In order to meet the requests of the application as pixel switch and current driver in next generation active-matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD) and active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes (AMOLED). The materials of low temperature poly-silicon (LTPS) and metal-oxide are supposed to be the most potential material for active layer of thin-film transistors (TFTs) due to their high mobility compared to the traditional amorphous silicon TFTs. Therefore, in order to make the LTPS TFTs and metal-oxide TFTs affordable for the practical applications, the understanding of instability and reliability is critically important. In the first part, we studied the nonvolatile memory characteristics of polycrystalline-silicon thin-film-transistors (poly-Si TFTs) with a silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) structure. As the device was programmed, significant gate induced drain leakage current was observed due to the extra programmed electrons trapped in the nitride layer which. In order to suppress the leakage current and thereby avoid signal misidentification, we utilized band-to-band hot hole injection method to counteract programmed electrons and this method can exhibit good sustainability because the injected hot holes can remain in the nitride layer after repeated operations. On the other hand, we also investigated the degradation behavior of SONOS-TFT under off-state stress. After the electrical stress, the significant on-state degradation indicates that the interface states accompanied with hot-hole injection. Moreover, the ISE-TCAD simulation tool was utilized to model the degradation mechanism and analyze trap states distribution. Furthermore, we also performed the identical off-state stress for the device with different memory states. The different degradation behavior under different memory states is attributed to the different overlap region of injected holes and trap states. In the second part, the degradation mechanism of indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) thin film transistors (TFTs) caused by gate-bias stress performed in the dark and light illumination was investigated. The parallel threshold voltage indicates that charge trapping model dominates the degradation behavior under positive gate-bias stress. However, the degradation of negative gate bias stress is much slighter than the positive gate bias stress since the IGZO material is hard to induced hole inversion layer. In addition, the hole mobility is much lower than electron resulting in ignorable hole trapping effect. On the other hand, the identical positive and negative gate bias stress performed under light illumination exhibit opposite degradation behavior compared with dark stress. This degradation variation under dark and light illumination can be attributed to the effectively energy barrier variation of electron and hole trapping. Furthermore, to further investigate the light induced instability for IGZO TFTs, the device with and without a SiOx passivation were investigated under light illumination. The experiment results indicate that oxygen adsorption and desorption dominate the light induced instability for unpassivated device and the trap states caused during the passivation layer deposition process will induce apparent subthreshold photo-leakage current under light illumination. In the third part, we investigated the degradation mechanism of IGZO TFTs under hot-carrier and self-heating stress. Under hot-carrier stress, except the electron trapping induced positive Vt shift, an apparent on-current degradation behavior indicates that trap states creation. On the other hand, the identical hot-carrier stress performed in the asymmetric source/drain structure exhibits different degradation behavior compared with symmetric source/drain structure. For asymmetric structure, the strong electrical field in the I-shaped drain electrode will induce channel hot electron injection near the drain side and cause asymmetric threshold voltage degradation. In this part we also investigated the degradation behavior under self-heating stress. The apparent positive threshold voltage (Vt) shift and on-current degradation indicate that the combination of trap states generation and electron trapping effect occur during stress. The trap states generation is caused by the combination of Joule heating and the large vertical field. Moreover, the Joule heating generated by self-heating operation can enhance electron trapping effect and cause larger Vt shift in comparison with the gate-bias stress. Finally, the electrical properties and photo sensitivity of dual gate IGZO TFTs were investigated. The asymmetric electrical properties and photo sensitivity under top gate and bottom gate operation is attributed to the variation of gate control region. Furthermore, the obvious asymmetric photo sensitivity can be utilized to the In-cell touch panel technology and lower the process cost compared with the traditional a-Si TFTs due to the elimination of black matrix.

The basic necessities to sustain life are – air, water and food. Although the harmful effects due to contaminated food or water are dangerous to life, these can be reduced/avoided by controlling the intake. Whereas, in case of air, the same amount of control cannot be exercised as there is very little, one can do in case of inhalation. Maximum damage to life is due to air contamination which can be detected and prevented by using gas sensors. The proper use of these sensors not only save lives, but also minimizes social and financial loss. The objective of this thesis work is to study and explore the use of p-type semiconducting material such as CuO, as a promising gas sensing material for organic compounds (VOCs), compatible with existing silicon fabrication technology. The Thesis consist of 7 chapters: Chapter 1 covers the general introduction about gas sensors, sensor parameters, criteria for the selection of sensing material, suitability of CuO as sensing material and a brief literature survey. The second chapter includes the selection of substrate, cleaning procedures and suitable deposition method. The deposition method used in the present thesis work is DC/RF magnetron sputtering. The reactive magnetron sputtering is employed during the deposition of CuO sensing films. It also includes basic introduction about some of the common material characterization techniques. This is followed by Chapter 3 which includes the optimization of sputtering process parameters such as applied power, working pressure, Ar-O2 ratio and substrate temperature for CuO sensing film and the effect of these on surface morphology. Information on the optimized sputtering parameters for electrode film (silver and gold) deposition has also been included in this chapter. In order to study the sensing behavior of the sensor, suitable testing set-up is necessary. This leads us to Chapter 4 that discusses the development of an in-house built sensor testing setup and its automization using MATLAB. The automated testing set-up facilitates off-time data plotting as well as real-time data plotting during the sensing process. To demonstrate the working of the set-up, some initial results obtained are also included in this chapter. After ascertaining the functioning of the automated gas sensor testing set-up, detailed study on the sensing behavior of nanostructured CuO films was performed. This information along with the necessary details is included in Chapter 5. The sensing response of nanostructured CuO films has been studied for different VOCs such as alcohol, toluene and benzene. The study carried out on the effect of different surface additives like multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), gold or platinum on ethanol sensing has also been included in this chapter. During the use of MWNTs as surface additives, different concentrations of MWNTs – 0.01 mg, 0.05 mg and 0.1 mg have been dispersed on the CuO sensing film. The sample with lowest concentration of MWNTs exhibited highest sensitivity and lower response time. It is due to the fact that, higher concentrations of MWNTs do not result into uniform dispersion over the CuO films and cover the sensing film almost completely. Operating temperature is the most important factor affecting the performance of a gas sensor. In order to maintain the operating temperature for the portable sensor, the sensor is usually integrated with a heater. The chapter 6 deals with heater optimization including design, simulation and fabrication. In this chapter, microheater as well as macro-heaters were simulated and fabricated. The fabricated macro-heater is bonded with the sensor by eutectic bonding. One of the bonded samples was studied for its sensing response. The final chapter of the thesis deals with the conclusion of present research work and the possible further work on CuO gas sensor.

Diese Arbeit untersucht Fe-Oxid-Systeme mit Hilfe einer Kombination aus Mikroskopie (LEEM, Röntgen PEEMs), Beugung (LEED) und Spektroskopie (XPS) und berichtet über die elektronenoptische Entwicklung adaptiver Optiken und Aberrationskorrekturen für einen elektrostatischen abbildenden Energieanalysator. Experimentell untersuchten wir Magnetit und Hämatit Dünnschichten. Ihre Kristallstruktur, Stöchiometrie sowie deren Oberflächenterminierung können durch spezielle Herstellungsverfahren eingestellt werden. Unter Ausnutzung der Echtzeit-Beobachtung mit Mikroskopie, Beugung und Spektroskopie untersuchten wir (a) die Oberflächenmodifikationen von Fe3O4 und α-Fe2O3-Dünnschichten durch Fe Ablagerung; (b) die reversible Phasenumwandlung Fe3O4 ↔ α-Fe2O3 unter verschiedenen Oxidationsbedingungen; (c) die Bildung der metastabilen γ-Fe2O3-Phase und (d) die Wechselwirkung von Fe3O4 und α-Fe2O3 Oberflächen mit unterstützten Pt-Nanopartikeln. Es wurde ein Algorithmus entwickelt, um den LEEM Bildkontrast für inhomogene 2D Oberflächen zu simulieren. Abschließend wird das Design eines Energiefilter-System vorgestellt, das in ein PEEM/LEEM Mikroskop der neuen Generation eingebaut werden wird. Das System basiert auf dem gleichen Abbildungsprinzip wie der magnetische Ω-Filter, der erfolgreich im aktuellen SMART Mikroskop eingesetzt wird. Das neue Instrument zielt auf die Verbesserung der Orts- und Energieauflösung im XPEEM (5 nm und 70 meV). Die Mehrzahl der möglichen Aberrationen zweiter Ordnung wird durch die intrinsische Symmetrie selbstkompensiert. Die Wirkung der anderen Aberrationen wird durch ein geeignetes Design der Verzögerungs- und Beschleunigungsoptiken kombiniert mit einer optimierten Passenergie reduziert. Darüber hinaus kompensieren zusätzliche Hexapole die restlichen dominierenden Aberrationen, wodurch eine Orts- und Energieauflösung besser als 2 nm bzw. 75 meV erreicht wird. / This work presents the investigation of Fe-oxide systems, combining microscopy (LEEM, X-PEEM), diffraction (LEED) and spectroscopy (XPS), and the electron-optical development of adaptive optics and aberration corrections for an electrostatic imaging energy analyzer. Experimentally, we studied magnetite (Fe3O4) and hematite (α-Fe2O3) thin films. Their crystal structure, stoichiometry as well as their surface termination can be tuned by special preparation procedures. Taking advantage of real time observation with microscopy, diffraction and spectroscopy, we investigated (a) the surface modifications of Fe3O4 and α-Fe2O3 thin films by Fe deposition; (b) the reversible phase transformation Fe3O4 ↔ α-Fe2O3 under different oxidation conditions; (c) the formation of the metastable γ-Fe2O3 phase and (d) the interaction of Fe3O4 and α-Fe2O3 surfaces with supported Pt nanoparticles . An algorithm was developed to simulate the LEEM image contrast for inhomogeneous 2D surfaces. The possible application to experimental data and the limitation will be discussed. Finally, the design of an energy filtering system is presented, which will be implemented in a new generation PEEM/LEEM microscope. The system bases on the same imaging principle as the magnetic Ω-filter, successfully implemented in the actual SMART microscope. The new instrument aims for the improvement of lateral and energy resolution in X-PEEM (5 nm and 70 meV, respectively). The majority of the possible second order aberrations are self-compensated by intrinsic symmetry. The effect of the other aberrations is reduced by an adequate design for the deceleration-acceleration optics in combination with optimized pass energy. Furthermore, additional hexapole multipoles compensate for the residual dominating aberrations, yielding in the lateral resolution and energy resolution better than 2 nm and 75 meV, respectively.

System on Chip (SoC) and System in Package (SiP) are two electronic technologies that involve integrating multiple functionalities onto a single platform. When the platform is a single wafer, as in SOC, it requires the ability to deposit various materials that enable the different functions on to an underlying substrate that can host the electronic circuitry. Transition metal oxides which have a wide range of properties are ideal candidates for the functional material. Si wafer on which micro-electronics technology is widely commercialized is the ideal host platform. Integrating oxides with Si, generally in the form of thin films as required by microelectronics technology, is however a challenge. It starts with the fact that the properties of crystalline oxides to be exploited in performing various functions are direction dependent. Thus, thin films of these oxides need to be deposited on Si in certain crystallographic orientations. Even if a suitably oriented Si wafer surface were available, it does not always provide for epitaxial growth a critical requirement for controlling the crystalline orientation of thin films. This is because Si surface is covered by an amorphous oxide of Si (SiOx). Thus, during growth of the functional oxide, an ambience in which the Si itself will not oxidize needs to be provided. In addition, during thin film growth on either Si or SiOx surface stresses are generated from various sources. Stress and its relaxation are also associated with the formation and evolution of defects. Both, stress and defects need to be managed in order to harness their beneficial effects and prevent detrimental ones. Given the requirement of SoC technology and the problem associated, the research work reported in this thesis was hence concerned with the precise controlling the stress and microstructure in oxide thin films deposited on Si substrates. In order to do so a versatile, ultra high vacuum (UHV) thin film with a base pressure of 10-9 Torr was designed and built as part of this study. The chamber is capable of depositing films by both sputtering (RF & DC) and pulsed laser ablation (PLD). The system has been designed to include an optical curvature measurement tool that enabled real-time stress measurement during growth. Doped zirconia, ZrO2, was chosen as the first oxide to be deposited, as it is among the few oxides that is more stable than SiOx. It is hence used as a buffer layer. It is shown in this thesis that a change in the growth rate at nucleation can lead to (100) or (111) textured films. These two are among the most commonly preferred orientation. Following nucleation a change in growth rate does not affect orientation but affects stress. Thus, independent selection of texture and stress is demonstrated in YSZ thin films on Si. A quantitative model based on the adatom motion on the growth surface and the anisotropic growth rates of the two orientations is used to explain these observations. This study was then subsequent extended to the growth on platinized Si another commonly used Si platform.. A knowledge of the stress and microstructure tailoring in cubic zirconia on Si was then extended to look at the effect of stress on electrical properties of zirconia on germanium for high-k dielectric applications. Ge channels are expected to play a key role in next generation n-MOS technology. Development of high-k dielectrics for channel control is hence essential. Interesting stress and property relations were analyzed in ZrO2/Ge. Stress and texture in pulsed laser deposited (PLD) oxides on silicon and SrTiO3 were studied. It is shown in this thesis that stress tuning is critical to achieve the highest possible dielectric constant. The effect of stress on dielectric constant is due to two reasons. The first one is an indirect effect involving the effect of stress on phase stability. The second one is the direct effect involving interatomic distance. By stress control an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of 0.8 nm was achieved in sputter deposited ZrO2/Ge films at 5 nm thickness. This is among the best reported till date. Finally, the effect of growth parameters and deposition geometry on the microstructural and stress evolution during deposition of SrTiO3 on Si and BaTiO3 on SrTiO3 by pulsed laser deposition is the same chamber is described.

Thin Film Transistors (TFTs) are widely used in large area electronics because they offer the advantage of low cost fabrication and wide substrate choice. TFTs have been conventionally used for switching applications in large area display arrays. But when it comes to designing a sensor actuator system on a flexible substrate comprising entirely of organic and inorganic TFTs, there are two main challenges – i) Fabrication of complementary TFT devices is difficult ii) TFTs have a drift in their threshold voltage (VT) on application of gate bias. Also currently there are no circuit simulators in the market which account for the effect of VT drift with time in TFT circuits. The first part of this thesis focuses on integrating the VT shift model in the commercially available AIM-Spice circuit simulator. This provides a new and powerful tool that would predict the effect of VT shift on nodal voltages and currents in circuits and also on parameters like small signal gain, bandwidth, hysteresis etc. Since the existing amorphous silicon TFT models (level 11 and level 15) of AIM-Spice are copyright protected, the open source BSIM4V4 model for the purpose of demonstration is used. The simulator is discussed in detail and an algorithm for integration is provided which is then supported by the data from the simulation plots and experimental results for popular TFT configurations. The second part of the thesis illustrates the idea of using negative feedback achieved via contact resistance modulation to minimize the effect of VT shift in the drain current of the TFT. Analytical expressions are derived for the exact value of resistance needed to compensate for the VT shift entirely. Circuit to realize this resistance using TFTs is also provided. All these are experimentally verified using fabricated organic P-type Copper Phthalocyanine (CuPc) and inorganic N-type Tin doped Zinc Oxide (ZTO) TFTs. The third part of the thesis focuses on building a robust amplifier using these TFTs which has time invariant DC voltage level and small signal gain at the output. A differential amplifier using ZTO TFTs has been built and is shown to fit all these criteria. Ideas on vertical routing in an actual sensor actuator interface using this amplifier have also been discussed such that the whole system may be “tearable” in any contour. Such a sensor actuator interface can have varied applications including wrap around thermometers and X-ray machines.

The present thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of magnesium, copper, and iron complexes and their application in the MOCVD (Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) process, as well as the synthesis and characterization of yttrium and gadolinium complexes and their use as spin-coating precursors for metal oxide thin layer formation. The objective of this scientific work is the development of the family of bis(β-ketoiminato) magnesium(II) complexes and a series of heteroleptic β-ketoiminato copper(II) precursors for the formation of magnesium oxide and copper/copper oxide layers by using the MOCVD process. Modifications of the ketoiminato ligands affect the physical and chemical properties of the respective complexes. Another central theme of this work is the development of β-diketonato iron(III) complexes for the deposition of carbon-free gamma- and alpha-Fe2O3 layers via MOCVD. The thermal behavior and vapor pressure of the precursors could be influenced by the variation of the β-diketonate ligands. In addition, the synthesis and characterization of yttrium and gadolinium β-diketonates and their use as spin-coating precursors are described. Field-effect transistors were successfully fabricated by the deposition of carbon nanotubes on top of the Y2O3 films.