At+t Corp.

At&t Bell Laboratories

Lucent Technologies Inc.

Bell Telephone Laboratories

James W Mitchell

Jorge L Valdes

Gardy Cadet

Guang-kai David Jeng

Lawrence Seibles

Ronald A Holland

The present inventors have discovered how to make continuous films of single-phase crystalline .beta.-C.sub.3 N.sub.4 using microwave plasma chemical vapor transport. The films are hard, translucent nanocrystalline films useful for protecting a substrate.

Devices comprising films of .beta.-C.sub.3 N.sub.4

The present invention provides improved processes and apparatus for fabrication of articles having silicon-containing regions. The process comprises generating silane by electrochemical reaction with a silicon-containing precursor material. An electrochemical cell generates H.sup.+ species which react with silicon from the precursor material to form a silane. The silane is used to deposit a silicon-containing article region. An apparatus for fabricating an article having a silicon-containing region is also provided. The fabrication system includes a reaction chamber having a gas supply line communicating with a silane-generating electrochemical cell. The electrochemical cell includes a first electrode for generating a supply of H.sup.+ ions, a silicon-containing precursor material in communication with the first electrode, a second electrode, and a receptacle for retaining an electrolyte. Advantageously, the present invention eliminates the need for long-term storage and transport of silane by generating silane at the site of device fabrication.

Electrochemical generation of silane

Many devices, such as those based on III-V semiconductor materials, are produced utilizing gases such as arsine that require careful handling of compressed gas cylinders. This care has engendered a search for alternate approaches. It has been found that the use of electrochemically generated gases such as arsine yields an efficient, pure source of such gases without necessitating the storage of large gas quantities. Thus, a device fabrication procedure including in situ electrochemical generation of gases such as arsine is particularly useful.

Process and apparatus for generating precursor gases used in the

In contrast to previous approaches, the present inventors have discovered that diamond films can be grown by carbon CVT reactions occurring exclusively in the exothermic regime, where the lower temperature (&lt;1500.degree.C.) conditions considerably simplify the equilibrium gas phase chemistry. Under these conditions of a small temperature gradient and short transport distance between the source and substrate, supersaturation of the gas phase with regard to graphite and diamond does not attain sufficiently high values to induce spontaneous homonucleation of graphite and diamond in the gas phase. With this process, temperatures as low as 680.degree.C. were found to be sufficient to induce the growth of continuous diamond films free of non-diamond allotropes.

Method for growing continuous diamond films

Many devices, such as those based on III-V semiconductor materials, are produced utilizing gases such as arsine that require careful handling of compressed gas cylinders. This care has engendered a search for alternate approaches. It has been found that the use of electrochemically generated gases such as arsine yields an efficient, pure source of such gases without necessitating the storage of large gas quantifies. Thus, a device fabrication procedure including in situ electrochemical generation of gases such as arsine is particularly useful.

Process for the manufacture of devices

Process for coating articles with thin film of diamond, and related diamond-like materials, using an electrophoretic technique. Diamond particles are suspended in a liquid electrolyte and subjected to a directional field which causes migration and deposition on a selected substrate electrode.

Deposition of diamond films on semicondutor substrates

A process is described for purifying liquids by cryogenic sublimation. This process involves solidifying the liquid by reducing the temperature and pressure to below the triple point. Purification is then carried out by direct transformation from the solid to the vapor phase. Because of increased differentials in vapor pressures at the low temperature at which the procedure is carried out, this purification process is highly efficient and is also particularly suitable for liquids that are susceptible to decomposition with ordinary purification procedures requiring elevated temperatures. The procedure is also advantageous in separating azeotropes, structurally similar compounds, as well as treating flammable, hydroscopic, corrosive and fuming compounds.

Growing community of inventors

Somerset, NJ, United States of America

James W Mitchell