Journal Highlights

35 years of challenge and innovation in ion implant

Anthony Renau

In this snapshot review, the author describes key equipment developments in implant tool technologies such as the plasma flood gun, indirectly heated cathode source, single wafer implantation, plasma doping, deceleration with low energy contamination, and hot and cold implants. The author discusses improvements over earlier technology and documents issues encountered with previous ways to approach the solution. https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-022-00366-4

Where is the annealing technology going for better device performance?

Kyoichi Suguro

The authors discuss the variety of annealing methods in semiconductor manufacturing and research and development from the viewpoint of total process integration for achieving better device performance. Millisecond annealing was carried out by using a flash lamp and two kinds of lasers. These techniques were evaluated not only for diffusion and damage reduction, but also for stress generation from temperature difference within the wafer, pattern dependence, and deactivation of impurity atoms. https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-022-00449-2

Optimization of solid-phase epitaxial regrowth performed by UV nanosecond laser annealing

Angela Alvarez Alonso, Pablo Acosta Alba, Eloïse Rahier, Sébastien Kerdilès, Nicolas Gauthier, Nicolas Bernier, Alain Claverie

Ultraviolet nanosecond laser annealing (UV-NLA) is a promising annealing technique for shallow junction formation in advanced integration paths. The authors optimized the use of UV-NLA to induce the solid-phase epitaxial regrowth of 70-nm-thick silicon-on-insulator layers, partially amorphized (> 30 nm) by arsenic ion implantation. A new annealing strategy was developed, which enables completion of the amorphous layer recrystallization with high recrystallization rates (up to 5.5×10^–4 nm/ns) while reaching a high dopant activation rate. https://doi.org/10.1557/s43580-022-00443-8

A review on chemical bath deposition of metal chalcogenide thin films for heterojunction solar cells

Sucheta Sengupta, Rinki Aggarwal, Manoj Raula

Open Access

Heterojunction thin-film II–VI solar cells are emergent substitutes to traditional silicon solar cells due to improved efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Chemical bath deposition ensures the preservation of the constituent layers. The authors provide an overview of the different combinations of metal chalcogenide/chalcopyrite thin-film layers for achieving control over the resultant morphology. https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-022-00539-9

Review on magnetocaloric high-entropy alloys: Design and analysis methods

Jia Yan Law, Victorino Franco

Open Access

The search for high-performance functional alloys with improved service life and reliability entails the optimization of mechanical properties. High-entropy alloy (HEA) design utilizes multiprincipal elements to yield high configurational entropy of alloy mixing, offering a breadth of opportunities for property exploration. The authors focus on magnetocaloric HEAs, design approaches, and appropriate analysis methods for their performance. https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-022-00712-0

Organic crystal structure prediction and its application to materials design

Qiang Zhu, Shinnosuke Hattori

Open Access

Computer simulation has increasingly shaped the area of new organic materials, making possible the discovery of new organic crystals with the combination of powerful algorithms and accurate energy modeling. The authors introduce recent computational techniques for organic crystal structure prediction. Perspectives on remaining technical challenges, functional materials screening, and software development are also discussed. https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-022-00698-9