.

The trapped magnetic field mapping technique is used to study the superconducting properties of the MT-Y123 materials. Granular structures in MT-Y123 samples can be observed directly by the field mapping method. A phenomenological current model has been developed to account for the trapped field intensity and profile in HTS samples. The trapped field can be reproduced very well by this model. Remenant magnetic moment trapped by MT-Y123 samples measured by this mapping method and by standard VSM will be discussed. The effect of high energy proton (160–210 MeV) bombardment on the field trapping capability and stability will be discussed.

Observed magnetic Jc enhancement in a 3.4 MeV proton-irradiated Y1Ba2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) single crystal are shown to be intimately linked with a kind of weak pinning centers. Applied magnetic field transforms weak centers into the normal state or pinning centers, which then cause pinning enhancement. Strong pinning anisotropy of the radiation induced weak center can be explained very well by the size anisotropy of a superconducting unit cell and a flux line, or the coherence length.

Recent studies of high Tc superconductors irradiated with high energy heavy ions have indicated that a defect structure is produced which is extremely effective in pinning magnetic flux lines. In attempting to develop models to account for these observations, it is imperative to have a complete characterization of the defects responsible for the property enhancements. Hence, the defect microstructure produced in single crystal YBCO by 580 MeV Sn30+ irradiation, recently demonstrated to provide highly effective flux pinning at high fields and temperatures, has been investigated by conventional transmission electron microscopy. This irradiation condition is shown to produce linear, yet segmented, tracks of damaged material, approximately aligned with the incident irradiation direction, throughout the entire crystal thickness of 22μm. The cross sectional density of damage tracks is in close agreement with the ion fluence. Two specific characteristics of the track morphology have been studied, namely, their continuity and angular spread. The continuity of the tracks does not appear to follow threshold-like behavior within the electronic loss range studied here and the angular distribution of the defect track directions is only approximated by the Monte Carlo calculations of TRIM.

Internal friction and modulus in YBa2Cu3Oy, which are related to flux pinning, were examined by means of the vibrating reed technique before and after the slow neutron irradiation to different fluences. Both the decrease of mechanical dissipation and the increase of the modulus associated with strongly enhanced flux pinning were observed in a sample irradiated up to a suitable fluence. However, a decrease of modulus and magnetic hysteresis loop was found after further irradiation. A change in the microstructure of the irradiated material is used to explain the observed phenomena.

Measurements are presented which show the effect of proton irradiation on the irreversibility line and critical current in Tl2 CaBa2Cu2O8 thin films. These data show that the irreversibility line is dependent on the defect structure and that the pinning energy is increased by proton irradiation. This leads to an increase in the critical current density at 60 K for the lowest radiation dose. Further irradiation reduces the critical current, even while the irreversibility line is enhanced.

The Bi2 Sr2 Ca1 Cu2 O8 + 10% Ag specimen was grain oriented along the a(b) axis, but random in the perpendicular plane. Magnetic susceptibility and hysteresis measured along the axis of grain orientation and in the polycrystalline direction showed remarkable anisotropy. At low temperatures (below about 30 K), hysteresis curves were compatible with the strong-pinning model. The pinning force calculated from the hysteresis loop showed a higher maximum in the random direction, but decreased fast with increasing field and temperature. From the zero-field-cooled (zfc) and field-cooled (fc) susceptibility curves, the irreversibility line T*(H*) was determined. Evaluation according to the de Almeida-Thouless equation with fixed exponent n=3/2 revealed a two-phase vortex structure; one nearly isotropic with low (40-$K) zero-field irreversibility transition temperature, and one strongly anisotropic, the irreversibility transition being close to the superconducting-transition temperature.

Transmission electron microscopy has been used to investigate the microstructure of YBa2Cu3O7−x thin films deposited by Plasma-Enhanced Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition. The films with the best superconducting properties of Tc ∼90K and Jc>106A/cm2 at 77K and OT were either Y-rich or both Y- and Cu-rich relative to the ideal 1:2:3 composition. In the Y-rich thin films, nanoscale yttria(Y2O3) precipitates have been identified. The precipitates with an average size of about 50Å and densities as high as 1024/m3 are uniformly distributed and highly oriented with respect to the matrix. Excess Cu in the Cu- and Y-rich films leads to formation of large CuO particles on the film surface but does not have any effect on formation of nanoscale Y2O3 phase within the films. The Y2O3 precipitates may act as flux pinning sites for high critical current densities.

Ion-assisted evaporation was used to study the stress and phase changes in thin Ta films. Using a series of ion energies from 63 to 500 eV, the stress in 100 nm thick films was changed from tensile to compressive by increasing the argon ion flux incident on the growing films. The resulting films were characterized primarily by x-ray diffraction and electrical resistivity measurements, as well as RBS. The resistivity in all sets of films shows a large decrease with increasing argon ion flux. The x-ray diffraction results are somewhat more complex, but suggest that increasing ion flux does change the amount of alpha phase present.

Boron nitride thin films were grown using ion beam assisted deposition. Boron metal was evaporated, and the depositing film was bombarded by nitrogen and argon ions. The films were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electron diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Rutherford backscattering. The thin films were found to be cubic boron nitride, consisting of 100–200 Å crystallites with a small amount of an amorphous secondary phase. The best conditions for depositing cubic boron nitride were found to be a substrate temperature of 400°C, bombardment by a 50:50 mixture of argon and nitrogen with a bombarding ion energy of 500 eV and a ratio of bombarding ions to depositing boron atoms of from 1.0 to 1.5 ions per atom.

Copper-carbon alloy films containing between 7 and 40 at.% carbon, as measured with 6.2 MeV He++ scattering, were deposited by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) on pure epitaxial Cu(100) films on Si(100) substrates. The IBAD process involved simultaneous deposition of evaporated copper (0.3 to 2.0 nm/s) and bombardment with 400 eV ions (340 μA/cm2 on target) from a Kaufman ion source fed with methane. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that an IBAD layer with 15 at.%C was epitaxial with the underlying pure Cu(100) layer. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that the IBAD films were epitaxial at low carbon concentration but polycrystalline at high concentration. The small range of carbon ions in copper and the evidence of sputtering suggest that this loss of epitaxy resulted from increased surface carbon interfering with epitaxy. Although carbon and copper are immiscible, TEM and XRD have revealed no evidence of carbon precipitation, indicating that the carbon may be in solution and that such IBAD layers may be suitable for diamond formation by laser annealing.

It has been recognized since the 1960's that bombardment of a growing thin film by energetic particles strongly influences film properties. Particle bombardment has generally been accomplished by accelerating ions into the growing film. However, it has also been recognized since the 1960's that energetic particles reflected from the target influence the characteristics of films grown by physical sputtering and many experiments have been interpreted on this basis. A systematic study of the energy reflected from the surface by normally incident, singly charged noble-gas ions on five substrates of different masses has recently been published. This data along with sputter yields from the literature allow estimates to be made which were previously unavailable. The energy reflected from the target is carried away by electrons, sputtered particles and reflected ions (neutrals). The purpose of this paper is to provide basic information which will allow thin film scientists to estimate the influence of various experimental parameters on the amount of energy arriving at the growing film. The energy reflected from the target per sputtered atom will be given as a function of ion mass, target mass, and ion energy. TRIM.SP Monte Carlo calculations will be used to estimate the ratio of the energy carried away by sputtered atoms to that carried away by reflected ions. Calculations will also be used to estimate the average energy of the sputtered atoms as a function of ion mass, substrate mass and ion energy. It will be shown how this information can be used to guide the adjustment of experimental parameters in sputtering environments so as to control film characteristics.

We have performed computer simulations of epitaxial growth and low-energy ion bombardment for comparison with reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) mesurements. The simulations are based on a hybrid Monte Carlo/rate equation approach which includes the processes of defect creation (adatom and surface vacancy), surface diffusion, and attachment and detachment from steps and islands. In this work, we focus on simulating the experimental observations of ion-induced RHEED oscillations and cancellation of RHEED oscillations during simultaneous ion bombardment and growth. For the interaction of the low-energy ion with the surface, we consider two mechanisms: preferential sputtering (where the sputtering cross section depends on the atomic coordination) and mobile vacancies. Our results indicate that the primary interaction of the ion beam with the surface is probably through the creation of mobile vacancies, and that the degree of preferential sputtering is not large.

Three important effects of low energy direct Ion Beam Deposition (IBD) are the athermal incorporation of material into a substrate, the enhancement of atomic mobility in the subsurface, and the modification of growth kinetics it creates. All lead to a significant lowering of the temperature necessary to induce epitaxial growth and chemical reactions. The fundamental understanding and new applications of low temperature kinetics induced by low energy ions in thin film growth and surface processing of semiconductors are reviewed. It is shown that the mechanism of IBD growth can be understood and computed quantitatively using a simple model including ion induced defect generation and sputtering, elastic recombination, thermal diffusion, chemical reactivity, and desorption. The energy, temperature and dose dependence of growth rate, epitaxy, and chemical reaction during IBD is found to be controlled by the net recombination rate of interstitials at the surface in the case of epitaxy and unreacted films, and by the balance between ion beam decomposition and phase formation induced by ion beam generated defects in the case of compound thin films. Recent systematic experiments on the formation of oxides and nitrides on Si, Ge/Si(100), heteroepitaxial SixGe1−x/Si(100) and GaAs(lOO) illustrate applications of this mechanism using IBD in the form of Ion Beam Nitridation (IBN), Ion Beam Oxidation (IBO) and Combined Ion and Molecular beam Deposition (CIMD). It is shown that these techniques enable (1) the formation of conventional phases in conditions never used before, (2) the control and creation of properties via new degrees of freedom such as ion energy and lowered substrate temperatures, and (3) the formation of new metastable heterostructures that cannot be grown by pure thermal means.

In rf silane plasmas, growing process and behavior of dust particles and presence of negative ions are studied by square-wave-amplitude-modulating an rf discharge voltage. By combining the rf modulation method with Mie scattering methods, particle behavior together with temporal evolutions of particle size and density is revealed. While the rf modulation is effective for the suppression of particle growth, small particles are found to exist still in the discharge space for a larger duty cycle. Further, particles seem to be suspended around an rf electrode by counter balance between an electrostatic force due to time-averaged sheath electric field and a force increasing with particle size. The development of particle growth also affects the rf discharge itself, resulting in inhomogeneity of film properties. Negative ion detection is carried out as a first step for studying whether they cause the particle formation. It is found that negative ions are formed in rf silane discharges even for a low concentration of 0.5%SiH4 and their formation is due to attachment to dissociated radicals rather than dissociative attachment of SiH4.

CVD deposited diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been studied for possible use as a secondary standard for Low Earth Orbit materials degradation. Samples of various thicknesses have been exposed to a simulated Low Earth Orbit atomic oxygen (AO) environment using a plasma asher. Mass loss measurements indicate that DLC degrades at a rate of 0.7 mg/hr which is two to three times the rate of currently used Kapton samples which degrade at a rate of.3 mg/hr. Thickness measurements show that DLC thins at a rate of 77 Angstroms/min. Since DLC is not as susceptible to environmental factors such as moisture absorption, it could potentially provide more accurate measurements of AO fluence on short space flights. Adhesion of DLC films to both fused silica and crystalline silicon substrates has been studied under thermal cycling conditions. Film adhesion to fused silica can be enhanced by sputtering a thin layer of silicon dioxide onto the substrate prior to deposition. In addition to the above, the index of refraction and extinction coefficient of various thicknesses of DLC films has been characterized by Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry.

The incorporation of hydrogen into silicon nitride films grown downstream from an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma decreased rapidly with increasing substrate temperature (100–600°C). Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy showed that the hydrogen in the as-grown material was primarily bonded to nitrogen. However, an applied bias of -200 V caused an increase in the number of Si-H bonds relative to N-H bonds, as a result of increased ion-beam damage. In addition, ion irradiation of an as-grown film with 175 keV Ar+ at room temperature showed that H transferred from N-H bonds to Si-H bonds without a loss of H. Elastic recoil detection (ERD) and FTIR of thermally annealed films showed that the stability of H incorporated during deposition increased with deposition temperature, and that the N-H bond was more stable than the Si-H bond above 700°C. Deuterium plasma treatments, at 600°C, of annealed films caused isotopic substitution with a conservation of bonds. Therefore, hydrogen loss from annealed films is apparently accompanied by a reduction in dangling bonds.

Silicon was oxidized at low temperature with an oxygen plasma generated by an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) source. The ECR source utilized a multicusp magnetic field formed by permanent magnets. Microwave power at 2.45 GHz was applied to the source and if power at 13.56 MHz was applied to the sample stage. Si oxidation was studied as a function of source distance, pressure, microwave power, and rf power. The oxide thickness increases with microwave and rf power but decreases with source distance. The oxidation rate increases with pressure up to 12 mTorr, men decreases at higher pressure. The relative emission intensities in the plasma monitored using optical emission spectroscopy showed similar dependence on the source distance and microwave power. Oxidation temperature was estimated to be <100°C. Using ellipsometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the oxidized films were found to be close to that of thermal oxide with refractive index at 1.45 and oxygen to silicon ratio of 2. From the current-voltage and capacitance-voltage measurements, the breakdown fields of these oxide films were 6.3 MV/cm and the fixed charge densities were 7×1010 cm−2.

Ion beam modification of polyimide (PI) by low energy and surface analysis were performed using XPS. The surface chemistry was monitored as a function of ion dose. The results indicate that even low energy ion beam (LEIB) induces a drastic change in chemical compositions on the PI surface, and the modification begins to occur at the onset of beam treatment, contrary to previous observations. Damage level is severely restricted to surface region. It is also proven that LEIB modification is a direct way to control interface chemistry.