Photoactive devices and materials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10861986-B2
Application number	US-201815921257-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2018
Priority date	Oct 16, 2015
Publication date	Dec 8, 2020
Grant date	Dec 8, 2020

Abstract

Deposition processes are disclosed herein for depositing thin films comprising a dielectric transition metal compound phase and a conductive or semiconducting transition metal compound phase on a substrate in a reaction space. Deposition processes can include a plurality of super-cycles. Each super-cycle may include a dielectric transition metal compound sub-cycle and a reducing sub-cycle. The dielectric transition metal compound sub-cycle may include contacting the substrate with a dielectric transition metal compound. The reducing sub-cycle may include alternately and sequentially contacting the substrate with a reducing agent and a nitrogen reactant. The thin film may comprise a dielectric transition metal compound phase embedded in a conductive or semiconducting transition metal compound phase.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method for forming a layer in a photonic device comprising:
depositing the layer comprising a dielectric transition metal compound phase embedded in a conductive or semiconducting transition metal compound phase on a substrate for the photonic device by a vapor deposition process,
wherein the dielectric transition metal compound phase comprises TiF 3 , and
wherein the layer is part of the photonic device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprises about 0.1 to 10 at % silicon.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprises about 5 to about 50 at % nitrogen.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer has a resistivity of between about 5×10 3 μΩm and about 5×10 6 μΩcm.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer has a thickness of less than 3 nm.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vapor deposition process comprises a plurality of super-cycles, each super-cycle comprising a dielectric transition metal compound sub-cycle and a reducing sub-cycle, wherein:
the dielectric transition metal compound sub-cycle comprises contacting the substrate with a vapor phase of a dielectric transition metal compound; and
the reducing sub-cycle comprises alternately and sequentially contacting the substrate with a reducing agent and a nitrogen reactant.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the dielectric transition metal compound comprises Ti.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the dielectric transition metal compound is a metal fluoride.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the dielectric transition metal compound is TiF 4 .

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the reducing agent comprises at least one of silane, disilane, trisilane, borane, diborane, and triborane.

11. The method of claim 6 , wherein the reducing agent is Si 3 H 8 .

12. The method of claim 6 , wherein the nitrogen reactant comprises at least one of ammonia, N 2 H 4 , nitrogen atoms, nitrogen containing plasma, and nitrogen radicals.

13. The method of claim 6 , wherein the dielectric transition metal compound sub-cycle and the reducing sub-cycle are carried out at a ratio of about 0.1 to 1 in at least one of the plurality of super-cycles.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive or semiconducting transition metal compound phase comprises an elemental transition metal, an alloy of transition metals, a transition metal oxide, a transition metal nitride, a transition metal silicide, or a transition metal carbide.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive or semiconducting transition metal compound phase comprises TiN.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric transition metal compound phase consists of particles with a diameter of about 0.1 nm to about 500 nm.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conductive or semiconducting transition metal compound phase surrounds discrete dielectric transition metal compound phase particles in the layer.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising a dielectric transition metal compound phase embedded in a conductive or semiconducting transition metal compound phase acts as a photon transparent layer in the photonic device.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the layer comprising a dielectric transition metal compound phase embedded in a conductive or semiconducting transition metal compound phase acts as a charge collecting component or a waveguide component in the photonic device.

Assignees

• Asm Ip Holding Bv

Inventors

• Blomberg Tom E
• Huotari Hannu

Classifications

• H10F10/12

  Photovoltaic cells having only metal-insulator-semiconductor [MIS] potential barriers · CPC title

• H10F71/00 Primary

  Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass (patterning processes to connect thin photovoltaic cells in integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, having photovoltaic cells H10F19/33; manufacture or treatment of encapsulations or containers for integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, having photovoltaic cells H10F19/80; manufacture or treatment of integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one element in which radiation controls the flow of current H10F39/00) · CPC title

• H10H20/034

  of coatings · CPC title

• H10H20/032

  of electrodes · CPC title

• H10H20/855

  Optical field-shaping means, e.g. lenses · CPC title