O carbeto de silício (SiC) é um semicondutor com propriedades adequadas para substituir o silício em dispositivos eletrônicos em aplicações que exijam alta potência, alta freqüência e/ou temperatura. Além disso, um filme de dióxido de silício (SiO2) pode ser crescido termicamente sobre o SiC de maneira análoga a sobre silício, permitindo que a tecnologia já existente para a fabricação de dispositivos utilizando Si possa ser adaptada para o caso do SiC. No entanto, filmes crescidos termicamente sobre SiC apresentam maior densidade de defeitos eletricamente ativos na região interfacial SiO2/SiC que no SiO2/Si. Assim, compreender a origem e os parâmetros que afetam essa degradação elétrica é um importante passo para a tecnologia do SiC. A primeira parte deste trabalho teve como objetivo compreender o efeito de parâmetros de oxidação (pressão de oxigênio e tempo de oxidação) no crescimento térmico de filmes de dióxido de silício sobre substratos de carbeto de silício. As oxidações foram realizadas em ambiente rico em 18O2 e a influência na taxa de crescimento térmico dos filmes de Si18O2 e nas espessuras das regiões interfaciais formadas entre o filme dielétrico e o substrato foram investigadas utilizando análises por reação nuclear. Para correlacionar as modificações nas propriedades investigadas com as propriedades elétricas das amostras, estruturas metal-óxidosemicondutor foram fabricadas e levantamento de curvas corrente-voltagem e capacitânciavoltagem foi realizado. Com isso, pretendeu-se melhor compreender a origem da degradação elétrica gerada pela oxidação térmica no SiC. Observou-se que a taxa de crescimento térmico dos filmes de SiO2 depende de um parâmetro dado pelo produto do tempo de oxidação e da pressão de oxigênio, para as condições testadas. O deslocamento da tensão de banda plana com relação ao valor ideal mostrou-se igualmente dependente desse parâmetro, indicando que uma maior degradação elétrica na região interfacial SiO2/SiC ocorrerá conforme o filme fica mais espesso devido ao aumento dos parâmetros investigados. Não observaram-se modificações nas espessuras da região interfacial SiO2/SiC e na tensão de ruptura dielétrica dos filmes de SiO2 atribuídas aos parâmetros de oxidação testados. Na segunda parte deste trabalho, visando minimizar a degradação elétrica da região interfacial SiO2/SiC gerada pela oxidação térmica do SiC, propôs-se crescer termicamente, em uma condição mínima de oxidação, um filme muito fino e estequiométrico de SiO2, monitorado por espectroscopia de fotoelétrons induzidos por raios X. Para formar filmes mais espessos de SiO2 e poder fabricar estruturas MOS, depositaram-se filmes de SiO2 por sputtering. As espessuras e estequiometria dos filmes depositados foram determinadas por espectrometria de retroespalhamento Rutherford com ou sem canalização. As estruturas MOS em que o filme fino de SiO2 foi crescido termicamente antes da deposição apresentaram menor deslocamento da tensão de banda plana com relação ao valor ideal e maior tensão de ruptura dielétrica do que as amostras em que o filme foi apenas crescido termicamente ou apenas depositado, confirmando a minimização da degradação elétrica da região interfacial SiO2/SiC pela rota proposta. O efeito de um tratamento térmico em ambiente inerte de Ar nas estruturas também foi investigado. Observou-se uma degradação elétrica na região interfacial SiO2/SiC devido a esse tratamento. Análises por reação nuclear indicaram que o filme fino crescido termicamente não permaneceu estável durante o tratamento térmico, perdendo oxigênio para o ambiente gasoso e misturando os isótopos de oxigênio do filme crescido termicamente com o do filme depositado. / Silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconductor with adequate properties to substitute silicon in electronic devices in applications that requires high power, high frequency, and/or high temperature. Besides, a silicon dioxide (SiO2) film can be thermally grown on SiC in a similar way to that on Si, allowing that technology already used to fabricate devices based on Si to be adapted to the SiC case. However, the oxide films thermally grown on SiC present higher density of electrical defects at the SiO2/SiC interfacial region when compared to the SiO2/Si. Thus, the understanding of the origin and what parameters affect the electrical degradation is an important step to the SiC technology. The first part of this work aimed to understand the effect of oxidation parameters (oxygen pressure and oxidation time) in the thermal growth of silicon dioxide films on silicon carbide substrates. The oxidations were performed in an 18O2 rich ambient and the influence on the growth rate of the Si18O2 films and on the interfacial region thickness formed between the dielectric film and the substrate were investigated using nuclear reaction analyses. To correlate the modifications observed in these properties with modifications in the electrical properties, metal-oxide-semiconductors structures were fabricated and current-voltage and capacitancevoltage curves were obtained. The aim was to understand the origin of the electrical degradation due to the thermal oxidation of silicon carbide. It was observed that the growth rate of the Si18O2 films depends on the parameter given by the product of the oxygen pressure and the oxidation time, under the conditions tested. The flatband voltage shift with respect to the ideal value was also influenced by the same parameter, indicating that a larger electrical degradation in the SiO2/SiC interfacial region will occur as the film becomes thicker due to the increase of the values of the investigated parameters. No modifications were observed in the SiO2/SiC interfacial region thickness and in the dielectric breakdown voltage of the SiO2 films that could be attributed to the oxidation parameters tested. In the second part of this work, in order to minimize electrical degradation due to thermal oxidation of silicon carbide, a stoichiometric SiO2 film with minimal thickness was thermally grown, monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. To obtain thicker films and to fabricate MOS structures, a SiO2 film was deposited by sputtering. The thicknesses and stoichiometries of the deposited films were determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry using or not the channeling geometry. The MOS structures in which a thin film was thermally grown before the deposition presented smaller flatband voltage shift and higher breakdown voltage when compared to SiO2 films only thermally grown or only deposited directly on SiC, confirming that the electrical degradation in the SiO2/SiC interfacial region was minimized using the proposed route. The effect of one thermal treatment in argon in the structures was also investigated. An electrical degradation in the SiO2/4H-SiC interface was observed. Nuclear reaction analyses indicated that the thin film thermally grown was not stable during the annealing, loosing O to the gaseous ambient and mixing O isotopes of the thermally grown film with those of the deposited film.

Patch antennas are fundamental elements in many microwave communications systems. However, patch antennas receive/transmit signals over a very narrow bandwidth (typically a maximum of 3% bandwidth). Design modifications directed toward bandwidth expansion generally yield 10% to 40% bandwidth. The series varactor tuned patch antenna configuration was the bandwidth enhancement method explored in this research; this configuration is implemented by dividing a patch antenna into multiple sections and placing varactors across the resultant gaps. In addition to yielding a large bandwidth, the configuration has a number of ancillary benefits, including straightforward integration and design flexibility. Through the research represented by this work, the properties of the series varactor tuned patch antenna, herein referred to as the Fragmented Patch Antenna (or FPA), were explored and optimized. As a result, an innovative patch antenna was produced that yielded 63.4% frequency tuning bandwidth and covered a frequency range between 2.8 and 5.4 GHz. The wide bandwidth was achieved through a detailed parametric study. The products of this study were the discovery of multiple tuning resonances that were used to expand the tuning bandwidth and the understanding/documentation of the significance of specific antenna dimensions. Measurement results were obtained through the fabrication of a prototype antenna using semiconductor varactors. In the second research phase, the construction of capacitors using the tunable permittivity material Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) was investigated. Using this material in conjunction with nano-fabrication techniques, varactors were developed that had good estimated performance characteristics and were considered appropriate for integration into adaptive microwave circuitry, such as the tunable antenna system. The varactors were constructed by using Focused Ion Beam (FIB) milling to create a nano-scale capacitive gap in a transmission line. A combination of end-point current detection (EPD) and cross-section scanning electron (SEM) and ion beam (FIB) microscope images were used to optimize the milling procedure. The future extensions of this work include the integration of the BST varactors with the antenna design; the configuration of the developed BST varactors lends itself to a straightforward integration with the FPA antenna.

L'objectif de cette thèse est de développer et de valider une méthode de calcul de dose indépendante afin de soutenir le travail de mise en service intense d'une installation de traitement par faisceaux d'ions légers (LIBT) et de valider le calcul de dose du système de planification de traitement (SP). Le travail porte sur les traitements de protonthérapie et est organisé en collaboration entre le laboratoire CREATIS (Lyon, France) et le centre de thérapie ionique MedAustron - Vienna - Austria (Wiener Neustadt, Autriche). Chez MedAustron - Vienna - Austria, afin d’exploiter une pénombre latérale aiguë du faisceau de protons et d’améliorer la précision des algorithmes de calcul de la dose TPS, l’intervalle entre la fenêtre de la tête de traitement et le patient est réduit en déplaçant le patient vers la tête de traitement. Par conséquent, les traitements non isocentriques doivent être pris en compte avec précision lors de la modélisation ainsi que lors de la phase de validation, car l'éloignement de la cible de l'isocentre de la pièce peut réduire la précision du traitement. Dans cette étude, la paramétrisation du faisceau de crayons à protons suit les recommandations de Grevillot et al. (2011), mais comprenant une description complète de la buse. Un soin particulier est apporté à la modélisation des propriétés du faisceau de crayon dans des conditions non isocentriques, y compris l'utilisation d'un Range Shifter (RaShi). La caractérisation du faisceau de crayon est basée uniquement sur les profils de fluence mesurés dans le profil de dose d’air et de profondeur acquis dans l’eau. De plus, le modèle présenté est calibré en dose absolue sur la base d'un nouveau formalisme produit-zone-dose présenté dans Palmans et Vatnitsky (2016). Finalement, une validation détaillée est effectuée dans l'eau, pour les distributions de doses tridimensionnelles de forme régulière. Plusieurs paramètres couramment exploités en dosimétrie des protons, tels que la distance parcourue, la pénombre distale, la modulation, la taille des champs et la pénombre latérale pour la dosimétrie protonique sont évalués à des fins de validation. Le modèle optique à faisceau de crayon a atteint une précision de l'exigence clinique de 1 mm / 10% et il n'est pas affecté par la complexité des traitements non isocentriques ni par l'utilisation d'un RaShi. Les plages sont reproduites entre 0,2 et 0,35 mm (déviation maximale) sans et avec le décaleur de plage, respectivement. La différence de dose dans les conditions de référence est de 0,5%. La validation de l'administration de la dose en 3D dans l'eau était à 1,2% maximum. La concordance des paramètres distaux et longitudinaux est généralement meilleure que 1 mm. Les résultats obtenus serviront de référence pour la future mise en œuvre clinique du système de calcul de dose indépendant MedAustron - Vienna - Austria. / The goal of this PhD is to develop and validate an independent dose calculation method in order to support the intense commissioning work of a Light Ion Beam Therapy (LIBT) facility, and to validate the Treatment Planning System (TPS) dose calculation. The work focuses on proton therapy treatments and is held as a collaboration between the CREATIS laboratory (Lyon, France) and the MedAustron - Vienna - Austria Ion Therapy Center (Wiener Neustadt, Austria). At MedAustron - Vienna - Austria, in order to exploit a sharp lateral penumbra for the proton beam as well as to improve the accuracy of the TPS dose calculation algorithms, the air gap between the treatment head window and the patient is reduced by moving the patient towards the treatment head. Therefore, non-isocentric treatments have to be accurately taken into consideration during modeling as well as validation phase as moving the target away from the room isocenter may lead to reduced treatment accuracy. In this study, the parametrization of the proton pencil beam follows the recommendations provided in Grevillot et al. (2011), but including a full nozzle description. Special care is taken to model the pencil beam properties in non-isocentric conditions, including the use of a Range Shifter (RaShi). The characterization of the pencil beam is based solely on fluence profiles measured in air and depth dose profile acquired in water. In addition, the presented model is calibrated in absolute dose based on a newly formalism in dose-area-product presented in Palmans and Vatnitsky (2016). Eventually, a detailed validation is performed in water, for three-dimensional regular-shaped dose distributions. Several parameters commonly exploited in proton dosimetry such as range, distal penumbra, modulation, field sizes and lateral penumbra for proton dosimetry are evaluated for validation purposes. The pencil beam optics model reached an accuracy within the clinical requirement of 1mm/10% and it is not affected by the complexity of non-isocentric treatments and the use of a RaShi. Ranges are reproduced within 0.2 and 0.35 mm (max deviation) without and with range shifter, respectively. The dose difference in reference conditions is within 0.5%. The 3D dose delivery validation in water was within 1.2% at maximum. The agreement of distal and longitudinal parameters is mostly better than 1 mm. The obtained results will be used as a reference for the future clinical implementation of the MedAustron - Vienna - Austria independent dose calculation system. As an example of the potential clinical outcome of the presented work, the patient specific quality assurance measurements performed in water have been successfully reproduced within the clinical requirement of 5% accuracy for a few patients.

La zircone 3Y-TZP présente un grand intérêt pour les applications dentaires, en implantologie orale, elle semble être un matériau extrêmement prometteur: elle allie une biocompatibilité à un aspect esthétique satisfaisant et présente aussi des propriétés mécaniques très supérieures aux autres céramiques. Ces bonnes propriétés mécaniques sont intimement liées à la microstructure du matériau, elle-même directement liée aux procédés d’élaboration comme nous l’a rappelé l’alarmante série de ruptures de plus de 800 têtes de prothèses de hanche en zircone au début des années 2000, due au phénomène de vieillissement de ce matériau. Cependant, les études cliniques menées à ce jour ne font toujours pas état des interrelations existant entre la microstructure, les propriétés mécaniques et la sensibilité au vieillissement. Il était donc primordial de valider et d’appliquer les connaissances acquises dans le domaine des sciences des matériaux pour l’application de la zircone 3Y-TZP en implantologie oral. C’est l’objectif de notre première publication. Nous avons également développé, dans notre deuxième publication, un protocole d’évaluation permettant dans un premier temps, d’évaluer l’effet de l’état de surface et de la microstructure sur la résistance mécanique d’implants neufs, puis de suivre leurs cinétiques de vieillissement tout en analysant l’évolution de la microstructure et son influence sur la résistance mécanique au cours du vieillissement. Tout cela permettant in fine, de prédire la durabilité d’un type d’implant. Nous avons par la suite, développé un programme informatique permettant la détection et la quantification du vieillissement pour un volume donné. Cette détection de la zone vieillie ou transformée est basée sur des modifications microstructurales caractéristiques engendrées lors du vieillissement. Enfin, nous avons pu mettre en évidence l’occurrence du phénomène de vieillissement in vivo, par l’analyse d’explants issus d’une étude clinique et démontrer leur probable implication dans ces cas d’échec. Le logiciel informatique de traitement d’image développé a été également, appliqué aux explants dans le but de mettre en lumière et d’expliciter l’occurrence du phénomène de vieillissement in vivo, afin de sensibiliser les acteurs de ce marcher aux problématiques rencontrées et d’optimiser de ce dispositif médical, à la lumière des connaissances actuelles. / 3Y-TZP zirconia is gaining interest in oral implantology, it seems to be a promising material with good biocompatibility, esthetic appearance and also the highest mechanical properties for a ceramic. These mechanical properties are closely related to the microstructure of the material itself directly related to production processes as we recalled the alarming series of breaks of more than 800 heads of zirconia hip replacements in the early 2000, due to the aging phenomenon of the material. However, clinical studies to date are still not state of the interrelationships between microstructure, mechanical properties and sensitivity to aging. It was therefore important to validate and apply the knowledge gained in the field of materials science for the application of 3Y-TZP zirconia oral implantology. This is the goal of our first publication. We also have developed in our second publication, a protocol to assess the effect of the surface modification and microstructure on the mechanical strength of new implants and follow their kinetics of aging and also, the evolution of the microstructure and its influence on the mechanical strength during aging, to predict the durability of a type of implant. We have subsequently developed a computer program for the detection and quantification of the aging for a given volume. This detection of the aged or transformed area is based on microstructural modifications produced during aging. Finally, we have been able to demonstrate the occurrence of the phenomenon of aging in vivo, by analyzing explants from a clinical study and demonstrate their involvement in the case of dental implant failure. The image processing developed was also applied to the explants in order to highlight and explain the occurrence of in vivo aging phenomenon. The objective is to optimize this medical device, in the light of current knowledge.

Photonic crystals (PhCs) are structures periodic in thedielectric constant. They exhibit a photonic bandgap, i.e., arange of wavelengths for which light propagation is forbidden.Engineering of defects in the PhC lattice offers new ways toconfine and guide light. PhCs have been manufactured usingsemiconductors and other material technologies. This thesisfocuses on two-dimensional PhCs etched in InP-based materials.Only recently, such structures were identified as promisingcandidates for the realization of novel and advanced functionsfor optical communication applications. The primary focus was on fabrication and characterization ofPhC structures in the InP/GaInAsP/InP material system. Thedemands on fabrication are very high: holes as small as100-300nm in diameter have to be etched at least as deep as 2µm. Thus, different etch processes had to be explored andspecifically developed for InP. We have implemented an etchingprocess based on Ar/Cl2chemically assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE), thatrepresents the state of the art PhC etching in InP. Different building blocks were manufactured using thisprocess. A transmission loss of 10dB/mm for a PhC waveguide, areflection of 96.5% for a 4-row mirror and a record qualityfactor of 310 for a 1D cavity were achieved for this materialsystem. With an etch depth of 4.5 µm, optical loss wasfound to be close to the intrinsic limit. PhC-based opticalfilters were demonstrated using (a) a Fabry-Pérot cavityinserted in a PhC waveguide and (b) a contra-directionalcoupler. Lag effect in CAIBE was utilized positively to realizehigh quality PhC taper sections. Using a PhC taper, a couplingefficiency of 70% was demonstrated from a standard ridgewaveguide to a single line defect PhC waveguide. During the course of this work, InP membrane technology wasdeveloped and a Fabry-Pérot cavity with a quality factorof 3200 was demonstrated. Keywords:photonic crystals, photonic bandgap materials,indium phosphide, dry etching, chemically assisted ion beametching, reactive ion etching, electron beam lithography,photonic integrated circuits, optical waveguides, resonantcavities, optical filtering, finite difference time domain,plane wave expansion.

Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) on light element materials and soft matters is problematic due to electron irradiation damage and low contrast. In this doctoral thesis techniques were developed to address some of those issues and successfully characterize these materials at high resolution. These techniques were demonstrated on graphene flakes, DNA/magnetic beads and a number of water containing biomaterials. The details of these studies are given below. A TEM based method was presented for thickness characterization of graphene flakes. For the thickness characterization, the dynamical theory of electron diffraction is used to obtain an analytical expression for the intensity of the transmitted electron beam as a function of thickness. From JEMS simulations (experiments) the absorption constant λ in a low symmetry orientation was found to be ~ 208 nm (225 ± 9 nm). When compared to standard techniques for thickness determination of graphene/graphite, the method has the advantage of being relatively simple, fast and requiring only the acquisition of bright-field (BF) images. Using the proposed method, it is possible to measure the thickness change due to one monolayer of graphene if the flake has uniform thickness over a larger area. A real-space TEM study on magnetic bead-DNA coil interaction was conducted and a statistical analysis of the number of beads attached to the DNA-coils was performed. The average number of beads per DNA coil was calculated around 6 and slightly above 2 for samples with 40 nm and 130 nm beads, respectively. These results are in good agreement with magnetic measurements. In addition, the TEM analysis supported an earlier hypothesis that 40 nm beads are preferably attached interior of the DNA-coils while 130 nm beads closer to the exterior of the coils. A focused ion-beam in-situ lift-out technique for hydrated biological specimens was developed for cryo-TEM. The technique was demonstrated on frozen Aspergillus niger spores which were frozen with liquid nitrogen to preserve their cellular structures. A thin lamella was prepared, lifted out and welded to a TEM grid. Once the lamella was thinned to electron transparency, the grid was cryogenically transferred to the TEM using a cryo-transfer bath. The structure of the cells was revealed by BF imaging. Also, a series of energy filtered images was acquired and C, N and Mn elemental maps were produced. Furthermore, 3 Å lattice fringes of the underlying Al support were successfully resolved by high resolution imaging, confirming that the technique has the potential to extract structural information down to the atomic scale. The experimental protocol is ready now to be employed on a large variety of samples e.g. soft/hard matter interfaces.

The research in permanent magnet thin films focuses on the search of new materials and methods to increase the prevalent data storage limit. In the recent past the work towards the application of these films to micro systems have also gained momentum. Materials like samarium cobalt with better magnetic properties and temperature stability are considered to be suitable in this regard. The essential requirement in miniaturization of these films is to deposit them on silicon substrates that can alleviate the micro fabrication process. In this work, an effort has been made to deposit SmCo films with better magnetic properties on silicon substrates. In the deposition of SmCo, the composition of the deposited films and the structural evolution are found to play an important role in determining the magnetic properties. Proper control over these parameters is essential in controlling the magnetic properties of the deposited films. SmCo being a two component material the composition of the films is dependent on the nature of the source and the transport of the material species from source to substrate. On the other hand, structural evolution is dependent on the energetical considerations between the SmCo lattice and substrate lattice. This most often is dominated by the lattice match between the condensing lattice and the substrate lattice. As such Si does not provide good lattice match to SmCo lattice. Hence suitable underlayers are essential in the deposition of these films. Materials like W, Cu, Mo and Cr were used as underlayers. Out of all these Cr is found to provide good lattice match and adhesion to SmCo lattice. Sputtering being the common deposition tool, SmCo could be sputtered either from the elemental targets of Sm and Co or from the compound target of SmCo5. Sputtering of elemental targets of Sm and Co provides the flexibility of varying the composition whereas sputtering from the SmCo alloy target provides to flexibility of controlling the structural evolution by different process parameters. In this work two different techniques namely Facing Target Sputtering (FTS) and Ion Beam Sputter Deposition (IBSD) were followed in depositing SmCo films. In FTS technique, SmCo films were directly deposited on silicon substrates by simultaneous sputtering of samarium and cobalt targets facing each other. This sputtering geometry enabled to achieve films with a wide composition range of 55 – 95 at. % of cobalt in single deposition. The resulting composition variation and material property variation were investigated in terms of process parameters like pressure, temperature, SubstrateTarget Distance (STD) and InterTarget Distance (ITD). The composition distribution of the films was found to be dependent on the thermalisation distances and the mean free path available during the transport. To explain the process and the composition variation, a simulation model based on Monte Carlo method has been employed. The simulated composition variation trends were in good agreement with that of the experimental observations. IBSD, known for its controlled deposition, was employed to deposit both Cr (as an underlayer) and SmCo films. Cr with close epitaxial match with SmCo induces structural evolution in deposited films. The initial growth conditions were found to play a dominant role in the structural evolution of these Cr films. Hence, initial growth conditions were modified by means of oblique incidence and preferential orientation of (200) plane was obtained. With three different angles of incidence, three different surface orientations of Cr films were achieved. These films were then used as structural templates in the deposition of SmCo films. The influence of parameters like composition, impurities, film thickness, beam energy, ion flux, annealing, angles of incidence and underlayer properties on the structural and magnetic properties of SmCo was studied. The structural evolution of SmCo has been found to depend on the structural orientation of Cr underlayers. This followed the structural relation of SmCo(100)||Cr(110)||Si(100) and SmCo(110)||Cr(100)||Si(100). A mixed surface plane orientation was observed in the case of mixed orientation Cr template. The magnetic coercivities were found to increase from 50 Oe to 5000 Oe with the change in the structure of the deposited films.

Photonic crystals (PhCs) are periodic dielectric structures that exhibit a photonic bandgap, i.e., a range of wavelength for which light propagation is forbidden. The special band structure related dispersion properties offer a realm of novel functionalities and interesting physical phenomena. PhCs have been manufactured using semiconductors and other material technologies. However, InP-based materials are the main choice for active devices at optical communication wavelengths. This thesis focuses on two-dimensional PhCs in the InP/GaInAsP/InP material system and addresses their fabrication technology and their physical properties covering both material issues and light propagation aspects. Ar/Cl2 chemically assisted ion beam etching was used to etch the photonic crystals. The etching characteristics including feature size dependent etching phenomena were experimentally determined and the underlying etching mechanisms are explained. For the etched PhC holes, aspect ratios around 20 were achieved, with a maximum etch depth of 5 microns for a hole diameter of 300 nm. Optical losses in photonic crystal devices were addressed both in terms of vertical confinement and hole shape and depth. The work also demonstrated that dry etching has a major impact on the properties of the photonic crystal material. The surface Fermi level at the etched hole sidewalls was found to be pinned at 0.12 eV below the conduction band minimum. This is shown to have important consequences on carrier transport. It is also found that, for an InGaAsP quantum well, the surface recombination velocity increases (non-linearly) by more than one order of magnitude as the etch duration is increased, providing evidence for accumulation of sidewall damage. A model based on sputtering theory is developed to qualitatively explain the development of damage. The physics of dispersive phenomena in PhC structures is investigated experimentally and theoretically. Negative refraction was experimentally demonstrated at optical wavelengths, and applied for light focusing. Fourier optics was used to experimentally explore the issue of coupling to Bloch modes inside the PhC slab and to experimentally determine the curvature of the band structure. Finally, dispersive phenomena were used in coupled-cavity waveguides to achieve a slow light regime with a group index of more than 180 and a group velocity dispersion up to 10^7 times that of a conventional fiber. / QC 20100712

Diese Arbeit befasst sich mit der Nanostrukturierung von magnetischen Schichtsystemen mit Tunnelmagnetowiderstandseffekt (TMR-Effekt), welche in der Form von Nanosäulen in magnetoresistiven Speichern (MRAM) eingesetzt werden. Solche Nanosäulen können zukünftig ebenfalls als Nanoemitter von Mikrowellensignalen eine Rolle spielen. Dabei wird von der Auswahl eines geeigneten TMR-Schichtsystems mit einer MgO-Tunnelbarriere über die Präparation der Nanosäulen mit Seitenisolierung bis hin zum Aufbringen der elektrischen Zuleitungen eine komplette Prozesskette entwickelt und optimiert. Die Strukturen werden mittels optischer Lithographie und Elektronenstrahllithographie definiert, die anschließende Strukturübertragung erfolgt durch Ionenstrahlätzen (teilweise reaktiv) sowie durch Lift-off. Rückmeldung über Erfolg oder Probleme bei der Strukturierung geben Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie (teilweise mit Zielpräparation per Ionenfeinstrahl, FIB), Rasterelektronenmikroskopie sowie die Lichtmikroskopie. Es können so TMR-Nanosäulen mit minimalen Abmessungen von bis zu 69 nm x 71 nm hergestellt werden, von denen Nanosäulen mit Abmessungen von 65 nm x 87 nm grundlegend magneto-elektrisch charakterisiert worden sind. Dies umfasst die Bestimmung des TMR-Effektes und des Widerstandes der Tunnelbarriere (RA-Produkt). Weiterhin wurde das Verhalten der magnetischen Schichten bei größeren Magnetfeldern bis +-200mT sowie das Umschaltverhalten der magnetisch freien Schicht bei verändertem Winkel zwischen magnetischer Vorzugsachse des TMR-Elementes und dem äußeren Magnetfeld untersucht. Der Nachweis des Spin-Transfer-Torque Effektes an den präparierten TMR-Nanosäulen ist im Rahmen dieser Arbeit nicht gelungen, was mit dem zu hohen elektrischen Widerstand der verwendeten Tunnelbarriere erklärt werden kann. Mit dünneren Barrieren konnte der Widerstand gesenkt werden, allerdings führt ein Stromfluss durch diese Barrieren schnell zur Degradation der Barrieren. Weiterführende Arbeiten sollten das Ziel haben, niederohmige und gleichzeitig elektrisch belastbare Tunnelbarrieren in einem entsprechenden TMR-Schichtsystem abzuscheiden. Eine erste Auswahl an Ansatzpunkten dafür aus der Literatur wird im Ausblick gegeben. / This thesis deals with the fabrication of nanopillars with tunnel magnetoresistance effect (TMR-effect), which are used in magnetoresistive memory (MRAM) and may be used as nanooscillators for future near field communication devices. Starting with the selection of a suitable TMR-layer stack with MgO-tunnel barrier, the whole process chain covering the fabrication of the nanopillars, sidewall isolation and preparation of the supply lines on top is developed and optimised. The structures are defined by optical and electron beam lithography, the subsequent patterning is done by ion beam etching (partially reactive) and lift-off. Techniques providing feedback on the nanofabrication are transmission electron microscopy (partially with target preparation by focused ion beam, FIB), scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy. In this way nanopillars with minimal dimensions reaching 69 nm x 71 nm could be fabricated, of which nanopillars with a size of 65 nm x 87 nm were characterized fundamentally with respect to their magnetic and electric properties. This covers the determination of the TMR-effect and the resistance of the tunnel barrier (RA-product). In addition, the behaviour of the magnetic layers under higher magnetic fields (up to +-200mT) and the switching behaviour of the free layer at different angles between the easy axis of the TMR-element and the external magnetic field were investigated. The spin transfer torque effect could not be detected in the fabricated nanopillars due to the high electrical resistance of the tunnel barriers which were used. The resistance could be lowered by using thinner barriers, but this led to a quick degradation of the barrier when a current was applied. Continuative work should focus on the preparation of tunnel barriers in an appropriate TMR-stack being low resistive and electrically robust at the same time. A first selection of concepts and ideas from the literature for this task is given in the outlook.

Metal-Oxide-Silicon Field-Effect-Transistors with a layer of electrically isolated Si nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in the gate oxide are known to improve conventional floating gate flash memories. Data retention, program and erase speeds as well as the memory operation voltages can be substantially improved due to the discrete charge storage in the isolated Si NCs. Using ion beam synthesis, Si NCs can be fabricated along with standard CMOS processing. The optimization of the location and size of ion beam synthesized Si NCs requires a deeper understanding of the mechanisms involved, which determine (i) the built-up of Si supersaturation by high-fluence ion implantation and (ii) NC formation by phase separation. For that aim, process simulations have been conducted that address both aspects on a fundamental level and, on the other hand, are able to avoid tedious experiments. The built-up of a Si supersaturation by high-fluence ion implantation were studied using dynamic binary collision calculations with TRIDYN and have lead to a prediction of Si excess depth profiles in thin gate oxides of a remarkable quality. These simulations include in a natural manner high fluence implantation effects as target erosion by sputtering, target swelling and ion beam mixing. The second stage of ion beam synthesis is modeled with the help of a tailored kinetic Monte Carlo code that combines a detailed kinetic description of phase separation on atomic level with the required degree of abstraction that is necessary to span the timescales involved. Large ensembles of Si NCs were simulated reaching the late stages of NC formation and dissolution at simulation sizes that allowed a direct comparison with experimental studies, e.g. with electron energy loss resolved TEM investigations. These comparisons reveal a nice degree of agreement, e.g. in terms of predicted and observed precipitate morphologies for different ion fluences. However, they also point clearly onto impact of additional external influences as, e.g., the oxidation of implanted Si by absorbed humidity, which was identified with the help of these process simulations. Moreover, these simulations are utilized as a general tool to identify optimum processing regimes for a tailored Si NC formation for NC memories. It is shown that key properties for NC memories as the tunneling distance from the transistor channel to the Si NCs, the NC morphology, size and density can be adjusted accurately despite of the involved degree of self-organization. Furthermore, possible lateral electron tunneling between neighboring Si NCs is evaluated on the basis of the performed kinetic Monte Carlo simulations.