The cluster gun technique can go beyond fabrication of single particles into controlled and reproducible self-assembly of NPs as they form.

Local electrical properties, measured by conductive atomic force microscopy, of semimetallic SrIrO3 thin films are reported. The appearance of an Anderson-type metal-insulator transition (MIT) triggered by disorder and spatial localization due to film thickness reduction is analyzed, as well as their influence on the resistive switching behavior. For thin enough films (below ~3nm) samples are insulating with hysteretic I-V curves indicative of reversible resistive switching behavior between two states of clearly different resistance at room temperature. A Table of Contents entry: Disorder and spatial localization due to thickness reduction allow generating a metal-insulator transition in semimetallic SrIrO3 thin films. Below about 3 nm films are insulating with hysteretic I-V curves indicative of resistive switching behavior at room temperature. Current maps allow demonstrating the writing/erasing processes making evident the feasibility of the system for the implementation of Re-RAMs

No abstract

We have developed an improved vapor-phase deposition method and an apparatus for the wafer-scale coating of monolayer films typically used in anti-stiction applications. The method consists of a surface preparation step using an O 2 plasma followed by the tunable deposition of a monolayer film in the same reactor. This process has been successfully applied to MEMS test structures and has demonstrated superior anti-stiction performance. The deposition process allows tuning of the film properties by the precise metering of the precursor and a catalyst as part of the process control scheme. The anti-stiction monolayer film deposited from dimethyldichlorosilane (DDMS), tridecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrooctyltrichlorosilane (FOTS), and heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS) were characterized using contact angle analysis, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The coefficient of static friction was measured using a sidewall test device and the work of adhesion using a cantilever beam array. The results showed that excellent quality, uniformity, and reproducibility could be achieved across a whole wafer using this method and equipment.

The control of the spontaneous formation of nanostructures at the surface of thin films is of strong interest in many different fields, from catalysts to microelectronics, because surface and interfacial properties may be substantially enhanced. Here, we analyze the formation of nickel oxide nanocuboids on top of La2Ni1−xMn1+xO6 double perovskite ferromagnetic thin films, epitaxially grown on SrTiO3 (001) substrates by radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. We show that, by annealing the films at high temperature under high oxygen partial pressure, the spontaneous segregation of nanocuboids is enhanced. The evolution of the structural and magnetic properties of the films is studied as a function of the annealing treatments at different temperatures. It is shown that the formation of NiOx nanocuboids leads to a nanostructured film surface with regions of locally different electrical transport characteristics.