Neutral dangling bond depletion in amorphous SiN films induced by magnetic rare-earth elements

✍ Scribed by M.S. Sercheli; C. Rettori; A.R. Zanatta

• Book ID: 104166347
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 182 KB
• Volume: 128
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0038-1098
• DOI: 10.1016/s0038-1098(03)00654-9

✦ Synopsis

Amorphous silicon -nitrogen (a-SiN) thin films doped with rare-earth elements (RE ¼ Y, La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb, and Lu) were prepared by cosputtering and studied by means of electron spin resonance. It was found that the neutral dangling bond density, ½D 0 ; of the a-SiN films decreases with the presence of magnetic REs and the drop in ½D 0 approximately scales with the de Gennes and/or the spin factor of each RE element. Similar to the decrease in T c in RE-doped superconductors, our experimental results strongly suggest that an exchange-like interaction, H , J RE-D 0 S RE •S D 0 ; between the spin of the magnetic REs and that of the D 0 is taking place.