Here, silicon oxide was formed in a U-shaped trench of a power metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor device by various processes. One SiO₂ formation process was performed in multiple steps to create a low-defect Si-SiO₂ interface, where first a thin initial oxide was grown by thermal oxidation followed by the deposition of a much thicker oxide layer by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In a second novel approach, silicon nitride CVD was combined with radical oxidation to form silicon oxide in a stepwise sequence. The resulting stack of silicon oxide films was then annealed at temperatures between 1000 and 1100 °C. All processes were executed in an industrial environment using 200 mm-diameter (100)-oriented silicon wafers. The goal was to optimize the trade-off between wafer uniformity and conformality of the trenches. The thickness of the resulting silicon oxide films was determined by ellipsometry of the wafer surface and by scanning electron microscopy of the trench cross sections. The insulation properties such as gate leakage and electrical breakdown were characterized by current–voltage profiling. The electrical breakdown was found to be highest for films treated with rapid thermal processing. The films fabricated via the introduced sequential process exhibited a breakdown behavior comparable to films deposited by the common low-pressure CVD technique, while the leakage current at electric fields higher than 5 MV/cm was significantly lower.

<p>A new electron cyclotron plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (ECR-PECVD) reactor has been installed and tested at McMaster University. The focus of this project was the installation of the reactor and the growth of silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, cerium doped silicon oxynitride and aluminium doped silicon oxide films to test the capabilities of the reactor. Silicon oxide films were prepared with near-stoichiometric compositions and silicon rich compositions. Good repeatability of the growths was seen. An increase in deposition temperature showed stable refractive index and a decrease in the growth rates. Silicon oxynitride films of varying compositions were prepared, and showed a non-uniformity of ~1% and growth rates of ~3.5 nm/min. Films prepared with a low oxygen flow were seen to be nitrogen rich. Although the depositions using Ce(TMHD)4 showed significant cerium incorporation, there was also high carbon contamination. One likely cause of this is the high sublimator temperature used during depositions or a thermal shock to the precursor during initial system calibration. A definitive cause of the carbon contamination has not been established. The cerium films showed strong blue luminescence after post-deposition annealing in N2 above 900° C. A drop in the luminescence was observed at 1100° C and a return of the luminescence at 1200° C. Generally, high cerium incorporation was associated with higher total luminescence. Al(THMD)3 was evaluated as an aluminium precursor for Al-doped silicon oxide films. The films showed aluminium content up to 6% demonstrating the viability of using Al(THMD)3 as a Al doping precursor.</p> / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The contribution describes the construction of a CVD system, the deposition of thin molybdenum disulphide layers using this system and the analysis of the samples produced. The deposition of thin molybdenum disulphide layers and an intercalation of the silicon carbide substrate used were demonstrated and the measurement results obtained by atomic force microscopy and photoelectron spectroscopy were further discussed.

<p dir="ltr">Thin films of ceramic materials are of significant importance in various industries due to their unique properties, versatility, and abundance. These materials are applied as thin layers on different types of substrates, providing a wide range of benefits and applications in industries such as automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy, and environmental monitoring. Historically, ceramic thin films have been used to enhance the properties and performance of metallic substrates by providing corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and thermal stability in harsh environmental and extreme conditions. Among various ceramic materials, thin films of silicon oxide (SiO_x) and silicon nitride (SiN_x) are the most widely used in the semiconductor and biomedical industries due to their excellent barrier properties, biocompatibility, and environmental stability. Traditionally, thin ceramic films or coatings of SiO_x and SiN_x are deposited using various methods including sol-gel, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), and thermal spraying. Despite the widespread use of traditional vapor deposition methods, their limitations such as the requirement of vacuum systems, high processing temperatures, slow deposition rates, and limited substrate capabilities render them unfitting for large scale manufacturing. To address the challenges associated with these traditional methods, this dissertation focuses on exploring the potential use of the cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) technology as an effective, scalable, and low-temperature approach for depositing SiO_x and SiN_x thin films under atmospheric conditions and demonstrating its applicability in sensing and packaging applications. In the first part of this dissertation, the CAP deposited silica coating is used as a key sensing element in flexible sensors. For the first time in literature, the demonstration of a low-cost and flexible glass-based pH sensor (sensitivity ~ 48mV/pH) consisting of CAP deposited silica coating as a sensing membrane is reported. In the second part, to realize the reliability and durability of these flexible electronic devices, robust encapsulation is achieved through a systematic study optimizing the conditions of plasma deposition while utilizing the CAP-deposited silica coating as an adhesion promoter to enhance the barrier properties of traditional polymeric encapsulants on flexible electronics devices. The third part aims to provide corrosion protection to electronic devices by applying ultrathin films of silica coatings with various thicknesses ranging from 75 nm to 1110 nm and varying degree of crosslink density and barrier properties. The final part demonstrates the effectiveness of CAP-deposited silica coating with enhanced antibacterial properties by integrating quaternary ammonium functionality to the coating for biomedical applications. In summary, these contributions in the CAP deposition technology can open up a new platform with tremendous opportunities toward scalable manufacturing of cost-effective and reliable devices for a broad range of applications.</p>

Gasphasenabscheidungen werden zur Produktion dünner Schichten in der Mikro- und Nanoelektronik benutzt, um eine präzise Kontrolle der Schichtdicke im Sub-Nanometer-Bereich zu erreichen. Elektronische Eigenschaften der Schichten werden dabei von strukturellen Eigenschaften determiniert, deren Bestimmung mit hohem experimentellem Aufwand verbunden ist. Die vorliegende Arbeit erweitert ein hochparalleles Modell zur atomistischen Simulation des Wachstums und der Struktur von Dünnschichten, welches Molekulardynamik (MD) und Kinetic Monte Carlo-Methoden (KMC) kombiniert, um die Beschreibung beliebiger Gasphasenabscheidungen. KMC-Methoden erlauben dabei die effiziente Betrachtung der Größenordnung ganzer Nano-Bauelemente, während MD für atomistische Genauigkeit sorgt. Erste Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das Parsivald genannte Modell Abscheidungen in Simulationsräumen mit einer Breite von 0.1 µm x 0.1 µm effizient berechnet, aber auch bis zu 1 µm x 1 µm große Räume mit 1 Milliarden Atomen beschreiben kann. Somit lassen sich innerhalb weniger Tage Schichtabscheidungen mit einer Dicke von 100 Å simulieren. Die kristallinen und amorphen Schichten zeigen glatte Oberflächen, wobei auch mehrlagige Systeme auf die jeweilige Lagenrauheit untersucht werden. Die Struktur der Schicht wird hauptsächlich durch die verwendeten molekulardynamischen Kraftfelder bestimmt, wie Untersuchungen der physikalischen Gasphasenabscheidung von Gold, Kupfer, Silizium und einem Kupfer-Nickel-Multilagensystem zeigen. Stark strukturierte Substrate führen hingegen zu Artefakten in Form von Nanoporen und Hohlräumen aufgrund der verwendeten KMC-Methode. Zur Simulation von chemischen Gasphasenabscheidungen werden die Precursor-Reaktionen von Silan mit Sauerstoff sowie die Hydroxylierung von alpha-Al2O3 mit Wasser mit reaktiven Kraftfeldern (ReaxFF) berechnet, allerdings ist weitere Arbeit notwendig, um komplette Abscheidungen auf diese Weise zu simulieren. Mit Parsivald wird somit die Erweiterung einer Software präsentiert, die Gasphasenabscheidungen auf großen Substraten effizient simulieren kann, dabei aber auf passende molekulardynamische Kraftfelder angewiesen ist.

<p>Postojanje ugljeničnih nanocevi (UNC), kao jedne od brojnih alotropskih modifikacija ugljenika, zabeleženo je jo&scaron; pre vi&scaron;e od pola veka. Međutim, do prave eksplozije<br />interesovanja za ovu vrstu nanomaterijala je do&scaron;lo tek 1991. godine kada ih je &quot;ponovo&quot; otkrio japanski naučnik S. Iijima. Od tada, zbog svojih izuzetnih fizičko-hemijskih osobina, UNC počinju da privlače pažnju naučne javnosti i spajaju istraživače iz različitih oblasti sa zajedničkim imeniteljem - nanotehnologija. Otkriće UNC je u znatnoj meri omogućilo razvoj visoke tehnologije u oblastima kao &scaron;to su elektronika, optika, kompozitni materijali, kataliza, za&scaron;tita životne sredine, itd. Danas, primena nanocevi sve vi&scaron;e doprinosi lak&scaron;oj implementaciji principa održivog razvoja u pomenute oblasti. Kataliza je polje od dvostrukog interesa, jer je jedan od načina dobijanja UNC upravo katalitički, a osim toga i same cevi su interesantne kao nosač novog katalizatora.<br />Istraživanje čiji su rezultati prikazani u okviru ove doktorske disertacije je obuhvatilo vi&scaron;e oblasti proučavanja UNC, počev&scaron;i od razvoja metode za njihovu sintezu, preko preči&scaron;ćavanja i funkcionalizacije finalnog proizvoda, pa do primene nanocevi u dva procesa od značaja za oblast za&scaron;tite životne sredine.</p><p>Razvoj katalitičke metode sinteze UNC započet je primenom vertikalnog cevnog kvarcnog reaktora, iz CO i CH4 kao izvora ugljenika, pri čemu su u reakciji testirani<br />monometalni katalizatori na bazi Fe, Co i Ni na Al2O3 kao nosaču (I serija katalizatora). Rezultati ovih preliminarnih eksperimenata su pokazali malu aktivnost I serije monometalnih katalizatora, &scaron;to se može pripisati, kako neadekvatnoj hidrodinamici reaktora i lo&scaron;e odabranim reakcionim parametrima, tako i neodgovarajućoj veličini katalitičkih čestica i načina njihovog pakovanja u vertikalnom<br />reaktoru. Shodno tome, u cilju postizanja boljeg prinosa nanocevi, dalji eksperimenti sinteze izvedeni su u horizontalnom reaktoru u struji C2H4 i u prisustvu II serije<br />monometalnih katalizatora sa Al2O3 i SiO2 kao nosačima, koji se u odnosu na I seriju razlikuju po udelu aktivne faze i veličini čestica katalizatora (pra&scaron;kast oblik). Katalizatori II serije su pokazali zadovoljavajuću aktivnost u reakciji sinteze UNC, a rezultati karakterizacije dobijenih uzoraka nanocevi ukazuju na različit uticaj nosača katalizatora na morfologiju sintetisanih nanocevi. Shodno ostvarenom prinosu ugljenika, a u cilju optimizacije reakcionih parametara, katalizator na bazi Fe sa SiO2 kao nosačem je odabran kao reprezentativan za ispitivanje uticaja vremena trajanja sinteze UNC, kao i zapreminskog udela C2H4 u sme&scaron;i sa azotom, na prinos<br />nanocevi i selektivnost procesa.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Optimizacija reakcionih uslova je u daljoj fazi rada dovela do uvođenja bimetalnih katalizatora sa istim tradicionalnim nosačima &ndash; Al2O3 i SiO2. Najveći prinos ugljenika ostvaren je na katalizatorima sa Fe i Co kao aktivnom fazom, bez obzira na vrstu nosača. UNC sintetisane na pomenutim katalizatorima su karakterisane u cilju<br />ispitivanja uticaja primenjenih nosača na njihove fizičkohemijske osobine, pa je shodno tome i predložen vr&scaron;ni mehanizam njihovog rasta. Rezultati ispitivanja kvaliteta sintetisanih UNC su ukazali da primena SiO2, kao nosača katalizatora, za razliku od Al2O3, favorizuje rast UNC boljeg povr&scaron;inskog i ukupnog kvaliteta. S obzirom na raznolikost mogućnosti primene UNC, istraživanja u tom smeru zahtevaju čiste UNC, pa su shodno tome proizvodi sinteze preči&scaron;ćeni metodom tečne oksidacije. Rezultati fizičko-hemijske karakterizacije preči&scaron;ćenih UNC su ukazali na efikasnost primenjene metode sa aspekta uklanjanja prisutnog katalizatora, ali i na njen različit uticaj na strukturu, odnosno kvalitet preči&scaron;ćenih uzoraka. Kao posledica promena unutar strukture UNC, kao i različitog stepena njihove funkcionalizacije, ukupni kvalitet preči&scaron;ćenih nanocevi je, u zavisnosti od primenjenog nosača katalizatora, promenjen u odnosu na odgovarajuće nepreči&scaron;ćene uzorke.<br />Poslednjih godina se posebna pažnja poklanja nanomaterijalima koji se mogu primeniti za uklanjanje različitih polutanata iz životne sredine, kako u funkciji adsorbenata, tako i u funkciji katalizatora. U okviru ove doktorske disertacije obuhvaćena je primena UNC kao adsorbenta za uklanjanje insekticida tiametoksama iz vode, kao i njihova primena kao nosača katalizatora u reakciji<br />denitracije vode. Rezultati eksperimenata adsorpcije su pokazali da UNC, prethodno tretirane u ccHNO3, predstavljaju dobar adsorbent za uklanjanje insekticida tiametoksama iz vodenog rastvora. Odabir procesnih parametara za proučavanje kinetike adsorpcije, adsorpcione ravnoteže, kao i termodinamike procesa izvr&scaron;en je primenom frakcionog faktorskog dizajna na dva nivoa, 5 1 V 2 , a dobijeni rezultati su ukazali da je pomenuti proces adsorpcije spontan i kontrolisan uglavnom unutra&scaron;njom difuzijom molekula insekticida u mezopore uzorka UNC. Performanse katalizatora sa UNC kao nosačem su testirane u reakciji katalitičke denitracije, pri čemu su dobijeni rezultati pokazali da se novoformirani katalizator karakteri&scaron;e zadovoljavajućom disperzno&scaron;ću sa udelombimetalnih Pd-Cu nanočestica koje omogućavaju 60% konverzije nitratnog jona.</p> / <p style="text-align: justify;">The existance of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), as one of the carbon allotropes, was noted over half century ago. However, the true interest for these nanomaterials appeared at 1991, when they were &quot;redescovered&quot; by Japanese scientist S. Iijima. Since then, due to their unique physico-chemical properties, CNTs begin to attract attention of the scientific community and to gather researchers from different areas within the common field of interest &ndash; nanotechnology. The CNTs discovery substantially enabled the high technology development in the fields such as electronics, optics, composite materials, catalysis, environmental protection, etc. Nowdays, the application of nanotubes is increasingly contributing to easier implementation of sustainable development principles in the above mentioned areas. Catalysis is the field of double interest &ndash; one of the CNTs synthesis method is catalytical, and the nanotubes can also be used as the support of the new catalyst.<br />The research, which results are shown within this PhD Thesis, includes few different CNTs research fields, starting from the synthesis method development, over the purification and functionalization of the final product, to the application of<br />nanotubes in two processes of significance for the field of environmental protection.<br />The development of the CNTs catalytic synthesis method was started by the use of vertical quartz tube reactor, in the flow of CO and CH4 as the carbon source, and in the presence of monometallic catalysts based on Fe, Co and Ni at Al2O3 as the support (the first series of catalysts). The results of these preliminary experiments have shown the low activity of these monometallic catalysts, which can be attributed to the inadequate reactor hydrodynamics and selected reaction parameters, as well as the inadequate size of the catalytic particles and the type of their packing in the vertical reactor. Consequently, in order to achieve the higher nanotubes yield, further synthesis experiments were carried out in a horizontal reactor in the flow of C2H4 as the carbon source, and in the presence of the second series of monometallic catalysts with Al2O3 and SiO2 as the supports. The catalysts of the second series have shown satisfactory activity in the CNTs synthesis reaction, and the results of the obtained samples characterization idicate a different influence of the catalyst support on the synthesized CNTs morphology. In order to optimize the reaction parameters, Fe/SiO2 catalyst was chosen as a representative to examine the effect of the CNTs synthesis duration, as well as the volume percentage of C2H4 in the mixture with nitrogen to the CNTs yield and process selectivity. In a further phase of work, the optimization of thereaction parameters led to the introduction of the bimetallic catalysts with the same traditional supports, Al2O3 and SiO2. The highest carbon yield was achieved over Fe, Co based catalysts, regardless of the type of the catalyst support. CNTs synthesized over the above mentioned catalysts were characterized in order to study the effect of the used supports on their physico-chemical properties, and consequently the CNTs tip growth mechanism was proposed. The results of quality examination of the synthesized CNTs showed that the use of SiO2, as a catalyst support, unlike Al2O3, favors the growth of nanotubes of better surface and overall crystalline quality. In view of the diversity of possible CNTs applications, investigation in that direction requires purified CNTs and accordingly the final CNTs products were purified by liquid oxidation method. The results of physico-chemical characterization of the purified CNTs showed that the applied purification method was effective in terms of removing the present catalyst, but on the other hand it had different influence on the structure and quality of the purified samples. As a consequence of CNTs structural changes, as well as their different degree of functionalization, the overall crystalline quality of the purified nanotubes, originating from different catalyst supports, was changed in comparison to the corresponding unpurified samples. Over the past few years, special attention was focused on<br />nanomaterials that can be applied as adsorbents or catalysts for the removal of various pollutants from the environment. This PhD Thesis considers the use of CNTs, as adsorbent, for the removal of insecticide thiamethoxam from water, as well as their use as catalyst support for water denitration reaction. The results of adsorption experiments have shown that the CNTs, pretreated in ccHNO3, represent a good adsorbent for the removal of thiamethoxam from the aqueous solutions. The<br />selection of the process parameters in order to study the adsorption kinetics and equilibrium, as well as the thermodynamics of the process, was conducted using the<br />fractional factorial design at two levels, 5 1 V 2 . The obtained results showed that the adsorption process is spontaneous and controlled mainly by an internal diffusion of molecules of insecticide in the mesopores of CNTs. The performance of the catalyst with the CNTs as the support were tested in catalytic water denitration reaction, whereby the results showed that the newly formed catalyst is characterized by satisfactory dispersion of Pd-Cu bimetallic nanoparticles which enable the 60% conversion of nitrate ions.</p>

As interessantes propriedades eletrônicas, mecânicas e óticas dos materiais orgânicos conjugados fizeram emergir diversas aplicações tecnológicas e comerciais em dispositivos baseados nesses materiais, tais como sensores, memórias, células solares e diodos emissores de luz poliméricos (LEDs). Neste sentido, o tema central desta tese é o estudo das propriedades elétricas e morfológicas e os mecanismos de transporte eletrônico de cargas no PEDOT:PSS, uma blenda polimérica que consiste de um policátion condutivo, o poli(3,4- etilenodioxitiofeno) (PEDOT) e do poliânion poli(estirenosulfonado) (PSS). PEDOT:PSS é amplamente usado como material de eletrodo em aplicações na área de eletrônica plástica, como mencionado anteriormente. Apesar da condutividade elétrica dos filmes finos de PEDOT:PSS possa variar várias ordens de grandeza, dependendo do método pela qual é processado e transformado em filme fino, as razões para este comportamento é essencialmente desconhecido. Esta tese descreve um estudo detalhado do transporte eletrônico de cargas anisotrópico e sua correlação com a morfologia, as condições e as dimensões da separação de fase entre os dois materiais, PEDOT e PSS. Antes de abordar as propriedades do PEDOT:PSS, uma camada de filme fino inorgânica usada para aumentar o tempo de vida de dispositivos orgânicos é descrita no Capítulo 2. Um importante mecanismo de degradação em LEDs poliméricos é a fotooxidação da camada ativa. Assim, isolar a camada ativa da água, oxigênio e luz, torna-se crucial para o aumento do tempo de vida. Um sistema de deposição química a partir da fase de vapor estimulada por plasma (PECVD) é usado para depositar filmes finos de nitreto de carbono em baixas temperaturas, menores que 100 °C, sobre PLEDs com a intenção de aumentar o tempo de vida destes dipositivos e diminuir a fotodegradação do poli[2-metoxi-5- (2-etil-hexiloxi)-p-fenileno vinileno] (MEH-PPV) em ambiente atmosférico. O filme fino de nitreto de carbono possui as características de um material que pode bloquear a umidade e que tem espessura e flexibilidade adequados para a nova geração de PLEDs flexíveis. As características dos filmes finos de nitreto de carbono e MEH-PPV foram investigadas usando-se técnicas de espectroscopia ótica, com particular ênfase no processo de degradação do MEHPPV sob iluminação. Os resultados mostraram que o filme fino de nitreto de carbono protege o filme polimérico e diminui consideravelmente a fotooxidação. Para avaliar o efeito do encapsulamento em dispositivos reais, LEDs poliméricos foram fabricados e pelas curvas de corrente-tensão um aumento no tempo de vida é confirmado quando a camada de nitreto de carbono é presente. O tempo de vida desejado, maior que 10.000 horas, para aplicações comerciais não foi atingido, entretanto, o encapsulamento pode ser melhorado otimizando as propriedades da camada de nitreto de carbono e combinando-as com camadas de outros materiais orgânicos e inorgânicos. Os capítulos seguintes deste trabalho aborda os estudos realizados com o PEDOT:PSS, uma vez que é amplamente usado em eletrônica orgânica, mas relativamente tem recebido pouca atenção com respeito ao transporte eletrônico de cargas, bem como sua correlação com a morfologia. No Capítulo 3, experimentos com microscopia de varredura por sonda (SPM, Scanning Probe Microscopy) e medidas de condutividade macroscópica são utilizados para estudar e obter um modelo 3D morfológico completo que explica, qualitativamente, a condutividade anisotrópica observada nos filmes finos de PEDOT:PSS depositados pela técnica de spin coating. Imagens topográficas de microscopia de varredura por tunelamento (STM) e imagens da seção transversal observadas com o microscópio de forca atômica (X-AFM) revelaram que o filme fino polimérico é organizado em camadas horizontais de partículas planas ricas em PEDOT, separadas por lamelas quasi-contínuas de PSS. Na direção vertical, lamelas horizontais do isolante PSS reduzem a condutividade e impõe o transporte eletrônico a ser realizado por saltos em sítios vizinhos próximos (nn-H, nearest-neighbor hopping) nas lamellas de PSS. Na direção lateral, o transporte eletrônico via saltos 3D em sítios a longas distâncias (3D-VRH, variable range hopping) ocorre entre as ilhas ricas em PEDOT que são separadas por barreiras muito mais finas de PSS, causando um aumento da condutividade nesta direção. Esta discussão é estendida ao Capítulo 4 com uma descrição quantitativa do transporte eletrônico de cargas predominantes. Particularmente, é demonstrado que o transporte de cargas via saltos 3D em sítios a longas distâncias ocorre entre ilhas ricas em PEDOT e não entre segmentos isolados de PEDOT ou dopantes na direção lateral, enquanto que na direção vertical o transporte de cargas via saltos em sítios vizinhos próximos ocorre dentro das lamelas do quasi-isolante PSS. Em algumas aplicações, faz-se necessário usar PEDOT:PSS com alta condutividade elétrica. Isso pode ser feito adicionando-se sorbitol à solução aquosa de PEDOT:PSS. Após um tratamento térmico, e dependendo da quantidade de sorbitol adicionado, a condutividade aumenta várias ordens de grandeza e as causas e consequências de tal comportamento foram investigadas neste trabalho. O Capítulo 5 investiga as várias propriedades tecnológicas do PEDOT:PSS altamente condutivo tratado com sorbitol, tais como a própria condutividade, os efeitos dos tratamentos térmicos e exposição à umidade. É observado que o aumento da condutividade elétrica, devido à adição de sorbitol na solução aquosa, é acompanhado por uma melhoria na estabilidade da condutividade elétrica em condições atmosféricas. Surpreendentemente, a condutividade elétrica do PEDOT:PSS, sem tratamento com sorbitol (~ 10-3 S/cm), aumenta mais de uma ordem de grandeza sob ambiente úmido de 30-35 % umidade relativa. Este efeito é atribuido a uma contribuição iônica à condutividade total. Análise Temogravimetrica (TGA), espectrometria de massa com sonda de inserção direta (DIP-MS) e análise calorimétrica diferencialmodulada (MDSC) foram usadas como técnicas adicionais para o entendimento dos estudos deste Capítulo. No Capítulo 6, microscopia de varredura por sonda-Kelvin (SKPM) foi empregada para medir o potencial de superfície dos filmes finos de PEDOT:PSS tratados com diferentes concentrações de sorbitol. Mostra-se que a mudança no potencial de superfície é consistente com uma redução de PSS na superfície do filme fino. Para estudar o transporte eletrônico nos filmes finos de PEDOT:PSS altamente condutivos tratados com sorbitol, o Capítulo 7 usa medidas de temperatura e campo elétrico em função da conduvitidade correlacionados com analises morfológicas realizadas por STM. É observado que o transporte eletrônico por saltos, na direção lateral, muda de 3D-VRH para 1D-VRH quando o PEDOT:PSS é tratado com sorbitol. Esta transição é explicada por uma auto-organização das ilhas ricas em PEDOT em agregados 1D, devido ao tratamento com sorbitol, tornando-se alinhadas em domínios micrométricos, como observado pelas imagens de STM. / Employing the unique mechanical, electronic, and optical properties of the conjugated organic and polymer materials several technological and commercial applications have been developed, such as sensors, memories, solar cells and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In this respect, the central theme of this thesis is the electrical conductivity and mechanisms of charge transport in PEDOT:PSS, a polymer blend that consists of a conducting poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polycation (PEDOT) and a poly(styrenesulfonate) polyanion (PSS). PEDOT:PSS is omnipresent as electrode material in plastic electronics applications mentioned above. Although the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS can vary by several orders of magnitude, depending on the method by which it is processed into a thin film, the reason for this behavior is essentially unknown. This thesis describes a detailed study of the anisotropic charge transport of PEDOT:PSS and its correlation with the morphology, the shape, and the dimension of the phase separation between the two components, PEDOT and PSS. Before addressing the properties of PEDOT:PSS, a new barrier layer is described in Chapter 2 that enhances the lifetime of organic devices. An important degradation mechanism in polymer LEDs is photo-oxidation of the active layer. Hence, isolating the active layer from water and oxygen is crucial to the lifetime. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is used to deposit a thin layer of carbon nitride at low deposition temperatures, below 100 °C, on a polymer LED that uses poly[2-methoxy-5-(2´-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4- phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV) as active layer. A thin layer of carbon nitride acts as barrier for humidity, but is still sufficiently bendable to be used in flexible polymer LEDs. The characteristics of carbon nitride and MEH-PPV films have been investigated using optical spectroscopy, with particular emphasis on the degradation process of MEH-PPV under illumination. The measurements show that the carbon nitride coating indeed protects the polymer film and diminishes the photo-oxidation considerably. To study the effect of the encapsulation in real devices, polymer LEDs were made and their current-voltage characteristics confirm the enhanced lifetime in the presence of a carbon nitride barrier layer. However, the target, a lifetime of more than 10,000 hours for commercial applications, was not achieved. The remaining chapters of this thesis describe the investigations of PEDOT:PSS. PEDOT:PSS is widely used in organic electronics. So far, relatively little attention has, been paid to the mechanisms of charge transport in this material and the correlation of those properties to the morphology. In Chapter 3, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and macroscopic conductivity measurements are used to obtain a full 3D morphological model that explains, qualitatively, the observed anisotropic conductivity of spin coated PEDOT:PSS thin films. Topographic scanning probe microscopy (STM) and cross-sectional atomic force microscopy images (X-AFM) reveal that the thin film is organized in horizontal layers of flattened PEDOT-rich particles that are separated by quasi-continuous PSS lamella. In the vertical direction, the horizontal PSS insulator lamellas lead to a reduced conductivity and impose nearest-neighbor hopping (nn-H) transport. In the lateral direction, 3D variable-range hopping (3D-VRH) transport takes place between PEDOT-rich clusters which are separated by much thinner barriers, leading to an enhanced conductivity in this direction. This discussion is extended in Chapter 4, where a quantitative description of the length scales of the predominant transport is obtained. Particularly, it is demonstrated that the hopping process takes place between PEDOT-rich islands and not between single PEDOT segments or dopants in the lateral direction, whilst in the vertical direction the current limiting hopping transport occurs between dilute states inside the quasi-insulating PSS lamellas. By a post-treatment it is possible to modify PEDOT:PSS to raise its conductivity, by orders of magnitude. Typically, the addition of sorbitol to the aqueous dispersion of PEDOT:PSS that is used to deposit thin films via spin coating leads to an enhancement of the conductivity after thermal annealing. The causes and consequences of such behavior were investigated in detail. Chapter 5 describes the various properties of the highly conductive sorbitol-treated PEDOT:PSS, such as the conductivity itself, and the effects of thermal annealing and exposure to moisture. It is found that the conductivity enhancement upon addition of sorbitol is accompanied by a better environmental stability. Surprisingly, the electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS thin films without sorbitol treatment is increased by more than one order of magnitude in an environment with more than 30-35 % relative humidity. This effect is attributed to an ionic contribution to the overall conductivity. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), direct insert probe-mass spectrometry (DIP-MS) and modulation differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) were used as additional tools to demonstrate that, after thermal treatment, the concentration of sorbitol in the final PEDOT:PSS layer is negligibly small. In Chapter 6, scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM) is employed to measure the surface potential and work function of this PEDOT:PSS films that were deposited from water with different sorbitol concentrations. It is shown that work function of PEDOT:PSS is reduced with increasing sorbitol concentration. This shift can be explained by and is in agreement with- a reduction in the surface enrichment with PSS of the film. To study the charge transport properties of the highly conductive sorbitoltreated PEDOT:PSS films, temperature dependent and electric field dependent measurements are correlated with morphological analysis by STM in Chapter 7. It is found that by sorbitol treatment the hopping transport changes from 3DVRH to 1D-VRH. This transition is explained by a sorbitol-induced selforganization of the PEDOT-rich grains into 1D aggregates that are aligned within micrometer sized domains, as observed in STM images.

L'objectif de cette thèse est de développer un procédé plasma qui puisse se substituer au procédé de dépôt électrolytique de laiton, actuellement appliqué sur les fils d'acier utilisés comme matériaux de renforcement dans un pneu, pour les faire adhérer au caoutchouc. La stratégie employée consiste à déposer une couche mince organochlorée en continu sur un fil d'acier zingué, qui traverse une décharge à barrière diélectrique tubulaire, fonctionnant à la pression atmosphérique, dans une configuration fil-cylindre. Dans un premier temps, les travaux se concentrent sur la caractérisation de la décharge et de la couche mince déposée à la fois en mode statique (substrat immobile dans le réacteur) et dynamique (substrat en défilement). Des relations sont établies entre les paramètres plasma (puissance dissipée dans la décharge, fréquence de la source haute tension, flux de précurseur), les propriétés de la décharge et les caractéristiques du revêtement plasma. Des études morphologique, cinétique et chimique de la couche mince sont réalisées. Dans un second temps, la préparation de la surface du substrat et le dépôt plasma sont optimisés pour permettre d'obtenir les meilleurs niveaux d'adhésion entre l'acier zingué et le caoutchouc. À l'issue de ce travail d'optimisation, des analyses sont réalisées pour identifier la nature de la nouvelle interphase d'adhésion. Cette étude se conclut alors par une discussion sur l'origine possible des liens qui s'opèrent dans ce nouveau système / The primary objective of this thesis project is to develop a plasma process able to replace the electrolytic brass plating process, which is currently performed on steel wires used as reinforcing materials in tires to make them bond with rubber. The chosen strategy consists in depositing organo-chlorinated thin films in a continuous way on zinc-plated steel wires going across a tubular atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge in a wire-cylinder configuration. In a first time, works focus on characterization of both the discharge and the plasma layer, deposited in the static (substrate stationary in the reactor) and dynamic (moving substrate) modes. Relationships are established between the plasma parameters (power dissipated in the discharge, high voltage source frequency, precursor flow rate), the discharge properties and the thin film characteristics. Morphological, kinetic and chemical studies of the plasma layer are carried out. In a second time, the substrate surface preparation and the coating are optimized to enhance the adhesion between zinc-plated steel wires and rubber. Analyses are performed to identify the new adhesion interface nature. At the end of this study, hypotheses concerning the adhesion origin in this system are formulated

Le carbure de silicium est un matériau souvent employé comme matrice dans les composites thermostructuraux. Le précurseur classiquement utilisé pour son élaboration par dépôt/infiltration par voie gazeuse est CH3SiCl3. La thèse vise à évaluer le remplacement de ce précurseur par des précurseurs gazeux bi-sourcés de SiC où carbone et silicium sont apportés séparément.A partir du système SiHCl3/C3H8/H2, l’influence du débit total, de la température, de la pression totale et de (C/Si)gaz sont évaluées et comparées aux résultats obtenus avec le système CH3SiCl3/H2. La mesure in situ de la vitesse de dépôt permet de définir des lois cinétiques apparentes. L’analyse IRTF de la phase gazeuse indique que les évolutions des pressions partielles des différents produits stables sont corrélées avec les transitions cinétiques et les changements de composition du solide. Les simulations numériques de l’évolution de la phase gazeuse montrent une bonne corrélation avec les résultats expérimentaux et permettent de proposer des mécanismes homogènes et hétérogènes qui pourraient expliquer les écarts à la stoechiométrie du dépôt.L’étude de six précurseurs supplémentaires permet de mieux identifier le rôle des principales espèces en phase homogène et hétérogène, et notamment les précurseurs effectifs de dépôt. Enfin, l’étude de l’infiltration de matériaux poreux modèles révèle des améliorations significatives en termes d’homogénéité de vitesse de dépôt.Ainsi, des conditions propices à l’infiltration de carbure de silicium peuvent être obtenues en adaptant la réactivité de la phase gazeuse par la sélection de précurseurs initiaux et des chemins réactionnels qui en découlent. / Silicon carbide (SiC) is material of choice for the matrix of Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC).CH3SiCl3/H2 mixtures are currently used as gas precursor for the synthesis of the CVI-SiC matrices.The present work considers the dual-source approach with two separate carbon and silicon precursorsmolecules.In the case of SiHCl3/C3H8/H2 mixture, systematic studies of total flow rate, temperature, total pressureand C/Si ratio of initial gaseous phase are realized. Kinetics obtained with growth rate measurements and solid composition are compared with results from CH3SiCl3/H2 mixture. On the basis of the apparent reaction orders and activation energies, experimental kinetic laws are derived. Through IRTF analysis of the gas phase, the partial pressures of the different stable products are correlated with deposition kinetic and solid composition. Results obtained in gas-phase kinetic simulation show a good correlation with the experimental results and a mechanism of homogeneous decomposition is proposed. A better understanding of the role of the principal species in homogenous and heterogeneous phase is obtained through the study of six other gas systems and the roles of some effective precursors are discussed. Finally, infiltration results of porous material models with different precursor systems reveal significant improvements as homogeneity of kinetic deposit.Hence, favourable conditions to silicon carbide infiltration can be obtained by adapting the reactivity of the gas phase, with the choice of initial precursors and homogeneous chemistry associated. Asystematic study of the process evidences promising working windows for the infiltration of pure SiCin porous performs.

Le graphène est une simple couche de nid d'abeille motifs atomes de carbone. Il a suscité beaucoup d'intérêt dans la dernière décennie en raison de ses excellentes propriétés électroniques, optiques et mécaniques, etc., et montre larges perspectives d'applications dans le futur. Parfois, les propriétés du graphène doivent être modulées pour s’adapter à des applications spécifiques. Par exemple, le contrôle du niveau de dopage fournit un bon moyen de moduler les propriétés électriques et magnétiques de graphène, qui est important pour la conception de dispositifs de mémoire et de logique à base de graphène. En outre, la possibilité de régler la conductance électrique peut être utilisée pour fabriquer le transistor de graphène, et le dépôt chimique en phase vapeur (CVD) Procédé montre la possibilité d'effectuer la préparation de graphène intégrées dans les processus de fabrication de semi-conducteur. L'injection de spin et l'irradiation sont méthodes efficaces et pratiques pour adapter les propriétés de transport du graphène. Mais en raison du processus de fabrication complexe, il est difficile de préparer le dispositif de transport de spin graphène succès. La lithographie et décoller les processus qui impliquent utilisant résine photosensible va dégénérer les propriétés de transport du graphène. En outre, la sensibilité du graphène aux molécules H2O et O2 lorsqu'il est exposé à l’air ambiant entraînera faible signal de rotation et le bruit de fond. L'irradiation fournit une méthode propre à moduler les propriétés électriques de graphène qui n’impliquent pas de traitement chimique. En ions ou irradiation d'électrons, la structure de bande électronique de graphène peut être réglé et la structure en treillis est modulé aussi bien. En outre, les impuretés chargées et dopage résultant de l'irradiation peuvent modifier les propriétés électroniques du graphène comme la diffusion électron-phonon, libre parcours moyen et la densité de support. Comme indiqué, le graphène oxydation peut être induite par exposition à un plasma d'oxygène, et le N- dopage de graphène par recuit thermique dans de l'ammoniac a été démontré. En outre, la souche dans le graphène peut également être adaptée par irradiation, qui contribue également à la modification des propriétés de transport de graphène. En conclusion, l'irradiation fournit une méthode physique efficace pour moduler les propriétés structurelles et de transport de graphène, qui peuvent être appliqués dans la mémoire à base de graphène et des dispositifs logiques, transistor, et des circuits intégrés. Dans cette thèse, l'irradiation d'ions hélium a été réalisée sur le graphène cultivé sur substrat SiO2 par la méthode CVD, et les propriétés structurelles et de transport ont été étudiés. Le dopage de transfert de charge dans le graphène induite par les résultats d'irradiation dans une modification de ces propriétés, qui suggère une méthode pratique pour les adapter. En outre, l'irradiation par faisceau d'électrons a été effectuée sur graphène cultivé sur substrat de SiC. Les amorphisations progressives, contraintes et d'électrons dopage locales contribuent à la modification des propriétés structurelles et de transport dans le graphène qui peuvent être observés. / Graphene is a single layer of honeycomb patterned carbon atoms. It has attracted much of interest in the past decade due to its excellent electronic, optical, and mechanical properties, etc., and shows broad application prospects in the future. Sometimes the properties of graphene need to be modulated to adapt for specific applications. For example, control of doping level provides a good way to modulate the electrical and magnetic properties of graphene, which is important to the design of graphene-based memory and logic devices. Also, the ability to tune the electrical conductance can be used to fabricate graphene transistor, and the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method shows the possibility to make the preparation of graphene integrated into semiconductor manufacture processes. Moreover, the sensitivity of graphene to the H2O and O2 molecules when exposed to the air ambient will result in weak spin signal and noise background. Irradiation provides a clean method to modulate the electrical properties of graphene which does not involve chemical treatment. By ion or electron irradiation, the electronic band structure of graphene can be tuned and the lattice structure will be modulated as well. Moreover, the charged impurities and doping arising from irradiation can change the electronic properties of graphene such as electron-phonon scattering, mean free path and carrier density. As reported, graphene oxidization can be induced by exposure to oxygen plasma, and N-Doping of Graphene through thermal annealing in ammonia has been demonstrated. Furthermore, the strain in graphene can also be tailored by irradiation, which also contributes to the modification of transport properties of graphene. In conclusion, irradiation provides an efficient physical method to modulate the structural and transport properties of graphene, which can be applied in the graphene-based memory and logic devices, transistor, and integrated circuits (ICs). In this thesis, Helium ion irradiation was performed on graphene grown on SiO2 substrate by CVD method, and the structural and transport properties were investigated. The charge transfer doping in graphene induced by irradiation results in a modification of these properties, which suggests a convenient method to tailor them. Moreover, electron beam irradiation was performed on graphene grown on SiC substrate. The local progressive amorphization, strain and electron doping contribute to the modification of structural and transport properties in graphene which can be observed.