Spectroscopic ellipsometry at terahertz frequencies has seen substantial advancements over the last several years. Now, instruments are available which allow precise measurements of the material’s complex dielectric function including its anisotropy. This access to accurate electromagnetic material properties at THz frequencies is essential for the development of increasingly advanced THz optical systems and a prerequisite for the design and manufacturing of optical elements for this spectral range.

In this talk I will give an overview of recent developments in the implementation of THz ellipsometry and focus on applications where THz ellipsometry contributed valuable material parameters. In combination with external magnetic fields generalized THz ellipsometry allows the accurate measurement of the optical Hall effect. The optical Hall effect enables the precise determination of the free charge carrier properties effective mass, mobility, and density in semiconductor heterostructures at THz frequencies without the need of electrical contacts and will be discussed in detail.

Ideally, electronic heterostructures from dissimilar materials leads to enhanced functionality. Yet, experimentally forming these heterostructures is challenging due to lattice or thermal coefficient of expansion mismatch leading to defect formation or thermally driven atomic diffusion resulting in cross-doping and gradual junction transitions. These challenges may be overcome with the discovery of remote epitaxy and 2D layer transfer [1]. Here, SiC epitaxy is performed on epitaxial graphene as the electrostatic fields from the substrate penetrate the graphene and guide adatom registry. The film is easily peeled away since the graphene is not bonded to either the substrate or epilayer; the epilayer is then van der Waals bonded to a different material enabling new functionality. We will present experimental results on the remote epitaxy of SiC, illustrating potential quantum science applications.

There are three necessary steps to create remote epitaxy. The first is to grow epitaxial graphene on SiC, followed by transferring the graphene to a desired substrate (if different from SiC), and finally the growth of the remote epitaxial layer. If the remote epitaxy is to be SiC, which is the focus of this paper, the second step is not needed. Epitaxial graphene (EG) was first synthesized on 4H- and 6H-SiC in a horizontal hot-wall CVD reactor between 1540 and 1580 °C in 10 slm of Ar and 100 mbar [2]. The growth temperature was dependent upon the offcut of the substrate, where substrates with higher offcuts require a lower growth temperature to ensure 1 ML of EG, which is desired to assist in SiC adatom registry during growth. SiC remote epitaxy was then performed on the EG using silane (2% in H₂) and propane precursors, where the SiC polytype replicated the underlying substrate. In an effort to transfer the remote SiC epi/EG to another substrate such as SiO₂/Si, a metallization step was performed. Thin Ti and/or Ni layers were initially deposited followed by a thicker high stress metal to create strain and aide in removing the remote SiC epi/EG from the SiC substrate [1]. Once transferred, the metal was removed via a metal etch.

In this work, we will discuss the important parameters needed for successful remote SiC epitaxy, such as metallization, graphene thickness and remote epitaxy growth temperature. The epitaxial morphology characterized by SEM and Nomarski microscopy and graphene coverage and transfer evaluated by Raman spectroscopy will be presented.

[1] Kim, et al., Nature 544, 340 (2017).

[2] L.O. Nyakiti, et al., MRS Bulletin 37, 1150 (2017).

The integration of novel logic and memory devices, fabricated from van der Waals materials, into CMOS process flows with a goal of improving system-level Energy-Delay-Product (EDP) for data abundant applications will be discussed. Focusing on materials growth and integration techniques that utilize non-equilibrium, kinetically restricted strategies, coupled with in-situ characterization, enables the realization of atomic configurations and materials that are challenging to make but once attained, display enhanced and unique properties. These strategies become necessary for most future technologies where thermal budgets are constrained and conformal growth over selective areas and 3-dimensional structures are required.

In this work, we demonstrate the high-quality MBE heterostructure growth of various layered materials by van der Waals epitaxy (VDWE). The coupling of different types of van der Waals materials including transition metal dichalcogenide thin films (e.g., WSe₂, WTe₂, HfSe₂), helical Te thin films, and topological insulators (e.g., Bi_­2Se₃) allows for the fabrication of novel electronic devices that take advantage of unique quantum confinement and spin-based characteristics. We demonstrate how the van der Waals interactions allow for heteroepitaxy of significantly lattice-mismatched materials without strain or misfit dislocations. We will discuss TMDs, Te, and TIs grown on atomic layer deposited (ALD) high-k oxides on a Si platform as well as flexible substrates and demonstrate field-effect transistors with back-end-of-line (<450 °C) and even flexible plastics (<200 °C) compatible fabrication temperatures. High performance transistors with field-effect mobilities as high as 700 cm²/V-s are demonstrated. The achievement of high-mobility transistor channels at low processing temperatures shows the potential for integrating van der Waals materials into new technologies.

This work was supported in part by the Center for Low Energy Systems Technology (LEAST), one of six centers supported by the STARnet phase of the Focus Center Research Program (FCRP), a Semiconductor Research Corporation program sponsored by MARCO and DARPA. This work is also supported in part by NEWLIMITS, a center in nCORE, a Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) program sponsored by NIST through award number 70NANB17H041.

The Heusler compounds are a ripe platform for engineering and discovering emergent electronic, magnetic, topological, and ferroic properties at crystalline interfaces, either with other functional Heuslers or with compound semiconductor or oxide substrates. In these applications, the ability to control interfaces with near atomic level control is of tantamount importance; however, challenges such as interdiffusion have hampered their development. Here, I will discuss our efforts to control the properties of Heusler interfaces using precision growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Results will be presented in three areas: (1) the use of epitaxial strain to stabilize the hexagonal phase of several polar metal candidates, (2) the use of monolayer graphene diffusion barriers to enable high temperature growth and performance of spintronic devices, and (3) the phase segregation of ferromagnetic FeV nanostructures from a semiconducting FeVSb matrix with coherent epitaxial interfaces. Together, these examples illustrate the power of epitaxy and interfaces in controlling the properties of Heuslers and other intermetallic compounds, and integrating them onto commonly used semiconductor substrate platforms.

Device structures are rapidly scaling down to the nanometer regime with the ongoing development in semiconductor device technology. Along with this, it is ever critical need to engineer dopant profiles and to define the formation of junctions in Metal-oxide field effect transistors (MOSFETs). This is increasingly challenging considering the severity of short channel effects (SCEs). Indeed, one type of SCE in MOSFET devices known to cause performance degradation is Drain Induced Barrier Lowering (DIBL). To reduce DIBL, dopant junction profiles are made more abrupt. This can be done through the introduction of Sigma/cavity, fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) structures and the modulation of stress through optimal engineered epitaxial buffer layers. To assess the quality over nanometer scale regions requires the use of analysis techniques such as Atom Probe Tomography (APT) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). This presentation will discuss the role of APT and how elemental distributions vary depending on process conditions along with the challenges involved in sample preparation.

Complex oxide materials have a wide range of exciting tunable electronic and magnetic phases including ferroelectricity and superconductivity. The ability to fabricate atomic layers of complex oxides has led to the formation of novel interfaces and heterostructures of scientific and technological interest. The functional properties are usually correlated to sub-Angstrom structural perturbations at these interfaces. In this talk, a non-destructive synchrotron X-ray three-dimensional imaging technique will be applied to understand thickness-dependent electronic and magnetic transitions which occur in rare-earth manganite films with thicknesses on the order of an atomic layer. We show that structural distortions arising due to the electrostatic interfacial boundary conditions of the thin films are related to their thickness-dependent phase transitions. Based on these results, we show that heterostructures can be designed by molecular beam epitaxy to tune the atomic-scale structure of the manganite films to achieve robust ferromagnetism in atomically-thin layers. These results have important implications for the design of oxide-based spintronic devices and provide an important pathway for the realization of novel functional materials.

Magnetron sputtering is an established plasma technology for the deposition of thin films. In general, the technique is classified by the voltage supplied to the cathode; this can be continuous (DCMS), pulsed (HiPIMS) or oscillatory (RFMS). The distinction is also made with respect to the geometry of the magnetron source (e.g., circular, linear, cylindrical) and the magnetic field configuration (balanced or unbalanced). Despite the differences in the cathode operation, geometry and, magnetic field configuration, the underlying principle that forms dense magnetron plasma is the same. The central feature of magnetron sources is a crossed magnetic and electric field arrangement, which captures electrons close to the cathode. In such configuration, electrons gyrate around the magnetic field lines, bounce from the electric field of the sheath and drift in the azimuthal direction. The entrapment of electrons increases the plasma density close to the cathode (e.g., forming a ring-shaped plasma above the circular magnetron) and enhances the sputtering rate. Experiments using high-speed imaging and other techniques revealed that magnetron plasma is not azimuthally homogenous instead, it forms dense plasma structures called spokes. These structures have been extensively studied over the past few years and have changed our understanding of several physical processes in the magnetron discharges.

Spokes are observed for a wide range of discharge conditions, magnetron geometries and are an essential feature of all operational regimes [1-3]. They commonly form periodic patterns, have an arrowhead-like shape with an arrow pointing in the E×B direction, and travel with azimuthal velocities of several km/s. In the talk, I will present efforts to understand the physics of spokes and magnetron discharges in general. In particular, I will discuss spatial distribution of the plasma potential [4] and the influence it has on the transport of charged particles [5], sputtering process and overall sustainability of the discharge. I will demonstrate that electric fields associated with spokes cause localized re-energization of electrons and thus help to sustain magnetron discharge. Spokes also influence energy and spatial distribution of ions and therefore indirectly affect the thin film growth.

[1] A. Anders et al., J. Appl. Phys., 111 (2012) 053304

[2] A. Ehiasarian et al.,Appl. Phys. Lett., 100 (2012) 11410

[3] M. Panjan et al., Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., 24 (2015) 065010

[4] M. Panjan and A. Anders, J. Appl. Phys.121 063302 (2017)

[5] M. Panjan et al., Plasma Sources Sci. Technol., 23 (2014) 025007

Cold non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasmas (CAPs) have received a lot of attention in the last decades due to their huge potential for biomedical applications including wound healing, cancer treatment, dental treatments and disinfection and decontamination of heat sensitive materials [1]. These applications are due to the near ambient gas temperature at which CAPs can be produced and their high reactivity, involving the production of numerous reactive oxygen and nitrogen species [2]. Many applications require controlled interactions of plasma with bacteria, virus and mammalian cells or tissue that enable selectivity between healthy and cancer cells or in the treatment of bacteria on healthy tissue or food samples for which off target effects needs to be minimized. A controlled selectivity might be the greatest challenge for these applications and requires a detailed understanding of the underlying plasma-bio-interaction mechanisms. In this framework, my group in collaboration with microbiologists has performed detailed studies of the interactions of CAP with virus, bacteria and mammalian cells. Our research shows that controlling the gas phase plasma chemistry can lead to significant different biological responses of the living organisms [3-6]. The outcomes of these studies allow unraveling chemical pathways responsible for plasma-bio interactions and linking plasma kinetics to plasma-bio interactions. These insights are of invaluable importance for the development of applications in the field of plasma medicine.

References

[1] I. Adamovich, S.D. Baalrud, A. Bogaerts et al, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 50, 323001 (2017)

[2] D. B. Graves, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 45, 263001 (2012).

[3] K. Wende, P. Williams, J. Dalluge et al. Biointerphases, 10 (2), 029548 (2015)

[4] H.A. Aboubakr, U. Gangal, M.M. Youssef, S.M. Goyal and P.J. Bruggeman, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 49, 204001 (2016)

[5] G. Nayak, H.A. Aboubakr, S.M. Goyal and P.J. Bruggeman, Plasma Process. Polym. 15, 1700119 (2018)

[6] V.S.S.K. Kondeti, C. Phan, K. Wende, H. Jablonowski, U. Gangal, J. Granick, R.C. Hunter and P.J. Bruggeman (submitted)

Acknowledgements

This work is partially supported by the ”Plasma Science Center on Control of Plasma Kinetics” of the United States Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy Science (DE-SC0001319), the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative of the USDA`s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (2017-67017-26172) and a Department of Energy Early Career Research Award (DE-SC0016053).