In this project, the fabrication of single-photon detectors based on superconducting nanowires is presented, with great focus on extending their operation range to the mid infrared. In particular, Niobium Titanium Nitride (NbTiN) and Molybdenum Silicide (MoSi), superconducting materials with different properties, are presented, studied and used as fabrication platforms. Different approaches are followed, mainly adjusting the nanowire width and thickness to achieve near unity quantum efficiency at mid infrared wavelengths. With the vision of using these devices for atmospheric LIDAR and sensing experiments, saturation at 2050 nm is studied that corresponds to the absorption peak of CO2. For the best device made on NbTiN thin films, unity quantum efficiency is shown at 2050 nm with a time jitter of 116 ps at 1550 nm. Simulations using the transfer matrix method and the commercial software Lumerical are carried out, concluding that the devices made in NbTiN could have 23.1-26.7% system detection efficiency at 2050 nm on a Silicon SiO2/Si platform. Further improvements show that the detection efficiency could reach between 52-62% (for 0.33 and 0.5 fill factor, respectively calculated with FDTD simulations) by engineering optical cavities. / I detta projekt presenteras en fabrikations process för enstaka foton detektorer baserade på supraledande nanotrådar. Fokuset har legat på att utöka våglängds regionen där detektorernas kan detektera till mid-infrarött ljus. Två specifika supraledande material, Niobium Titan (NbTiN) och Molybdenum Silicide (MoSi), med olika egenskaper har studerats och använts som material. Dimensionerna på nanotrådarna, framför allt tjockleken och bredden, har optimerats för att uppnå nära enhetlig kvant-effektivitet vid mid-infraröda våglängder. Med visionen att detektorerna ska användas för atmosfäriska LiDAR mätningar har de studerats för satruering vid 2050 nm som motsvarar ett absorbtions maximum för CO2. Detektorerna tillverkade med NbTinN uppnådde 100% kvant effektivitet för 2050 nm ljus med ett tids jitter på 116 ps vid 1550 nm ljus. Simuleringar med överförings matrisen metoden och den kommersiella mjukvaran Lumerical visar att NbTiN detektorer placerade på en SiO2/Si platform kan ha en 23.1-26.7% effektivitet vid 2050 nm. Ytterligare simuleringas visar att effektiviteten kan nå upp till 52-62% (för 0.33 och 0.5 fyllnadsfaktor, respektive beräknad med FDTD) genom att inkludera optiska kaviteter.

Lithography is the most crucial step in the semiconductor microfabrication workflow. Continuous features size shrinking co-occurs with the reduction of the exposure wavelength: a move from 193 nm light to extreme ultra-violet (EUV) at 13.5 nm is performed. The change poses a vast number of challenges that have been overcome in the past years. Among the others, the protection of the reticle front side from defects is crucial. Shielding can be achieved by means of EUV pellicles: large area (~150 cm2), freestanding, ultra-thin (~50 nm) membranes that prevent particles from landing on the reticle surface. Defects fall on the pellicle membrane, which is out-of-focus with respect to the reticle. During operation, the pellicle has to endure mechanical movements (>100 m/s2) and withstand the EUV scanner environment. With increasing source power (resulting in temperatures >500 ºC) structural and chemical integrity must be guaranteed. With multiple semiconductor manufacturers introducing EUV in HVM, an urgent need for a mass volume production-ready pellicle solution is present.In this thesis project, new generation pellicle materials are exposed to EUV light and gas atmosphere at BESSY II synchrotron beamline. The purpose is to investigate the performances of the new membrane samples in terms of the HVM production specifications. Two sets of 10x10 mm2 samples Type (A – B) with different core thickness are tested. Samples are characterized by using the following techniques: EUV transmittance and reflectance measurements, RBS, XPS, and FTIR. After exposure, all the samples undergo degradation. The main root causes are the atmosphere environment and the temperature. On the other hand, EUV light itself plays a marginal role in the process. The material etching mechanism must be further investigated through additional pellicle tests. This is a necessary step to make towards the high-volume manufacturing standards required for mass production. / Litografi är det mest avgörande steget i arbets flödet för halvledar mikrotillverkning. Kontinuerliga funktioner storlek krympande co-sker med minskning av exponeringen våglängd: en över gången från 193 nm ljus till extrem ultraviolett (EUV) vid 13.5 nm utförs. Förändringen innebär ett stort antal utmaningar som har övervunnits under de senaste åren. Bland de andra, är skyddet av rikt medel fram sidan från defekter avgörande. Avskärmning kan åstadkommas med hjälp av EUV-pellicles: stort område (~ 150 cm2), fristående, ultratunna (~ 50 nm) membran som hindrar partiklar från att landa på rikt medlet ytan. Defekter faller på denna tunna membranet, som är out-of-fokus med avseende på rikt medlet. Under drift har denna tunna att uthärda mekaniska rörelser (> 100 m/s2) och motstå EUV skanner miljö. Med ökande käll effekt (vilket resulterar i temperaturer > 500 º C) måste strukturell och kemisk integritet garanteras. Med flera halvledar tillverkare införa EUV i HVM, ett brådskande behov av en massa volym produktions klara denna tunna lösning är närvarande.I detta arbete, exponeras nya generationens denna tunna material för EUV ljus-och gasatmosfär på BESSY II Synchrotron beamline. Syftet är att undersöka prestandan hos de nya membranproverna i form av HVM-produktionsspecifikationer. Två uppsättningar av 10x10 mm2 prover typ (A – B) med olika kärna tjocklek testas. Proverna kännetecknas av att använda följande tekniker: EUV-transmission och reflektansmätningar, RBS, XPS och FTIR. Efter exponering genomgår alla prover nedbrytning. De viktigaste bakomliggande orsakerna är atmosfären miljö och temperaturen. Å andra sidan spelar EUV-ljuset självt en marginell roll i processen. Materialetsnings mekanismen måste undersökas ytterligare genom ytterligare denna tunna-tester. Detta är ett nödvändigt steg för att göra mot de höga volymer tillverknings standarder som krävs för Mass produktion.

In this study, the effect of AlN buffer layer structure and morphology on the GaN films deposited on Si (111) substrate by reactive DC magnetron sputtering have been studied. For structural and morphological characterization X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used. It is found that AlN films without Al pre-deposition on Si have a poor crystalline quality due to the formation of an amorphous layer at Si/AlN interface. Various initial Al sputtering durations on Si substrate result in changing the AlN buffer layer’s quality and morphology and choosing proper deposition duration can improve AlN buffer layer and the subsequent GaN layer quality. It is found that more than 15 s Al pre deposition can suppress the amorphous layer formation and enhance the film quality. The Rocking curve FWHM for both in-plane and out-of-plane orientation decreased from 1.86 and 1.56   to 0.4   and 0.3  , respectively, by 4 minutes Al pre-deposition on Si, however, overlong Al deposition results in poor surface morphology. It is found that 15s Al deposition is sufficient to enhance the quality as well as keeping the surface relatively smooth. In addition, AlN films deposited at 1000   showed the best film quality. GaN films directly grown on Si showed a poor crystalline quality and surface morphology, improvement of quality and morphology was observed for GaN samples deposited on AlN buffer layer. Also, melt-back etching observed on the surface of GaN grown on Si without AlN buffer layer. It is found that duration of Al deposition has a significant effect on GaN surface morphology, Al layer deposition more than 15 s result in a rough surface for GaN films. With choosing the optimum duration of Al pre-deposition and proper growth temperature a good quality GaN with a smooth surface morphology can be produced.

Several sputtering depositions were done by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering epitaxy (MSE) techniquefor the goal of improving the growth rate and crystalline quality of GaN thin film on Al2O3 substrate. Thegrowth rate was higher when substrate-to-target distance D = 7 cm compared with D = 9.3 cm with eitherfloating or positive bias on the substrate side. The crystalline quality was improved by raising up the growthtemperature from 700◦C to 900◦C, but the quality was declined from 900◦C to 1000◦C due to strong desorption.Gas composition in the metal mode gives better quality due to its sufficient Ga condition with less N2. Positivesubstrate bias boosted the plasma potential and therefore created higher actual sputtering power comparedwith the condition at floating substrate potential. In general, applying a higher power can elevate the growthrate and film quality. However, there has not been an evident difference of both growth rate and film qualitywhen the actual sputtering power is close for floating substrate potential and positive substrate bias.

Lasers are increasingly used for a wide range of different applications for both civil and military purposes. Due to the distinct properties of laser light, use of lasers often comes with a risk of damage to the human eye and other optical sensors. Therefore, an effective laser protection is needed. 2D-materials is a relatively new class of materials, which have shown to possess many unique properties compared to its bulk counterparts. Some 2D-materials exhibit nonlinear optical (NLO) properties, and specifically optical power limiting (OPL) effects, and have therefore been researched for laser protection applications. In this work, two different 2D-materials, MXene Ti3C2 and graphene oxide (GO), have been combined with a hybrid organic-inorganic polymer, a so called melting gel (MG), to synthesise nanocomposites possessing OPL effects for laser protection applications. Different methods of incorporating the 2D-materials in the polymer matrix as well as the effect on optical properties of different concentrations of 2D-materials were investigated. The prepared nanocomposites were characterised using optical microscopy, spectroscopy and OPL measurements in order to investigate and quantify their linear and nonlinear optical properties. The MG was optically clear, mechanically stable and easy to synthesise, which makes it a suitable candidate as a matrix for a laser protection nanocomposite. Additionally, it was possible to dope the MG with the two different 2D-materials to create nanocomposites showing desirable optical properties in the visible spectrum. However, many samples showed signs of clustered 2D-particles indicating that the dispersion could be improved. Finally, OPL measurements, performed at 532 nm, showed that the MG itself exhibited OPL effects, both 2D-materials showed a stronger OPL effect than the non-doped MG and that GO-doped samples gave a better protection than the MXene samples.

Among emerging materials systems for thermoelectric applications, the early transition-metal nitrides based on ScN and CrN show unexpectedly promising properties. These properties are determined by high Seebeck coefficient, low thermal conductivity, and high electrical conductivity. There is, however, still a need to improve the thermoelectric properties. One idea is to introduce dopants or alloying elements to alter the concentration, mobility, and/or type of charge carriers, such as in (Cr1-xVx)N. Another is to focus on the different scattering mechanisms, such as to reduce the scattering of electrons and increase the scattering of phonons, thus increasing the electrical conductivity while lowering the thermal conductivity. Electrical conductivity can be altered by grain boundary modifications, such as larger grains as well as metallic inclusions, for a smoother interface for the electrons. Such nanoinclusions could potentially also act as phonon scattering centra. Phonon scattering can also occur by site substitution of isoelectronic but heavier atoms, which could reduce the phonon mean free path while retaining the electrical conductivity. For CrN, the obvious substitutions are Mo or W.This thesis investigates these effects for CrN-based materials, and how to control the growth of them in a DC-magnetron sputtering system.First, an optimization study for CrN was made, here the power was fixed while the temperature and nitrogen content were varied. Second, the effect of in-situ annealing at the deposition temperature was investigated. Here, both films with pure CrN and films with a mix of CrN and Cr2N were annealed. It was found that temperature, pressure, and ambient gas have a large effect on the decomposition of CrN to Cr2N. Third, alloying with V and Mo was implemented. It was found that Mo quickly breaks the rock-salt structure, and for further investigation of CrMoN and Cr(Mo,V)N systems, other deposition methods which allows for lower deposition rates need to be investigated.The sample deemed best was the CrVN-sample, showing a Seebeck coefficient of -141 μV/K, resistivity of 1520 μΩ∙cm and a power factor of 1.3 mW/mK2.

Absolicon is a pioneering solar technology development company specializing in the manufacturing and selling of advanced solar energy systems engineered to generate renewable energy for diverse use. Comprising essential components such as reflectors (mirrors) and a solar receiver tube, these solar energy systems are equipped to efficiently capture and convert solar irradiation into usable thermal energy. As an integral facet of an ongoing research, this project will contribute to optimize the reflection and absorption capacity in receiver tubes of Absolicon's solar collectors. The aim is to investigate optically selective plasmonic coatings intended as an undercoating in the solar selective surfaces. The main coating material that will be used and analysed is gold due to its plasmonic properties and inert nature as well as its low toxicity. The gold will be coated on stainless steel using physical vapor deposition (PVD) and then annealed at mid-to-high temperatures to produce a plasmonic surface. The effect of Au thicknesses, annealing times/temperature and will be investigated to optimize the coating with regards to optical properties based on a systematic method called Design of Experiments (DoE). The goal for the gold coating is to increase the reflectance in the infrared region while generating a plasmonic absorption peak in the visible region (the position and width will be optimized), making it a more beneficial surface to coat a solar selective surface than the original stainless steel (SS). It was found that the size and inter-particle distance of GNPs depend on the temperature and annealing time for different thickness. The surface analysis from SEM-images and AFM-topographs provided that samples with smaller grains are more likely to exhibit significant plasmonic effects compared to larger grains. According to the surface characterization, either thinner gold coating exposed to high temperature for short annealing time or thicker gold coating with longer annealing time provide plasmonic absorption peak in visible light region.

Ion sensing represents a grand research challenge. It finds a vast variety of applications in, e.g., gas sensing for domestic gases and ion detection in electrolytes for chemical-biological-medical monitoring. Semiconductor genome sequencing exemplifies a revolutionary application of the latter. For such sensing applications, the signal mostly spans in the low frequency regime. Therefore, low-frequency noise (LFN) present in the same frequency domain places a limit on the minimum detectable variation of the sensing signal and constitutes a major research and development objective of ion sensing devices. This thesis focuses on understanding LFN in ion sensing based on both experimental and theoretical studies. The thesis starts with demonstrating a novel device concept, i.e., ion-gated bipolar amplifier (IGBA), aiming at boosting the signal for mitigating the interference by external noise. An IGBA device consists of a modified ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFET) intimately integrated with a bipolar junction transistor as the internal current amplifier with an achieved internal amplification of 70. The efficacy of IGBA in suppressing the external interference is clearly demonstrated by comparing its noise performance to that of the ISFET counterpart. Among the various noise sources of an ISFET, the solid/liquid interfacial noise is poorly studied. A differential microelectrode cell is developed for characterizing this noise component by employing potentiometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. With the cell, the measured noise of the TiN/electrolyte interface is found to be of thermal nature. The interfacial noise is further found to be comparable or larger than that of the state-of-the-art MOSFETs. Therefore, its influence cannot be overlooked for design of future ion sensors. To understand the solid/liquid interfacial noise, an electrochemical impedance model is developed based on the dynamic site-binding reactions of surface hydrogen ions with surface OH groups. The model incorporates both thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the binding reactions. By considering the distributed nature of the reaction energy barriers, the model can interpret the interfacial impedance with a constant-phase-element behavior. Since the model directly correlates the interfacial noise to the properties of the sensing surface, the dependencies of noise on the reaction rate constants and binding site density are systematically investigated.

Abstract The wood industries to this day use almost exclusively petroleum derived adhesives that are based mainly on the reaction of formaldehyde with urea, melamine or phenol. These adhesives have low cost and good adjustable properties which makes it hard for bio-based alternatives to compete. Phenol formaldehyde (PF), as an example of a synthetic adhesive, has been in use for over 100 years. In some parts of the world, legislation around formaldehyde is changing, and there is an increasingly voluntary awareness about the toxicity and unsustainability of formaldehyde. Industries realize that raw materials from oil is unstainable. The latter is currently a driving factor behind research on alternatives to amino based adhesives. Also, consumer interest in healthy and sustainable products, such as emitting less formaldehyde indoors, increases the need for bio based adhesives. Cellulose contained in plant cell walls is a renewable, abundant and nontoxic resource. During the last decades, many innovations have been achieved around cellulose and this trend does not seem to be slowing down. Cellulose shows excellent mechanical properties, high strength, high elastic modulus as well as having a low density. Research about cellulose reinforced adhesives has been increased the last years. This thesis studied the enhancement of phenol formaldehyde adhesive with Crystalline Nano Cellulose (CNC) at 5wt% and 10wt% loading levels for producing plywood boards. Indecisive results when using CNC higher than 3wt%, especially with PF resin, have been reported by other authors. In this thesis, European standards were applied. EN 314 was applied to test the panels shear strength. Three (3) treatment classes were selected, indoor room condition as well as pre-treatments 5.1.1 and 5.1.3. Other properties measured were modulus of elasticity, thickness swelling, formaldehyde emissions. Results showed a shear strength increase for all pre-treatment classes. 10wt% CNC mixture with phenol formaldehyde in water bath, pre-treatment (5.1.1) for 24h showed the highest increase in shear strength (+73,9%). The 10 wt% CNC mixture panels also showed the highest wood fibre failure of all panel types produced. A decrease in MOE has been observed with 10 wt% CNC compared to the 5 wt% CNC panels. Formaldehyde emissions tests were inconclusive, but since less PF was used, there was a general reduction in emissions. The 5 wt% CNC panels were superior in terms of modulus of elasticity and swelling and also showed improved shear strength.

Thermal nanoimprint lithography (T-NIL) is a cheap and fast technique to produce nanopatterns in polymeric materials. It creates these patterns by pressing a stamp down into a polymer film that has been heated above its glass transition temperature. These nanopatterned polymer films can be used in a wide variety of scientific fields, not the least the organic semiconductor industry. There the nanopatterned films have, among else, been used to improve the efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The light-emitting electrochemical cell (LEC), which is similar in structure to an OLED, also uses polymer films in their device structure but the light emitting layer also contains an electrolyte. However, it has not been shown if nanopatterns can improve LECs as well or if it is even possible to make an imprint in their polymer films that are mixed with an electrolyte. This thesis shows that T-NIL can be used to imprint nanopatterns in films made of poly(ethylene oxide) and the conjugated polymer Super Yellow. The best nanopatterns were produced by setting the imprint parameters to  85 °C, 10 bar, 1800 s for poly(ethylene oxide) and 115 °C, 20 bar, 1800 s for Super Yellow. Imprints were also performed on polystyrene but no nanopatterns could be produced. This was most likely because the stamp could not handle the high temperature that is required to make a nanopattern in polystyrene. The best imprint parameters of Super Yellow were then used to produce a pattern in a film made of Super Yellow mixed with the salt tetrahexylammonium tetrafluoroborate (THABF4) in order to be able to produce one imprinted and one reference LEC. The imprinted LEC had a luminosity of 139 cd/m2, an improvement of 20% compared to the reference’s 115 cd/m2 when operated under identical conditions.  The forward direction and the angular dependent electroluminescence spectrum of the imprinted LEC clearly showed an effect not observed in the reference. These findings show that the polymer films used in a LEC can be imprinted with a nanopattern by using T-NIL. The imprinted films can be used to create functional LECs that show different behavior and a higher luminosity compared to a non-imprinted reference. If these results can be repeated it might be the starting point of a brighter future.