International Conference on Ceramics, Bikaner, India

International Journal of Modern Physics: Conference Series

Vol. 22 (2013) 576–582
 World Scientific Publishing Company
DOI: 10.1142/S2010194513010696

A BRIEF SURVEY ON BASIC PROPERTIES OF THIN FILMS FOR

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DEVICE APPLICATION
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M. C. RAO
Department of Physics, Andhra Loyola College
Vijayawada – 520008, India
[email protected]

M. S. SHEKHAWAT
Department of Physics, Govt. Engineering College Bikaner
Bikaner – 334004, India
[email protected]

Thin film materials are the key elements of continued technological advances made in the fields of
optoelectronic, photonic and magnetic devices. Thin film studies have directly or indirectly
advanced many new areas of research in solid state physics and chemistry which are based on
phenomena uniquely characteristic of the thickness, geometry and structure of the film. The
processing of materials into thin films allows easy integration into various types of devices. Thin
films are extremely thermally stable and reasonably hard, but they are fragile. On the other hand
organic materials have reasonable thermal stability and are tough, but are soft. Thin film
mechanical properties can be measured by tensile testing of freestanding films and by the micro
beam cantilever deflection technique, but the easiest way is by means of nanoindentation. Optical
experiments provide a good way of examining the properties of semiconductors. Particularly
measuring the absorption coefficient for various energies gives information about the band gaps of
the material. Thin film materials have been used in semiconductor devices, wireless
communications, telecommunications, integrated circuits, rectifiers, transistors, solar cells, light-
emitting diodes, photoconductors and light crystal displays, lithography, micro- electromechanical
systems (MEMS) and multifunctional emerging coatings, as well as other emerging cutting
technologies.

Keywords: Thin films; Optical properties; Mechanical properties; electrical properties;

Applications.

1. Introduction
The field of material science and engineering community’s ability to conceive the novel
materials with extraordinary combination of chemical, physical and mechanical
properties has changed the modern society. There is an increasing technological progress.
Modern technology requires thin films for different applications. Thin film technology is
the basic of astounding development in solid state electronics. The usefulness of the
optical properties of metal films and scientific curiosity about the behavior of two-
dimensional solids has been responsible for the immense interest in the study science and

576
 Basic Properties of Thin Films for Device Application 577

technology of the thin films. Thin film studies have directly or indirectly advanced many
new areas of research in solid state physics and chemistry which are based on phenomena
uniquely characteristic of the thickness, geometry and structure of the film1. The
phenomenal rise in thin film researches is no doubt due to their extensive applications in
the diverse fields of electronics, optics, space science, aircrafts, defense and other
industries. These investigations have led a numerous inventions in the forms of active
devices and passive components, piezo-electric devices, micro-miniaturization of power
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supply, rectification and amplification, sensor elements, storage of solar energy and its
conversion to other form, magnetic memories, super conduction films, interference
filters, reflecting and antireflection coatings and many others2.
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Thin film materials are the key elements of continued technological advances made in
the fields of optoelectronic, photonic and magnetic devices. The processing of materials
into thin films allows easy integration into various types of devices. The properties of
material significantly differ when analyzed in the form of thin films. Most of the
functional materials are rather applied in thin film form due to their specific electrical,
magnetic, optical properties or wear resistance. Thin film technologies make use of the
fact that the properties can particularly be controlled by the thickness parameter. Thin
films are formed mostly by deposition, either physical or chemical methods. Thin films,
both crystalline and amorphous, have immense importance in the age of high technology.
Few of them are: microelectronic devices, magnetic thin films in recording devices,
magnetic sensors, gas sensor, A. R. coating, photoconductors, IR detectors, interference
filters, solar cells, polarizer’s, temperature controller in satellite, superconducting films,
anticorrosive and decorative coatings3.
Nano-sculptured thin films are a new class of films deposited on substrates with
controlled azimuthal rotation, ω and tilt, θ, by a method called glancing angle deposition
(GLAD). The understanding and modeling of nano-sculptured films deposited on tilted
substrates become increasingly important as their applications encompass various
disciplines: photonics liquid crystal display technology, magnetic media information
storage, organic or inorganic sensors, energy storage technology, among others.
Thickness calibration is a common problem encountered in the case of these films
primarily as a result of substrate tilt angle dependent porosity and flux capture4, 5.
Thin films are extremely thermally stable and reasonably hard, but they are fragile.
On the other hand organic materials have reasonable thermal stability and are tough, but
are soft. For mechanical device stability four material properties of the device
components are important: elastic modulus, yield strength, interfacial adhesion and film
fracture toughness. Mechanical properties of thin films often differ from those of the bulk
materials. This can be partially explained by the nanostructure of thin films and the fact
that these films are attached to a substrate. Due to typically high yield strengths, thin
films can support very high residual stresses. This residual stress can be relieved later
during processing or in the actual device operation through plastic deformation, thin film
fracture, or interfacial delamitation. Both elastic and plastic properties are important for
thin film characterization. Thin film mechanical properties can be measured by tensile
 578 M. C. Rao & M. S. Shekhawat

testing of freestanding films and by the micro beam cantilever deflection technique, but
the easiest way is by means of nanoindentation, since no special sample preparation is
required and tests can be performed quickly and inexpensively. Nanoindentation is a
versatile technique for measuring films mechanical properties. During the measurement a
sharp diamond indenter is forced into the tested material while continuously recording
both the force and the indentation depth6.
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2. Properties

2.1. Optical properties

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Optical experiments provide a good way of examining the properties of semiconductors.

Particularly measuring the absorption coefficient for various energies gives information
about the band gaps of the material. Knowledge of these band gaps is extremely
important for understanding the electrical properties of a semiconductor and is therefore
of great practical interest7.

2.2. Mechanical properties

Mechanical properties of thin films often differ from those of the bulk materials. This can
be partially explained by the nanostructure of thin films and the fact that these films are
attached to a substrate. Due to typically high yield strengths, thin films can support very
high residual stresses. This residual stress can be relieved later during processing or in the
actual device operation through plastic deformation, thin film fracture, or interfacial
delamination8. Both elastic and plastic properties are important for thin film
characterization. Thin film mechanical properties can be measured by tensile testing of
freestanding films and by the micro beam cantilever deflection technique, but the easiest
way is by means of nanoindentation, since no special sample preparation is required and
tests can be performed quickly and inexpensively9-11.

2.3. Electrical properties

There are three types of electron materials: metal, semiconductor and dielectric.
Obviously, the electrical transport nature is different in all types of materials, therefore it
is impossible describe all together. However, in the thin film form, scaling effects begin
influence on the electrical properties of materials by the same way. The film thickness,
the lattice dimensions, the purity, the surface roughness and the imperfect level of the
layer are must significant parameters define the type, mechanism and stability of the
electrical transport12. Fig. 1 shows the conductivity scale for various materials at room
temperature.
 Basic Properties of Thin Films for Device Application 579
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Fig. 1 Conductivity scale for various materials at room temperature

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3. Applications of thin films

Although the study of thin film phenomena dates back well over a century, it is really
only over the last four decades that they have been used to a significant extent in practical
situations. The requirement of micro miniaturization made the use of thin and thick films
virtually imperative. The development of computer technology led to a requirement for
very high density storage techniques and it is this which has stimulated most of the
research on the magnetic properties of thin films. Many thin film devices have been
developed which have found themselves looking for an application. In general these
devices have resulted from research into the physical properties of thin films.
Thin film materials have already been used in semiconductor devices, wireless
communications, telecommunications, integrated circuits, rectifiers, transistors, solar
cells, light-emitting diodes, photoconductors, light crystal displays, magneto-optic
memories, audio and video systems, compact discs, electro-optic coatings, memories,
multilayer capacitors, flat-panel displays, smart windows, computer chips, magneto optic
discs, lithography, micro- electromechanical systems and multifunctional emerging
coatings, as well as other emerging cutting technologies13.

3.1. Data storage

As the data storage density in cutting edge microelectronic devices continues to increase,
the super paramagnetic effect poses a problem for magnetic data storage media. One
strategy for overcoming this obstacle is the use of thermo mechanical data storage
technology. In this approach, data is written by a nanoscale mechanical probe as an
indentation on a surface, read by a transducer built into the probe, and then erased by the
application of heat. An example of such a device is the IBM millipede, which uses a
polymer thin film as the data storage medium. It is also possible; however, to use other
kinds of media for thermo mechanical data storage and in the following work, we explore
the possibility of using thin film Ni-Ti shape memory alloy (SMA). Previous work has
shown that nanometer-scale indentations made in marten site phase Ni-Ti SMA thin films
recover substantially upon heating. Issues such as repeated thermo mechanical cycling of
indentations indent proximity and film thickness impact the practicability of this
technique. While there are still problems to be solved, the experimental evidence and
 580 M. C. Rao & M. S. Shekhawat

theoretical predictions show SMA thin films are an appropriate medium for thermo
mechanical data storage14.

3.2. Flat panel displays

The Flat Panel Display (FPD) fabrication environment is among the worlds most
competitive and technologically complex. Device designers and manufacturers
continually strive to satisfy the worldwide consumer’s appetite for larger displays, greater
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pixel resolution and feature-rich performance, all at a lower cost than the previous
generation of technology. The need to control contamination in air, gas and liquid process
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streams is now a paramount focus of process engineers and designers15.

3.3. Optoelectronic
An optoelectronic thin-film chip, comprising at least one radiation-emitting region in an
active zone of a thin-film layer and a lens disposed downstream of the radiation emitting
region, said lens being formed by at least one partial region of the thin-film layer, the
lateral extent of the lens being greater than the lateral extent of the radiation emitting
region. The thin-film layer is provided for example by a layer sequence which is
deposited epitaxially on a growth substrate and from which the growth substrate is at
least partly removed. That is to say that the thickness of the substrate is reduced. In other
words, the substrate is thinned. It is furthermore possible for the entire growth substrate
to be removed from the thin-film layer. The thin-film layer has at least one active zone
suitable for generating electromagnetic radiation. The active zone may be provided for
example by a layer or layer sequence which has a p-n junction, a double heterostructure,
a single quantum well structure or a multiple quantum well structure. Particularly
preferably, the active zone has at least one radiation-emitting region. In this case, the
radiation-emitting region is formed for example by a partial region of the active zone.
Electromagnetic radiation is generated in said partial region of the active zone during
operation of the optoelectronic thin-film chip16.

3.4. Optical coatings

An optical coating is one or more thin layers of material deposited on an optical
component such as a lens or mirror, which alters the way in which the optic reflects and
transmits light. One type of optical coating is an antireflection coating, which reduces
unwanted reflections from surfaces, and is commonly used on spectacle and photographic
lenses. Another type is the high-reflector coating which can be used to produce mirrors
which reflect greater than 99.99% of the light which falls on them. More complex optical
coatings exhibit high reflection over some range of wavelengths, and anti-reflection over
another range, allowing the production of dichroic thin-film optical filters17.
 Basic Properties of Thin Films for Device Application 581

3.5. Thin film lithium ion batteries

They are similar to lithium-ion batteries, but they are composed of thin materials, some
only nanometers or micrometers thick, which allow for the finished battery to be just
millimeters thick. They have been developed and advanced primarily within the last
decade. These batteries consist of a substrate, electrolyte, current collector, anode,
cathode and a charge separator. There has been much research into the determination of
the most effective components for this type of battery. It has been shown recently that
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even ordinary printer paper can be used as a charge separator and a substrate. These thin
film batteries are an improvement on the common secondary, or rechargeable, lithium ion
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batteries in many ways. These batteries exhibit the same voltage and current as their
bulky counterparts, but their thinner dimensions allow for greater applications such as
making thinner electronic devices, like cell phones and laptops and even implantable
medical devices and reducing the weight of common devices that are run on battery
power because of the batteries’ high energy density. These batteries can be formed into
any shape and they can be stacked, to be used in parallel, thus even further reducing the
space needed for a battery. Fig. 2 shows the schematic representation of thin film lithium
ion batteries18, 19.

Fig. 2 Schematic representation of thin film lithium ion batteries

4. Conclusions
Thin film technology is the basic of astounding development in solid state electronics.
The usefulness of the optical properties of metal films, and scientific curiosity about the
behavior of two-dimensional solids has been responsible for the immense interest in the
study science and technology of the thin films. Due to typically high yield strengths,
thin films can support very high residual stresses. This residual stress can be relieved
later during processing or in the actual device operation through plastic deformation, thin
film fracture, or interfacial delamination. Mechanical properties of thin films often differ
from those of the bulk materials. This can be partially explained by the nanostructure of
thin films and the fact that these films are attached to a substrate. There are three types of
electron materials: metal, semiconductor and dielectric. Obviously, the electrical
transport nature is different in all types of materials, therefore it is impossible describe all
 582 M. C. Rao & M. S. Shekhawat

together. Thin film materials have already been used in semiconductor devices,
multilayer capacitors, flat-panel displays, smart windows, computer chips, magneto optic
discs, lithography and micro-electromechanical systems.

Acknowledgments
The author (M. C. Rao) is thankful to UGC for providing the financial assistance through
Major Research Project (Link No. F. No. 40-24/2011(SR))
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