Incubation Time Measurements in Thin-Film Deposition

Studies on the initial growth or nucleation of materials and research on selective deposition often mention an incubation time. Many techniques exist to determine the incubation time. The outcome can be very different for each technique when the same nucleation process is considered. For the first time we have given a simple model which shows that several incubation times can be expected if different methods are used. One of the most popular methods, plotting the mass or thickness as a function of time and defining the incubation time as the intercept on the x-axis, is not a good method. In particular, a meaningful incubation time is found only if a layer-by-layer growth mechanism occurs right from the start. Ellipsometry can be used in situ and is a much more sensitive method, but this technique needs more research to correlate the nucleation process with the data obtained using this technique. The determination of the nucleus density using scanning electron microscopy or atomic force microscope is the most accurate method, yet needs a lot of experiments. Without a detailed description of the measurement method the incubation time is a meaningless quantity

Furnace and rapid thermal crystallization of amorphous GexSi1-x and Si for thin film transistors

The crystallization behavior of polycrystalline silicon (Si) and germanium-silicon alloys (GexSi1−x) from SiH4 and GeH4, where x is in the range of 0-0.32, has been investigated for thin film transistor (TFT) applications. Furnace anneals as well as rapid thermal anneal (RTA) and combinations of these two techniques have been used to crystallize amorphously deposited thin (≤100 nm) films. The effects of time and temperature for the furnace anneals and time, temperature and pulse rate for the RTA have been investigated. Smooth Si and GexSi1−x layers with a surface roughness ≤0.6 nm have been obtained using an initial Si layer for the GexSi1−x material, since GexSi1−x shows a nucleation problem on oxide surfaces which influences the resulting surface roughness and grain size. For TFT applications the optimal film properties cannot be obtained with a single crystallization anneal. Conventional furnace crystallization results in smooth layers with Si furnace crystallized films exhibiting small grains with many intra-grain defects. An average grain size of approximately 300 nm for Ge0.25Si0.75 and slightly larger grains for Ge0.32Si0.68 with less defects is obtained at lower temperature. RTA results for Si and GexSi1−x in fine grained material with lower defect density

An empirical model for early resistance changes due to electromigration

A new heuristic description for electromigration-induced early resistance changes is given. The basis is formed by two coupled partial differential equations, one for vacancies, and one for imperfections. These equations are solved numerically for a grain boundary bamboo structure. It is shown that this model is capable of simulating the typical effects as observed in early resistance change measurements. These early resistance changes are due to the redistributions of the vacancies and the generation of imperfections. Simulations are performed that closely match the measured resistance change curves

Extraction of Kinetic Parameters for the Chemical Vapor Deposition of Polycrystalline Silicon at Medium and Low Pressures

The deposition of silicon (Si) from silane (SiH4) was studied in the silane pressure range from 0.5 to 100 Pa (0.005 to1 mbar) and total pressure range from 10 to 1000 Pa using N2 or He as carrier gases. The two reaction paths, namely,heterogeneous and homogeneous decomposition could be separated by varying the amount of wafer area per unit volume(wafer-distance variation) and the SiH4 partial pressure as well as the total pressure. Rate constants were derived by fittingthe experimental results. The heterogeneous reaction path could be described by only the adsorption rate constants ofreactive species and the desorption rate constant of hydrogen using a Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism. Hydrogen andphosphine were found to suppress the deposition rate at low silane pressures. At high silane pressures or high totalpressures the unimolecular decomposition of silane dominates. The unimolecular rate constant was found to be one to twoorders larger than literature values based on RRKM analyses of high pressure rate data. The relative efficiency of SiH4-N2and SiH4-He collisions compared with SiH4-SiH4 collisions in the unimolecular gas-phase decomposition of SiH4 has beeninvestigated. Helium was found to be a weak collider compared to silane and nitrogen

Predictive factors for ovarian response in a corifollitropin alfa/GnRH antagonist protocol for controlled ovarian stimulation in IVF/ICSI cycles

Background This secondary analysis aimed to identify predictors of low (<6 oocytes retrieved) and high ovarian response (>18 oocytes retrieved) in IVF patients undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation with corifollitropin alfa in a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol. Methods Statistical model building for high and low ovarian response was based on the 150 μg corifollitropin alfa treatment group of the Pursue trial in infertile women aged 35–42 years (n = 694). Results Multivariable logistic regression models were constructed in a stepwise fashion (P <0.05 for entry). 14.1 % of subjects were high ovarian responders and 23.2 % were low ovarian responders. The regression model for high ovarian response included four independent predictors: higher anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and antral follicle count (AFC) increased the risk, and higher follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels and advancing age decreased the risk of high ovarian response. The regression model for low ovarian response also included four independent predictors: advancing age increased the risk, and higher AMH, higher AFC and longer menstrual cycle length decreased the risk of low ovarian response. Conclusions AMH, AFC and age predicted both high and low ovarian responses, FSH predicted high ovarian response, and menstrual cycle length predicted low ovarian response in a corifollitropin alfa/GnRH antagonist protocol

Niche differentiation in savannas : exploring competition-based hypotheses for inter-life form coexistence

Competition-based models predict that coexistence of trees and grasses in savannas may be possible if trees and grasses occupy different niches when exploiting limited resources such as water and nutrients. I investigated two competition-based models, each of them considering a different axis for niche separation: the two-layer hypothesis, which is based on differences in rooting depth, and the phenological niche separation hypothesis, which is based on differences in timing of resource acquisition. My results show that niche separation along environmental axes on spatial and/or temporal scales, although unlikely to be the only mechanism of coexistence in savannas, may play a more significant role than has been appreciated recently