NER: A Process for Plasma Co-Deposition of Nanoparticles for Mixed-Phase Thin Films

本研究的目的是合成和表征新型混合相材料，该材料由嵌入薄膜半导体或绝缘体中的半导体纳米晶体组成。该方法是使用一种新的共沉积系统在等离子室中产生纳米粒子，这些纳米粒子被迅速注入第二个等离子沉积系统，在那里它们被结合到生长的薄膜材料中。将颗粒生长与薄膜沉积分离，可以独立控制颗粒束密度、颗粒大小和薄膜沉积速率。横截面透射电镜测量将提供纳米晶夹杂物的大小和密度的重要信息。所得到的薄膜的总体特性将通过测量电导来表征；光学吸收光谱和红外吸收光谱提供了有关缺陷密度和氢微观结构的重要信息。这种制造新材料的基础研究对于开发各种包含纳米级内含物的设备以及修改介电或聚合物薄膜的光学性质具有相当大的潜力。可能的实际应用包括改进太阳能电池、非易失性存储器和固态照明。通过与一家从事固态照明的私营公司合作，该项目的成功完成可能会导致新的制造工艺的快速商业化，固态照明有可能取代效率较低的荧光灯和白炽灯。

The objective of this research is the synthesis and characterization ofnovel mixed-phase materials consisting of semiconductor nanocrystallitesembedded within a thin film semiconductor or insulator. The approach isto use a new co-deposition system to create nanoparticles in a plasmachamber that are rapidly injected into a second plasma deposition systemwhere they are incorporated into a growing thin film material.Separating the particle growth from the thin film deposition enables theparticle beam density, particle size, and the film deposition rate to beindependently controlled. Cross-sectional Transmission ElectronMicroscopy measurements will provide important information on the sizeand density of the nanocrystalline inclusions. The bulk properties ofthe resulting films will be characterized through measurements of theconductance; optical absorption spectrum and the infra-red absorptionspectrum providing important information concerning the defect densityand hydrogen microstructure.This basic research into the fabrication of novel materials hasconsiderable potential for the development of a wide variety of devicesincorporating nanoscale inclusions and for the modification of opticalproperties of dielectric or polymer films. Possible practicalapplications include improved solar cells, non-volatile memories andsolid-state lighting. Successful completion of this project may lead torapid commercialization of new manufacturing processes throughcollaboration with a private company vested in solid-state lighting,that has the potential to replace less efficient fluorescent andincandescent lamps.