BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films were prepared on Pt/TiO2/Si substrate by r.f. magnetron sputtering. The effects of deposition pressure on electrical properties were investigated using measurement of dielectric properties, leakage current and polarization. When BFO targets were prepared, Fe atoms were substituted with Mn 0.05% to increase electrical resistivity of films. (Fe+Mn)/Bi ratio of BFO thin films increases with increasing partial pressure of O2 gas. The deposited films showed the only BFO phase at 10 mTorr, the coexistence of BFO and Bi2O3 phase at 30-50 mTorr, and the only Bi2O3 phase at 70 mTorr. The crystallinity of BFO films was reduced due to the higher Bi contents and the decrease of surface mobility of atoms at high temperature. The porosity and surface roughness of films increased with the increase of the deposition pressure. The films deposited at high pressure showed low dielectric constant and high leakage current. The dielectric constant of films deposited at various deposition pressures was 84~153 at 1 kHz. The leakage current density of the films deposited at 10~70 mTorr was about 7×10.6~1.5×10.2A/cm2 at 100 kV/cm. The leakage current was found to be closely related to the morphology and composition of the BFO films. BFO films showed poor P-E hysteresis loops due to high leakage current.

Mn-substituted BiFeO3(BFO) thin films were prepared by r.f. magnetron sputtering under an Ar/O2mixture of various deposition pressures at room temperature. The effects of the deposition pressure andannealing temperature on the crystallization and electrical properties of BFO films were investigated. X-raydiffraction patterns revealed that BFO films were crystallized for films annealed above 500oC. BFO filmsannealed at 550oC for 5 min in N2 atmosphere exhibited the crystallized perovskite phase. The (Fe+Mn)/Biratio decreased with an increase in the deposition pressure due to the difference of sputtering yield. The grainsize and surface roughness of films increased with an increase in the deposition pressure. The dielectricconstant of BFO films prepared at various conditions shows 127~187at 1kHz. The leakage current densityof BFO films annealed at 500oC was approximately two orders of magnitude lower than that of 550oC. Theleakage current density of the BFO films deposited at 10~30m Torr was about 5×10-6~3×10-2A/cm2 at 100kV/cm. Due to the high leakage current, saturated P-E curves were not obtained in BFO films. BFO film annealedat 500oC exhibited remnant polarization(2Pr) of 26.4µC/cm2 at 470kV/cm.

SnxSe100-X (15|X|30) alloys have been studied to explore their suitability as phase change materials for nonvolatile memory applications. The phase change characteristics of thin films prepared by a Radio Frequency (RF) magnetron co-sputtering system were analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer and 4-point probe measurement. A phase change static tester was also used to determine their crystallization under the pulsed laser irradiation. X-ray diffraction measurements show that the transition in sheet resistance is accompanied by crystallization. The amorphous state showed sheet resistances five orders of magnitude higher than that of the crystalline state in SnxSe100-X (x = 15, 20, 25, 30) films. In the optimum composition, the minimum time of SnxSe100-X alloys for crystallization was 160, 140, 150, and 30ns at 15mW, respectively. The crystallization temperature and the minimum time for crystallization of thin films were increased by increasing the amount of Sn, which is correlated with the activation energy for crystallization.

The effect of annealing under argon atmosphere on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films deposited at room temperature and 300˚C using Radio Frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering has been investigated. For the films deposited at room temperature, there was not any increase in hydrogen content and optical band gap of the films, and as a result, quality of the films was not improved under any annealing conditions. For the films deposited at 300˚C, on the other hand, significant increases in hydrogen content and optical band gap were observed, whereas values of microstructure parameter and dark conductivity were decreased upon annealing below 300˚C. In this study, it was proposed that the Si-HX bonding strength is closely related to deposition temperature. Also, the improvement in optical, electrical and structural properties of the films deposited at 300˚C was originated from thermally activated hydrogen bubbles, which were initially trapped at microvoids in the films.

This study investigated the dependence of the various sputtering conditions (Ar pressure: 2~10 mTorr, Power: 50~150 W) and thickness (50~1200 nm) of Si thin film on the electrochemical properties, microstructural properties and the capacity fading of a Si thin film anode. A Si layer and a Ti buffer layer were deposited on Copper foil by RF-magnetron sputtering. At 10 mTorr, the 50 W sample showed the best capacity of 3323 mAh/g, while the 100 W sample showed the best capacity retention of 91.7%, also at 10 mTorr. The initial capacities and capacity retention in the samples apart from the 50W sample at 10 mTorr were enhanced as the Ar pressure and power increased. This was considered to be related to the change of the microstructure and the surface morphology by various sputtering conditions. In addition, thinner Si film anodes showed better cycling performance. This phenomenon is caused by the structural stress and peeling off of the Si layer by the high volume change of Si during the charge/discharge process.

Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) thin films were deposited onto 300 nm-thick oxidized Si substrates and glass substrates by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering of IGZO targets at room temperature. FESEM and XRD analyses indicate that non-annealed and annealed IGZO thin films exhibit an amorphous structure. To investigate the effect of an annealing treatment, the films were thermally treated at 300˚C for 1hr in air. The IGZO TFTs structure was a bottom-gate type in which electrodes were deposited by the DC magnetron sputtering of Ti and Au targets at room temperature. The non-annealed and annealed IGZO TFTs exhibit an Ion/Ioff ratio of more than 105. The saturation mobility and threshold voltage of nonannealed IGZO TFTs was 4.92×10-1cm2/V·s and 1.46V, respectively, whereas these values for the annealed TFTs were 1.49×10-1cm2/V· and 15.43V, respectively. It is believed that an increase in the surface roughness after an annealing treatment degrades the quality of the device. The transmittances of the IGZO thin films were approximately 80%. These results demonstrate that IGZO thin films are suitable for use as transparent thin film transistors (TTFTs).

In this study, tantalum (Ta) compacts were fabricated in a spark plasma sintering (SPS) process and their microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. Ta compacts with a density of 99% were successfully fabricated by controlling the sintering conditions of the current and the temperature. The density and hardness were increased as the sintering temperature increased. The Ta2C compound was observed at the surface of the compacts due to the contact between the Ta powder and graphite mold during the sintering process. The main fracture mode showed a mixed type with intergranular and transgranular modes having some roughness.