Ion-induced stress relaxation during the growth of cubic boron nitride thin films

The aim of the presented work was to deposit cubic boron nitride thin films by magnetron sputtering under simultaneous stress relaxation by ion implantation. An in situ instrument based on laser deflectometry on cantilever structures and in situ ellipsometry, was used for in situ stress measurements. The characteristic evolution of the instantaneous stress during the layered growth of cBN films observed in IBAD experiments, could be reproduced for magnetron sputter deposition. To achieve simultaneous stress relaxation by ion implantation, a complex bipolar pulsed substrate bias source was constructed. This power supply enables the growth of cBN thin films under low energy ion irradiation (up to 200 eV) and, for the first time, the simultaneous implantation of ions with an energy of up to 8 keV during high voltage pulses. It was demonstrated that the instantaneous stress in cBN thin films can be released down to -1.1 GPa by simultaneous ion bombardment during the high voltage pulses. A simultaneous stress relaxation during growth is possible in the total investigated ion energy range between 2.5 and 8 keV. These are the lowest ion energies reported for the stress relaxation in cBN. Since such a substrate bias power supply is easy to integrate in existing process lines, this result is important for industrial deposition of thin films, not only for cubic boron nitride films. It was found that the amount of stress relaxation depends on the number of atomic displacements (displacements per atom: dpa) that are induced by the high energy ion bombardment and is therefore dependent on the ion energy and the high energy ion flux. In practise, this means that the stress relaxation is controlled by the product of the pulse voltage and the pulse duty cycle or frequency. The cantilever bending measurements were complemented on microscopic scale by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The analysis of the cBN (111) lattice distances revealed a pronounced biaxial compressive state of stress in a non-relaxed cBN film with d(111) being larger in out-of-plane than in in-plane direction. Post deposition annealing at 900 ° C of a sample with an ion induced damage of 1.2 dpa, resulted in a complete relaxation of the lattice with equal in-plane and out-of-plane lattice parameters. In the case of medium-energy ion bombardment, the in-plane and out-of-plane lattice parameters approach the value of the annealed sample with increasing ion damage. This is a clear evidence for stress relaxation within the cBN lattice. The stability of cBN under ion bombardment was investigated by IR spectroscopy and XRD. The crystalline cBN was found to be very stable against ion irradiation. However a short-range ordered, sp3/sp2 - mixed phase may exist in the films, which could be preferably converted to a sp2 -phase at high damage values. From the analysis of the near surface region by XANES, it can be concluded the stress relaxation by the energetic ion bombardment is less at the surface than in the bulk film. This is explained with the dynamic profile of the ion induced damage, that reaches the stationary bulk value in 15-20 nm depth, whereas it is decreasing towards the surface. This fits with the results that the stress relaxation is dependent on the amount of ion induced damage. Comparing the results from substrate curvature measurement, XRD, XANES, and IR spectroscopy possible mechanisms of stress relaxation are discussed. Concluding the results, it can be stated that using simultaneous ion implantation for stress relaxation during the deposition it is possible to produce BN films with a high amount of the cubic phase and with very low residual stress

Biochemical and Structural Characterization of Selective Allosteric Inhibitors of the Plasmodium falciparum Drug Target, Prolyl-tRNA-synthetase

Plasmodium falciparum (<i>Pf</i>) prolyl-tRNA synthetase (ProRS) is one of the few chemical-genetically validated drug targets for malaria, yet highly selective inhibitors have not been described. In this paper, approximately 40,000 compounds were screened to identify compounds that selectively inhibit <i>Pf</i>ProRS enzyme activity versus Homo sapiens (<i>Hs</i>) ProRS. X-ray crystallography structures were solved for apo, as well as substrate- and inhibitor-bound forms of <i>Pf</i>ProRS. We identified two new inhibitors of <i>Pf</i>ProRS that bind outside the active site. These two allosteric inhibitors showed >100 times specificity for <i>Pf</i>ProRS compared to <i>Hs</i>ProRS, demonstrating this class of compounds could overcome the toxicity related to <i>Hs</i>ProRS inhibition by halofuginone and its analogues. Initial medicinal chemistry was performed on one of the two compounds, guided by the cocrystallography of the compound with <i>Pf</i>ProRS, and the results can instruct future medicinal chemistry work to optimize these promising new leads for drug development against malaria

Crystallization dynamics and interface stability of strontium titanate thin films on silicon

Different physical vapor deposition methods have been used to fabricate strontium titanate thin films. Within the binary phase diagram of SrO and TiO2 the stoichiometry ranges from Ti rich to Sr rich, respectively. The crystallization of these amorphous SrTiO3 layers is investigated by in situ grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. The crystallization dynamics and evolution of the lattice constants as well as crystallite sizes of the SrTiO3 layers were determined for temperatures up to 1223 K under atmospheric conditions applying different heating rates. At approximately 473 K, crystallization of perovskite-type SrTiO3 is initiated for Sr-rich electron beam evaporated layers, whereas Sr-depleted sputter-deposited thin films crystallize at 739 K. During annealing, a significant diffusion of Si from the substrate into the SrTiO3 layers occurs in the case of Sr-rich composition. This leads to the formation of secondary silicate phases which are observed by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Ion-induced stress relaxation during the growth of cubic boron nitride thin films

The aim of the presented work was to deposit cubic boron nitride thin films by magnetron sputtering under simultaneous stress relaxation by ion implantation. An in situ instrument based on laser deflectometry on cantilever structures and in situ ellipsometry, was used for in situ stress measurements. The characteristic evolution of the instantaneous stress during the layered growth of cBN films observed in IBAD experiments, could be reproduced for magnetron sputter deposition. To achieve simultaneous stress relaxation by ion implantation, a complex bipolar pulsed substrate bias source was constructed. This power supply enables the growth of cBN thin films under low energy ion irradiation (up to 200 eV) and, for the first time, the simultaneous implantation of ions with an energy of up to 8 keV during high voltage pulses. It was demonstrated that the instantaneous stress in cBN thin films can be released down to -1.1 GPa by simultaneous ion bombardment during the high voltage pulses. A simultaneous stress relaxation during growth is possible in the total investigated ion energy range between 2.5 and 8 keV. These are the lowest ion energies reported for the stress relaxation in cBN. Since such a substrate bias power supply is easy to integrate in existing process lines, this result is important for industrial deposition of thin films, not only for cubic boron nitride films. It was found that the amount of stress relaxation depends on the number of atomic displacements (displacements per atom: dpa) that are induced by the high energy ion bombardment and is therefore dependent on the ion energy and the high energy ion flux. In practise, this means that the stress relaxation is controlled by the product of the pulse voltage and the pulse duty cycle or frequency. The cantilever bending measurements were complemented on microscopic scale by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The analysis of the cBN (111) lattice distances revealed a pronounced biaxial compressive state of stress in a non-relaxed cBN film with d(111) being larger in out-of-plane than in in-plane direction. Post deposition annealing at 900 ° C of a sample with an ion induced damage of 1.2 dpa, resulted in a complete relaxation of the lattice with equal in-plane and out-of-plane lattice parameters. In the case of medium-energy ion bombardment, the in-plane and out-of-plane lattice parameters approach the value of the annealed sample with increasing ion damage. This is a clear evidence for stress relaxation within the cBN lattice. The stability of cBN under ion bombardment was investigated by IR spectroscopy and XRD. The crystalline cBN was found to be very stable against ion irradiation. However a short-range ordered, sp3/sp2 - mixed phase may exist in the films, which could be preferably converted to a sp2 -phase at high damage values. From the analysis of the near surface region by XANES, it can be concluded the stress relaxation by the energetic ion bombardment is less at the surface than in the bulk film. This is explained with the dynamic profile of the ion induced damage, that reaches the stationary bulk value in 15-20 nm depth, whereas it is decreasing towards the surface. This fits with the results that the stress relaxation is dependent on the amount of ion induced damage. Comparing the results from substrate curvature measurement, XRD, XANES, and IR spectroscopy possible mechanisms of stress relaxation are discussed. Concluding the results, it can be stated that using simultaneous ion implantation for stress relaxation during the deposition it is possible to produce BN films with a high amount of the cubic phase and with very low residual stress

Ion-induced stress relaxation during the growth of cubic boron nitride thin films

The aim of the presented work was to deposit cubic boron nitride thin films by magnetron sputtering under simultaneous stress relaxation by ion implantation. An in situ instrument based on laser deflectometry on cantilever structures and in situ ellipsometry, was used for in situ stress measurements. The characteristic evolution of the instantaneous stress during the layered growth of cBN films observed in IBAD experiments, could be reproduced for magnetron sputter deposition. To achieve simultaneous stress relaxation by ion implantation, a complex bipolar pulsed substrate bias source was constructed. This power supply enables the growth of cBN thin films under low energy ion irradiation (up to 200 eV) and, for the first time, the simultaneous implantation of ions with an energy of up to 8 keV during high voltage pulses. It was demonstrated that the instantaneous stress in cBN thin films can be released down to -1.1 GPa by simultaneous ion bombardment during the high voltage pulses. A simultaneous stress relaxation during growth is possible in the total investigated ion energy range between 2.5 and 8 keV. These are the lowest ion energies reported for the stress relaxation in cBN. Since such a substrate bias power supply is easy to integrate in existing process lines, this result is important for industrial deposition of thin films, not only for cubic boron nitride films. It was found that the amount of stress relaxation depends on the number of atomic displacements (displacements per atom: dpa) that are induced by the high energy ion bombardment and is therefore dependent on the ion energy and the high energy ion flux. In practise, this means that the stress relaxation is controlled by the product of the pulse voltage and the pulse duty cycle or frequency. The cantilever bending measurements were complemented on microscopic scale by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The analysis of the cBN (111) lattice distances revealed a pronounced biaxial compressive state of stress in a non-relaxed cBN film with d(111) being larger in out-of-plane than in in-plane direction. Post deposition annealing at 900 ° C of a sample with an ion induced damage of 1.2 dpa, resulted in a complete relaxation of the lattice with equal in-plane and out-of-plane lattice parameters. In the case of medium-energy ion bombardment, the in-plane and out-of-plane lattice parameters approach the value of the annealed sample with increasing ion damage. This is a clear evidence for stress relaxation within the cBN lattice. The stability of cBN under ion bombardment was investigated by IR spectroscopy and XRD. The crystalline cBN was found to be very stable against ion irradiation. However a short-range ordered, sp3/sp2 - mixed phase may exist in the films, which could be preferably converted to a sp2 -phase at high damage values. From the analysis of the near surface region by XANES, it can be concluded the stress relaxation by the energetic ion bombardment is less at the surface than in the bulk film. This is explained with the dynamic profile of the ion induced damage, that reaches the stationary bulk value in 15-20 nm depth, whereas it is decreasing towards the surface. This fits with the results that the stress relaxation is dependent on the amount of ion induced damage. Comparing the results from substrate curvature measurement, XRD, XANES, and IR spectroscopy possible mechanisms of stress relaxation are discussed. Concluding the results, it can be stated that using simultaneous ion implantation for stress relaxation during the deposition it is possible to produce BN films with a high amount of the cubic phase and with very low residual stress

Identitätsstiftende Kommunikation im Spanischunterricht: die Rolle des digitalen Raums

Im nachfolgenden Artikel wird der Frage nachgegangen, in welcher Weise der schulische Spanischunterricht zu einem Raum identitätsstiftender Kommunikation werden kann. Dazu werden Daten aus einem deutsch-spanischen Schülerbegegnungsprojekt vorgestellt. In dem Projekt mit Schüler*innen der Klasse 9 wurde besonders die direkte mündliche Kommunikation mit einer spanischen Partnerklasse zum Thema „Medios de comunicación/Kommunikationsmedien“ gefördert. Den Projektteilnehmer*innen stand dafür eine Lernplattform zur Verfügung und sie führten Videotelefonate durch. Im Mittelpunkt der Analysen steht die motivationale Bedeutung der unterschiedlichen physischen Orte, an denen Kommunikation stattfindet, und damit die Lernumgebung. Ferner werden die Kommunikationswege beleuchtet.Este artículo examinará la cuestión de cómo la clase de español puede convertirse en un espacio de comunicación que sirva para crear la identidad de los alumnos y alumnas. Presentaremos los resultados de un proyecto de encuentro entre alumnos y alumnas alemanes y españoles. El proyecto con los alumnos y alumnas del noveno año escolar desarolló especialmente la comunicación oral y directa con una clase de alemán en España sobre el tema de los ”Medios de comunicación“. Los participantes disponían en el proyecto de una plataforma de aprendizaje para realizar videollamadas. El análisis se centrará en el aspecto motivador de los diferentes lugares físicos en los cuales tuvo lugar la comunicación y, por lo tanto, en el entorno del aprendizaje. Además, se analizarán las vías de comunicación.Peer Reviewe