Characterization of heat treated bismuth-indium thin films

Two layer sputtered BiIIn thin films (12-120 nmllayer) act as a micro-fabrication resist with many potential applications. Their physical, chemical, and optical characteristics change after laser exposures that produce a rapid thermal anneal in selected areas. Laser exposed areas have lower reflectivity and higher transparency. The structural and electrical properties of BiAn films before and after annealing was investigated in this thesis work. AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy), XRD (X-ray Diffraction), and TEM (Transmission Electronic Microscopy) show that the as-deposited films are polycrystalline, continuous, but with a rough, island morphology. Furnace or laser anneals in air result in the formation of Bismuth and Indium oxides. The island morphology is maintained but there is evidence of melting and recrystallization. RBS (Rutherford Back Scattering) and NRA (Nuclear Reaction Analysis) analysis confirm that Bi/In films exposed to laser or bate contain a large fraction of oxygen consistent with the XRD, and TEM results. Hall effect measurements show a high electron carrier concentrations of 4 x 10~Ocm-~ for Bi/In films after exposure.