Thin-Film Devices Formed From Solid Group IIIA Particles

Abstract

Methods and devices are provided for forming thin-films from solid group IIIA-based particles. In one embodiment of the present invention, a method is described comprising of providing a first material comprising an alloy of a) a group IIIA-based material and b) at least one other material. The material may be included in an amount sufficient so that no liquid phase of the alloy is present within the first material in a temperature range between room temperature and a deposition or pre-deposition temperature higher than room temperature, wherein the group IIIA-based material is otherwise liquid in that temperature range. The other material may be a group IA material. A precursor material may be formulated comprising a) particles of the first material and b) particles containing at least one element from the group consisting of: group IB, IIIA, VIA element, alloys containing any of the foregoing elements, or combinations thereof. The temperature range described above may be between about 20° C. and about 200° C. It should be understood that the alloy may have a higher melting temperature than a melting temperature of the IIIA-based material in elemental form.

1 . A method comprising:
 providing a first material comprising of at least a solid group IA-IIIA compound of a) a group IIIA-based material and b) a second material comprised of at least one group IA-based material, wherein the second material is included in an amount sufficient so that no liquid phase of the compound is present within the first material in a temperature range between room temperature and a deposition or pre-deposition temperature higher than room temperature, wherein the group IIIA-based material is otherwise liquid in that temperature range; and   formulating a precursor material comprising a) particles of the first material and b) particles containing at least one element from the group consisting of: group IB, IIIA, VIA element, alloys containing any of the foregoing elements, or combinations thereof.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the temperature range is between about 20° C. and about 200° C. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the compound has a higher melting temperature than a melting temperature of the IIIA-based material in elemental form. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the second material comprises Na. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second material contains an element chosen from the group consisting of sodium (Na), potassium (K), lithium (Li), Rubidium (Rb), Cesium (Cs), an alloy containing any of the foregoing, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the second material comprises an elemental material. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the second material comprises a binary alloy. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the second material comprises a solid solution. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the group IIIA-based material of the first material is In. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the group IIIA-based material of the first material is Ga. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the solid compound comprises a binary alloy. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the solid compound comprises a Ga—Na based alloy. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the solid compound contains Ga 4 Na. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the solid compound contains Ga 39 Na 22 . 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the solid compound contains at least about 0.6 weight percent Na. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the solid compound contains at least about 8 weight percent Na. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the solid compound contains at least about 11 weight percent Na. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the solid compound comprises an In—Na based alloy. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the solid compound contains In 8 Na 5 . 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the solid compounds contains a group IB element. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the precursor material contains particles comprising Cu-VIA based alloy particles. 
     
     
         22 . The method of claim Error! Reference source not found. 1  wherein the particles are nanoparticles. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the particles are spherical nanoparticles. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the particles are non-spherical, planar flakes. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the solid compound is formed by at least one method selected from the group consisting of: atomization, pyrometallurgy, mechanical alloying, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the particles are formed using at least one of the following methods: grinding, milling, electroexplosive wire (EEW) processing, evaporation condensation (EC), pulsed plasma processing, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the particles are formed using at least one of the following methods: spray-pyrolysis, laser pyrolysis, or a bottom-up technique like wet chemical approaches. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the material increases the melting temperature and does not contain contaminants that require further heating or chemical treatments to remove contaminants added by the material;
 wherein the material is included in an amount sufficient so that no liquid phase of the solid compound is present within the first material in a temperature range between room temperature and a deposition temperature higher than room temperature, wherein the material is otherwise liquid in that temperature range and does not require further heating to remove any materials added by the additive. 
 
     
     
         29 . A method comprising:
 providing a first material comprising a solid group IA-IIIA compound of a) a group IIIA-based material and b) at least one group IA-based material, wherein the group IA-based material is included in an amount such that a first melting temperature of the group IA-IIIA compound is higher than a second melting temperature of the group IIIA-based material alone, wherein the first melting temperature is above a temperature range between room temperature and a deposition temperature higher than room temperature, and wherein the first melting temperature enables the group IA-IIIA compound to stay in a solid form until it has been deposited onto a semiconductor assembly; and   formulating a precursor material comprising a) particles of the first material and b) particles containing at least one element from the group consisting of: group IB, IIIA, VIA element, alloys containing any of the foregoing elements, or combinations thereof.   
     
     
         30 . A method comprising:
 providing a first material comprising a solid group IA-IIIA compound of a) a group IIIA-based material and b) a second material, wherein the second material is included in an amount sufficient so that no liquid phase of the solid compound is present within the first material in a temperature range between room temperature and a deposition temperature higher than room temperature, wherein the group IIIA-based material is otherwise liquid in that temperature range; and   formulating a precursor material comprising a) particles of the first material and b) particles containing at least one element from the group consisting of: group IB, IIIA, VIA element, alloys containing any of the foregoing elements, or combinations thereof.