Conference Report

Report on the Thin Film andSurface Physics Division Conference
Yasuhiko FUJITAThis report is a summary overview of recent research trends andnew developments based on papers presented at the Thin Film andSurface Physics Division Conference held at Niigata University in thefall of 2002 under the sponsorship of the Japan Society of Applied
Physics.
Covering a broad range of areas relating to thin films and surface
physics, the conference is divided into six sub-areas of research, anda total of 474 papers were presented at this year's conference, an increase of 12% over last year. This increase was seen across the board
for all areas. Some 77 of the presentations were recipients of Best Paper Awards (more than ever before) and the conference provides anideal forum for the graduate students and young scientists who will
be responsible for future advances to play an active role in delivering
lively presentations and engaging in spirited question-and-answer sessions. This report will highlight a few of the papers in each research
category that exemplify the current trends and unique developmentsin each of the areas covered by the conference.

[3] Oxide Electronics Research
Launched as a separate session beginning with this conference, atotal of 45 papers were presented over a two-day period that stirred
intense debates. Here I will highlight just a few of the papers thatmade a strong impression. One paper that attracted a lot of interest described the first successful growth of single-crystal homologous
compound InGaO3(ZnO)5 films, and excellent electrical properties ofFETs fabricated with their films (Materials and Structures Lab., Tokyo
Institute of Technology). Low-resistance transparent conductive films
have long been sought for fabricating oxide devices, and another interesting paper presented numerical calculations of dopant energy levels
for several materials used as dopants in In2O3. Sn was singled out as
being a particularly effective carrier source, and Ti and Zr were also
identified as potentially useful dopant candidates (Kansai University).
Finally, a technique for minimizing the resistance value of ITO deposited on plastic substrate through a laser heat treatment was described,
in the belief that it is suitable for developing organic device applications (Fuji Xerox).

[1] Ferroelectric Thin Film Research
Recent developments in the area of ferroelectric thin-film researchwere well represented at the conference. We are seeing a steadystream of new ferroelectric and dielectric materials that exhibit improved physical properties. Even regarding PZT that has been extensively investigated in the past, papers reported ferroelectricity in films
thinner than 20 nm in thickness, films with robust non-fatigue properties grown at temperatures below 400°C, and a remanent polarization value exceeding 100 µC/cm2. Remarkable progress was made in
addressing some of the unsettled issues that have plagued this area
over the last few years.

[2] Carbon Thin-film Research
The presentations in this area always drew overflow audiencesof over a hundred people, and 24 papers were presented relating tocarbon nanotubes and other new developments. The presentations
ranged from nanotube fabrication using CVD and RF plasma methods
to several new application developments, but especially noteworthy
those were the recent work on self-organization, growth of microbridges, and applications such as microscope probes. Today, there isenormous interest in nanotube-related studies, and we are seeing anincreasing number of papers touching on this technology in otherspecialized areas such as probe microscopy as well.

[4] Thin-film New Material ResearchThe hall with seating for 100 was filled to capacity every day tohear the 80 papers presented in this area, many of which stimulated
intense, lively interest and discussion. This session was distinguishedby the large number of Best Paper Award presentations (about 20 papers) by graduate students and young researchers, and by the manyhighly motivated papers broaching new research themes. The following research topics were especially noteworthy. Many of the presentations in this area focused on functional materials such as InN andother nitride films for application to opto-electronics, transparent conductive oxide films such as ITO or ZnO, and titanium dioxide thin films
for photocatalytic applications. Recently, a whole range of functional
materials have been implemented as thin films, and this has opened
up many new avenues of thin-film research: incorporating additional
value into functional films, investigating changes in structural phasetransition of thin films using synchrotron radiation from SPring-8, exploring ways to use glass films in the fabrication of nano-structures,and probing the properties of new transparent conductors.
p.t.o. >>>Graduate school of Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Technology
6-6 Asahigaoka, Hino 191-0065, Japan

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Conference Report[5] Surface Physics and Vacuum Research[6] Probe Microscopy Research

The 63 papers delivered in this area were very well attended, especially the papers relating to semiconductor surface physics on theafternoon of September 26; the room was packed with over 120
people present. Here I will mention just a few of the papers that generated the most widespread interest.
One paper deserves special mention for settling a recent controversy by finding that long-studied Si(001) clean surface shows thephase transition from c(4×2) structure to p(2×2) structure when it
was cooled below 10 K, and by examining this phenomenon throughsuper-low-temperature LEED analysis for the corresponding structure
at a true ground state (University of Tsukuba Group, et al.). The BestInterpretive Paper was delivered by Dr. Shozo Kohno (Tohoku University), who gave a comprehensive and systematic overview of surfacestructural analysis by photoelectron diffraction. Including some ofthe history and highlights of the method, Dr. Kohno's presentation
conveyed a clear and lasting appreciation of the depth of this methodology. Dr. Kohno gave examples where the method is effective inclarifying surface structure and other examples where it is not, andthen identified the surface attributes that are suitable for this kind ofanalysis. Turning to research trends relating to silicon surfaces, there
were quite a few papers dealing with the ago-old issues of improving
quality and expanding quantity. Papers were also presented on thegrowth of insulating layers and magnetic metallic layers, on photoelectronic holography indicating steady progress and growth of theseareas. Yet, from the standpoint of basic research on surface structural analysis, the presentations were largely restricted to new methods such as photoelectronic holography; we are seeing an increasing
number of papers that focus rather narrowly on (1) the dynamics ofsurface structure changes, and on (2) artificial nanostructure surface
phenomena showing a mastery of nanotechnology micro processing
methods. We are also beginning to see an increase in research seeking to incorporate greater functionality into surfaces and ultra thinfilms, an approach that has excellent potential in the future.

Some 64 papers were presented in this area, including one presentation that received the JJAP Award for the Best Original Paper.
Recent research trends in this area were represented by many papers
dealing with the development of carbon nanotube-based techniquesand various other high-performance probe technologies, novel measurement and analysis methods, and combination of probe microscopy with other analytical techniques. It is apparent that including peripheral technologies the probe microscopy is making steady progress
as a method of surface analysis. Other exceptional papers presented
measurement data for vibration excitation and absorption states under limiting conditions (low temperature, single molecule), and advanced nano-processing technologies using SPM that is particularly
well adapted to this kind of application. A number of developments
are now starting to come together in this area—most notably, surface
observations at the atomic level using non-contact atomic force microscopy, and feedback from experimental data is augmenting theoretical analysis to enhance the accuracy of hard-to-interpret images—
and this should open the way to further development in this area.
Finally, let me express my thanks and appreciation to all of those
who had a hand in drafting this report including Dr. Takeshi Kijima(Tokyo Institute of Technology), Dr. Hiroshi Funakubo (Tokyo Instituteof Technology), Dr. Atsuhito Sawabe (Department of Physics, Aoyama
Gakuin University), Dr. Fumio Kokai (National Institute of Advanced
Industrial Science and Technology), Dr. Akiharu Morimoto (Universityof Kanazawa), Dr. Mamoru Yoshimoto (Tokyo Institute of Technology),
Dr. Shuji Hasegawa (Faculty of Science, University of Tokyo), Dr. Kohji Katayama (Osaka Institute of Technology), Dr. Hidemi Shigekawa(Tsukuba University), and Dr. Masamitsu Yoshimura (Toyota Technological Institute).

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JSAP International No.7 (January 2003)