Low-pressure (a few to hundreds of millitorrs) inductively coupled plasmas (ICPs), as typically used in microelectronics fabrication, often produce vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) photon fluxes onto surfaces comparable to or exceeding the magnitude of ion fluxes. These VUV photon fluxes are desirable in applications such as sterilization of medical equipment but are unwanted in many materials fabricat...

The effects of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) treatment on surface chemical composition morphology and albumin adsorption for low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) were investigated. The attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra and contact angle measurements indicated the formation of oxygen-containing polar groups and double bonds under...

Spectral and kinetic properties of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) luminescence from different fluoride crystals doped with Nd, Er or Tm are discussed. Concentration quenching of VUV luminescence, the impact mechanism of the energy transfer from the matrix to the emission centers as well as nonradiative relaxation processes in the rare earth ions have been detected and studied. The crystal properties ...

The authors compare the effects of vacuum ultraviolet VUV irradiation on pristine and UV-cured low-k porous organosilicate glass SiCOH . The authors find that during VUV irradiation, more trapped charges are generated in UV-cured SiCOH as compared to pristine SiCOH. VUV is also used as a tool to investigate effects of UV curing. From comparison of VUV spectroscopy and photoinjection current of ...

This study investigates the decomposition of clofibric acid (CLF) by different advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), such as UV (254nm), VUV (185 nm), UV / TiO2 and VUV / TiO2. The removal efficiencies of applied AOPs were compared in the presence and absence of dissolved oxygen. The removal efficiency of the studied AOPs towards degradation of CLF were found in the order of VUV / TiO2 + O2 > VU...

UV/VUV photon fluxes in plasma materials processing have a variety of effects ranging from producing damage to stimulating synergistic reactions. Although in plasma etching processes, the rate and quality of the feature are typically controlled by the characteristics of the ion flux, to truly optimize these ion and photon driven processes, it is desirable to control the relative fluxes of ions ...

As air pollution poses a great challenge around the globe, it is essential to fashion out a way of efficiently degrading the air pollutants. Vacuum Ultraviolet (VUV)-based processes are an emerging and promising technology for environmental remediation such as air cleaning, wastewater treatment, and air/water disinfection. When VUV irradiation, photolysis, photocatalysis, and ozone-assisted oxi...

We have developed and improved the beamline for vacuum ultraviolet circular dichroism (VUV-CD) and linear dichroism (VUV-LD) measurement in the storage ring TERAS BL-5 at AIST, Tsukuba, Japan. This beamline equipped with the four-period Onuki-type crossed undulator [1] as an insertion device. Since natural VUV-CD is known to be weak signal, at most 1 % of photo-absorption, high-sensitive AC mod...

Capacitance-voltage C-V measurements are used to determine the effect of vacuum ultraviolet VUV and ultraviolet irradiation on mobile charges in porous low-k organosilicate SiCOH dielectrics. Hysteresis in the C-V characteristics shows that VUV irradiation increases the number of mobile charges in the dielectric. This is because VUV photons excite the trapped electrons from defect states to mak...

During plasma processing of semiconductors, ultraviolet ~UV! and vacuum ultraviolet ~VUV! radiation are present, but their effects can be difficult to separate from those due to charged particles incident on the wafer. The contribution of VUV photon irradiation to gate-oxide damage, and damage to dielectric materials in general, was examined using two measurement techniques that can predict the...