The direct formation of graphene on various dielectric surfaces is successful via a single-step rapid thermal processing (RTP) of substrates coated with amorphous carbon (C) and nickel (Ni) thin films. High-quality graphene is obtained uniformly on the whole surface of wafers with a controlled number of graphene layers. The monolayer graphene exhibits a low sheet resistance and a high optical transmittance in the visible range.

We have successfully nickel doped a boron carbide ͑B 5 C͒ alloy film. The nickel doped boron-carbide ͑Ni-B 5 C 1ϩ␦) thin films were fabricated from a single source carborane cage molecule and nickelocene ͓Ni͑C 5 H 5) 2 ͔ using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Nickel doping transforms the highly resistive undoped film from a p-type material to an n-type material. This has been verified from the characteristics of diodes constructed of NiB 5 C 1ϩ␦ on both n-type silicon and p-type B 5 C. The homojunction diodes exhibit excellent rectifying properties over a wide range of temperatures.

We have fabricated a B5C, boron-carbide/Si(111) heterojunction diode by the synchrotron radiation-induced decomposition of orthocarborane. This diode can be compared with similar boron-carbide/Si(111) heterojunction diodes fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The synchrotron radiation induced chemical vapor deposition is postulated to occur via the decomposition of weakly chemisorbed species and the results suggest that ‘‘real-time’’ projection lithography (selective area deposition) of boron-carbide devices is possible.

Analysis techniques are needed to determine the quantity and structure of materials composing an organic layer that is below an ultra-thin film limit and in a liquid environment. Neither optical nor acoustical techniques can independently distinguish between thickness and porosity of ultra-thin films due to parameter correlation. A combined optical and acoustical approach yields sufficient information to determine both thickness and porosity. We describe application of the combinatorial approach to measure single or multiple organic layers when the total layer thickness is small compared to the wavelength of the probing light. The instrumental setup allows for simultaneous in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry and quartz crystal microbalance dynamic measurements, and it is combined with a multiple-inlet fluid control system for different liquid solutions to be introduced during experiments. A virtual separation approach is implemented into our analysis scheme, differentiated by whether or not the organic adsorbate and liquid ambient densities are equal. The analysis scheme requires that the film be assumed transparent and rigid (non-viscoelastic). We present and discuss applications of our approach to studies of organic surfactant adsorption, self-assembled monolayer chemisorption, and multiple-layer target DNA sensor preparation and performance testing.

We have succeeded in the fabrication of a boron–carbide/boron diode on an aluminum substrate, and a boron–carbide/boron junction field effect transistor. Our results suggest that with respect to the approximately 2 eV band gap pure boron material, 0.9 eV band gap boron–carbide (B5C) acts as a p-type material. Both boron and boron–carbide (B5C) thin films were fabricated from single source borane cage molecules using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Epitaxial growth does not appear to be a requirement.