Motivated by the need for a Ge surface passivation layer, chemical vapor deposition of thin (< 10 nm) films of amorphous boron carbo-nitride (BCxNy) on Ge(100) surfaces were studied to assess film continuity, interface bonding, Ge oxidation prevention, and electrical passivation. BCxNy nominally 2.5-5 nm thick continuously covers Ge(100), as determined by ion scattering spectroscopy and two angle resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) techniques. ARXPS analysis reveals no evidence of an interfacial layer due to elemental intermixing at the BCxNy-Ge(100) interface. High resolution transmission electron microscopy images of HfO₂ / BCxNy / Ge(100) cross-sections reveal abrupt BCxNy-Ge(100) interfaces. XPS was used to track Ge oxidation of BCxNy-covered Ge(100) upon exposure to ambient, 50 °C deionized water, and a 250 °C atomic layer deposition HfO₂ process. If the BCxNy layer is continuous ([greater-than or equal to] ~ 4 nm), the underlying Ge(100) surface is not oxidized despite incorporation of O into BCxNy. Thinner films ([less than or equal to] 3.2 nm) permitted Ge(100) oxidation in each oxidizing environment studied. Ge nanowires with a 5.7 nm BCxNy coating were resistant to oxidation for at least 5 months of ambient exposure. C-V and I-V measurements were made for metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures fabricated from n-Si(100) and n-Ge(100) wafers passivated with 4.5-5 nm BCxNy. C-rich BC0.61N0.08 films studied up to this point exhibited large amounts of hysteresis and fixed negative charge, so they were abandoned in favor of N-rich BCxNy (0.09 [less than or equal to] x [less than or equal to] 0.15, 0.38 [less than or equal to] y [less than or equal to] 0.52). N-rich BCxNy grown at 275-400 °C showed that lower deposition temperatures resulted in improved electrical characteristics, including decreased hysteresis, lower VFB shift, lower leakage current, and less C-V stretch-out. The electrical improvement is attributed to decreased bulk and interfacial defects in BCxNy deposited at lower temperatures. Even for the lowest growth temperature studied (275 °C), BCxNy-passivated Ge(100) devices had considerable hysteresis and electrical characteristics worsened after a post-metallization anneal. BCxNy-passivated Si(100) devices outperformed similar Ge(100) devices, likely due to the higher interface state densities at the BCxNy-Ge(100) interface associated with the higher relative inertness of Ge(100) to thermal nitridation. / text

O caráter aleatório e não homogêneo do crescimento de filmes finos, por processo de deposição, leva à formação de uma superfície rugosa que obedece, em geral, a uma geometria fractal. A dinâmica de crescimento da superfície do filme pode ser descrita por meio de modelos de crescimento discretos, simulações numéricas e equações diferenciais estocásticas. Os modelos e as equações nos fornecem os expoentes críticos, que descrevem o comportamento da rugosidade com a escala de observação e tempo de deposição. Crescemos filmes de platina e ouro através da técnica de implantação e deposição de íons por imersão em plasma metálico. Determinamos experimentalmente os expoentes críticos por meio de microscopia de tunelamento. Comparamos os nossos resultados experimentais com previsões dadas por alguns modelos teóricos. Verificamos que há um bom acordo entre eles e as previsões dadas pela equação estocástica de Kardar, Parisi e Zhang. A estrutura cristalina dos materiais também foi analisada por meio de difração de raios x. / The randomness and inhomogeneities in the growth of thin films generate a rough surface obeying, in general, fractal geometry. The growth dynamics of film surface can be described by theoretical discrete models, numerical simulations and stochastic differential equations. Models and equations give the critical exponents that describe the behavior of roughness with the observation scale and deposition time. We have synthesized platinum and gold films by metal plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition. We have measured the critical exponents by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy. Our experimental results were compared with some theoretical models predictions. We verified that there is a good agreement between them and the theoretical predictions given by the Kardar, Parisi and Zhang stochastic equation. The crystallographic structure was also analyzed by X-ray diffraction.

There has been growing interest in designing and development of suitable micro or nano drug delivery system with the ability to target site specifically and release the payload in a predetermined fashion. Recently a new type of system called polyelectrolyte microcapsules and thin films have been proposed and developed for applications such as, biomedical devices to micro sensing and drug delivery. Owing to its advantages of mild preparation conditions, multifunctionality, with programmable characteristics and to encapsulate large amount of materials, it has shown immense potential. In the present research, multilayer polyelectrolyte thin films composed of Poly(methacrylic acid) (PMA) and Poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) were deposited on the flat substrates using layer by layer (LBL) technique. The film growth and its deconstruction under physiological conditions were characterized using UV Visible spectrophotometer and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Hollow microcapsules composed of PMA and PVP were also produced with the help of sacrificial silica template using the same LBL adsorption technique. After coating the desired number of PVP and PMA layers, the colloidal template was removed with a buffer system composed of Hydrofluoric acid (HF) and Ammonium fluoride (NH4F). The obtained capsules were characterized for its surface morphology using SEM and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The hydrogen bonding in capsule formation was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Encapsulation and release with the microcapsules was carried out using Rifampicin (Antitubercular drug) as a model drug. The interaction of empty and drug loaded capsules with Mycobacterium Smegmatis cell line was investigated. It was found that the empty capsules did not affect the cell growth indicating their biocompatibility. Confocal microscopy studies with Doxorubicin (anticancer drug), which is a naturally fluorescent molecule, showed the drug is indeed encapsulated inside the hollow capsule. From the above studies, it was concluded that polyelectrolyte capsules have the potential to be used for delivering drugs.

O caráter aleatório e não homogêneo do crescimento de filmes finos, por processo de deposição, leva à formação de uma superfície rugosa que obedece, em geral, a uma geometria fractal. A dinâmica de crescimento da superfície do filme pode ser descrita por meio de modelos de crescimento discretos, simulações numéricas e equações diferenciais estocásticas. Os modelos e as equações nos fornecem os expoentes críticos, que descrevem o comportamento da rugosidade com a escala de observação e tempo de deposição. Crescemos filmes de platina e ouro através da técnica de implantação e deposição de íons por imersão em plasma metálico. Determinamos experimentalmente os expoentes críticos por meio de microscopia de tunelamento. Comparamos os nossos resultados experimentais com previsões dadas por alguns modelos teóricos. Verificamos que há um bom acordo entre eles e as previsões dadas pela equação estocástica de Kardar, Parisi e Zhang. A estrutura cristalina dos materiais também foi analisada por meio de difração de raios x. / The randomness and inhomogeneities in the growth of thin films generate a rough surface obeying, in general, fractal geometry. The growth dynamics of film surface can be described by theoretical discrete models, numerical simulations and stochastic differential equations. Models and equations give the critical exponents that describe the behavior of roughness with the observation scale and deposition time. We have synthesized platinum and gold films by metal plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition. We have measured the critical exponents by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy. Our experimental results were compared with some theoretical models predictions. We verified that there is a good agreement between them and the theoretical predictions given by the Kardar, Parisi and Zhang stochastic equation. The crystallographic structure was also analyzed by X-ray diffraction.

Ce mémoire de thèse présente le développement d'un dispositif expérimental spécialement conçu pour l'étude de la diffraction d'atomes rapides et son utilisation pour suivre la croissance de couches minces sur un bâti d'épitaxie. Des études de surfaces de KBr(100) et de NaCl(100) avec ce nouveau dispositif sont présentées. Nous nous sommes intéressés notamment à la forme du potentiel que les atomes perçoivent lorsqu'ils diffusent sur une surface de KBr(100). Nous avons également mis en évidence lors de ces études un nouveau régime de diffraction qui semble correspondre à des mouvements longitudinaux et normaux cohérents. Grâce à des images mieux résolues, nous avons montré comment la diffraction d'atomes rapides permet d'observer et quantifier des défauts topologiques comme la mosaïcité. Une étude d'une surface d'Argent (110) est aussi présentée. Elle a permis d'observer la diffraction d'atomes rapides sur les métaux, montrant ainsi que GIFAD est applicable aux trois types de matériaux (isolants, semi-conducteurs et métaux) et que les processus d’excitations électroniques sur ces surfaces ne détruisent pas complètement la cohérence. Enfin des premiers résultats de GIFAD en tant que technique de suivi de croissance par épitaxie sont présentés dans ce travail. / This Ph.D memoir presents the development work of an experimental setup especially designed for the study of the fast atom diffraction and its use as a method to control the thin films growth in an epitaxy chamber. Studies of the surfaces of KBr(100) and NaCl(001) with this new setup are presented. A new diffraction regime which may correspond to coherent longitudinal and normal motions is identified. The enhanced resolution allows observation of topological defects such as the surface mosaicity. A study of the Ag(100) surface is also presented showing that fast atom diffraction can be observed on metal surface as that the inelastic excitations processes do not completely destroy the coherence. Finally, we present the first results obtained with GIFAD as a method to control thin film growth.