A novel growth technique, called atomic partial layer deposition (APLD), has been proposed to expand the applications of, and the research in, atomic layer deposition (ALD). This technique allows the possibility for the fabrication of well-controlled alloys on a single atomic layer scale. To demonstrate the capabilities of this technique, samples of HfO₂ and TiO₂ were prepared as conventional ALD nanolaminates through the repeated exposure of the separated metal-precursor and reactant. Subsequently, HfO₂-TiO₂ APLD growth mode samples were obtained by varying the precursor doses and exposure times to obtain a fractional coverage in the monolayer of Hf and Ti. The thickness and structure of the samples were studied by X-ray reflectivity. The surface topography was studied using atomic force microscopy along with Kelvin probe force microscopy for surface potential mapping. Clear differences on the surface, compared with the conventional HfO₂/TiO₂ ALD nanolaminates, were observed, which confirmed the HfO₂-TiO₂ APLD growth. The films were analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profile scans and angle resolved XPS, where well-defined HfO₂ and TiO₂ contributions were found for both the conventional and APLD mode samples, and an additional contribution, assigned to a ternary phase Hf-Ti-O, in the APLD grown films was observed. This result confirms that Hf and Ti form an alloy in a monolayer by APLD mode growth.

In this article nickel interdigital capacitors were fabricated on top of silicon substrates. The capacitance of the interdigital capacitor was optimized by coating the electrodes with a 60 nm layer of HfO₂. An analytical solution of the capacitance was compared to electromagnetic simulations using COMSOL and with experimental measurements. Results show that modeling interdigital capacitors using Finite Element Method software such as COMSOL is effective in the design and electrical characterization of these transducers.

InN films were grown on MgO substrates with a $\beta$ -GaN buffer layer using the gas source molecular beam epitaxy technique. Initially, at typical growth rates from 0.09 to 0.28 ML/sec and at $500°\text{C}$ substrate temperature, the growth was performed in a layer by layer way as revealed by in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). In all samples studied, a critical thickness of $\sim 5$ ML in InN pseudomorphic layer was measured with a frame by frame analysis of RHEED patterns recorded on video. After reaching critical thickness, the InN films undergo a relaxation process, going from two-dimensional growth to three-dimensional, as evidenced by the transformation of the RHEED patterns that change from streaky to spotty. Depending on the In cell temperature, either nanocolumnar InN or flat cubic final films are grown, as can be corroborated by scanning electron microscopy. The experimental critical thickness $\left(h_c\right)$ value of 5 ML is compared to values calculated from different critical thickness models.