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1 – 10 of 318Hai Jiang, YiYing Lu, Liwen Ding, Wenzhong Lu, Guifen Fan and Yusheng Shi
Aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramics are suitable substrate and package materials for high-power integrated circuits.
Abstract
Purpose
Aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramics are suitable substrate and package materials for high-power integrated circuits.
Design/methodology/approach
Dense AlN ceramics with Y2O3 and LaF3 as sintering additives are prepared. The effects of these additives on the density, phase composition, microstructure and thermal conductivity of AlN ceramics are investigated.
Findings
Results show that 2 Wt.% Y2O3-doped additive is insufficient for the samples to achieve the full densification sintered at 1,700°C. When LaF3 is added with Y2O3, the samples are perfectly densified at the same sintering condition. The relative density and thermal conductivity of the samples are 97.8-99.07 per cent and 169.104-200.010 W·m-1·K-1, respectively. The density of the samples and their microstructure, especially the content and distribution of secondary phases, is necessary to control the thermal conductivity of AlN ceramics.
Originality/value
Y2O3 and LaF3 additives can effectively promote densification and enhance the thermal conductivity of AlN ceramics in a low sintering temperature, and the AlN ceramics added with Y2O3-LaF3 might have potential applications in package materials for high-power integrated circuits.
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Xiaoxuan Lin, Xiong Sang, Yuyan Zhu and Yichen Zhang
This paper aims to investigate the preparation of AlN and Al2O3, as well as the effect of nano-AlN and nano-Al2O3, on friction and wear properties of copper-steel clad plate…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the preparation of AlN and Al2O3, as well as the effect of nano-AlN and nano-Al2O3, on friction and wear properties of copper-steel clad plate immersed in the lubricants.
Design/methodology/approach
Nano-AlN or nano-Al2O3 (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 Wt.%) functional fluids were prepared. Their tribological properties were tested by an MRS-10A four-ball friction tester and a ball-on-plate configuration, and scanning electron microscope observed the worn surface of the plate.
Findings
An increase in nano-AlN and Al2O3 content enhances the extreme pressure and anti-wear performance of the lubricant. The best performance is achieved at 0.5 Wt.% of nano-AlN and 0.3 Wt.% of nano-Al2O3 with PB of 834 N and 883 N, a coefficient of friction (COF) of approximately 0.07 and 0.06, respectively. Furthermore, the inclusion of nano-AlN and nano-Al2O3 particles in the lubricant enhances its extreme pressure performance and reduces wear, leading to decreased wear spot depth. The lubricating effect of the nano-Al2O3 lubricant on the surface of the copper-steel composite plate is slightly superior to that of the nano-AlN lubricant, with a COF reaching 0.07. Both lubricants effectively fill and lubricate the holes on the surface of the copper-steel composite plate.
Originality/value
AlN and Al2O3 as water-based lubricants have excellent lubrication performance and can reduce the COF. It can provide some reference for the practical application of nano-water-based lubricants.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2023-0255/
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Anis Suhaili Bakri, Nafarizal Nayan, Chin Fhong Soon, Mohd Khairul Ahmad, Ahmad Shuhaimi Abu Bakar, Wan Haliza Abd Majid and Nur Amaliyana Raship
This paper aims to report the influence of sputtering plasma deposition time on the structural and mechanical properties of the a-axis oriented aluminium nitride (AlN) thin films.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report the influence of sputtering plasma deposition time on the structural and mechanical properties of the a-axis oriented aluminium nitride (AlN) thin films.
Design/methodology/approach
The AlN films were prepared using RF magnetron sputtering plasma on a silicon substrate without any external heating with various deposition times. The films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) and nanoindentation techniques.
Findings
The XRD results show that the AlN thin films are highly oriented along the (100) AlN plane at various deposition times indicating the a-axis preferred orientation. All the AlN thin films exhibit hexagonal AlN with a wurtzite structure. The hardness and Young’s modulus of AlN thin films with various deposition times were measured using a nanoindenter. The measured hardness of the AlN films on Si was in the range of 14.1 to 14.7 GPa. The surface roughness and the grain size measured using the AFM revealed that both are dependent on the deposition times.
Originality/value
The novelty of this work lies with a comparison of hardness and Young’s modulus result obtained at different sputtering deposition temperature. This study also provides the relation of AlN thin films’ crystallinity with the hardness of the deposited films.
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Muhammad Esmed Alif Samsudin, Yusnizam Yusuf, Norzaini Zainal, Ahmad Shuhaimi Abu Bakar, Christian Zollner, Michael Iza and Steven P. DenBaars
The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of AlN nucleation thickness in reducing the threading dislocations density in AlN layer grown on sapphire substrate.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of AlN nucleation thickness in reducing the threading dislocations density in AlN layer grown on sapphire substrate.
Design/methodology/approach
In this work, the effect of the nucleation thickness at 5 nm, 10 nm and 20 nm on reducing the dislocation density in the overgrown AlN layer by metal organic chemical vapor deposition was discussed. The AlN layer without the nucleation layer was also included in this study for comparison.
Findings
By inserting the 10 nm thick nucleation layer, the density of the dislocation in the AlN layer can be as low as 9.0 × 108 cm−2. The surface of the AlN layer with that nucleation layer was smoother than its counterparts.
Originality/value
This manuscript discussed the influence of nucleation thickness and its possible mechanism in reducing dislocations density in the AlN layer on sapphire. The authors believe that the finding will be of interest to the readers of this journal, in particular those who are working on the area of AlN.
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Mazwan Mansor, Syamsul M., Yusnizam Yusuf and Mohd Nazri Abdul Rahman
This study aims to present a numerical study of atomic structure for aluminium nitride (AlN) when the crystal was assumed grown on different orientation of sapphire substrate. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to present a numerical study of atomic structure for aluminium nitride (AlN) when the crystal was assumed grown on different orientation of sapphire substrate. The change of the AlN atomic structure with sapphire orientation was associated to the interface between the AlN and the sapphire. The results from this study would provide a guideline in selecting suitable orientation of sapphire for obtaining desirable AlN crystals, in particular, for reducing threading dislocation density in the AlN/sapphire templates for developing UV LEDs.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach of atomic structure by visualization for electronic and structural analysis numerical method to develop shape of atomic geometry to evaluate which plane are more suitable for the AlGaN technology UV-LED based.
Findings
The calculation based on ratio on first and second layers can be done by introduction of lattice constant.
Research limitations/implications
With plane’s color of cutting plane on bulky materials, all the shape looks the same.
Practical implications
By implementing this method, the authors can save time to find the most suitable plane on the growth structure.
Originality/value
All authors of this research paper have directly participated in the planning, execution or analysis of the study; all authors of this paper have read and approved the final version submitted; the contents of this manuscript have not been copyrighted or published previously; the contents of this manuscript are not now under consideration for publication elsewhere; the contents of this manuscript will not be copyrighted, submitted or published elsewhere, whereas acceptance by the journal is under consideration.
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Zulkifli Azman, Nafarizal Nayan, Megat Muhammad Ikhsan Megat Hasnan, Nurafiqah Othman, Anis Suhaili Bakri, Ahmad Shuhaimi Abu Bakar, Mohamad Hafiz Mamat and Mohd Zamri Mohd Yusop
This study aims to investigate the effect of temperature applied at the initial deposition of Aluminium Nitride (AlN) thin-film on a silicon substrate by high-power impulse…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effect of temperature applied at the initial deposition of Aluminium Nitride (AlN) thin-film on a silicon substrate by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) technique.
Design/methodology/approach
HiPIMS system was used to deposit AlN thin film at a low output power of 200 W. The ramping temperature was introduced to substrate from room temperature to maximum 100°Cat the initial deposition of thin-film, and the result was compared to thin-film sputtered with no additional heat. For the heat assistance AlN deposition, the substrate was let to cool down to room temperature for the remaining deposition time. The thin-films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM) while the MIS Schottky diode characteristic investigated through current-voltage response by a two-point probe method.
Findings
The XRD pattern shows significant improvement of the strong peak of the c-axis (002) preferred orientation of the AlN thin-film. The peak was observed narrowed with temperature assisted where FWHM calculated at 0.35° compared to FWHM of AlN thin film deposited at room temperature at around 0.59°. The degree of crystallinity of bulk thin film was improved by 28% with temperature assisted. The AFM images show significant improvement as low surface roughness achieved at around 0.7 nm for temperature assisted sample compares to 3 nm with no heat applied.
Originality/value
The small amount of heat introduced to the substrate has significantly improved the growth of the c-axis AlN thin film, and this method is favorable in the deposition of the high-quality thin film at the low-temperature process.
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L.S. Chuah, Z. Hassan, H. Abu Hassan, C.W. Chin, S.M. Thahab and S.C. Teoh
The purpose of this paper is to present the characteristics of novel silicon Schottky barrier (SB) photodiodes (PDs) with aluminium nitride (AlN) (100 nm) nucleation layer.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the characteristics of novel silicon Schottky barrier (SB) photodiodes (PDs) with aluminium nitride (AlN) (100 nm) nucleation layer.
Design/methodology/approach
Comparison was made with conventional silicon SB PDs.
Findings
It was found that smaller dark current could be achieved with AlN nucleation layer. It was also found that effective SB height increased from 0.65 to 0.71 eV with the insertion of the AlN layer. The dark leakage current for the Schottky PDs with the AlN layer was shown to be about two orders of magnitude smaller than that for the conventional silicon SB PDs.
Research limitations/implications
It is possible that the detrimental effect of interface states situated near the metal semiconductor interface was less pronounced for the sample owing to the insertion of the AlN nucleation layer.
Originality/value
There is believed to be no other report on silicon SB PDs capped with an AlN layer in the literature. This paper describes the fabricated silicon SB PDs and reports on the electrical characteristics of the devices with an AlN nucleation layer grown at low temperature.
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The similarity of its temperature expansion coefficient to that of silicon, as well as its high thermal conductivity, makes AlN a material suited for application in…
Abstract
The similarity of its temperature expansion coefficient to that of silicon, as well as its high thermal conductivity, makes AlN a material suited for application in microelectronics. A comparison of the various AlN manufacturers shows above all differences in the choice of sintering aids and the type of sintering process. A comparison of a standard paste system (Du Pont) with a new special development (Shoei) demonstrates the need for adapting the pastes to AlN ceramics. Thin film technology is possible at a standard similar to that of Al2O3.
Piotr Firek and Bartłomiej Stonio
The purpose of this paper is to present the influence of gate dielectric etching on obtained MISFET (metal insulator semiconductor field effect transistor) structures. Because of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the influence of gate dielectric etching on obtained MISFET (metal insulator semiconductor field effect transistor) structures. Because of its properties, aluminum nitride (AlN) layers can be successfully used in a large area of applications. In addition, AIN has a wide bandgap (6.2eV) and high thermal conductivity (3.2 W/cm * K). Its melting temperature is greater than 2,000°C. The relative permittivity is about 9. All these features (especially high power, high temperature and high-frequency) make AlN a useful material in the fields of electronic, optical and acoustic applications.
Design/methodology/approach
To fabricate n-channel transistors, silicon technology was used. The 50-nm thick AlN films were deposited using the magnetron sputtering. After preparation of SiO2/AlN stack as the gate dielectric, the optimization processes of dry etching in plasma environment by Taguchi method were realized. In the next step, three methods of AlN etching were selected and used to MISFET device fabrication. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy allowed to surfacing of the state observation after etching process. The current–voltage (I–V) output and transfer characteristics of structures with modified etch technology were measured. Keithley SMU 236/237/238 measurement set was used.
Findings
In this research work, a method of AlN etching in a field effect transistor technology was developed and improved. Current−voltage characteristics of obtained MISFET structures were measured and compared. Influence of etching procedure on transistors properties was examined.
Originality/value
The obtained results allow improving the MISFET technology based on AlN film as a gate dielectric. The complete research work will allow using the developed technologies to implement in highly sensitive ion-sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET) structures in the future. The improvement of the etching element in the technology strongly influences the detection capabilities and operating range of the transistor.
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Zeynep Aydınalp and Doğan Özgen
Drugs are strategic products with essential functions in human health. An optimum design of the pharmaceutical supply chain is critical to avoid economic damage and adverse…
Abstract
Purpose
Drugs are strategic products with essential functions in human health. An optimum design of the pharmaceutical supply chain is critical to avoid economic damage and adverse effects on human health. The vehicle-routing problem, focused on finding the lowest-cost routes with available vehicles and constraints, such as time constraints and road length, is an important aspect of this. In this paper, the vehicle routing problem (VRP) for a pharmaceutical company in Turkey is discussed.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-integer programming (MIP) model based on the vehicle routing problem with time windows (VRPTW) is presented, aiming to minimize the total route cost with certain constraints. As the model provides an optimum solution for small problem sizes with the GUROBI® solver, for large problem sizes, metaheuristic methods that simulate annealing and adaptive large neighborhood search algorithms are proposed. A real dataset was used to analyze the effectiveness of the metaheuristic algorithms. The proposed simulated annealing (SA) and adaptive large neighborhood search (ALNS) were evaluated and compared against GUROBI® and each other through a set of real problem instances.
Findings
The model is solved optimally for a small-sized dataset with exact algorithms; for solving a larger dataset, however, metaheuristic algorithms require significantly lesser time. For the problem addressed in this study, while the metaheuristic algorithms obtained the optimum solution in less than one minute, the solution in the GUROBI® solver was limited to one hour and three hours, and no solution could be obtained in this time interval.
Originality/value
The VRPTW problem presented in this paper is a real-life problem. The vehicle fleet owned by the factory cannot be transported between certain suppliers, which complicates the solution of the problem.
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