Chemical interaction of B4C, B, and C with Mo/Si layered structures

To enhance the thermal stability, B4C diffusion barrier layers are often added to Mo/Si multilayer structures for extreme ultraviolet optics. Knowledge about the chemical interaction between B4C and Mo or Si, however is largely lacking. Therefore, the chemical processes during annealing up to 600?°C of a Mo/B4C/Si layered structure have been...

Improved atomic-scale simulations of silicon

Although over the past years huge progress has been made in silicon research and silicon can be regarded as one of the best studied chemical elements, even more precise control and understanding of the material is needed as dimensions of electronic elements shrink towards the deep nanolevel. At this scale, experiments are not always sufficient...

Growth stress in tungsten carbide-diamond-like carbon coatings

Growth stress in tungsten carbide-diamond-like carbon coatings, sputter deposited in a reactive argon/acetylene plasma, has been studied as a function of the acetylene partial pressure. Stress and microstructure have been investigated by wafer curvature and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) whereas composition and energy distribution...