An effective way to prepare a robust CuInSe2 (CIS) target for subsequent vapor depositions of thin films is suggested in this work. The technique involves addition of excess Se to presynthesized CIS powder followed by cold pressing and sintering at a temperature as low as 300 °C. Phase-pure chalcopyrite CIS films were prepared at a substrate temperature of 300 °C from targets that contained different amounts of excess Se. The average size of particulates, typical of the pulsed laser deposition process, and their surface coverage decreased with increasing Se content up to 50 wt% in the targets. Films grown from the target with 50 wt% excess Se exhibited a hole concentration of ˜3 × 1019 cm−3 and a Hall mobility of ˜2 cm2/Vs. With the decrease of substrate temperature to room temperature, the resistivity increased from 1.1 × 10−1 to ˜7.5 × 108 Ω·cm, which is attributed to the potential contributions of Se interstitials, CuIn, and VIn defects.

Electron tomography and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the unique 3-dimensional (3D) structures of twinned Zn3P2 (tetragonal) and InAs (zinc blende) nanowires synthesized by the vapor transport method. The Zn3P2 nanowires adopt a unique superlattice structure that consists of twinned octahedral slice segments having alternating orientations along the axial [111] direction of a pseudocubic unit cell. The apices of the octahedral slice segment are indexed as six equivalent <112> directions at the [111] zone axis. At each 30 degrees turn, the straight and zigzagged morphologies appear repeatedly at the <112> and <011> zone axes, respectively. The 3D structure of the twinned Zn3P2 nanowires is virtually the same as that of the twinned InAs nanowires. In addition, we analyzed the 3D structure of zigzagged CdO (rock salt) nanowires and found that they include hexahedral segments, whose six apices are matched to the <011> directions, linked along the [111] axial direction. We also analyzed the unique 3D structure of rutile TiO2 (tetragonal) nanobelts; at each 90 degree turn, the straight morphology appears repeatedly, while the in-between twisted form appears at the [011] zone axis. We suggest that the TiO2 nanobelts consist of twinned octahedral slices whose six apices are indexed by the <011>/<001> directions with the axial [010] direction.

High k dielectric thick films, consisting of BaTiO3, a low softening glass and fluoride compounds, were studied to apply them as potential low temperature N2-fireable capacitors on commercially-available Cu foils. Different additive combinations of LiF, ZnF2 and BaF2 were specifically compared in terms of dielectric constant, dielectric loss and Curie temperature (Tc) for the purpose of optimizing dielectric performance. The thick film consisting of 95BaTiO3-1.5LiF-1.5ZnF2-2 bismuth borosilicate glass exhibited the best performance, i.e., a dielectric constant of 2,382 and a dissipation factor of 0.021 at Tc of 27°C at the firing temperature of 950°C. This result can be regarded as one of the best performance, compared to literature reported on embedded capacitors in Cu-PCB applications. No apparent Cu-diffusion was detected across the Cu-thick film-Cu foil structure.

The thermal degradation behavior of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films coated on glass substrates using radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering was investigated over the temperature range of 100–400 °C in air. The resistivity of ITO films increases abruptly after the thermal degradation temperature of 250 °C is reached, with a slight increase from 200 to 250 °C. The x-ray photoelectron spectrometry intensity ratio of O/(In + Sn) in thermally degraded ITO films is higher than that in normal films. The carrier concentration gradually decreases up to 200 °C, sharply drops between 200 and 250 °C with increasing temperature, and then saturates from 275 °C. The Hall mobility drops suddenly at 275 °C. The diffusion of oxygen into oxygen interstitials and oxygen vacancies and the chemisorption of oxygen into grain boundaries decrease the carrier concentration and the Hall mobility, respectively. The former mainly affects the resistivity of ITO films below 250 °C, and the later above 250 °C.

Various dielectric thin films have been studied for electroluminescence display (ELD) application to improve dielectric constant and breakdown voltage. In this work, amorphous BaTiO3 thin films were deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) - coated glass substrates by atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) using metalorganic precursors. Influences of deposition conditions on microstructure, interface characteristics and dielectric properties are investigated. It was possible to obtain dielectric films with good dielectric properties and textured, flat surface microstructure without defects due to the improvement of qualities of the grown films. These results were examined by XRD, SEM and AES analysis.

Prior to growth of polyoxide, amorphous-Si with a cap of low temperature oxide was annealed to improve the dielectric property of polyoxide. Current-electric field, critical electric field, critical electric field histogram, and Fowler-Nordheim conduction plot were evaluated. The interface of polyoxide and poly-Si was observed with a transmission electron microscope. The annealing of the amorphous-Si prior to oxidation was effective to improve the dielectric property of the polyoxide.