To date thin films of II(a) fluorides (CaF2, BaF2, SrF2, and their mixtures) have only been deposited by physical vapor deposition techniques. We report for the first time the deposition of BaF2 films on silicon and yttrium-stabilized zirconia substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition at a substrate temperature as low as 400 °C.

Novel microstructures in calcium fluoride films deposited by vacuum evaporation were observed on 〈001〉 silicon substrates as a function of deposition temperature. The microstructure consists of two sets of 〈110〉 oriented crystallites on the 〈001〉 silicon. A set of {110} planes in each of these two kinds of crystallites is aligned with a set of {110} planes of silicon, leading to a film morphology with mutually perpendicular, elongated, rodlike features running along a 〈110〉 direction of each set of crystallites. Both scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to examine these features. The growth of this microstructure is discussed in the context of a combination of 〈110〉 textured growth and ‘‘planar-matching epitaxy.’’

An examination of our own and results available in the literature indicate that the dielectric properties of silicon dioxide and tin oxide on Si formed by rapid isothermal processing are superior compared to furnace processing. A possible explanation based on the primary difference in the radiation spectrum of the two sources of energy is presented in this paper. Certain physical and chemical processes can be prompted and/or initiated due to the presence of light in the rapid isothermal processing.

We report an oxidation study of an Sn overlayer on Si(100) carried out at 400 °C by rapid isothermal processing (RIP) and furnace processing. Single oxide phase SnO2 could be obtained only by rapid isothermal processing. Based on x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, high-frequency capacitance-voltage characteristics, and breakdown measurements, improved quality of dielectric films was obtained by RIP. A possible explanation based on the difference in the radiation spectrum of the two sources of energy is also given.

For the first time, fabrication of high-temperature superconducting Tl-Ca-Ba-Cu-O (TlCaBaCuO) thin films on LaAlO3 substrates is reported. TlCaBaCuO thin films were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering of a single composite powder target in a pure argon plasma. The films were sintered in an excess thallium ambient at 850 °C for 15 min followed by a 30 min oxygen annealing at 750 °C. Scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction results showed the smooth and highly c-axis oriented nature of the thin films. The temperature dependence of resistance showed the onset of critical transition temperature (Tc) at 114 K, and zero resistance at 103 K.