Claims
- 1. A method of annealing a multicomponent film on a substrate, comprising:
enclosing a substrate having said multicomponent film thereon within a vessel, said multicomponent film being formed of a first multicomponent material, said vessel being formed of a second multicomponent material, said second multicomponent material comprising at least all components of said first multicomponent material; and annealing said multicomponent film within said vessel for a time sufficient to anneal said multicomponent film; wherein said vessel is formed of said second multicomponent material such that, during said annealing at the annealing temperature, said multicomponent film remains in contact with a vapor of said first multicomponent material and said second multicomponent material, said vapor preventing said multicomponent film from losing components of said first multicomponent composition during said annealing.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said first multicomponent material is crystalline.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said multicomponent film is selected from the group consisting of BaxSr1−xTiO3 and KTaxNb1−xO3, wherein x is from 0 to 1, inclusive.
- 4. The method of claim 3, wherein x is between 0 and 1.
- 5. The method of claim 2, wherein said multicomponent film is selected from the group consisting of (Ba,Sr)TiO3, K(Ta,Nb)O3, (Sr,Ba)Nb10O30, (La,Ca)MnO3 and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said annealing is performed at a temperature of from about 800° C. to a temperature below the melting temperature of said first multicomponent material.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein during said annealing, said substrate having said film thereon is housed in an airtight cavity in said vessel.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said substrate having said film thereon is housed in a non-airtight cavity within said vessel.
- 9. The method of claim 7, wherein said vessel is surrounded by platinum during said annealing.
- 10. The method of claim 1, wherein said first multicomponent material is inorganic.
- 11. The method of claim 1, wherein said first multicomponent material is a ferroelectric material, a semiconductor or a ceramic.
- 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said ceramic is an oxide or a nitride.
- 13. The method of claim 1, wherein said second multicomponent material is a dielectric or a superconductor.
- 14. The method of claim 1, wherein said second multicomponent material is crystalline or amorphous.
- 15. The method of claim 1, wherein said second multicomponent material has the same composition and stoichiometry as said first multicomponent material.
- 16. The method of claim 1, wherein said second multicomponent material has the identical components as said first multicomponent material but has at least one of said components present in an amount which is superstoichiometric with respect to said first multicomponent material.
- 17. The method of claim 1, wherein said second multicomponent material has the identical volatile components as said first multicomponent material.
- 18. The method of claim 1, wherein said film has a thickness of about 100 angstroms to 100 μm.
- 19. The method of claim 1, wherein said annealing is performed at a temperature of from about 30% of the melting temperature of said first multicomponent material up to the melting temperature of said first multicomponent material.
- 20. The method of claim 19, wherein said annealing is performed at a temperature below a melting temperature of the substrate and below a temperature at which said first multicomponent material reacts with said substrate.
- 21. The method of claim 1, wherein said substrate is a semiconductor, insulator, or a metal, and is amorphous or crystalline.
- 22. The method of claim 1, wherein said substrate is completely enclosed with said vessel during said annealing.
- 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the enclosing of said substrate within said vessel comprises:
laying said substrate within a pocket formed in a first portion of said vessel so as to leave at least a portion of a surface of said substrate, with said film thereon, exposed; and placing a second portion of said vessel over said first portion of said vessel so as to surround said substrate having said film thereon.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein said second portion of said vessel includes a pocket that, when said vessel surrounds said substrate, the pocket of said second vessel registers with the pocket of said first vessel to form a cavity housing said substrate.
- 25. The method of claim 24, wherein said cavity has a volume of no greater than 200 percent of the volume of said substrate having said film thereon.
- 26. The method of claim 25, wherein said cavity has a volume about equal to that of said substrate having said film thereon.
- 27. The method of claim 1, wherein said annealing is performed within a reactive atmosphere or a non-reactive atmosphere.
- 28. The method of claim 23, wherein said atmosphere is oxidizing or reducing.
- 29. The method of claim 27, wherein said atmosphere consists of nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, rare gas, or a mixture thereof, or is a mixture comprising nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, or a rare gas.
- 30. A method of reducing electrical losses at microwave and millimeter wave frequencies in a dielectric film, comprising:
enclosing a substrate having said multicomponent film thereon within a vessel, said multicomponent film being formed of a first multicomponent material, said vessel being formed of a second multicomponent material, said second multicomponent material comprising at least all components of said first multicomponent material; and annealing said multicomponent film within said vessel for a time sufficient to anneal said multicomponent film; wherein said vessel is formed of said second multicomponent material such that, during said annealing at the annealing temperature, said multicomponent film remains in contact with a vapor of said first multicomponent material and said second multicomponent material, said vapor preventing said multicomponent film from losing components of said first multicomponent material during said annealing.
- 31. The method of claim 30, wherein said dielectric film has a thickness of about 100 angstroms to 100 μm.
- 32. The method of claim 1, wherein said annealing increases the average grain size by at least 3 times that of the starting grain size.
- 33. The method of claim 32, wherein said annealing increases the average grain size by at least 3.5 times that of the starting grain size.
- 34. The method of claim 33, wherein said annealing increases the average grain size by at least 4 times that of the starting grain size.
- 35. The product made according to the method of claim 1.
- 36. The dielectric film made according to the method of claim 30.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to co-pending Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/102,094, filed Sep. 29, 1998, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60102094 |
Sep 1998 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09401972 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
Child |
10219137 |
Aug 2002 |
US |