North Carolina State University

E.i. Dupont De Nemours and Company

USA as Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Motorola Corporation

Cda Processing Limited Liability Company

Jon-Paul Maria

Angus Ian Kingon

William J Borland

Igor Vurgaftman

Virginia D Wheeler

Joshua D Caldwell

Marc Currie

Edward Sachet

Gregory Joseph Dunn

Jovica Savic

Min-Xian M Zhang

Christopher Shelton

Jon Fredrick Ihlefeld

Stephen Streiffer

Kevin Cheek

Howard David Glicksman

Ian Burn

Seigi Suh

Kyle Patrick Kelley

Evan Lars Runnerstrom

A method of forming a metal oxide includes providing a reactive deposition atmosphere having an oxygen concentration of greater than about 20 percent in a chamber including a substrate therein. A pulsed DC signal is applied to a sputtering target comprising a metal, to sputter metal particles therefrom. A doping element may be supplied from a doping source (such as an alloyed metal target) in the reaction chamber. An electrically conductive metal oxide film comprising an oxide of the metal is deposited on the substrate responsive to a reaction between the metal particles and the reactive deposition atmosphere. Related devices are also discussed.

High mobility doped metal oxide thin films and reactive physical vapor deposition methods of fabricating the same

A detector that includes an all-oxide, Schottky-type heterojunction. The 'metal' side of the heterojunction is formed, for example, from a dysprosium ('Dy') doped cadmium oxide (&#x201c;CdO&#x201d;) (i.e., CdO:Dy). The semiconductor side of the heterojunction is formed, for example, from cadmium magnesium oxide (&#x201c;CdMgO&#x201d;). On the metal side of the junction, &#x201c;hot&#x201d; electrons are created through the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons by infrared radiation. The hot electrons are able to cross the Schottky-type barrier of the heterojunction into the conduction band of the semiconductor where they can be detected. The working wavelength of infrared radiation that is being detected can be adjusted or tuned by modifying the Dy content of Dy-doped CdO. The height of the Schottky-type barrier can also be adjusted by modifying the composition of CdMgO, which allows for the optimization of the Schottky-type barrier height for a given working wavelength.

Oxide heterojunction for detection of infrared radiation

Polaritonic hot electron infrared photodetector that detect infrared radiation. In one implementation, the polaritonic hot electron infrared photodetector includes a first contact layer, a second contact layer, a first dielectric layer, a second dielectric layer, and a conductor layer. The first dielectric layer is coupled between the first contact layer and the second contact layer. The second dielectric layer is coupled between the first dielectric layer and the second contact layer. The conductor layer is coupled between the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer. Infrared radiation incident upon the conductor layer is operable to create hot carriers that are injected from a conduction band of the conductor layer to a conduction band of the second contact layer.

Polaritonic hot electron infrared photodetector

IR emission devices comprising an array of polaritonic IR emitters arranged on a substrate, where the emitters are coupled to a heater configured to provide heat to one or more of the emitters. When the emitters are heated, they produce an infrared emission that can be polarized and whose spectral emission range, emission wavelength, and/or emission linewidth can be tuned by the polaritonic material used to form the elements of the array and/or by the size and/or shape of the emitters. The IR emission can be modulated by the induction of a strain into a ferroelectric, a change in the crystalline phase of a phase change material and/or by quickly applying and dissipating heat applied to the polaritonic nanostructure. The IR emission can be designed to be hidden in the thermal background so that it can be observed only under the appropriate filtering and/or demodulation conditions.

Frequency- and amplitude-modulated narrow-band infrared emitters

Frequency- and amplitude- modulated narrow-band infrared emitters

Photovoltaic cells, including silicon solar cells, and methods and compositions for making such photovoltaic cells are provided. A silicon substrate having p-type silicon base and an n-type silicon layer is provided with a silicon nitride layer, an exchange metal in contact with the silicon nitride layer, and a non-exchange metal in contact with the exchange metal. This assembly is fired to form a metal silicide contact on the silicon substrate, and a conductive metal electrode in contact with the metal silicide contact. The exchange metal is from nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and combinations thereof, and the non-exchange metal is from silver, copper, tin, bismuth, lead, antimony, arsenic, indium, zinc, germanium, gold, cadmium, beryllium, and combinations thereof.

Compositions and processes for forming photovoltaic devices

Photovoltaic cells, including silicon solar cells, and methods and compositions for making such photovoltaic cells are provided. A silicon substrate having an n-type silicon layer is provided with a silicon nitride layer, a reactive metal in contact with said silicon nitride layer, and a non-reactive metal in contact with the reactive metal. This assembly is fired to form a low Schottky barrier height contact comprised of metal nitride, and optionally metal silicide, on the silicon substrate, and a conductive metal electrode in contact with said low Schottky barrier height contact. The reactive metal may be titanium, zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, and tantalum, and combinations thereof, and the non-reactive metal may be silver, tin, bismuth, lead, antimony, arsenic, indium, zinc, germanium, nickel, phosphorus, gold, cadmium, berrylium, and combinations thereof.

Processes for forming photovoltaic devices

A method of making dense dielectrics layers via chemical solution deposition by adding inorganic glass fluxed material to high dielectric constant compositions, depositing the resultant mixture onto a substrate and annealing the substrate at temperatures between the softening point of the inorganic glass flux and the melting point of the substrate. A method of making a capacitor comprising a dense dielectric layer.

Glass flux assisted sintering of chemical solution deposited thin dielectric films

Oxygen partial pressure may be controlled during annealing of a perovskite dielectric layer by providing an oxygen-absorbing layer adjacent the perovskite dielectric layer, and annealing the perovskite dielectric layer in an ambient that includes an ambient oxygen partial pressure, such that the oxygen-absorbing layer locally reduces the oxygen partial pressure adjacent the perovskite dielectric layer to below the ambient oxygen partial pressure. Thus, a perovskite dielectric layer can be annealed without the need to provide ultra-high vacuum and/or ultra-high purity ambient environments.

Structures including perovskite dielectric layers and variable oxygen concentration gradient layers

Dielectrics are formed having high dielectric constants, low loss tangents, and other desirable electrical and physical properties. The dielectrics are annealed at temperatures allowing the use of copper foil substrates, and at low oxygen partial pressures.

Thin film dielectrics for capacitors and methods of making thereof

Methods of controlling oxygen partial pressure during annealing of a perovskite dielectric layer

A dielectric film is formed on a free-standing conductive metal layer to form a multi-layer foil comprising a conductive metal layer, a barrier layer and a dielectric oxide layer. Such multi-layer foils are mechanically flexible, and useful for the manufacture of capacitors. Examples of barrier layers include Ni&#x2014;P or Ni&#x2014;Cr alloys. After a second layer of conductive metal is deposited on a dielectric oxide surface opposing the first conductive metal layer, the resulting capacitor foil is processed into a capacitor. The resulting capacitor is a surface mounted capacitor or is formed as a integrated or embedded capacitor within a circuit board.

Multi-layer conductor-dielectric oxide structure

Lanthanum oxide-based gate dielectrics are provided for integrated circuit field effect transistors. The gate dielectrics may include lanthanum oxide, preferably amorphous lanthanum oxide and/or an alloy of lanthanum oxide and silicon oxide, such as lanthanum silicate (La SiO ). Lanthanum oxide-based gate dielectrics may be fabricated by evaporating lanthanum on a silicon surface of an integrated circuit substrate. The lanthanum may be evaporated in the presence of oxygen. Lanthanum and silicon may be co-evaporated. An anneal then may be performed. Lanthanum oxide-based dielectrics also may be used for integrated circuit capacitors.

Lanthanum oxide-based dielectrics for integrated circuit capacitors

A dielectric film is formed on a free-standing conductive metal layer to form a multi-layer foil comprising a conductive metal layer, a barrier layer and a dielectric oxide layer. Such multi-layer foils are mechanically flexible, and useful for the manufacture of capacitors. Examples of barrier layers include Ni&mdash;P or Ni&mdash;Cr alloys. After a second layer of conductive metal is deposited on a dielectric oxide surface opposing the first conductive metal layer, the resulting capacitor foil is processed into a capacitor. The resulting capacitor is a surface mounted capacitor or is formed as a integrated or embedded capacitor within a circuit board.

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Raleigh, NC, United States of America

Jon-Paul Maria