|
Advanced
Nitrides by Design. Synchrotron
XRD and TEM microanalyses were
used to determine interfacial
reaction paths and mechanisms.
The results allowed functional
design of dramatically improved
diffusion barriers. |
Novel semiconductors, superconductors,
and corrosion-resistant materials
have been developed recently through
nanoscale research on transition metal
nitrides. J. E. Greene, I. Petrov,
and colleagues at the University of
Illinois Seitz Materials Research
Laboratory, with Office of Science
support, combined theoretical modeling
with fundamental growth and characterization
experiments to improve the basic mechanical
and electrical properties of nitrides.
They developed new processes for depositing
these materials with control of atomic-scale
reaction and diffusion, thereby designing
whole families of alloys with unique
properties that are impossible to
achieve under equilibrium conditions.
To achieve these properties, it was
necessary to control grain size and
texture on a scale on the order of
10 nanometers (nm), and to achieve
interfacial widths of 0.1 nm to 1.0
nm. This work has many applications
and has been recognized by many awards,
including the 1999 David Turnbull
Lectureship of the Materials Research
Society, the 1998 David Adler Prize
from the American Physical Society,
and the Tage Erlanger Prize in Physics
(the second-ranking Swedish prize
in science after the Nobel Prize).
Scientific Impact:
This work extended the science of
transition metal nitrides, making
possible the design of entirely new
materials. These achievements also
demonstrate the value of research
on the nanoscale, an emerging field
of great importance.
Social Impact: Transition
metal nitrides already have practical
uses; titanium aluminum nitride, for
example, has become ubiquitous in
wear-, corrosion-, and diffusion-resistant
coatings for products such as cutting
tools. The new alloys have enabled
the use of copper interconnects in
integrated circuits through the creation
of improved diffusion barriers, thus
paving the way for a new generation
of faster computer chips.
Reference: J. S.
Chun, I. Petrov, and J.E. Greene,
"Dense fully 111-textured TiN diffusion
barriers: Enhanced lifetime through
microstructure control during layer
growth" J. Appl. Phys., 86
3633 (1999).
D. Gall, I. Petrov, P. Desjardins,
and J.E. Greene, "Microstructural
evolution and Poisson ratio of epitaxial
ScN grown on TiN(001)/MgO(001) by
ultrahigh vacuum reactive magnetron
sputter deposition" J. Appl. Phys.,
86 5524 (1999).
URL: http://www.aps.org/praw/adler/98winner.html
http://mrlpubs.mrl.uiuc.edu/
Technical Contact:
Don Freeburn, Office of Basic Energy
Sciences, 301-903-3156
Press Contact: Jeff
Sherwood, DOE Office of Public Affairs,
202-586-5806
SC-Funding Office:
Office of Basic Energy Sciences |