Research on silicon microchannel array oxidation insulation technology and stress issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chai, Jin; Li, Mo; Liang, Yong-zhao; Yang, Ji-kai; Wang, Guo-zheng; Duanmu, Qing-duo

2013-08-01

Microchannel plate is widely used in the field of low light level night vision, photomultiplier, tubes, X-ray enhancer and so on. In order to meet the requirement of microchannel plate electron multiplier, we used the method of thermal oxidation to produce a thin film of silicon dioxide which could play a role in electric insulation. Silicon dioxide film has a high breakdown voltage, it can satisfy the high breakdown voltage requirements of electron multiplier. We should find the reasonable parameter values and preparation process in the oxidation so that the thickness and uniformity of the silicon dioxide layer would meet requirement. This article has been focused on researching and analyzing of the problem of oxide insulation and thermal stress in the process of production of silicon dioxide film. In this experiment, dry oxygen and wet oxygen were carried out respectively for 8 hours. The thickness of dry oxygen silicon dioxide films was 458 nm and wet oxygen silicon dioxide films was 1.4 μm. Under these conditions, the silicon microchannel is uniformity and neat, meanwhile the insulating layer's breakdown voltage was measured at 450 V after the wet oxygen oxidation. By using ANSYS finite element software, we analyze the thermal stress, which came from the microchannel oxygen processes, under the conditions of which ambient temperature was 27 ℃ and porosity was 64%, we simulated the thermal stress in the temperature of 1200 ℃ and 1000 ℃, finally we got the maximum equivalent thermal stress of 472 MPa and 403 MPa respectively. The higher thermal stress area was spread over Si-SiO2 interface, by simulate conditions 50% porosity silicon microchannel sample was selected for simulation analysis at 1100 ℃, we got the maximum equivalent thermal stress of 472 MPa, Thermal stress is the minimum value of 410 MPa.

Controlling phase separation in vanadium dioxide thin films via substrate engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilbert Corder, Stephanie N.; Jiang, Jianjuan; Chen, Xinzhong; Kittiwatanakul, Salinporn; Tung, I.-Cheng; Zhu, Yi; Zhang, Jiawei; Bechtel, Hans A.; Martin, Michael C.; Carr, G. Lawrence; Lu, Jiwei; Wolf, Stuart A.; Wen, Haidan; Tao, Tiger H.; Liu, Mengkun

2017-10-01

The strong electron-lattice interactions in correlated electron systems provide unique opportunities for altering the material properties with relative ease and flexibility. In this Rapid Communication, we use localized strain control via a focused-ion-beam patterning of Ti O2 substrates to demonstrate that one can selectively engineer the insulator-to-metal transition temperature, the fractional component of the insulating and metallic phases, and the degree of optical anisotropy down to the length scales of the intrinsic phase separation in V O2 thin films without altering the quality of the films. The effects of localized strain control on the strongly correlated electron system are directly visualized by state-of-the-art IR near-field imaging and spectroscopy techniques and x-ray microdiffraction measurements.

Controlling phase separation in vanadium dioxide thin films via substrate engineering

DOE PAGES

Gilbert Corder, Stephanie N.; Jiang, Jianjuan; Chen, Xinzhong; ...

2017-10-23

The strong electron-lattice interactions in correlated electron systems provide unique opportunities for altering the material properties with relative ease and flexibility. Here in this Rapid Communication, we use localized strain control via a focused-ion-beam patterning of TiO 2 substrates to demonstrate that one can selectively engineer the insulator-to-metal transition temperature, the fractional component of the insulating and metallic phases, and the degree of optical anisotropy down to the length scales of the intrinsic phase separation in VO 2 thin films without altering the quality of the films. The effects of localized strain control on the strongly correlated electron system aremore » directly visualized by state-of-the-art IR near-field imaging and spectroscopy techniques and x-ray microdiffraction measurements.« less

The fabrication and visible-near-infrared optical modulation of vanadium dioxide/silicon dioxide composite photonic crystal structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Jiran; Li, Peng; Song, Xiaolong; Zhou, Liwei

2017-12-01

We demonstrated a visible and near-infrared light tunable photonic nanostructure, which is composed of vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin film and silicon dioxide (SiO2) ordered nanosphere arrays. The vanadium films were sputtered on two-dimensional (2D) SiO2 sphere arrays. VO2 thin films were prepared by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) method with different oxygen flow rates. The close-packed VO2 shell formed a continuous surface, the composition of VO2 films in the structure changed when the oxygen flow rates increased. The 2D VO2/SiO2 composite photonic crystal structure exhibited transmittance trough tunability and near-infrared (NIR) transmittance modulation. When the oxygen flow rate increased from 3 slpm to 4 slpm, the largest transmittance trough can be regulated from 904 to 929 nm at low temperature, the transmittance troughs also appear blue shift when the VO2 phase changes from insulator to metal. The composite nanostructure based on VO2 films showed visible transmittance tunability, which would provide insights into the glass color changing in smart windows.

Growth and Etch Rate Study of Low Temperature Anodic Silicon Dioxide Thin Films

PubMed Central

Ashok, Akarapu; Pal, Prem

2014-01-01

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) thin films are most commonly used insulating films in the fabrication of silicon-based integrated circuits (ICs) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Several techniques with different processing environments have been investigated to deposit silicon dioxide films at temperatures down to room temperature. Anodic oxidation of silicon is one of the low temperature processes to grow oxide films even below room temperature. In the present work, uniform silicon dioxide thin films are grown at room temperature by using anodic oxidation technique. Oxide films are synthesized in potentiostatic and potentiodynamic regimes at large applied voltages in order to investigate the effect of voltage, mechanical stirring of electrolyte, current density and the water percentage on growth rate, and the different properties of as-grown oxide films. Ellipsometry, FTIR, and SEM are employed to investigate various properties of the oxide films. A 5.25 Å/V growth rate is achieved in potentiostatic mode. In the case of potentiodynamic mode, 160 nm thickness is attained at 300 V. The oxide films developed in both modes are slightly silicon rich, uniform, and less porous. The present study is intended to inspect various properties which are considered for applications in MEMS and Microelectronics. PMID:24672287

New Insights into the Diverse Electronic Phases of a Novel Vanadium Dioxide Polymorph: A Terahertz Spectroscopy Study

PubMed Central

Lourembam, James; Srivastava, Amar; La-o-vorakiat, Chan; Rotella, H.; Venkatesan, T.; Chia, Elbert E. M.

2015-01-01

A remarkable feature of vanadium dioxide is that it can be synthesized in a number of polymorphs. The conductivity mechanism in the metastable layered polymorph VO2(B) thin films has been investigated by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). In VO2(B), a critical temperature of 240 K marks the appearance of a non-zero Drude term in the observed complex conductivity, indicating the evolution from a pure insulating state towards a metallic state. In contrast, the THz conductivity of the well-known VO2(M1) is well fitted only by a modification of the Drude model to include backscattering. We also identified two different THz conductivity regimes separated by temperature in these two polymorphs. The electronic phase diagram is constructed, revealing that the width and onset of the metal-insulator transition in the B phase develop differently from the M1 phase. PMID:25777320

Electrolysis-induced protonation of VO2 thin film transistor for the metal-insulator phase modulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katase, Takayoshi; Endo, Kenji; Ohta, Hiromichi

2016-02-01

Compared to state-of-the-art modulation techniques, protonation is the most ideal to control the electrical and optical properties of transition metal oxides (TMOs) due to its intrinsic non-volatile operation. However, the protonation of TMOs is not typically utilized for solid-state devices because of imperative high-temperature annealing treatment in hydrogen source. Although one solution for room temperature (RT) protonation of TMOs is liquid-phase electrochemistry, it is unsuited for practical purposes due to liquid-leakage problem. Herein we demonstrate solid-state RT-protonation of vanadium dioxide (VO2), which is a well-known thermochromic TMO. We fabricated the three terminal thin-film-transistor structure on an insulating VO2 film using a water-infiltrated nanoporous glass, which serves as a solid electrolyte. For gate voltage application, water electrolysis and protonation/deprotonation of VO2 film surface occurred, leading to reversible metal-insulator phase conversion of ~11-nm-thick VO2 layer. The protonation was clearly accompanied by the structural change from an insulating monoclinic to a metallic tetragonal phase. Present results offer a new route for the development of electro-optically active solid-state devices with TMO materials by engineering RT protonation.

Imaging Nanometer Phase Coexistence at Defects During the Insulator-Metal Phase Transformation in VO2 Thin Films by Resonant Soft X-ray Holography.

PubMed

Vidas, Luciana; Günther, Christian M; Miller, Timothy A; Pfau, Bastian; Perez-Salinas, Daniel; Martínez, Elías; Schneider, Michael; Gührs, Erik; Gargiani, Pierluigi; Valvidares, Manuel; Marvel, Robert E; Hallman, Kent A; Haglund, Richard F; Eisebitt, Stefan; Wall, Simon

2018-05-18

We use resonant soft X-ray holography to image the insulator-metal phase transition in vanadium dioxide with element and polarization specificity and nanometer spatial resolution. We observe that nanoscale inhomogeneity in the film results in spatial-dependent transition pathways between the insulating and metallic states. Additional nanoscale phases form in the vicinity of defects which are not apparent in the initial or final states of the system, which would be missed in area-integrated X-ray absorption measurements. These intermediate phases are vital to understand the phase transition in VO 2 , and our results demonstrate how resonant imaging can be used to understand the electronic properties of phase-separated correlated materials obtained by X-ray absorption.

Exploration of photosensitive polyimide as the modification layer in thin film microcircuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Lily; Song, Changbin; Xue, Bin; Li, Jing; Wang, Junxi; Li, Jinmin

2018-02-01

Positive type photosensitive polyimide is used as the modification layer in the thin film transistors production process. The photosensitive polyimide is not only used as the second insulating layer, it can also be used instead of a mask because of the photosensitivity. A suitable curing condition can help photosensitive polyimide form the high performance polyimide with orderly texture inside, and the performance of imidization depends on the precise control of temperature, time, and heat control during the curing process. Therefore, experiments of different stepped up heating tests are made, and the ability of protecting silicon dioxide is analyzed.

Photocurrent Suppression of Transparent Organic Thin Film Transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuang, Chiao-Shun; Tsai, Shu-Ting; Lin, Yung-Sheng; Chen, Fang-Chung; Shieh, Hang-Ping D.

2007-12-01

Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with high transmittance and low photosensitivity have been demonstrated. By using titanium dioxide nanoparticles as the additives in the polymer gate insulators, the level of device photoresponse has been reduced. The device shows simultaneously a high transparence and a minimal threshold voltage shift under white light illumination. It is inferred that the localized energy levels deep in the energy gap of pentacene behave as the recombination centers, enhancing substantially the recombination process in the conducting channel of the OTFTs. Therefore, the electron trapping is relieved and the shift of threshold voltage is reduced upon illumination.

Multi-physics transient simulation of monolithic niobium dioxide-tantalum dioxide memristor-selector structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sevic, John F.; Kobayashi, Nobuhiko P.

2017-10-01

Self-assembled niobium dioxide (NbO2) thin-film selectors self-aligned to tantalum dioxide (TaO2) memristive memory cells are studied by a multi-physics transient solution of the heat equation coupled to the nonlinear current continuity equation. While a compact model can resolve the quasi-static bulk negative differential resistance (NDR), a self-consistent coupled transport formulation provides a non-equilibrium picture of NbO2-TaO2 selector-memristor operation ab initio. By employing the drift-diffusion transport approximation, a finite element method is used to study the dynamic electrothermal behavior of our experimentally obtained selector-memristor devices, showing that existing conditions are suitable for electroformation of NbO2 selector thin-films. Both transient and steady-state simulations support our theory, suggesting that the phase change due to insulator-metal transition is responsible for NbO2 selector NDR in our as-fabricated selector-memristor devices. Simulation results further suggest that TiN nano-via may play a central role in electroforming, as its dimensions and material properties establish the mutual electrothermal interaction between TiN nano-via and the selector-memristor.

Thermally controlled femtosecond pulse shaping using metasurface based optical filters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahimi, Eesa; Şendur, Kürşat

2018-02-01

Shaping of the temporal distribution of the ultrashort pulses, compensation of pulse deformations due to phase shift in transmission and amplification are of interest in various optical applications. To address these problems, in this study, we have demonstrated an ultra-thin reconfigurable localized surface plasmon (LSP) band-stop optical filter driven by insulator-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide. A Joule heating mechanism is proposed to control the thermal phase transition of the material. The resulting permittivity variation of vanadium dioxide tailors spectral response of the transmitted pulse from the stack. Depending on how the pulse's spectrum is located with respect to the resonance of the band-stop filter, the thin film stack can dynamically compress/expand the output pulse span up to 20% or shift its phase up to 360°. Multi-stacked filters have shown the ability to dynamically compensate input carrier frequency shifts and pulse span variations besides their higher span expansion rates.

Low-temperature electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition silicon dioxide as gate insulator for polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maiolo, L.; Pecora, A.; Fortunato, G.

2006-03-15

Silicon dioxide films have been deposited at temperatures below 270 deg. C in an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma reactor from O{sub 2}, SiH{sub 4}, and He gas mixture. Pinhole density analysis as a function of substrate temperature for different microwave powers was carried out. Films deposited at higher microwave power and at room temperature show defect densities (<7 pinhole/mm{sup 2}), ensuring low-temperature process integration on large area. From Fourier transform infrared analysis and thermal desorption spectrometry we also evaluated very low hydrogen content if compared to conventional rf-plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor-deposited (PECVD) SiO{sub 2} deposited at 350 deg. C. Electrical propertiesmore » have been measured in metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors, depositing SiO{sub 2} at RT as gate dielectric; breakdown electric fields >10 MV/cm and charge trapping at fields >6 MV/cm have been evaluated. From the study of interface quality in MOS capacitors, we found that even for low annealing temperature (200 deg. C), it is possible to considerably reduce the interface state density down to 5x10{sup 11} cm{sup -2} eV{sup -1}. To fully validate the ECR-PECVD silicon dioxide we fabricated polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors using RT-deposited SiO{sub 2} as gate insulator. Different postdeposition thermal treatments have been studied and good device characteristics were obtained even for annealing temperature as low as 200 deg. C.« less

Electric-field-driven phase transition in vanadium dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, B.; Zimmers, A.; Aubin, H.; Ghosh, R.; Liu, Y.; Lopez, R.

2011-12-01

We report on local probe measurements of current-voltage and electrostatic force-voltage characteristics of electric-field-induced insulator to metal transition in VO2 thin film. In conducting AFM mode, switching from the insulating to metallic state occurs for electric-field threshold E˜6.5×107Vm-1 at 300K. Upon lifting the tip above the sample surface, we find that the transition can also be observed through a change in electrostatic force and in tunneling current. In this noncontact regime, the transition is characterized by random telegraphic noise. These results show that electric field alone is sufficient to induce the transition; however, the electronic current provides a positive feedback effect that amplifies the phenomena.

Cathodoluminescence of Irradiated Hafnium Dioxide

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

d allows for a smaller A for a given C, but the insulator can only become so thin before tunneling occurs, which causes high power consumption and... coefficient is given by 4 Inπα λ = , (2.7) where λ is the vacuum wavelength of the light [11]. Luminescence is the general term for the...between localized states in the band tails, while the 4.2 eV feature is excited due to the interband absorption. Strzhemechny et al., 2008, studied

Suspended sub-50 nm vanadium dioxide membrane transistors: fabrication and ionic liquid gating studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sim, Jai S.; Zhou, You; Ramanathan, Shriram

2012-10-01

We demonstrate a robust lithographic patterning method to fabricate self-supported sub-50 nm VO2 membranes that undergo a phase transition. Utilizing such self-supported membranes, we directly observed a shift in the metal-insulator transition temperature arising from stress relaxation and consistent opening of the hysteresis. Electric double layer transistors were then fabricated with the membranes and compared to thin film devices. The ionic liquid allowed reversible modulation of channel resistance and distinguishing bulk processes from the surface effects. From the shift in the metal-insulator transition temperature, the carrier density doped through electrolyte gating is estimated to be 1 × 1020 cm-3. Hydrogen annealing studies showed little difference in resistivity between the film and the membrane indicating rapid diffusion of hydrogen in the vanadium oxide rutile lattice consistent with previous observations. The ability to fabricate electrically-wired, suspended VO2 ultra-thin membranes creates new opportunities to study mesoscopic size effects on phase transitions and may also be of interest in sensor devices.

VO 2 thin films synthesis for collaborators and various applications.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, Raegan Lynn; Clem, Paul G.

2016-11-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO 2) is an attractive material for a variety of applications due to its metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) observed at modest temperatures. This transition takes VO 2 from its low temperature insulating monoclinic phase to a high temperature (above 68°C) metallic rutile phase. This transition gives rise to a change in resistivity up to 5 orders of magnitude and a change in complex refractive index (especially at IR wavelengths), which is of interest for radar circuit protection and tunable control of infrared signature. Recently, collaborations have been initiated between CINT scientists and external university programs. The Enhanced Surveillance fundsmore » help fund this work which enabled synthesis of VO 2 films for several collaborations with internal and external researchers.« less

Whiskerless Schottky diode

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bishop, William L. (Inventor); Mcleod, Kathleen A. (Inventor); Mattauch, Robert J. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

A Schottky diode for millimeter and submillimeter wave applications is comprised of a multi-layered structure including active layers of gallium arsenide on a semi-insulating gallium arsenide substrate with first and second insulating layers of silicon dioxide on the active layers of gallium arsenide. An ohmic contact pad lays on the silicon dioxide layers. An anode is formed in a window which is in and through the silicon dioxide layers. An elongated contact finger extends from the pad to the anode and a trench, preferably a transverse channel or trench of predetermined width, is formed in the active layers of the diode structure under the contact finger. The channel extends through the active layers to or substantially to the interface of the semi-insulating gallium arsenide substrate and the adjacent gallium arsenide layer which constitutes a buffer layer. Such a structure minimizes the effect of the major source of shunt capacitance by interrupting the current path between the conductive layers beneath the anode contact pad and the ohmic contact. Other embodiments of the diode may substitute various insulating or semi-insulating materials for the silicon dioxide, various semi-conductors for the active layers of gallium arsenide, and other materials for the substrate, which may be insulating or semi-insulating.

Inhomogeneity of the ultrafast insulator-to-metal transition dynamics of VO2.

PubMed

O'Callahan, Brian T; Jones, Andrew C; Hyung Park, Jae; Cobden, David H; Atkin, Joanna M; Raschke, Markus B

2015-04-21

The insulator-metal transition (IMT) of vanadium dioxide (VO2) has remained a long-standing challenge in correlated electron physics since its discovery five decades ago. Most interpretations of experimental observations have implicitly assumed a homogeneous material response. Here we reveal inhomogeneous behaviour of even individual VO2 microcrystals using pump-probe microscopy and nanoimaging. The timescales of the ultrafast IMT vary from 40±8 fs, that is, shorter than a suggested phonon bottleneck, to 200±20 fs, uncorrelated with crystal size, transition temperature and initial insulating structural phase, with average value similar to results from polycrystalline thin-film studies. In combination with the observed sensitive variations in the thermal nanodomain IMT behaviour, this suggests that the IMT is highly susceptible to local changes in, for example, doping, defects and strain. Our results suggest an electronic mechanism dominating the photoinduced IMT, but also highlight the difficulty to deduce microscopic mechanisms when the true intrinsic material response is yet unclear.

Metal-Insulator-Metal Diode Process Development for Energy Harvesting Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-01

Sputter Tool Dep Method: Sputtering (DC Magnetron ) Recipe: MC_Pt 1640A_TiO2 1000A_Ti 2000A_500C_1a MC_Pt 1640A_TiO2 1000A_Ti 2000A_300C_1a MC_Pt...thin films were sputtered onto silicon substrates with silicon dioxide overlayers. I-V measurements were taken using an electrical characterization...deposition of the entire MIM material stack to be done without breaking the vacuum within a multi-material system DC sputtering tool. A CAD layout of a MIM

Optical switching and photoluminescence in erbium-implanted vanadium dioxide thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Herianto; Stavrias, Nikolas; Johnson, Brett C.; Marvel, Robert E.; Haglund, Richard F.; McCallum, Jeffrey C.

2014-03-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is under intensive consideration for optical switching due to its reversible phase transition, which features a drastic and rapid shift in infrared reflectivity. Classified as an insulator-to-metal transition, the phase transition in VO2 can be induced thermally, electrically, and optically. When induced optically, the transition can occur on sub-picosecond time scales. It is interesting to dope VO2 with erbium ions (Er3+) and observe their combined properties. The first excited-state luminescence of Er3+ lies within the wavelength window of minimal transmission-loss in silicon and has been widely utilized for signal amplification and generation in silicon photonics. The incorporation of Er3+ into VO2 could therefore result in a novel photonic material capable of simultaneous optical switching and amplification. In this work, we investigate the optical switching and photoluminescence in Er-implanted VO2 thin films. Thermally driven optical switching is demonstrated in the Er-implanted VO2 by infrared reflectometry. Photoluminescence is observed in the thin films annealed at ˜800 °C or above. In addition, Raman spectroscopy and a statistical analysis of switching hysteresis are carried out to assess the effects of the ion implantation on the VO2 thin films. We conclude that Er-implanted VO2 can function as an optical switch and amplifier, but with reduced switching quality compared to pure VO2.

Imaging metal-like monoclinic phase stabilized by surface coordination effect in vanadium dioxide nanobeam

PubMed Central

Li, Zejun; Wu, Jiajing; Hu, Zhenpeng; Lin, Yue; Chen, Qi; Guo, Yuqiao; Liu, Yuhua; Zhao, Yingcheng; Peng, Jing; Chu, Wangsheng; Wu, Changzheng; Xie, Yi

2017-01-01

In correlated systems, intermediate states usually appear transiently across phase transitions even at the femtosecond scale. It therefore remains an open question how to determine these intermediate states—a critical issue for understanding the origin of their correlated behaviour. Here we report a surface coordination route to successfully stabilize and directly image an intermediate state in the metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide. As a prototype metal-insulator transition material, we capture an unusual metal-like monoclinic phase at room temperature that has long been predicted. Coordinate bonding of L-ascorbic acid molecules with vanadium dioxide nanobeams induces charge-carrier density reorganization and stabilizes metallic monoclinic vanadium dioxide, unravelling orbital-selective Mott correlation for gap opening of the vanadium dioxide metal–insulator transition. Our study contributes to completing phase-evolution pathways in the metal-insulator transition process, and we anticipate that coordination chemistry may be a powerful tool for engineering properties of low-dimensional correlated solids. PMID:28613281

Processing of n+/p-/p+ strip detectors with atomic layer deposition (ALD) grown Al2O3 field insulator on magnetic Czochralski silicon (MCz-si) substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Härkönen, J.; Tuovinen, E.; Luukka, P.; Gädda, A.; Mäenpää, T.; Tuominen, E.; Arsenovich, T.; Junkes, A.; Wu, X.; Li, Z.

2016-08-01

Detectors manufactured on p-type silicon material are known to have significant advantages in very harsh radiation environment over n-type detectors, traditionally used in High Energy Physics experiments for particle tracking. In p-type (n+ segmentation on p substrate) position-sensitive strip detectors, however, the fixed oxide charge in the silicon dioxide is positive and, thus, causes electron accumulation at the Si/SiO2 interface. As a result, unless appropriate interstrip isolation is applied, the n-type strips are short-circuited. Widely adopted methods to terminate surface electron accumulation are segmented p-stop or p-spray field implantations. A different approach to overcome the near-surface electron accumulation at the interface of silicon dioxide and p-type silicon is to deposit a thin film field insulator with negative oxide charge. We have processed silicon strip detectors on p-type Magnetic Czochralski silicon (MCz-Si) substrates with aluminum oxide (Al2O3) thin film insulator, grown with Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) method. The electrical characterization by current-voltage and capacitance-voltage measurement shows reliable performance of the aluminum oxide. The final proof of concept was obtained at the test beam with 200 GeV/c muons. For the non-irradiated detector the charge collection efficiency (CCE) was nearly 100% with a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of about 40, whereas for the 2×1015 neq/cm2 proton irradiated detector the CCE was 35%, when the sensor was biased at 500 V. These results are comparable with the results from p-type detectors with the p-spray and p-stop interstrip isolation techniques. In addition, interestingly, when the aluminum oxide was irradiated with Co-60 gamma-rays, an accumulation of negative fixed oxide charge in the oxide was observed.

Vanadium dioxide thin films prepared on silicon by low temperature MBE growth and ex-situ annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Homm, Pia; van Bilzen, Bart; Menghini, Mariela; Locquet, Jean-Pierre; Ivanova, Todora; Sanchez, Luis; Sanchis, Pablo

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a material that shows an insulator to metal transition (IMT) near room temperature. This property can be exploited for applications in field effect devices, electro-optical switches and nonlinear circuit components. We have prepared VO2 thin films on silicon wafers by combining a low temperature MBE growth with an ex-situ annealing at high temperature. We investigated the structural, electrical and optical characteristics of films with thicknesses ranging from 10 to 100 nm. We have also studied the influence of the substrate cleaning. The films grown with our method are polycrystalline with a preferred orientation in the (011) direction of the monoclinic phase. For the films produced on silicon with a native oxide, an IMT at around 75 °C is observed. The magnitude of the resistance change across the IMT decreases with thickness while the refractive index at room temperature corresponds with values reported in the literature for thin films. The successful growth of VO2 films on silicon with good electrical and optical properties is an important step towards the integration of VO2 in novel devices. The authors acknowledge financial support from the FWO project G052010N10 and EU-FP7 SITOGA project. PH acknowledges support from Becas Chile - CONICYT.

Epitaxially stabilized iridium spinel oxide without cations in the tetrahedral site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuriyama, Hiromichi; Matsuno, Jobu; Niitaka, Seiji; Uchida, Masaya; Hashizume, Daisuke; Nakao, Aiko; Sugimoto, Kunihisa; Ohsumi, Hiroyuki; Takata, Masaki; Takagi, Hidenori

2010-05-01

Single-crystalline thin film of an iridium dioxide polymorph Ir2O4 has been fabricated by the pulsed laser deposition of LixIr2O4 precursor and the subsequent Li-deintercalation using soft chemistry. Ir2O4 crystallizes in a spinel (AB2O4) without A cations in the tetrahedral site, which is isostructural to λ-MnO2. Ir ions form a pyrochlore sublattice, which is known to give rise to a strong geometrical frustration. This Ir spinel was found to be a narrow gap insulator, in remarkable contrast to the metallic ground state of rutile-type IrO2. We argue that an interplay of a strong spin-orbit coupling and a Coulomb repulsion gives rise to an insulating ground state as in a layered perovskite Sr2IrO4.

Efficient thermoelectric device

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ila, Daryush (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A high efficiency thermo electric device comprising a multi nanolayer structure of alternating insulator and insulator/metal material that is irradiated across the plane of the layer structure with ionizing radiation. The ionizing radiation produces nanocrystals in the layered structure that increase the electrical conductivity and decrease the thermal conductivity thereby increasing the thermoelectric figure of merit. Figures of merit as high as 2.5 have been achieved using layers of co-deposited gold and silicon dioxide interspersed with layers of silicon dioxide. The gold to silicon dioxide ratio was 0.04. 5 MeV silicon ions were used to irradiate the structure. Other metals and insulators may be substituted. Other ionizing radiation sources may be used. The structure tolerates a wide range of metal to insulator ratio.

Thin-film chemical sensors based on electron tunneling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khanna, S. K.; Lambe, J.; Leduc, H. G.; Thakoor, A. P.

1985-01-01

The physical mechanisms underlying a novel chemical sensor based on electron tunneling in metal-insulator-metal (MIM) tunnel junctions were studied. Chemical sensors based on electron tunneling were shown to be sensitive to a variety of substances that include iodine, mercury, bismuth, ethylenedibromide, and ethylenedichloride. A sensitivity of 13 parts per billion of iodine dissolved in hexane was demonstrated. The physical mechanisms involved in the chemical sensitivity of these devices were determined to be the chemical alteration of the surface electronic structure of the top metal electrode in the MIM structure. In addition, electroreflectance spectroscopy (ERS) was studied as a complementary surface-sensitive technique. ERS was shown to be sensitive to both iodine and mercury. Electrolyte electroreflectance and solid-state MIM electroreflectance revealed qualitatively the same chemical response. A modified thin-film structure was also studied in which a chemically active layer was introduced at the top Metal-Insulator interface of the MIM devices. Cobalt phthalocyanine was used for the chemically active layer in this study. Devices modified in this way were shown to be sensitive to iodine and nitrogen dioxide. The chemical sensitivity of the modified structure was due to conductance changes in the active layer.

Amorphous silicon Schottky barrier solar cells incorporating a thin insulating layer and a thin doped layer

DOEpatents

Carlson, David E.

1980-01-01

Amorphous silicon Schottky barrier solar cells which incorporate a thin insulating layer and a thin doped layer adjacent to the junction forming metal layer exhibit increased open circuit voltages compared to standard rectifying junction metal devices, i.e., Schottky barrier devices, and rectifying junction metal insulating silicon devices, i.e., MIS devices.

Exploratory Phase Transition-Based Switches Using Functional Oxides

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-02

TECHNICAL REPORT Abstract Vanadium dioxide ( VO2 ) undergoes a sharp metal-insulator transition (MIT) in the vicinity of room temperature and there is...18 The mechanisms governing metal-insulator transition (MIT) in vanadium dioxide ( VO2 ) is an intensively explored subject in condensed matter...textured vanadium dioxide films were grown on single crystal Al2O3 (0001) substrates by RF-sputtering from a VO2 target (99.5%, AJA International Inc

Memory switches based on metal oxide thin films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramesham, Rajeshuni (Inventor); Thakoor, Anilkumar P. (Inventor); Lambe, John J. (Inventor)

1990-01-01

MnO.sub.2-x thin films (12) exhibit irreversible memory switching (28) with an OFF/ON resistance ratio of at least about 10.sup.3 and the tailorability of ON state (20) resistance. Such films are potentially extremely useful as a connection element in a variety of microelectronic circuits and arrays (24). Such films provide a pre-tailored, finite, non-volatile resistive element at a desired place in an electric circuit, which can be electrically turned OFF (22) or disconnected as desired, by application of an electrical pulse. Microswitch structures (10) constitute the thin film element, contacted by a pair of separate electrodes (16a, 16b) and have a finite, pre-selected ON resistance which is ideally suited, for example, as a programmable binary synaptic connection for electronic implementation of neural network architectures. The MnO.sub.2-x microswitch is non-volatile, patternable, insensitive to ultraviolet light, and adherent to a variety of insulating substrates (14), such as glass and silicon dioxide-coated silicon substrates.

Epitaxial VO2 thin-film-based radio-frequency switches with electrical activation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jaeseong; Lee, Daesu; Cho, Sang June; Seo, Jung-Hun; Liu, Dong; Eom, Chang-Beom; Ma, Zhenqiang

2017-09-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a correlated material exhibiting a sharp insulator-to-metal phase transition (IMT) caused by temperature change and/or bias voltage. We report on the demonstration of electrically triggered radio-frequency (RF) switches based on epitaxial VO2 thin films. The highly epitaxial VO2 and SnO2 template layer was grown on a (001) TiO2 substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). A resistance change of the VO2 thin films of four orders of magnitude was achieved with a relatively low threshold voltage, as low as 13 V, for an IMT phase transition. VO2 RF switches also showed high-frequency responses of insertion losses of -3 dB at the on-state and return losses of -4.3 dB at the off-state over 27 GHz. Furthermore, an intrinsic cutoff frequency of 17.4 THz was estimated for the RF switches. The study on electrical IMT dynamics revealed a phase transition time of 840 ns.

Thin-film metal coated insulation barrier in a Josephson tunnel junction. [Patent application

DOEpatents

Hawkins, G.A.; Clarke, J.

1975-10-31

A highly stable, durable, and reproducible Josephson tunnel junction consists of a thin-film electrode of a hard superconductor, a thin oxide insulation layer over the electrode constituting a Josephson tunnel junction barrier, a thin-film layer of stabilizing metal over the barrier, and a second thin-film hard superconductive electrode over the stabilizing film. The thin stabilizing metal film is made only thick enough to limit penetration of the electrode material through the insulation layer so as to prevent a superconductive short.

Hybrid microcircuit metallization system for the SLL micro actuator

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hampy, R. E.; Knauss, G. L.; Komarek, E. E.

1976-03-01

A thin film technique developed for the SLL Micro Actuator in which both gold and aluminum can be incorporated on sapphire or fine grained alumina substrates in a two-level metallization system is described. Tungsten is used as a lateral transition metal permitting electrical contact between the gold and aluminum without the two metals coming in physical contact. Silicon dioxide serves as an insulator between the tungsten and aluminum for crossover purposes, and vias through the silicon dioxide permit interconnections where desired. Tungsten-gold is the first level conductor except at crossovers where tungsten only is used and aluminum is the secondmore » level conductor. Sheet resistances of the two levels can be as low as 0.01 ohm/square. Line widths and spaces as small as 0.025 mm can be attained. A second layer of silicon dioxide is deposited over the metallization and opened for all gold and aluminum bonding areas. The metallization system permits effective interconnection of a mixture of devices having both gold and aluminum terminations without creating undesirable gold-aluminum interfaces. Processing temperatures up to 400/sup 0/C can be tolerated for short times without effect on bondability, conductor, and insulator characteristics, thus permitting silicon-gold eutectic die attachment, component soldering, and higher temperatures during gold lead bonding. Tests conducted on special test pattern circuits indicate good stability over the temperature range -55 to +150/sup 0/C. Aging studies indicate no degradation in characteristics in tests of 500 h duration at 150/sup 0/C.« less

Rectenna that converts infrared radiation to electrical energy

DOEpatents

Davids, Paul; Peters, David W.

2016-09-06

Technologies pertaining to converting infrared (IR) radiation to DC energy are described herein. In a general embodiment, a rectenna comprises a conductive layer. A thin insulator layer is formed on the conductive layer, and a nanoantenna is formed on the thin insulator layer. The thin insulator layer acts as a tunnel junction of a tunnel diode.

Design and evaluation of thin metal surface insulation for hypersonic flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, R. C.; Petach, A. M.

1976-01-01

An all-metal insulation was studied as a thermal protection system for hypersonic vehicles. Key program goals included fabricating the insulation in thin packages which are optimized for high temperature insulation of an actively cooled aluminum structure, and the use of state-of-the-art alloys. The insulation was fabricated from 300 series stainless steel in thicknesses of 0.8 to 12 mm. The outer, 0.127 mm thick, skin was textured to accommodate thermal expansion and oxidized to increase emittance. The thin insulating package was achieved using an insulation concept consisting of foil radiation shields spaced within the package, and conical foil supports to carry loads from the skin and maintain package dimensions. Samples of the metal-insulation were tested to evaluate thermal insulation capability, rain and sand erosion resistance, high temperature oxidation resistance, applied load capability, and high temperature emittance.

Thermal aging effect of vanadyl acetylacetonate precursor for deposition of VO{sub 2} thin films with thermochromic properties

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Jung-Hoon; Nam, Sang-Hun; Kim, Donguk

Highlights: • 7 day aged VO(acac){sub 2} sol shows enhanced adhesivity on the SiO{sub 2} compared with non-aged sol. • The aging process has significantly affected the morphologies of VO{sub 2} films. • From the FT-IR spectra, thermal aging process provides the deformation of precursor. • The metal insulator transition (MIT) efficiency (ΔT{sub at2000} {sub nm}) reached a maximum value of 51% at 7 day aging. • Thermal aging process could shorten the aging time of sol solution. - Abstract: Thermochromic properties of vanadium dioxide (VO{sub 2}) have been studied extensively due to their IR reflection applications in energy smartmore » windows. In this paper, we studied the optical switching property of VO{sub 2} thin film, depending on the thermal aging time of the vanadyl acetylacetonate (VO(acac){sub 2}) precursor. We found the alteration of the IR spectra of the precursor by tuning the aging time as well as heat treatments of the precursor. An aging effect of vanadium precursor directly affects the morphologies, optical switching property and crystallinity of VO{sub 2} films. The optimum condition was achieved at the 7 day aging time with metal insulator transition (MIT) efficiency of 50%.« less

Topological Anderson insulator phase in a Dirac-semimetal thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Rui; Xu, Dong-Hui; Zhou, Bin

2017-06-01

The recently discovered topological Dirac semimetal represents a new exotic quantum state of matter. Topological Dirac semimetals can be viewed as three-dimensional analogues of graphene, in which the Dirac nodes are protected by crystalline symmetry. It has been found that the quantum confinement effect can gap out Dirac nodes and convert Dirac semimetal to a band insulator. The band insulator is either a normal insulator or quantum spin Hall insulator, depending on the thin-film thickness. We present the study of disorder effects in a thin film of Dirac semimetals. It is found that moderate Anderson disorder strength can drive a topological phase transition from a normal band insulator to a topological Anderson insulator in a Dirac-semimetal thin film. The numerical calculation based on the model parameters of Dirac semimetal Na3Bi shows that in the topological Anderson insulator phase, a quantized conductance plateau occurs in the bulk gap of the band insulator, and the distributions of local currents further confirm that the quantized conductance plateau arises from the helical edge states induced by disorder. Finally, an effective medium theory based on the Born approximation fits the numerical data.

Electronic structure of HxVO2 probed with in-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, So Yeun; Sandilands, Luke J.; Kang, Taedong; Son, Jaeseok; Sohn, C. H.; Yoon, Hyojin; Son, Junwoo; Moon, S. J.; Noh, T. W.

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) undergoes a metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) near 340K. Despite extensive studies on this material, the role of electron-electron correlation and electron-lattice interactions in driving this MIT is still under debate. Recently, it was demonstrated that hydrogen can be reversibly absorbed into VO2 thin film without destroying the lattice framework. This H-doping allows systematic control of the electron density and lattice structure which in turn leads to a insulator (VO2) - metal (HxVO2) - insulator (HVO2) phase modulation. To better understand the phase modulation of HxVO2, we used in-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry to monitor the electronic structure during the hydrogenization process, i.e. we measured the optical conductivity of HxVO2 while varying x. Starting in the high temperature rutile metallic phase of VO2, we observed a large change in the electronic structure upon annealing in H gas at 370K: the low energy conductivity is continuously suppressed, consistent with reported DC resistivity data, while the conductivity peaks at high energy show strong changes in energy and spectral weight. The implications of our results for the MIT in HxVO2 will be discussed.

Enhancement of electrical transport modulation in epitaxial VO2 nanowire field-effect transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Hidekazu; Chikanari, Masashi; Kanki, Teruo

Strongly correlated system vanadium dioxide VO2 has attracted widespread concerns from researchers as an exciting electronic material, due to the many intriguing features, especially metal-insulator transition (MIT) in vicinity of room temperature. In this work, we report a diverse geometry for high sensitivity in the transport modulation. By taking advantage of nanometer scale channel, instead of thin film channels, we demonstrated the enhancement of resistance modulation by applying gate voltage. Also we designed the insulating gate, consisting of high-k material Ta2O5/organic polymer parylene-C hybrid insulator. Such as this hybrid gate dielectric would effectively reduce interface deterioration of active channel oxide and provide sufficient carrier density. Moreover, benefited from the nanometer scale channel, the VO2 nanowire-based transistor could deliver a resistance modulation ratio over 8.5%, which are about 10 folds higher than that of the film case. Furthermore, this result is explained that in spite of the stronger field distribution in the edge parts of VO2 nanowire channel yielded little carrier density, the generated mobility modulation would biquadratic increase according to Brinkman-Rice picture as new finding.

Attosecond transient absorption instrumentation for thin film materials: Phase transitions, heat dissipation, signal stabilization, timing correction, and rapid sample rotation.

PubMed

Jager, Marieke F; Ott, Christian; Kaplan, Christopher J; Kraus, Peter M; Neumark, Daniel M; Leone, Stephen R

2018-01-01

We present an extreme ultraviolet (XUV) transient absorption apparatus tailored to attosecond and femtosecond measurements on bulk solid-state thin-film samples, specifically when the sample dynamics are sensitive to heating effects. The setup combines methodology for stabilizing sub-femtosecond time-resolution measurements over 48 h and techniques for mitigating heat buildup in temperature-dependent samples. Single-point beam stabilization in pump and probe arms and periodic time-zero reference measurements are described for accurate timing and stabilization. A hollow-shaft motor configuration for rapid sample rotation, raster scanning capability, and additional diagnostics are described for heat mitigation. Heat transfer simulations performed using a finite element analysis allow comparison of sample rotation and traditional raster scanning techniques for 100 Hz pulsed laser measurements on vanadium dioxide, a material that undergoes an insulator-to-metal transition at a modest temperature of 340 K. Experimental results are presented confirming that the vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) sample cannot cool below its phase transition temperature between laser pulses without rapid rotation, in agreement with the simulations. The findings indicate the stringent conditions required to perform rigorous broadband XUV time-resolved absorption measurements on bulk solid-state samples, particularly those with temperature sensitivity, and elucidate a clear methodology to perform them.

Attosecond transient absorption instrumentation for thin film materials: Phase transitions, heat dissipation, signal stabilization, timing correction, and rapid sample rotation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jager, Marieke F.; Ott, Christian; Kaplan, Christopher J.; Kraus, Peter M.; Neumark, Daniel M.; Leone, Stephen R.

2018-01-01

We present an extreme ultraviolet (XUV) transient absorption apparatus tailored to attosecond and femtosecond measurements on bulk solid-state thin-film samples, specifically when the sample dynamics are sensitive to heating effects. The setup combines methodology for stabilizing sub-femtosecond time-resolution measurements over 48 h and techniques for mitigating heat buildup in temperature-dependent samples. Single-point beam stabilization in pump and probe arms and periodic time-zero reference measurements are described for accurate timing and stabilization. A hollow-shaft motor configuration for rapid sample rotation, raster scanning capability, and additional diagnostics are described for heat mitigation. Heat transfer simulations performed using a finite element analysis allow comparison of sample rotation and traditional raster scanning techniques for 100 Hz pulsed laser measurements on vanadium dioxide, a material that undergoes an insulator-to-metal transition at a modest temperature of 340 K. Experimental results are presented confirming that the vanadium dioxide (VO2) sample cannot cool below its phase transition temperature between laser pulses without rapid rotation, in agreement with the simulations. The findings indicate the stringent conditions required to perform rigorous broadband XUV time-resolved absorption measurements on bulk solid-state samples, particularly those with temperature sensitivity, and elucidate a clear methodology to perform them.

Ultralow Damping in Nanometer-Thick Epitaxial Spinel Ferrite Thin Films.

PubMed

Emori, Satoru; Yi, Di; Crossley, Sam; Wisser, Jacob J; Balakrishnan, Purnima P; Khodadadi, Behrouz; Shafer, Padraic; Klewe, Christoph; N'Diaye, Alpha T; Urwin, Brittany T; Mahalingam, Krishnamurthy; Howe, Brandon M; Hwang, Harold Y; Arenholz, Elke; Suzuki, Yuri

2018-06-08

Pure spin currents, unaccompanied by dissipative charge flow, are essential for realizing energy-efficient nanomagnetic information and communications devices. Thin-film magnetic insulators have been identified as promising materials for spin-current technology because they are thought to exhibit lower damping compared with their metallic counterparts. However, insulating behavior is not a sufficient requirement for low damping, as evidenced by the very limited options for low-damping insulators. Here, we demonstrate a new class of nanometer-thick ultralow-damping insulating thin films based on design criteria that minimize orbital angular momentum and structural disorder. Specifically, we show ultralow damping in <20 nm thick spinel-structure magnesium aluminum ferrite (MAFO), in which magnetization arises from Fe 3+ ions with zero orbital angular momentum. These epitaxial MAFO thin films exhibit a Gilbert damping parameter of ∼0.0015 and negligible inhomogeneous linewidth broadening, resulting in narrow half width at half-maximum linewidths of ∼0.6 mT around 10 GHz. Our findings offer an attractive thin-film platform for enabling integrated insulating spintronics.

Insulating phases of vanadium dioxide are Mott-Hubbard insulators

DOE PAGES

Huffman, T. J.; Hendriks, C.; Walter, E. J.; ...

2017-02-15

Here, we present comprehensive broadband optical spectroscopy data on two insulating phases of vanadium dioxide (VO 2): monoclinic M 2 and triclinic. The main result of our work is that the energy gap and the electronic structure are essentially unaltered by the first-order structural phase transition between the M 2 and triclinic phases. Moreover, the optical interband features in the M 2 and triclinic phases are remarkably similar to those observed in the well-studied monoclinic M 1 insulating phase of VO 2. As the energy gap is insensitive to the different lattice structures of the three insulating phases, we rulemore » out vanadium-vanadium pairing (the Peierls component) as the dominant contributor to the opening of the gap. Rather, the energy gap arises primarily from intra-atomic Coulomb correlations.« less

Radiation-based near-field thermal rectification with phase transition materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yue; Basu, Soumyadipta; Wang, Liping

2013-10-01

The capability of manipulating heat flow has promising applications in thermal management and thermal circuits. In this Letter, we report strong thermal rectification effect based on the near-field thermal radiation between silicon dioxide (SiO2) and a phase transition material, vanadium dioxide (VO2), separated by nanometer vacuum gaps under the framework of fluctuational electrodynamics. Strong coupling of surface phonon polaritons between SiO2 and insulating VO2 leads to enhanced near-field radiative transfer, which on the other hand is suppressed when VO2 becomes metallic, resulting in thermal rectification. The rectification factor is close to 1 when vacuum gap is at 1 μm and it increases to almost 2 at sub-20-nm gaps when emitter and receiver temperatures are set to 400 and 300 K, respectively. Replacing bulk SiO2 with a thin film of several nanometers, rectification factor of 3 can be achieved when the vacuum gap is around 100 nm.

Enhanced performance of solution-processed organic thin-film transistors with a low-temperature-annealed alumina interlayer between the polyimide gate insulator and the semiconductor.

PubMed

Yoon, Jun-Young; Jeong, Sunho; Lee, Sun Sook; Kim, Yun Ho; Ka, Jae-Won; Yi, Mi Hye; Jang, Kwang-Suk

2013-06-12

We studied a low-temperature-annealed sol-gel-derived alumina interlayer between the organic semiconductor and the organic gate insulator for high-performance organic thin-film transistors. The alumina interlayer was deposited on the polyimide gate insulator by a simple spin-coating and 200 °C-annealing process. The leakage current density decreased by the interlayer deposition: at 1 MV/cm, the leakage current densities of the polyimide and the alumina/polyimide gate insulators were 7.64 × 10(-7) and 3.01 × 10(-9) A/cm(2), respectively. For the first time, enhancement of the organic thin-film transistor performance by introduction of an inorganic interlayer between the organic semiconductor and the organic gate insulator was demonstrated: by introducing the interlayer, the field-effect mobility of the solution-processed organic thin-film transistor increased from 0.35 ± 0.15 to 1.35 ± 0.28 cm(2)/V·s. Our results suggest that inorganic interlayer deposition could be a simple and efficient surface treatment of organic gate insulators for enhancing the performance of solution-processed organic thin-film transistors.

Nitrogen dioxide detection

DOEpatents

Sinha, Dipen N.; Agnew, Stephen F.; Christensen, William H.

1993-01-01

Method and apparatus for detecting the presence of gaseous nitrogen dioxide and determining the amount of gas which is present. Though polystyrene is normally an insulator, it becomes electrically conductive in the presence of nitrogen dioxide. Conductance or resistance of a polystyrene sensing element is related to the concentration of nitrogen dioxide at the sensing element.

Outline and comparison of the possible effects present in a metal-thin-film-insulator-semiconductor solar cell

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fonash, S. J.

1976-01-01

The advantages possible with the insertion of a thin-film insulating or semi-insulating layer between a metal and a semiconductor to form the MIS photovoltaic device have been presented previously in the literature. This MIS configuration may be considered as a specific example of a more general class of photovoltaic devices: electrode-thin-film-insulator-semiconductor devices. Since the advantages of the configuration were pointed out, there has been considerable experimental interest in these photovoltaic devices. Because the previous analysis showed that the introduction of the insulator layer could produce several different but advantageous effects, this paper presents a further outline giving a comparison of these effects together with their ramifications.

Study of the resonant frequencies of silicon microcantilevers coated with vanadium dioxide films during the insulator-to-metal transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rúa, Armando; Fernández, Félix E.; Hines, Melissa A.; Sepúlveda, Nelson

2010-03-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films were grown on silicon microcantilevers and companion test substrates by pulsed laser deposition followed by in situ annealing in an oxidizing atmosphere, with annealing times used to control crystallite sizes. Annealing times of 18 min produced VO2 films with average crystallite sizes of ˜10 nm or less, while those annealed for 35 min had crystallites of average size ˜90 nm, comparable to sample thickness. X-ray diffraction and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of the samples showed that films with crystallite sizes ˜40 nm or greater consisted of substoichiometric VO2 in its monoclinic phase, with preferential orientation with (011) planes parallel to the sample surface, while finer structured samples had a substantially similar composition, but showed no clear evidence of preferential orientation and were probably partially amorphous. Forced vibration experiments were performed with the cantilevers as they were thermally cycled through the VO2 insulator-to-metal transition (IMT). Very large reversible changes in the resonant frequencies of up to 5% (3.6 kHz) as well as hysteretic behavior were observed, which depend strongly on film crystallite size. The average value of Young's modulus for VO2 films with crystallite sizes of ˜90 nm was estimated from the mechanical resonance data at room temperature to be ˜120 GPa, but the large tensile stresses which develop between film and substrate through the IMT impede a similar determination for the VO2 tetragonal phase, since the commonly used relationships for cantilever frequencies derived from elasticity theory are not applicable for strongly curved composite beams. The results presented show that VO2 thin films can be useful in novel microscale and nanoscale electromechanical resonators in which effective stiffness can be tuned thermally or optically. This response can provide additional functionality to VO2—based devices which take advantage of other property changes through the IMT.

Enhancement on crystallinity property of low annealed PbTiO3 thin films for metal-insulator-metal capacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurbaya, Z.; Wahid, M. H.; Rozana, M. D.; Alrokayan, S. A. H.; Khan, H. A.; Rusop, M.

2018-05-01

This study presents the investigation on crystallinity property of PbTiO3 thin films towards metal-insulator-metal capacitor device fabrication. The preparation of the thin films utilizes sol-gel spin coating method with low annealing temperature effect. Hence, structural and electrical characterization is brought to justify the thin films consistency.

Voltage- and current-activated metal-insulator transition in VO2-based electrical switches: a lifetime operation analysis.

PubMed

Crunteanu, Aurelian; Givernaud, Julien; Leroy, Jonathan; Mardivirin, David; Champeaux, Corinne; Orlianges, Jean-Christophe; Catherinot, Alain; Blondy, Pierre

2010-12-01

Vanadium dioxide is an intensively studied material that undergoes a temperature-induced metal-insulator phase transition accompanied by a large change in electrical resistivity. Electrical switches based on this material show promising properties in terms of speed and broadband operation. The exploration of the failure behavior and reliability of such devices is very important in view of their integration in practical electronic circuits. We performed systematic lifetime investigations of two-terminal switches based on the electrical activation of the metal-insulator transition in VO 2 thin films. The devices were integrated in coplanar microwave waveguides (CPWs) in series configuration. We detected the evolution of a 10 GHz microwave signal transmitted through the CPW, modulated by the activation of the VO 2 switches in both voltage- and current-controlled modes. We demonstrated enhanced lifetime operation of current-controlled VO 2 -based switching (more than 260 million cycles without failure) compared with the voltage-activated mode (breakdown at around 16 million activation cycles). The evolution of the electrical self-oscillations of a VO 2 -based switch induced in the current-operated mode is a subtle indicator of the material properties modification and can be used to monitor its behavior under various external stresses in sensor applications.

Effect of interface-dependent crystalline boundary on sub-threshold characteristics in a solution-processed 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene thin-film transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Jin-Hyuk; Kang, In Man; Bae, Jin-Hyuk

2014-03-01

We demonstrate how the sub-threshold characteristics are affected by the density of crystalline domain boundaries directly governed by an organic semiconductor (OSC) - a gate insulator interface in a solution-processed 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene (TIPS-pentacene) thin-film transistor (TFT). For generation of an engineered interface, a self assembled monolayer of octadecyltricholorosilane (OTS) was produced between a solution processed TIPS-pentacene film and a silicon dioxide layer. The interfacial charge trap density (Ntrap) deduced from the sub-threshold characteristics was significantly minimized after OTS treatment due to reduced crystal domain boundaries in the TIPS-pentacene film. In addition, the carrier mobility exhibits a value twice as large by OTS treatment. It is found that less crystal domain boundaries in the solution-processed OSC obtained from the engineered interface play an important role in inducing improved sub-threshold characteristics together with increased carrier mobility in organic TFTs.

A thin polymer insulator for Josephson tunneling applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilmsen, C. M.

1973-01-01

The use of an organic monolayer formed from a vapor as an insulating barrier for thin film Josephson junctions is considered, and the effect of an organic monolayer on the transition temperature of a thin film superconductor is investigated. Also analyzed are the geometric factors which influence Josephson junctions and Josephson junction interferometers.

Evidence of charged puddles and induced dephasing in topological insulator thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Sourabh; Gopal, R. K.; Sarkar, Jit; Roy, Subhadip; Mitra, Chiranjib

2018-05-01

We investigate the dephasing mechanism in bulk insulating topological insulator thin films. The phase coherence length is extracted from magnetoresistance measurements at different temperatures. There is a crossover of the phase coherence length as a function of temperature signifying the role of more than one dephasing mechanism in the system. The dephasing rates have been studied systematically and explained.

Thin-Film Power Transformers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katti, Romney R.

1995-01-01

Transformer core made of thin layers of insulating material interspersed with thin layers of ferromagnetic material. Flux-linking conductors made of thinner nonferromagnetic-conductor/insulator multilayers wrapped around core. Transformers have geometric features finer than those of transformers made in customary way by machining and mechanical pressing. In addition, some thin-film materials exhibit magnetic-flux-carrying capabilities superior to those of customary bulk transformer materials. Suitable for low-cost, high-yield mass production.

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY PHYSICS AND RELATED AREAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: Bilayer Photoresist Insulator for High Performance Organic Thin-Film Transistors on Plastic Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, He; Li, Chun-Hong; Pan, Feng; Wang, Hai-Bo; Yan, Dong-Hang

2009-11-01

A novel bilayer photoresist insulator is applied in flexible vanadyl-phthalocyanine (VOPc) organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). The micron-size patterns of this photoresisit insulator can be directly defined only by photolithography without the etching process. Furthermore, these OTFTs exhibit high field-effect mobility (about 0.8 cm2/Vs) and current on/off ratio (about 106). In particular, they show rather low hysteresis (< 1 V). The results demonstrate that this bilayer photoresist insulator can be applied in large-area electronics and in the facilitation of patterning insulators.

Electrochemically Induced Insulator-Metal-Insulator Transformations of Vanadium Dioxide Nanocrystal Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milliron, Delia; Dahlman, Clayton; Leblanc, Gabriel; Bergerud, Amy

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) undergoes significant optical, electronic, and structural changes as it transforms between the low-temperature monoclinic and high-temperature rutile phases. The low-temperature state is insulating and transparent, while the high-temperature state is metallic and IR blocking. Alternative stimuli have been utilized to trigger insulator-to-metal transformations in VO2, including electrochemical gating. Here, VO2 nanocrystal films have been prepared by solution deposition of V2O3 nanocrystals followed by oxidative annealing. Nanocrystalline VO2 films are electrochemically reduced, inducing changes in their electronic and optical properties. We observe a reversible transition between infrared transparent insulating phases and a darkened metallic phase by in situ visible-near-infrared spectroelectrochemistry and correlate these observations with structural and electronic changes monitored by X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and conductivity measurements. Reduction causes an initial transformation to a metallic, IR-colored distorted monoclinic phase. However, an unexpected reversible transition from conductive, reduced monoclinic VO2 to an infrared-transparent insulating phase is observed upon further reduction.

Understanding Metal-Insulator transitions in ultra-thin films of LaNiO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravichandran, Jayakanth; King, Philip D. C.; Schlom, Darrell G.; Shen, Kyle M.; Kim, Philip

2014-03-01

LaNiO3 (LNO) is a bulk paramagnetic metal and a member of the family of RENiO3 Nickelates (RE = Rare Earth Metals), which is on the verge of the metal-insulator transition. Ultra-thin films of LNO has been studied extensively in the past and due to its sensitivity to disorder, the true nature of the metal-insulator transition in these films have been hard to decipher. We grow high quality ultra-thin films of LNO using reactive molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and use a combination of ionic liquid gating and magneto-transport measurements to understand the nature and tunability of metal-insulator transition as a function of thickness for LNO. The underlying mechanisms for the transition are discussed in the framework of standard transport models. These results are discussed in the light of other Mott insulators such as Sr2IrO4, where we have performed similar measurements around the insulating state.

Ultra-thin smart acoustic metasurface for low-frequency sound insulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hao; Xiao, Yong; Wen, Jihong; Yu, Dianlong; Wen, Xisen

2016-04-01

Insulating low-frequency sound is a conventional challenge due to the high areal mass required by mass law. In this letter, we propose a smart acoustic metasurface consisting of an ultra-thin aluminum foil bonded with piezoelectric resonators. Numerical and experimental results show that the metasurface can break the conventional mass law of sound insulation by 30 dB in the low frequency regime (<1000 Hz), with an ultra-light areal mass density (<1.6 kg/m2) and an ultra-thin thickness (1000 times smaller than the operating wavelength). The underlying physical mechanism of such extraordinary sound insulation performance is attributed to the infinite effective dynamic mass density produced by the smart resonators. It is also demonstrated that the excellent sound insulation property can be conveniently tuned by simply adjusting the external circuits instead of modifying the structure of the metasurface.

Metal Insulator transition in Vanadium Dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jovaini, Azita; Fujita, Shigeji; Suzuki, Akira; Godoy, Salvador

2012-02-01

MAR12-2011-000262 Abstract Submitted for the MAR12 Meeting of The American Physical Society Sorting Category: 03.9 (T) On the metal-insulator-transition in vanadium dioxide AZITA JOVAINI, SHIGEJI FUJITA, University at Buffalo, SALVADOR GODOY, UNAM, AKIRA SUZUKI, Tokyo University of Science --- Vanadium dioxide (VO2) undergoes a metal-insulator transition (MIT) at 340 K with the structural change from tetragonal to monoclinic crystal. The conductivity _/ drops at MIT by four orders of magnitude. The low temperature monoclinic phase is known to have a lower ground-state energy. The existence of the k-vector k is prerequisite for the conduction since the k appears in the semiclassical equation of motion for the conduction electron (wave packet). The tetragonal (VO2)3 unit is periodic along the crystal's x-, y-, and z-axes, and hence there is a three-dimensional k-vector. There is a one-dimensional k for a monoclinic crystal. We believe this difference in the dimensionality of the k-vector is the cause of the conductivity drop. Prefer Oral Session X Prefer .

Fabrication and Characterization of ZnO Langmuir-Blodgett Film and Its Use in Metal-Insulator-Metal Tunnel Diode.

PubMed

Azad, Ibrahim; Ram, Manoj K; Goswami, D Yogi; Stefanakos, Elias

2016-08-23

Metal-insulator-metal tunnel diodes have great potential for use in infrared detection and energy harvesting applications. The quantum based tunneling mechanism of electrons in MIM (metal-insulator-metal) or MIIM (metal-insulator-insulator-metal) diodes can facilitate rectification at THz frequencies. In this study, the required nanometer thin insulating layer (I) in the MIM diode structure was fabricated using the Langmuir-Blodgett technique. The zinc stearate LB film was deposited on Au/Cr coated quartz, FTO, and silicon substrates, and then heat treated by varying the temperature from 100 to 550 °C to obtain nanometer thin ZnO layers. The thin films were characterized by XRD, AFM, FTIR, and cyclic voltammetry methods. The final MIM structure was fabricated by depositing chromium/nickel over the ZnO on Au/Cr film. The current voltage (I-V) characteristics of the diode showed that the conduction mechanism is electron tunneling through the thin insulating layer. The sensitivity of the diodes was as high as 32 V(-1). The diode resistance was ∼80 Ω (at a bias voltage of 0.78 V), and the rectification ratio at that bias point was about 12 (for a voltage swing of ±200 mV). The diode response exhibited significant nonlinearity and high asymmetry at the bias point, very desirable diode performance parameters for IR detection applications.

Modification of electrical properties of silicon dioxide through intrinsic nano-patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majee, Subimal; Barshilia, Devesh; Banerjee, Debashree; Kumar, Sanjeev; Mishra, Prabhash; Akhtar, Jamil

2018-05-01

The inherent network of nanopores and voids in silicon dioxide (SiO2) is generally undesirable for aspects of film quality, electrical insulation and dielectric performance. However, if we view these pores as natural nano-patterns embedded in a dielectric matrix then that opens up new vistas for exploration. The nano-pattern platform can be used to tailor electrical, optical, magnetic and mechanical properties of the carrier film. In this article we report the tunable electrical properties of thermal SiO2 thin-film achieved through utilization of the metal-nanopore network where the pores are filled with metallic Titanium (Ti). Without any intentional chemical doping, we have shown that the electrical resistivity of the oxide film can be controlled through physical filling up of the intrinsic oxide nanopores with Ti. The electrical resistivity of the composite film remains constant even after complete removal of the metal from the film surface except the pores. Careful morphological, electrical and structural analyses are carried out to establish that the presence of Ti in the nanopores play a crucial role in the observed conductive nature of the nanoporous film.

Depositing bulk or micro-scale electrodes

DOEpatents

Shah, Kedar G.; Pannu, Satinderpall S.; Tolosa, Vanessa; Tooker, Angela C.; Sheth, Heeral J.; Felix, Sarah H.; Delima, Terri L.

2016-11-01

Thicker electrodes are provided on microelectronic device using thermo-compression bonding. A thin-film electrical conducting layer forms electrical conduits and bulk depositing provides an electrode layer on the thin-film electrical conducting layer. An insulating polymer layer encapsulates the electrically thin-film electrical conducting layer and the electrode layer. Some of the insulating layer is removed to expose the electrode layer.

Electric-field-driven phase transition in vanadium dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, B.; Zimmers, A.; Aubin, H.; Gosh, R.; Liu, Y.; Lopez, R.

2011-03-01

In recent years, various strongly correlated materials have shown sharp switching from insulator to metallic state in their I(V) transport curves. Determining if this is purely an out of equilibrium phenomena (due to the strong electric field applied throughout the sample) or simply a Joule heating issue is still an open question. To address this issue, we have first measured local I(V) curves in vanadium dioxide (VO2) Mott insulator at various temperatures using a conducting AFM setup and determined the voltage threshold of the insulator to metal switching. By lifting the tip above the surface (> 35 nm) , wehavethenmeasuredthepurelyelectrostaticforcebetweenthetipandsamplesurfaceasthevoltagebetweenthesetwowasincreased . Inaverynarrowtemperaturerange (below 360 K) , atipheightrange (below 60 nm) andavoltageappliedrange (above 8 V) , weobservedswitchingintheelectrostaticforce (telegraphicnoisevs . timeandvs . voltage) . ThispurelyelectricfieldeffectshowsthattheswitchingphenomenonisstillpresentevenwithoutJouleheatinginVO 2 .

Molecular Beam Epitaxy Growth and Characterization of Thin Layers of Semiconductor Tin

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

confirm that the thin layers of α-Sn are slightly strained, which supports theoretical prediction that α-Sn is a 3-D topological insulator (TI...topological insulator , single crystal 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT UU 18. NUMBER OF...its thickness, α-Sn is a 3-D or 2-D topological insulator (TI). Three-dimensional TIs are electronic materials that have a bulk bandgap and

Use of Several Thermal Analysis Techniques to Study the Cracking of an Nitrile Butadiene Rubber (NBR) Insulator on the Booster Separation Motor (BSM) of the Space Shuttle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wingard, Charles D.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Two different vendor rubber formulations have been used to produce the silica-filled NBR insulators for the BSM used on both of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) of the Space Shuttle. A number of lots of the BSM insulator in 1998-99 exhibited surface cracks and/or crazing. Each insulator is bonded to the BSM aluminum aft closure with an epoxy adhesive. Induced insulator stresses from adhesive cure are likely greatest where the insulator/adhesive contour is the greatest, thus showing increased insulator surface cracking in this area. Thermal analysis testing by Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA) and Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA) was performed on one each of the two vendor BSM insulators previously bonded that exhibited the surface cracking. The TMA data from the film/fiber technique yielded the most meaningful results, with thin insulator surface samples containing cracks having roughly the same modulus (stiffness) as thin insulator bulk samples just underneath.

Chiral magnetic conductivity and surface states of Weyl semimetals in topological insulator ultra-thin film multilayer.

PubMed

Owerre, S A

2016-06-15

We investigate an ultra-thin film of topological insulator (TI) multilayer as a model for a three-dimensional (3D) Weyl semimetal. We introduce tunneling parameters t S, [Formula: see text], and t D, where the former two parameters couple layers of the same thin film at small and large momenta, and the latter parameter couples neighbouring thin film layers along the z-direction. The Chern number is computed in each topological phase of the system and we find that for [Formula: see text], the tunneling parameter [Formula: see text] changes from positive to negative as the system transits from Weyl semi-metallic phase to insulating phases. We further study the chiral magnetic effect (CME) of the system in the presence of a time dependent magnetic field. We compute the low-temperature dependence of the chiral magnetic conductivity and show that it captures three distinct phases of the system separated by plateaus. Furthermore, we propose and study a 3D lattice model of Porphyrin thin film, an organic material known to support topological Frenkel exciton edge states. We show that this model exhibits a 3D Weyl semi-metallic phase and also supports a 2D Weyl semi-metallic phase. We further show that this model recovers that of 3D Weyl semimetal in topological insulator thin film multilayer. Thus, paving the way for simulating a 3D Weyl semimetal in topological insulator thin film multilayer. We obtain the surface states (Fermi arcs) in the 3D model and the chiral edge states in the 2D model and analyze their topological properties.

Stencil lithography of superconducting contacts on MBE-grown topological insulator thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schüffelgen, Peter; Rosenbach, Daniel; Neumann, Elmar; Stehno, Martin P.; Lanius, Martin; Zhao, Jialin; Wang, Meng; Sheehan, Brendan; Schmidt, Michael; Gao, Bo; Brinkman, Alexander; Mussler, Gregor; Schäpers, Thomas; Grützmacher, Detlev

2017-11-01

Topological insulator (Bi0.06Sb0.94)2Te3 thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy have been capped in-situ with a 2 nm Al film to conserve the pristine topological surface states. Subsequently, a shadow mask - structured by means of focus ion beam - was in-situ placed underneath the sample to deposit a thick layer of Al on well-defined microscopically small areas. The 2 nm thin Al layer fully oxidizes after exposure to air and in this way protects the TI surface from degradation. The thick Al layer remains metallic underneath a 3-4 nm thick native oxide layer and therefore serves as (super-) conducting contacts. Superconductor-Topological Insulator-Superconductor junctions with lateral dimensions in the nm range have then been fabricated via an alternative stencil lithography technique. Despite the in-situ deposition, transport measurements and transmission electron microscope analysis indicate a low transparency, due to an intermixed region at the interface between topological insulator thin film and metallic Al.

Method and apparatus for stable silicon dioxide layers on silicon grown in silicon nitride ambient

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohen, R. A.; Wheeler, R. K. (Inventor)

1974-01-01

A method and apparatus for thermally growing stable silicon dioxide layers on silicon is disclosed. A previously etched and baked silicon nitride tube placed in a furnace is used to grow the silicon dioxide. First, pure oxygen is allowed to flow through the tube to initially coat the inside surface of the tube with a thin layer of silicon dioxide. After the tube is coated with the thin layer of silicon dioxide, the silicon is oxidized thermally in a normal fashion. If the tube becomes contaminated, the silicon dioxide is etched off thereby exposing clean silicon nitride and then the inside of the tube is recoated with silicon dioxide. As is disclosed, the silicon nitride tube can also be used as the ambient for the pyrolytic decomposition of silane and ammonia to form thin layers of clean silicon nitride.

Graphene nanopore devices for DNA sensing.

PubMed

Merchant, Chris A; Drndić, Marija

2012-01-01

We describe here a method for detecting the translocation of individual DNA molecules through nanopores created in graphene membranes. The devices consist of 1-5-nm thick graphene membranes with electron-beam sculpted nanopores from 5 to 10 nm in diameter. Due to the thin nature of the graphene membranes, and the reduced electrical resistance, we observe larger blocked currents than for traditional solid-state nanopores. We also show how ionic current noise levels can be reduced with the atomic-layer deposition of a few nanometers of titanium dioxide over the graphene surface. Unlike traditional solid-state nanopore materials that are insulating, graphene is an excellent electrical conductor, and its use opens the door to a new future class of nanopore devices in which electronic sensing and control is performed directly at the pore.

DNA translocation through graphene nanopores.

PubMed

Merchant, Christopher A; Healy, Ken; Wanunu, Meni; Ray, Vishva; Peterman, Neil; Bartel, John; Fischbein, Michael D; Venta, Kimberly; Luo, Zhengtang; Johnson, A T Charlie; Drndić, Marija

2010-08-11

We report on DNA translocations through nanopores created in graphene membranes. Devices consist of 1-5 nm thick graphene membranes with electron-beam sculpted nanopores from 5 to 10 nm in diameter. Due to the thin nature of the graphene membranes, we observe larger blocked currents than for traditional solid-state nanopores. However, ionic current noise levels are several orders of magnitude larger than those for silicon nitride nanopores. These fluctuations are reduced with the atomic-layer deposition of 5 nm of titanium dioxide over the device. Unlike traditional solid-state nanopore materials that are insulating, graphene is an excellent electrical conductor. Use of graphene as a membrane material opens the door to a new class of nanopore devices in which electronic sensing and control are performed directly at the pore.

49 CFR 173.229 - Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate, frozen.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate... Than Class 1 and Class 7 § 173.229 Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate, frozen. When the.... Fiberboard boxes must be reinforced and insulated and sufficient dry ice must be used to maintain the hydrate...

49 CFR 173.229 - Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate, frozen.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate... Than Class 1 and Class 7 § 173.229 Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate, frozen. When the.... Fiberboard boxes must be reinforced and insulated and sufficient dry ice must be used to maintain the hydrate...

49 CFR 173.229 - Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate, frozen.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate... Than Class 1 and Class 7 § 173.229 Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate, frozen. When the.... Fiberboard boxes must be reinforced and insulated and sufficient dry ice must be used to maintain the hydrate...

49 CFR 173.229 - Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate, frozen.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate... Than Class 1 and Class 7 § 173.229 Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate, frozen. When the.... Fiberboard boxes must be reinforced and insulated and sufficient dry ice must be used to maintain the hydrate...

49 CFR 173.229 - Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate, frozen.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate... Than Class 1 and Class 7 § 173.229 Chloric acid solution or chlorine dioxide hydrate, frozen. When the.... Fiberboard boxes must be reinforced and insulated and sufficient dry ice must be used to maintain the hydrate...

Prototype thin-film thermocouple/heat-flux sensor for a ceramic-insulated diesel engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Walter S.; Barrows, Richard F.

1988-01-01

A platinum versus platinum-13 percent rhodium thin-film thermocouple/heat-flux sensor was devised and tested in the harsh, high-temperature environment of a ceramic-insulated, low-heat-rejection diesel engine. The sensor probe assembly was developed to provide experimental validation of heat transfer and thermal analysis methodologies applicable to the insulated diesel engine concept. The thin-film thermocouple configuration was chosen to approximate an uninterrupted chamber surface and provide a 1-D heat-flux path through the probe body. The engine test was conducted by Purdue University for Integral Technologies, Inc., under a DOE-funded contract managed by NASA Lewis Research Center. The thin-film sensor performed reliably during 6 to 10 hr of repeated engine runs at indicated mean surface temperatures up to 950 K. However, the sensor suffered partial loss of adhesion in the thin-film thermocouple junction area following maximum cyclic temperature excursions to greater than 1150 K.

Irreversible metal-insulator transition in thin film VO2 induced by soft X-ray irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, V. R.; Jovic, V.; Valmianski, I.; Ramirez, J. G.; Lamoureux, B.; Schuller, Ivan K.; Smith, K. E.

2017-12-01

In this study, we show the ability of soft x-ray irradiation to induce room temperature metal-insulator transitions (MITs) in VO2 thin films grown on R-plane sapphire. The ability of soft x-rays to induce MIT in VO2 thin films is confirmed by photoemission spectroscopy and soft x-ray spectroscopy measurements. When irradiation was discontinued, the systems do not return to the insulating phase. Analysis of valence band photoemission spectra revealed that the density of states (DOSs) of the V 3d band increased with irradiation time, while the DOS of the O 2p band decreased. We use these results to propose a model in which the MIT is driven by oxygen desorption from thin films during irradiation.

Asymmetries in surface waves and reflection/transmission characteristics associated with topological insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mackay, Tom G.; Chiadini, Francesco; Fiumara, Vincenzo; Scaglione, Antonio; Lakhtakia, Akhlesh

2017-08-01

Three numerical studies were undertaken involving the interactions of plane waves with topological insulators. In each study, the topologically insulating surface states of the topological insulator were represented through a surface admittance. Canonical boundary-value problems were solved for the following cases: (i) Dyakonov surface-wave propagation guided by the planar interface of a columnar thin film and an isotropic dielectric topological insulator; (ii) Dyakonov-Tamm surface-wave propagation guided by the planar interface of a structurally chiral material and an isotropic dielectric topological insulator; and (iii) reflection and transmission due to the planar interface of a topologically insulating columnar thin film and vacuum. The nonzero surface admittance resulted in asymmetries in the wave speeds and decay constants of the surface waves in studies (i) and (ii). The nonzero surface admittance resulted in asymmetries in the reflectances and transmittances in study (iii).

Peg supported thermal insulation panel

DOEpatents

Nowobilski, Jeffert J.; Owens, William J.

1985-01-01

A thermal insulation panel which is lightweight, load bearing, accommodates thermal stress, and has excellent high temperature insulation capability comprising high performance insulation between thin metal walls supported by high density, high strength glass pegs made in compliance with specified conditions of time, temperature and pressure.

Peg supported thermal insulation panel

DOEpatents

Nowobilski, J.J.; Owens, W.J.

1985-04-30

A thermal insulation panel which is lightweight, load bearing, accommodates thermal stress, and has excellent high temperature insulation capability comprises high performance insulation between thin metal walls supported by high density, high strength glass pegs made in compliance with specified conditions of time, temperature and pressure. 2 figs.

Localized superconductivity in the quantum-critical region of the disorder-driven superconductor-insulator transition in TiN thin films.

PubMed

Baturina, T I; Mironov, A Yu; Vinokur, V M; Baklanov, M R; Strunk, C

2007-12-21

We investigate low-temperature transport properties of thin TiN superconducting films in the vicinity of the disorder-driven superconductor-insulator transition. In a zero magnetic field, we find an extremely sharp separation between superconducting and insulating phases, evidencing a direct superconductor-insulator transition without an intermediate metallic phase. At moderate temperatures, in the insulating films we reveal thermally activated conductivity with the magnetic field-dependent activation energy. At very low temperatures, we observe a zero-conductivity state, which is destroyed at some depinning threshold voltage V{T}. These findings indicate the formation of a distinct collective state of the localized Cooper pairs in the critical region at both sides of the transition.

Advanced germanium layer transfer for ultra thin body on insulator structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maeda, Tatsuro; Chang, Wen-Hsin; Irisawa, Toshifumi; Ishii, Hiroyuki; Hattori, Hiroyuki; Poborchii, Vladimir; Kurashima, Yuuichi; Takagi, Hideki; Uchida, Noriyuki

2016-12-01

We present the HEtero-Layer Lift-Off (HELLO) technique to obtain ultra thin body (UTB) Ge on insulator (GeOI) substrates. The transferred ultra thin Ge layers are characterized by the Raman spectroscopy measurements down to the thickness of ˜1 nm, observing a strong Raman intensity enhancement for high quality GeOI structure in ultra thin regime due to quantum size effect. This advanced Ge layer transfer technique enabled us to demonstrate UTB-GeOI nMOSFETs with the body thickness of only 4 nm.

Thin Thermal-Insulation Blankets for Very High Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Michael K.

2003-01-01

Thermal-insulation blankets of a proposed type would be exceptionally thin and would endure temperatures up to 2,100 C. These blankets were originally intended to protect components of the NASA Solar Probe spacecraft against radiant heating at its planned closest approach to the Sun (a distance of 4 solar radii). These blankets could also be used on Earth to provide thermal protection in special applications (especially in vacuum chambers) for which conventional thermal-insulation blankets would be too thick or would not perform adequately.

Postfabrication annealing effects on insulator-metal transitions in VO2 thin-film devices.

PubMed

Rathi, Servin; Lee, In-yeal; Park, Jin-Hyung; Kim, Bong-Jun; Kim, Hyun-Tak; Kim, Gil-Ho

2014-11-26

In order to investigate the metal-insulator transition characteristics of VO2 devices annealed in reducing atmosphere after device fabrication at various temperature, electrical, chemical, and thermal characteristics are measured and analyzed. It is found that the sheet resistance and the insulator-metal transition point, induced by both voltage and thermal, decrease when the devices are annealed from 200 to 500 °C. The V 2p3/2 peak variation in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization verifies the reduction of thin-films. A decrease of the transition temperature from voltage hysteresis measurements further endorse the reducing effects of the annealing on VO2 thin-film.

Specular Andreev reflection in thin films of topological insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majidi, Leyla; Asgari, Reza

2016-05-01

We theoretically reveal the possibility of specular Andreev reflection in a thin film topological insulator normal-superconductor (N/S) junction in the presence of a gate electric field. The probability of specular Andreev reflection increases with the electric field, and electron-hole conversion with unit efficiency happens in a wide experimentally accessible range of the electric field. We show that perfect specular Andreev reflection can occur for all angles of incidence with a particular excitation energy value. In addition, we find that the thermal conductance of the structure displays exponential dependence on the temperature. Our results reveal the potential of the proposed topological insulator thin-film-based N/S structure for the realization of intraband specular Andreev reflection.

Thermoelectric properties of an ultra-thin topological insulator.

PubMed

Islam, S K Firoz; Ghosh, T K

2014-04-23

Thermoelectric coefficients of an ultra-thin topological insulator are presented here. The hybridization between top and bottom surface states of a topological insulator plays a significant role. In the absence of a magnetic field, the thermopower increases and thermal conductivity decreases with an increase in the hybridization energy. In the presence of a magnetic field perpendicular to the ultra-thin topological insulator, thermoelectric coefficients exhibit quantum oscillations with inverse magnetic field, whose frequency is strongly modified by the Zeeman energy and whose phase factor is governed by the product of the Landé g-factor and the hybridization energy. In addition to the numerical results, the low-temperature approximate analytical results for the thermoelectric coefficients are also provided. It is also observed that for a given magnetic field these transport coefficients oscillate with hybridization energy, at a frequency that depends on the Landé g-factor.

Improvement Noise Insulation Performance of Polycarbonate Pane using Sandwich Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Min; Nagamura, Kazuteru; Nakagawa, Noritoshi; Okamura, Masaharu

Polycarbonate (PC) laminates offer the possibility of designing strong and light weight panes application in automobile. However, the noise insulation performance of PC pane is worse than glass pane because of its high rate of stiffness to low weight. In this work, a new ultra-thin(less than 10mm) sandwich pane is proposed to obtain high transmission loss(TL). The sandwich structure consists of two thin laminates plates of the same PC material and a thin lightweight damping core bonded between those plates. Then TL is predicted using decoupled equations representing symmetric and anti-symmetric motions for a sandwich PC pane. The effects of various structural and material parameters on noise insulation performance are investigated with numerical examples. Numerical results show that the shear rigidity has evident effect on coincidence frequency and proposed structure has better noise insulation properties than single layer PC pane of equivalent thickness.

Aerogel: From Aerospace to Apparel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

Aspen Systems Inc. developed an aerogel-manufacturing process solved the handling problems associated with aerogel-based insulation products. Their aerogels can now be manufactured into blankets, thin sheets, beads, and molded parts; and may be transparent, translucent, or opaque. Aspen made the material effective for window and skylight insulation, non-flammable building insulation, and inexpensive firewall insulation that will withstand fires in homes and buildings, and also assist in the prevention of forest fires. Another Aspen product is Spaceloft(TM); an inexpensive, flexible blanket that incorporates a thin layer of aerogel embedded directly into the fabric. Spaceloft, is incorporated into jackets intended for wear in extremely harsh conditions and activities, such as Antarctic expeditions.

Persistent Hall voltages across thin planar charged quantum rings on the surface of a topological insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durganandini, P.

2015-03-01

We consider thin planar charged quantum rings on the surface of a three dimensional topological insulator coated with a thin ferromagnetic layer. We show theoretically, that when the ring is threaded by a magnetic field, then, due to the Aharanov-Bohm effect, there are not only the well known circulating persistent currents in the ring but also oscillating persistent Hall voltages across the thin ring. Such oscillating persistent Hall voltages arise due to the topological magneto-electric effect associated with the axion electrodynamics exhibited by the surface electronic states of the three dimensional topological insulator when time reversal symmetry is broken. We further generalize to the case of dipole currents and show that analogous Hall dipole voltages arise. We also discuss the robustness of the effect and suggest possible experimental realizations in quantum rings made of semiconductor heterostructures. Such experiments could also provide new ways of observing the predicted topological magneto-electric effect in three dimensional topological insulators with time reversal symmetry breaking. I thank BCUD, Pune University, Pune for financial support through research grant.

Nanofabrication of insulated scanning probes for electromechanical imaging in liquid solutions

PubMed Central

Noh, Joo Hyon; Nikiforov, Maxim; Kalinin, Sergei V.; Vertegel, Alexey A.; Rack, Philip D.

2011-01-01

In this paper, the fabrication and electrical and electromechanical characterization of insulated scanning probes have been demonstrated in liquid solutions. The silicon cantilevers were sequentially coated with chromium and silicon dioxide, and the silicon dioxide was selectively etched at tip apex using focused electron beam induced etching (FEBIE) with XeF2 The chromium layer acted not only as the conductive path from the tip, but also as an etch resistant layer. This insulated scanning probe fabrication process is compatible with any commercial AFM tip and can be used to easily tailor the scanning probe tip properties because FEBIE does not require lithography. The suitability of the fabricated probes is demonstrated by imaging of standard topographical calibration grid as well as piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and electrical measurements in ambient and liquid environments. PMID:20702930

Investigation of Gas-Sensing Property of Acid-Deposited Polyaniline Thin-Film Sensors for Detecting H2S and SO2

PubMed Central

Dong, Xingchen; Zhang, Xiaoxing; Wu, Xiaoqing; Cui, Hao; Chen, Dachang

2016-01-01

Latent insulation defects introduced in manufacturing process of gas-insulated switchgears can lead to partial discharge during long-time operation, even to insulation fault if partial discharge develops further. Monitoring of decomposed components of SF6, insulating medium of gas-insulated switchgear, is a feasible method of early-warning to avoid the occurrence of sudden fault. Polyaniline thin-film with protonic acid deposited possesses wide application prospects in the gas-sensing field. Polyaniline thin-film sensors with only sulfosalicylic acid deposited and with both hydrochloric acid and sulfosalicylic acid deposited were prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization method. Gas-sensing experiment was carried out to test properties of new sensors when exposed to H2S and SO2, two decomposed products of SF6 under discharge. The gas-sensing properties of these two sensors were compared with that of a hydrochloric acid deposited sensor. Results show that the hydrochloric acid and sulfosalicylic acid deposited polyaniline thin-film sensor shows the most outstanding sensitivity and selectivity to H2S and SO2 when concentration of gases range from 10 to 100 μL/L, with sensitivity changing linearly with concentration of gases. The sensor also possesses excellent long-time and thermal stability. This research lays the foundation for preparing practical gas-sensing devices to detect H2S and SO2 in gas-insulated switchgears at room temperature. PMID:27834895

Metal-insulator transition of valence-controlled VO2 thin film prepared by RF magnetron sputtering using oxygen radical

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suetsugu, Takaaki; Shimazu, Yuichi; Tsuchiya, Takashi; Kobayashi, Masaki; Minohara, Makoto; Sakai, Enju; Horiba, Koji; Kumigashira, Hiroshi; Higuchi, Tohru

2016-06-01

We have prepared b-axis-oriented VO2 thin films by RF magnetron sputtering using oxygen radicals as the reactive gas. The VO2 thin films consist of a mixed-valence V3+/V4+ state formed by oxygen vacancies. The V3+ ratio strongly depends on the film thickness and the oxygen partial pressure of the radical gun during deposition. The lattice constant of the b-axis increases and the metal-insulator transition (MIT) temperature decreases with decreasing V3+ ratio, although the VO2 thin films with a high V3+ ratio of 42% do not exhibit MIT. The bandwidths and spectral weights of V 3d a1g and \\text{e}\\text{g}σ bands at around the Fermi level, which correspond to the insulating phase at 300 K, are smaller in the VO2 thin films with a low V3+ ratio. These results indicate that the control of the mixed-valence V3+/V4+ state is important for the MIT of b-axis-oriented VO2 thin films.

Voltage-induced Metal-Insulator Transitions in Perovskite Oxide Thin Films Doped with Strongly Correlelated Electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yudi; Gil Kim, Soo; Chen, I.-Wei

2007-03-01

We have observed a reversible metal-insulator transition in perovskite oxide thin films that can be controlled by charge trapping pumped by a bipolar voltage bias. In the as-fabricated state, the thin film is metallic with a very low resistance comparable to that of the metallic bottom electrode, showing decreasing resistance with decreasing temperature. This metallic state switches to a high-resistance state after applying a voltage bias: such state is non-ohmic showing a negative temperature dependence of resistance. Switching at essentially the same voltage bias was observed down to 2K. The metal-insulator transition is attributed to charge trapping that disorders the energy of correlated electron states in the conduction band. By increasing the amount of charge trapped, which increases the disorder relative to the band width, increasingly more insulating states with a stronger temperature dependence of resistivity are accessed. This metal-insulator transition provides a platform to engineer new nonvolatile memory that does not require heat (as in phase transition) or dielectric breakdown (as in most other oxide resistance devices).

Flat-lying semiconductor-insulator interfacial layer in DNTT thin films.

PubMed

Jung, Min-Cherl; Leyden, Matthew R; Nikiforov, Gueorgui O; Lee, Michael V; Lee, Han-Koo; Shin, Tae Joo; Takimiya, Kazuo; Qi, Yabing

2015-01-28

The molecular order of organic semiconductors at the gate dielectric is the most critical factor determining carrier mobility in thin film transistors since the conducting channel forms at the dielectric interface. Despite its fundamental importance, this semiconductor-insulator interface is not well understood, primarily because it is buried within the device. We fabricated dinaphtho[2,3-b:2',3'-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DNTT) thin film transistors by thermal evaporation in vacuum onto substrates held at different temperatures and systematically correlated the extracted charge mobility to the crystal grain size and crystal orientation. As a result, we identify a molecular layer of flat-lying DNTT molecules at the semiconductor-insulator interface. It is likely that such a layer might form in other material systems as well, and could be one of the factors reducing charge transport. Controlling this interfacial flat-lying layer may raise the ultimate possible device performance for thin film devices.

Enhanced thermoelectric performance in three-dimensional superlattice of topological insulator thin films

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

We show that certain three-dimensional (3D) superlattice nanostructure based on Bi2Te3 topological insulator thin films has better thermoelectric performance than two-dimensional (2D) thin films. The 3D superlattice shows a predicted peak value of ZT of approximately 6 for gapped surface states at room temperature and retains a high figure of merit ZT of approximately 2.5 for gapless surface states. In contrast, 2D thin films with gapless surface states show no advantage over bulk Bi2Te3. The enhancement of the thermoelectric performance originates from a combination of the reduction of lattice thermal conductivity by phonon-interface scattering, the high mobility of the topologically protected surface states, the enhancement of Seebeck coefficient, and the reduction of electron thermal conductivity by energy filtering. Our study shows that the nanostructure design of topological insulators provides a possible new way of ZT enhancement. PMID:23072433

Enhanced thermoelectric performance in three-dimensional superlattice of topological insulator thin films.

PubMed

Fan, Zheyong; Zheng, Jiansen; Wang, Hui-Qiong; Zheng, Jin-Cheng

2012-10-16

We show that certain three-dimensional (3D) superlattice nanostructure based on Bi2Te3 topological insulator thin films has better thermoelectric performance than two-dimensional (2D) thin films. The 3D superlattice shows a predicted peak value of ZT of approximately 6 for gapped surface states at room temperature and retains a high figure of merit ZT of approximately 2.5 for gapless surface states. In contrast, 2D thin films with gapless surface states show no advantage over bulk Bi2Te3. The enhancement of the thermoelectric performance originates from a combination of the reduction of lattice thermal conductivity by phonon-interface scattering, the high mobility of the topologically protected surface states, the enhancement of Seebeck coefficient, and the reduction of electron thermal conductivity by energy filtering. Our study shows that the nanostructure design of topological insulators provides a possible new way of ZT enhancement.

Visualizing ferromagnetic domains in magnetic topological insulators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Wenbo; Gu, G. D.; Yang, Fang

2015-05-13

We report a systematic study of ferromagnetic domains in both single-crystal and thin-film specimens of magnetic topological insulators Cr doped (Bi 0.1Sb 0.9) 2Te 3 using magnetic force microscopy (MFM). The temperature and field dependences of MFM and in situ resistance data are consistent with previous bulk transport and magnetic characterization. Bubble-like ferromagnetic domains were observed in both single crystals and thin films. Significantly, smaller domain size (~500 nm) with narrower domain wall (~150 – 300 nm) was observed in thin films of magnetic topological insulators, likely due to vertical confinement effect. As a result, these results suggest that thinmore » films are more promising for visualization of chiral edge states.« less

Surface modification of a polyimide gate insulator with an yttrium oxide interlayer for aqueous-solution-processed ZnO thin-film transistors.

PubMed

Jang, Kwang-Suk; Wee, Duyoung; Kim, Yun Ho; Kim, Jinsoo; Ahn, Taek; Ka, Jae-Won; Yi, Mi Hye

2013-06-11

We report a simple approach to modify the surface of a polyimide gate insulator with an yttrium oxide interlayer for aqueous-solution-processed ZnO thin-film transistors. It is expected that the yttrium oxide interlayer will provide a surface that is more chemically compatible with the ZnO semiconductor than is bare polyimde. The field-effect mobility and the on/off current ratio of the ZnO TFT with the YOx/polyimide gate insulator were 0.456 cm(2)/V·s and 2.12 × 10(6), respectively, whereas the ZnO TFT with the polyimide gate insulator was inactive.

Metal-insulator transition in tin doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films: Quantum correction to the electrical conductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaushik, Deepak Kumar; Kumar, K. Uday; Subrahmanyam, A.

2017-01-01

Tin doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films are being used extensively as transparent conductors in several applications. In the present communication, we report the electrical transport in DC magnetron sputtered ITO thin films (prepared at 300 K and subsequently annealed at 673 K in vacuum for 60 minutes) in low temperatures (25-300 K). The low temperature Hall effect and resistivity measurements reveal that the ITO thin films are moderately dis-ordered (kFl˜1; kF is the Fermi wave vector and l is the electron mean free path) and degenerate semiconductors. The transport of charge carriers (electrons) in these disordered ITO thin films takes place via the de-localized states. The disorder effects lead to the well-known `metal-insulator transition' (MIT) which is observed at 110 K in these ITO thin films. The MIT in ITO thin films is explained by the quantum correction to the conductivity (QCC); this approach is based on the inclusion of quantum-mechanical interference effects in Boltzmann's expression of the conductivity of the disordered systems. The insulating behaviour observed in ITO thin films below the MIT temperature is attributed to the combined effect of the weak localization and the electron-electron interactions.

Plasmonic Structures for CMOS Photonics and Control of Spontaneous Emission

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

structures; v) developed CMOS Si photonic switching device based on the vanadium dioxide ( VO2 ) phase transition. vi) also engaged in a partnership with...CMOS Si photonic switching device based on the vanadium dioxide ( VO2 ) phase transition. vii. exploring approaches to enhance spontaneous emission in...size and bandwidth, we are exploring phase-change materials and, in particular, vanadium dioxide. VO2 undergoes an insulator-to-metal phase transition

Epitaxial Ba2IrO4 thin-films grown on SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nichols, J.; Korneta, O. B.; Terzic, J.; Cao, G.; Brill, J. W.; Seo, S. S. A.

2014-03-01

We have synthesized epitaxial Ba2IrO4 (BIO) thin-films on SrTiO3 (001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition and studied their electronic structure by dc-transport and optical spectroscopic experiments. We have observed that BIO thin-films are insulating but close to the metal-insulator transition boundary with significantly smaller transport and optical gap energies than its sister compound, Sr2IrO4. Moreover, BIO thin-films have both an enhanced electronic bandwidth and electronic-correlation energy. Our results suggest that BIO thin-films have great potential for realizing the interesting physical properties predicted in layered iridates.

Tunable multiband polarization conversion and manipulation in vanadium dioxide-based asymmetric chiral metamaterial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Shichao; Ma, Xiaoliang; Pu, Mingbo; Li, Xiong; Zhang, Zuojun; Gao, Ping; Luo, Xiangang

2018-04-01

Tunable multiband polarization conversion and manipulation are achieved by introducing vanadium dioxide (VO2) into a planar spiral asymmetric chiral metamaterial. Numerical simulations demonstrate that when VO2 is in the insulating state, circularly polarized electromagnetic waves are emitted at two distinct resonant frequencies. When VO2 is in the metallic state, the number of resonant frequencies changes from two to four. In addition, the initial left-handed and right-handed circularly polarized transmitted waves correspondingly transform into right and left ones. Moreover, the surface current distributions are studied in order to investigate the transformation behaviors of both the insulating and metallic states.

Multilevel radiative thermal memory realized by the hysteretic metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ito, Kota, E-mail: kotaito@mosk.tytlabs.co.jp; Nishikawa, Kazutaka; Iizuka, Hideo

Thermal information processing is attracting much interest as an analog of electronic computing. We experimentally demonstrated a radiative thermal memory utilizing a phase change material. The hysteretic metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide (VO{sub 2}) allows us to obtain a multilevel memory. We developed a Preisach model to explain the hysteretic radiative heat transfer between a VO{sub 2} film and a fused quartz substrate. The transient response of our memory predicted by the Preisach model agrees well with the measured response. Our multilevel thermal memory paves the way for thermal information processing as well as contactless thermal management.

The numerical model of multi-layer insulation with a defined wrapping pattern immersed in superfluid helium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malecha, Ziemowit; Lubryka, Eliza

2017-11-01

The numerical model of thin layers, characterized by a defined wrapping pattern can be a crucial element of many computational problems related to engineering and science. A motivating example is found in multilayer electrical insulation, which is an important component of superconducting magnets and other cryogenic installations. The wrapping pattern of the insulation can significantly affect heat transport and the performance of the considered instruments. The major objective of this study is to develop the numerical boundary conditions (BC) needed to model the wrapping pattern of thin insulation. An example of the practical application of the proposed BC includes the heat transfer of Rutherford NbTi cables immersed in super-fluid helium (He II) across thin layers of electrical insulation. The proposed BC and a mathematical model of heat transfer in He II are implemented in the open source CFD toolbox OpenFOAM. The implemented mathematical model and the BC are compared in the experiments. The study confirms that the thermal resistance of electrical insulation can be lowered by implementing the proper wrapping pattern. The proposed BC can be useful in the study of new patterns for wrapping schemes. The work has been supported by statutory funds from Polish Ministry for Science and Higher Education for the year of 2017.

Effect of the substrate on the insulator-metal transition of vanadium dioxide films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovács, György J.; Bürger, Danilo; Skorupa, Ilona; Reuther, Helfried; Heller, René; Schmidt, Heidemarie

2011-03-01

Single-phase vanadium dioxide films grown on (0001) sapphire and (001) silicon substrates show a very different insulator-metal electronic transition. A detailed description of the growth mechanisms and the substrate-film interaction is given, and the characteristics of the electronic transition are described by the morphology and grain boundary structure. (Tri-)epitaxy-stabilized columnar growth of VO2 takes place on the sapphire substrate, whereas on silicon the expected Zone II growth is identified. We have found that in the case of the Si substrate the reasons for the broader hysteresis and the lower switching amplitude are the formation of an amorphous insulating VOx (x > 2.6) phase coexisting with VO2 and the high vanadium vacancy concentration of the VO2. These phenomena are the result of the excess oxygen during the growth and the interaction between the silicon substrate and the growing film.

Microstructural and magneto-transport characterization of Bi2SexTe3-x topological insulator thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Zhenghe; Kumar, Raj; Hunte, Frank; Narayan, Jay; Kim, Ki Wook; North Carolina State University Team

Bi2SexTe3-x topological insulator thin films were grown on Al2O3 (0001) substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). XRD and other structural characterization measurements confirm the growth of the textured Bi2SexTe3-x thin films on Al2O3 substrate. The magneto-transport properties of thick and thin Þlms were investigated to study the effect of thickness on the topological insulator properties of the Bi2SexTe3 - x films. A pronounced semiconducting behavior with a highly insulating ground state was observed in the resistivity vs. temperature data. The presence of the weak anti-localization (WAL) effect with a sharp cusp in the magnetoresistance measurements confirms the 2-D surface transport originating from the TSS in Bi2SexTe3-x TI films. A high fraction of surface transport is observed in the Bi2SexTe3-x TI thin films which decreases in Bi2SexTe3-x TI thick films. The Cosine (θ) dependence of the WAL effect supports the observation of a high proportion of 2-D surface state contribution to overall transport properties of the Bi2SexTe3-x TI thin films. Our results show promise that high quality Bi2SexTe3-x TI thin films with significant surface transport can be grown by PLD method to exploit the exotic properties of the surface transport in future generation spintronic devices. This work was supported, in part, by National Science Foundation ECCS-1306400 and FAME.

Phase diagram of the ultrafast photoinduced insulator-metal transition in vanadium dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cocker, T. L.; Titova, L. V.; Fourmaux, S.; Holloway, G.; Bandulet, H.-C.; Brassard, D.; Kieffer, J.-C.; El Khakani, M. A.; Hegmann, F. A.

2012-04-01

We use time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy to probe the ultrafast dynamics of the insulator-metal phase transition induced by femtosecond laser pulses in a nanogranular vanadium dioxide (VO2) film. Based on the observed thresholds for characteristic transient terahertz dynamics, a phase diagram of critical pump fluence versus temperature for the insulator-metal phase transition in VO2 is established for the first time over a broad range of temperatures down to 17 K. We find that both Mott and Peierls mechanisms are present in the insulating state and that the photoinduced transition is nonthermal. We propose a critical-threshold model for the ultrafast photoinduced transition based on a critical density of electrons and a critical density of coherently excited phonons necessary for the structural transition to the metallic state. As a result, evidence is found at low temperatures for an intermediate metallic state wherein the Mott state is melted but the Peierls distortion remains intact, consistent with recent theoretical predictions. Finally, the observed terahertz conductivity dynamics above the photoinduced transition threshold reveal nucleation and growth of metallic nanodomains over picosecond time scales.

The role of ultra-thin SiO2 layers in metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) photoelectrochemical devices (Presentation Recording)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esposito, Daniel V.

2015-08-01

Solid-state junctions based on a metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) architecture are of great interest for a number of optoelectronic applications such as photovoltaics, photoelectrochemical cells, and photodetection. One major advantage of the MIS junction compared to the closely related metal-semiconductor junction, or Schottky junction, is that the thin insulating layer (1-3 nm thick) that separates the metal and semiconductor can significantly reduce the density of undesirable interfacial mid-gap states. The reduction in mid-gap states helps "un-pin" the junction, allowing for significantly higher built-in-voltages to be achieved. A second major advantage of the MIS junction is that the thin insulating layer can also protect the underlying semiconductor from corrosion in an electrochemical environment, making the MIS architecture well-suited for application in (photo)electrochemical applications. In this presentation, discontinuous Si-based MIS junctions immersed in electrolyte are explored for use as i.) photoelectrodes for solar-water splitting in photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) and ii.) position-sensitive photodetectors. The development and optimization of MIS photoelectrodes for both of these applications relies heavily on understanding how processing of the thin SiO2 layer impacts the properties of nano- and micro-scale MIS junctions, as well as the interactions of the insulating layer with the electrolyte. In this work, we systematically explore the effects of insulator thickness, synthesis method, and chemical treatment on the photoelectrochemical and electrochemical properties of these MIS devices. It is shown that electrolyte-induced inversion plays a critical role in determining the charge carrier dynamics within the MIS photoelectrodes for both applications.

Prediction and Measurement of Temperature Fields in Silicon-on-Insulator Electronic Circuits

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-08-01

common dimensions are given in Table 1. Almost all of the device power is dissipated in the channel. The electri- cally insulating implanted layer...data. Region or Component substrate Material SOI implanted insulating layers single-crystal silicon, 3 x 1015 boron atoms cm -3 Thermal... implanted silicon-dioxide layer in SOI wafers. The data for each device for varying powers fall near a line originating at P = 0 and T0 = 303 K

Protective coating for ceramic materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kourtides, Demetrius A. (Inventor); Churchward, Rex A. (Inventor); Lowe, David M. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A protective coating for ceramic materials such as those made of silicon carbide, aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, aluminoborosilicate and silicon dioxide, and a thermal control structure comprising a ceramic material having coated thereon the protective coating. The protective coating contains, in admixture, silicon dioxide powder, colloidal silicon dioxide, water, and one or more emittance agents selected from silicon tetraboride, silicon hexaboride, silicon carbide, molybdenum disilicide, tungsten disilicide and zirconium diboride. In another aspect, the protective coating is coated on a flexible ceramic fabric which is the outer cover of a composite insulation. In yet another aspect, a metallic foil is bonded to the outer surface of a ceramic fabric outer cover of a composite insulation via the protective coating. A primary application of this invention is as a protective coating for ceramic materials used in a heat shield for space vehicles subjected to very high aero-convective heating environments.

Ultrafast Dynamics in Vanadium Dioxide: Separating Spatially Segregated Mixed Phase Dynamics in the Time-domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilton, David

2011-10-01

In correlated electronic systems, observed electronic and structural behavior results from the complex interplay between multiple, sometimes competing degrees-of- freedom. One such material used to study insulator-to-metal transitions is vanadium dioxide, which undergoes a phase transition from a monoclinic-insulating phase to a rutile-metallic phase when the sample is heated to 340 K. The major open question with this material is the relative influence of this structural phase transition (Peirels transition) and the effects of electronic correlations (Mott transition) on the observed insulator-to-metal transition. Answers to these major questions are complicated by vanadium dioxide's sensitivity to perturbations in the chemical structure in VO2. For example, related VxOy oxides with nearly a 2:1 ratio do not demonstrate the insulator-to- metal transition, while recent work has demonstrated that W:VO2 has demonstrated a tunable transition temperature controllable with tungsten doping. All of these preexisting results suggest that the observed electronic properties are exquisitely sensitive to the sample disorder. Using ultrafast spectroscopic techniques, it is now possible to impulsively excite this transition and investigate the photoinduced counterpart to this thermal phase transition in a strongly nonequilibrium regime. I will discuss our recent results studying the terahertz-frequency conductivity dynamics of this photoinduced phase transition in the poorly understood near threshold temperature range. We find a dramatic softening of the transition near the critical temperature, which results primarily from the mixed phase coexistence near the transition temperature. To directly study this mixed phase behavior, we directly study the nucleation and growth rates of the metallic phase in the parent insulator using non-degenerate optical pump-probe spectroscopy. These experiments measure, in the time- domain, the coexistent phase separation in VO2 (spatially separated insulator and metal islands) and, more importantly, their dynamic evolution in response to optical excitation.

Thin film three-dimensional topological insulator metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistors: A candidate for sub-10 nm devices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Akhavan, N. D., E-mail: nima.dehdashti@uwa.edu.au; Jolley, G.; Umana-Membreno, G. A.

2014-08-28

Three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators (TI) are a new state of quantum matter in which surface states reside in the bulk insulating energy bandgap and are protected by time-reversal symmetry. It is possible to create an energy bandgap as a consequence of the interaction between the conduction band and valence band surface states from the opposite surfaces of a TI thin film, and the width of the bandgap can be controlled by the thin film thickness. The formation of an energy bandgap raises the possibility of thin-film TI-based metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect-transistors (MOSFETs). In this paper, we explore the performance of MOSFETs basedmore » on thin film 3D-TI structures by employing quantum ballistic transport simulations using the effective continuous Hamiltonian with fitting parameters extracted from ab-initio calculations. We demonstrate that thin film transistors based on a 3D-TI structure provide similar electrical characteristics compared to a Si-MOSFET for gate lengths down to 10 nm. Thus, such a device can be a potential candidate to replace Si-based MOSFETs in the sub-10 nm regime.« less

Photoinduced metal-to-insulator transition in a manganite thin film.

PubMed

Takubo, N; Onishi, I; Takubo, K; Mizokawa, T; Miyano, K

2008-10-24

A persistent photoinduced metal-to-insulator transition has been confirmed in a manganite thin film, Pr_(0.55)(Ca_(0.75)Sr_(0.25))_(0.45)MnO3, near a multicritical point by monitoring with transport measurements and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. Together with the previously reported reverse effect, the photoinduced insulator-to-metal transition, it is found that the relative stability of the metallic and insulating phases interchanges around 80 K in the middle of a very wide hysteresis loop, which is a manifestation of the large potential barrier due to the long-range elastic energy. It is shown that photons are much more effective in overcoming the barrier via the electronically excited intermediate states than via the heat mode.

RADIATION MONITOR CONTAINING TWO CONCENTRIC IONIZATION CHAMBERS AND MEANS FOR INSULATING THE SEPARATE CHAMBERS

DOEpatents

Braestrup, C.B.; Mooney, R.T.

1964-01-21

This invention relates to a portable radiation monitor containing two concentric ionization chambers which permit the use of standard charging and reading devices. It is particularly adapted as a personnel x-ray dosimeter and to this end comprises a small thin walled, cylindrical conductor forming an inner energy dependent chamber, a small thin walled, cylindrical conductor forming an outer energy independent chamber, and polymeric insulation means which insulates said chambers from each other and holds the chambers together with exposed connections in a simple, trouble-free, and compact assembly substantially without variation in directional response. (AEC)

Tuning thermoelectricity in a Bi 2Se 3 topological insulator via varied film thickness

DOE PAGES

Guo, Minghua; Wang, Zhenyu; Xu, Yong; ...

2016-01-12

We report thermoelectric transport studies on Bi 2Se 3 topological insulator thin films with varied thickness grown by molecular beam epitaxy. We find that the Seebeck coefficient and thermoelectric power factor decrease systematically with the reduction of film thickness. These experimental observations can be explained quantitatively by theoretical calculations based on realistic electronic band structure of the Bi 2Se 3 thin films. Lastly, this work illustrates the crucial role played by the topological surface states on the thermoelectric transport of topological insulators, and sheds new light on further improvement of their thermoelectric performance.

Positive Bias Instability of Bottom-Gate Zinc Oxide Thin-Film Transistors with a SiOx/SiNx-Stacked Gate Insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furuta, Mamoru; Kamada, Yudai; Hiramatsu, Takahiro; Li, Chaoyang; Kimura, Mutsumi; Fujita, Shizuo; Hirao, Takashi

2011-03-01

The positive bias instabilities of the zinc oxide thin-film transistors (ZnO TFTs) with a SiOx/SiNx-stacked gate insulator have been investigated. The film quality of a gate insulator of SiOx, which forms an interface with the ZnO channel, was varied by changing the gas mixture ratio of SiH4/N2O/N2 during plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The positive bias stress endurance of ZnO TFT strongly depended on the deposition condition of the SiOx gate insulator. From the relaxations of the transfer curve shift after imposition of positive bias stress, transfer curves could not be recovered completely without any thermal annealing. A charge trapping in a gate insulator rather than that in bulk ZnO and its interface with a gate insulator is a dominant instability mechanism of ZnO TFTs under positive bias stress.

Thick film magnetic nanoparticulate composites and method of manufacture thereof

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ge, Shihui (Inventor); Yan, Dajing (Inventor); Xiao, Danny T. (Inventor); Ma, Xinqing (Inventor); Zhang, Yide (Inventor); Zhang, Zongtao (Inventor)

2009-01-01

Thick film magnetic/insulating nanocomposite materials, with significantly reduced core loss, and their manufacture are described. The insulator coated magnetic nanocomposite comprises one or more magnetic components, and an insulating component. The magnetic component comprises nanometer scale particles (about 1 to about 100 nanometers) coated by a thin-layered insulating phase. While the intergrain interaction between the immediate neighboring magnetic nanoparticles separated by the insulating phase provides the desired soft magnetic properties, the insulating material provides high resistivity, which reduces eddy current loss.

Optimization of primary printed batteries based on Zn/MnO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madej, E.; Espig, M.; Baumann, R. R.; Schuhmann, W.; La Mantia, F.

2014-09-01

Thin-film batteries based on zinc/manganese dioxide chemistry with gel ZnCl2 electrolyte were manufactured as single (1.5 V) and double (3.0 V) cells from electrodes printed on paper substrates covered with different polymeric insulating coatings. Their properties were evaluated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and chronopotentiometry. Best performing cells achieved capacities in the range of 3 mAh cm-2 during discharge with 100 μA current, corresponding approximately to C/100 discharge rate. The influence of the cell elements on the overvoltage was examined and suggestions for the optimization of their performance were postulated. In particular, it was observed that limitations in the delivered power were governed by the poor conductivity of the carbon current collector. An optimized cell was built and showed a 4-fold improvement in the power delivered at 1 mA.

VO2 Thermochromic Films on Quartz Glass Substrate Grown by RF-Plasma-Assisted Oxide Molecular Beam Epitaxy

PubMed Central

Zhang, Dong; Sun, Hong-Jun; Wang, Min-Huan; Miao, Li-Hua; Liu, Hong-Zhu; Zhang, Yu-Zhi; Bian, Ji-Ming

2017-01-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) thermochromic thin films with various thicknesses were grown on quartz glass substrates by radio frequency (RF)-plasma assisted oxide molecular beam epitaxy (O-MBE). The crystal structure, morphology and chemical stoichiometry were investigated systemically by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. An excellent reversible metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) characteristics accompanied by an abrupt change in both electrical resistivity and optical infrared (IR) transmittance was observed from the optimized sample. Remarkably, the transition temperature (TMIT) deduced from the resistivity-temperature curve was reasonably consistent with that obtained from the temperature-dependent IR transmittance. Based on Raman measurement and XPS analyses, the observations were interpreted in terms of residual stresses and chemical stoichiometry. This achievement will be of great benefit for practical application of VO2-based smart windows. PMID:28772673

Dynamically Babinet-invertible metasurface: a capacitive-inductive reconfigurable filter for terahertz waves using vanadium-dioxide metal-insulator transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urade, Yoshiro; Nakata, Yosuke; Okimura, Kunio; Nakanishi, Toshihiro; Miyamaru, Fumiaki; Takeda, Mitsuo W.; Kitano, Masao

2016-03-01

This paper proposes a reconfigurable planar metamaterial that can be switched between capacitive and inductive responses using local changes in the electrical conductivity of its constituent material. The proposed device is based on Babinet's principle and exploits the singular electromagnetic responses of metallic checkerboard structures, which are dependent on the local electrical conductivity. Utilizing the heating-induced metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide ($\\mathrm{VO}_2$), the proposed metamaterial is designed to compensate for the effect of the substrate and is experimentally characterized in the terahertz regime. This reconfigurable metamaterial can be utilized as a switchable filter and as a switchable phase shifter for terahertz waves.

Dynamically Babinet-invertible metasurface: a capacitive-inductive reconfigurable filter for terahertz waves using vanadium-dioxide metal-insulator transition.

PubMed

Urade, Yoshiro; Nakata, Yosuke; Okimura, Kunio; Nakanishi, Toshihiro; Miyamaru, Fumiaki; Takeda, Mitsuo W; Kitano, Masao

2016-03-07

This paper proposes a reconfigurable planar metamaterial that can be switched between capacitive and inductive responses using local changes in the electrical conductivity of its constituent material. The proposed device is based on Babinet's principle and exploits the singular electromagnetic responses of metallic checkerboard structures, which are dependent on the local electrical conductivity. Utilizing the heating-induced metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ), the proposed meta-material is designed to compensate for the effect of the substrate and is experimentally characterized in the terahertz regime. This reconfigurable metamaterial can be utilized as a switchable filter and as a switchable phase shifter for terahertz waves.

Electron Microscopy Characterization of Vanadium Dioxide Thin Films and Nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera, Felipe

Vanadium dioxide (VO_2) is a material of particular interest due to its exhibited metal to insulator phase transition at 68°C that is accompanied by an abrupt and significant change in its electronic and optical properties. Since this material can exhibit a reversible drop in resistivity of up to five orders of magnitude and a reversible drop in infrared optical transmission of up to 80%, this material holds promise in several technological applications. Solid phase crystallization of VO_2 thin films was obtained by a post-deposition annealing process of a VO_{x,x approx 2} amorphous film sputtered on an amorphous silicon dioxide (SiO_2) layer. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron-backscattered diffraction (EBSD) were utilized to study the morphology of the solid phase crystallization that resulted from this post-deposition annealing process. The annealing parameters ranged in temperature from 300°C up to 1000°C and in time from 5 minutes up to 12 hours. Depending on the annealing parameters, EBSD showed that this process yielded polycrystalline vanadium dioxide thin films, semi-continuous thin films, and films of isolated single-crystal particles. In addition to these films on SiO_2, other VO_2 thin films were deposited onto a-, c-, and r-cuts of sapphire and on TiO_2(001) heated single-crystal substrates by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD). The temperature of the substrates was kept at ˜500°C during deposition. EBSD maps and orientation imaging microscopy were used to study the epitaxy and orientation of the VO_2 grains deposited on the single crystal substrates, as well as on the amorphous SiO_2 layer. The EBSD/OIM results showed that: 1) For all the sapphire substrates analyzed, there is a predominant family of crystallographic relationships wherein the rutile VO_2{001} planes tend to lie parallel to the sapphire's {10-10} and the rutile VO_2{100} planes lie parallel to the sapphire's {1-210} and {0001}. Furthermore, while this family of relationships accounts for the majority of the VO_2 grains observed, due to the sapphire substrate's geometry there were variations within these rules that changed the orientation of VO_2 grains with respect to the substrate's normal direction. 2) For the TiO_2, a substrate with a lower lattice mismatch, we observe the expected relationship where the rutile VO_2 [100], [110], and [001] crystal directions lie parallel to the TiO_2 substrate's [100], [110], and [001] crystal directions respectively. 3) For the amorphous SiO_2 layer, all VO_2 crystals that were measurable (those that grew to the thickness of the deposited film) had a preferred orientation with the the rutile VO_2[001] crystal direction tending to lie parallel to the plane of the specimen. The use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is presented as a tool for further characterization studies of this material and its applications. In this work TEM diffraction patterns taken from cross-sections of particles of the a- and r-cut sapphire substrates not only solidified the predominant family mentioned, but also helped lift the ambiguity present in the rutile VO_2{100} axes. Finally, a focused-ion beam technique for preparation of cross-sectional TEM samples of metallic thin films deposited on polymer substrates is demonstrated.

Variation in Baiting Intensity Among CO2-Baited Traps Used to Collect Hematophagous Arthropods

PubMed Central

Springer, Yuri P.; Taylor, Jeffrey R.; Travers, Patrick D.

2015-01-01

Hematophagous arthropods transmit the etiological agents of numerous diseases and as a result are frequently the targets of sampling to characterize vector and pathogen populations. Arguably, the most commonly used sampling approach involves traps baited with carbon dioxide. We report results of a laboratory study in which the performance of carbon dioxide-baited traps was evaluated using measures of baiting intensity, the amount of carbon dioxide released per unit time during trap deployment. We evaluated the effects of trap design, carbon dioxide source, and wind speed on baiting intensity and documented significant effects of these factors on the length of sampling (time to baiting intensity = 0), maximum baiting intensity, and variation in baiting intensity during experimental trials. Among the three dry ice-baited trap types evaluated, traps utilizing insulated beverage coolers as dry ice containers sampled for the longest period of time, had the lowest maximum but most consistent baiting intensity within trials and were least sensitive to effects of wind speed and dry ice form (block vs. pellet) on baiting intensity. Results of trials involving traps baited with carbon dioxide released from pressurized cylinders suggested that this trap type had performance comparable to dry ice-baited insulated cooler traps but at considerably higher cost. PMID:26160803

Field Management of Accidental Hypothermia during Diving

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-01-01

diving operations. 4 3. Diving after tending for prolonged periods leading to hypothermia before diving. 4. Dry suit undergarments that are wet due to...dives, reducing insulation of the undergarment, and then remaining at rest for prolonged decompressiofi stops. 6. Inadequate thermal insulation: wet ...suit instead of dry suit, undergarment selection too thin, too compressible or of poor insulation when wet (63-64), inadequate thermal insulation of the

Micro-architecture embedding ultra-thin interlayer to bond diamond and silicon via direct fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jong Cheol; Kim, Jongsik; Xin, Yan; Lee, Jinhyung; Kim, Young-Gyun; Subhash, Ghatu; Singh, Rajiv K.; Arjunan, Arul C.; Lee, Haigun

2018-05-01

The continuous demand on miniaturized electronic circuits bearing high power density illuminates the need to modify the silicon-on-insulator-based chip architecture. This is because of the low thermal conductivity of the few hundred nanometer-thick insulator present between the silicon substrate and active layers. The thick insulator is notorious for releasing the heat generated from the active layers during the operation of devices, leading to degradation in their performance and thus reducing their lifetime. To avoid the heat accumulation, we propose a method to fabricate the silicon-on-diamond (SOD) microstructure featured by an exceptionally thin silicon oxycarbide interlayer (˜3 nm). While exploiting the diamond as an insulator, we employ spark plasma sintering to render the silicon directly fused to the diamond. Notably, this process can manufacture the SOD microarchitecture via a simple/rapid way and incorporates the ultra-thin interlayer for minute thermal resistance. The method invented herein expects to minimize the thermal interfacial resistance of the devices and is thus deemed as a breakthrough appealing to the current chip industry.

Poly(4-vinylphenol) gate insulator with cross-linking using a rapid low-power microwave induction heating scheme for organic thin-film-transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Ching-Lin; Shang, Ming-Chi; Hsia, Mao-Yuan; Wang, Shea-Jue; Huang, Bohr-Ran; Lee, Win-Der

2016-03-01

A Microwave-Induction Heating (MIH) scheme is proposed for the poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP) gate insulator cross-linking process to replace the traditional oven heating cross-linking process. The cross-linking time is significantly decreased from 1 h to 5 min by heating the metal below the PVP layer using microwave irradiation. The necessary microwave power was substantially reduced to about 50 W by decreasing the chamber pressure. The MIH scheme is a good candidate to replace traditional thermal heating for cross-linking of PVP as the gate insulator for organic thin-film-transistors.

Thin-film encapsulation of organic electronic devices based on vacuum evaporated lithium fluoride as protective buffer layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Yingquan; Ding, Sihan; Wen, Zhanwei; Xu, Sunan; Lv, Wenli; Xu, Ziqiang; Yang, Yuhuan; Wang, Ying; Wei, Yi; Tang, Ying

2017-03-01

Encapsulation is indispensable for organic thin-film electronic devices to ensure reliable operation and long-term stability. For thin-film encapsulating organic electronic devices, insulating polymers and inorganic metal oxides thin films are widely used. However, spin-coating of insulating polymers directly on organic electronic devices may destroy or introduce unwanted impurities in the underlying organic active layers. And also, sputtering of inorganic metal oxides may damage the underlying organic semiconductors. Here, we demonstrated that by utilizing vacuum evaporated lithium fluoride (LiF) as protective buffer layer, spin-coated insulating polymer polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and sputtered inorganic material Er2O3, can be successfully applied for thin film encapsulation of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)-based organic diodes. By encapsulating with LiF/PVA/LiF trilayer and LiF/Er2O3 bilayer films, the device lifetime improvements of 10 and 15 times can be achieved. These methods should be applicable for thin-film encapsulation of all kinds of organic electronic devices. Moisture-induced hole trapping, and Al top electrode oxidation are suggest to be the origins of current decay for the LiF/PVA/LiF trilayer and LiF/Er2O3 bilayer films encapsulated devices, respectively.

Superconductor—Insulator Transitions in Pure Polycrystalline Nb Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Couedo, F.; Crauste, O.; Bergé, L.; Dolgorouky, Y.; Marrache-Kikuchi, C.; Dumoulin, L.

2012-12-01

We report on a study of the transport properties of Nb thin films. By varying the thickness of the films from 263 Å to 25 Å, we observed a depression of the superconductivity. Magnetic field was also applied up to 6 T, inducing the disappearance of the superconductivity and the onset of an insulating behavior. The results were compared to those we have already obtained on a highly disordered system, a-NbxSi1-x, to understand whether the same mechanisms for the disappearance of the superconductivity could be at play in pure metallic thin films and in highly disordered systems.

Pinpoint and bulk electrochemical reduction of insulating silicon dioxide to silicon.

PubMed

Nohira, Toshiyuki; Yasuda, Kouji; Ito, Yasuhiko

2003-06-01

Silicon dioxide (SiO(2)) is conventionally reduced to silicon by carbothermal reduction, in which the oxygen is removed by a heterogeneous-homogeneous reaction sequence at approximately 1,700 degrees C. Here we report pinpoint and bulk electrochemical methods for removing oxygen from solid SiO(2) in a molten CaCl(2) electrolyte at 850 degrees C. This approach involves a 'contacting electrode', in which a metal wire supplies electrons to a selected region of the insulating SiO(2). Bulk reduction of SiO(2) is possible by increasing the number of contacting points. The same method was also demonstrated with molten LiCl-KCl-CaCl(2) at 500 degrees C. The novelty and relative simplicity of this method might lead to new processes in silicon semiconductor technology, as well as in high-purity silicon production. The methodology may be applicable to electrochemical processing of a wide variety of insulating materials, provided that the electrolyte dissolves the appropriate constituent ion(s) of the material.

Phase modulation in horizontal metal-insulator-silicon-insulator-metal plasmonic waveguides.

PubMed

Zhu, Shiyang; Lo, G Q; Kwong, D L

2013-04-08

An extremely compact Si phase modulator is proposed and validated, which relies on effective modulation of the real part of modal index of horizontal metal-insulator-Si-insulator-metal plasmonic waveguides by a voltage applied between the metal cover and the Si core. Proof-of-concept devices are fabricated on silicon-on-insulator substrates using standard complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology using copper as the metal and thermal silicon dioxide as the insulator. A modulator with a 1-μm-long phase shifter inserted in an asymmetric Si Mach-Zehnder interferometer exhibits 9-dB extinction ratio under a 6-V/10-kHz voltage swing. Numerical simulations suggest that high speed and low driving voltage could be achieved by shortening the distance between the Si core and the n(+)-contact and by using a high-κ dielectric as the insulator, respectively.

Installing fiber insulation in tight spaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patel, B. C.; Wang, D. S.; Warren, A. D.

1978-01-01

Two techniques using organic resin binders or thin clear-burning plastic film have been successfully used to simplify, and facilitate handling of aluminum/zirconia fiber batting as insulation material for high temperature seals.

Local probing of thermal energy transfer and conversion processes in VO2 nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menges, Fabian

Nanostructures of strongly correlated materials, such as metal-insulator transition (MIT) oxides, enable unusual coupling of charge and heat transport. Hence, they provide an interesting pathway to the development of non-linear thermal devices for active heat flux control. Here, we will report the characterization of local thermal non-equilibrium processes in vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films and single-crystalline nanobeams. Using a scanning thermal microscope and calorimetric MEMS platforms, we studied the MIT triggered by electrical currents, electrical fields, near-field thermal radiation and thermal conduction. Based on out recently introduced scanning probe thermometry method, which enables direct imaging of local Joule and Peltier effects, we quantified self-heating processes in VO2 memristors using the tip of a resistively heated scanning probe both as local sensor and nanoscopic heat source. Finally, we will report on recent approaches to build radiative thermal switches and oscillators using VO2 nanostructures. We quantified variations of near-field radiative thermal transport between silicon dioxide and VO2 down to nanoscopic gap sizes, and will discuss its implications for the development of phonon polariton based radiative thermal devices. Funding of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy under Grant Agreement No. SI/501093-01 is gratefully acknowledged.

Metal-in-metal localized surface plasmon resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, G. B.; Earp, A. A.

2010-01-01

Anomalous strong resonances in silver and gold nanoporous thin films which conduct are found to arise from isolated metal nano-islands separated from the surrounding percolating metal network by a thin loop of insulator. This observed resonant optical response is modelled. The observed peak position is in agreement with the observed average dimensions of the silver core and insulator shell. As the insulating ring thickness shrinks, the resonance moves to longer wavelengths and strengthens. This structure is the Babinet's principle counterpart of dielectric core-metal shell nanoparticles embedded in dielectric. Like for the latter, tuning of resonant absorption is possible, but here the matrix reflects rather than transmits, and tuning to longer wavelengths is more practical. A new class of metal mirror occurring as a single thin layer is identified using the same resonances in dense metal mirrors. Narrow band deep localized dips in reflectance result.

Interfacial band alignment and structural properties of nanoscale TiO2 thin films for integration with epitaxial crystallographic oriented germanium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, N.; Zhu, Y.; Maurya, D.; Varghese, R.; Priya, S.; Hudait, M. K.

2014-01-01

We have investigated the structural and band alignment properties of nanoscale titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films deposited on epitaxial crystallographic oriented Ge layers grown on (100), (110), and (111)A GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The TiO2 thin films deposited at low temperature by physical vapor deposition were found to be amorphous in nature, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy confirmed a sharp heterointerface between the TiO2 thin film and the epitaxially grown Ge with no traceable interfacial layer. A comprehensive assessment on the effect of substrate orientation on the band alignment at the TiO2/Ge heterointerface is presented by utilizing x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry. A band-gap of 3.33 ± 0.02 eV was determined for the amorphous TiO2 thin film from the Tauc plot. Irrespective of the crystallographic orientation of the epitaxial Ge layer, a sufficient valence band-offset of greater than 2 eV was obtained at the TiO2/Ge heterointerface while the corresponding conduction band-offsets for the aforementioned TiO2/Ge system were found to be smaller than 1 eV. A comparative assessment on the effect of Ge substrate orientation revealed a valence band-offset relation of ΔEV(100) > ΔEV(111) > ΔEV(110) and a conduction band-offset relation of ΔEC(110) > ΔEC(111) > ΔEC(100). These band-offset parameters are of critical importance and will provide key insight for the design and performance analysis of TiO2 for potential high-κ dielectric integration and for future metal-insulator-semiconductor contact applications with next generation of Ge based metal-oxide field-effect transistors.

Chemical sensing employingpH sensitive emeraldine base thin film for carbon dioxide detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irimia-Vladu, Mihai

Respiration, or CO2 evolution, is a universal indicator for all the biological activities. Among many potential applications, the measurement of CO2 evolution has been found to be a rapid and nondestructive means for examining microbial contamination of food. The sensor developed in this work consists of a thin emeraldine base-polyaniline (EB-PAni) film. In the first half of the project the effect of carbon dioxide over the conductivity of a composite film of emeraldine base polyaniline and poly(vinyl alcohol) in N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) respectively was tested. Argon gas or mixture of argon and 5% CO2 were circulated through the glass cell containing the polymer film deposited on interdigitated electrode and exposed to specific humidity levels fixed by aqueous supersaturated salt solutions. In the second half of the project, a thin emeraldine base film in NMP was directly deposited on interdigitated electrode and the respective sensor inserted in water. Carbonic acid solutions of various pHs were generated by bubbling specific mixtures of carbon dioxide and argon. Conductivity measurements were performed by impedance spectroscopy throughout the project. The sensing mechanism is based on intermediate stages of the transformation of the emeraldine base polyaniline to a conductive salt type (ES-PAni). This EB-ES transformation is the consequence of the exposure of EB-PAni to a protonic acid and is accompanied by a change in the conductivity of the polymer film. Carbonic acid, unfortunately, is a very weak acid and is unable to induce a conductivity change, but the intermediate steps that predetermine this transformation are detected by impedance spectroscopy even when the overall conductivity of the film is unchanged. The composite thin film developed in the first part of the project showed poor sensing characteristics: limited dynamic range, drift, instability and slow time response. However, the sensor design employed in the second half of this work, coupled with impedance spectroscopy measurements, revealed valuable information about conduction mechanisms at pH levels were the overall conductivity of the film remained unchanged. Typical impedance spectra for the emeraldine thin films for a frequency sweep between 3.2 E7 to 1 Hz shows a single semicircle. The overall conductivity of the film (5x10-4 S/cm) does not change when CO 2 is bubbled through the water in which the sensor is immersed, but an additional semicircle starts to appear at low (less than 200 Hz) frequency corresponding to lowering the pH of the solution below 5.0. The original semicircle diminishes in size but maintains its initial peak frequency. The EB film is very sensitive to pH changes, therefore an additional semicircle appears in unpurified argon gas due to the reduction of the pH of water solution to 4.65. The same mechanism is displayed in hydrochloric acid solutions of various pH. The formation of the second semicircle depends on the initial conductivity of the emeraldine base film, a film displaying an initial conductivity of 4.8 x 10-3 S/cm forming the second semicircle at a pH of 5.85. The appearance of the second semicircle is most likely due to a preferential protonation in the insulating matrix of the polymer film. The overall conductivity of the film increases when the level of protonation in the insulating portion of the film reached a level close to the protonation level in the scattered metallic islands, allowing the electron-hopping mechanism to became active. The sensor output is stable and reproducible even after 11 months passed from the polymer film deposition.

Thermal oxidation of silicon in a residual oxygen atmosphere—the RESOX process—for self-limiting growth of thin silicon dioxide films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wright, Jason T.; Carbaugh, Daniel J.; Haggerty, Morgan E.; Richard, Andrea L.; Ingram, David C.; Kaya, Savas; Jadwisienczak, Wojciech M.; Rahman, Faiz

2016-10-01

We describe in detail the growth procedures and properties of thermal silicon dioxide grown in a limited and dilute oxygen atmosphere. Thin thermal oxide films have become increasingly important in recent years due to the continuing down-scaling of ultra large scale integration metal oxide silicon field effect transistors. Such films are also of importance for organic transistors where back-gating is needed. The technique described here is novel and allows self-limited formation of high quality thin oxide films on silicon surfaces. This technique is easy to implement in both research laboratory and industrial settings. Growth conditions and their effects on film growth have been described. Properties of the resulting oxide films, relevant for microelectronic device applications, have also been investigated and reported here. Overall, our findings are that thin, high quality, dense silicon dioxide films of thicknesses up to 100 nm can be easily grown in a depleted oxygen environment at temperatures similar to that used for usual silicon dioxide thermal growth in flowing dry oxygen.

Modifying ultrafast optical response of sputtered VOX nanostructures in a broad spectral range by altering post annealing atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kürüm, U.; Yaglioglu, H. G.; Küçüköz, B.; Oksuzoglu, R. M.; Yıldırım, M.; Yağcı, A. M.; Yavru, C.; Özgün, S.; Tıraş, T.; Elmali, A.

2015-01-01

Nanostructured VOX thin films were grown in a dc magnetron sputter system under two different Ar:O2 gas flow ratios. The films were annealed under vacuum and various ratios of O2/N2 atmospheres. The insulator-to-metal transition properties of the thin films were investigated by temperature dependent resistance measurement. Photo induced insulator-to-metal transition properties were investigated by Z-scan and ultrafast white light continuum pump probe spectroscopy measurements. Experiments showed that not only insulator-to-metal transition, but also wavelength dependence (from NIR to VIS) and time scale (from ns to ultrafast) of nonlinear optical response of the VOX thin films could be fine tuned by carefully adjusting post annealing atmosphere despite different initial oxygen content in the production. Fabricated VO2 thin films showed reflection change in the visible region due to photo induced phase transition. The results have general implications for easy and more effective fabrication of the nanostructured oxide systems with controllable electrical, optical, and ultrafast optical responses.

Thermal conductivity of thin insulating films determined by tunnel magneto-Seebeck effect measurements and finite-element modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huebner, Torsten; Martens, Ulrike; Walowski, Jakob; Münzenberg, Markus; Thomas, Andy; Reiss, Günter; Kuschel, Timo

2018-06-01

In general, it is difficult to access the thermal conductivity of thin insulating films experimentally by electrical means. Here, we present a new approach utilizing the tunnel magneto-Seebeck effect (TMS) in combination with finite-element modeling (FEM). We detect the laser-induced TMS and the absolute thermovoltage of laser-heated magnetic tunnel junctions with 2.6 nm thin barriers of MgAl2O4 (MAO) and MgO, respectively. A second measurement of the absolute thermovoltage after a dielectric breakdown of the barrier grants insight into the remaining thermovoltage of the stack. Thus, the pure TMS without any parasitic Nernst contributions from the leads can be identified. In combination with FEM via COMSOL, we are able to extract values for the thermal conductivity of MAO (0.7 W (K · m)‑1) and MgO (5.8 W (K · m)‑1), which are in very good agreement with theoretical predictions. Our method provides a new promising way to extract the experimentally challenging parameter of the thermal conductivity of thin insulating films.

Electric Field and Current Density Performance Analysis of Sf6, C4f8 and CO2 Gases As An Insulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazli, Ahmad Danial Ahmad; Jamail, Nor Akmal Mohd; Azlin Othman, Nordiana

2017-08-01

SF6 gases are not only widely used as an insulating component in electric power industry but also as an arc extinguishing performance in high voltage (HV) gas-insulated circuit breaker (GCB). SF6 gases is generally used in the production of semiconductor materials and devices. Though these gasses is widely used in many application, the presences of temperature hotspot in the insulations may affect the insulation characteristics particularly electric field and current density. Therefore, it is important to determine the relationship between electric field and current density of gasses used in the insulator in the presence of hotspot. In this paper, three types of gases in particular Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6), Octafluorocylobutane (C4F8), and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) was used in the insulator for gas insulation with the presence of two hotspots. These two hotspost were detected by referring the rising temperature in the insulator which are 1000 and 2000 Kelvin temperature for hotspot 1 and hotspot 2, respectively. From the simulation results, it can be concluded that Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) is the best choice for gas insulation since it had the lowest current density and electric field compared to Octafluorocylobutane (C4F8), and Carbon Dioxide (CO2). It is observed that the maximum current density and electric field for SF6 during normal condition are 358.94 × 103 V/m and 0.643 × 109 A/m2, respectively. Meanwhile, during temperature rising at hotspot 1 and hotspot 2, SF6 also had lowest current density and electric field compared to the other gasses where the results for Emax and Jmax at hotspot 1 are 322.34 × 103 V/m and 1.934 × 109 A/m2, respectively; While, Emax and Jmax at hotspot 2 are 259.77× 103 V/m and 2.824 × 109 A/m2. The results of this analysis can be used to find the best choices of gas that can be used in the insulator.

Fuel cell end plate structure

DOEpatents

Guthrie, Robin J.; Katz, Murray; Schroll, Craig R.

1991-04-23

The end plates (16) of a fuel cell stack (12) are formed of a thin membrane. Pressure plates (20) exert compressive load through insulation layers (22, 26) to the membrane. Electrical contact between the end plates (16) and electrodes (50, 58) is maintained without deleterious making and breaking of electrical contacts during thermal transients. The thin end plate (16) under compressive load will not distort with a temperature difference across its thickness. Pressure plate (20) experiences a low thermal transient because it is insulated from the cell. The impact on the end plate of any slight deflection created in the pressure plate by temperature difference is minimized by the resilient pressure pad, in the form of insulation, therebetween.

Characterizing the structure of topological insulator thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Richardella, Anthony; Kandala, Abhinav; Lee, Joon Sue

2015-08-01

We describe the characterization of structural defects that occur during molecular beam epitaxy of topological insulator thin films on commonly used substrates. Twinned domains are ubiquitous but can be reduced by growth on smooth InP (111)A substrates, depending on details of the oxide desorption. Even with a low density of twins, the lattice mismatch between (Bi, Sb){sub 2}Te{sub 3} and InP can cause tilts in the film with respect to the substrate. We also briefly discuss transport in simultaneously top and back electrically gated devices using SrTiO{sub 3} and the use of capping layers to protect topological insulator films frommore » oxidation and exposure.« less

Superconductor-insulator quantum phase transition in disordered FeSe thin films.

PubMed

Schneider, R; Zaitsev, A G; Fuchs, D; V Löhneysen, H

2012-06-22

The evolution of two-dimensional electronic transport with increasing disorder in epitaxial FeSe thin films is studied. Disorder is generated by reducing the film thickness. The extreme sensitivity of the films to disorder results in a superconductor-insulator transition. The finite-size scaling analysis in the critical regime based on the Bose-glass model strongly supports the idea of a continuous quantum phase transition. The obtained value for the critical-exponent product of approximately 7/3 suggests that the transition is governed by quantum percolation. Finite-size scaling with the same critical-exponent product is also substantiated when the superconductor-insulator transition is tuned with an applied magnetic field.

Guided Acoustic and Optical Waves in Silicon-on-Insulator for Brillouin Scattering and Optomechanics

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-01

APL PHOTONICS 1, 071301 (2016) Guided acoustic and optical waves in silicon-on- insulator for Brillouin scattering and optomechanics Christopher J...is possible to simultaneously guide optical and acoustic waves in the technologically important silicon on insulator (SOI) material system. Thin...mechanism on which to base on-chip nonlinear optical devices compatible with a rapidly growing silicon photonics toolbox.3–9 While silicon on insulator

Topological Insulator State in Thin Bismuth Films Subjected to Plane Tensile Strain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demidov, E. V.; Grabov, V. M.; Komarov, V. A.; Kablukova, N. S.; Krushel'nitskii, A. N.

2018-03-01

The results of experimental examination of galvanomagnetic properties of thin bismuth films subjected to plane tensile strain resulting from the difference in thermal expansion coefficients of the substrate material and bismuth are presented. The resistivity, the magnetoresistance, and the Hall coefficient were studied at temperatures ranging from 5 to 300 K in magnetic fields as strong as 0.65 T. Carrier densities were calculated. A considerable increase in carrier density in films thinner than 30 nm was observed. This suggests that surface states are more prominent in thin bismuth films on mica substrates, while the films themselves may exhibit the properties of a topological insulator.

Ferroelectricity in epitaxial Y-doped HfO2 thin film integrated on Si substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, K.; Lee, T. Y.; Yang, S. M.; Lee, D. H.; Park, J.; Chae, S. C.

2018-05-01

We report on the ferroelectricity of a Y-doped HfO2 thin film epitaxially grown on Si substrate, with an yttria-stabilized zirconia buffer layer pre-deposited on the substrate. Piezoresponse force microscopy results show the ferroelectric domain pattern, implying the existence of ferroelectricity in the epitaxial HfO2 film. The epitaxially stabilized HfO2 film in the form of a metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor structure exhibits ferroelectric hysteresis with a clear ferroelectric switching current in polarization-voltage measurements. The HfO2 thin film also demonstrates ferroelectric retention comparable to that of current perovskite-based metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor structures.

Investigation of plasma dynamics during the growth of amorphous titanium dioxide thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jin-Soo; Jee, Hyeok; Yu, Young-Hun; Seo, Hye-Won

2018-06-01

We have grown amorphous titanium dioxide thin films by reactive DC sputtering method using a different argon/oxygen partial pressure at a room temperature. The plasma dynamics of the process, reactive and sputtered gas particles was investigated via optical emission spectroscopy. We then studied the correlations between the plasma states and the structural/optical properties of the films. The growth rate and morphology of the titanium dioxide thin films turned out to be contingent with the population and the energy profile of Ar, O, and TiO plasma. In particular, the films grown under energetic TiO plasma have shown a direct band-to-band transition with an optical energy band gap up to ∼4.2 eV.

Fuel Retention Improvement at High Temperatures in Tungsten-Uranium Dioxide Dispersion Fuel Elements by Plasma-Spray Cladding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grisaffe, Salvatore J.; Caves, Robert M.

1964-01-01

An investigation was undertaken to determine the feasibility of depositing integrally bonded plasma-sprayed tungsten coatings onto 80-volume-percent tungsten - 20-volume-percent uranium dioxide composites. These composites were face clad with thin tungsten foil to inhibit uranium dioxide loss at elevated temperatures, but loss at the unclad edges was still significant. By preheating the composite substrates to approximately 3700 degrees F in a nitrogen environment, metallurgically bonded tungsten coatings could be obtained directly by plasma spraying. Furthermore, even though these coatings were thin and somewhat porous, they greatly inhibited the loss of uranium dioxide. For example, a specimen that was face clad but had no edge cladding lost 5.8 percent uranium dioxide after 2 hours at 4750 dgrees F in flowing hydrogen. A similar specimen with plasma-spray-coated edges, however, lost only 0.75 percent uranium dioxide under the same testing conditions.

Variation in Baiting Intensity Among CO2-Baited Traps Used to Collect Hematophagous Arthropods.

PubMed

Springer, Yuri P; Taylor, Jeffrey R; Travers, Patrick D

2015-01-01

Hematophagous arthropods transmit the etiological agents of numerous diseases and as a result are frequently the targets of sampling to characterize vector and pathogen populations. Arguably, the most commonly used sampling approach involves traps baited with carbon dioxide. We report results of a laboratory study in which the performance of carbon dioxide-baited traps was evaluated using measures of baiting intensity, the amount of carbon dioxide released per unit time during trap deployment. We evaluated the effects of trap design, carbon dioxide source, and wind speed on baiting intensity and documented significant effects of these factors on the length of sampling (time to baiting intensity = 0), maximum baiting intensity, and variation in baiting intensity during experimental trials. Among the three dry ice-baited trap types evaluated, traps utilizing insulated beverage coolers as dry ice containers sampled for the longest period of time, had the lowest maximum but most consistent baiting intensity within trials and were least sensitive to effects of wind speed and dry ice form (block vs. pellet) on baiting intensity. Results of trials involving traps baited with carbon dioxide released from pressurized cylinders suggested that this trap type had performance comparable to dry ice-baited insulated cooler traps but at considerably higher cost. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.

Fabrication and Testing of a Thin-Film Heat Flux Sensor for a Stirling Convertor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Scott D.; Fralick, Gustave; Wrbanek, John; Sayir, Ali

2009-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has been testing high efficiency free-piston Stirling convertors for potential use in radioisotope power systems since 1999. Stirling convertors are being operated for many years to demonstrate a radioisotope power system capable of providing reliable power for potential multi-year missions. Techniques used to monitor the convertors for change in performance include measurements of temperature, pressure, energy addition, and energy rejection. Micro-porous bulk insulation is used in the Stirling convertor test set up to minimize the loss of thermal energy from the electric heat source to the environment. The insulation is characterized before extended operation, enabling correlation of the net thermal energy addition to the convertor. Aging microporous bulk insulation changes insulation efficiency, introducing errors in the correlation for net thermal energy addition. A thin-mm heat flux sensor was designed and fabricated to directly measure the net thermal energy addition to the Stirling convertor. The fabrication techniques include slip casting and using Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD). One micron thick noble metal thermocouples measure temperature on the surface of an Alumina ceramic disc and heat flux is calculated. Fabrication, integration, and test results of a thin film heat flux sensor are presented.

Fabrication and Testing of a Thin-Film Heat Flux Sensor for a Stirling Convertor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Scott D.; Fralick, Gus c.; Wrbanek, John D.; Sayir, Ali

2010-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) has been testing high-efficiency free-piston Stirling convertors for potential use in radioisotope power systems since 1999. Stirling convertors are being operated for many years to demonstrate a radioisotope power system capable of providing reliable power for potential multiyear missions. Techniques used to monitor the convertors for change in performance include measurements of temperature, pressure, energy addition, and energy rejection. Micro-porous bulk insulation is used in the Stirling convertor test setup to minimize the loss of thermal energy from the electric heat source to the environment. The insulation is characterized before extended operation, enabling correlation of the net thermal energy addition to the convertor. Aging micro-porous bulk insulation changes insulation efficiency, introducing errors in the correlation for net thermal energy addition. A thin-film heat flux sensor was designed and fabricated to directly measure the net thermal energy addition to the Stirling convertor. The fabrication techniques include slipcasting and using Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD). One-micron-thick noble metal thermocouples measure temperature on the surface of an alumina ceramic disk and heat flux is calculated. Fabrication, integration, and test results of a thin-film heat flux sensor are presented.

Electron-lattice energy relaxation in laser-excited thin-film Au-insulator heterostructures studied by ultrafast MeV electron diffraction.

PubMed

Sokolowski-Tinten, K; Shen, X; Zheng, Q; Chase, T; Coffee, R; Jerman, M; Li, R K; Ligges, M; Makasyuk, I; Mo, M; Reid, A H; Rethfeld, B; Vecchione, T; Weathersby, S P; Dürr, H A; Wang, X J

2017-09-01

We apply time-resolved MeV electron diffraction to study the electron-lattice energy relaxation in thin film Au-insulator heterostructures. Through precise measurements of the transient Debye-Waller-factor, the mean-square atomic displacement is directly determined, which allows to quantitatively follow the temporal evolution of the lattice temperature after short pulse laser excitation. Data obtained over an extended range of laser fluences reveal an increased relaxation rate when the film thickness is reduced or the Au-film is capped with an additional insulator top-layer. This behavior is attributed to a cross-interfacial coupling of excited electrons in the Au film to phonons in the adjacent insulator layer(s). Analysis of the data using the two-temperature-model taking explicitly into account the additional energy loss at the interface(s) allows to deduce the relative strength of the two relaxation channels.

Thickness-dependent phase transition in graphite under high magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taen, Toshihiro; Uchida, Kazuhito; Osada, Toshihito

2018-03-01

Various electronic phases emerge when applying high magnetic fields in graphite. However, the origin of a semimetal-insulator transition at B ≃30 T is still not clear, while an exotic density-wave state is theoretically proposed. In order to identify the electronic state of the insulator phase, we investigate the phase transition in thin-film graphite samples that were fabricated on silicon substrate by a mechanical exfoliation method. The critical magnetic fields of the semimetal-insulator transition in thin-film graphite shift to higher magnetic fields, accompanied by a reduction in temperature dependence. These results can be qualitatively reproduced by a density-wave model by introducing a quantum size effect. Our findings establish the electronic state of the insulator phase as a density-wave state standing along the out-of-plane direction, and help determine the electronic states in other high-magnetic-field phases.

Electron-lattice energy relaxation in laser-excited thin-film Au-insulator heterostructures studied by ultrafast MeV electron diffraction

PubMed Central

Sokolowski-Tinten, K.; Shen, X.; Zheng, Q.; Chase, T.; Coffee, R.; Jerman, M.; Li, R. K.; Ligges, M.; Makasyuk, I.; Mo, M.; Reid, A. H.; Rethfeld, B.; Vecchione, T.; Weathersby, S. P.; Dürr, H. A.; Wang, X. J.

2017-01-01

We apply time-resolved MeV electron diffraction to study the electron-lattice energy relaxation in thin film Au-insulator heterostructures. Through precise measurements of the transient Debye-Waller-factor, the mean-square atomic displacement is directly determined, which allows to quantitatively follow the temporal evolution of the lattice temperature after short pulse laser excitation. Data obtained over an extended range of laser fluences reveal an increased relaxation rate when the film thickness is reduced or the Au-film is capped with an additional insulator top-layer. This behavior is attributed to a cross-interfacial coupling of excited electrons in the Au film to phonons in the adjacent insulator layer(s). Analysis of the data using the two-temperature-model taking explicitly into account the additional energy loss at the interface(s) allows to deduce the relative strength of the two relaxation channels. PMID:28795080

Nanoscale electron transport at the surface of a topological insulator.

PubMed

Bauer, Sebastian; Bobisch, Christian A

2016-04-21

The use of three-dimensional topological insulators for disruptive technologies critically depends on the dissipationless transport of electrons at the surface, because of the suppression of backscattering at defects. However, in real devices, defects are unavoidable and scattering at angles other than 180° is allowed for such materials. Until now, this has been studied indirectly by bulk measurements and by the analysis of the local density of states in close vicinity to defect sites. Here, we directly measure the nanoscale voltage drop caused by the scattering at step edges, which occurs if a lateral current flows along a three-dimensional topological insulator. The experiments were performed using scanning tunnelling potentiometry for thin Bi2Se3 films. So far, the observed voltage drops are small because of large contributions of the bulk to the electronic transport. However, for the use of ideal topological insulating thin films in devices, these contributions would play a significant role.

Nanoscale electron transport at the surface of a topological insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauer, Sebastian; Bobisch, Christian A.

2016-04-01

The use of three-dimensional topological insulators for disruptive technologies critically depends on the dissipationless transport of electrons at the surface, because of the suppression of backscattering at defects. However, in real devices, defects are unavoidable and scattering at angles other than 180° is allowed for such materials. Until now, this has been studied indirectly by bulk measurements and by the analysis of the local density of states in close vicinity to defect sites. Here, we directly measure the nanoscale voltage drop caused by the scattering at step edges, which occurs if a lateral current flows along a three-dimensional topological insulator. The experiments were performed using scanning tunnelling potentiometry for thin Bi2Se3 films. So far, the observed voltage drops are small because of large contributions of the bulk to the electronic transport. However, for the use of ideal topological insulating thin films in devices, these contributions would play a significant role.

Effect of sheath material and reaction overpressure on Ag protrusions into the TiO2 insulation coating of Bi-2212 round wire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hossain, I.; Jiang, J.; Matras, M.; Trociewitz, U. P.; Lu, J.; Kametani, F.; Larbalestier, D.; Hellstrom, E.

2017-12-01

In order to develop a high current density in coils, Bi-2212 wires must be electrically discrete in tight winding packs. It is vital to use an insulating layer that is thin, fulfils the dielectric requirements, and can survive the heat treatment whose maximum temperature reaches 890 °C in oxygen. A thin (20-30 µm) ceramic coating could be better as the insulating layer compared to alumino-silicate braided fiber insulation, which is about 150 μm thick and reacts with the Ag sheathed Bi-2212 wire during heat treatment. At present, TiO2 seems to be the most viable ceramic material for such a thin insulation because it is chemically compatible with Ag and Bi-2212 and its sintering temperature is lower than the maximum temperature used for the Bi-2212 heat treatment. However, recent tests of a large Bi-2212 coil insulated only with TiO2 showed severe electrical shorting between the wires after over pressure heat treatment (OPHT). The origin of the shorting was frequent silver protrusions into the porous TiO2 layer that electrically connected adjacent Bi-2212 wires. To understand the mechanism of this unexpected behaviour, we investigated the effect of sheath material and hydrostatic pressure on Ag protrusions. We found that Ag protrusions occur only when TiO2-insulated Ag-0.2%Mg sheathed wire (Ag(Mg) wire) undergoes OPHT at 50 bar. No Ag protrusions were observed when the TiO2-insulated Ag(Mg) wire was processed at 1 bar. The TiO2-insulated wires sheathed with pure Ag that underwent 50 bar OPHT were also free from Ag protrusions. A key finding is that the Ag protrusions from the Ag(Mg) sheath actually contain no MgO, suggesting that local depletion of MgO facilitates local, heterogeneous deformation of the sheath under hydrostatic overpressure. Our study also suggests that predensifying the Ag(Mg) wire before insulating it with TiO2 and doing the final OPHT can potentially limit Ag protrusions.

Metal-insulator transition characteristics of VO2 thin films grown on Ge(100) single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Z.; Ko, C.; Ramanathan, S.

2010-10-01

Phase transitions exhibited by correlated oxides could be of potential relevance to the emerging field of oxide electronics. We report on the synthesis of high-quality VO2 thin films grown on single crystal Ge(100) substrates by physical vapor deposition and their metal-insulator transition (MIT) properties. Thermally triggered MIT is demonstrated with nearly three orders of magnitude resistance change across the MIT with transition temperatures of 67 °C (heating) and 61 °C (cooling). Voltage-triggered hysteretic MIT is observed at room temperature at threshold voltage of ˜2.1 V for ˜100 nm thickness VO2 films. Activation energies for electron transport in the insulating and conducting states are obtained from variable temperature resistance measurements. We further compare the properties of VO2 thin films grown under identical conditions on Si(100) single crystals. The VO2 thin films grown on Ge substrate show higher degree of crystallinity, slightly reduced compressive strain, larger resistance change across MIT compared to those grown on Si. Depth-dependent x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were performed to provide information on compositional variation trends in the two cases. These results suggest Ge could be a suitable substrate for further explorations of switching phenomena and devices for thin film functional oxides.

A 350 mK, 9 T scanning tunneling microscope for the study of superconducting thin films on insulating substrates and single crystals.

PubMed

Kamlapure, Anand; Saraswat, Garima; Ganguli, Somesh Chandra; Bagwe, Vivas; Raychaudhuri, Pratap; Pai, Subash P

2013-12-01

We report the construction and performance of a low temperature, high field scanning tunneling microscope (STM) operating down to 350 mK and in magnetic fields up to 9 T, with thin film deposition and in situ single crystal cleaving capabilities. The main focus lies on the simple design of STM head and a sample holder design that allows us to get spectroscopic data on superconducting thin films grown in situ on insulating substrates. Other design details on sample transport, sample preparation chamber, and vibration isolation schemes are also described. We demonstrate the capability of our instrument through the atomic resolution imaging and spectroscopy on NbSe2 single crystal and spectroscopic maps obtained on homogeneously disordered NbN thin film.

Superconducting thin films of (100) and (111) oriented indium doped topological crystalline insulator SnTe

DOE PAGES

Si, W.; Zhang, C.; Wu, L.; ...

2015-09-01

Recent discovery of the topological crystalline insulator SnTe has triggered a search for topological superconductors, which have potential application to topological quantum computing. The present work reports on the superconducting properties of indium doped SnTe thin films. The (100) and (111) oriented thin films were epitaxially grown by pulsed-laser deposition on (100) and (111) BaF2 crystalline substrates respectively. The onset superconducting transition temperatures are about 3.8 K for (100) and 3.6 K for (111) orientations, slightly lower than that of the bulk. Magneto-resistive measurements indicate that these thin films may have upper critical fields higher than that of the bulk.more » With large surface-to-bulk ratio, superconducting indium doped SnTe thin films provide a rich platform for the study of topological superconductivity and potential device applications based on topological superconductors.« less

Superconducting thin films of (100) and (111) oriented indium doped topological crystalline insulator SnTe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Si, Weidong, E-mail: wds@bnl.gov, E-mail: qiangli@bnl.gov; Zhang, Cheng; Wu, Lijun

2015-08-31

Recent discovery of the topological crystalline insulator SnTe has triggered a search for topological superconductors, which have potential application to topological quantum computing. The present work reports on the superconducting properties of indium doped SnTe thin films. The (100) and (111) oriented thin films were epitaxially grown by pulsed-laser deposition on (100) and (111) BaF{sub 2} crystalline substrates, respectively. The onset superconducting transition temperatures are about 3.8 K for (100) and 3.6 K for (111) orientations, slightly lower than that of the bulk. Magneto-resistive measurements indicate that these thin films may have upper critical fields higher than that of the bulk. Withmore » large surface-to-bulk ratio, superconducting indium doped SnTe thin films provide a rich platform for the study of topological superconductivity and potential device applications based on topological superconductors.« less

Conduction at domain walls in insulating Pb(Zr0.2 Ti0.8)O3 thin films.

PubMed

Guyonnet, Jill; Gaponenko, Iaroslav; Gariglio, Stefano; Paruch, Patrycja

2011-12-01

Domain wall conduction in insulating Pb(Zr(0.2) Ti(0.8))O(3) thin films is demonstrated. The observed electrical conduction currents can be clearly differentiated from displacement currents associated with ferroelectric polarization switching. The domain wall conduction, nonlinear and highly asymmetric due to the specific local probe measurement geometry, shows thermal activation at high temperatures, and high stability over time. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fabrication of thin film heat flux sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Will, Herbert

1991-01-01

Thin-film heat-flux sensors have been constructed in the form of arrays of thermocouples on upper and lower surfaces of an insulating layer, so that flux values are proportional to the temperature difference across the upper and lower surface of the insulation material. The sensor thermocouples are connected in thermopile arrangement, and the structure is patterned with photolithographic techniques. Both chromel-alumel and Pt-Pt/Rh thermocouples have been devised; the later produced 28 microvolts when exposed to the radiation of a 1000 C furnace.

The metal-insulator triple point in vanadium dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cobden, David

2014-03-01

The metal-insulator transition (MIT) in vanadium dioxide is a candidate for optical and electrical switching applications. However, being a first-order solid-state phase transition makes it challenging to study reproducibly in any detail. The combination of the change in unit cell shape, symmetry reduction, long range of elastic distortion, and latent heat leads to domain structure, hysteresis, and cracking of even the highest quality samples. At the MIT two stable insulating phases (M1 and M2) occur in addition to the metallic phase (R), but their phase stability diagram was poorly known. To establish it precisely we studied single-crystal nanobeams of VO2 in a purpose-built nanomechanical strain apparatus. We were able to measure the transition temperature accurately to be 65.0 +- 0.1 oC, to determine the phase boundary slopes, and to detect the intermediate metastable triclinic (T) phase where it is metastable towards M2. We were surprised to find that the transition occurs precisely at the solid-state triple point of the metallic and two insulating phases, a fact that is not explained by existing theories. See J.H. Park et al, Nature 500, 431-4 (August 2013), doi:10.1038/nature12425. Supported by US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science and Engineering, award DE-SC0002197.

On the metal-insulator-transition in vanadium dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jovaini, Azita; Fujita, Shigeji; Godoy, Salvador; Suzuki, Akira

2012-02-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) undergoes a metal-insulator transition (MIT) at 340 K with the structural change from tetragonal to monoclinic crystal. The conductivity σ drops at MIT by four orders of magnitude. The low temperature monoclinic phase is known to have a lower ground-state energy. The existence of the k-vector k is prerequisite for the conduction since the k appears in the semiclassical equation of motion for the conduction electron (wave packet). The tetragonal (VO2)3 unit is periodic along the crystal's x-, y-, and z-axes, and hence there is a three-dimensional k-vector. There is a one-dimensional k for a monoclinic crystal. We believe this difference in the dimensionality of the k-vector is the cause of the conductivity drop.

A Process to Reduce DC Ingot Butt Curl and Swell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Ho

1980-11-01

A simple and effective process to reduce DC ingot butt curl and swell has been developed in the Ingot Casting Division of Alcoa Technical Center.1 In the process, carbon dioxide gas is dissolved under high pressure into the ingot cooling water upstream of the mold during the first several inches of the ingot cast. As the cooling water exits from the mold, the dissolved gas evolves as micron-size bubbles, forming a temporary effective insulation layer on the ingot surface. This reduces thermal stress in the ingot butt. An insulation pad covering about 60% of the bottom block is used in conjunction with the carbon dioxide injection when maximum butt swell reduction is desired. The process, implemented in four Alcoa ingot plants, has proven extremely successful.

Novel Architecture for a Long-Life, Lightweight Venus Lander

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bugby, D.; Seghi, S.; Kroliczek, E.

2009-03-16

This paper describes a novel concept for an extended lifetime, lightweight Venus lander. Historically, to operate in the 480 deg. C, 90 atm, corrosive, mostly CO{sub 2} Venus surface environment, previous landers have relied on thick Ti spherical outer shells and thick layers of internal insulation. But even the most resilient of these landers operated for only about 2 hours before succumbing to the environment. The goal on this project is to develop an architecture that extends lander lifetime to 20-25 hours and also reduces mass compared to the Pioneer Venus mission architecture. The idea for reducing mass is to:more » (a) contain the science instruments within a spherical high strength lightweight polymer matrix composite (PMC) tank; (b) surround the PMC tank with an annular shell of high performance insulation pre-pressurized to a level that (after landing) will exceed the external Venus surface pressure; and (c) surround the insulation with a thin Ti outer shell that contains only a net internal pressure, eliminating buckling overdesign mass. The combination of the PMC inner tank and thin Ti outer shell is lighter than a single thick Ti outer shell. The idea for extending lifetime is to add the following three features: (i) an expendable water supply that is placed within the insulation or is contained in an additional vessel within the PMC tank; (ii) a thin spherical evaporator shell placed within the insulation a short radial distance from the outer shell; and (iii) a thin heat-intercepting liquid cooled shield placed inboard of the evaporator shell. These features lower the temperature of the insulation below what it would have been with the insulation alone, reducing the internal heat leak and lengthening lifetime. The use of phase change materials (PCMs) inside the PMC tank is also analyzed as a lifetime-extending design option. The paper describes: (1) analytical modeling to demonstrate reduced mass and extended life; (2) thermal conductivity testing of high performance insulation as a function of temperature and pressure; (3) a bench-top ambient pressure thermal test of the evaporation system; and (4) a higher fidelity test, to be conducted in a high pressure, high temperature inert gas test chamber, of a small-scale Venus lander prototype (made from two hemispherical interconnecting halves) that includes all of the aforesaid features.22 CFR 125.4(b)(13) applicable.« less

Organic Field Effect Transistor Using Amorphous Fluoropolymer as Gate Insulating Film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitajima, Yosuke; Kojima, Kenzo; Mizutani, Teruyoshi; Ochiai, Shizuyasu

Organic field effect transistors are fabricated by the active layer of Regioregular poly (3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diy)(P3HT) thin film. CYTOP thin film made from Amorphous Fluoropolymer and fabricated by spin-coating is adopted to a gate dielectric layer on Polyethylenenaphthalate (PEN) thin film that is the substrate of an organic field effect transistor. The surface morphology and molecular orientation of P3HT thin films is observed by atomic force microscope (AFM) and X-Ray diffractometer (XRD). Grains are observed on the CYTOP thin film via an AFM image and the P3HT molecule is oriented perpendicularly on the CYTOP thin film. Based on the performance of the organic field effect transistor, the carrier mobility is 0.092 cm2/Vs, the ON/OFF ratio is 7, and the threshold voltage is -12 V. The ON/OFF ratio is relatively low and to improve On/Off ratio, the CYTOP/Polyimide double gate insulating layer is adopted to OFET.

Oriented conductive oxide electrodes on SiO2/Si and glass

DOEpatents

Jia, Quanxi; Arendt, Paul N.

2001-01-01

A thin film structure is provided including a silicon substrate with a layer of silicon dioxide on a surface thereof, and a layer of cubic oxide material deposited upon the layer of silicon dioxide by ion-beam-assisted-deposition, said layer of cubic oxide material characterized as biaxially oriented. Preferably, the cubic oxide material is yttria-stabilized zirconia. Additional thin layers of biaxially oriented ruthenium oxide or lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide are deposited upon the layer of yttria-stabilized zirconia. An intermediate layer of cerium oxide is employed between the yttria-stabilized zirconia layer and the lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide layer. Also, a layer of barium strontium titanium oxide can be upon the layer of biaxially oriented ruthenium oxide or lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide. Also, a method of forming such thin film structures, including a low temperature deposition of a layer of a biaxially oriented cubic oxide material upon the silicon dioxide surface of a silicon dioxide/silicon substrate is provided.

Single-step fabrication of thin-film linear variable bandpass filters based on metal-insulator-metal geometry.

PubMed

Williams, Calum; Rughoobur, Girish; Flewitt, Andrew J; Wilkinson, Timothy D

2016-11-10

A single-step fabrication method is presented for ultra-thin, linearly variable optical bandpass filters (LVBFs) based on a metal-insulator-metal arrangement using modified evaporation deposition techniques. This alternate process methodology offers reduced complexity and cost in comparison to conventional techniques for fabricating LVBFs. We are able to achieve linear variation of insulator thickness across a sample, by adjusting the geometrical parameters of a typical physical vapor deposition process. We demonstrate LVBFs with spectral selectivity from 400 to 850 nm based on Ag (25 nm) and MgF₂ (75-250 nm). Maximum spectral transmittance is measured at ∼70% with a Q-factor of ∼20.

Photoinduced Demagnetization and Insulator-to-Metal Transition in Ferromagnetic Insulating BaFeO_{3} Thin Films.

PubMed

Tsuyama, T; Chakraverty, S; Macke, S; Pontius, N; Schüßler-Langeheine, C; Hwang, H Y; Tokura, Y; Wadati, H

2016-06-24

We studied the electronic and magnetic dynamics of ferromagnetic insulating BaFeO_{3} thin films by using pump-probe time-resolved resonant x-ray reflectivity at the Fe 2p edge. By changing the excitation density, we found two distinctly different types of demagnetization with a clear threshold behavior. We assigned the demagnetization change from slow (∼150  ps) to fast (<70  ps) to a transition into a metallic state induced by laser excitation. These results provide a novel approach for locally tuning magnetic dynamics. In analogy to heat-assisted magnetic recording, metallization can locally tune the susceptibility for magnetic manipulation, allowing one to spatially encode magnetic information.

Three-Dimensional Models of Topological Insulators: Engineering of Dirac Cones and Robustness of the Spin Texture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soriano, David; Ortmann, Frank; Roche, Stephan

2012-12-01

We design three-dimensional models of topological insulator thin films, showing a tunability of the odd number of Dirac cones driven by the atomic-scale geometry at the boundaries. A single Dirac cone at the Γ-point can be obtained as well as full suppression of quantum tunneling between Dirac states at geometrically differentiated surfaces. The spin texture of surface states changes from a spin-momentum-locking symmetry to a surface spin randomization upon the introduction of bulk disorder. These findings illustrate the richness of the Dirac physics emerging in thin films of topological insulators and may prove utile for engineering Dirac cones and for quantifying bulk disorder in materials with ultraclean surfaces.

A three-layer PMMA electrophoresis microchip with Pt microelectrodes insulated by a thin film for contactless conductivity detection.

PubMed

Liu, Junshan; Wang, Junyao; Chen, Zuanguang; Yu, Yong; Yang, Xiujuan; Zhang, Xianbin; Xu, Zheng; Liu, Chong

2011-03-07

A three-layer poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) electrophoresis microchip integrated with Pt microelectrodes for contactless conductivity detection is presented. A 50 μm-thick PMMA film is used as the insulating layer and placed between the channel plate (containing the microchannel) and the electrode plate (containing the microelectrode). The three-layer structure facilitates the achievement of a thin insulating layer, obviates the difficulty of integrating microelectrodes on a thin film, and does not compromise the integration of microchips. To overcome the thermal and chemical incompatibilities of polymers and photolithographic techniques, a modified lift-off process was developed to integrate Pt microelectrodes onto the PMMA substrate. A novel two-step bonding method was created to assemble the complete PMMA microchip. A low limit of detection of 1.25 μg ml(-1) for Na(+) and high separation efficiency of 77,000 and 48,000 plates/m for Na(+) and K(+) were obtained when operating the detector at a low excitation frequency of 60 kHz.

Tin-dioxide nanocrystals as Er3+ luminescence sensitizers: Formation of glass-ceramic thin films and their characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zur, Lidia; Tran, Lam Thi Ngoc; Meneghetti, Marcello; Tran, Van Thi Thanh; Lukowiak, Anna; Chiasera, Alessandro; Zonta, Daniele; Ferrari, Maurizio; Righini, Giancarlo C.

2017-01-01

Silica-tin dioxide thin films doped with Er3+ ions were fabricated and investigated. Different parameters such as heat-treatment temperatures, molar concentrations of SnO2 as well as Er3+ ions concentration were changed in order to obtain the best properties of presented thin films. Using several techniques, thin films were characterized and proved to be crack-free, water-free and smooth after a heat-treatment at 1200 °C. Aiming to application in optics, the transparency of thin films was also evidenced by transmission spectra. Based on the photoluminescence measurements, the mechanism of energy transfer from SnO2 nanocrystals to Er3+ ions was examined and discussed.

Effect of Spin-Orbit Coupling on the Actinide Dioxides AnO2 (An=Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, and Am): A Screened Hybrid Density Functional Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wen, Xiaodong; Martin, Richard L.; Roy, Lindsay E.

2012-10-21

We present a systematic comparison of the lattice structures, electronic density of states, and band gaps of actinide dioxides, AnO₂ (An=Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, and Am) predicted by the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof screened hybrid density functional (HSE) with the self-consistent inclusion of spin-orbit coupling(SOC). The computed HSE lattice constants and band gaps of AnO₂ are in consistently good agreement with the available experimental data across the series, and differ little from earlier HSE results without SOC. ThO₂ is a simple band insulator (f⁰), while PaO₂, UO₂, and NpO₂ are predicted to be Mott insulators. The remainders (PuO₂ and AmO₂) show considerablemore » O2p/An5f mixing and are classified as charge-transfer insulators. We also compare our results for UO₂, NpO₂, and PuO₂with the PBE+U, self interaction correction (SIC), and dynamic mean-field theory (DMFT) many-body approximations.« less

Ultrafast electron-lattice coupling dynamics in VO2 and V2O3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abreu, Elsa; Gilbert Corder, Stephanie N.; Yun, Sun Jin; Wang, Siming; Ramírez, Juan Gabriel; West, Kevin; Zhang, Jingdi; Kittiwatanakul, Salinporn; Schuller, Ivan K.; Lu, Jiwei; Wolf, Stuart A.; Kim, Hyun-Tak; Liu, Mengkun; Averitt, Richard D.

2017-09-01

Ultrafast optical pump-optical probe and optical pump-terahertz probe spectroscopy were performed on vanadium dioxide (VO2) and vanadium sesquioxide (V2O3 ) thin films over a wide temperature range. A comparison of the experimental data from these two different techniques and two different vanadium oxides, in particular a comparison of the spectral weight oscillations generated by the photoinduced longitudinal acoustic modulation, reveals the strong electron-phonon coupling that exists in both materials. The low-energy Drude response of V2O3 appears more amenable than VO2 to ultrafast strain control. Additionally, our results provide a measurement of the temperature dependence of the sound velocity in both systems, revealing a four- to fivefold increase in VO2 and a three- to fivefold increase in V2O3 across the insulator-to-metal phase transition. Our data also confirm observations of strong damping and phonon anharmonicity in the metallic phase of VO2, and suggest that a similar phenomenon might be at play in the metallic phase of V2O3 . More generally, our simple table-top approach provides relevant and detailed information about dynamical lattice properties of vanadium oxides, paving the way to similar studies in other complex materials.

Van der Waals MoS2/VO2 heterostructure junction with tunable rectifier behavior and efficient photoresponse.

PubMed

Oliva, Nicoló; Casu, Emanuele Andrea; Yan, Chen; Krammer, Anna; Rosca, Teodor; Magrez, Arnaud; Stolichnov, Igor; Schueler, Andreas; Martin, Olivier J F; Ionescu, Adrian Mihai

2017-10-27

Junctions between n-type semiconductors of different electron affinity show rectification if the junction is abrupt enough. With the advent of 2D materials, we are able to realize thin van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures based on a large diversity of materials. In parallel, strongly correlated functional oxides have emerged, having the ability to show reversible insulator-to-metal (IMT) phase transition by collapsing their electronic bandgap under a certain external stimulus. Here, we report for the first time the electronic and optoelectronic characterization of ultra-thin n-n heterojunctions fabricated using deterministic assembly of multilayer molybdenum disulphide (MoS 2 ) on a phase transition material, vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ). The vdW MoS 2 /VO 2 heterojunction combines the excellent blocking capability of an n-n junction with a high conductivity in on-state, and it can be turned into a Schottky rectifier at high applied voltage or at temperatures higher than 68 °C, exploiting the metal state of VO 2 . We report tunable diode-like current rectification with a good diode ideality factor of 1.75 and excellent conductance swing of 120 mV/dec. Finally, we demonstrate unique tunable photosensitivity and excellent junction photoresponse in the 500/650 nm wavelength range.

Fabrication of amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistor with solution processed SrZrO3 gate insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Takanori; Oikawa, Kento; Hoga, Takeshi; Uraoka, Yukiharu; Uchiyama, Kiyoshi

2017-10-01

In this paper, we describe a method of fabrication of thin film transistors (TFTs) with high dielectric constant (high-k) gate insulator by a solution deposition. We chose a solution processed SrZrO3 as a gate insulator material, which possesses a high dielectric constant of 21 with smooth surface. The IGZO-TFT with solution processed SrZrO3 showed good switching property and enough saturation features, i.e. field effect mobility of 1.7cm2/Vs, threshold voltage of 4.8V, sub-threshold swing of 147mV/decade, and on/off ratio of 2.3×107. Comparing to the TFTs with conventional SiO2 gate insulator, the sub-threshold swing was improved by smooth surface and high field effect due to the high dielectric constant of SrZrO3. These results clearly showed that use of solution processed high-k SrZrO3 gate insulator could improve sub-threshold swing. In addition, the residual carbon originated from organic precursors makes TFT performances degraded.

Large Enhancement of Thermal Conductivity and Lorenz Number in Topological Insulator Thin Films.

PubMed

Luo, Zhe; Tian, Jifa; Huang, Shouyuan; Srinivasan, Mithun; Maassen, Jesse; Chen, Yong P; Xu, Xianfan

2018-02-27

Topological insulators (TI) have attracted extensive research effort due to their insulating bulk states but conducting surface states. However, investigation and understanding of thermal transport in topological insulators, particularly the effect of surface states, are lacking. In this work, we studied thickness-dependent in-plane thermal and electrical conductivity of Bi 2 Te 2 Se TI thin films. A large enhancement in both thermal and electrical conductivity was observed for films with thicknesses below 20 nm, which is attributed to the surface states and bulk-insulating nature of these films. Moreover, a surface Lorenz number much larger than the Sommerfeld value was found. Systematic transport measurements indicated that the Fermi surface is located near the charge neutrality point (CNP) when the film thickness is below 20 nm. Possible reasons for the large Lorenz number include electrical and thermal current decoupling in the surface state Dirac fluid, and bipolar diffusion transport. A simple computational model indicates that the surface states and bipolar diffusion indeed can lead to enhanced electrical and thermal transport and a large Lorenz number.

Solution-processed phase-change VO(2) metamaterials from colloidal vanadium oxide (VO(x)) nanocrystals.

PubMed

Paik, Taejong; Hong, Sung-Hoon; Gaulding, E Ashley; Caglayan, Humeyra; Gordon, Thomas R; Engheta, Nader; Kagan, Cherie R; Murray, Christopher B

2014-01-28

We demonstrate thermally switchable VO2 metamaterials fabricated using solution-processable colloidal nanocrystals (NCs). Vanadium oxide (VOx) NCs are synthesized through a nonhydrolytic reaction and deposited from stable colloidal dispersions to form NC thin films. Rapid thermal annealing transforms the VOx NC thin films into monoclinic, nanocrystalline VO2 thin films that show a sharp, reversible metal-insulator phase transition. Introduction of precise concentrations of tungsten dopings into the colloidal VOx NCs enables the still sharp phase transition of the VO2 thin films to be tuned to lower temperatures as the doping level increases. We fabricate "smart", differentially doped, multilayered VO2 films to program the phase and therefore the metal-insulator behavior of constituent vertically structured layers with temperature. With increasing temperature, we tailored the optical response of multilayered films in the near-IR and IR regions from that of a strong light absorber, in a metal-insulator structure, to that of a Drude-like reflector, characteristic of a pure metallic structure. We demonstrate that nanocrystal-based nanoimprinting can be employed to pattern multilayered subwavelength nanostructures, such as three-dimensional VO2 nanopillar arrays, that exhibit plasmonic dipolar responses tunable with a temperature change.

Low-Temperature-Processed Zinc Oxide Thin-Film Transistors Fabricated by Plasma-Assisted Atomic Layer Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawamura, Yumi; Tani, Mai; Hattori, Nozomu; Miyatake, Naomasa; Horita, Masahiro; Ishikawa, Yasuaki; Uraoka, Yukiharu

2012-02-01

We investigated zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films prepared by plasma assisted atomic layer deposition (PA-ALD), and thin-film transistors (TFTs) with the ALD ZnO channel layer for application to next-generation displays. We deposited the ZnO channel layer by PA-ALD at 100 or 300 °C, and fabricated TFTs. The transfer characteristic of the 300 °C-deposited ZnO TFT exhibited high mobility (5.7 cm2 V-1 s-1), although the threshold voltage largely shifted toward the negative (-16 V). Furthermore, we deposited Al2O3 thin film as a gate insulator by PA-ALD at 100 °C for the low-temperature TFT fabrication process. In the case of ZnO TFTs with the Al2O3 gate insulator, the shift of the threshold voltage improved (-0.1 V). This improvement of the negative shift seems to be due to the negative charges of the Al2O3 film deposited by PA-ALD. On the basis of the experimental results, we confirmed that the threshold voltage of ZnO TFTs is controlled by PA-ALD for the deposition of the gate insulator.

Ultrahigh sensitivity of anomalous Hall effect sensor based on Cr-doped Bi 2Te 3 topological insulator thin films

DOE PAGES

Ni, Y.; Zhang, Z.; Nlebedim, I. C.; ...

2016-07-01

Anomalous Hall effect (AHE) was recently discovered in magnetic element-doped topological insulators (TIs), which promises low power consumption and high efficiency spintronics and electronics. This discovery broadens the family of Hall sensors. In this paper, AHE sensors based on Cr-doped Bi 2Te 3 topological insulator thin films are studied with two thicknesses (15 and 65 nm). It is found, in both cases, that ultrahigh Hall sensitivity can be obtained in Cr-doped Bi 2Te 3. Hall sensitivity reaches 1666 Ω/T in the sensor with the 15 nm TI thin film, which is higher than that of the conventional semiconductor HE sensor.more » The AHE of 65 nm sensors is even stronger, which causes the sensitivity increasing to 2620 Ω/T. Furthermore, after comparing Cr-doped Bi 2Te 3 with the previously studied Mn-doped Bi 2Te 3 TI Hall sensor, the sensitivity of the present AHE sensor shows about 60 times higher in 65 nm sensors. Furthermore, the implementation of AHE sensors based on a magnetic-doped TI thin film indicates that the TIs are good candidates for ultrasensitive AHE sensors.« less

Sharpness and intensity modulation of the metal-insulator transition in ultrathin VO2 films by interfacial structure manipulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGee, Ryan; Goswami, Ankur; Pal, Soupitak; Schofield, Kalvin; Bukhari, Syed Asad Manzoor; Thundat, Thomas

2018-03-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) undergoes a structural transformation from monoclinic (insulator) to tetragonal (metallic) upon heating above 340 K, accompanied by abrupt changes to its electronic, optical, and mechanical properties. Not only is this transition scientifically intriguing, but there are also numerous applications in sensing, memory, and optoelectronics. Here we investigate the effect different substrates and the processing conditions have on the characteristics metal-insulator transition (MIT), and how the properties can be tuned for specific applications. VO2 thin films were grown on c -plane sapphire (0001) and p-type silicon <100 > by pulsed laser deposition. High-resolution x-ray diffraction along with transmission electron microscopy reveals textured epitaxial growth on sapphire by domain-matching epitaxy, while the presence of a native oxide layer on silicon prevented any preferential growth resulting in a polycrystalline film. An orientation relationship of <001 > (010)VO2||<11 ¯00 > (0001)Al 2O3 was established for VO2 grown on sapphire, while no such relationship was found for VO2 grown on silicon. Surface-energy minimization is the driving force behind grain growth, as the lowest energy VO2 plane grew on silicon, while on sapphire the desire for epitaxial growth was dominant. Polycrystallinity of films grown on silicon caused a weaker and less prominent MIT than observed on sapphire, whose MIT was higher in magnitude and steeper in slope. The position of the MIT was shown to depend on the competing effects of misfit strain and grain growth. Higher deposition temperatures caused an increase in the MIT, while compressive strain resulted in a decreased MIT.

Epitaxial strain effect on the physical properties of layered ruthenate and iridate thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miao, Ludi

Transition metal oxides have attracted widespread attention due to their broad range of fascinating exotic phenomena such as multiferroicity, superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance and metal-to-insulator transition. Due to the interplay between spin, charge, lattice and orbital degrees of freedom of strongly correlated d electrons, these physical properties are extremely sensitive to the external perturbations such as magnetic field, charge carrier doping and pressure, which provide a unique chance in search for novel exotic quantum states. Ruthenate systems are a typical strongly correlated system, with rich ordered states and their properties are extremely sensitive to external stimuli. Recently, the experimental observation of spin-orbit coupling induced Mott insulator in Sr2IrO4 as well as the theoretical prediction of topological insulating state in other iridates, have attracted tremendous interest in the physics of strong correlation and spin-orbit coupling in 4d/5d compounds. We observe an itinerant ferromagnetic ground state of Ca2 RuO4 film in stark contrast to the Mott-insulating state in bulk Ca2RuO4. We have also established the epitaxial strain effect on the transport and magnetic properties for the (Ca,Sr) 2RuO4 thin films. For Sr2IrO4 thin films, we will show that the Jeff = 1/2 moment orientation can be modulated by epitaxial strain. In addition, we discovered novel Ba 7Ir3O13+x thin films which exhibit colossal permittivity.

Evaluation of Test Methods To Determine the Impact Resistance of Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS).

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-07-01

be used effectively in new construction or retrofit applications. These systems usually contain: 1. Molded expanded polystyrene insulation board (MEPS...commonly referred to as "bead board," or extruded expanded polystyrene insulation board (XEPS), commonly referred to as "blue board." 2. An...Walls ( Expanded Polystyrene Insulation Faced with a Thin Rendering), M.O.A.T. n 22, June 1988. 7 ASTM D3029-90. "Standard Test Methods for Impact

Ultrasonic Guided Waves for Aging Wire Insulation Assessment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anastasi, Robert F.; Madaras, Eric I.

2001-01-01

Environmentally aged wire insulation can become brittle and crack and thus expose the underlying conductive wire to the potential for short circuits and fire. The feasibility of using ultrasonic guided waves to measure insulation condition was examined. First a simple model to study guided wave propagation in a bare and thin plastic coated wire was examined and then some aviation grade wire samples that had been heat-damaged. Initial measurements indicate that ultrasonic guided wave velocity can be used to monitor insulation stiffness.

Correlation-driven insulator-metal transition in near-ideal vanadium dioxide films

DOE PAGES

Gray, A. X.; Jeong, J.; Aetukuri, N. P.; ...

2016-03-18

We use polarization- and temperature-dependent x-ray absorption spectroscopy, in combination with photoelectron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and electronic transport measurements, to study the driving force behind the insulator-metal transition in VO 2. We show that both the collapse of the insulating gap and the concomitant change in crystal symmetry in homogeneously strained single-crystalline VO 2 films are preceded by the purely electronic softening of Coulomb correlations within V-V singlet dimers. Furthermore, this process starts 7 K (±0.3 K) below the transition temperature, as conventionally defined by electronic transport and x-ray diffraction measurements, and sets the energy scale for driving the near-room-temperaturemore » insulator-metal transition in this technologically promising material.« less

Ultrafast far-infrared studies of vanadates &mdash Multiple routes for an insulator to metal transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Mengkun

The metal insulator transition in vanadates has been studied for decades and yet new discoveries still spring up revealing new physics, especially among two of the most studied members: Vanadium sesquioxide (V20 3) and Vanadium dioxide (VO2). Although subtleties abound, both of the materials have first order insulator to metal phase transitions that are considered to be related to strong electron-electron (e-e) correlation. Further, ultrafast spectroscopy of strongly correlated materials has generated great interest in the field given the potential to dynamically distinguish the difference between electronic (spin) response versus lattice responses due to the associated characteristic energy and time scales. In this thesis, I mainly focus on utilizing ultrafast optical and THz spectroscopy to study phase transition dynamics in high quality V20 3 and VO2 thin films epitaxially grown on different substrates. The main findings of the thesis are: (1) Despite the fact that the insulator to metal transition (IMT) in V203 is electron-correlation driven, lattice distortion plays an important role. Coherent oscillations in the far-infrared conductivity are observed resulting from coherent acoustic phonon modulation of the bandwidth W. The same order of lattice distortion induces less of an effect on the electron transport in VO2 in comparison to V203. This is directly related to the difference in latent heat of the phase transitions in VO2 and V203. (2) It is possible for the IMT to occur with very little structural change in epitaxial strained VO2 films, like in the case of Cr doped or strained V203. However, in V02, this necessitates a large strain which is only possible by clamping to a substrate with larger c axis parameter through epitaxial growth. This is demonstrated for VO 2 films on TiO2 substrates. (3) Initiating an ultrafast photo-induced insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) is not only possible with above bandgap excitation, but also possible with high-field far-infrared excitation. With the help of the field enhancement in metamaterial split ring resonator gaps, we obtain picosecond THz electric field transients of several MV/cm which is sufficient to drive the insulator to metal transition in V02.

Electronic and optical properties of La-doped S r3I r2O7 epitaxial thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Souri, M.; Terzic, J.; Johnson, J. M.; Connell, J. G.; Gruenewald, J. H.; Thompson, J.; Brill, J. W.; Hwang, J.; Cao, G.; Seo, A.

2018-02-01

We have investigated structural, transport, and optical properties of tensile strained (Sr1-xL ax ) 3I r2O7 (x =0 , 0.025, 0.05) epitaxial thin films. While high-Tc superconductivity is predicted theoretically in the system, we have observed that all of the samples remain insulating with finite optical gap energies and Mott variable-range hopping characteristics in transport. Cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy indicates that structural defects such as stacking faults appear in this system. The insulating behavior of the La-doped S r3I r2O7 thin films is presumably due to disorder-induced localization and ineffective electron doping of La, which brings to light the intriguing difference between epitaxial thin films and bulk single crystals of the iridates.

Bipolar resistive switching in room temperature grown disordered vanadium oxide thin-film devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Franklin J.; Sriram, Tirunelveli S.; Smith, Brian R.; Ramanathan, Shriram

2013-09-01

We demonstrate bipolar switching with high OFF/ON resistance ratios (>104) in Pt/vanadium oxide/Cu structures deposited entirely at room temperature. The SET (RESET) process occurs when negative (positive) bias is applied to the top Cu electrode. The vanadium oxide (VOx) films are amorphous and close to the vanadium pentoxide stoichiometry. We also investigated Cu/VOx/W structures, reversing the position of the Cu electrode, and found the same polarity dependence with respect to the top and bottom electrodes, which suggests that the bipolar nature is linked to the VOx layer itself. Bipolar switching can be observed at 100 °C, indicating that it not due to a temperature-induced metal-insulator transition of a vanadium dioxide second phase. We discuss how ionic drift can lead to the bipolar electrical behavior of our junctions, similar to those observed in devices based on several other defective oxides. Such low-temperature processed oxide switches could be of relevance to back-end or package integration processing schemes.

Battery cell thermal-conductive coating increases efficiency

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doyle, H. M.

1973-01-01

Thin coating of high-temperature epoxy resin provides necessary electrical insulation, as well as good thermal conductivity between battery cells. Insulation increases efficiency of nickel-cadmium battery, as it would any multicell battery assembly in which cell-to-cell thermal balance is critical.

Combinatorial screening of organic electronic materials: thin film stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chattopadhyay, Santanu; Carson Meredith, J.

2005-01-01

Dewetting of thin polymeric semiconducting-insulating (and conducting-insulating) bilayers is a serious fundamental problem facing the fabrication of organic electronic devices such as transistors, light-emitting diodes and supercapacitors. This paper describes a high-throughput characterization method that utilizes orthogonal thickness-gradient libraries of the bilayer components poly(3-octylthiophene) (semiconductor) and poly(styrene) (insulator). The technique allows simultaneous observation of hundreds of combinations of thicknesses and has permitted rapid discovery of a previously-unknown VDW instability transition. We observe that the onset of VDW instability in the PS-P3OT bilayer is a complex function of P3OT thickness that cannot be predicted by Hamaker constant models for free energy. At low P3OT thickness, the semiconductor acts to stabilize the PS insulator. But above a P3OT thickness of 175 nm, this behaviour is switched and P3OT destabilizes the PS. These thickness-dependent effects are correlated very well with dramatic transitions in P3OT optical spectra and the P3OT-AFM tip interaction forces. This unusual behaviour places critical limitations on practical device thicknesses and interfacial combinations, and points to the need for a thin-film stability theory that accounts for thickness-dependent molecular-electronic effects.

Insulator coated magnetic nanoparticulate composites with reduced core loss and method of manufacture thereof

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Yide (Inventor); Wang, Shihe (Inventor); Xiao, Danny (Inventor)

2004-01-01

A series of bulk-size magnetic/insulating nanostructured composite soft magnetic materials with significantly reduced core loss and its manufacturing technology. This insulator coated magnetic nanostructured composite is comprises a magnetic constituent, which contains one or more magnetic components, and an insulating constituent. The magnetic constituent is nanometer scale particles (1-100 nm) coated by a thin-layered insulating phase (continuous phase). While the intergrain interaction between the immediate neighboring magnetic nanoparticles separated by the insulating phase (or coupled nanoparticles) provide the desired soft magnetic properties, the insulating material provides the much demanded high resistivity which significantly reduces the eddy current loss. The resulting material is a high performance magnetic nanostructured composite with reduced core loss.

Fabrication and characterization of NiO based metal-insulator-metal diode using Langmuir-Blodgett method for high frequency rectification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azad, Ibrahim; Ram, Manoj K.; Goswami, D. Yogi; Stefanakos, Elias

2018-04-01

Thin film metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes have attracted significant attention for use in infrared energy harvesting and detection applications. As demonstrated over the past decades, MIM or metal-insulator-insulator-metal (MIIM) diodes can operate at the THz frequencies range by quantum tunneling of electrons. The aim of this work is to synthesize required ultra-thin insulating layers and fabricate MIM diodes using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. The nickel stearate (NiSt) LB precursor film was deposited on glass, silicon (Si), ITO glass and gold coated silicon substrates. The photodesorption (UV exposure) and the thermodesorption (annealing at 100 °C and 350 °C) methods were used to remove organic components from the NiSt LB film and to achieve a uniform homogenous nickel oxide (NiO) film. These ultrathin NiO films were characterized by EDS, AFM, FTIR and cyclic voltammetry methods, respectively. The MIM diode was fabricated by depositing nickel (Ni) on the NiO film, all on a gold (Au) plated silicon (Si) substrate. The current (I)-voltage (V) characteristics of the fabricated diode were studied to understand the conduction mechanism assumed to be tunneling of electron through the ultra-thin insulating layer. The sensitivity of the diode was measured to be as high as 35 V-1. The diode resistance was ˜100 ohms (at a bias voltage of 0.60 V), and the rectification ratio was about 22 (for a signal voltage of ±200 mV). At the bias point, the diode response demonstrated significant non-linearity and high asymmetry, which are very desirable characteristics for applications in infrared detection and harvesting.

Strain effect on magnetic property of antiferromagnetic insulator SmFeO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuroda, M.; Tanahashi, N.; Hajiri, T.; Ueda, K.; Asano, H.

2018-05-01

Thin films and heterostructures of antiferromagnetic insulator SmFeO3 were fabricated on LaAlO3 (001) substrates by magnetron sputtering, and their structural, magnetic properties were investigated. It was found that epitaxially strained thin films showed a pronounced magnetic anisotropy with the enhanced magnetization up to 65 emu/cc, which is approximately ten times larger than the bulk value. The observed enhancement of magnetization was considered to be due to the lattice distortion and the non-collinear antiferromagnetic spin ordering of SmFeO3.

High Pressure Crystalline Structure and Resistance of Vanadium Dioxide to 13.5 GPa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brady, Nathaniel; Appavoo, Kannatassen; Montgomery, Jeffery; Vohra, Yogesh; Haglund, Richard; Hilton, David

2013-03-01

We have investigated the insulator-to-metal transition in thin film vanadium dioxide as a function of pressure at ambient temperature using a designer diamond anvil cell (DAC). Four-point probe resistance measurements show a monotonic decrease over the entire pressure range studied with no significant discontinuity. High-pressure X-ray diffraction measurements observe an M1 (P21 / c) phase at 0 GPa, an M2 (C2/m) phase from 0.8 GPa to 1.1 GPa, and a reentrant M1 phase from 1.1 GPa to 13.5 GPa. Crystal refinement above 1.1 GPa shows a monotonically decreasing a, b and c lattice constants and a minimum in the monoclinic angle, β, near 8.5 +/-0.5 GPa. The atomic positions show that the first V-V nearest neighbor distance (d) decreases over the entire pressure range, the second nearest neighbor distance (s) increases until 5 GPa after which it is constant with s ~ f ~3.2 Å. The next most closely spaced V-V distance (f), which corresponds to V atoms in different unit cells, is approximately constant across the entire pressure range measured. NB and JM acknowledge support from the US Dept. Education GAANN Fellowship (P200A090143). KA and RH acknowledge support from the Office of Science, US Department of Energy (DE- FG02-01ER45916).

Automatically Inspecting Thin Ceramics For Pinholes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Honaker, James R.

1988-01-01

Proposed apparatus for inspecting prefired ceramic materials detects minute flaws that might escape ordinary visual inspections. Method detects flaws and marks locations. Intended for such thin ceramic parts as insulation in capacitors and some radio-frequency filters.

Electric-field driven insulator-metal transition and tunable magnetoresistance in ZnO thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Le; Chen, Shanshan; Chen, Xiangyang; Ye, Zhizhen; Zhu, Liping

2018-04-01

Electrical control of the multistate phase in semiconductors offers the promise of nonvolatile functionality in the future semiconductor spintronics. Here, by applying an external electric field, we have observed a gate-induced insulator-metal transition (MIT) with the temperature dependence of resistivity in ZnO thin films. Due to a high-density carrier accumulation, we have shown the ability to inverse change magnetoresistance in ZnO by ionic liquid gating from 10% to -2.5%. The evolution of photoluminescence under gate voltage was also consistent with the MIT, which is due to the reduction of dislocation. Our in-situ gate-controlled photoluminescence, insulator-metal transition, and the conversion of magnetoresistance open up opportunities in searching for quantum materials and ZnO based photoelectric devices.

ZnO thin-film transistors with a polymeric gate insulator built on a polyethersulfone substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyung, Gun Woo; Park, Jaehoon; Koo, Ja Ryong; Choi, Kyung Min; Kwon, Sang Jik; Cho, Eou Sik; Kim, Yong Seog; Kim, Young Kwan

2012-03-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with a cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) (c-PVA) insulator are fabricated on a polyethersulfone substrate. The ZnO film, formed by atomic layer deposition, shows a polycrystalline hexagonal structure with a band gap energy of about 3.37 eV. The fabricated ZnO TFT exhibits a field-effect mobility of 0.38 cm2/Vs and a threshold voltage of 0.2 V. The hysteresis of the device is mainly caused by trapped electrons at the c-PVA/ZnO interface, whereas the positive threshold voltage shift occurs as a consequence of constant positive gate bias stress after 5000 s due to an electron injection from the ZnO film into the c-PVA insulator.

Fused Silica Surface Coating for a Flexible Silica Mat Insulation System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rhodes, W. H.

1973-01-01

Fused silica insulation coatings have been developed for application to a flexible mat insulation system. Based on crystalline phase nucleation and growth kinetics, a 99+% SiO2 glass was selected as the base composition. A coating was developed that incorporated the high emissivity phase NiCr2O4 as a two phase coating with goals of high emittance and minimum change in thermal expansion. A second major coating classification has a plasma sprayed emittance coating over a sealed pure amorphous SiO2 layer. A third area of development centered on extremely thin amorphous SiO2 coatings deposited by chemical vapor deposition. The coating characterization studies presented are mechanical testing of thin specimens extracted from the coatings, cyclic arc exposures, and emittance measurements before and after arc exposures.

Evaluation of Intrinsic Charge Carrier Transport at Insulator-Semiconductor Interfaces Probed by a Non-Contact Microwave-Based Technique

PubMed Central

Honsho, Yoshihito; Miyakai, Tomoyo; Sakurai, Tsuneaki; Saeki, Akinori; Seki, Shu

2013-01-01

We have successfully designed the geometry of the microwave cavity and the thin metal electrode, achieving resonance of the microwave cavity with the metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) device structure. This very simple MIS device operates in the cavity, where charge carriers are injected quantitatively by an applied bias at the insulator-semiconductor interface. The local motion of the charge carriers was clearly probed through the applied external microwave field, also giving the quantitative responses to the injected charge carrier density and charge/discharge characteristics. By means of the present measurement system named field-induced time-resolved microwave conductivity (FI-TRMC), the pentacene thin film in the MIS device allowed the evaluation of the hole and electron mobility at the insulator-semiconductor interface of 6.3 and 0.34 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively. This is the first report on the direct, intrinsic, non-contact measurement of charge carrier mobility at interfaces that has been fully experimentally verified. PMID:24212382

Surface-State-Dominated Spin-Charge Current Conversion in Topological-Insulator-Ferromagnetic-Insulator Heterostructures.

PubMed

Wang, Hailong; Kally, James; Lee, Joon Sue; Liu, Tao; Chang, Houchen; Hickey, Danielle Reifsnyder; Mkhoyan, K Andre; Wu, Mingzhong; Richardella, Anthony; Samarth, Nitin

2016-08-12

We report the observation of ferromagnetic resonance-driven spin pumping signals at room temperature in three-dimensional topological insulator thin films-Bi_{2}Se_{3} and (Bi,Sb)_{2}Te_{3}-deposited by molecular beam epitaxy on Y_{3}Fe_{5}O_{12} thin films. By systematically varying the Bi_{2}Se_{3} film thickness, we show that the spin-charge conversion efficiency, characterized by the inverse Rashba-Edelstein effect length (λ_{IREE}), increases dramatically as the film thickness is increased from two quintuple layers, saturating above six quintuple layers. This suggests a dominant role of surface states in spin and charge interconversion in topological-insulator-ferromagnet heterostructures. Our conclusion is further corroborated by studying a series of Y_{3}Fe_{5}O_{12}/(Bi,Sb)_{2}Te_{3} heterostructures. Finally, we use the ferromagnetic resonance linewidth broadening and the inverse Rashba-Edelstein signals to determine the effective interfacial spin mixing conductance and λ_{IREE}.

Thin Aerogel as a Spacer in Multilayer Insulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moroz, Nancy

2015-01-01

Cryogenic fluid management is a critical technical area that is needed for future space exploration. A key challenge is the storability of liquid hydrogen (LH2), liquid methane (LCH4), and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants for long-duration missions. The storage tanks must be well-insulated to prevent over-pressurization and venting, which can lead to unacceptable propellant losses for long-duration missions to Mars and beyond. Aspen Aerogels had validated the key process step to enable the fabrication of thin, low-density aerogel materials. The multilayer aerogel insulation (MLAI) system prototypes were prepared using sheets of aerogel materials with superior thermal performance exceeding current state-of-the-art insulation for space applications. The exceptional properties of this system include a new breakthrough in high-vacuum cryogenic thermal insulation, providing a durable material with excellent thermal performance at a reduced cost when compared to longstanding state-of-the-art multilayer insulation systems. During the Phase II project, further refinement and qualification/system-level testing of the MLAI system will be performed for use in cryogenic storage applications. Aspen has been in discussions with United Launch Alliance, LLC; NASA's Kennedy Space Center; and Yetispace, Inc., to test the MLAI system on real-world tanks such as Vibro-Acoustic Test Article (VATA) or the Cryogenic Orbital Testbed (CRYOTE).

Thin Aerogel as a Spacer in Multilayer Insulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moroz, Nancy

2015-01-01

Cryogenic fluid management is a critical technical area that is needed for future space exploration. A key challenge is the storability of liquid hydrogen (LH2), liquid methane (LCH4), and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants for long-duration missions. The storage tanks must be well-insulated to prevent over-pressurization and venting, which can lead to unacceptable propellant losses for long-duration missions to Mars and beyond. Aspen Aerogels had validated the key process step to enable the fabrication of thin, low-density aerogel materials. The multilayer aerogel insulation (MLAI) system prototypes were prepared using sheets of aerogel materials with superior thermal performance exceeding current state-of-the-art insulation for space applications. The exceptional properties of this system include a new breakthrough in high-vacuum cryogenic thermal insulation, providing a durable material with excellent thermal performance at a reduced cost when compared to longstanding state-of-the-art multilayer insulation systems. During the Phase II project, further refinement and qualification/system-level testing of the MLAI system will be performed for use in cryogenic storage applications. Aspen has been in discussions with United Launch Alliance, LLC; NASA's Kennedy Space Center; and Yetispace, Inc., to test the MLAI system on rea-lworld tanks such as Vibro-Acoustic Test Article (VATA) or the Cryogenic Orbital Testbed (CRYOTE).

Metal-Insulator Transition of strained SmNiO3 Thin Films: Structural, Electrical and Optical Properties

PubMed Central

Torriss, B.; Margot, J.; Chaker, M.

2017-01-01

Samarium nickelate (SmNiO3) thin films were successfully synthesized on LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 substrates using pulsed-laser deposition. The Mott metal-insulator (MI) transition of the thin films is sensitive to epitaxial strain and strain relaxation. Once the strain changes from compressive to tensile, the transition temperature of the SmNiO3 samples shifts to slightly higher values. The optical conductivity reveals the strong dependence of the Drude spectral weight on the strain relaxation. Actually, compressive strain broadens the bandwidth. In contrast, tensile strain causes the effective number of free carriers to reduce which is consistent with the d-band narrowing. PMID:28098240

Observation of oscillatory relaxation in the Sn-terminated surface of epitaxial rock-salt SnSe { 111 } topological crystalline insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Wencan; Dadap, Jerry; Osgood, Richard; Vishwanath, Suresh; Lien, Huai-Hsun; Chaney, Alexander; Xing, Huili; Liu, Jianpeng; Kong, Lingyuan; Ma, Junzhang; Qian, Tian; Ding, Hong; Sadowski, Jerzy; Dai, Zhongwei; Pohl, Karsten; Lou, Rui; Wang, Shancai; Liu, Xinyu; Furdyna, Jacek

Topological crystalline insulators have been recently observed in rock-salt SnSe { 111 } thin films. Previous studies have suggested that the Se-terminated surface of this thin film with hydrogen passivation is a preferred configuration. In this work, synchrotron-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, along with density functional theory calculations, are used to demonstrate conclusively that a rock-salt SnSe { 111 } thin film has a stable Sn-terminated surface. These observations are supported by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) intensity-voltage measurements and dynamical LEED calculations, which further show that the Sn-terminated SnSe { 111 } thin film has undergone an oscillatory surface structural relaxation. In sharp contrast to the Se-terminated counterpart, the Dirac surface state in the Sn-terminated SnSe { 111 } thin film yields a high Fermi velocity, 0 . 50 ×106 m/s, which may lead to high-speed electronic device applications. DOE No. DE-FG 02-04-ER-46157.

Role of thermal heating on the voltage induced insulator-metal transition in VO2.

PubMed

Zimmers, A; Aigouy, L; Mortier, M; Sharoni, A; Wang, Siming; West, K G; Ramirez, J G; Schuller, Ivan K

2013-02-01

We show that the main mechanism for the dc voltage or dc current induced insulator-metal transition in vanadium dioxide VO(2) is due to local Joule heating and not a purely electronic effect. This "tour de force" experiment was accomplished by using the fluorescence spectra of rare-earth doped micron sized particles as local temperature sensors. As the insulator-metal transition is induced by a dc voltage or dc current, the local temperature reaches the transition temperature indicating that Joule heating plays a predominant role. This has critical implications for the understanding of the dc voltage or dc current induced insulator-metal transition and has a direct impact on applications which use dc voltage or dc current to externally drive the transition.

Photo ion spectrometer

DOEpatents

Gruen, Dieter M.; Young, Charles E.; Pellin, Michael J.

1992-01-01

A thin film structure for providing predetermined electric field boundary conditions. A thin film configuration is disposed on an insulator substrate in a selected spatial pattern with substantially uniform electrically resistive character in each of the different areas of the spatial pattern.

Photo-ion spectrometer

DOEpatents

Gruen, D.M.; Young, C.E.; Pellin, M.J.

1992-03-17

A thin film structure for providing predetermined electric field boundary conditions. A thin film configuration is disposed on an insulator substrate in a selected spatial pattern with substantially uniform electrically resistive character in each of the different areas of the spatial pattern.

Thin Film Transistors On Plastic Substrates

DOEpatents

Carey, Paul G.; Smith, Patrick M.; Sigmon, Thomas W.; Aceves, Randy C.

2004-01-20

A process for formation of thin film transistors (TFTs) on plastic substrates replaces standard thin film transistor fabrication techniques, and uses sufficiently lower processing temperatures so that inexpensive plastic substrates may be used in place of standard glass, quartz, and silicon wafer-based substrates. The silicon based thin film transistor produced by the process includes a low temperature substrate incapable of withstanding sustained processing temperatures greater than about 250.degree. C., an insulating layer on the substrate, a layer of silicon on the insulating layer having sections of doped silicon, undoped silicon, and poly-silicon, a gate dielectric layer on the layer of silicon, a layer of gate metal on the dielectric layer, a layer of oxide on sections of the layer of silicon and the layer of gate metal, and metal contacts on sections of the layer of silicon and layer of gate metal defining source, gate, and drain contacts, and interconnects.

Superconductivity-related insulating behavior.

PubMed

Sambandamurthy, G; Engel, L W; Johansson, A; Shahar, D

2004-03-12

We present the results of an experimental study of superconducting, disordered, thin films of amorphous indium oxide. These films can be driven from the superconducting phase to a reentrant insulating state by the application of a perpendicular magnetic field (B). We find that the high-B insulator exhibits activated transport with a characteristic temperature, TI. TI has a maximum value (TpI) that is close to the superconducting transition temperature (Tc) at B=0, suggesting a possible relation between the conduction mechanisms in the superconducting and insulating phases. Tp(I) and Tc display opposite dependences on the disorder strength.

Effect of substrate temperature on thermochromic vanadium dioxide thin films sputtered from vanadium target

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madiba, I. G.; Kotsedi, L.; Ngom, B. D.; Khanyile, B. S.; Maaza, M.

2018-05-01

Vanadium dioxide films have been known as the most promising thermochromic thin films for smart windows which self-control the solar radiation and heat transfer for energy saving, comfort in houses and automotives. Such an attractive technological application is due to the fact that vanadium dioxide crystals exhibit a fast semiconductor-to-metal phase transition at a transition temperature Tc of about 68 °C, together with sharp optical changes from high transmitive to high reflective coatings in the IR spectral region. The phase transition has been associated with the nature of the microstructure, stoichiometry and stresses related to the oxide. This study reports on the effect of the crystallographic quality controlled by the substrate temperature on the thermochromic properties of vanadium dioxide thin films synthesized by reactive radio frequency inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering from vanadium target. The reports results are based on X-ray diffraction, Atomic force microscopy, and UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The average crystalline grain size of VO2 increases with the substrate temperature, inducing stress related phenomena within the films.

Superconductor-Metal-Insulator transition in two dimensional Ta thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sun-Gyu; Kim, Eunseong

2013-03-01

Superconductor-insulator transition has been induced by tuning film thickness or magnetic field. Recent electrical transport measurements of MoGe, Bi, Ta thin films revealed an interesting intermediate metallic phase which intervened superconducting and insulating phases at certain range of magnetic field. Especially, Ta thin films show the characteristic IV behavior at each phase and the disorder tuned intermediate metallic phase [Y. Li, C. L. Vicente, and J. Yoon, Physical Review B 81, 020505 (2010)]. This unexpected metallic phase can be interpreted as a consequence of vortex motion or contribution of fermionic quasiparticles. In this presentation, we report the scaling behavior during the transitions in Ta thin film as well as the transport measurements in various phases. Critical exponents v and z are obtained in samples with wide ranges of disorder. These results reveal new universality class appears when disorder exceeds a critical value. Dynamical exponent z of Superconducting sample is found to be 1, which is consistent with theoretical prediction of unity. z in a metallic sample is suddenly increased to be approximately 2.5. This critical exponent is much larger than the value found in other system and theoretical prediction. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the National Research Foundation of Korea through the Creative Research Initiatives.

Nonvolatile memory thin-film transistors using biodegradable chicken albumen gate insulator and oxide semiconductor channel on eco-friendly paper substrate.

PubMed

Kim, So-Jung; Jeon, Da-Bin; Park, Jung-Ho; Ryu, Min-Ki; Yang, Jong-Heon; Hwang, Chi-Sun; Kim, Gi-Heon; Yoon, Sung-Min

2015-03-04

Nonvolatile memory thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated on paper substrates were proposed as one of the eco-friendly electronic devices. The gate stack was composed of chicken albumen gate insulator and In-Ga-Zn-O semiconducting channel layers. All the fabrication processes were performed below 120 °C. To improve the process compatibility of the synthethic paper substrate, an Al2O3 thin film was introduced as adhesion and barrier layers by atomic layer deposition. The dielectric properties of biomaterial albumen gate insulator were also enhanced by the preparation of Al2O3 capping layer. The nonvolatile bistabilities were realized by the switching phenomena of residual polarization within the albumen thin film. The fabricated device exhibited a counterclockwise hysteresis with a memory window of 11.8 V, high on/off ratio of approximately 1.1 × 10(6), and high saturation mobility (μsat) of 11.5 cm(2)/(V s). Furthermore, these device characteristics were not markedly degraded even after the delamination and under the bending situration. When the curvature radius was set as 5.3 cm, the ION/IOFF ratio and μsat were obtained to be 5.9 × 10(6) and 7.9 cm(2)/(V s), respectively.

Thickness-dependent carrier and phonon dynamics of topological insulator Bi2Te3 thin films.

PubMed

Zhao, Jie; Xu, Zhongjie; Zang, Yunyi; Gong, Yan; Zheng, Xin; He, Ke; Cheng, Xiang'ai; Jiang, Tian

2017-06-26

As a new quantum state of matter, topological insulators offer a new platform for exploring new physics, giving rise to fascinating new phenomena and new devices. Lots of novel physical properties of topological insulators have been studied extensively and are attributed to the unique electron-phonon interactions at the surface. Although electron behavior in topological insulators has been studied in detail, electron-phonon interactions at the surface of topological insulators are less understood. In this work, using optical pump-optical probe technology, we performed transient absorbance measurement on Bi 2 Te 3 thin films to study the dynamics of its hot carrier relaxation process and coherent phonon behavior. The excitation and dynamics of phonon modes are observed with a response dependent on the thickness of the samples. The thickness-dependent characteristic time, amplitude and frequency of the damped oscillating signals are acquired by fitting the signal profiles. The results clearly indicate that the electron-hole recombination process gradually become dominant with the increasing thickness which is consistent with our theoretical calculation. In addition, a frequency modulation phenomenon on the high-frequency oscillation signals induced by coherent optical phonons is observed.

Thin-layer thermal insulation coatings based on high-filled spheroplastics with polyorganosiloxane binder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chukhlanov, V. Yu; Selivanov, O. G.; Trifonova, T. A.; Ilina, M. E.; Chukhlanova, N. V.

2017-10-01

Thermal insulation coatings, based on polyorganosiloxane as a binder and hollow glass microspheres, have been studied in this research. The developed materials are widely applied in various branches of science and engineering basically in construction. Components interaction processes are comprehensively studied. Spraying production methods of thin layer thermal insulation coatings have been researched. Ideal technological parameters for polyorganosiloxane coatings hardening depending on components ratio, ambient temperature, solvent and curative concentration have been determined. Stress related characteristics of constructional energy saving materials containing polyorganosiloxane have been researched. Components structure and ratio concerning compound extension strength properties have been revealed. Substantiation of Danneberg model application for the strength characteristics enhancing, when hollow microspheres are introduced, has been suggested. Thermal properties of coating thermal insulation have been studied. To research these characteristics standard methods applying devices IT-S-400 and IT-λ-400 have been chosen. Filler concentration increase was stated to decrease the composition heat conductivity coefficient and to the reduction of temperature dependence of this index. The authors suggested to employ the developed thermal insulation materials for construction and power engineering facilities operating under high temperature and other unfavorable environment.

Effect of aging heat time and annealing temperature on the properties of nanocrystalline tin dioxide thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kadhim, Imad H.; Abu Hassan, H.

2017-04-01

Nanocrystalline tin dioxide (SnO2) thin films have been successfully prepared by sol-gel spin-coating technique on p-type Si (100) substrates. A stable solution was prepared by mixing tin(II) chloride dihydrate, pure ethanol, and glycerin. Temperature affects the properties of SnO2 thin films, particularly the crystallite size where the crystallization of SnO2 with tetragonal rutile structure is achieved when thin films that prepared under different aging heat times are annealed at 400∘C. By increasing aging heat time in the presence of annealing temperatures the FESEM images indicated that the thickness of the fabricated film was directly proportional to solution viscosity, increasing from approximately 380 nm to 744 nm, as well as the crystallization of the thin films improved and reduced defects.

Electron-beam-evaporated thin films of hafnium dioxide for fabricating electronic devices

DOE PAGES

Xiao, Zhigang; Kisslinger, Kim

2015-06-17

Thin films of hafnium dioxide (HfO 2) are widely used as the gate oxide in fabricating integrated circuits because of their high dielectric constants. In this paper, the authors report the growth of thin films of HfO 2 using e-beam evaporation, and the fabrication of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) integrated circuits using this HfO 2 thin film as the gate oxide. The authors analyzed the thin films using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction, thereby demonstrating that the e-beam-evaporation-grown HfO 2 film has a polycrystalline structure and forms an excellent interface with silicon. Accordingly, we fabricated 31-stage CMOS ringmore » oscillator to test the quality of the HfO 2 thin film as the gate oxide, and obtained excellent rail-to-rail oscillation waveforms from it, denoting that the HfO 2 thin film functioned very well as the gate oxide.« less

Chromium-induced ferromagnetism with perpendicular anisotropy in topological crystalline insulator SnTe (111) thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Fei; Zhang, Hongrui; Jiang, Jue; Zhao, Yi-Fan; Yu, Jia; Liu, Wei; Li, Da; Chan, Moses H. W.; Sun, Jirong; Zhang, Zhidong; Chang, Cui-Zu

2018-03-01

Topological crystalline insulator is a recently discovered topological phase of matter. It possesses multiple Dirac surface states, which are protected by the crystal symmetry. This is in contrast to the time-reversal symmetry that is operative in the well-known topological insulators. In the presence of a Zeeman field and/or strain, the multiple Dirac surface states are gapped. The high-Chern-number quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) state is predicted to emerge if the chemical potential resides in all the Zeeman gaps. Here, we use molecular-beam epitaxy to grow 12 double-layer (DL) pure and Cr-doped SnTe (111) thin film on heat-treated SrTi O3 (111) substrate using a quintuple layer of insulating (Bi0.2Sb0.8 ) 2T e3 topological insulator as a buffer film. The Hall traces of Cr-doped SnTe film at low temperatures display square hysteresis loops indicating long-range ferromagnetic order with perpendicular anisotropy. The Curie temperature of the 12 DL S n0.9C r0.1Te film is ˜110 K. Due to the chemical potential crossing the bulk valence bands, the anomalous Hall resistance of 12 DL S n0.9C r0.1Te film is substantially lower than the predicted quantized value (˜1 /4 h /e2 ). It is possible that with systematic tuning the chemical potential via chemical doping and electrical gating, the high-Chern-number QAH state can be realized in the Cr-doped SnTe (111) thin film.

Investigation of Rapid Low-Power Microwave-Induction Heating Scheme on the Cross-Linking Process of the Poly(4-vinylphenol) for the Gate Insulator of Pentacene-Based Thin-Film Transistors

PubMed Central

Fan, Ching-Lin; Shang, Ming-Chi; Wang, Shea-Jue; Hsia, Mao-Yuan; Lee, Win-Der; Huang, Bohr-Ran

2017-01-01

In this study, a proposed Microwave-Induction Heating (MIH) scheme has been systematically studied to acquire suitable MIH parameters including chamber pressure, microwave power and heating time. The proposed MIH means that the thin indium tin oxide (ITO) metal below the Poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP) film is heated rapidly by microwave irradiation and the heated ITO metal gate can heat the PVP gate insulator, resulting in PVP cross-linking. It is found that the attenuation of the microwave energy decreases with the decreasing chamber pressure. The optimal conditions are a power of 50 W, a heating time of 5 min, and a chamber pressure of 20 mTorr. When suitable MIH parameters were used, the effect of PVP cross-linking and the device performance were similar to those obtained using traditional oven heating, even though the cross-linking time was significantly decreased from 1 h to 5 min. Besides the gate leakage current, the interface trap state density (Nit) was also calculated to describe the interface status between the gate insulator and the active layer. The lowest interface trap state density can be found in the device with the PVP gate insulator cross-linked by using the optimal MIH condition. Therefore, it is believed that the MIH scheme is a good candidate to cross-link the PVP gate insulator for organic thin-film transistor applications as a result of its features of rapid heating (5 min) and low-power microwave-irradiation (50 W). PMID:28773101

Investigation of Rapid Low-Power Microwave-Induction Heating Scheme on the Cross-Linking Process of the Poly(4-vinylphenol) for the Gate Insulator of Pentacene-Based Thin-Film Transistors.

PubMed

Fan, Ching-Lin; Shang, Ming-Chi; Wang, Shea-Jue; Hsia, Mao-Yuan; Lee, Win-Der; Huang, Bohr-Ran

2017-07-03

In this study, a proposed Microwave-Induction Heating (MIH) scheme has been systematically studied to acquire suitable MIH parameters including chamber pressure, microwave power and heating time. The proposed MIH means that the thin indium tin oxide (ITO) metal below the Poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP) film is heated rapidly by microwave irradiation and the heated ITO metal gate can heat the PVP gate insulator, resulting in PVP cross-linking. It is found that the attenuation of the microwave energy decreases with the decreasing chamber pressure. The optimal conditions are a power of 50 W, a heating time of 5 min, and a chamber pressure of 20 mTorr. When suitable MIH parameters were used, the effect of PVP cross-linking and the device performance were similar to those obtained using traditional oven heating, even though the cross-linking time was significantly decreased from 1 h to 5 min. Besides the gate leakage current, the interface trap state density (Nit) was also calculated to describe the interface status between the gate insulator and the active layer. The lowest interface trap state density can be found in the device with the PVP gate insulator cross-linked by using the optimal MIH condition. Therefore, it is believed that the MIH scheme is a good candidate to cross-link the PVP gate insulator for organic thin-film transistor applications as a result of its features of rapid heating (5 min) and low-power microwave-irradiation (50 W).

Highly repeatable nanoscale phase coexistence in vanadium dioxide films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huffman, T. J.; Lahneman, D. J.; Wang, S. L.; Slusar, T.; Kim, Bong-Jun; Kim, Hyun-Tak; Qazilbash, M. M.

2018-02-01

It is generally believed that in first-order phase transitions in materials with imperfections, the formation of phase domains must be affected to some extent by stochastic (probabilistic) processes. The stochasticity would lead to unreliable performance in nanoscale devices that have the potential to exploit the transformation of physical properties in a phase transition. Here we show that stochasticity at nanometer length scales is completely suppressed in the thermally driven metal-insulator transition (MIT) in sputtered vanadium dioxide (V O2 ) films. The nucleation and growth of domain patterns of metallic and insulating phases occur in a strikingly reproducible way. The completely deterministic nature of domain formation and growth in films with imperfections is a fundamental and unexpected finding about the kinetics of this material. Moreover, it opens the door for realizing reliable nanoscale devices based on the MIT in V O2 and similar phase-change materials.

Substrate-mediated strain effect on the role of thermal heating and electric field on metal-insulator transition in vanadium dioxide nanobeams.

PubMed

Kim, Min-Woo; Jung, Wan-Gil; Hyun-Cho; Bae, Tae-Sung; Chang, Sung-Jin; Jang, Ja-Soon; Hong, Woong-Ki; Kim, Bong-Joong

2015-06-04

Single-crystalline vanadium dioxide (VO2) nanostructures have recently attracted great attention because of their single domain metal-insulator transition (MIT) nature that differs from a bulk sample. The VO2 nanostructures can also provide new opportunities to explore, understand, and ultimately engineer MIT properties for applications of novel functional devices. Importantly, the MIT properties of the VO2 nanostructures are significantly affected by stoichiometry, doping, size effect, defects, and in particular, strain. Here, we report the effect of substrate-mediated strain on the correlative role of thermal heating and electric field on the MIT in the VO2 nanobeams by altering the strength of the substrate attachment. Our study may provide helpful information on controlling the properties of VO2 nanobeam for the device applications by changing temperature and voltage with a properly engineered strain.

Substrate-mediated strain effect on the role of thermal heating and electric field on metal-insulator transition in vanadium dioxide nanobeams

PubMed Central

Kim, Min-Woo; Jung, Wan-Gil; Hyun-Cho; Bae, Tae-Sung; Chang, Sung-Jin; Jang, Ja-Soon; Hong, Woong-Ki; Kim, Bong-Joong

2015-01-01

Single-crystalline vanadium dioxide (VO2) nanostructures have recently attracted great attention because of their single domain metal-insulator transition (MIT) nature that differs from a bulk sample. The VO2 nanostructures can also provide new opportunities to explore, understand, and ultimately engineer MIT properties for applications of novel functional devices. Importantly, the MIT properties of the VO2 nanostructures are significantly affected by stoichiometry, doping, size effect, defects, and in particular, strain. Here, we report the effect of substrate-mediated strain on the correlative role of thermal heating and electric field on the MIT in the VO2 nanobeams by altering the strength of the substrate attachment. Our study may provide helpful information on controlling the properties of VO2 nanobeam for the device applications by changing temperature and voltage with a properly engineered strain. PMID:26040637

Current induced polycrystalline-to-crystalline transformation in vanadium dioxide nanowires

PubMed Central

Jeong, Junho; Yong, Zheng; Joushaghani, Arash; Tsukernik, Alexander; Paradis, Suzanne; Alain, David; Poon, Joyce K. S.

2016-01-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) exhibits a reversible insulator-metal phase transition that is of significant interest in energy-efficient nanoelectronic and nanophotonic devices. In these applications, crystalline materials are usually preferred for their superior electrical transport characteristics as well as spatial homogeneity and low surface roughness over the device area for reduced scattering. Here, we show applied electrical currents can induce a permanent reconfiguration of polycrystalline VO2 nanowires into crystalline nanowires, resulting in a dramatically reduced hysteresis across the phase transition and reduced resistivity. Low currents below 3 mA were sufficient to cause the local temperature in the VO2 to reach about 1780 K to activate the irreversible polycrystalline-to-crystalline transformation. The crystallinity was confirmed by electron microscopy and diffraction analyses. This simple yet localized post-processing of insulator-metal phase transition materials may enable new methods of studying and fabricating nanoscale structures and devices formed from these materials. PMID:27892519

Low loss millimeter-wave switches based on the Vanadium Dioxide Metal - Insulator - Transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Field, Mark; Hillman, Christopher; Stupar, Philip; Griffith, Zachary; Rodwell, Mark

2014-03-01

A new ultra-low-loss and broad band millimeter wave switch technology based on the reversible metal / insulator phase transition of vanadium dioxide has been developed. We report having fabricated series configured, single-pole single-throw (SPST) switches having measured S-parameters from DC to 110 GHz. The on-state insertion loss is 0.2 dB and off-state isolation is 21 dB at 50 GHz. The resulting impedance contrast ratio, ZOFF / ZON, is greater than 500:1 at 50 GHz (i.e. cut-off frequency fc ~ 40 THz). As a demonstration of the technology's utility, we also present the results of a 2-bit real time delay phase shifter incorporating a pair of VO2 SP4T switches. This switch technology's high impedance contrast ratio combined with its compactness, ease of integration, and low voltage operation make it an enabler of previously unachievable high-performance millimeter wave FPGAs.

Semi-flexible gas-insulated transmission line using sandwiched discs for intermittent flexing joints

DOEpatents

Kommineni, P.R.

1983-02-15

A gas-insulated transmission line includes an outer sheath, an inner conductor, an insulating gas electrically insulating the inner conductor from the outer sheath, and insulating supports insulatably supporting the inner conductor within the outer sheath. The inner conductor is provided with flexibility by the use of main conductor sections which are joined together through a conductor hub section and flexible flexing elements. Stress shields are provided to control the electric field at the locations of the conductor hub sections where the insulating supports are contacting the inner conductor. The flexing elements are formed by sandwiching together, by fusing, a pair of thin hollow discs which are fixedly secured to both the main conductor sections and the conductor hub section. 4 figs.

Ferromagnetic insulating state in tensile-strained LaCoO3 thin films from LDA + U calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Han; Blaha, Peter; Wentzcovitch, Renata M.

2012-04-01

With local density approximation+Hubbard U (LDA+U) calculations, we show that the ferromagnetic (FM) insulating state observed in tensile-strained LaCoO3 epitaxial thin films is most likely a mixture of low-spin (LS) and high-spin (HS) Co, namely, a HS/LS mixture state. Compared with other FM states, including the intermediate-spin (IS) state (metallic within LDA+U), which consists of IS Co only, and the insulating IS/LS mixture state, the HS/LS state is the most favorable one. The FM order in the HS/LS state is stabilized via the superexchange interactions between adjacent LS and HS Co. We also show that the Co spin state can be identified by measuring the electric field gradient at the Co nucleus via nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Helium ion beam induced electron emission from insulating silicon nitride films under charging conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrov, Yu. V.; Anikeva, A. E.; Vyvenko, O. F.

2018-06-01

Secondary electron emission from thin silicon nitride films of different thicknesses on silicon excited by helium ions with energies from 15 to 35 keV was investigated in the helium ion microscope. Secondary electron yield measured with Everhart-Thornley detector decreased with the irradiation time because of the charging of insulating films tending to zero or reaching a non-zero value for relatively thick or thin films, respectively. The finiteness of secondary electron yield value, which was found to be proportional to electronic energy losses of the helium ion in silicon substrate, can be explained by the electron emission excited from the substrate by the helium ions. The method of measurement of secondary electron energy distribution from insulators was suggested, and secondary electron energy distribution from silicon nitride was obtained.

Nanometric holograms based on a topological insulator material.

PubMed

Yue, Zengji; Xue, Gaolei; Liu, Juan; Wang, Yongtian; Gu, Min

2017-05-18

Holography has extremely extensive applications in conventional optical instruments spanning optical microscopy and imaging, three-dimensional displays and metrology. To integrate holography with modern low-dimensional electronic devices, holograms need to be thinned to a nanometric scale. However, to keep a pronounced phase shift modulation, the thickness of holograms has been generally limited to the optical wavelength scale, which hinders their integration with ultrathin electronic devices. Here, we break this limit and achieve 60 nm holograms using a topological insulator material. We discover that nanometric topological insulator thin films act as an intrinsic optical resonant cavity due to the unequal refractive indices in their metallic surfaces and bulk. The resonant cavity leads to enhancement of phase shifts and thus the holographic imaging. Our work paves a way towards integrating holography with flat electronic devices for optical imaging, data storage and information security.

Proximity-Induced Superconductivity and Quantum Interference in Topological Crystalline Insulator SnTe Thin-Film Devices.

PubMed

Klett, Robin; Schönle, Joachim; Becker, Andreas; Dyck, Denis; Borisov, Kiril; Rott, Karsten; Ramermann, Daniela; Büker, Björn; Haskenhoff, Jan; Krieft, Jan; Hübner, Torsten; Reimer, Oliver; Shekhar, Chandra; Schmalhorst, Jan-Michael; Hütten, Andreas; Felser, Claudia; Wernsdorfer, Wolfgang; Reiss, Günter

2018-02-14

Topological crystalline insulators represent a new state of matter, in which the electronic transport is governed by mirror-symmetry protected Dirac surface states. Due to the helical spin-polarization of these surface states, the proximity of topological crystalline matter to a nearby superconductor is predicted to induce unconventional superconductivity and, thus, to host Majorana physics. We report on the preparation and characterization of Nb-based superconducting quantum interference devices patterned on top of topological crystalline insulator SnTe thin films. The SnTe films show weak anti-localization, and the weak links of the superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUID) exhibit fully gapped proximity-induced superconductivity. Both properties give a coinciding coherence length of 120 nm. The SQUID oscillations induced by a magnetic field show 2π periodicity, possibly dominated by the bulk conductivity.

Fabrication of high-quality superconductor-insulator-superconductor junctions on thin SiN membranes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garcia, Edouard; Jacobson, Brian R.; Hu, Qing

1993-01-01

We have successfully fabricated high-quality and high-current density superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions on freestanding thin silicon nitride (SIN) membranes. These devices can be used in a novel millimeter-wave and THz receiver system which is made using micromachining. The SIS junctions with planar antennas were fabricated first on a silicon wafer covered with a SiN membrane, the Si wafer underneath was then etched away using an anisotropic KOH etchant. The current-voltage characteristics of the SIS junctions remained unchanged after the whole process, and the junctions and the membrane survived thermal cycling.

Strong modification of thin film properties due to screening across the interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altendorf, S. G.; Reisner, A.; Tam, B.; Meneghin, F.; Wirth, S.; Tjeng, L. H.

2018-04-01

We report on our investigation of the influence of screening across the interface on the properties of semiconducting thin films. Using EuO as a well-defined model material, layers of various thickness deposited on yttria-stabilized zirconia (100) substrates were covered half with Mg metal and half with the wide-band-gap insulator MgO. We observed that the Curie temperature for the thinnest films is significantly higher for the part which is interfaced with the metal compared to the part which is interfaced with the insulator. We infer that the proximity of a polarizable medium reduces the energies of virtual charge excitations and thus increases the effective exchange interactions, a strong effect that can be utilized systematically for the design of thin film and multilayer systems.

Fabrication of ultrathin and highly uniform silicon on insulator by numerically controlled plasma chemical vaporization machining.

PubMed

Sano, Yasuhisa; Yamamura, Kazuya; Mimura, Hidekazu; Yamauchi, Kazuto; Mori, Yuzo

2007-08-01

Metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer operate faster and at a lower power than those fabricated on a bulk silicon wafer. Scaling down, which improves their performances, demands thinner SOI wafers. In this article, improvement on the thinning of SOI wafers by numerically controlled plasma chemical vaporization machining (PCVM) is described. PCVM is a gas-phase chemical etching method in which reactive species generated in atmospheric-pressure plasma are used. Some factors affecting uniformity are investigated and methods for improvements are presented. As a result of thinning a commercial 8 in. SOI wafer, the initial SOI layer thickness of 97.5+/-4.7 nm was successfully thinned and made uniform at 7.5+/-1.5 nm.

Tunneling probe of fluctuating superconductivity in disordered thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dentelski, David; Frydman, Aviad; Shimshoni, Efrat; Dalla Torre, Emanuele G.

2018-03-01

Disordered thin films close to the superconductor-insulator phase transition (SIT) hold the key to understanding quantum phase transition in strongly correlated materials. The SIT is governed by superconducting quantum fluctuations, which can be revealed, for example, by tunneling measurements. These experiments detect a spectral gap, accompanied by suppressed coherence peaks, on both sides of the transition. Here we describe the insulating side in terms of a fluctuating superconducting field with finite-range correlations. We perform a controlled diagrammatic resummation and derive analytic expressions for the tunneling differential conductance. We find that short-range superconducting fluctuations suppress the coherence peaks even in the presence of long-range correlations. Our approach offers a quantitative description of existing measurements on disordered thin films and accounts for tunneling spectra with suppressed coherence peaks.

Insulating Behavior in Graphene with Irradiation-induced Lattice Defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jian-Hao; Williams, Ellen; Fuhrer, Michael

2010-03-01

We irradiated cleaned graphene on silicon dioxide in ultra-high vacuum with low energy inert gas ions to produce lattice defects [1], and investigated in detail the transition from metallic to insulating temperature dependence of the conductivity as a function of defect density. We measured the low field magnetoresistance and temperature-dependent resistivity in situ and find that weak localization can only account for a small correction of the resistivity increase with decreasing temperature. We will discuss possible origins of the insulating temperature dependent resistivity in defected graphene in light of our recent experiments. [4pt] [1] Jian-Hao Chen, W. G. Cullen, C. Jang, M. S. Fuhrer, E. D. Williams, PRL 102, 236805 (2009)

Evidence for impact ionization in vanadium dioxide

DOE PAGES

Holleman, Joshua; Bishop, Michael M.; Garcia, Carlos; ...

2016-10-17

Pump-probe optical spectroscopy was used to investigate charge carrier multiplication via impact ionization in the M 1 insulating phase of VO 2. By comparing the transient reflectivities of the film when pumped at less than and then more than twice the band-gap energy, we observed an enhancement of the ultrafast response with the higher energy pump color while the film was still transiently in the insulating phase. We additionally identified multiple timescales within the charge dynamics and analyzed how these changed when the pump and probe wavelengths were varied. This experiment provided evidence that impact ionization acts efficiently as amore » carrier multiplication process in this prototypical strongly-correlated insulator.« less

Study on Insulating Material by Renewable Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurata, Yasuyuki; Kurosumi, Akihiro; Ishikawa, Keita

Under circumstances such as global warming caused by carbon dioxide and other green house gas and crisis of depletion of fossil resources, recyclable resources such as biomass have captured the world's attention as reproducible resources alternative to petroleum. Therefore the technologies such to manufacture chemicals from recyclable resources have been developed for the achievement of measures for controlling global warming and the low carbon society. Recently, the bioplastic such as polylactic resin is applied to the home appliances and the automobile interior part as substitution of general-purpose plastic Moreover, the insulation oil from the vegetable oil has been put to practical use. The application of recyclable resources is extending in an electric field. In this paper, we introduce the characteristic and the problem of the insulating material made from recyclable resources in the field of the solid insulation.

Silicon on insulator self-aligned transistors

DOEpatents

McCarthy, Anthony M.

2003-11-18

A method for fabricating thin-film single-crystal silicon-on-insulator (SOI) self-aligned transistors. Standard processing of silicon substrates is used to fabricate the transistors. Physical spaces, between the source and gate, and the drain and gate, introduced by etching the polysilicon gate material, are used to provide connecting implants (bridges) which allow the transistor to perform normally. After completion of the silicon substrate processing, the silicon wafer is bonded to an insulator (glass) substrate, and the silicon substrate is removed leaving the transistors on the insulator (glass) substrate. Transistors fabricated by this method may be utilized, for example, in flat panel displays, etc.

Peroxy-Titanium Complex-based inks for low temperature compliant anatase thin films.

PubMed

Shabanov, N S; Asvarov, A Sh; Chiolerio, A; Rabadanov, K Sh; Isaev, A B; Orudzhev, F F; Makhmudov, S Sh

2017-07-15

Stable highly crystalline titanium dioxide colloids are of paramount importance for the establishment of a solution-processable library of materials that could help in bringing the advantages of digital printing to the world of photocatalysis and solar energy conversion. Nano-sized titanium dioxide in the anatase phase was synthesized by means of hydrothermal methods and treated with hydrogen peroxide to form Peroxy-Titanium Complexes (PTCs). The influence of hydrogen peroxide on the structural, optical and rheological properties of titanium dioxide and its colloidal solutions were assessed and a practical demonstration of a low temperature compliant digitally printed anatase thin film given. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High temperature experimental characterization of microscale thermoelectric effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Favaloro, Tela

Thermoelectric devices have been employed for many years as a reliable energy conversion technology for applications ranging from the cooling of sensors or charge coupled devices to the direct conversion of heat into electricity for remote power generation. However, its relatively low conversion efficiency has limited the implementation of thermoelectric materials for large scale cooling and waste heat recovery applications. Recent advances in semiconductor growth technology have enabled the precise and selective engineering of material properties to improve the thermoelectric figure of merit and thus the efficiency of thermoelectric devices. Accurate characterization at the intended operational temperature of novel thermoelectric materials is a crucial component of the optimization process in order to fundamentally understand material behavior and evaluate performance. The objective of this work is to provide the tools necessary to characterize high efficiency bulk and thin-film materials for thermoelectric energy conversion. The techniques developed here are not bound to specific material or devices, but can be generalized to any material system. Thermoreflectance imaging microscopy has proven to be invaluable for device thermometry owing to its high spatial and temporal resolutions. It has been utilized in this work to create two-dimensional temperature profiles of thermoelectric devices during operation used for performance analysis of novel materials, identification of defects, and visualization of high speed transients in a high-temperature imaging thermostat. We report the development of a high temperature imaging thermostat capable of high speed transient thermoelectric characterization. In addition, we present a noninvasive method for thermoreflectance coefficient calibration ideally suited for vacuum and thus high temperature employment. This is the first analysis of the thermoreflectance coefficient of commonly used metals at high-temperatures. High temperature vacuum thermostats are designed and fabricated with optical imaging capability and interchangeable measurement stages for various electrical and thermoelectric characterizations. We demonstrate the simultaneous measurement of in-plane electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of thin-film or bulk thermoelectric materials. Furthermore, we utilize high-speed circuitry to implement the transient Harman technique and directly determine the cross-plane figure of merit of thin film thermoelectric materials at high temperatures. Transient measurements on thin film devices are subject to complications from the growth substrate, non-ideal contacts and other detrimental thermal and electrical effects. A strategy is presented for optimizing device geometry to mitigate the impact of these parasitics. This design enabled us to determine the cross-plane thermoelectric material properties in a single high temperature measurement of a 25mum InGaAs thin film with embedded ErAs (0.2%) nanoparticles using the bipolar transient Harman technique in conjunction with thermoreflectance thermal imaging. This approach eliminates discrepancies and potential device degradation from the multiple measurements necessary to obtain individual material parameters. Finite element method simulations are used to analyze non-uniform current and temperature distributions over the device area and determine the three dimensional current path for accurate extraction of material properties from the thermal images. Results match with independent measurements of thermoelectric material properties for the same material composition, validating this approach. We apply high magnification thermoreflectance imaging to create temperature maps of vanadium dioxide nanobeams and examine electro-thermal energy conversion along the nanobeam length. The metal to insulator transition of strongly correlated materials is subject to strong lattice coupling which brings about the unique one-dimensional alignment of metal-insulator domains along nanobeams. Many studies have investigated the effects of stress on the metal to insulator transition and hence the phase boundary, but few have directly examined the temperature profile across the metal-insulating interface. Here, thermoreflectance microscopy reveals the underlying behavior of single-crystalline VO2 nanobeams in the phase coexisting regime. We directly observe highly localized alternating Peltier heating and cooling as well as Joule heating concentrated at the domain interfaces, indicating the significance of the domain walls and band offsets. Moreover, we are able to elucidate strain accumulation along the nanobeam and distinguish between two insulating phases of VO 2 through detection of the opposite polarity of their respective thermoreflectance coefficients.

Chemical vapor deposition of silicon, silicon dioxide, titanium and ferroelectric thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Feng

Various silicon-based thin films (such as epitaxial, polycrystalline and amorphous silicon thin films, silicon dioxide thin films and silicon nitride thin films), titanium thin film and various ferroelectric thin films (such as BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 thin films) play critical roles in the manufacture of microelectronics circuits. For the past few years, there have been tremendous interests to search for cheap, safe and easy-to-use methods to develop those thin films with high quality and good step coverage. Silane is a critical chemical reagent widely used to deposit silicon-based thin films. Despite its wide use, silane is a dangerous material. It is pyrophoric, extremely flammable and may explode from heat, shock and/or friction. Because of the nature of silane, serious safety issues have been raised concerning the use, transportation, and storage of compressed gas cylinders of silane. Therefore it is desired to develop safer ways to deposit silicon-based films. In chapter III, I present the results of our research in the following fields: (1) Silane generator, (2) Substitutes of silane for deposition of silicon and silicon dioxide thin films, (3) Substitutes of silane for silicon dioxide thin film deposition. In chapter IV, hydropyridine is introduced as a new ligand for use in constructing precursors for chemical vapor deposition. Detachement of hydropyridine occurs by a low-temperature reaction leaving hydrogen in place of the hydropyridine ligands. Hydropyridine ligands can be attached to a variety of elements, including main group metals, such as aluminum and antimony, transition metals, such as titanium and tantalum, semiconductors such as silicon, and non-metals such as phosphorus and arsenic. In this study, hydropyridine-containing titanium compounds were synthesized and used as chemical vapor deposition precursors for deposition of titanium containing thin films. Some other titanium compounds were also studied for comparison. In chapter V, Chemical Vapor Depositions (CVD) of many oxide thin films including ferroelectric and high dielectric constant BaTiO3, SrTiO 3 and PbTiO3 films had been carried out under reduced pressure (30 torr--80 torr) using liquid precursors containing beta-diketone ligands. The relative reactivities of Ba(beta-diketonate)2, Sr(beta-diketonate) 2, Pb(beta-diketonate)2, Ti(beta-diketonate)3, TiO(beta-diketonate)2 and Ti(OiPr)2(beta-diketonate) 2 had been studied individually prior to the deposition of BaTiO 3, SrTiO3 and PbTiO3 thin films from the mixtures of corresponding precursors. By using multi-step deposition method, carbon free stoichiometric BaTiO3 thin films uniform in large area have been achieved.

DETAIL OF TYPICAL WALL CONSTRUCTION IN COOLING ROOMS; TWO LAYERS ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

DETAIL OF TYPICAL WALL CONSTRUCTION IN COOLING ROOMS; TWO LAYERS OF CORK INSULATION ARE ATTACHED TO REINFORCED CONCRETE WALL WITH WOOD SLEEPERS AND ASPHALT MASTIC; THIN, GLAZED TERRA-COTTA TILES PROTECT THE INSULATION INSIDE THE COOLER - Rath Packing Company, Hog Cutting Building, Sycamore Street between Elm & Eighteenth Streets, Waterloo, Black Hawk County, IA

Scalable planar fabrication processes for chalcogenide-based topological insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Peter; Henry, M. David; Douglas, Erica; Wiwi, Michael; Lima Sharma, Ana; Lewis, Rupert; Sugar, Joshua; Salehi, Maryam; Koirala, Nikesh; Oh, Seongshik

Surface currents in topological insulators are expected to have long spin diffusion lengths, which could lead to numerous applications. Experiments that show promising transport properties were conducted on exfoliated flakes from bulk material, thin films on substrates of limited dimensions, or bulk material, with limited yield. A planar thin film-based technology is needed to make topological insulator devices at scale and could also lead to new device designs. We address two problems related to fabricating chalcogenide-based topological insulator devices on 3'' wafers in the Sandia Microfabrication Facility using Bi2Te3 films. (2) Implantation damage and its subsequent mitigation through annealing is characterized. (2) The degradation in dielectric layers used to manipulate surface potential for elucidating topological surface state transport is characterized under different processing conditions. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract No. DE-AC04-94AL85000. Funded by the Office of Naval Research (N0001416IP00098-0).

Integrated Electrical Wire Insulation Repair System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Martha; Jolley, Scott; Gibson, Tracy; Parks, Steven

2013-01-01

An integrated system tool will allow a technician to easily and quickly repair damaged high-performance electrical wire insulation in the field. Low-melt polyimides have been developed that can be processed into thin films that work well in the repair of damaged polyimide or fluoropolymer insulated electrical wiring. Such thin films can be used in wire insulation repairs by affixing a film of this low-melt polyimide to the damaged wire, and heating the film to effect melting, flow, and cure of the film. The resulting repair is robust, lightweight, and small in volume. The heating of this repair film is accomplished with the use of a common electrical soldering tool that has been modified with a special head or tip that can accommodate the size of wire being repaired. This repair method can furthermore be simplified for the repair technician by providing replaceable or disposable soldering tool heads that have repair film already "loaded" and ready for use. The soldering tool heating device can also be equipped with a battery power supply that will allow its use in areas where plug-in current is not available

Two-dimensional ferroelectric topological insulators in functionalized atomically thin bismuth layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kou, Liangzhi; Fu, Huixia; Ma, Yandong; Yan, Binghai; Liao, Ting; Du, Aijun; Chen, Changfeng

2018-02-01

We introduce a class of two-dimensional (2D) materials that possess coexisting ferroelectric and topologically insulating orders. Such ferroelectric topological insulators (FETIs) occur in noncentrosymmetric atomic layer structures with strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC). We showcase a prototype 2D FETI in an atomically thin bismuth layer functionalized by C H2OH , which exhibits a large ferroelectric polarization that is switchable by a ligand molecule rotation mechanism and a strong SOC that drives a band inversion leading to the topologically insulating state. An external electric field that switches the ferroelectric polarization also tunes the spin texture in the underlying atomic lattice. Moreover, the functionalized bismuth layer exhibits an additional quantum order driven by the valley splitting at the K and K' points in the Brillouin zone stemming from the symmetry breaking and strong SOC in the system, resulting in a remarkable state of matter with the simultaneous presence of the quantum spin Hall and quantum valley Hall effect. These phenomena are predicted to exist in other similarly constructed 2D FETIs, thereby offering a unique quantum material platform for discovering novel physics and exploring innovative applications.

Characterization of crystallographic properties of thin films using X-ray diffraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zoo, Yeongseok

2007-12-01

Silver (Ag) has been recognized as one of promising candidates in Ultra-Large Scale Integrated (ULSI) applications in that it has the lowest bulk electrical resistivity of all pure metals and higher electromigration resistance than other interconnect materials. However, low thermal stability on Silicon Dioxide (Si02) at high temperatures (e.g., agglomeration) is considered a drawback for the Ag metallization scheme. Moreover, if a thin film is attached on a substrate, its properties may differ significantly from that of the bulk, since the properties of thin films can be significantly affected by the substrate. In this study, the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) and texture evolution of Ag thin films on different substrates were characterized using various analytical techniques. The experimental results showed that the CTE of the Ag thin film was significantly affected by underlying substrate and the surface roughness of substrate. To investigate the alloying effect for Ag meatallization, small amounts of Copper (Cu) were added and characterized using theta-2theta X-ray Diffraction (XRD) scan and pole figure analysis. These XRD techniques are useful for investigating the primary texture of a metal film, (111) in this study, which (111) is the notation of a specific plane in the orthogonal coordinate system. They revealed that the (111) textures of Ag and Ag(Cu) thin films were enhanced with increasing temperature. Comparison of texture profiles between Ag and Ag(Cu) thin films showed that Cu additions enhanced (111) texture in Ag thin films. Accordingly, the texture enhancement in Ag thin films by Cu addition was discussed. Strained Silicon-On-Insulator (SSOI) is being considered as a potential substrate for Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) technology since the induced strain results in a significant improvement in device performance. High resolution X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to characterize the perpendicular and parallel strains in SSOI layers. XRD diffraction profiles generated from the crystalline SSOI layer provided a direct measurement of the layer's strain components. In addition, it has demonstrated that the rotational misalignment between the layer and the substrate can be incorporated within the biaxial strain equations for epitaxial layers. Based on these results, the strain behavior of the SSOI layer and the relation between strained Si and SiO2 layers are discussed for annealed samples.

Multipurpose insulation system for a radioisotope fueled Mini-Brayton Heat Source Assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aller, P.; Saylor, W.; Schmidt, G.; Wein, D.

1976-01-01

The Mini-Brayton Heat Source Assembly (HSA) consists of a radioisotope fueled heat source, a heat exchanger, a multifoil thermal insulation blanket, and a hermetically sealed housing. The thermal insulation blanket is a multilayer wrap of thin metal foil separated by a sparsely coated oxide. The objectives of the insulation blanket are related to the effective insulation of the HSA during operation, the transfer of the full thermal inventory to the housing when the primary coolant is not flowing, and the transfer of the full thermal inventory to the housing in the event of a flow stoppage of the primary coolant. A description is given of the approaches which have been developed to make it possible for the insulation blanket to meet these requirements.

Hybridization effects on wave packet dynamics in topological insulator thin films.

PubMed

Yar, Abdullah; Naeem, Muhammad; Khan, Safi Ullah; Sabeeh, Kashif

2017-11-22

Theoretical study of electron wave packet dynamics in topological insulator (TI) thin films is presented. We have investigated real space trajectories and spin dynamics of electron wave packets in TI thin films. Our focus is on the role of hybridization between the electronic states of the two surfaces. This allows us to access the crossover regime of a thick film with no hybridization to a thin film with finite hybridization. We show that the electron wave packet undergoes side-jump motion in addition to zitterbewegung. The oscillation frequency of zitterbewegung can be tuned by the strength of hybridization, which in turn can be tuned by the thickness of the film. We find that the spin expectations also exhibit zitterbewegung tunable by hybridization. We also show that it is possible to obtain persistent zitterbewegung, oscillations which do not decay, in both the real space trajectories as well as spin dynamics. The zitterbewegung oscillation frequency in TI thin films falls in a parameter regime where it might be possible to observe these effects using present day experimental techniques.

Giant spin Hall angle from topological insulator BixSe(1 - x) thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dc, Mahendra; Jamali, Mahdi; Chen, Junyang; Hickey, Danielle; Zhang, Delin; Zhao, Zhengyang; Li, Hongshi; Quarterman, Patrick; Lv, Yang; Mkhyon, Andre; Wang, Jian-Ping

Investigation on the spin-orbit torque (SOT) from large spin-orbit coupling materials has been attracting interest because of its low power switching of the magnetization and ultra-fast driving of the domain wall motion that can be used in future spin based memory and logic devices. We investigated SOT from topological insulator BixSe(1 - x) thin film in BixSe(1 - x) /CoFeB heterostructure by using the dc planar Hall method, where BixSe(1 - x) thin films were prepared by a unique industry-compatible deposition process. The angle dependent Hall resistance was measured in the presence of a rotating external in-plane magnetic field at bipolar currents. The spin Hall angle (SHA) from this BixSe(1 - x) thin film was found to be as large as 22.41, which is the largest ever reported at room temperature (RT). The giant SHA and large spin Hall conductivity (SHC) make this BixSe(1 - x) thin film a very strong candidate as an SOT generator in SOT based memory and logic devices.

Photo-oxidation-modulated refractive index in Bi2Te3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yue, Zengji; Chen, Qinjun; Sahu, Amit; Wang, Xiaolin; Gu, Min

2017-12-01

We report on an 800 nm femtosecond laser beam induced giant refractive index modulation and enhancement of near-infrared transparency in topological insulator material Bi2Te3 thin films. An ultrahigh refractive index of up to 5.9 was observed in the Bi2Te3 thin film in near-infrared frequency. The refractive index dramatically decreases by a factor of ~3 by an exposure to the 800 nm femtosecond laser beam. Simultaneously, the transmittance of the Bi2Te3 thin films markedly increases to ~96% in the near-infrared frequency. The Raman spectra provides strong evidences that the observed both refractive index modulation and transparency enhancement result from laser beam induced photooxidation effects in the Bi2Te3 thin films. The Bi2Te3 compound transfers into Bi2O3 and TeO2 under the laser beam illumination. These experimental results pave the way towards the design of various optical devices, such as near-infrared flat lenses, waveguide and holograms, based on topological insulator materials.

Nanometric holograms based on a topological insulator material

PubMed Central

Yue, Zengji; Xue, Gaolei; Liu, Juan; Wang, Yongtian; Gu, Min

2017-01-01

Holography has extremely extensive applications in conventional optical instruments spanning optical microscopy and imaging, three-dimensional displays and metrology. To integrate holography with modern low-dimensional electronic devices, holograms need to be thinned to a nanometric scale. However, to keep a pronounced phase shift modulation, the thickness of holograms has been generally limited to the optical wavelength scale, which hinders their integration with ultrathin electronic devices. Here, we break this limit and achieve 60 nm holograms using a topological insulator material. We discover that nanometric topological insulator thin films act as an intrinsic optical resonant cavity due to the unequal refractive indices in their metallic surfaces and bulk. The resonant cavity leads to enhancement of phase shifts and thus the holographic imaging. Our work paves a way towards integrating holography with flat electronic devices for optical imaging, data storage and information security. PMID:28516906

Methodology for Evaluating Raw Material Changes to RSRM Elastomeric Insulation Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mildenhall, Scott D.; McCool, Alex (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) uses asbestos and silicon dioxide filled acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (AS-NBR) as the primary internal insulation to protect the case from heat. During the course of the RSRM Program, several changes have been made to the raw materials and processing of the AS-NBR elastomeric insulation material. These changes have been primarily caused by raw materials becoming obsolete. In addition, some process changes have been implemented that were deemed necessary to improve the quality and consistency of the AS-NBR insulation material. Each change has been evaluated using unique test efforts customized to determine the potential impacts of the specific raw material or process change. Following the evaluations, the various raw material and process changes were successfully implemented with no detectable effect on the performance of the AS-NBR insulation. This paper will discuss some of the raw material and process changes evaluated, the methodology used in designing the unique test plans, and the general evaluation results. A summary of the change history of RSRM AS-NBR internal insulation is also presented.

Atomistic characterization of SAM coatings as gate insulators in Si-based FET devices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gala, F.; Zollo, G.

2014-06-19

Many nano-material systems are currently under consideration as possible candidates for gate dielectric insulators in both metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOSFET) and organic (OFET) field-effect transistors. In this contribution, the possibility of employing self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of hydroxylated octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) chains on a (111) Si substrate as gate dielectrics is discussed; in particular ab initio theoretical simulations have been employed to study the structural properties, work function modifications, and the insulating properties of OTS thin film coatings on Si substrates.

Atomistic characterization of SAM coatings as gate insulators in Si-based FET devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gala, F.; Zollo, G.

2014-06-01

Many nano-material systems are currently under consideration as possible candidates for gate dielectric insulators in both metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOSFET) and organic (OFET) field-effect transistors. In this contribution, the possibility of employing self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of hydroxylated octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) chains on a (111) Si substrate as gate dielectrics is discussed; in particular ab initio theoretical simulations have been employed to study the structural properties, work function modifications, and the insulating properties of OTS thin film coatings on Si substrates.

Temperature control transport system

DOEpatents

Schabron, John F; Sorini-Wong, Susan S

2014-12-09

Embodiments of the inventive technology may involve the use of layered, insulated PCM assemblage that itself comprises: modular insulating foam material 8 that, upon establishment as part of the assemblage, defines inner foam material sides 9 and outer foam material sides 10; thin reflective material 11 established against (whether directly in contact with or not) at least either the inner foam material sides or the outer foam materials sides, and modular, enclosed PCM sections 12 established between the modular insulating foam material and the interior center.

Thin films of topological Kondo insulator candidate SmB6: Strong spin-orbit torque without exclusive surface conduction

PubMed Central

Li, Yufan; Ma, Qinli; Huang, S. X.; Chien, C. L.

2018-01-01

The advent of topological insulators (TIs), a novel class of materials that harbor a metallic spin-chiral surface state coexisting with band-insulating bulk, opens up new possibilities for spintronics. One promising route is current-induced switching of an adjacent magnetic layer via spin-orbit torque (SOT), arising from the large spin-orbit coupling intrinsically possessed by TIs. The Kondo insulator SmB6 has been recently proposed to be a strongly correlated TI, supported by the observation of a metallic surface state in bulk SmB6, as evidenced by the thickness independence of the low-temperature resistance plateau. We report the synthesis of epitaxial (001) SmB6/Si thin films and a systematic thickness-dependent electrical transport study. Although the low-temperature resistance plateau is observed for all films from 50 to 500 nm in thickness, the resistance is distinctively thickness-dependent and does not support the notion of surface conduction and interior insulation. On the other hand, we demonstrate that SmB6 can generate a large SOT to switch an adjacent ferromagnetic layer, even at room temperature. The effective SOT generated from SmB6 is comparable to that from β-W, one of the strongest SOT materials. PMID:29376125

Geometric confinement effects on the metal-insulator transition temperature and stress relaxation in VO2 thin films grown on silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viswanath, Changhyun Ko, B.; Yang, Zheng; Ramanathan, Shriram

2011-03-01

VO2 undergoes a sharp metal-insulator transition at ˜67 °C with several orders of change in conductivity and optical transmittance. Understanding and control of the properties of vanadium oxide layers grown on technologically relevant substrates such as Si (100) single crystals is therefore of great interest. In this work, we show tunability of metal-insulator transition temperature as well as recoverable stress in VO2 thin films grown on Si substrate by introducing nanoscale atomic layer deposited HfO2 interfacial layers with no degradation in the resistance ratio. For a confined VO2 film, the metal-insulator transition temperature is suppressed by ˜16 °C and the recoverable stress is 150 MPa, compared to 400 MPa for a bare film. These observations are further correlated with in situ variable temperature measurement of stress changes occurring during the phase transition. Structural and microstructural studies on the various samples have been carried out by x ray diffraction and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The strategy of tuning the metal-insulator transition characteristics by nanoscale interfacial dielectrics is of broader relevance in design of programmable materials and integration into solid state devices for electronics.

Tailoring Materials for Mottronics: Excess Oxygen Doping of a Prototypical Mott Insulator.

PubMed

Scheiderer, Philipp; Schmitt, Matthias; Gabel, Judith; Zapf, Michael; Stübinger, Martin; Schütz, Philipp; Dudy, Lenart; Schlueter, Christoph; Lee, Tien-Lin; Sing, Michael; Claessen, Ralph

2018-05-07

The Mott transistor is a paradigm for a new class of electronic devices-often referred to by the term Mottronics-which are based on charge correlations between the electrons. Since correlation-induced insulating phases of most oxide compounds are usually very robust, new methods have to be developed to push such materials right to the boundary to the metallic phase in order to enable the metal-insulator transition to be switched by electric gating. Here, it is demonstrated that thin films of the prototypical Mott insulator LaTiO 3 grown by pulsed laser deposition under oxygen atmosphere are readily tuned by excess oxygen doping across the line of the band-filling controlled Mott transition in the electronic phase diagram. The detected insulator to metal transition is characterized by a strong change in resistivity of several orders of magnitude. The use of suitable substrates and capping layers to inhibit oxygen diffusion facilitates full control of the oxygen content and renders the films stable against exposure to ambient conditions. These achievements represent a significant advancement in control and tuning of the electronic properties of LaTiO 3+ x thin films making it a promising channel material in future Mottronic devices. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Formation of Fe2SiO4 thin films on Si substrates and influence of substrate to its thermoelectric transport properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Jeongyong; Nguyen, Van Quang; Duong, Van Thiet; Shin, Yooleemi; Duong, Anh Tuan; Cho, Sunglae

2018-03-01

Fe2SiO4 thin films have been grown on n-type, p-type and semi-insulating Si(100) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. When Fe-O thin films were deposited on Si(100) substrate at 300 °C, the film reacted with Si, resulting in a Fe2SiO4 film because of the high reactivity between Fe and Si. The electrical resistance and Seebeck coefficient of Fe2SiO4 thin films grown were different in different doping states. On n-type and p-type Si(100), the electrical resistance decreased suddenly and increased again at 350 and 250 K, respectively, while on semi-insulating Si(100), it exhibited typical semiconducting resistance behavior. We observed similar crossovers at 350 and 250 K in temperature dependent Seebeck coefficients on n-type and p-type Si(100), respectively. These results suggest that the measured electrical and thermoelectric properties originate from Si substrate.

Atomically Thin Al2O3 Films for Tunnel Junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilt, Jamie; Gong, Youpin; Gong, Ming; Su, Feifan; Xu, Huikai; Sakidja, Ridwan; Elliot, Alan; Lu, Rongtao; Zhao, Shiping; Han, Siyuan; Wu, Judy Z.

2017-06-01

Metal-insulator-metal tunnel junctions are common throughout the microelectronics industry. The industry standard AlOx tunnel barrier, formed through oxygen diffusion into an Al wetting layer, is plagued by internal defects and pinholes which prevent the realization of atomically thin barriers demanded for enhanced quantum coherence. In this work, we employ in situ scanning tunneling spectroscopy along with molecular-dynamics simulations to understand and control the growth of atomically thin Al2O3 tunnel barriers using atomic-layer deposition. We find that a carefully tuned initial H2O pulse hydroxylated the Al surface and enabled the creation of an atomically thin Al2O3 tunnel barrier with a high-quality M -I interface and a significantly enhanced barrier height compared to thermal AlOx . These properties, corroborated by fabricated Josephson junctions, show that atomic-layer deposition Al2O3 is a dense, leak-free tunnel barrier with a low defect density which can be a key component for the next generation of metal-insulator-metal tunnel junctions.

Fabrication of high performance thin-film transistors via pressure-induced nucleation.

PubMed

Kang, Myung-Koo; Kim, Si Joon; Kim, Hyun Jae

2014-10-31

We report a method to improve the performance of polycrystalline Si (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) via pressure-induced nucleation (PIN). During the PIN process, spatial variation in the local solidification temperature occurs because of a non-uniform pressure distribution during laser irradiation of the amorphous Si layer, which is capped with an SiO2 layer. This leads to a four-fold increase in the grain size of the poly-Si thin-films formed using the PIN process, compared with those formed using conventional excimer laser annealing. We find that thin films with optimal electrical properties can be achieved with a reduction in the number of laser irradiations from 20 to 6, as well as the preservation of the interface between the poly-Si and the SiO2 gate insulator. This interface preservation becomes possible to remove the cleaning process prior to gate insulator deposition, and we report devices with a field-effect mobility greater than 160 cm(2)/Vs.

Physical aspects of colossal dielectric constant material CaCu3Ti4O12 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Guochu; He, Zhangbin; Muralt, Paul

2009-04-01

The underlying physical mechanism of the so-called colossal dielectric constant phenomenon in CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) thin films were investigated by using semiconductor theories and methods. The semiconductivity of CCTO thin films originated from the acceptor defect at a level ˜90 meV higher than valence band. Two contact types, metal-semiconductor and metal-insulator-semiconductor junctions, were observed and their barrier heights, and impurity concentrations were theoretically calculated. Accordingly, the Schottky barrier height of metal-semiconductor contact is about 0.8 eV, and the diffusion barrier height of metal-insulator-semiconductor contact is about 0.4-0.7 eV. The defect concentrations of both samples are quite similar, of the magnitude of 1019 cm-3, indicating an inherent feature of high defect concentration.

Advanced thin film thermocouples

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kreider, K. G.; Semancik, S.; Olson, C.

1984-01-01

The fabrication, materials characterization, and performance of thin film platinum rhodium thermocouples on gas turbine alloys was investigated. The materials chosen for the study were the turbine blade alloy systems MAR M200+Hf with NiCoCrAlY and FeCrAlY coatings, and vane alloy systems MAR M509 with FeCrAlY. Research was focussed on making improvements in the problem areas of coating substrate stability, adhesion, and insulation reliability and durability. Diffusion profiles between the substrate and coating with and without barrier coatings of Al2O3 are reported. The relationships between fabrication parameters of thermal oxidation and sputtering of the insulator and its characterization and performance are described. The best thin film thermocouples were fabricated with the NiCoCrAlY coatings which were thermally oxidized and sputter coated with Al2O3.

Thin film hydrogen sensor

DOEpatents

Lauf, Robert J.; Hoffheins, Barbara S.; Fleming, Pamela H.

1994-01-01

A hydrogen sensor element comprises an essentially inert, electrically-insulating substrate having a thin-film metallization deposited thereon which forms at least two resistors on the substrate. The metallization comprises a layer of Pd or a Pd alloy for sensing hydrogen and an underlying intermediate metal layer for providing enhanced adhesion of the metallization to the substrate. An essentially inert, electrically insulating, hydrogen impermeable passivation layer covers at least one of the resistors, and at least one of the resistors is left uncovered. The difference in electrical resistances of the covered resistor and the uncovered resistor is related to hydrogen concentration in a gas to which the sensor element is exposed.

Thin film hydrogen sensor

DOEpatents

Lauf, R.J.; Hoffheins, B.S.; Fleming, P.H.

1994-11-22

A hydrogen sensor element comprises an essentially inert, electrically-insulating substrate having a thin-film metallization deposited thereon which forms at least two resistors on the substrate. The metallization comprises a layer of Pd or a Pd alloy for sensing hydrogen and an underlying intermediate metal layer for providing enhanced adhesion of the metallization to the substrate. An essentially inert, electrically insulating, hydrogen impermeable passivation layer covers at least one of the resistors, and at least one of the resistors is left uncovered. The difference in electrical resistances of the covered resistor and the uncovered resistor is related to hydrogen concentration in a gas to which the sensor element is exposed. 6 figs.

Titanium dioxide thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition and integration in radio frequency devices: Study of structure, optical and dielectric properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orlianges, Jean-Christophe; Crunteanu, Aurelian; Pothier, Arnaud; Merle-Mejean, Therese; Blondy, Pierre; Champeaux, Corinne

2012-12-01

Titanium dioxide presents a wide range of technological application possibilities due to its dielectric, electrochemical, photocatalytic and optical properties. The three TiO2 allotropic forms: anatase, rutile and brookite are also interesting, since they exhibit different properties, stabilities and growth modes. For instance, rutile has a high dielectric permittivity, of particular interest for the integration as dielectric in components such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for radio frequency (RF) devices. In this study, titanium dioxide thin films are deposited by pulsed laser deposition. Characterizations by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction show the evolution of the structural properties. Thin films optical properties are investigated using spectroscopic ellipsometry and transmission measurements from UV to IR range. Co-planar waveguide (CPW) devices are fabricated based on these films. Their performances are measured in the RF domain and compared to simulation, leading to relative permittivity values in the range 30-120, showing the potentialities of the deposited material for capacitive switches applications.

Insulated InP (100) semiconductor by nano nucleus generation in pure water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghorab, Farzaneh; Es'haghi, Zarrin

2018-01-01

Preparation of specified designs on optoelectronic devices such as Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and Laser Diodes (LDs) by using insulated thin films is very important. InP as one of those semiconductors which is used as optoelectronic devices, have two different kinds of charge carriers as n-InP and p-InP in the microelectronic industry. The surface preparation of this kind of semiconductor can be accomplished with individually chemical, mechanical, chemo - mechanical and electrochemical methods. But electrochemical method can be suitably replaced instead of the other methods, like CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing), because of the simplicity. In this way, electrochemically formation of insulated thin films by nano nucleus generation on semiconductor (using constant current density of 0.07 mA /cm2) studied in this research. Insulated nano nucleus generation and their growth up to thin film formation on semiconductor single crystal (100), n-InP, inpure water (0.08 µs/cm,25°c) characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Four-point probe and Styloprofilometer techniques. The SEM images show active and passive regions on the n-InP surface and not uniform area on p-InP surface by passing through the passive condition. So the passive regions were nonuniform, and only the active regions were uniform and clean. The various semiconducting behavior in electrochemical condition, studied and compared with structural specification of InP type group (III-V).

A Study of Electrical and Optical Stability of GSZO THin Film Transisitors

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

introduces an overview of the research carried out on IGZO , ZnO, and GSZO thin film transistors that is relevant to the work discussed in this...dangling bonds or electron trapping near the gate insulator interface in IGZO thin film transistors . Mathews et al. [13] indicated that subjecting TFTs to...Ping David Shieh, Hideo Hosono, and Jerzy Kanicki, Photofield-Effect in Amporphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a- IGZO ) Thin - Film Transistors . Journal of Information

Optical properties of titanium di-oxide thin films prepared by dip coating method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biswas, Sayari; Rahman, Kazi Hasibur; Kar, Asit Kumar

2018-05-01

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were prepared by sol-gel dip coating method on ITO coated glass substrate. The sol was synthesized by hydrothermal method at 90°C. The sol was then used to make TiO2 films by dip coating. After dip coating the rest of the sol was dried at 100°C to make TiO2 powder. Thin films were made by varying the number of dipping cycles and were annealed at 500°C. XRD study was carried out for powder samples that confirms the formation of anatase phase. Transmission spectra of thin films show sharp rise in the violet-ultraviolet transition region and a maximum transmittance of ˜60%. Band gap of the prepared films varies from 3.15 eV to 3.22 eV.

Specific features of the current–voltage characteristics of SiO{sub 2}/4H-SiC MIS structures with phosphorus implanted into silicon carbide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mikhaylova, A. I., E-mail: m.aleksey.spb@gmail.com; Afanasyev, A. V.; Ilyin, V. A.

The effect of phosphorus implantation into a 4H-SiC epitaxial layer immediately before the thermal growth of a gate insulator in an atmosphere of dry oxygen on the reliability of the gate insulator is studied. It is found that, together with passivating surface states, the introduction of phosphorus ions leads to insignificant weakening of the dielectric breakdown field and to a decrease in the height of the energy barrier between silicon carbide and the insulator, which is due to the presence of phosphorus atoms at the 4H-SiC/SiO{sub 2} interface and in the bulk of silicon dioxide.

Nonequilibrium restoration of duality symmetry in the vicinity of the superconductor-to-insulator transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamir, I.; Doron, A.; Levinson, T.; Gorniaczyk, F.; Tewari, G. C.; Shahar, D.

2017-09-01

The magnetic field driven superconductor-to-insulator transition in thin films is theoretically understood in terms of the notion of vortex-charge duality symmetry. The manifestation of such symmetry is the exchange of roles of current and voltage between the superconductor and the insulator. While experimental evidence obtained from amorphous indium oxide films supported such duality symmetry, it is shown to be broken, counterintuitively, at low temperatures where the insulating phase exhibits discontinuous current-voltage characteristics. Here, we demonstrate that it is possible to effectively restore duality symmetry by driving the system beyond the discontinuity into its high current, far from equilibrium, state.

Experimental simulation of space plasma interactions with high voltage solar arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stillwell, R. P.; Kaufman, H. R.; Robinson, R. S.

1981-01-01

Operating high voltage solar arrays in the space environment can result in anomalously large currents being collected through small insulation defects. Tests of simulated defects have been conducted in a 45-cm vacuum chamber with plasma densities of 100,000 to 1,000,000/cu cm. Plasmas were generated using an argon hollow cathode. The solar array elements were simulated by placing a thin sheet of polyimide (Kapton) insulation with a small hole in it over a conductor. Parameters tested were: hole size, adhesive, surface roughening, sample temperature, insulator thickness, insulator area. These results are discussed along with some preliminary empirical correlations.

Metal-insulator transition properties of sputtered silicon-doped and un-doped vanadium dioxide films at terahertz range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Huafu; Wu, Zhiming; Niu, Ruihua; Wu, Xuefei; he, Qiong; Jiang, Yadong

2015-03-01

Silicon-doped and un-doped vanadium dioxide (VO2) films were synthesized on high-purity single-crystal silicon substrates by means of reactive direct current magnetron sputtering followed by thermal annealing. The structure, morphology and metal-insulator transition properties of silicon-doped VO2 films at terahertz range were measured and compared to those of un-doped VO2 films. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy indicated that doping the films with silicon significantly affects the preferred crystallographic orientation and surface morphologies (grain size, pores and characteristics of grain boundaries). The temperature dependence of terahertz transmission shows that the transition temperature, hysteresis width and transition sharpness greatly depend on the silicon contents while the transition amplitude was relatively insensitive to the silicon contents. Interestingly, the VO2 film doped with a silicon content of 4.6 at.% shows excellent terahertz switching characteristics, namely a small hysteresis width of 4.5 °C, a giant transmission modulation ratio of about 82% and a relatively low transition temperature of 56.1 °C upon heating. This work experimentally indicates that silicon doping can effectively control not only the surface morphology but also the metal-insulator transition characteristics of VO2 films at terahertz range.

Electro-thermal control of aluminum-doped zinc oxide/vanadium dioxide multilayered thin films for smart-device applications

PubMed Central

Skuza, J. R.; Scott, D. W.; Mundle, R. M.; Pradhan, A. K.

2016-01-01

We demonstrate the electro-thermal control of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (Al:ZnO) /vanadium dioxide (VO2) multilayered thin films, where the application of a small electric field enables precise control of the applied heat to the VO2 thin film to induce its semiconductor-metal transition (SMT). The transparent conducting oxide nature of the top Al:ZnO film can be tuned to facilitate the fine control of the SMT of the VO2 thin film and its associated properties. In addition, the Al:ZnO film provides a capping layer to the VO2 thin film, which inhibits oxidation to a more energetically favorable and stable V2O5 phase. It also decreases the SMT of the VO2 thin film by approximately 5–10 °C because of an additional stress induced on the VO2 thin film and/or an alteration of the oxygen vacancy concentration in the VO2 thin film. These results have significant impacts on technological applications for both passive and active devices by exploiting this near-room-temperature SMT. PMID:26884225

Ultrahigh-Power Pseudocapacitors Based on Ordered Porous Heterostructures of Electron-Correlated Oxides.

PubMed

Lang, Xing-You; Liu, Bo-Tian; Shi, Xiang-Mei; Li, Ying-Qi; Wen, Zi; Jiang, Qing

2016-05-01

Nanostructured transition-metal oxides can store high-density energy in fast surface redox reactions, but their poor conductivity causes remarkable reductions in the energy storage of most pseudocapacitors at high power delivery (fast charge/discharge rates). Here it is shown that electron-correlated oxide hybrid electrodes made of nanocrystalline vanadium sesquioxide and manganese dioxide with 3D and bicontinuous nanoporous architecture (NP V 2 O 3 /MnO 2 ) have enhanced conductivity because of metallization of electron-correlated V 2 O 3 skeleton via insulator-to-metal transition. The conductive V 2 O 3 skeleton at ambient temperature enables fast electron and ion transports in the entire electrode and facilitates charge transfer at abundant V 2 O 3 /MnO 2 interface. These merits significantly improve the pseudocapacitive behavior and rate capability of the constituent MnO 2 . Symmetric pseudocapacitors assembled with binder-free NP V 2 O 3 /MnO 2 electrodes deliver ultrahigh electrical powers (up to ≈422 W cm 23 ) while maintaining the high volumetric energy of thin-film lithium battery with excellent stability.

UV light induced insulator-metal transition in ultra-thin ZnO/TiOx stacked layer grown by atomic layer deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saha, D.; Misra, P.; Joshi, M. P.; Kukreja, L. M.

2016-08-01

In the present study, atomic layer deposition has been used to grow a series of Ti incorporated ZnO thin films by vertically stacking different numbers (n = 1-7) of ZnO/TiOx layers on (0001) sapphire substrates. The effects of defect states mediated chemisorption of O2 and/OH groups on the electrical properties of these films have been investigated by illuminating the samples under UV light inside a high vacuum optical cryostat. The ultra-thin film having one stacked layer (n = 1) did not show any change in its electrical resistance upon UV light exposure. On the contrary, marginal drop in the electrical resistivity was measured for the samples with n ≥ 3. Most surprisingly, the sample with n = 2 (thickness ˜ 12 nm) showed an insulator to metal transition upon UV light exposure. The temperature dependent electrical resistivity measurement on the as grown film (n = 2) showed insulating behaviour, i.e., diverging resistivity on extrapolation to T→ 0 K. However, upon UV light exposure, it transformed to a metallic state, i.e., finite resistivity at T → 0 K. Such an insulator-metal transition plausibly arises due to the de-trapping of conduction electrons from the surface defect sites which resulted in an upward shift of the Fermi level above the mobility edge. The low-temperature electron transport properties on the insulating film (n = 2) were investigated by a combined study of zero field electrical resistivity ρ(T) and magnetoresistance (MR) measurements. The observed negative MR was found to be in good agreement with the magnetic field induced suppression of quantum interference between forward-going paths of tunnelling electrons. Both ρ(T) and MR measurements provided strong evidence for the Efros-Shklovskii type variable range hopping conduction in the low-temperature (≤40 K) regime. Such studies on electron transport in ultra-thin n-type doped ZnO films are crucial to achieve optimum functionality with long term reliability of ZnO based transparent conducting oxides.

Coating of plasma polymerized film

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morita, S.; Ishibashi, S.

1980-01-01

Plasma polymerized thin film coating and the use of other coatings is suggested for passivation film, thin film used for conducting light, and solid body lubrication film of dielectrics of ultra insulators for electrical conduction, electron accessories, etc. The special features of flow discharge development and the polymerized film growth mechanism are discussed.

An amorphous titanium dioxide metal insulator metal selector device for resistive random access memory crossbar arrays with tunable voltage margin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cortese, Simone; Khiat, Ali; Carta, Daniela; Light, Mark E.; Prodromakis, Themistoklis

2016-01-01

Resistive random access memory (ReRAM) crossbar arrays have become one of the most promising candidates for next-generation non volatile memories. To become a mature technology, the sneak path current issue must be solved without compromising all the advantages that crossbars offer in terms of electrical performances and fabrication complexity. Here, we present a highly integrable access device based on nickel and sub-stoichiometric amorphous titanium dioxide (TiO2-x), in a metal insulator metal crossbar structure. The high voltage margin of 3 V, amongst the highest reported for monolayer selector devices, and the good current density of 104 A/cm2 make it suitable to sustain ReRAM read and write operations, effectively tackling sneak currents in crossbars without compromising fabrication complexity in a 1 Selector 1 Resistor (1S1R) architecture. Furthermore, the voltage margin is found to be tunable by an annealing step without affecting the device's characteristics.

Variable electrical properties in composites: Application to vanadium dioxide pigments in a polyethylene host

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alfred-Duplan, C.; Musso, J.; Gavarri, J.R.

1994-05-01

Composite pellets were prepared from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and vanadium dioxide powders. The VO[sub 2] pigments are used for their insulating-to-metallic transition at 341 K in order to obtain electrically variable composite materials. The volume fractions of VO[sub 2] powders vary from [phi] = 0 to [phi] = 0.55. The composite samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Complex impedance analysis in the frequency range 10[sup [minus]1] to 10[sup 6]. Hz is carried out at room temperature and at T = 363 K, to observe the insulator-metal transition of VO[sub 2] pigments dispersed in the polymer host.more » The variation of the complex impedance modulus [vert bar]Z[vert bar] with frequency and with VO[sub 2] volume fraction ([phi]) is discussed. A specific (R, C) impedance model permits interpretation of the experimental results in terms of percolation; the observed variations can be accounted for.« less

Investigation on onset voltage and conduction channel temperature in voltage-induced metal-insulator transition of vanadium dioxide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yoon, Joonseok; Kim, Howon; Ju, Honglyoul, E-mail: tesl@yonsei.ac.kr

2016-03-28

The characteristics of onset voltages and conduction channel temperatures in the metal-insulator transition (MIT) of vanadium dioxide (VO{sub 2}) devices are investigated as a function of dimensions and ambient temperature. The MIT onset voltage varies from 18 V to 199 V as the device length increases from 5 to 80 μm at a fixed width of 100 μm. The estimated temperature at local conduction channel increases from 110 to 370 °C, which is higher than the MIT temperature (67 °C) of VO{sub 2}. A simple Joule-heating model is employed to explain voltage-induced MIT as well as to estimate temperatures of conduction channel appearing after MIT inmore » various-sized devices. Our findings on VO{sub 2} can be applied to micro- to nano-size tunable heating devices, e.g., microscale scanning thermal cantilevers and gas sensors.« less

Thin-film topological insulators for continuously tunable terahertz absorption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

West, D.; Zhang, S. B.

2018-02-01

One of the defining characteristics of a three-dimensional topological insulator (TI) is the appearance of a Dirac cone on its surface when it creates an interface with vacuum. For thin film TIs, however, the Dirac cones on opposite surfaces interact forming a small gap. For the case of three quintuple layers of Bi2Se3, we show that this gap can be continuously tuned between 128 meV and 0 meV with the application of modest perpendicular electric fields of less than 30 meV Å-1. Through both the Hamiltonian model and first-principles density functional theory calculations, we show that the inherent nonlinearity in realistic Dirac cone interaction leads to a gap which can be continuously tuned through the application of an external electric field. This tunability, coupled with the high optical absorption of thin film TIs, make this a very promising platform for terahertz and infrared detection.

Direct observation of the lattice precursor of the metal-to-insulator transition in V2O3 thin films by surface acoustic waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kündel, J.; Pontiller, P.; Müller, C.; Obermeier, G.; Liu, Z.; Nateprov, A. A.; Hörner, A.; Wixforth, A.; Horn, S.; Tidecks, R.

2013-03-01

A surface acoustic wave (SAW) delay line is used to study the metal-to-insulator (MI) transition of V2O3 thin films deposited on a piezoelectric LiNbO3 substrate. Effects contributing to the sound velocity shift of the SAW which are caused by elastic properties of the lattice of the V2O3 films when changing the temperature are separated from those originating from the electrical conductivity. For this purpose the electric field accompanying the elastic wave of the SAW has been shielded by growing the V2O3 film on a thin metallic Cr interlayer (coated with Cr2O3), covering the piezoelectric substrate. Thus, the recently discovered lattice precursor of the MI transition can be directly observed in the experiments, and its fine structure can be investigated.

Growth of magnesium diboride thin films on boron buffered Si and silicon-on-insulator substrates by hybrid physical chemical vapor deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Withanage, Wenura K.; Penmatsa, Sashank V.; Acharya, Narendra; Melbourne, Thomas; Cunnane, D.; Karasik, B. S.; Xi, X. X.

2018-07-01

We report on the growth of high quality MgB2 thin films on silicon and silicon-on-insulator substrates by hybrid physical chemical vapor deposition. A boron buffer layer was deposited on all sides of the Si substrate to prevent the reaction of Mg vapor and Si. Ar ion milling at a low angle of 1° was used to reduce the roughness of the boron buffer layer before the MgB2 growth. An Ar ion milling at low angle of 1° was also applied to the MgB2 surface to reduce its roughness. The resultant MgB2 films showed excellent superconducting properties and a smooth surface. The process produces thin MgB2 films suitable for waveguide-based superconducting hot electron bolometers and other MgB2-based electronic devices.

Electrochemical thinning of silicon

DOEpatents

Medernach, John W.

1994-01-01

Porous semiconducting material, e.g. silicon, is formed by electrochemical treatment of a specimen in hydrofluoric acid, using the specimen as anode. Before the treatment, the specimen can be masked. The porous material is then etched with a caustic solution or is oxidized, depending of the kind of structure desired, e.g. a thinned specimen, a specimen, a patterned thinned specimen, a specimen with insulated electrical conduits, and so on. Thinned silicon specimen can be subjected to tests, such as measurement of interstitial oxygen by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR).

LPG ammonia and nitrogen dioxide gas sensing properties of nanostructured polypyrrole thin film

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bagul, Sagar B., E-mail: nano.sbbagul@gmail.com; Upadhye, Deepak S.; Sharma, Ramphal, E-mail: rps.phy@gmail.com

Nanostructured Polypyrrole thin film was synthesized by easy and economic chemical oxidative polymerization technique on glass at room temperature. The prepared thin film of Polypyrrole was characterized by optical absorbance study by UV-visible spectroscopy and electrical study by I-V measurement system. The optical absorbance spectrum of Polypyrrole shows two fundamental peaks in region of 420 and 890 nm, which confirms the formation of Polypyrrole on glass substrate. The I-V graph of nanostructured Polypyrrole represents the Ohmic nature. Furthermore, the thin film of Polypyrrole was investigated by Scanning electron microscopy for surface morphology study. The SEM micrograph represents spherical nanostructured morphology ofmore » Polypyrrole on glass substrate. In order to investigate gas sensing properties, 100 ppm of LPG, Ammonia and Nitrogen Dioxide were injected in the gas chamber and magnitude of resistance has been recorded as a function of time in second. It was observed that nanostructured Polypyrrole thin film shows good sensing behavior at room temperature.« less

LPG ammonia and nitrogen dioxide gas sensing properties of nanostructured polypyrrole thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagul, Sagar B.; Upadhye, Deepak S.; Sharma, Ramphal

2016-05-01

Nanostructured Polypyrrole thin film was synthesized by easy and economic chemical oxidative polymerization technique on glass at room temperature. The prepared thin film of Polypyrrole was characterized by optical absorbance study by UV-visible spectroscopy and electrical study by I-V measurement system. The optical absorbance spectrum of Polypyrrole shows two fundamental peaks in region of 420 and 890 nm, which confirms the formation of Polypyrrole on glass substrate. The I-V graph of nanostructured Polypyrrole represents the Ohmic nature. Furthermore, the thin film of Polypyrrole was investigated by Scanning electron microscopy for surface morphology study. The SEM micrograph represents spherical nanostructured morphology of Polypyrrole on glass substrate. In order to investigate gas sensing properties, 100 ppm of LPG, Ammonia and Nitrogen Dioxide were injected in the gas chamber and magnitude of resistance has been recorded as a function of time in second. It was observed that nanostructured Polypyrrole thin film shows good sensing behavior at room temperature.

Design and fabrication of metal-insulator-metal diode for high frequency applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azad, Ibrahim; Ram, Manoj K.; Goswami, D. Yogi; Stefanakos, Elias

2017-02-01

Metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes play significant role in high speed electronics where high frequency rectification is needed. Quantum based tunneling mechanism helps MIM diodes to rectify at high frequency signals. Rectenna, antenna coupled MIM diodes are becoming popular due to their potential use as IR detectors and energy harvesters. Because of small active area, MIM diodes could easily be incorporated into integrated circuits (IC's). The objective of the work is to design and develop MIM diodes for high frequency rectification. In this work, thin insulating layer of ZnO was fabricated using Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique which facilitates ultrathin thin, uniform and pinhole free fabrication of insulating layer. The ZnO layer was synthesized from organic precursor of zinc acetate layer. The optimization in the LB technique of fabrication process led to fabricate MIM diodes with high non-linearity and sensitivity. Moreover, the top and bottom electrodes as well as active area of the diodes were patterned using UV-tunneling conduction mechanism. The highest sensitivity of the diode was measured around 37 (A/W), and the rectification ratio was found around 36 under low applied bias at +/-100 mV.

Improving Powder Magnetic Core Properties via Application of Thin, Insulating Silica-Nanosheet Layers on Iron Powder Particles

PubMed Central

Ishizaki, Toshitaka; Nakano, Hideyuki; Tajima, Shin; Takahashi, Naoko

2016-01-01

A thin, insulating layer with high electrical resistivity is vital to achieving high performance of powder magnetic cores. Using layer-by-layer deposition of silica nanosheets or colloidal silica over insulating layers composed of strontium phosphate and boron oxide, we succeeded in fabricating insulating layers with high electrical resistivity on iron powder particles, which were subsequently used to prepare toroidal cores. The compact density of these cores decreased after coating with colloidal silica due to the substantial increase in the volume, causing the magnetic flux density to deteriorate. Coating with silica nanosheets, on the other hand, resulted in a higher electrical resistivity and a good balance between high magnetic flux density and low iron loss due to the thinner silica layers. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that the thickness of the colloidal silica coating was about 700 nm, while that of the silica nanosheet coating was 30 nm. There was one drawback to using silica nanosheets, namely a deterioration in the core mechanical strength. Nevertheless, the silica nanosheet coating resulted in nanoscale-thick silica layers that are favorable for enhancing the electrical resistivity. PMID:28336835

Electromagnetic waves in a topological insulator thin film stack: helicon-like wave mode and photonic band structure.

PubMed

Inoue, Jun-ichi

2013-09-09

We theoretically explore the electromagnetic modes specific to a topological insulator superlattice in which topological and conventional insulator thin films are stacked periodically. In particular, we obtain analytic formulas for low energy mode that corresponds to a helicon wave, as well as those for photonic bands. We illustrate that the system can be modeled as a stack of quantum Hall layers whose conductivity tensors alternately change signs, and then we analyze the photonic band structures. This subject is a natural extension of a previous study by Tselis et al., which took into consideration a stack of identical quantum Hall layers but their discussion was limited into a low energy mode. Thus we provide analytic formulas for photonic bands and compare their features between the two systems. Our central findings in the topological insulator superlattice are that a low energy mode corresponding to a helicon wave has linear dispersion instead of the conventional quadratic form, and that a robust gapless photonic band appears although the system considered has spacial periodicity. In addition, we demonstrate that the photonic bands agree with the numerically calculated transmission spectra.

A charge inverter for III-nitride light-emitting diodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Zi-Hui, E-mail: zh.zhang@hebut.edu.cn, E-mail: wbi@hebut.edu.cn, E-mail: volkan@stanfordalumni.org, E-mail: sunxw@sustc.edu.cn; Zhang, Yonghui; Bi, Wengang, E-mail: zh.zhang@hebut.edu.cn, E-mail: wbi@hebut.edu.cn, E-mail: volkan@stanfordalumni.org, E-mail: sunxw@sustc.edu.cn

In this work, we propose a charge inverter that substantially increases the hole injection efficiency for InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The charge inverter consists of a metal/electrode, an insulator, and a semiconductor, making an Electrode-Insulator-Semiconductor (EIS) structure, which is formed by depositing an extremely thin SiO{sub 2} insulator layer on the p{sup +}-GaN surface of a LED structure before growing the p-electrode. When the LED is forward-biased, a weak inversion layer can be obtained at the interface between the p{sup +}-GaN and SiO{sub 2} insulator. The weak inversion region can shorten the carrier tunnel distance. Meanwhile, the smaller dielectric constantmore » of the thin SiO{sub 2} layer increases the local electric field within the tunnel region, and this is effective in promoting the hole transport from the p-electrode into the p{sup +}-GaN layer. Due to the improved hole injection, the external quantum efficiency is increased by 20% at 20 mA for the 350 × 350 μm{sup 2} LED chip. Thus, the proposed EIS holds great promise for high efficiency LEDs.« less

Surface modification of polyimide gate insulators for solution-processed 2,7-didecyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (C10-BTBT) thin-film transistors.

PubMed

Jang, Kwang-Suk; Kim, Won Soo; Won, Jong-Myung; Kim, Yun-Ho; Myung, Sung; Ka, Jae-Won; Kim, Jinsoo; Ahn, Taek; Yi, Mi Hye

2013-01-21

The surface property of a polyimide gate insulator was successfully modified with an n-octadecyl side-chain. Alkyl chain-grafted poly(amic acid), the polyimide precursor, was synthesized using the diamine comonomer with an alkyl side-chain. By adding a base catalyst to the poly(amic acid) coating solution, the imidization temperature of the spin-coated film could be reduced to 200 °C. The 350 nm-thick polyimide film had a dielectric constant of 3.3 at 10 kHz and a leakage current density of less than 8.7 × 10(-10) A cm(-2), while biased from 0 to 100 V. To investigate the potential of the alkyl chain-grafted polyimide film as a gate insulator for solution-processed organic thin-film transistors (TFTs), we fabricated C(10)-BTBT TFTs. C(10)-BTBT was deposited on the alkyl chain-grafted polyimide gate insulator by spin-coating, forming a well-ordered crystal structure. The field-effect mobility and the on/off current ratio of the TFT device were measured to be 0.20-0.56 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and >10(5), respectively.

All diamond self-aligned thin film transistor

DOEpatents

Gerbi, Jennifer [Champaign, IL

2008-07-01

A substantially all diamond transistor with an electrically insulating substrate, an electrically conductive diamond layer on the substrate, and a source and a drain contact on the electrically conductive diamond layer. An electrically insulating diamond layer is in contact with the electrically conductive diamond layer, and a gate contact is on the electrically insulating diamond layer. The diamond layers may be homoepitaxial, polycrystalline, nanocrystalline or ultrananocrystalline in various combinations.A method of making a substantially all diamond self-aligned gate transistor is disclosed in which seeding and patterning can be avoided or minimized, if desired.

Electronic Structure of the Metastable Epitaxial Rock-Salt SnSe {111 } Topological Crystalline Insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Wencan; Vishwanath, Suresh; Liu, Jianpeng; Kong, Lingyuan; Lou, Rui; Dai, Zhongwei; Sadowski, Jerzy T.; Liu, Xinyu; Lien, Huai-Hsun; Chaney, Alexander; Han, Yimo; Cao, Michael; Ma, Junzhang; Qian, Tian; Wang, Shancai; Dobrowolska, Malgorzata; Furdyna, Jacek; Muller, David A.; Pohl, Karsten; Ding, Hong; Dadap, Jerry I.; Xing, Huili Grace; Osgood, Richard M.

2017-10-01

Topological crystalline insulators have been recently predicted and observed in rock-salt structure SnSe {111 } thin films. Previous studies have suggested that the Se-terminated surface of this thin film with hydrogen passivation has a reduced surface energy and is thus a preferred configuration. In this paper, synchrotron-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, along with density functional theory calculations, is used to demonstrate that a rock-salt SnSe {111 } thin film epitaxially grown on Bi2Se3 has a stable Sn-terminated surface. These observations are supported by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) intensity-voltage measurements and dynamical LEED calculations, which further show that the Sn-terminated SnSe {111 } thin film has undergone a surface structural relaxation of the interlayer spacing between the Sn and Se atomic planes. In sharp contrast to the Se-terminated counterpart, the observed Dirac surface state in the Sn-terminated SnSe {111 } thin film is shown to yield a high Fermi velocity, 0.50 ×106 m /s , which suggests a potential mechanism of engineering the Dirac surface state of topological materials by tuning the surface configuration.

Electronic Structure of the Metastable Epitaxial Rock-Salt SnSe { 111 } Topological Crystalline Insulator

DOE PAGES

Jin, Wencan; Vishwanath, Suresh; Liu, Jianpeng; ...

2017-10-25

Topological crystalline insulators have been recently predicted and observed in rock-salt structure SnSe {111} thin films. Previous studies have suggested that the Se-terminated surface of this thin film with hydrogen passivation has a reduced surface energy and is thus a preferred configuration. In this paper, synchrotron-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, along with density functional theory calculations, is used to demonstrate that a rock-salt SnSe {111} thin film epitaxially grown on Bi 2Se 3 has a stable Sn-terminated surface. These observations are supported by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) intensity-voltage measurements and dynamical LEED calculations, which further show that the Sn-terminated SnSe {111}more » thin film has undergone a surface structural relaxation of the interlayer spacing between the Sn and Se atomic planes. In sharp contrast to the Se-terminated counterpart, the observed Dirac surface state in the Sn-terminated SnSe {111} thin film is shown to yield a high Fermi velocity, 0.50 x 10 6 m/s, which suggests a potential mechanism of engineering the Dirac surface state of topological materials by tuning the surface configuration.« less

Spin Seebeck effect in insulating epitaxial γ-Fe2O3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiménez-Cavero, P.; Lucas, I.; Anadón, A.; Ramos, R.; Niizeki, T.; Aguirre, M. H.; Algarabel, P. A.; Uchida, K.; Ibarra, M. R.; Saitoh, E.; Morellón, L.

2017-02-01

We report the fabrication of high crystal quality epitaxial thin films of maghemite (γ-Fe2O3), a classic ferrimagnetic insulating iron oxide. Spin Seebeck effect (SSE) measurements in γ-Fe2O3/Pt bilayers as a function of sample preparation conditions and temperature yield a SSE coefficient of 0.5(1) μV/K at room temperature. Dependence on temperature allows us to estimate the magnon diffusion length in maghemite to be in the range of tens of nanometers, in good agreement with that of conducting iron oxide magnetite (Fe3O4), establishing the relevance of spin currents of magnonic origin in magnetic iron oxides.

Waterproof Silicone Coatings of Thermal Insulation and Vaporization Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cagliostro, Domenick E. (Inventor)

1999-01-01

Thermal insulation composed of porous ceramic material can be waterproofed by producing a thin silicone film on the surface of the insulation by exposing it to volatile silicone precursors at ambient conditions. When the silicone precursor reactants are multi-functional siloxanes or silanes containing alkenes or alkynes carbon groups higher molecular weight films can be produced. Catalyst are usually required for the silicone precursors to react at room temperature to form the films. The catalyst are particularly useful in the single component system e.g. dimethylethoxysilane (DNMS) to accelerate the reaction and decrease the time to waterproof and protect the insulation. In comparison to other methods, the chemical vapor technique assures better control over the quantity and location of the film being deposited on the ceramic insulation to improve the waterproof coating.

Method of fabricating germanium and gallium arsenide devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jhabvala, Murzban (Inventor)

1990-01-01

A method of semiconductor diode fabrication is disclosed which relies on the epitaxial growth of a precisely doped thickness layer of gallium arsenide or germanium on a semi-insulating or intrinsic substrate, respectively, of gallium arsenide or germanium by either molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) or by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The method involves: depositing a layer of doped or undoped silicon dioxide on a germanium or gallium arsenide wafer or substrate, selectively removing the silicon dioxide layer to define one or more surface regions for a device to be fabricated thereon, growing a matched epitaxial layer of doped germanium or gallium arsenide of an appropriate thickness using MBE or MOCVD techniques on both the silicon dioxide layer and the defined one or more regions; and etching the silicon dioxide and the epitaxial material on top of the silicon dioxide to leave a matched epitaxial layer of germanium or gallium arsenide on the germanium or gallium arsenide substrate, respectively, and upon which a field effect device can thereafter be formed.

Broadband and wide angle near-unity absorption in graphene-insulator-metal thin film stacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, H. J.; Zheng, G. G.; Chen, Y. Y.; Xu, L. H.

2018-05-01

Broadband unity absorption in graphene-insulator-metal (GIM) structures is demonstrated in the visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) spectra. The spectral characteristics possess broadband absorption peaks, by simply choosing a stack of GIM, while no nanofabrication steps and patterning are required, and thus can be easily fabricated to cover a large area. The electromagnetic (EM) waves can be entirely trapped and the absorption can be greatly enhanced are verified with the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) methods. The position and the number of the absorption peak can be totally controlled by adjusting the thickness of the insulator layer. The proposed absorber maintains high absorption (above 90%) for both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations, and for angles of incidence up to 80°. This work opens up a promising approach to realize perfect absorption (PA) with ultra-thin film, which could implicate many potential applications in optical detection and optoelectronic devices.

Homogeneous double-layer amorphous Si-doped indium oxide thin-film transistors for control of turn-on voltage

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kizu, Takio, E-mail: KIZU.Takio@nims.go.jp, E-mail: TSUKAGOSHI.Kazuhito@nims.go.jp; Tsukagoshi, Kazuhito, E-mail: KIZU.Takio@nims.go.jp, E-mail: TSUKAGOSHI.Kazuhito@nims.go.jp; Aikawa, Shinya

We fabricated homogeneous double-layer amorphous Si-doped indium oxide (ISO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with an insulating ISO cap layer on top of a semiconducting ISO bottom channel layer. The homogeneously stacked ISO TFT exhibited high mobility (19.6 cm{sup 2}/V s) and normally-off characteristics after annealing in air. It exhibited normally-off characteristics because the ISO insulator suppressed oxygen desorption, which suppressed the formation of oxygen vacancies (V{sub O}) in the semiconducting ISO. Furthermore, we investigated the recovery of the double-layer ISO TFT, after a large negative shift in turn-on voltage caused by hydrogen annealing, by treating it with annealing in ozone. The recoverymore » in turn-on voltage indicates that the dense V{sub O} in the semiconducting ISO can be partially filled through the insulator ISO. Controlling molecule penetration in the homogeneous double layer is useful for adjusting the properties of TFTs in advanced oxide electronics.« less

Scaling analysis of field-tuned superconductor-insulator transition in two-dimensional tantalum thin films.

PubMed

Park, Sungyu; Shin, Junghyun; Kim, Eunseong

2017-02-20

The superconductor-insulator (SI) transition in two-dimensional Ta thin films is investigated by controlling both film thickness and magnetic field. An intriguing metallic phase appears between a superconducting and an insulating phase within a range of film thickness and magnetic field. The temperature and electric field scaling analyses are performed to investigate the nature of the SI transition in the thickness-tuned metallic and superconducting samples. The critical exponents product of νz obtained from the temperature scaling analysis is found to be approximately 0.67 in the entire range of film thickness. On the other hand, an apparent discrepancy is measured in the product of ν(z + 1) by the electric filed analysis. The product values are found to be about 1.37 for the superconducting films and about 1.86 for the metallic films respectively. We find that the discrepancy is the direct consequence of electron heating that introduces additional dissipation channels in the metallic Ta films.

Heat Transfer Modeling for Rigid High-Temperature Fibrous Insulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daryabeigi, Kamran; Cunnington, George R.; Knutson, Jeffrey R.

2012-01-01

Combined radiation and conduction heat transfer through a high-temperature, high-porosity, rigid multiple-fiber fibrous insulation was modeled using a thermal model previously used to model heat transfer in flexible single-fiber fibrous insulation. The rigid insulation studied was alumina enhanced thermal barrier (AETB) at densities between 130 and 260 kilograms per cubic meter. The model consists of using the diffusion approximation for radiation heat transfer, a semi-empirical solid conduction model, and a standard gas conduction model. The relevant parameters needed for the heat transfer model were estimated from steady-state thermal measurements in nitrogen gas at various temperatures and environmental pressures. The heat transfer modeling methodology was evaluated by comparison with standard thermal conductivity measurements, and steady-state thermal measurements in helium and carbon dioxide gases. The heat transfer model is applicable over the temperature range of 300 to 1360 K, pressure range of 0.133 to 101.3 x 10(exp 3) Pa, and over the insulation density range of 130 to 260 kilograms per cubic meter in various gaseous environments.

Inhibition of unintentional extra carriers by Mn valence change for high insulating devices

PubMed Central

Guo, Daoyou; Li, Peigang; Wu, Zhenping; Cui, Wei; Zhao, Xiaolong; Lei, Ming; Li, Linghong; Tang, Weihua

2016-01-01

For intrinsic oxide semiconductors, oxygen vacancies served as the electron donors have long been, and inevitably still are, attributed as the primary cause of conductivity, making oxide semiconductors seem hard to act as high insulating materials. Meanwhile, the presence of oxygen vacancies often leads to a persistent photoconductivity phenomenon which is not conducive to the practical use in the fast photoelectric response devices. Herein, we propose a possible way to reduce the influence of oxygen vacancies by introducing a valence change doping in the monoclinic β-Ga2O3 epitaxial thin film. The unintentional extra electrons induced by oxygen vacancies can be strongly suppressed by the change valence of the doped Mn ions from +3 to +2. The resistance for the Mn-doped Ga2O3 increases two orders of magnitude in compared with the pure Ga2O3. As a result, photodetector based on Mn-doped Ga2O3 thin films takes on a lower dark current, a higher sensitivity, and a faster photoresponse time, exhibiting a promising candidate using in high performance solar-blind photodetector. The study presents that the intentional doping of Mn may provide a convenient and reliable method of obtaining high insulating thin film in oxide semiconductor for the application of specific device. PMID:27068227

Tunnel Magneto Resistance of Fe/Insulator/Fe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aryee, Dennis; Seifu, Dereje

Tri-layer thin films of Fe/Insulator/Fe were synthesized using magnetron DC/ RF sputtering with MgO insulator and Bi2Te3 topological insulators as middle buffer layer. The multi-layered samples thus produced were studied using in-house built magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) instrument, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), torque magnetometer (TMM), AFM, MFM, and magneto-resistance (MR). This system, that is Fe/Insulator/Fe on MgO(100) substrate, is a well-known tunnel magneto resistance (TMR) structure often used in magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) devices. TMR effect is a method by which MTJs are used in developing magneto-resistive random access memory (MRAM), magnetic sensors, and novel logic devices. The main purpose behind this research is to measure the magnetic anisotropy of Fe/Insulator /Fe structure and correlate it to magneto-resistance. In this presentation, we will present results from MOKE, VSM, TMM, AFM, MFM, and MR studies of Fe/Insulator/Fe on MgO(100). We would like to acknowledge support by NSF-MRI-DMR-1337339.

Apparatus to recover tritium from tritiated molecules

DOEpatents

Swansiger, William A.

1988-01-01

An apparatus for recovering tritium from tritiated compounds is provided, including a preheater for heating tritiated water and other co-injected tritiated compounds to temperatures of about 600.degree. C. and a reactor charged with a mixture of uranium and uranium dioxide for receiving the preheated mixture. The reactor vessel is preferably stainless steel of sufficient mass so as to function as a heat sink preventing the reactor side walls from approaching high temperatures. A disposable copper liner extends between the reaction chamber and stainless steel outer vessel to prevent alloying of the uranium with the outer vessel. The uranium dioxide functions as an insulating material and heat sink preventing the reactor side walls from attaining reaction temperatures to thereby minimize tritium permeation rates. The uranium dioxide also functions as a diluent to allow for volumetric expansion of the uranium as it is converted to uranium dioxide.

Welding Wires To Thin Thermocouple Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holanda, Raymond; Kim, Walter S.; Danzey, Gerald A.; Pencil, Eric; Wadel, Mary

1993-01-01

Parallel-gap resistance welding yields joints surviving temperatures of about 1,000 degrees C. Much faster than thermocompression bonding. Also exceeds conductive-paste bonding and sputtering thin films through porous flame-sprayed insulation on prewelded lead wires. Introduces no foreign material into thermocouple circuit and does not require careful control of thickness of flame-sprayed material.

Fabrication and evaluation of dispersed-Ag nanoparticles-in-polyimide thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sonehara, Makoto; Watanabe, Yuki; Yamaguchi, Sota; Kato, Takanori; Yoshisaku, Yasuaki; Sato, Toshiro; Itoh, Eiji

2017-10-01

A thin-film common-mode filter (TF-CMF) for cell phones in the UHF band was fabricated and evaluated. The TF-CMF consisted of multiple metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors and inductors. The sizes of the 0.70-1.0 GHz band-type and 1.8-2.0 GHz band-type TF-CMFs are 1,140 × 1,260 × 10.5 µm3, and 1,060 × 1,060 × 10.5 µm3, respectively. The footprint in both types of TF-CMFs is over 1 mm2. In order to miniaturize the TF-CMF, we proposed to change a polyimide-only to a polyimide with dispersed Ag nanoparticles with high permittivity in the insulator layer for the MIM capacitor of the TF-CMF. A polyimide (\\text{polyimide precursor}:\\text{toluene with dispersed Ag nanoparticles} = 100:1) thin film with dispersed high-density Ag nanoparticles has a relative permittivity of about 8, which is twice as high as that of the polyimide-only thin film. If the capacitance and distance between electrodes are the same, then the capacitor footprint may be halved.

Influence of oxygen flow rate on metal-insulator transition of vanadium oxide thin films grown by RF magnetron sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Xu; Liu, Xinkun; Li, Haizhu; Zhang, Angran; Huang, Mingju

2017-03-01

High-quality vanadium oxide ( VO2) films have been fabricated on Si (111) substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering deposition method. The sheet resistance of VO2 has a significant change (close to 5 orders of magnitude) in the process of the metal-insulator phase transition (MIT). The field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) results show the grain size of VO2 thin films is larger with the increase of oxygen flow. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicate the thin films fabricated at different oxygen flow rates grow along the (011) crystalline orientation. As the oxygen flow rate increases from 3 sccm to 6 sccm, the phase transition temperature of the films reduces from 341 to 320 K, the width of the thermal hysteresis loop decreases from 32 to 9 K. The thin films fabricated in the condition of 5 sccm have a high temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) -3.455%/K with a small resistivity of 2.795 ρ/Ω cm.

Titanium dioxide thin films by atomic layer deposition: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niemelä, Janne-Petteri; Marin, Giovanni; Karppinen, Maarit

2017-09-01

Within its rich phase diagram titanium dioxide is a truly multifunctional material with a property palette that has been shown to span from dielectric to transparent-conducting characteristics, in addition to the well-known catalytic properties. At the same time down-scaling of microelectronic devices has led to an explosive growth in research on atomic layer deposition (ALD) of a wide variety of frontier thin-film materials, among which TiO2 is one of the most popular ones. In this topical review we summarize the advances in research of ALD of titanium dioxide starting from the chemistries of the over 50 different deposition routes developed for TiO2 and the resultant structural characteristics of the films. We then continue with the doped ALD-TiO2 thin films from the perspective of dielectric, transparent-conductor and photocatalytic applications. Moreover, in order to cover the latest trends in the research field, both the variously constructed TiO2 nanostructures enabled by ALD and the Ti-based hybrid inorganic-organic films grown by the emerging ALD/MLD (combined atomic/molecular layer deposition) technique are discussed.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

He, Haowei; Gray, A. X.; Granitzka, P.

Vanadium dioxide is of broad interest as a spin-1/2 electron system that realizes a metal-insulator transition near room temperature, due to a combination of strongly correlated and itinerant electron physics. Here, resonant inelastic x-ray scattering is used to measure the excitation spectrum of charge and spin degrees of freedom at the vanadium L edge under different polarization and temperature conditions, revealing excitations that differ greatly from those seen in optical measurements. Furthermore, these spectra encode the evolution of short-range energetics across the metal-insulator transition, including the low-temperature appearance of a strong candidate for the singlet-triplet excitation of a vanadium dimer.

Electrochemical Measurement of Atmospheric Corrosion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeArmond, Anna H.; Davis, Dennis D.; Beeson, Harold D.

1999-01-01

Corrosion of Shuttle thruster components in atmospheres containing high concentrations of nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) and water is an important issue in ground operations of bipropellant systems in humid locations. Measurements of the corrosivities of NTO-containing atmospheres and the responses of different materials to these atmospheres have been accomplished using an electrochemical sensor. The sensor is composed of alternating aluminum/titanium strips separated by thin insulating layers. Under high humidity conditions a thin film of water covers the surface of the sensor. Added NTO vapor reacts with the water film to form a conductive medium and establishes a galvanic cell. The current from this cell can be integrated with respect to time and related to the corrosion activity. The surface layer formed from humid air/NTO reacts in the same way as an aqueous solution of nitric acid. Nitric acid is generally considered an important agent in NTO corrosion situations. The aluminum/titanium sensor is unresponsive to dry air, responds slightly to humid air (> 75% RH), and responds strongly to the combination of humid air and NTO. The sensor response is a power function (n = 2) of the NTO concentration. The sensor does not respond to NTO in dry air. The response of other materials in this type of sensor is related to position of the material in a galvanic series in aqueous nitric acid. The concept and operation of this electrochemical corrosion measurement is being applied to other corrosive atmospheric contaminants such as hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, sulfur dioxide, and acidic aerosols.

Comparison of Classical and Charge Storage Methods for Determining Conductivity of Thin Film Insulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swaminathan, Prasanna; Dennison, J. R.; Sim, Alec; Brunson, Jerilyn; Crapo, Eric; Frederickson, A. R.

2004-01-01

Conductivity of insulating materials is a key parameter to determine how accumulated charge will distribute across the spacecraft and how rapidly charge imbalance will dissipate. Classical ASTM and IEC methods to measure thin film insulator conductivity apply a constant voltage to two electrodes around the sample and measure the resulting current for tens of minutes. However, conductivity is more appropriately measured for spacecraft charging applications as the "decay" of charge deposited on the surface of an insulator. Charge decay methods expose one side of the insulator in vacuum to sequences of charged particles, light, and plasma, with a metal electrode attached to the other side of the insulator. Data are obtained by capacitive coupling to measure both the resulting voltage on the open surface and emission of electrons from the exposed surface, as well monitoring currents to the electrode. Instrumentation for both classical and charge storage decay methods has been developed and tested at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and at Utah State University (USU). Details of the apparatus, test methods and data analysis are given here. The JPL charge storage decay chamber is a first-generation instrument, designed to make detailed measurements on only three to five samples at a time. Because samples must typically be tested for over a month, a second-generation high sample throughput charge storage decay chamber was developed at USU with the capability of testing up to 32 samples simultaneously. Details are provided about the instrumentation to measure surface charge and current; for charge deposition apparatus and control; the sample holders to properly isolate the mounted samples; the sample carousel to rotate samples into place; the control of the sample environment including sample vacuum, ambient gas, and sample temperature; and the computer control and data acquisition systems. Measurements are compared here for a number of thin film insulators using both methods at both facilities. We have found that conductivity determined from charge storage decay methods is 102 to 104 larger than values obtained from classical methods. Another Spacecraft Charging Conference presentation describes more extensive measurements made with these apparatus. This work is supported through funding from the NASA Space Environments and Effects Program and the USU Space Dynamics Laboratory Enabling Technologies Program.

Low-Temperature Fabrication of Robust, Transparent, and Flexible Thin-Film Transistors with a Nanolaminated Insulator.

PubMed

Kwon, Jeong Hyun; Park, Junhong; Lee, Myung Keun; Park, Jeong Woo; Jeon, Yongmin; Shin, Jeong Bin; Nam, Minwoo; Kim, Choong-Ki; Choi, Yang-Kyu; Choi, Kyung Cheol

2018-05-09

The lack of reliable, transparent, and flexible electrodes and insulators for applications in thin-film transistors (TFTs) makes it difficult to commercialize transparent, flexible TFTs (TF-TFTs). More specifically, conventional high process temperatures and the brittleness of these elements have been hurdles in developing flexible substrates vulnerable to heat. Here, we propose electrode and insulator fabrication techniques considering process temperature, transmittance, flexibility, and environmental stability. A transparent and flexible indium tin oxide (ITO)/Ag/ITO (IAI) electrode and an Al 2 O 3 /MgO (AM)-laminated insulator were optimized at the low temperature of 70 °C for the fabrication of TF-TFTs on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The optimized IAI electrode with a sheet resistance of 7 Ω/sq exhibited the luminous transmittance of 85.17% and maintained its electrical conductivity after exposure to damp heat conditions because of an environmentally stable ITO capping layer. In addition, the electrical conductivity of IAI was maintained after 10 000 bending cycles with a tensile strain of 3% because of the ductile Ag film. In the metal/insulator/metal structure, the insulating and mechanical properties of the optimized AM-laminated film deposited at 70 °C were significantly improved because of the highly dense nanolaminate system, compared to those of the Al 2 O 3 film deposited at 70 °C. In addition, the amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) was used as the active channel for TF-TFTs because of its excellent chemical stability. In the environmental stability test, the ITO, a-IGZO, and AM-laminated films showed the excellent environmental stability. Therefore, our IGZO-based TFT with IAI electrodes and the 70 °C AM-laminated insulator was fabricated to evaluate robustness, transparency, flexibility, and process temperature, resulting in transfer characteristics comparable to those of an IGZO-based TFT with a 150 °C Al 2 O 3 insulator.

Superconductor to weak-insulator transitions in disordered tantalum nitride films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breznay, Nicholas P.; Tendulkar, Mihir; Zhang, Li; Lee, Sang-Chul; Kapitulnik, Aharon

2017-10-01

We study the two-dimensional superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) in thin films of tantalum nitride. At zero magnetic field, films can be disorder-tuned across the SIT by adjusting thickness and film stoichiometry; insulating films exhibit classical hopping transport. Superconducting films exhibit a magnetic-field-tuned SIT, whose insulating ground state at high field appears to be a quantum-corrected metal. Scaling behavior at the field-tuned SIT shows classical percolation critical exponents z ν ≈1.3 , with a corresponding critical field Hc≪Hc 2 , the upper critical field. The Hall effect exhibits a crossing point near Hc, but with a nonuniversal critical value ρxy c comparable to the normal-state Hall resistivity. We propose that high-carrier-density metals will always exhibit this pattern of behavior at the boundary between superconducting and (trivially) insulating ground states.

Metal-oxide assisted surface treatment of polyimide gate insulators for high-performance organic thin-film transistors.

PubMed

Kim, Sohee; Ha, Taewook; Yoo, Sungmi; Ka, Jae-Won; Kim, Jinsoo; Won, Jong Chan; Choi, Dong Hoon; Jang, Kwang-Suk; Kim, Yun Ho

2017-06-14

We developed a facile method for treating polyimide-based organic gate insulator (OGI) surfaces with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) by introducing metal-oxide interlayers, called the metal-oxide assisted SAM treatment (MAST). To create sites for surface modification with SAM materials on polyimide-based OGI (KPI) surfaces, the metal-oxide interlayer, here amorphous alumina (α-Al 2 O 3 ), was deposited on the KPI gate insulator using spin-coating via a rapid sol-gel reaction, providing an excellent template for the formation of a high-quality SAM with phosphonic acid anchor groups. The SAM of octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA) was successfully treated by spin-coating onto the α-Al 2 O 3 -deposited KPI film. After the surface treatment by ODPA/α-Al 2 O 3 , the surface energy of the KPI thin film was remarkably decreased and the molecular compatibility of the film with an organic semiconductor (OSC), 2-decyl-7-phenyl-[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (Ph-BTBT-C 10 ), was increased. Ph-BTBT-C 10 molecules were uniformly deposited on the treated gate insulator surface and grown with high crystallinity, as confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The mobility of Ph-BTBT-C 10 thin-film transistors (TFTs) was approximately doubled, from 0.56 ± 0.05 cm 2 V -1 s -1 to 1.26 ± 0.06 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , after the surface treatment. The surface treatment of α-Al 2 O 3 and ODPA significantly decreased the threshold voltage from -21.2 V to -8.3 V by reducing the trap sites in the OGI and improving the interfacial properties with the OSC. We suggest that the MAST method for OGIs can be applied to various OGI materials lacking reactive sites using SAMs. It may provide a new platform for the surface treatment of OGIs, similar to that of conventional SiO 2 gate insulators.

Electrochemical thinning of silicon

DOEpatents

Medernach, J.W.

1994-01-11

Porous semiconducting material, e.g. silicon, is formed by electrochemical treatment of a specimen in hydrofluoric acid, using the specimen as anode. Before the treatment, the specimen can be masked. The porous material is then etched with a caustic solution or is oxidized, depending of the kind of structure desired, e.g. a thinned specimen, a specimen, a patterned thinned specimen, a specimen with insulated electrical conduits, and so on. Thinned silicon specimen can be subjected to tests, such as measurement of interstitial oxygen by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR). 14 figures.

Thin film heat flux sensor for Space Shuttle Main Engine turbine environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Will, Herbert

1991-01-01

The Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) turbine environment stresses engine components to their design limits and beyond. The extremely high temperatures and rapid temperature cycling can easily cause parts to fail if they are not properly designed. Thin film heat flux sensors can provide heat loading information with almost no disturbance of gas flows or of the blade. These sensors can provide steady state and transient heat flux information. A thin film heat flux sensor is described which makes it easier to measure small temperature differences across very thin insulating layers.

Characterization of structural and electrostatic complexity in pentacene thin films by scanning probe microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puntambekar, Kanan Prakash

The advancement of organic electronics for applications in solar energy conversion, printed circuitry, displays, and solid-state lighting depends upon optimization of structure and properties for a variety of organic semiconductor interfaces. Organic semiconductor/insulator (O/I) and organic-metal (O/M) interfaces, in particular, are critical to the operation of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) currently being developed for printed flexible electronics. Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is a powerful tool to isolate and characterize the bottlenecks to charge transport at these interfaces. This thesis establishes a direct correlation between the structural disorder and electrical complexity at these interfaces, using various SPM based methods and discusses the implications of such complexity on device performance. To examine the O/M interfaces, surface potentials of operating pentacene TFTs with two different contact geometries (bottom or top) were mapped by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KFM). The surface potential distribution was used to isolate the potential drops at the source and drain contacts. Simultaneously obtained topography and surface potential maps elucidated the correlation between the morphology and contact resistance at the O/M interface; the bottom contact TFTs were observed to be contact limited at large gate voltages, while the top contact TFTs were not contact limited. A direct correlation between structural defects and electric potential variations at the pentacene and silicon dioxide, a common insulator, is demonstrated. Lateral force microscopy (LFM) generates striking images of the polycrystalline microstructure of a monolayer thick pentacene film, allowing clear visualization of the grain boundary network. Further more, surface potential wells localized at the grain boundaries were observed by KFM, suggesting that the grain boundaries may serve as charge carrier (hole) traps. Line dislocations were also revealed in the second monolayer by chemical etching and SPM and produce strong variations in the surface potential that must affect the interfacial charge conductance. Structural disorder at the O/I and O/M interfaces degrades both injection and transport of charge, and therefore needs to be minimized. Thus both visualization and correlation of structural and electrical complexity at these interfaces have important implications for understanding electrical transport in OTFTs and for defining strategies to improve device performance.

Effect of Al2O3 insulator thickness on the structural integrity of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide based thin film transistors.

PubMed

Kim, Hak-Jun; Hwang, In-Ju; Kim, Youn-Jea

2014-12-01

The current transparent oxide semiconductors (TOSs) technology provides flexibility and high performance. In this study, multi-stack nano-layers of TOSs were designed for three-dimensional analysis of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) based thin film transistors (TFTs). In particular, the effects of torsional and compressive stresses on the nano-sized active layers such as the a-IGZO layer were investigated. Numerical simulations were carried out to investigate the structural integrity of a-IGZO based TFTs with three different thicknesses of the aluminum oxide (Al2O3) insulator (δ = 10, 20, and 30 nm), respectively, using a commercial code, COMSOL Multiphysics. The results are graphically depicted for operating conditions.

Record surface state mobility and quantum Hall effect in topological insulator thin films via interface engineering

DOE PAGES

Koirala, Nikesh; Han, Myung -Geun; Brahlek, Matthew; ...

2015-11-19

Material defects remain as the main bottleneck to the progress of topological insulators (TIs). In particular, efforts to achieve thin TI samples with dominant surface transport have always led to increased defects and degraded mobilities, thus making it difficult to probe the quantum regime of the topological surface states. Here, by utilizing a novel buffer layer scheme composed of an In 2Se 3/(Bi 0.5In 0.5) 2Se 3 heterostructure, we introduce a quantum generation of Bi 2Se 3 films with an order of magnitude enhanced mobilities than before. Furthermore, this scheme has led to the first observation of the quantum Hallmore » effect in Bi 2Se 3.« less

Strain-controlled electronic properties and magnetorelaxor behaviors in electron-doped CaMnO3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, P.-H.; Yamada, H.; Sawa, A.; Akoh, H.

2009-02-01

We have fabricated epitaxial thin films of electron-doped manganite Ca1-xCexMnO3 (CCMO) with 0≤x≤0.08. The transport properties of CCMO films are very sensitive to substrate-controlled epitaxial strain. For the CCMO(x =0.05) film, the metallic transport characteristic is observed only on a nearly lattice-matched NdAlO3 (NAO) substrate, while tensilely and compressively stressed films are insulating. The CCMO(x =0.06) film on the NAO substrate shows a large magnetoresistance characteristic of a magnetorelaxor. This behavior can be explained in terms of the phase separation and the irreversible growth of the metallic domain in antiferromagnetic insulating matrix.

A primer on clothing systems for cold-weather field work

USGS Publications Warehouse

Denner, J.C.

1993-01-01

Hypothermia in cold environments can be prevented by physiological adaptation and by the proper use of cold weather clothing. The human body adjusts to cold temperature by increasing the rates of basal metabolism, specific dynamic action, and physical exercise. Heat loss is reduced by vasoconstriction. Clothing systems for cold weather reduce loss by providing insulation and protection from the elements. Satisfactory cold- weather clothing is constructed of wool fabrics or the synthetic fibers polypropylene and polyester. Outerwear suitable for cold climates is insulated with down, high-loft polyester fiberfills, or the new synthetic thin insulators. (USGS)

Electrochemical Cell for Obtaining Oxygen from Carbon Dioxide Atmospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hooker, Matthew; Rast, H. Edward; Rogers, Darren K.; Borja, Luis; Clark, Kevin; Fleming, Kimberly; Mcgurren, Michael; Oldaker, Tom; Sweet, Nanette

1989-01-01

To support human life on the Martian surface, an electrochemical device will be required to obtain oxygen from the carbon dioxide rich atmosphere. The electrolyte employed in such a device must be constructed from extremely thin, dense membranes to efficiently acquire the oxygen necessary to support life. A forming process used industrially in the production of multilayer capacitors and electronic substrates was adapted to form the thin membranes required. The process, known as the tape casting, involves the suspension consisting of solvents and binders. The suspension is passed under a blade, resulting in the production of ceramic membranes between 0.1 and 0.5 mm thick. Once fired, the stabilized zirconia membranes were assembled into the cell design by employing a zirconium phosphate solution as the sealing agent. The resulting ceramic-to-ceramic seals were found to be structurally sound and gas-tight. Furthermore, by using a zirconia-based solution to assemble the cell, the problem of a thermal expansion mismatch was alleviated. By adopting an industrial forming process to produce thin membranes, an electrochemical cell for obtaining oxygen from carbon dioxide was produced. The proposed cell design is unique in that it does not require a complicated manifold system for separating the various gases present in this process, nor does it require a series of complex electrical connections. Thus, the device can reliably obtain the vital oxygen supply from the toxic carbon dioxide atmosphere.

Electronic structure of negative charge transfer CaFeO3 across the metal-insulator transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogge, Paul C.; Chandrasena, Ravini U.; Cammarata, Antonio; Green, Robert J.; Shafer, Padraic; Lefler, Benjamin M.; Huon, Amanda; Arab, Arian; Arenholz, Elke; Lee, Ho Nyung; Lee, Tien-Lin; Nemšák, Slavomír; Rondinelli, James M.; Gray, Alexander X.; May, Steven J.

2018-01-01

We investigated the metal-insulator transition for epitaxial thin films of the perovskite CaFeO3, a material with a significant oxygen ligand hole contribution to its electronic structure. We find that biaxial tensile and compressive strain suppress the metal-insulator transition temperature. By combining hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and density functional calculations, we resolve the element-specific changes to the electronic structure across the metal-insulator transition. We demonstrate that the Fe sites undergo no observable spectroscopic change between the metallic and insulating states, whereas the O electronic configuration undergoes significant changes. This strongly supports the bond-disproportionation model of the metal-insulator transition for CaFeO3 and highlights the importance of ligand holes in its electronic structure. By sensitively measuring the ligand hole density, however, we find that it increases by ˜5 -10 % in the insulating state, which we ascribe to a further localization of electron charge on the Fe sites. These results provide detailed insight into the metal-insulator transition of negative charge transfer compounds and should prove instructive for understanding metal-insulator transitions in other late transition metal compounds such as the nickelates.

Superconductor-Insulator Transition in NbTiN Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burdastyh, M. V.; Postolova, S. V.; Baturina, T. I.; Proslier, T.; Vinokur, V. M.; Mironov, A. Yu.

2017-12-01

Experimental results indicating a direct disorder-induced superconductor-insulator transition in NbTiN thin films have been reported. It has been shown that an increase in the resistance per square in the normal state is accompanied by the suppression of the critical temperature of the superconducting transition T c according to the fermion mechanism of suppression of superconductivity by disorder. At the same time, the temperature of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition is completely suppressed at a nonzero critical temperature and, then, the ground state changes to insulating, which is characteristic of the boson model of suppression of superconductivity by disorder. It has been shown that the temperature dependences of the resistance of insulating films follow the Arrhenius activation law.

Heterogeneous nucleation and growth dynamics in the light-induced phase transition in vanadium dioxide

DOE PAGES

Brady, Nathaniel F.; Appavoo, Kannatassen; Seo, Minah; ...

2016-03-02

Here we report on ultrafast optical investigations of the light-induced insulator-to-metal phase transition in vanadium dioxide with controlled disorder generated by substrate mismatch. These results reveal common dynamics of this optically-induced phase transition that are independent of this disorder. Lastly, above the fluence threshold for completing the transition to the rutile crystalline phase, we find a common time scale, independent of sample morphology, of 40.5 ± 2 ps that is consistent with nucleation and growth dynamics of the R phase from the parent M1 ground state.

Nanostructured Gd3+-TiO2 surfaces for self-cleaning application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saif, M.; El-Molla, S. A.; Aboul-Fotouh, S. M. K.; Ibrahim, M. M.; Ismail, L. F. M.; Dahn, Douglas C.

2014-06-01

Preparation of self-cleaning surfaces based on lanthanide modified titanium dioxide nanoparticles has rarely been reported. In the present work, gadolinium doped titanium dioxide thin films (x mol Gd3+-TiO2 where x = 0.000, 0.005, 0.008, 0.010, 0.020 and 0.030 mol) were synthesized by sol-gel method and deposited using doctor-blade method. These films were characterized by studying their structural, optical and electrical properties. Doping with gadolinium decreases the band gap energy and increase conductivity of thin films. The photo self-cleaning activity in term of quantitative determination of the active oxidative species (rad OH) produced on the thin film surfaces was evaluated using fluorescent probe method. The results show that, the highly active thin film is the 0.020 Gd3+-TiO2. The structural, morphology, optical, electrical and photoactivity properties of Gd3+-TiO2 thin films make it promising surfaces for self-cleaning application. Mineralization of commercial textile dye (Remazol Red RB-133, RR) and durability using 0.020Gd3+-TiO2 film surface was studied.

Spin-dependent Peltier effect in 3D topological insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sengupta, Parijat; Kubis, Tillmann; Povolotskyi, Michael; Klimeck, Gerhard

2013-03-01

The Peltier effect represents the heat carrying capacity of a certain material when current passes through it. When two materials with different Peltier coefficients are placed together, the Peltier effect causes heat to flow either towards or away from the interface between them. This work utilizes the spin-polarized property of 3D topological insulator (TI) surface states to describe the transport of heat through the spin-up and spin-down channels. It has been observed that the spin channels are able to carry heat independently of each other. Spin currents can therefore be employed to supply or extract heat from an interface between materials with spin-dependent Peltier coefficients. The device is composed of a thin film of Bi2Se3 sandwiched between two layers of Bi2Te3. The thin film of Bi2Se3serves both as a normal and topological insulator. It is a normal insulator when its surfaces overlap to produce a finite band-gap. Using an external gate, Bi2Se3 film can be again tuned in to a TI. Sufficiently thick Bi2Te3 always retain TI behavior. Spin-dependent Peltier coefficients are obtained and the spin Nernst effect in TIs is shown by controlling the temperature gradient to convert charge current to spin current.

Resonant modal group theory of membrane-type acoustical metamaterials for low-frequency sound attenuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Fuyin; Wu, Jiu Hui; Huang, Meng

2015-09-01

In order to overcome the influence of the structural resonance on the continuous structures and obtain a lightweight thin-layer structure which can effectively isolate the low-frequency noises, an elastic membrane structure was proposed. In the low-frequency range below 500 Hz, the sound transmission loss (STL) of this membrane type structure is greatly higher than that of the current sound insulation material EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate copo) of vehicle, so it is possible to replace the EVA by the membrane-type metamaterial structure in practice engineering. Based on the band structure, modal shapes, as well as the sound transmission simulation, the sound insulation mechanism of the designed membrane-type acoustic metamaterials was analyzed from a new perspective, which had been validated experimentally. It is suggested that in the frequency range above 200 Hz for this membrane-mass type structure, the sound insulation effect was principally not due to the low-level locally resonant mode of the mass block, but the continuous vertical resonant modes of the localized membrane. So based on such a physical property, a resonant modal group theory is initially proposed in this paper. In addition, the sound insulation mechanism of the membrane-type structure and thin plate structure were combined by the membrane/plate resonant theory.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vexler, M. I., E-mail: shulekin@mail.ioffe.ru; Grekhov, I. V.

The features of electron tunneling from or into the silicon valence band in a metal–insulator–semiconductor system with the HfO{sub 2}(ZrO{sub 2})/SiO{sub 2} double-layer insulator are theoretically analyzed for different modes. It is demonstrated that the valence-band current plays a less important role in structures with HfO{sub 2}(ZrO{sub 2})/SiO{sub 2} than in structures containing only silicon dioxide. In the case of a very wide-gap high-K oxide ZrO{sub 2}, nonmonotonic behavior related to tunneling through the upper barrier is predicted for the valence-band–metal current component. The use of an insulator stack can offer certain advantages for some devices, including diodes, bipolar tunnel-emittermore » transistors, and resonant-tunneling diodes, along with the traditional use of high-K insulators in a field-effect transistor.« less

Pressure-driven insulator-metal transition in cubic phase UO 2

DOE PAGES

Huang, Li; Wang, Yilin; Werner, Philipp

2017-09-21

Understanding the electronic properties of actinide oxides under pressure poses a great challenge for experimental and theoretical studies. Here, we investigate the electronic structure of cubic phase uranium dioxide at different volumes using a combination of density functional theory and dynamical mean-field theory. The ab initio calculations predict an orbital-selective insulator-metal transition at a moderate pressure of ~45 GPa. At this pressure the uranium's 5f 5/2 state becomes metallic, while the 5f 7/2 state remains insulating up to about 60 GPa. In the metallic state, we observe a rapid decrease of the 5f occupation and total angular momentum with pressure.more » Simultaneously, the so-called "Zhang-Rice state", which is of predominantly 5f 5/2 character, quickly disappears after the transition into the metallic phase.« less

Pressure-driven insulator-metal transition in cubic phase UO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Li; Wang, Yilin; Werner, Philipp

2017-09-01

Understanding the electronic properties of actinide oxides under pressure poses a great challenge for experimental and theoretical studies. Here, we investigate the electronic structure of cubic phase uranium dioxide at different volumes using a combination of density functional theory and dynamical mean-field theory. The ab initio calculations predict an orbital-selective insulator-metal transition at a moderate pressure of ∼45 GPa. At this pressure the uranium's 5f 5/2 state becomes metallic, while the 5f 7/2 state remains insulating up to about 60 GPa. In the metallic state, we observe a rapid decrease of the 5f occupation and total angular momentum with pressure. Simultaneously, the so-called “Zhang-Rice state”, which is of predominantly 5f 5/2 character, quickly disappears after the transition into the metallic phase.

A Low Temperature, Solution-Processed Poly(4-vinylphenol), YO(x) Nanoparticle Composite/Polysilazane Bi-Layer Gate Insulator for ZnO Thin Film Transistor.

PubMed

Shin, Hyeonwoo; Kang, Chan-Mo; Chae, Hyunsik; Kim, Hyun-Gwan; Baek, Kyu-Ha; Choi, Hyoung Jin; Park, Man-Young; Do, Lee-Mi; Lee, Changhee

2016-03-01

Low temperature, solution-processed metal oxide thin film transistors (MEOTFTs) have been widely investigated for application in low-cost, transparent, and flexible electronics. To enlarge the application area, solution-processed gate insulators (GI) have been investigated in recent years. We investigated the effects of the organic/inorganic bi-layer GI to ZnO thin film transistors (TFTs). PVP, YO(x) nanoparticle composite, and polysilazane bi-layer showed low leakage current (-10(-8) A/cm2 in 2 MV), which are applicable in low temperature processed MEOTFTs. Polysilazane was used as an interlayer between ZnO and PVP, YO(x) nanoparticle composite as a good charge transport interface with ZnO. By applying the PVP, YO(x), nanoparticle composite/polysilazane bi-layer structure to ZnO TFTs, we successfully suppressed the off current (I(off)) to -10(-11) and fabricated good MEOTFTs in 180 degrees C.

Method for forming silicon on a glass substrate

DOEpatents

McCarthy, Anthony M.

1995-01-01

A method by which single-crystal silicon microelectronics may be fabricated on glass substrates at unconventionally low temperatures. This is achieved by fabricating a thin film of silicon on glass and subsequently forming the doped components by a short wavelength (excimer) laser doping procedure and conventional patterning techniques. This method may include introducing a heavily boron doped etch stop layer on a silicon wafer using an excimer laser, which permits good control of the etch stop layer removal process. This method additionally includes dramatically reducing the remaining surface roughness of the silicon thin films after etching in the fabrication of silicon on insulator wafers by scanning an excimer laser across the surface of the silicon thin film causing surface melting, whereby the surface tension of the melt causes smoothing of the surface during recrystallization. Applications for this method include those requiring a transparent or insulating substrate, such as display manufacturing. Other applications include sensors, actuators, optoelectronics, radiation hard and high temperature electronics.

Method for forming silicon on a glass substrate

DOEpatents

McCarthy, A.M.

1995-03-07

A method by which single-crystal silicon microelectronics may be fabricated on glass substrates at unconventionally low temperatures. This is achieved by fabricating a thin film of silicon on glass and subsequently forming the doped components by a short wavelength (excimer) laser doping procedure and conventional patterning techniques. This method may include introducing a heavily boron doped etch stop layer on a silicon wafer using an excimer laser, which permits good control of the etch stop layer removal process. This method additionally includes dramatically reducing the remaining surface roughness of the silicon thin films after etching in the fabrication of silicon on insulator wafers by scanning an excimer laser across the surface of the silicon thin film causing surface melting, whereby the surface tension of the melt causes smoothing of the surface during recrystallization. Applications for this method include those requiring a transparent or insulating substrate, such as display manufacturing. Other applications include sensors, actuators, optoelectronics, radiation hard and high temperature electronics. 15 figs.

Solid-state microrefrigerator

DOEpatents

Ullom, Joel N.

2003-06-24

A normal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) microrefrigerator in which a superconducting single crystal is both the substrate and the superconducting electrode of the NIS junction. The refrigerator consists of a large ultra-pure superconducting single crystal and a normal metal layer on top of the superconducting crystal, separated by a thin insulating layer. The superconducting crystal can be either cut from bulk material or grown as a thick epitaxial film. The large single superconducting crystal allows quasiparticles created in the superconducting crystal to easily diffuse away from the NIS junction through the lattice structure of the crystal to normal metal traps to prevent the quasiparticles from returning across the NIS junction. In comparison to thin film NIS refrigerators, the invention provides orders of magnitude larger cooling power than thin film microrefrigerators. The superconducting crystal can serve as the superconducting electrode for multiple NIS junctions to provide an array of microrefrigerators. The normal electrode can be extended and supported by microsupports to provide support and cooling of sensors or arrays of sensors.

60-nm-thick basic photonic components and Bragg gratings on the silicon-on-insulator platform.

PubMed

Zou, Zhi; Zhou, Linjie; Li, Xinwan; Chen, Jianping

2015-08-10

We demonstrate integrated basic photonic components and Bragg gratings using 60-nm-thick silicon-on-insulator strip waveguides. The ultra-thin waveguides exhibit a propagation loss of 0.61 dB/cm and a bending loss of approximately 0.015 dB/180° with a 30 μm bending radius (including two straight-bend waveguide junctions). Basic structures based on the ultra-thin waveguides, including micro-ring resonators, 1 × 2 MMI couplers, and Mach-Zehnder interferometers are realized. Upon thinning-down, the waveguide effective refractive index is reduced, making the fabrication of Bragg gratings possible using the standard 248-nm deep ultra-violet (DUV) photolithography process. The Bragg grating exhibits a stopband width of 1 nm and an extinction ratio of 35 dB, which is practically applicable as an optical filter or a delay line. The transmission spectrum can be thermally tuned via an integrated resistive micro-heater formed by a heavily doped silicon slab beside the waveguide.

Highly improved photo-induced bias stability of sandwiched triple layer structure in sol-gel processed fluorine-doped indium zinc oxide thin film transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Dongha; Park, Hyungjin; Bae, Byeong-Soo

2016-03-01

In order to improve the reliability of TFT, an Al2O3 insulating layer is inserted between active fluorine doped indium zinc oxide (IZO:F) thin films to form a sandwiched triple layer. All the thin films were fabricated via low-cost sol-gel process. Due to its large energy bandgap and high bonding energy with oxygen atoms, the Al2O3 layer acts as a photo-induced positive charge blocking layer that effectively blocks the migration of both holes and V o2+ toward the interface between the gate insulator and the semiconductor. The inserted Al2O3 triple layer exhibits a noticeably low turn on voltage shift of -0.7 V under NBIS as well as the good TFT performance with a mobility of 10.9 cm2/V ṡ s. We anticipate that this approach can be used to solve the stability issues such as NBIS, which is caused by inescapable oxygen vacancies.

Improving yield and performance in ZnO thin-film transistors made using selective area deposition.

PubMed

Nelson, Shelby F; Ellinger, Carolyn R; Levy, David H

2015-02-04

We describe improvements in both yield and performance for thin-film transistors (TFTs) fabricated by spatial atomic layer deposition (SALD). These improvements are shown to be critical in forming high-quality devices using selective area deposition (SAD) as the patterning method. Selective area deposition occurs when the precursors for the deposition are prevented from reacting with some areas of the substrate surface. Controlling individual layer quality and the interfaces between layers is essential for obtaining good-quality thin-film transistors and capacitors. The integrity of the gate insulator layer is particularly critical, and we describe a method for forming a multilayer dielectric using an oxygen plasma treatment between layers that improves crossover yield. We also describe a method to achieve improved mobility at the important interface between the semiconductor and the gate insulator by, conversely, avoiding oxygen plasma treatment. Integration of the best designs results in wide design flexibility, transistors with mobility above 15 cm(2)/(V s), and good yield of circuits.

Bulk contribution to magnetotransport properties of low-defect-density Bi2Te3 topological insulator thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngabonziza, P.; Wang, Y.; Brinkman, A.

2018-04-01

An important challenge in the field of topological materials is to carefully disentangle the electronic transport contribution of the topological surface states from that of the bulk. For Bi2Te3 topological insulator samples, bulk single crystals and thin films exposed to air during fabrication processes are known to be bulk conducting, with the chemical potential in the bulk conduction band. For Bi2Te3 thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy, we combine structural characterization (transmission electron microscopy), chemical surface analysis as function of time (x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and magnetotransport analysis to understand the low defect density and record high bulk electron mobility once charge is doped into the bulk by surface degradation. Carrier densities and electronic mobilities extracted from the Hall effect and the quantum oscillations are consistent and reveal a large bulk carrier mobility. Because of the cylindrical shape of the bulk Fermi surface, the angle dependence of the bulk magnetoresistance oscillations is two dimensional in nature.

Visible light laser voltage probing on thinned substrates

DOEpatents

Beutler, Joshua; Clement, John Joseph; Miller, Mary A.; Stevens, Jeffrey; Cole, Jr., Edward I.

2017-03-21

The various technologies presented herein relate to utilizing visible light in conjunction with a thinned structure to enable characterization of operation of one or more features included in an integrated circuit (IC). Short wavelength illumination (e.g., visible light) is applied to thinned samples (e.g., ultra-thinned samples) to achieve a spatial resolution for laser voltage probing (LVP) analysis to be performed on smaller technology node silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and bulk devices. Thinning of a semiconductor material included in the IC (e.g., backside material) can be controlled such that the thinned semiconductor material has sufficient thickness to enable operation of one or more features comprising the IC during LVP investigation.

Micromachined Active Magnetic Regenerator for Low-Temperature Magnetic Coolers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Weibo; Jaeger, Michael D.

2013-01-01

A design of an Active Magnetic Regenerative Refrigeration (AMRR) system has been developed for space applications. It uses an innovative 3He cryogenic circulator to provide continuous remote/distributed cooling at temperatures in the range of 2 K with a heat sink at about 15 K. A critical component technology for this cooling system is a highly efficient active magnetic regenerator, which is a regenerative heat exchanger with its matrix material made of magnetic refrigerant gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG). Creare Inc. is developing a microchannel GGG regenerator with an anisotropic structured bed for high system thermal efficiency. The regenerator core consists of a stack of thin, single-crystal GGG disks alternating with thin polymer insulating layers. The insulating layers help minimize the axial conduction heat leak, since GGG has a very high thermal conductivity in the regenerator s operating temperature range. The GGG disks contain micro channels with width near 100 micrometers, which enhance the heat transfer between the circulating flow and the refrigerant bed. The unique flow configuration of the GGG plates ensures a uniform flow distribution across the plates. The main fabrication challenges for the regenerator are the machining of high-aspect-ratio microchannels in fragile, single-crystal GGG disks and fabrication and assembly of the GGG insulation layers. Feasibility demonstrations to date include use of an ultrashort- pulse laser to machine microchannels without producing unacceptable microcracking or deposition of recast material, as shown in the figure, and attachment of a thin insulation layer to a GGG disk without obstructing the flow paths. At the time of this reporting, efforts were focused on improving the laser machining process to increase machining speed and further reduce microcracking.

Nature of the superconductor-insulator transition in disordered superconductors.

PubMed

Dubi, Yonatan; Meir, Yigal; Avishai, Yshai

2007-10-18

The interplay of superconductivity and disorder has intrigued scientists for several decades. Disorder is expected to enhance the electrical resistance of a system, whereas superconductivity is associated with a zero-resistance state. Although superconductivity has been predicted to persist even in the presence of disorder, experiments performed on thin films have demonstrated a transition from a superconducting to an insulating state with increasing disorder or magnetic field. The nature of this transition is still under debate, and the subject has become even more relevant with the realization that high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductors are intrinsically disordered. Here we present numerical simulations of the superconductor-insulator transition in two-dimensional disordered superconductors, starting from a microscopic description that includes thermal phase fluctuations. We demonstrate explicitly that disorder leads to the formation of islands where the superconducting order is high. For weak disorder, or high electron density, increasing the magnetic field results in the eventual vanishing of the amplitude of the superconducting order parameter, thereby forming an insulating state. On the other hand, at lower electron densities or higher disorder, increasing the magnetic field suppresses the correlations between the phases of the superconducting order parameter in different islands, giving rise to a different type of superconductor-insulator transition. One of the important predictions of this work is that in the regime of high disorder, there are still superconducting islands in the sample, even on the insulating side of the transition. This result, which is consistent with experiments, explains the recently observed huge magneto-resistance peak in disordered thin films and may be relevant to the observation of 'the pseudogap phenomenon' in underdoped high-T(c) superconductors.

Uncooled thin film pyroelectric IR detector with aerogel thermal isolation

DOEpatents

Ruffner, Judith A.; Bullington, Jeff A.; Clem, Paul G.; Warren, William L.; Brinker, C. Jeffrey; Tuttle, Bruce A.; Schwartz, Robert W.

1999-01-01

A monolithic infrared detector structure which allows integration of pyroelectric thin films atop low thermal conductivity aerogel thin films. The structure comprises, from bottom to top, a substrate, an aerogel insulating layer, a lower electrode, a pyroelectric layer, and an upper electrode layer capped by a blacking layer. The aerogel can offer thermal conductivity less than that of air, while providing a much stronger monolithic alternative to cantilevered or suspended air-gap structures for pyroelectric thin film pixel arrays. Pb(Zr.sub.0.4 Ti.sub.0.6)O.sub.3 thin films deposited on these structures displayed viable pyroelectric properties, while processed at 550.degree. C.

Resistivity behavior of optimized PbTiO3 thin films prepared by spin coating method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurbaya, Z.; Wahid, M. H.; Rozana, M. D.; Alrokayan, S. A. H.; Khan, H. A.; Rusop, M.

2018-05-01

Th is study presents the resistivity behavior of PbTiO3 thin films which were prepared towards metal-insulator-metal capacitor device fabrication. The PbTiO3 thin films were prepared through sol-gel spin coating method that involved various deposition parameters that is (1) different molar concentration of PbTiO3 solutions, (2) various additional PbAc-content in PbTiO3 solutions, and (3) various annealing temperature on PbTiO3 thin films. Hence, an electrical measurement of current versus voltage was done to determine the resistivity behavior of PbTiO3 thin films.

46 CFR 13.121 - Courses for tankerman endorsements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... during repair and maintenance work X X safety measures for hot and cold work X X electrical safety X X... X X X X Construction, materials, coating, & insulation of cargo tanks X X General arrangement of..., carbon dioxide (CO2), foam * * * X Pressure-water spray system in special-category spaces X Automatic...

Chromium–niobium co-doped vanadium dioxide films: Large temperature coefficient of resistance and practically no thermal hysteresis of the metal–insulator transition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miyazaki, Kenichi, E-mail: kenichi-miyazaki@denso.co.jp, E-mail: k.shibuya@aist.go.jp; University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8571; Shibuya, Keisuke, E-mail: kenichi-miyazaki@denso.co.jp, E-mail: k.shibuya@aist.go.jp

We investigated the effects of chromium (Cr) and niobium (Nb) co-doping on the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and the thermal hysteresis of the metal–insulator transition of vanadium dioxide (VO{sub 2}) films. We determined the TCR and thermal-hysteresis-width diagram of the V{sub 1−x−y}Cr{sub x}Nb{sub y}O{sub 2} films by electrical-transport measurements and we found that the doping conditions x ≳ y and x + y ≥ 0.1 are appropriate for simultaneously realizing a large TCR value and an absence of thermal hysteresis in the films. By using these findings, we developed a V{sub 0.90}Cr{sub 0.06}Nb{sub 0.04}O{sub 2} film grown on amore » TiO{sub 2}-buffered SiO{sub 2}/Si substrate that showed practically no thermal hysteresis while retaining a large TCR of 11.9%/K. This study has potential applications in the development of VO{sub 2}-based uncooled bolometers.« less

Superconductor to weak-insulator transitions in disordered tantalum nitride films

DOE PAGES

Breznay, Nicholas P.; Tendulkar, Mihir; Zhang, Li; ...

2017-10-31

Here, we study the two-dimensional superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) in thin films of tantalum nitride. At zero magnetic field, films can be disorder-tuned across the SIT by adjusting thickness and film stoichiometry; insulating films exhibit classical hopping transport. Superconducting films exhibit a magnetic-field-tuned SIT, whose insulating ground state at high field appears to be a quantum-corrected metal. Scaling behavior at the field-tuned SIT shows classical percolation critical exponents zν ≈ 1.3, with a corresponding critical field H c << H c2, the upper critical field. The Hall effect exhibits a crossing point near H c, but with a nonuniversal critical valuemore » ρ c xy comparable to the normal-state Hall resistivity. We propose that high-carrier-density metals will always exhibit this pattern of behavior at the boundary between superconducting and (trivially) insulating ground states.« less

Instability of Insulators near Quantum Phase Transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doron, A.; Tamir, I.; Levinson, T.; Ovadia, M.; Sacépé, B.; Shahar, D.

2017-12-01

Thin films of amorphous indium oxide undergo a magnetic field driven superconducting to insulator quantum phase transition. In the insulating phase, the current-voltage characteristics show large current discontinuities due to overheating of electrons. We show that the onset voltage for the discontinuities vanishes as we approach the quantum critical point. As a result, the insulating phase becomes unstable with respect to any applied voltage making it, at least experimentally, immeasurable. We emphasize that unlike previous reports of the absence of linear response near quantum phase transitions, in our system, the departure from equilibrium is discontinuous. Because the conditions for these discontinuities are satisfied in most insulators at low temperatures, and due to the decay of all characteristic energy scales near quantum phase transitions, we believe that this instability is general and should occur in various systems while approaching their quantum critical point. Accounting for this instability is crucial for determining the critical behavior of systems near the transition.

Selective Metallization of Well Aligned PS-b-P2VP Block Copolymers in Thin Films and in Confined Geometries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sievert, James D.; Watkins, James J.; Russell, Thomas P.

2006-03-01

Well aligned, microphase-separated structures of styrene-2-vinylpyridine block copolymers are being used as templates for macromolecule-metal nanocomposites. These composites are either prepared as thin films or confined in nanoporous aluminum oxide membranes. Under optimal conditions, templates are prepared as thin films or confined nanorods and metallized without disturbing the ordered structure. We have developed a procedure that deposits metal within the polymer using supercritical carbon dioxide-soluble metal precursors. The use of supercritical carbon dioxide allows for selective metallization of the polymer at or below the glass transition, without disrupting the morphology. In addition, similar procedures have been investigated using metal salts and acids. Using these techniques, metals and metal-sulfides including silver, gold, platinum and zinc sulfide have been selectively deposited.

Improvement of water resistance and dimensional stability of wood through titanium dioxide coating

Treesearch

Qingfeng Sun; Haipeng Yu; Yixing Liu; Jian Li; Yun Lu; John F. Hunt

2010-01-01

Moisture absorption and dimensional distortion are the major drawbacks of wood utilization as building material. In this study, poplar wood coated with a thin layer of titanium dioxide (TiO2) was prepared by the cosolvent-controlled hydrothermal method. Subsequently, its moisture absorption and dimensional stability were examined. Scanning...

Suppression of Structural Phase Transition in VO2 by Epitaxial Strain in Vicinity of Metal-insulator Transition

PubMed Central

Yang, Mengmeng; Yang, Yuanjun; Bin Hong; Wang, Liangxin; Hu, Kai; Dong, Yongqi; Xu, Han; Huang, Haoliang; Zhao, Jiangtao; Chen, Haiping; Song, Li; Ju, Huanxin; Zhu, Junfa; Bao, Jun; Li, Xiaoguang; Gu, Yueliang; Yang, Tieying; Gao, Xingyu; Luo, Zhenlin; Gao, Chen

2016-01-01

Mechanism of metal-insulator transition (MIT) in strained VO2 thin films is very complicated and incompletely understood despite three scenarios with potential explanations including electronic correlation (Mott mechanism), structural transformation (Peierls theory) and collaborative Mott-Peierls transition. Herein, we have decoupled coactions of structural and electronic phase transitions across the MIT by implementing epitaxial strain on 13-nm-thick (001)-VO2 films in comparison to thicker films. The structural evolution during MIT characterized by temperature-dependent synchrotron radiation high-resolution X-ray diffraction reciprocal space mapping and Raman spectroscopy suggested that the structural phase transition in the temperature range of vicinity of the MIT is suppressed by epitaxial strain. Furthermore, temperature-dependent Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS) revealed the changes in electron occupancy near the Fermi energy EF of V 3d orbital, implying that the electronic transition triggers the MIT in the strained films. Thus the MIT in the bi-axially strained VO2 thin films should be only driven by electronic transition without assistance of structural phase transition. Density functional theoretical calculations further confirmed that the tetragonal phase across the MIT can be both in insulating and metallic states in the strained (001)-VO2/TiO2 thin films. This work offers a better understanding of the mechanism of MIT in the strained VO2 films. PMID:26975328

Quantum Size Effects in Transport Properties of Bi2Te3 Topological Insulator Thin Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogacheva, E. I.; Budnik, A. V.; Nashchekina, O. N.; Meriuts, A. V.; Dresselhaus, M. S.

2017-07-01

Bi2Te3 compound and Bi2Te3-based solid solutions have attracted much attention as promising thermoelectric materials for refrigerating devices. The possibility of enhancing the thermoelectric efficiency in low-dimensional structures has stimulated studies of Bi2Te3 thin films. Now, interest in studying the transport properties of Bi2Te3 has grown sharply due to the observation of special properties characteristic of three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators in Bi2Te3. One of the possible manifestations of quantum size effects in two-dimensional structures is an oscillatory behavior of the dependences of transport properties on film thickness, d. The goal of this work is to summarize our earlier experimental results on the d-dependences of transport properties of Bi2Te3 thin films obtained by thermal evaporation in a vacuum on glass substrates, and to present our new results of theoretical calculations of the oscillations periods within the framework of the model of an infinitely deep potential well, which takes into account the dependence of the Fermi energy on d and the contribution of all energy subbands below the Fermi level to the conductivity. On the basis of the data obtained, some general regularities and specificity of the quantum size effects manifestation in 3D topological insulators are established.

Thin-film composite materials as a dielectric layer for flexible metal-insulator-metal capacitors.

PubMed

Tiwari, Jitendra N; Meena, Jagan Singh; Wu, Chung-Shu; Tiwari, Rajanish N; Chu, Min-Ching; Chang, Feng-Chih; Ko, Fu-Hsiang

2010-09-24

A new organic-organic nanoscale composite thin-film (NCTF) dielectric has been synthesized by solution deposition of 1-bromoadamantane and triblock copolymer (Pluronic P123, BASF, EO20-PO70-EO20), in which the precursor solution has been achieved with organic additives. We have used a sol-gel process to make a metal-insulator-metal capacitor (MIM) comprising a nanoscale (10 nm-thick) thin-film on a flexible polyimide (PI) substrate at room temperature. Scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope revealed that the deposited NCTFs were crack-free, uniform, highly resistant to moisture absorption, and well adhered on the Au-Cr/PI. The electrical properties of 1-bromoadamantane-P123 NCTF were characterized by dielectric constant, capacitance, and leakage current measurements. The 1-bromoadamantane-P123 NCTF on the PI substrate showed a low leakage current density of 5.5 x 10(-11) A cm(-2) and good capacitance of 2.4 fF at 1 MHz. In addition, the calculated dielectric constant of 1-bromoadamantane-P123 NCTF was 1.9, making them suitable candidates for use in future flexible electronic devices as a stable intermetal dielectric. The electrical insulating properties of 1-bromoadamantane-P123 NCTF have been improved due to the optimized dipole moments of the van der Waals interactions.

External Insulation of Masonry Walls and Wood Framed Walls

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baker, P.

2013-01-01

The use of exterior insulation on a building is an accepted and effective means to increase the overall thermal resistance of the assembly that also has other advantages of improved water management and often increased air tightness of building assemblies. For thin layers of insulation (1" to 1 1/2"), the cladding can typically be attached directly through the insulation back to the structure. For thicker insulation layers, furring strips have been added as a cladding attachment location. This approach has been used in the past on numerous Building America test homes and communities (both new and retrofit applications), and hasmore » been proven to be an effective and durable means to provide cladding attachment. However, the lack of engineering data has been a problem for many designers, contractors, and code officials. This research project developed baseline engineering analysis to support the installation of thick layers of exterior insulation on existing masonry and frame walls. Furthermore, water management details necessary to integrate windows, doors, decks, balconies and roofs were created to provide guidance on the integration of exterior insulation strategies with other enclosure elements.« less

External Insulation of Masonry Walls and Wood Framed Walls

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baker, P.

2013-01-01

The use of exterior insulation on a building is an accepted and effective means to increase the overall thermal resistance of the assembly that also has other advantages of improved water management and often increased air tightness of building assemblies. For thin layers of insulation (1” to 1 ½”), the cladding can typically be attached directly through the insulation back to the structure. For thicker insulation layers, furring strips have been added as a cladding attachment location. This approach has been used in the past on numerous Building America test homes and communities (both new and retrofit applications), and hasmore » been proven to be an effective and durable means to provide cladding attachment. However, the lack of engineering data has been a problem for many designers, contractors, and code officials. This research project developed baseline engineering analysis to support the installation of thick layers of exterior insulation on existing masonry and frame walls. Furthermore, water management details necessary to integrate windows, doors, decks, balconies and roofs were created to provide guidance on the integration of exterior insulation strategies with other enclosure elements.« less

Aluminum induced crystallization of amorphous Ge thin films on insulating substrate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singh, Ch. Kishan, E-mail: kisn@igcar.gov.in; Tah, T.; Sunitha, D. T.

2016-05-23

Aluminium (metal) induced crystallization of amorphous Ge in bilayer and multilayer Ge/Al thin films deposited on quartz substrate at temperature well below the crystallization temperature of bulk Ge is reported. The crystallization of poly-Ge proceeds via formations of dendritic crystalline Ge grains in the Al matrix. The observed phases were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The microstructure of Al thin film layer was found to have a profound influence on such crystallization process and formation of dendritic grains.

Method of determining operation parameters of stand tests of vehicle suspension elements under conditions of ultra-low temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedyanov, E. A.; Sokolov-Dobrev, N. S.; Ljashenko, M. V.; Shekhovtsov, V. V.; Potapov, P. V.; Dolotov, A. A.; Klementiev, E. V.

2018-05-01

This article presents the description of the method for estimation of heat flows characteristic during research of operability of suspension elements under the conditions of ultralow temperature. The mentioned research is performed at the test bench created in VSTU. Solid carbon dioxide (also known as artificial ice) is used as the coolant. The method provides evaluation of required quantity of artificial ice and cooling dynamics of the test unit in the insulated low-temperature chamber with structurally specified parameters of heat insulation. Also the method allows computation of heat intake into the chamber volume.

Resistance heater for use in a glass melter

DOEpatents

Routt, K.R.; Porter, M.A.

1984-01-01

A resistance heating element that includes: a resistance heating medium of a mixture of electrically conductive and insulative particles in powdered form mixed together in predetermined proportions to achieve a given resistivity; a hollow outer electrode surrounding the resistance heating medium; and an inner electrode coaxially disposed within said outer electrode. In its preferred embodiments, the electrically conductive powder is selected from the group consisting essentially of graphite, Inconel alloy, molybdenum, nichrome alloy and stainless steel, while the insulator powder is silicon dioxide or alumina. The resistance heating element, being resistant to damage from mechanical shock and corrosion at elevated temperatures, is used in a glass melter.

Electronic structure properties of UO2 as a Mott insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheykhi, Samira; Payami, Mahmoud

2018-06-01

In this work using the density functional theory (DFT), we have studied the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of uranium dioxide with antiferromagnetic 1k-, 2k-, and 3k-order structures. Ordinary approximations in DFT, such as the local density approximation (LDA) or generalized gradient approximation (GGA), usually predict incorrect metallic behaviors for this strongly correlated electron system. Using Hubbard term correction for f-electrons, LDA+U method, as well as using the screened Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof (HSE) hybrid functional for the exchange-correlation (XC), we have obtained the correct ground-state behavior as an insulator, with band gaps in good agreement with experiment.

The optical gap in VO2 insulating phases is dominated by Coulomb repulsion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendriks, Christopher; Walter, Eric; Krakauer, Henry; Huffman, Tyler; Qazilbash, Mumtaz

Under doping, tensile strain or heating, vanadium dioxide (VO2) transforms from an insulating monoclinic (M1) to a metallic rutile (R) phase, progressing through intermediate insulating triclinic (T) and magnetic (M2) phases. Broadband optical spectroscopy data have been obtained on the T and M2 phases in the same sample. While only half the V atoms are dimerized in M2 compared to M1 and T, the measured optical gap is essentially unaltered by the first-order structural phase transition between them. Moreover, the optical interband features in the T and M2 phases are remarkably similar to those previously observed in the well-studied M1 phase. This shows that the electronic structure is insensitive to the lattice structure. Our ab-initio HSE optical conductivity calculations on the insulating phases of VO2 are in excellent agreement with the experimental measurements. We will discuss the choice of α, the fraction of exact exchange. As the energy gap is insensitive to the different lattice structures of the three insulating phases, we rule out Peierls effects as the dominant contributor to the opening of the gap. Rather, the energy gap arises from intra-atomic Coulomb correlations. Supported by ONR.

Au doping effects on electrical and optical properties of vanadium dioxides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, YaBin; He, Fan; Na, Jie

2012-03-01

Vanadium dioxides were fabricated on normal glass substrates using reactive radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The oxygen flow volume and annealed temperatures as growth parameters are systematically investigated. The electrical and optical properties of VO2 and Au:VO2 thin films with different growth conditions are discussed. The semiconductor-metal phase transition temperature decreased by ˜10°C for the sample with Au doping compared to the sample without Au doping. However, the optical transmittance of Au:VO2 thin films is much lower than that of bare VO2. These results show that Au doping has a marked effect on the electrical and optical properties.

Optimizing the withdrawal speed using dip coating for optical sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samat, S. F. A.; Sarah, M. S. P.; Idros, M. Faizol Md; Rusop, M.

2018-05-01

The processing route of sol-gel has been used for many productions of thin film using metal oxide such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, carbon dioxide and so on. For this research the thin film phase was studied has high transmittance using dip coating technique with different withdrawal speed for optical sensing. The result obtained from optical transmittance spectra that transmits at 30nm and bend at 350nm to 800nm was in the visible light wavelength range. From the data, the withdrawal speed was low at 5s and 10s could give the highest transmittance which were 90.41% and 87.91% respectively.

Metal-organic framework thin films on a surface of optical fibre long period grating for chemical sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hromadka, J.; Tokay, B.; James, S.; Korposh, S.

2017-04-01

An optical fibre long period grating (LPG) modified with a thin film of HKUST-1, a material from metal organic framework (MOF) family, was employed for the detection of carbon dioxide. The sensing mechanism is based on the measurement of the change of the refractive index (RI) of the coating that is induced by the penetration of CO2 molecules into the HKUST-1 pores. The responses of the resonance bands in the transmission spectrum of an LPG modified with 40 layers of HKUST-1 upon exposure to carbon dioxide in mixture with nitrogen were investigated.

Composition spread studies of Nd1-xLaxNiO3 combinatorial thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suchoski, Richard; Jin, Kui; Yasui, Shintaro; Greene, Richard; Takeuchi, Ichiro

2013-03-01

Rare earth nickelates have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years due to a host of interesting features, one being a transition from paramagnetic metal to antiferromagnetic insulator through distortions from the ideal perovskite unit cell. This metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) can be manipulated by modifying variables such as temperature, rare earth ion size, oxygen content, or stress from lattice-mismatched epitaxial thin film growth. Research on this family has been extensive, though there still exists an absence of thin film studies focusing on intermediate compositions. We have fabricated epitaxial thin film composition spreads of Nd1-xLaxNiO3 grown via combinatorial PLD to investigate these transitional compositions. While our films exhibit a smooth composition progression, we observe a composition threshold where orthorhombic NdNiO3 transforms to rhombohedral LaNiO3, correlating with disappearance of the MIT, and displays a non-Vegard evolution of the film's in-plane lattice constant in HRXRD and Raman scattering data of the A1g rotational mode. This work was performed at the Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials (CNAM) at UMD, and supported by AFO SR MURI Grant #FA95500910603.

Electric-field induced spin accumulation in the Landau level states of topological insulator thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siu, Zhuo Bin; Chowdhury, Debashree; Basu, Banasri; Jalil, Mansoor B. A.

2017-08-01

A topological insulator (TI) thin film differs from the more typically studied thick TI system in that the former has both a top and a bottom surface where the states localized at both surfaces can couple to one other across the finite thickness. An out-of-plane magnetic field leads to the formation of discrete Landau level states in the system, whereas an in-plane magnetization breaks the angular momentum symmetry of the system. In this work, we study the spin accumulation induced by the application of an in-plane electric field to the TI thin film system where the Landau level states and inter-surface coupling are simultaneously present. We show, via Kubo formula calculations, that the in-plane spin accumulation perpendicular to the magnetization due to the electric field vanishes for a TI thin film with symmetric top and bottom surfaces. A finite in-plane spin accumulation perpendicular to both the electric field and magnetization emerges upon applying either a differential magnetization coupling or a potential difference between the two film surfaces. This spin accumulation results from the breaking of the antisymmetry of the spin accumulation around the k-space equal-energy contours.

Hydrothermal Barium Titanate Thin-Film Characteristics and their Suitability as Decoupling Capacitors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Raj, P. Markondeya; Lee, Baik-Woo; Kang, Nam-Kee

System integration and miniaturization demands are driving integrated thin film capacitor technologies towards ultrahigh capacitance densities for noise-free power supply, power conversion and efficient power management. Hydrothermal route can deposit crystalline ferroelectric films at low temperatures of less than 150 C. It is hence an attractive route for integrating high permittivity thin film capacitors on organic, silicon or flex substrates. However, hydrothermal films are not commercialized so far because of their inferior insulation characteristics. Embedded hydroxyl groups are attributed to be the cause for high leakage currents, temperature dependent properties and lower Breakdown Voltages (BDVs). This paper discusses the dielectricmore » characteristics such as capacitance density, leakage currents and Temperature Coefficient of Capacitance (TCC) of hydrothermal barium titanate films and correlates them to the embedded water and OH groups, film morphology, stoichiometry and crystallinity. With thermal treatment, majority of the OH groups can be removed leading to improved insulation characteristics. The room temperature I-V characteristics agreed with ionic conduction models for films baked at 160 C while higher baking temperatures of above 300 C resulted in Poole-Frenkel type conduction. A brief perspective is provided on the suitability of hydrothermal thin film capacitors for power supply applications.« less

Nanoparticle Thin Films for Gas Sensors Prepared by Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation

PubMed Central

Caricato, Anna Paola; Luches, Armando; Rella, Roberto

2009-01-01

The matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) technique has been used for the deposition of metal dioxide (TiO2, SnO2) nanoparticle thin films for gas sensor applications. For this purpose, colloidal metal dioxide nanoparticles were diluted in volatile solvents, the solution was frozen at the liquid nitrogen temperature and irradiated with a pulsed excimer laser. The dioxide nanoparticles were deposited on Si and Al2O3 substrates. A rather uniform distribution of TiO2 nanoparticles with an average size of about 10 nm and of SnO2 nanoparticles with an average size of about 3 nm was obtained, as demonstrated by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM-FEG) inspections. Gas-sensing devices based on the resistive transduction mechanism were fabricated by depositing the nanoparticle thin films onto suitable rough alumina substrates equipped with interdigitated electrical contacts and heating elements. Electrical characterization measurements were carried out in controlled environment. The results of the gas-sensing tests towards low concentrations of ethanol and acetone vapors are reported. Typical gas sensor parameters (gas responses, response/recovery time, sensitivity, and low detection limit) towards ethanol and acetone are presented. PMID:22574039

Nanoparticle thin films for gas sensors prepared by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation.

PubMed

Caricato, Anna Paola; Luches, Armando; Rella, Roberto

2009-01-01

The matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) technique has been used for the deposition of metal dioxide (TiO(2), SnO(2)) nanoparticle thin films for gas sensor applications. For this purpose, colloidal metal dioxide nanoparticles were diluted in volatile solvents, the solution was frozen at the liquid nitrogen temperature and irradiated with a pulsed excimer laser. The dioxide nanoparticles were deposited on Si and Al(2)O(3) substrates. A rather uniform distribution of TiO(2) nanoparticles with an average size of about 10 nm and of SnO(2) nanoparticles with an average size of about 3 nm was obtained, as demonstrated by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM-FEG) inspections. Gas-sensing devices based on the resistive transduction mechanism were fabricated by depositing the nanoparticle thin films onto suitable rough alumina substrates equipped with interdigitated electrical contacts and heating elements. Electrical characterization measurements were carried out in controlled environment. The results of the gas-sensing tests towards low concentrations of ethanol and acetone vapors are reported. Typical gas sensor parameters (gas responses, response/recovery time, sensitivity, and low detection limit) towards ethanol and acetone are presented.

Gate insulator effects on the electrical performance of ZnO thin film transistor on a polyethersulphone substrate.

PubMed

Lee, Jae-Kyu; Choi, Duck-Kyun

2012-07-01

Low temperature processing for fabrication of transistor backplane is a cost effective solution while fabrication on a flexible substrate offers a new opportunity in display business. Combination of both merits is evaluated in this investigation. In this study, the ZnO thin film transistor on a flexible Polyethersulphone (PES) substrate is fabricated using RF magnetron sputtering. Since the selection and design of compatible gate insulator is another important issue to improve the electrical properties of ZnO TFT, we have evaluated three gate insulator candidates; SiO2, SiNx and SiO2/SiNx. The SiO2 passivation on both sides of PES substrate prior to the deposition of ZnO layer was effective to enhance the mechanical and thermal stability. Among the fabricated devices, ZnO TFT employing SiNx/SiO2 stacked gate exhibited the best performance. The device parameters of interest are extracted and the on/off current ratio, field effect mobility, threshold voltage and subthreshold swing are 10(7), 22 cm2/Vs, 1.7 V and 0.4 V/decade, respectively.

The USML-1 wire insulation flammability glovebox experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenberg, Paul S.; Sacksteder, Kurt R.; Kashiwagi, Takashi

1995-01-01

Flame spreading tests have been conducted using thin fuels in microgravity where buoyant convection is suppressed. In spacecraft experiments flames were ignited in quiescent atmospheres with an elevated oxygen content, demonstrating that diffusional mechanisms can be sufficient alone to sustain flame spreading. In ground-based facilities (i.e. drop towers and parabolic aircraft) low-speed convection sustains flames at much lower concentrations of atmospheric oxygen than in quiescent microgravity. Ground-based experiments are limited to very thin fuels (e.g., tissue paper); practical fuels, which are thicker, require more test time than is available. The Glovebox Facility provided for the USML 1 mission provided an opportunity to obtain flame spreading data for thicker fuel Herein we report the results from the Wire Insulation Flammability (WIF) Experiment performed in the Glovebox Facility. This experiment explored the heating, ignition and burning of 0.65 mm thick polyethylene wire insulation in low-speed flows in a reduced gravity environment. Four tests were conducted, two each in concurrent flow (WIF A and C) and opposed flow (WIF B and D), providing the first demonstration of flame spreading in controlled forced convection conducted in space.

Epitaxy, strain, and composition effects on metal-insulator transition characteristics of SmNiO{sub 3} thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aydogdu, Gulgun H.; Ha, Sieu D.; Viswanath, B.

SmNiO{sub 3} (SNO) thin films were deposited on LaAlO{sub 3} (LAO), SrTiO{sub 3}, SrLaAlO{sub 4}, Si, and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (sapphire) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering and studies were conducted to understand how film structure and composition influence the insulator-metal transition properties. It is observed that the compressive strain induces the insulator to metal transition (MIT), while tensile strain suppresses it. In the case of non-epitaxial films, semiconducting behavior is obtained on sapphire over a broad temperature range, while on heavily-doped Si substrate; an MIT is seen in out-of-plane resistance measurement. In addition, thickness dependence on the resistance behavior andmore » nickel oxidation state has been examined for epitaxial SNO films on LAO substrates. Fine control of the MIT by modifications to the mismatch strain and thickness provides insights to enhance the performance and the functionality of these films for emerging electron devices.« less

Surface Structure and Photocatalytic Activity of Nano-TiO2 Thin Film

EPA Science Inventory

Controlled titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films were deposited on stainless steel surfaces using flame aerosol synthetic technique, which is a one-step coating process, that doesn’t require further calcination. Solid state characterization of the coatings was conducted by different...

Maximizing performance in supercritical fluid chromatography using low-density mobile phases.

PubMed

Gritti, Fabrice; Fogwill, Michael; Gilar, Martin; Jarrell, Joseph A

2016-10-14

The performance of a 3.0mm×150mm column packed with 1.8μm fully porous HSS-SB-C 18 particles was investigated in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with low-density, highly expansible carbon dioxide. These conditions are selected for the analysis of semi-volatile compounds. Elevated temperatures (>100°C) were then combined with low column back pressures (<100bar). In this work, the inlet temperature of pure carbon dioxide was set at 107°C, the active back pressure regulator (ABPR) pressure was fixed at 100bar, and the flow rate was set at 2.1mL/min at 12°C (liquefied carbon dioxide) and at an inlet column pressure close to 300bar. Nine n-alkylbenzenes (from benzene to octadecylbenzene) were injected under linear (no sample overload) conditions. The severe steepness of the temperature gradients across the column diameter were predicted from a simplified heat transfer model. Such conditions dramatically lower the column performance by affecting the symmetry of the peak shape. In order to cope with this problem, three different approaches were experimentally tested. They include (1) the decoupling and the proper selection of the inlet eluent temperature with respect to the oven temperature, (2) the partial thermal insulation of the column using polyethylene aerogel, and (3) the application of a high vacuum (10 -5 Torr provided by a turbo-molecular pump) in a housing chamber surrounding the whole column body. The results reveal that (1) the column efficiency can be maximized by properly selecting the difference between the eluent and the oven temperatures, (2) the mere wrapping of the column with an excellent insulating material is insufficient to fully eliminate heat exchanges by conduction and the undesirable radial density gradients across the column i.d., and (3) the complete thermal insulation of the SFC column under high vacuum allows to maximize the column efficiency by maintaining the integrity of the peak shape. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nanotextured phase coexistence in the correlated insulator V2O3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLeod, Alexander

The Mott insulator-metal transition remains among the most studied phenomena in correlated electron physics. However, the formation of spontaneous spatial patterns amidst coexisting insulating and metallic phases remains poorly explored on the meso- and nanoscales. Here we present real-space evolution of the insulator-metal transition in a thin film of V2O3, the ``canonical'' Mott insulator, imaged at high spatial resolution by cryogenic near-field infrared microscopy. We resolve spontaneously nanotextured coexistence of metal and correlated Mott insulator phases near the insulator-metal transition (T = 160-180 K) associated with percolation and an underlying structural phase transition. Augmented with macroscopic temperature-resolved X-ray diffraction measurements of the same film, a quantitative analysis of nano-infrared images acquired across the transition suggests decoupling of electronic and structural transformations. Persistent low-temperature metallicity is accompanied by unconventional dimensional scaling among metallic ``puddles,'' implicating relevance of a long-range Coulombic interaction through the film's first-order insulator-metal transition. The speaker and co-authors acknowledge support from DOE-DE-SC0012375, DOE-DE-SC0012592, and AFOSR Grant No. FA9550-12-1-0381. The speaker also acknowledges support from a US Dept. of Energy Office of Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE SCGF).

Disorder-induced inhomogeneities of the superconducting state close to the superconductor-insulator transition.

PubMed

Sacépé, B; Chapelier, C; Baturina, T I; Vinokur, V M; Baklanov, M R; Sanquer, M

2008-10-10

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy at very low temperatures on homogeneously disordered superconducting titanium nitride thin films reveals strong spatial inhomogeneities of the superconducting gap Delta in the density of states. Upon increasing disorder, we observe suppression of the superconducting critical temperature Tc towards zero, enhancement of spatial fluctuations in Delta, and growth of the Delta/Tc ratio. These findings suggest that local superconductivity survives across the disorder-driven superconductor-insulator transition.

Experimental study of thermocapillary flows in a thin liquid layer with heat fluxes imposed on the free surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lai, Chun-Liang; Greenberg, Paul S.; Chai, An-Ti

1988-01-01

To study thermocapillary flows in a two-dimensional thin liquid layer with heat fluxes imposed on the free surface experimentally, a long tray configuration was employed to simulate the infinite layer. The surface temperature distribution due to thermocapillary convective for different flow regimes was measured and compared with theoretical predictions. A short tray configuration was also employed to study the end wall effects (insulating or conducting). The results show that for a strong convection flow with an insulating wall as the boundary the surface temperature distribution became quite uniform. Consequently, the thermocapillary driving force was greatly reduced. On the other hand, a strong fluid motion always existed adjacent to the conducting wall because of the large surface temperature gradient near the wall.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, Yong; Pan, Xuan; Bernussi, Ayrton A.

We demonstrate that catalyst-assisted hydrogen spillover doping of VO{sub 2} thin films significantly alters the metal-insulator transition characteristics and stabilizes the metallic rutile phase at room temperature. With hydrogen inserted into the VO{sub 2} lattice, high resolution X-ray diffraction reveals expansion of the V-V chain separation when compared to the VO{sub 2}(R) phase. The donated free electrons, possibly from O-H bond formation, stabilize the VO{sub 2}(R) to low temperatures. By controlling the amount of dopants to obtain mixed insulating and metallic phases, VO{sub 2} resistivity can be continuously tuned until a critical condition is achieved that suppresses Fabry-Perot resonances. Ourmore » results demonstrate that hydrogen spillover is an effective technique to tune the electrical and optical properties of VO{sub 2} thin films.« less

Thermally tunable VO2-SiO2 nanocomposite thin-film capacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yifei; Narayanachari, K. V. L. V.; Wan, Chenghao; Sun, Xing; Wang, Haiyan; Cooley, Kayla A.; Mohney, Suzanne E.; White, Doug; Duwel, Amy; Kats, Mikhail A.; Ramanathan, Shriram

2018-03-01

We present a study of co-sputtered VO2-SiO2 nanocomposite dielectric thin-film media possessing continuous temperature tunability of the dielectric constant. The smooth thermal tunability is a result of the insulator-metal transition in the VO2 inclusions dispersed within an insulating matrix. We present a detailed comparison of the dielectric characteristics of this nanocomposite with those of a VO2 control layer and of VO2/SiO2 laminate multilayers of comparable overall thickness. We demonstrated a nanocomposite capacitor that has a thermal capacitance tunability of ˜60% between 25 °C and 100 °C at 1 MHz, with low leakage current. Such thermally tunable capacitors could find potential use in applications such as sensing, thermal cloaks, and phase-change energy storage devices.

Infrared studies of topological insulator systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Post, Kirk; Chapler, Brian; Schafgans, Alex; Liu, Mengkun; Wu, Jih-Sheng; Richardella, Anthony; Lee, Joon Sue; Reijnders, Anjan; Lee, Yun Sang; He, Liang; Kou, Xufeng; Novak, Mario; Taskin, Alexey; Segawa, Kouji; Goldflam, Michael; Stinson, H. Theodore; Qi, Xiao Liang; Burch, Kenneth; Wang, Kang; Fogler, Michael; Samarth, Nitin; Ando, Yoichi; Basov, Dimitri

The theoretical prediction, and subsequent experimental realization, of topological insulator (TI) systems, has vaulted this new class of materials to the vanguard of condensed matter physics. Since their discovery, we have carried out a number of infrared studies on various TI systems, including Bi2Se3, Bi1-xSbx, and Bi2-xSbxTe3-ySey crystals as well as Bi2Se3 and (Bi,Sb)2Te3 thin films. A key element of these works is the revelation that the infrared response of Bi1-xSbx crystals and (Bi,Sb)2Te3 thin films possess a significant, or even dominant, component from the topologically protected surface states. I will review these works and discuss future prospects of measuring the surface state response through optical spectroscopy techniques

High temperature insulation materials for reradiative thermal protection systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, T. A.

1972-01-01

Results are presented of a two year program to evaluate packaged thermal insulations for use under a metallic radiative TPS of a shuttle orbiter vehicle. Evaluations demonstrated their survival for up to 100 mission reuse cycles under shuttle acoustic and thermal loads with peak temperatures of 1000 F, 1800 F, 2000 F, 2200 F and 2500 F. The specimens were composed of low density refractory fiber felts, packaged in thin gage metal foils. In addition, studies were conducted on the venting requirements of the packages, salt spray resistance of the metal foils, and the thermal conductivity of many of the insulations as a function of temperature and ambient air pressure. Data is also presented on the radiant energy transport through insulations, and back-scattering coefficients were experimentally determined as a function of source temperature.

Conformally encapsulated multi-electrode arrays with seamless insulation

DOEpatents

Tabada, Phillipe J.; Shah, Kedar G.; Tolosa, Vanessa; Pannu, Satinderall S.; Tooker, Angela; Delima, Terri; Sheth, Heeral; Felix, Sarah

2016-11-22

Thin-film multi-electrode arrays (MEA) having one or more electrically conductive beams conformally encapsulated in a seamless block of electrically insulating material, and methods of fabricating such MEAs using reproducible, microfabrication processes. One or more electrically conductive traces are formed on scaffold material that is subsequently removed to suspend the traces over a substrate by support portions of the trace beam in contact with the substrate. By encapsulating the suspended traces, either individually or together, with a single continuous layer of an electrically insulating material, a seamless block of electrically insulating material is formed that conforms to the shape of the trace beam structure, including any trace backings which provide suspension support. Electrical contacts, electrodes, or leads of the traces are exposed from the encapsulated trace beam structure by removing the substrate.

Thermal-mechanical properties of epoxy-impregnated Bi-2212/Ag composite

DOE PAGES

Li, Pei; Wang, Yang; Fermi National Accelerator Lab.; ...

2014-11-26

In this study, knowledge of the thermal-mechanical properties of epoxy/superconductor/insulation composite is important for designing, fabricating, and operating epoxy impregnated high field superconducting magnets near their ultimate potentials. We report measurements of the modulus of elasticity, Poisson's ratio, and the coefficient of thermal contraction of epoxy-impregnated composite made from the state-of-the-art powder-in-tube multifilamentary Ag/Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O x round wire at room temperature and cryogenic temperatures. Stress-strain curves of samples made from single-strand and Rutherford cables were tested under both monotonic and cyclic compressive loads, with single strands insulated using a thin TiO 2 insulation coating and the Rutherford cablemore » insulated with a braided ceramic sleeve.« less

Hafnia-based resistive switching devices for non-volatile memory applications and effects of gamma irradiation on device performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arun, N.; Kumar, K. Vinod; Pathak, A. P.; Avasthi, D. K.; Nageswara Rao, S. V. S.

2018-04-01

Non-volatile memory (NVM) devices were fabricated as a Metal- Insulator-Metal (MIM) structures by sandwiching Hafnium dioxide (HfO2) thin film in between two metal electrodes. The top and bottom metal electrodes were deposited by using the thermal evaporation, and the oxide layer was deposited by using the RF magnetron sputtering technique. The Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) device structures such as Ag/HfO2/Au/Si were fabricated and I-V characteristics for the pristine and gamma-irradiated devices with a dose 24 kGy were measured. Further we have studied the thermal annealing effects, in the range of 100°-400°C in a tubular furnace for the HfO2/Au/Si samples. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS), field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis measurements were performed to determine the thickness, crystallinity and stoichiometry of these films. The electrical characteristics such as resistive switching, endurance, retention time and switching speed were measured by a semiconductor device analyser. The effects of gamma irradiation on the switching properties of these RRAM devices have been studied.

Martian Atmospheric Pressure Static Charge Elimination Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johansen, Michael R.

2014-01-01

A Martian pressure static charge elimination tool is currently in development in the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. In standard Earth atmosphere conditions, static charge can be neutralized from an insulating surface using air ionizers. These air ionizers generate ions through corona breakdown. The Martian atmosphere is 7 Torr of mostly carbon dioxide, which makes it inherently difficult to use similar methods as those used for standard atmosphere static elimination tools. An initial prototype has been developed to show feasibility of static charge elimination at low pressure, using corona discharge. A needle point and thin wire loop are used as the corona generating electrodes. A photo of the test apparatus is shown below. Positive and negative high voltage pulses are sent to the needle point. This creates positive and negative ions that can be used for static charge neutralization. In a preliminary test, a floating metal plate was charged to approximately 600 volts under Martian atmospheric conditions. The static elimination tool was enabled and the voltage on the metal plate dropped rapidly to -100 volts. This test data is displayed below. Optimization is necessary to improve the electrostatic balance of the static elimination tool.

Magnetically insulated transmission line oscillator

DOEpatents

Bacon, Larry D.; Ballard, William P.; Clark, M. Collins; Marder, Barry M.

1988-01-01

A magnetically insulated transmission line oscillator employs self-generated magnetic fields to generate microwave energy. An anode of the oscillator includes slow-wave structures which are formed of a plurality of thin conductive vanes defining cavities therebetween, and a gap is formed between the anode and a cathode of the oscillator. In response to a pulsed voltage applied to the anode and cathode, self-generated magnetic fields arfe produced in a cross-field orientation with respect to the orientation of the electric field between the anode and the cathode. The cross-field magnetic fields insulate the flow of electrons in the gap and confine the flow of electrons within the gap.

Magnetically insulated transmission line oscillator

DOEpatents

Bacon, L.D.; Ballard, W.P.; Clark, M.C.; Marder, B.M.

1987-05-19

A magnetically insulated transmission line oscillator employs self-generated magnetic fields to generate microwave energy. An anode of the oscillator includes slow-wave structures which are formed of a plurality of thin conductive vanes defining cavities therebetween, and a gap is formed between the anode and a cathode of the oscillator. In response to a pulsed voltage applied to the anode and cathode, self-generated magnetic fields are produced in a cross-field orientation with respect to the orientation of the electric field between the anode and the cathode. The cross-field magnetic fields insulate the flow of electrons in the gap and confine the flow of electrons within the gap. 11 figs.

Probing the intrinsic charge transport in indacenodithiophene-co-benzothiadiazole thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wenhe; Tang, Wei; Zhao, Jiaqing; Bao, Bei; Xing, Hui; Guo, Xiaojun; Wang, Shun; Liu, Ying

2017-12-01

Indacenodithiophene-co-benzothiadiazole (IDTBT) belongs to a class of donor-acceptor polymers, exhibiting high electronic mobility and low energetic disorder. Applying vacuum as dielectric enables us to investigate the intrinsic charge transport properties in IDTBT. Vacuum-gap IDTBT field-effect transistors (FET) show high mobilites approaching 1 cm2V-1s-1. In addition, with increasing dielectric constant of the gate insulators, the mobilites of IDTBT transistors first increase and then decrease. The reason could be attributed to effect of both charge carrier accumulation and the presence of dipolar disorder at the semiconductor/insulator interface induced by polar insulator layer.

Packing C60 in Boron Nitride Nanotubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mickelson, W.; Aloni, S.; Han, Wei-Qiang; Cumings, John; Zettl, A.

2003-04-01

We have created insulated C60 nanowire by packing C60 molecules into the interior of insulating boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). For small-diameter BNNTs, the wire consists of a linear chain of C60 molecules. With increasing BNNT inner diameter, unusual C60 stacking configurations are obtained (including helical, hollow core, and incommensurate) that are unknown for bulk or thin-film forms of C60. C60 in BNNTs thus presents a model system for studying the properties of dimensionally constrained ``silo'' crystal structures. For the linear-chain case, we have fused the C60 molecules to form a single-walled carbon nanotube inside the insulating BNNT.

Enzymatically active high-flux selectively gas-permeable membranes

DOEpatents

Jiang, Ying-Bing; Cecchi, Joseph L.; Rempe, Susan; FU, Yaqin; Brinker, C. Jeffrey

2016-01-26

An ultra-thin, catalyzed liquid transport medium-based membrane structure fabricated with a porous supporting substrate may be used for separating an object species such as a carbon dioxide object species. Carbon dioxide flux through this membrane structures may be several orders of magnitude higher than traditional polymer membranes with a high selectivity to carbon dioxide. Other gases such as molecular oxygen, molecular hydrogen, and other species including non-gaseous species, for example ionic materials, may be separated using variations to the membrane discussed.

Vertical integration of high-Q silicon nitride microresonators into silicon-on-insulator platform.

PubMed

Li, Qing; Eftekhar, Ali A; Sodagar, Majid; Xia, Zhixuan; Atabaki, Amir H; Adibi, Ali

2013-07-29

We demonstrate a vertical integration of high-Q silicon nitride microresonators into the silicon-on-insulator platform for applications at the telecommunication wavelengths. Low-loss silicon nitride films with a thickness of 400 nm are successfully grown, enabling compact silicon nitride microresonators with ultra-high intrinsic Qs (~ 6 × 10(6) for 60 μm radius and ~ 2 × 10(7) for 240 μm radius). The coupling between the silicon nitride microresonator and the underneath silicon waveguide is based on evanescent coupling with silicon dioxide as buffer. Selective coupling to a desired radial mode of the silicon nitride microresonator is also achievable using a pulley coupling scheme. In this work, a 60-μm-radius silicon nitride microresonator has been successfully integrated into the silicon-on-insulator platform, showing a single-mode operation with an intrinsic Q of 2 × 10(6).

Pressure, temperature and density drops along supercritical fluid chromatography columns in different thermal environments. III. Mixtures of carbon dioxide and methanol as the mobile phase.

PubMed

Poe, Donald P; Veit, Devon; Ranger, Megan; Kaczmarski, Krzysztof; Tarafder, Abhijit; Guiochon, Georges

2014-01-03

The pressure, temperature and density drops along SFC columns eluted with a CO2/methanol mobile phase were measured and compared with theoretical values. For columns packed with 3- and 5-μm particles the pressure and temperature drops were measured using a mobile phase of 95% CO2 and 5% methanol at a flow rate of 5mL/min, at temperatures from 20 to 100°C, and outlet pressures from 80 to 300bar. The density drop was calculated based on the temperature and pressure at the column inlet and outlet. The columns were suspended in a circulating air bath, either bare or covered with foam insulation. The experimental measurements were compared to theoretical results obtained by numerical simulation. For the convective air condition at outlet pressures above 100bar the average difference between the experimental and calculated temperature drops and pressure drops were 0.1°C and 0.7% for the bare 3-μm column, respectively, and were 0.6°C and 4.1% for the insulated column. The observed temperature drops for the insulated columns are consistent with those predicted by the Joule-Thomson coefficients for isenthalpic expansion. The dependence of the temperature and the pressure drops on the Joule-Thomson coefficient and kinematic viscosity are described for carbon dioxide mobile phases containing up to 20% methanol. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Vanadium dioxide based frequency tunable metasurface filters for realizing reconfigurable terahertz optical phase and polarization control.

PubMed

Nouman, M Tayyab; Hwang, Ji Hyun; Faiyaz, Mohd; Lee, Kye-Jeong; Noh, Do-Young; Jang, Jae-Hyung

2018-05-14

Metasurfaces are two dimensional arrays of artificial subwavelength resonators, which can manipulate the amplitude and phase profile of incident electromagnetic fields. To date, limited progress has been achieved in realizing reconfigurable phase control of incident waves using metasurfaces. Here, an active metasurface is presented, whose resonance frequency can be tuned by employing insulator to metal transition in vanadium dioxide. By virtue of the phase jump accompanied by the resonance frequency tuning, the proposed metasurface acts as a phase shifter at THz frequency. It is further demonstrated that by appropriately tailoring the anisotropy of the metasurface, the observed phase shift can be used to switch the transmitted polarization from circular to approximately linear. This work thus shows potential for reconfigurable phase and polarization control at THz frequencies using vanadium dioxide based frequency tunable metasurfaces.

Origins of enhanced thermoelectric power factor in topologically insulating Bi{sub 0.64}Sb{sub 1.36}Te{sub 3} thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Wei; State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070; Chi, Hang

2016-01-25

In this research, we report the enhanced thermoelectric power factor in topologically insulating thin films of Bi{sub 0.64}Sb{sub 1.36}Te{sub 3} with a thickness of 6–200 nm. Measurements of scanning tunneling spectroscopy and electronic transport show that the Fermi level lies close to the valence band edge, and that the topological surface state (TSS) is electron dominated. We find that the Seebeck coefficient of the 6 nm and 15 nm thick films is dominated by the valence band, while the TSS chiefly contributes to the electrical conductivity. In contrast, the electronic transport of the reference 200 nm thick film behaves similar to bulk thermoelectric materialsmore » with low carrier concentration, implying the effect of the TSS on the electronic transport is merely prominent in the thin region. The conductivity of the 6 nm and 15 nm thick film is obviously higher than that in the 200 nm thick film owing to the highly mobile TSS conduction channel. As a consequence of the enhanced electrical conductivity and the suppressed bipolar effect in transport properties for the 6 nm thick film, an impressive power factor of about 2.0 mW m{sup −1} K{sup −2} is achieved at room temperature for this film. Further investigations of the electronic transport properties of TSS and interactions between TSS and the bulk band might result in a further improved thermoelectric power factor in topologically insulating Bi{sub 0.64}Sb{sub 1.36}Te{sub 3} thin films.« less

Thermoelectric needle probe for temperature measurements in biological materials.

PubMed

Korn, U; Rav-Noy, Z; Shtrikman, S; Zafrir, M

1980-04-01

In certain biological and medical applications it is important to measure and follow temperature changes inside a body or tissue. Any probe inserted into a tissue causes damage to tissue and distortion to the initial temperature distribution. To minimize this interference, a fine probe is needed. Thus, thin film technology is advantageous and was utilized by us to produce sensitive probes for these applications. The resulting probe is a small thermocouple at the tip of a thin needle (acupuncture stainless steel needle, approximately 0.26 mm in diameter and length in the range 5-10 cm was used). The junction was produced at the needle's tip by coating the needle with thin layers of insulating and thermoelectric materials. The first layer is an insulating one and is composed of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polymide produced by plasma polymerization and dip-coating respectively. This layer covers all the needle except the tip. The second layer is a vacuum deposited thermoelectric thin layer of Bi-5% Sb alloy coating also the tip. The third layer is for insulation and protection and is composed of PAN and polyimide. In this arrangement the junction is at the needle's tip, the needle is one conductor, the thermoelectric layer is the other and they are isolated by the plastic layer. The probe is handy and mechanically sturdy. The sensitivity is typically 77 microV/degrees C at room temperature and is constant to within 2% up to 90 degrees C. The response is fast (less than 1 sec) the noise is small, (less than 0.05 degrees C) and because of the small dimension, damage to tissue and disturbance to the measured temperature field are minimal.

METHOD OF FORMING A FUEL ELEMENT FOR A NUCLEAR REACTOR

DOEpatents

Layer, E.H. Jr.; Peet, C.S.

1962-01-23

A method is given for preparing a fuel element for a nuclear reactor. The method includes the steps of sandblasting a body of uranium dioxide to roughen the surface thereof, depositing a thin layer of carbon thereon by thermal decomposition of methane, and cladding the uranium dioxide body with zirconium by gas pressure bonding. (AEC)

Domain switching kinetics in ferroelectric-resistive BiFeO3 thin film memories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Jianwei; Jiang, Jun; Geng, Wenping; Chen, Zhihui; Zhang, Wei; Jiang, Anquan

2015-02-01

We fabricated (00l) BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films in different growth modes on SrRuO3/SrTiO3 substrates using a pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction patterns show an out-of-plane lattice constant of 4.03 Å and ferroelectric polarization of 82 µC/cm2 for the BFO thin film in a layer-by-layer growth mode (2D-BFO), larger than 3.96 Å and 51 µC/cm2 for the thin film in the 3D-island formation growth mode (3D-BFO). The 2D-BFO thin film at 300 K shows switchable on/off diode currents upon polarization flipping near a negative coercive voltage, which is nevertheless absent from the above 3D-BFO thin film. From a positive-up-negative-down pulse characterization technique, we measured domain switching current transients as well as polarization-voltage (Pf-Vf) hysteresis loops in both semiconducting thin films. Pf-Vf hysteresis loops after 1 µs-retention time show the preferred domain orientation pointing to bottom electrodes in a 3D-BFO thin film. The poor retention of the domains pointing to top electrodes can be improved considerably in a 2D-BFO thin film. From these measurements, we extracted domain switching time dependence of coercive voltage at temperatures of 78-300 K. From these dependences, we found coercive voltages in semiconducting ferroelectric thin films much higher than those in insulating thin films, disobeying the traditional Merz equation. Finally, an equivalent resistance model in description of free-carrier compensation of the front domain boundary charge is developed to interpret this difference. This equivalent resistance can be coincidently extracted either from domain switching time dependence of coercive voltage or from applied voltage dependence of domain switching current, which drops almost linearly with the temperature until down to 0 in a ferroelectric insulator at 78 K.

Metal insulator transitions in perovskite SrIrO{sub 3} thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biswas, Abhijit; Jeong, Yoon Hee, E-mail: yhj@postech.ac.kr; Kim, Ki-Seok

Understanding of metal insulator transitions in a strongly correlated system, driven by Anderson localization (disorder) and/or Mott localization (correlation), is a long standing problem in condensed matter physics. The prevailing fundamental question would be how these two mechanisms contrive to accomplish emergent anomalous behaviors. Here, we have grown high quality perovskite SrIrO{sub 3} thin films, containing a strong spin orbit coupled 5d element Ir, on various substrates such as GdScO{sub 3} (110), DyScO{sub 3} (110), SrTiO{sub 3} (001), and NdGaO{sub 3} (110) with increasing lattice mismatch, in order to carry out a systematic study on the transport properties. We foundmore » that metal insulator transitions can be induced in this system; by either reducing thickness (on best lattice matched substrate) or changing degree of lattice strain (by lattice mismatch between film and substrates) of films. Surprisingly these two pathways seek two distinct types of metal insulator transitions; the former falls into disorder driven Anderson type whereas the latter turns out to be of unconventional Mott-Anderson type with the interplay of disorder and correlation. More interestingly, in the metallic phases of SrIrO{sub 3}, unusual non-Fermi liquid characteristics emerge in resistivity as Δρ ∝ T{sup ε} with ε evolving from 4/5 to 1 to 3/2 with increasing lattice strain. We discuss theoretical implications of these phenomena to shed light on the metal insulator transitions.« less

Flexible Thin Metal Film Thermal Sensing System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomsen, Donald Laurence (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A flexible thin metal film thermal sensing system is provided. A thermally-conductive film made from a thermally-insulating material is doped with thermally-conductive material. At least one layer of electrically-conductive metal is deposited directly onto a surface of the thermally-conductive film. One or more devices are coupled to the layer(s) to measure an electrical characteristic associated therewith as an indication of temperature.

Heat Transfer in the LCCM Thermal Reserve Battery

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-01

and Molded Sheet 3M Corporation, Elkhart IN 46516 Microtherm Sheet Microtherm Inc., Alcoa TN 37701 AR5401 Flexible Blanket Aspen Aerogels, Inc...heated Microtherm side wall and axial thermal insulation 90.9 GPS9I 04/27/07 All batteries after GPS9H used six silicone rubber gaskets to form...pressure before ignition. Thin Microtherm side wrap next to cell stack. No pre- compression of any side wall insulation or side wall heat paper (– 40

Influence of Strain on Thermal Conductivity of Silicon Nitride Thin Films

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-02

free path of amorphous materials is of the same order as the structural disorder [46], rendering thermal conductivity size independent. Here, the phases...16] Manninen A J, Leivo M M and Pekola J P 1997 Refrigeration of a dielectric membrane by superconductor /insulator/ normal-metal/insulator... superconductor tunneling Appl. Phys. Lett. 70 1885–7 [17] Olson E A et al 2003 The design and operation of a MEMS differential scanning nanocalorimeter for high

Metal-insulator transition in CaVO3 thin films: Interplay between epitaxial strain, dimensional confinement, and surface effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beck, Sophie; Sclauzero, Gabriele; Chopra, Uday; Ederer, Claude

2018-02-01

We use density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory (DFT+DMFT) to study multiple control parameters for tuning the metal-insulator transition (MIT) in CaVO3 thin films. We focus on separating the effects resulting from substrate-induced epitaxial strain from those related to the reduced thickness of the film. We show that tensile epitaxial strain of around 3%-4% is sufficient to induce a transition to a paramagnetic Mott-insulating phase. This corresponds to the level of strain that could be achieved on a SrTiO3 substrate. Using free-standing slab models, we then demonstrate that reduced film thickness can also cause a MIT in CaVO3, however, only for thicknesses of less than 4 perovskite units. Our calculations indicate that the MIT in such ultrathin films results mainly from a surface-induced crystal-field splitting between the t2 g orbitals, favoring the formation of an orbitally polarized Mott insulator. This surface-induced crystal-field splitting is of the same type as the one resulting from tensile epitaxial strain, and thus the two effects can also cooperate. Furthermore, our calculations confirm an enhancement of correlation effects at the film surface, resulting in a reduced quasiparticle spectral weight in the outermost layer, whereas bulklike properties are recovered within only a few layers away from the surface.

Dilute electrodeposition of TiO2 and ZnO thin film memristors on Cu substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fauzi, F. B.; Ani, M. H.; Herman, S. H.; Mohamed, M. A.

2018-03-01

Memristor has become one of the alternatives to replace the current memory technologies. Fabrication of titanium dioxide, TiO2 memristor has been extensively studied by using various deposition methods. However, recently more researches have been done to explore the compatibility of other transition metal oxide, TMO such as zinc oxide, ZnO to be used as the active layer of the memristor. This paper highlights the simple and easy-control electrodeposition to deposit titanium, Ti and zinc, Zn thin film at room temperature and subsequent thermal oxidation at 600 °C. Gold, Au was then sputtered as top electrode to create metal-insulator-metal, MIM sandwich of Au/TiO2-Cu2O-CuO/Cu and Au/ZnO-Cu2O-CuO/Cu memristors. The structural, morphological and memristive properties were characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, FESEM, X-Ray Diffraction, XRD and current-voltage, I-V measurement. Both Au/TiO2-Cu2O-CuO/Cu and Au/ZnO-Cu2O-CuO/Cu memristivity were identified by the pinched hysteresis loop with resistive ratio of 1.2 and 1.08 respectively. Empirical study on diffusivity of Ti4+, Zn2+ and O2‑ ions in both metal oxides show that the metal vacancies were formed, thus giving rise to its memristivity. The electrodeposited Au/TiO2-Cu2O-CuO/Cu and Au/ZnO-Cu2O-CuO/Cu memristors demonstrate comparable performances to previous studies using other methods.

A steep-slope transistor based on abrupt electronic phase transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukla, Nikhil; Thathachary, Arun V.; Agrawal, Ashish; Paik, Hanjong; Aziz, Ahmedullah; Schlom, Darrell G.; Gupta, Sumeet Kumar; Engel-Herbert, Roman; Datta, Suman

2015-08-01

Collective interactions in functional materials can enable novel macroscopic properties like insulator-to-metal transitions. While implementing such materials into field-effect-transistor technology can potentially augment current state-of-the-art devices by providing unique routes to overcome their conventional limits, attempts to harness the insulator-to-metal transition for high-performance transistors have experienced little success. Here, we demonstrate a pathway for harnessing the abrupt resistivity transformation across the insulator-to-metal transition in vanadium dioxide (VO2), to design a hybrid-phase-transition field-effect transistor that exhibits gate controlled steep (`sub-kT/q') and reversible switching at room temperature. The transistor design, wherein VO2 is implemented in series with the field-effect transistor's source rather than into the channel, exploits negative differential resistance induced across the VO2 to create an internal amplifier that facilitates enhanced performance over a conventional field-effect transistor. Our approach enables low-voltage complementary n-type and p-type transistor operation as demonstrated here, and is applicable to other insulator-to-metal transition materials, offering tantalizing possibilities for energy-efficient logic and memory applications.

A steep-slope transistor based on abrupt electronic phase transition.

PubMed

Shukla, Nikhil; Thathachary, Arun V; Agrawal, Ashish; Paik, Hanjong; Aziz, Ahmedullah; Schlom, Darrell G; Gupta, Sumeet Kumar; Engel-Herbert, Roman; Datta, Suman

2015-08-07

Collective interactions in functional materials can enable novel macroscopic properties like insulator-to-metal transitions. While implementing such materials into field-effect-transistor technology can potentially augment current state-of-the-art devices by providing unique routes to overcome their conventional limits, attempts to harness the insulator-to-metal transition for high-performance transistors have experienced little success. Here, we demonstrate a pathway for harnessing the abrupt resistivity transformation across the insulator-to-metal transition in vanadium dioxide (VO2), to design a hybrid-phase-transition field-effect transistor that exhibits gate controlled steep ('sub-kT/q') and reversible switching at room temperature. The transistor design, wherein VO2 is implemented in series with the field-effect transistor's source rather than into the channel, exploits negative differential resistance induced across the VO2 to create an internal amplifier that facilitates enhanced performance over a conventional field-effect transistor. Our approach enables low-voltage complementary n-type and p-type transistor operation as demonstrated here, and is applicable to other insulator-to-metal transition materials, offering tantalizing possibilities for energy-efficient logic and memory applications.

Development of a prototype regenerable carbon dioxide absorber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Onischak, M.

1976-01-01

Design information was obtained for a new, regenerable carbon dioxide control system for extravehicular activity life support systems. Solid potassium carbonate was supported in a thin porous sheet form and fabricated into carbon dioxide absorber units. Carbon dioxide and water in the life support system atmosphere react with the potassium carbonate and form potassium bicarbonate. The bicarbonate easily reverts to the carbonate by heating to 150 deg C. The methods of effectively packing the sorbent material into EVA-sized units and the effects of inlet concentrations, flowrate, and temperature upon performance were investigated. The cycle life of the sorbent upon the repeated thermal regenerations was demonstrated through 90 cycles.

Effect of growth time on the structure, morphology and optical properties of hydrothermally synthesized TiO2 nanorod thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohapatra, A. K.; Nayak, J.

2018-05-01

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanorod thin films were deposited on fluorine doped tin oxide coated glass substrates by a single step rapid hydrothermal process. The concentration of the precursor, the temperature of the reaction mixture were optimized in order to enhance the rate of deposition. Unlike the previously reported hydrothermal treatment for 24 - 48 h, the deposition of well aligned titanium dioxide nanorods was achieved in a short time such as 3 - 8 h. The crystal structure of the films were investigated by X-rays diffraction. The morphology of the nanorod films were studied with scanning electron microscopy. The optical properties were studied by photoluminescence spectroscopy.

Structure and optical properties of TiO2 thin films deposited by ALD method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szindler, Marek; Szindler, Magdalena M.; Boryło, Paulina; Jung, Tymoteusz

2017-12-01

This paper presents the results of study on titanium dioxide thin films prepared by atomic layer deposition method on a silicon substrate. The changes of surface morphology have been observed in topographic images performed with the atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Obtained roughness parameters have been calculated with XEI Park Systems software. Qualitative studies of chemical composition were also performed using the energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The structure of titanium dioxide was investigated by X-ray crystallography. A variety of crystalline TiO2 was also confirmed by using the Raman spectrometer. The optical reflection spectra have been measured with UV-Vis spectrophotometry.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Breznay, Nicholas P.; Tendulkar, Mihir; Zhang, Li

Here, we study the two-dimensional superconductor-insulator transition (SIT) in thin films of tantalum nitride. At zero magnetic field, films can be disorder-tuned across the SIT by adjusting thickness and film stoichiometry; insulating films exhibit classical hopping transport. Superconducting films exhibit a magnetic-field-tuned SIT, whose insulating ground state at high field appears to be a quantum-corrected metal. Scaling behavior at the field-tuned SIT shows classical percolation critical exponents zν ≈ 1.3, with a corresponding critical field H c << H c2, the upper critical field. The Hall effect exhibits a crossing point near H c, but with a nonuniversal critical valuemore » ρ c xy comparable to the normal-state Hall resistivity. We propose that high-carrier-density metals will always exhibit this pattern of behavior at the boundary between superconducting and (trivially) insulating ground states.« less

Enhanced spin Seebeck effect signal due to spin-momentum locked topological surface states

DOE PAGES

Jiang, Zilong; Chang, Cui -Zu; Masir, Massoud Ramezani; ...

2016-05-04

Spin-momentum locking in protected surface states enables efficient electrical detection of magnon decay at a magnetic-insulator/topological-insulator heterojunction. Here we demonstrate this property using the spin Seebeck effect (SSE), that is, measuring the transverse thermoelectric response to a temperature gradient across a thin film of yttrium iron garnet, an insulating ferrimagnet, and forming a heterojunction with (Bi xSb 1–x) 2Te 3, a topological insulator. The non-equilibrium magnon population established at the interface can decay in part by interactions of magnons with electrons near the Fermi energy of the topological insulator. When this decay channel is made active by tuning (Bi xSbmore » 1–x) 2Te 3 into a bulk insulator, a large electromotive force emerges in the direction perpendicular to the in-plane magnetization of yttrium iron garnet. Lastly, the enhanced, tunable SSE which occurs when the Fermi level lies in the bulk gap offers unique advantages over the usual SSE in metals and therefore opens up exciting possibilities in spintronics.« less

Direct electron injection into an oxide insulator using a cathode buffer layer

PubMed Central

Lee, Eungkyu; Lee, Jinwon; Kim, Ji-Hoon; Lim, Keon-Hee; Seok Byun, Jun; Ko, Jieun; Dong Kim, Young; Park, Yongsup; Kim, Youn Sang

2015-01-01

Injecting charge carriers into the mobile bands of an inorganic oxide insulator (for example, SiO2, HfO2) is a highly complicated task, or even impossible without external energy sources such as photons. This is because oxide insulators exhibit very low electron affinity and high ionization energy levels. Here we show that a ZnO layer acting as a cathode buffer layer permits direct electron injection into the conduction bands of various oxide insulators (for example, SiO2, Ta2O5, HfO2, Al2O3) from a metal cathode. Studies of current–voltage characteristics reveal that the current ohmically passes through the ZnO/oxide-insulator interface. Our findings suggests that the oxide insulators could be used for simply fabricated, transparent and highly stable electronic valves. With this strategy, we demonstrate an electrostatic discharging diode that uses 100-nm SiO2 as an active layer exhibiting an on/off ratio of ∼107, and protects the ZnO thin-film transistors from high electrical stresses. PMID:25864642

Effect of tip polarity on Kelvin probe force microscopy images of thin insulator CaF2 films on Si(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yurtsever, Ayhan; Sugimoto, Yoshiaki; Fukumoto, Masaki; Abe, Masayuki; Morita, Seizo

2012-08-01

We investigate thin insulating CaF2 films on a Si (111) surface using a combination of noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). Atomic-scale NC-AFM and KPFM images are obtained in different imaging modes by employing two different tip polarities. The KPFM image contrast and the distance-dependent variation of the local contact potential difference (LCPD) give rise to a tip-polarity-dependent contrast inversion. Ca2+ cations had a higher LCPD contrast than F- anions for a positively terminated tip, while the LCPD provided by a negatively charged tip gave a higher contrast for F- anions. Thus, this result implies that it is essential to determine the tip apex polarity to correctly interpret LCPD signals acquired by KPFM.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Zhaoying; Liu, Bingwen; Zhao, Evan

For the first time, the use of an argon cluster ion sputtering source has been demonstrated to perform superiorly relative to traditional oxygen and cesium ion sputtering sources for ToF-SIMS depth profiling of insulating materials. The superior performance has been attributed to effective alleviation of surface charging. A simulated nuclear waste glass, SON68, and layered hole-perovskite oxide thin films were selected as model systems due to their fundamental and practical significance. Our study shows that if the size of analysis areas is same, the highest sputter rate of argon cluster sputtering can be 2-3 times faster than the highest sputtermore » rates of oxygen or cesium sputtering. More importantly, high quality data and high sputter rates can be achieved simultaneously for argon cluster sputtering while this is not the case for cesium and oxygen sputtering. Therefore, for deep depth profiling of insulating samples, the measurement efficiency of argon cluster sputtering can be about 6-15 times better than traditional cesium and oxygen sputtering. Moreover, for a SrTiO3/SrCrO3 bi-layer thin film on a SrTiO3 substrate, the true 18O/16O isotopic distribution at the interface is better revealed when using the argon cluster sputtering source. Therefore, the implementation of an argon cluster sputtering source can significantly improve the measurement efficiency of insulating materials, and thus can expand the application of ToF-SIMS to the study of glass corrosion, perovskite oxide thin films, and many other potential systems.« less

Microelectronic superconducting device with multi-layer contact

DOEpatents

Wellstood, Frederick C.; Kingston, John J.; Clarke, John

1993-01-01

A microelectronic component comprising a crossover is provided comprising a substrate, a first high T.sub.c superconductor thin film, a second insulating thin film comprising SrTiO.sub.3 ; and a third high T.sub.c superconducting film which has strips which crossover one or more areas of the first superconductor film. An insitu method for depositing all three films on a substrate is provided which does not require annealing steps. The photolithographic process is used to separately pattern the high T.sub.c superconductor thin films.

Microelectronic superconducting device with multi-layer contact

DOEpatents

Wellstood, F.C.; Kingston, J.J.; Clarke, J.

1993-10-26

A microelectronic component comprising a crossover is provided comprising a substrate, a first high T[sub c] superconductor thin film, a second insulating thin film comprising SrTiO[sub 3] ; and a third high T[sub c] superconducting film which has strips which crossover one or more areas of the first superconductor film. An in situ method for depositing all three films on a substrate is provided which does not require annealing steps. The photolithographic process is used to separately pattern the high T[sub c] superconductor thin films. 14 figures.

Electrical switching and oscillations in vanadium dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pergament, Alexander; Velichko, Andrey; Belyaev, Maksim; Putrolaynen, Vadim

2018-05-01

We have studied electrical switching with S-shaped I-V characteristics in two-terminal MOM devices based on vanadium dioxide thin films. The switching effect is associated with the metal-insulator phase transition. Relaxation oscillations are observed in circuits with VO2-based switches. Dependences of the oscillator critical frequency Fmax, threshold power and voltage, as well as the time of current rise, on the switching structure size are obtained by numerical simulation. The empirical dependence of the threshold voltage on the switching region dimensions and film thickness is found. It is shown that, for the VO2 channel sizes of 10 × 10 nm, Fmax can reach the value of 300 MHz at a film thickness of 20 nm. Next, it is shown that oscillatory neural networks can be implemented on the basis of coupled VO2 oscillators. For the weak capacitive coupling, we revealed the dependence of the phase difference upon synchronization on the coupling capacitance value. When the switches are scaled down, the limiting time of synchronization is reduced to Ts 13 μs, and the number of oscillation periods for the entering to the synchronization mode remains constant, Ns 17. In the case of weak thermal coupling in the synchronization mode, we observe in-phase behavior of oscillators, and there is a certain range of parameters of the supply current, in which the synchronization effect becomes possible. With a decrease in dimensions, a decrease in the thermal coupling action radius is observed, which can vary in the range from 0.5 to 50 μm for structures with characteristic dimensions of 0.1-5 μm, respectively. Thermal coupling may have a promising effect for realization of a 3D integrated oscillatory neural network.

Comparative study on deposition of fluorine-doped tin dioxide thin films by conventional and ultrasonic spray pyrolysis methods for dye-sensitized solar modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Icli, Kerem Cagatay; Kocaoglu, Bahadir Can; Ozenbas, Macit

2018-01-01

Fluorine-doped tin dioxide (FTO) thin films were produced via conventional spray pyrolysis and ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) methods using alcohol-based solutions. The prepared films were compared in terms of crystal structure, morphology, surface roughness, visible light transmittance, and electronic properties. Upon investigation of the grain structures and morphologies, the films prepared using ultrasonic spray method provided relatively larger grains and due to this condition, carrier mobilities of these films exhibited slightly higher values. Dye-sensitized solar cells and 10×10 cm modules were prepared using commercially available and USP-deposited FTO/glass substrates, and solar performances were compared. It is observed that there exists no remarkable efficiency difference for both cells and modules, where module efficiency of the USP-deposited FTO glass substrates is 3.06% compared to commercial substrate giving 2.85% under identical conditions. We demonstrated that USP deposition is a low cost and versatile method of depositing commercial quality FTO thin films on large substrates employed in large area dye-sensitized solar modules or other thin film technologies.

Measurement of collective excitations in VO 2 by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering

DOE PAGES

He, Haowei; Gray, A. X.; Granitzka, P.; ...

2016-10-15

Vanadium dioxide is of broad interest as a spin-1/2 electron system that realizes a metal-insulator transition near room temperature, due to a combination of strongly correlated and itinerant electron physics. Here, resonant inelastic x-ray scattering is used to measure the excitation spectrum of charge and spin degrees of freedom at the vanadium L edge under different polarization and temperature conditions, revealing excitations that differ greatly from those seen in optical measurements. Furthermore, these spectra encode the evolution of short-range energetics across the metal-insulator transition, including the low-temperature appearance of a strong candidate for the singlet-triplet excitation of a vanadium dimer.

Gate-tunable gigantic lattice deformation in VO{sub 2}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Okuyama, D., E-mail: okuyama@riken.jp, E-mail: nakano@imr.tohoku.ac.jp, E-mail: iwasa@ap.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Hatano, T.; Nakano, M., E-mail: okuyama@riken.jp, E-mail: nakano@imr.tohoku.ac.jp, E-mail: iwasa@ap.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp

2014-01-13

We examined the impact of electric field on crystal lattice of vanadium dioxide (VO{sub 2}) in a field-effect transistor geometry by in-situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction measurements. Whereas the c-axis lattice parameter of VO{sub 2} decreases through the thermally induced insulator-to-metal phase transition, the gate-induced metallization was found to result in a significant increase of the c-axis length by almost 1% from that of the thermally stabilized insulating state. We also found that this gate-induced gigantic lattice deformation occurs even at the thermally stabilized metallic state, enabling dynamic control of c-axis lattice parameter by more than 1% at room temperature.

Polarity compensation in ultra-thin films of complex oxides: The case of a perovskite nickelate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Middey, S.; Rivero, P.; Meyers, D.

2014-10-29

In this study, we address the fundamental issue of growth of perovskite ultra-thin films under the condition of a strong polar mismatch at the heterointerface exemplified by the growth of a correlated metal LaNiO 3 on the band insulator SrTiO 3 along the pseudo cubic [111] direction. While in general the metallic LaNiO 3 film can effectively screen this polarity mismatch, we establish that in the ultra-thin limit, films are insulating in nature and require additional chemical and structural reconstruction to compensate for such mismatch. A combination of in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction recorded during the growth, X-ray diffraction, andmore » synchrotron based resonant X-ray spectroscopy reveal the formation of a chemical phase La 2Ni 2O 5 (Ni 2+) for a few unit-cell thick films. First-principles layer-resolved calculations of the potential energy across the nominal LaNiO 3/SrTiO 3 interface confirm that the oxygen vacancies can efficiently reduce the electric field at the interface.« less

Thickness dependent properties of CMR Manganite thin films on lattice mismatched substrates: Distinguishing Strain and Interface Effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davidson, Anthony, III; Kolagani, Rajeswari; Bacharova, Ellisaveta; Yong, Grace; Smolyaninova, Vera; Schaefer, David; Mundle, Rajeh

2007-03-01

Epitaxial thin films of CMR manganite materials have been known to show thickness dependent electrical and magnetic properties on lattice mismatched substrates. Below a critical thickness, insulator-metal transition is suppressed. These effects have been largely attributed to the role of bi-axial lattice mismatch strain. Our recent results of epitaxial thin films of La0.67Ca0.33MnO3 (LCMO) on two substrates with varying degrees of compressive lattice mismatch indicate that, in addition to the effect of lattice mismatch strain, the thickness dependence of the properties are influenced by other factors possibly related to the nature of the film substrate interface and defects such as twin boundaries. We have compared the properties of LCMO films on (100) oriented LaAlO3 and (001) oriented NdCaAlO4 both of which induce compressive bi-axial strain. Interestingly, the suppression of the insulator-metal transition is less in films on NCAO which has a larger lattice mismatch. We will present results correlating the electrical and magneto transport properties with the structure and morphology of the films.

Thin-film morphology of inkjet-printed single-droplet organic transistors using polarized Raman spectroscopy: effect of blending TIPS-pentacene with insulating polymer.

PubMed

James, David T; Kjellander, B K Charlotte; Smaal, Wiljan T T; Gelinck, Gerwin H; Combe, Craig; McCulloch, Iain; Wilson, Richard; Burroughes, Jeremy H; Bradley, Donal D C; Kim, Ji-Seon

2011-12-27

We report thin-film morphology studies of inkjet-printed single-droplet organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) using angle-dependent polarized Raman spectroscopy. We show this to be an effective technique to determine the degree of molecular order as well as to spatially resolve the orientation of the conjugated backbones of the 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS-Pentacene) molecules. The addition of an insulating polymer, polystyrene (PS), does not disrupt the π-π stacking of the TIPS-Pentacene molecules. Blending in fact improves the uniformity of the molecular morphology and the active layer coverage within the device and reduces the variation in molecular orientation between polycrystalline domains. For OTFT performance, blending enhances the saturation mobility from 0.22 ± 0.05 cm(2)/(V·s) (TIPS-Pentacene) to 0.72 ± 0.17 cm(2)/(V·s) (TIPS-Pentacene:PS) in addition to improving the quality of the interface between TIPS-Pentacene and the gate dielectric in the channel, resulting in threshold voltages of ∼0 V and steep subthreshold slopes.

Highly improved photo-induced bias stability of sandwiched triple layer structure in sol-gel processed fluorine-doped indium zinc oxide thin film transistor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Dongha; Park, Hyungjin; Bae, Byeong-Soo, E-mail: bsbae@kaist.ac.kr

In order to improve the reliability of TFT, an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} insulating layer is inserted between active fluorine doped indium zinc oxide (IZO:F) thin films to form a sandwiched triple layer. All the thin films were fabricated via low-cost sol-gel process. Due to its large energy bandgap and high bonding energy with oxygen atoms, the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer acts as a photo-induced positive charge blocking layer that effectively blocks the migration of both holes and V {sub o}{sup 2+} toward the interface between the gate insulator and the semiconductor. The inserted Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} triple layer exhibits amore » noticeably low turn on voltage shift of −0.7 V under NBIS as well as the good TFT performance with a mobility of 10.9 cm{sup 2}/V ⋅ s. We anticipate that this approach can be used to solve the stability issues such as NBIS, which is caused by inescapable oxygen vacancies.« less

Electronic structure and insulating gap in epitaxial VO 2 polymorphs

DOE PAGES

Lee, Shinbuhm; Meyer, Tricia L.; Sohn, Changhee; ...

2015-12-24

Here, determining the origin of the insulating gap in the monoclinic VO 2(M1) is a long-standing issue. The difficulty of this study arises from the simultaneous occurrence of structural and electronic transitions upon thermal cycling. Here, we compare the electronic structure of the M1 phase with that of single crystalline insulating VO 2(A) and VO 2(B) thin films to better understand the insulating phase of VO 2. As these A and B phases do not undergo a structural transition upon thermal cycling, we comparatively study the origin of the gap opening in the insulating VO 2 phases. By x-ray absorptionmore » and optical spectroscopy, we find that the shift of unoccupied t 2g orbitals away from the Fermi level is a common feature, which plays an important role for the insulating behavior in VO 2 polymorphs. The distinct splitting of the half-filled t 2g orbital is observed only in the M1 phase, widening the bandgap up to ~0.6 eV. Our approach of comparing all three insulating VO 2 phases provides insight into a better understanding of the electronic structure and the origin of the insulating gap in VO 2.« less

Self-Healable Electrical Insulation for High Voltage Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Tiffany S.

2017-01-01

Polymeric aircraft electrical insulation normally degrades by partial discharge with increasing voltage, which causes excessive localized Joule heating in the material and ultimately leads to dielectric failure of the insulator through thermal breakdown. Developing self-healing insulation could be a viable option to mitigate permanent mechanical degradation, thus increasing the longevity of the insulation. Instead of relying on catalyst and monomer-filled microcapsules to crack, flow, and cure at the damaged sites described in well-published mechanisms, establishment of ionic crosslinks could allow for multiple healing events to occur with the added benefit of achieving full recovery strength under certain thermal environments. This could be possible if the operating temperature of the insulator is the same as or close to the temperature where ionic crosslinks are formed. Surlyn, a commercial material with ionic crosslinks, was investigated as a candidate self-healing insulator based off prior demonstrations of self-healing behavior. Thin films of varying thicknesses were investigated and the effects of thickness on the dielectric strength were evaluated and compared to representative polymer insulators. The effects of thermal conditioning on the recovery strength and healing were observed as a function of time following dielectric breakdown. Moisture absorption was also studied to determine if moisture absorption rates in Surlyn were lower than that of common polyimides.

Highly insulating ferromagnetic cobaltite heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Choi, Woo Seok; Kang, Kyeong Tae; Jeen, Hyoungjeen; ...

2017-04-02

Ferromagnetic insulators are rather rare but possess great technological potential in, for example, spintronics. Individual control of ferromagnetic properties and electronic transport provides a useful design concept of multifunctional oxide heterostructures. We studied the close correlation among the magnetism, atomic structure, and electronic structure of oxide heterostructures composed of the ferromagnetic perovskite LaCoO 3 and the antiferromagnetic brownmillerite SrCoO 2.5 epitaxial thin film layers. By reversing the stacking sequence of the two layers, we could individually modify the electric resistance and saturation magnetic moment. Lastly, the ferromagnetic insulating behavior in the heterostructures was understood in terms of the electronic reconstructionmore » at the oxide surface/interfaces and crystalline quality of the constituent layers.« less

Highly insulating ferromagnetic cobaltite heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Choi, Woo Seok; Kang, Kyeong Tae; Jeen, Hyoungjeen

Ferromagnetic insulators are rather rare but possess great technological potential in, for example, spintronics. Individual control of ferromagnetic properties and electronic transport provides a useful design concept of multifunctional oxide heterostructures. We studied the close correlation among the magnetism, atomic structure, and electronic structure of oxide heterostructures composed of the ferromagnetic perovskite LaCoO 3 and the antiferromagnetic brownmillerite SrCoO 2.5 epitaxial thin film layers. By reversing the stacking sequence of the two layers, we could individually modify the electric resistance and saturation magnetic moment. Lastly, the ferromagnetic insulating behavior in the heterostructures was understood in terms of the electronic reconstructionmore » at the oxide surface/interfaces and crystalline quality of the constituent layers.« less

Compact vacuum insulation embodiments

DOEpatents

Benson, D.K.; Potter, T.F.

1992-04-28

An ultra-thin compact vacuum insulation panel is comprised of two hard, but bendable metal wall sheets closely spaced apart from each other and welded around the edges to enclose a vacuum chamber. Glass or ceramic spacers hold the wall sheets apart. The spacers can be discrete spherical beads or monolithic sheets of glass or ceramic webs with nodules protruding therefrom to form essentially point' or line' contacts with the metal wall sheets. In the case of monolithic spacers that form line' contacts, two such spacers with the line contacts running perpendicular to each other form effectively point' contacts at the intersections. Corrugations accommodate bending and expansion, tubular insulated pipes and conduits, and preferred applications are also included. 26 figs.

Compact vacuum insulation

DOEpatents

Benson, D.K.; Potter, T.F.

1993-01-05

An ultra-thin compact vacuum insulation panel is comprised of two hard, but bendable metal wall sheets closely spaced apart from each other and welded around the edges to enclose a vacuum chamber. Glass or ceramic spacers hold the wall sheets apart. The spacers can be discrete spherical beads or monolithic sheets of glass or ceramic webs with nodules protruding therefrom to form essentially point'' or line'' contacts with the metal wall sheets. In the case of monolithic spacers that form line'' contacts, two such spacers with the line contacts running perpendicular to each other form effectively point'' contacts at the intersections. Corrugations accommodate bending and expansion, tubular insulated pipes and conduits, and preferred applications are also included.

Compact vacuum insulation

DOEpatents

Benson, David K.; Potter, Thomas F.

1993-01-01

An ultra-thin compact vacuum insulation panel is comprised of two hard, but bendable metal wall sheets closely spaced apart from each other and welded around the edges to enclose a vacuum chamber. Glass or ceramic spacers hold the wall sheets apart. The spacers can be discrete spherical beads or monolithic sheets of glass or ceramic webs with nodules protruding therefrom to form essentially "point" or "line" contacts with the metal wall sheets. In the case of monolithic spacers that form "line" contacts, two such spacers with the line contacts running perpendicular to each other form effectively "point" contacts at the intersections. Corrugations accommodate bending and expansion, tubular insulated pipes and conduits, and preferred applications are also included.

Compact vacuum insulation embodiments

DOEpatents

Benson, David K.; Potter, Thomas F.

1992-01-01

An ultra-thin compact vacuum insulation panel is comprised of two hard, but bendable metal wall sheets closely spaced apart from each other and welded around the edges to enclose a vacuum chamber. Glass or ceramic spacers hold the wall sheets apart. The spacers can be discrete spherical beads or monolithic sheets of glass or ceramic webs with nodules protruding therefrom to form essentially "point" or "line" contacts with the metal wall sheets. In the case of monolithic spacers that form "line" contacts, two such spacers with the line contacts running perpendicular to each other form effectively "point" contacts at the intersections. Corrugations accommodate bending and expansion, tubular insulated pipes and conduits, and preferred applications are also included.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amalraj, Rex; Sambandan, Sanjiv, E-mail: sanjiv@iap.iisc.ernet.in

Thin film transistors (TFTs) on elastomers promise flexible electronics with stretching and bending. Recently, there have been several experimental studies reporting the behavior of TFTs under bending and buckling. In the presence of stress, the insulator capacitance is influenced due to two reasons. The first is the variation in insulator thickness depending on the Poisson ratio and strain. The second is the geometric influence of the curvature of the insulator-semiconductor interface during bending or buckling. This paper models the role of curvature on TFT performance and brings to light an elegant result wherein the TFT characteristics is dependent on themore » area under the capacitance-distance curve. The paper compares models with simulations and explains several experimental findings reported in literature.« less

Novel Crystal Structure C60 Nanowire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mickelson, William; Aloni, Shaul; Han, Weiqiang; Cumings, John; Zettl, Alex

2003-03-01

We have created insulated C60 nanowire by packing C60 molecules into the interior of insulating boron nitride (BN) nanotubes. For small-diameter BN tubes, the wire consists of a linear chain of C60's. With increasing BN tube inner diameter, novel C60 stacking configurations are obtained (including helical, hollow core, and incommensurate) which are unknown for bulk or thin film forms of C60. C60 in BN nanotubes presents a model system for studying the properties of new dimensionally-constrained "silo" crystal structures.

Origin of nonlinear transport across the magnetically induced superconductor-metal-insulator transition in two dimensions.

PubMed

Seo, Y; Qin, Y; Vicente, C L; Choi, K S; Yoon, Jongsoo

2006-08-04

We have studied the effect of perpendicular magnetic fields and temperatures on nonlinear electronic transport in amorphous Ta superconducting thin films. The films exhibit a magnetic field-induced metallic behavior intervening the superconductor-insulator transition in the zero temperature limit. We show that the phase-identifying nonlinear transport in the superconducting and metallic phases arises from an intrinsic origin, not from an electron heating effect. The nonlinear transport is found to accompany an extraordinarily long voltage response time.

Electrical transport of spin-polarized carriers in disordered ultrathin films.

PubMed

Hernandez, L M; Bhattacharya, A; Parendo, Kevin A; Goldman, A M

2003-09-19

Slow, nonexponential relaxation of electrical transport accompanied by memory effects has been induced in quench-condensed ultrathin amorphous Bi films by the application of a parallel magnetic field. This behavior, which is very similar to space-charge limited current flow, is found in extremely thin films well on the insulating side of the thickness-tuned superconductor-insulator transition. It may be the signature of a collective state that forms when the carriers are spin polarized at low temperatures and in high magnetic fields.

Thin Film Physical Sensor Instrumentation Research and Development at NASA Glenn Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wrbanek, John D.; Fralick, Gustave C.

2006-01-01

A range of thin film sensor technology has been demonstrated enabling measurement of multiple parameters either individually or in sensor arrays including temperature, strain, heat flux, and flow. Multiple techniques exist for refractory thin film fabrication, fabrication and integration on complex surfaces and multilayered thin film insulation. Leveraging expertise in thin films and high temperature materials, investigations for the applications of thin film ceramic sensors has begun. The current challenges of instrumentation technology are to further develop systems packaging and component testing of specialized sensors, further develop instrumentation techniques on complex surfaces, improve sensor durability, and to address needs for extreme temperature applications. The technology research and development ongoing at NASA Glenn for applications to future launch vehicles, space vehicles, and ground systems is outlined.

Simulation of the optical coating deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grigoriev, Fedor; Sulimov, Vladimir; Tikhonravov, Alexander

2018-04-01

A brief review of the mathematical methods of thin-film growth simulation and results of their applications is presented. Both full-atomistic and multi-scale approaches that were used in the studies of thin-film deposition are considered. The results of the structural parameter simulation including density profiles, roughness, porosity, point defect concentration, and others are discussed. The application of the quantum level methods to the simulation of the thin-film electronic and optical properties is considered. Special attention is paid to the simulation of the silicon dioxide thin films.

Probing the bulk ionic conductivity by thin film hetero-epitaxial engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pergolesi, Daniele; Roddatis, Vladimir; Fabbri, Emiliana; Schneider, Christof W.; Lippert, Thomas; Traversa, Enrico; Kilner, John A.

2015-02-01

Highly textured thin films with small grain boundary regions can be used as model systems to directly measure the bulk conductivity of oxygen ion conducting oxides. Ionic conducting thin films and epitaxial heterostructures are also widely used to probe the effect of strain on the oxygen ion migration in oxide materials. For the purpose of these investigations a good lattice matching between the film and the substrate is required to promote the ordered film growth. Moreover, the substrate should be a good electrical insulator at high temperature to allow a reliable electrical characterization of the deposited film. Here we report the fabrication of an epitaxial heterostructure made with a double buffer layer of BaZrO3 and SrTiO3 grown on MgO substrates that fulfills both requirements. Based on such template platform, highly ordered (001) epitaxially oriented thin films of 15% Sm-doped CeO2 and 8 mol% Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 are grown. Bulk conductivities as well as activation energies are measured for both materials, confirming the success of the approach. The reported insulating template platform promises potential application also for the electrical characterization of other novel electrolyte materials that still need a thorough understanding of their ionic conductivity.

Thermochromic VO2 thin films: solution-based processing, improved optical properties, and lowered phase transformation temperature.

PubMed

Zhang, Zongtao; Gao, Yanfeng; Chen, Zhang; Du, Jing; Cao, Chuanxiang; Kang, Litao; Luo, Hongjie

2010-07-06

This paper describes a solution-phase synthesis of high-quality vanadium dioxide thermochromic thin films. The films obtained showed excellent visible transparency and a large change in transmittance at near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths before and after the metal-insulator phase transition (MIPT). For a 59 nm thick single-layer VO(2) thin film, the integral values of visible transmittance (T(int)) for metallic (M) and semiconductive (S) states were 54.1% and 49.1%, respectively, while the NIR switching efficiencies (DeltaT) were as high as 50% at 2000 nm. Thinner films can provide much higher transmittance of visible light, but they suffer from an attenuation of the switching efficiency in the near-infrared region. By varying the film thickness, ultrahigh T(int) values of 75.2% and 75.7% for the M and S states, respectively, were obtained, while the DeltaT at 2000 nm remained high. These results represent the best data for VO(2) to date. Thicker films in an optimized range can give enhanced NIR switching efficiencies and excellent NIR blocking abilities; in a particularly impressive experiment, one film provided near-zero NIR transmittance in the switched state. The thickness-dependent performance suggests that VO(2) will be of great use in the objective-specific applications. The reflectance and emissivity at the wavelength range of 2.5-25 microm before and after the MIPT were dependent on the film thickness; large contrasts were observed for relatively thick films. This work also showed that the MIPT temperature can be reduced simply by selecting the annealing temperature that induces local nonstoichiometry; a MIPT temperature as low as 42.7 degrees C was obtained by annealing the film at 440 degrees C. These properties (the high visible transmittance, the large change in infrared transmittance, and the near room-temperature MIPT) suggest that the current method is a landmark in the development of this interesting material toward applications in energy-saving smart windows.

Nanometer-thick flat lens with adjustable focus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Son, T. V.; Haché, A.; Ba, C. O. F.

2014-12-08

We report laser beam focusing by a flat, homogeneous film with a thickness of less than 100 nm. The effect relies on refractive index changes occurring in vanadium dioxide as it undergoes a phase transition from insulator to metal. Phase front curvature is achieved by means of temperature gradients, and adjustable focal lengths from infinity to 30 cm are attained.

Controle des proprietes des couches optiques par bombardement ionique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marushka, Viktor

The manufacture of optical coatings presents many challenges such as the control over the film properties and microstructure, the optimization for the production of thin films with high quality, and the research on new materials. Ion-assisted evaporation is one of the principal methods used for the fabrication of optical coatings as a response to these challenges. It allows for good process control, and it permits us to predict and put on an industrial scale the deposition process by considering the direct and quantitative relation between the energies of the incident ions, and the performance of the deposited materials. This work is devoted to the study of the effect of ion bombardment on the microstructure and properties of optical thin films of silicon dioxide and titanium dioxide, which are widely used in optical interference filters, in particular with the use of a Hall effect ion source. These studies include a systematic evaluation of the mechanical and optical properties and of the density of thin films using different complementary techniques - the Quartz Crystal Microbalance, Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy, and Infrared Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry among others. Different approaches (Spectroscopic Ellipsometry and Infrared Ellipsometry, the measurement of mechanical stress) have been used to evaluate the amount of water in thin films. The results on the density of films and the presence of water in the films obtained by the different methods are in good agreement. It was found that the critical energy values giving rise to dense and stable optical coatings of silicon dioxide and titanium dioxide are 25 eV/atom and 45 eV/atom, respectively. Moreover, this work presents the methodology developed to determine the ion current density distribution on the surface of a substrate holder of a dome shape for different positions relative to the ion source. The proposed analysis can be used as an effective tool for the construction of an industrial reactor and for its appropriate optimization.

Antarctic sea ice control on ocean circulation in present and glacial climates

PubMed Central

Ferrari, Raffaele; Jansen, Malte F.; Adkins, Jess F.; Burke, Andrea; Stewart, Andrew L.; Thompson, Andrew F.

2014-01-01

In the modern climate, the ocean below 2 km is mainly filled by waters sinking into the abyss around Antarctica and in the North Atlantic. Paleoproxies indicate that waters of North Atlantic origin were instead absent below 2 km at the Last Glacial Maximum, resulting in an expansion of the volume occupied by Antarctic origin waters. In this study we show that this rearrangement of deep water masses is dynamically linked to the expansion of summer sea ice around Antarctica. A simple theory further suggests that these deep waters only came to the surface under sea ice, which insulated them from atmospheric forcing, and were weakly mixed with overlying waters, thus being able to store carbon for long times. This unappreciated link between the expansion of sea ice and the appearance of a voluminous and insulated water mass may help quantify the ocean’s role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide on glacial–interglacial timescales. Previous studies pointed to many independent changes in ocean physics to account for the observed swings in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Here it is shown that many of these changes are dynamically linked and therefore must co-occur. PMID:24889624

Antarctic sea ice control on ocean circulation in present and glacial climates.

PubMed

Ferrari, Raffaele; Jansen, Malte F; Adkins, Jess F; Burke, Andrea; Stewart, Andrew L; Thompson, Andrew F

2014-06-17

In the modern climate, the ocean below 2 km is mainly filled by waters sinking into the abyss around Antarctica and in the North Atlantic. Paleoproxies indicate that waters of North Atlantic origin were instead absent below 2 km at the Last Glacial Maximum, resulting in an expansion of the volume occupied by Antarctic origin waters. In this study we show that this rearrangement of deep water masses is dynamically linked to the expansion of summer sea ice around Antarctica. A simple theory further suggests that these deep waters only came to the surface under sea ice, which insulated them from atmospheric forcing, and were weakly mixed with overlying waters, thus being able to store carbon for long times. This unappreciated link between the expansion of sea ice and the appearance of a voluminous and insulated water mass may help quantify the ocean's role in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide on glacial-interglacial timescales. Previous studies pointed to many independent changes in ocean physics to account for the observed swings in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Here it is shown that many of these changes are dynamically linked and therefore must co-occur.

A flexible Li-ion battery with design towards electrodes electrical insulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vieira, E. M. F.; Ribeiro, J. F.; Sousa, R.; Correia, J. H.; Goncalves, L. M.

2016-08-01

The application of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology in several consumer electronics leads to the development of micro/nano power sources with high power and MEMS integration possibility. This work presents the fabrication of a flexible solid-state Li-ion battery (LIB) (~2.1 μm thick) with a design towards electrodes electrical insulation, using conventional, low cost and compatible MEMS fabrication processes. Kapton® substrate provides flexibility to the battery. E-beam deposited 300 nm thick Ge anode was coupled with LiCoO2/LiPON (cathode/solid-state electrolyte) in a battery system. LiCoO2 and LiPON films were deposited by RF-sputtering with a power source of 120 W and 100 W, respectively. LiCoO2 film was annealed at 400 °C after deposition. The new design includes Si3N4 and LiPO thin-films, providing electrode electrical insulation and a battery chemical stability safeguard, respectively. Microstructure and battery performance were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, electric resistivity and electrochemical measurements (open circuit potential, charge/discharge cycles and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy). A rechargeable thin-film and lightweight flexible LIB using MEMS processing compatible materials and techniques is reported.

Thickness dependent quantum oscillations of transport properties in topological insulator Bi2Te3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogacheva, E. I.; Budnik, A. V.; Sipatov, A. Yu.; Nashchekina, O. N.; Dresselhaus, M. S.

2015-02-01

The dependences of the electrical conductivity, the Hall coefficient, and the Seebeck coefficient on the layer thickness d (d = 18-600 nm) of p-type topological insulator Bi2Te3 thin films grown by thermal evaporation in vacuum on glass substrates were obtained at room temperature. In the thickness range of d = 18-100 nm, sustained oscillations with a substantial amplitude were revealed. The observed oscillations are well approximated by a harmonic function with a period Δd = (9.5 ± 0.5) nm. At d > 100 nm, the transport coefficients practically do not change as d is increased. The oscillations of the kinetic properties are attributed to the quantum size effects due to the hole confinement in the Bi2Te3 quantum wells. The results of the theoretical calculations of Δd within the framework of a model of an infinitely deep potential well are in good agreement with the experimental results. It is suggested that the substantial amplitude of the oscillations and their sustained character as a function of d are connected with the topologically protected gapless surface states of Bi2Te3 and are inherent to topological insulators.

Nucleation-controlled low-temperature solid-phase crystallization for Sn-doped polycrystalline-Ge film on insulator with high carrier mobility (˜550 cm2/V s)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Chang; Gao, Hongmiao; Sugino, Takayuki; Miyao, Masanobu; Sadoh, Taizoh

2018-06-01

High-speed thin-film transistors (TFTs) are required to develop the next generation of electronics, such as three-dimensional large-scale integrated circuits and advanced system-in-displays. For this purpose, high-carrier-mobility semiconductor films on insulator structures should be fabricated with low-temperature processing conditions (≤500 °C). To achieve this, we investigate solid-phase crystallization of amorphous-GeSn (a-GeSn) films (Sn concentration: 2% and thickness: 50-200 nm) on insulating substrates, where thin a-Si under-layers (thickness: 0-20 nm) are introduced between a-GeSn films and insulating substrates. The GeSn films are polycrystallized by annealing (450 °C, 20 h) for all samples irrespective of a-GeSn and a-Si thickness conditions, while the Si films remain amorphous. Analysis of crystal structures of GeSn films (thickness: 50 nm) reveals that grain sizes decrease from ˜10 μm to 2-3 μm by the introduction of a-Si under-layers (thickness: 3-20 nm). This phenomenon is attributed to the change in dominant nucleation sites from the interface to the bulk, which significantly decreases grain-boundary scattering of carriers through a decrease in the barrier heights at grain boundaries. Bulk-nucleation further becomes dominant by increasing the GeSn film thickness. As a result, a high carrier mobility of ˜550 cm2/V s is realized for GeSn films (thickness: 100 nm) grown with a-Si under-layers. This mobility is the largest among ever reported data for Ge and GeSn grown on an insulator. This technique will facilitate realization of high-speed TFTs for use in the next generation of electronics.

Thin Thermal-Insulation Blankets for Very High Temperatures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Michael K.

2003-01-01

Thermal-insulation blankets of a proposed type would be exceptionally thin and would endure temperatures up to 2,100 C. These blankets were originally intended to protect components of the NASA Solar Probe spacecraft against radiant heating at its planned closest approach to the Sun (a distance of 4 solar radii). These blankets could also be used on Earth to provide thermal protection in special applications (especially in vacuum chambers) for which conventional thermal-insulation blankets would be too thick or would not perform adequately. A blanket according to the proposal (see figure) would be made of molybdenum, titanium nitride, and carbon- carbon composite mesh, which melt at temperatures of 2,610, 2,930, and 2,130 C, respectively. The emittance of molybdenum is 0.24, while that of titanium nitride is 0.03. Carbon-carbon composite mesh is a thermal insulator. Typically, the blanket would include 0.25-mil (.0.00635-mm)-thick hot-side and cold-side cover layers of molybdenum. Titanium nitride would be vapor-deposited on both surfaces of each cover layer. Between the cover layers there would be 10 inner layers of 0.15-mil (.0.0038-mm)-thick molybdenum with vapor-deposited titanium nitride on both sides of each layer. The thickness of each titanium nitride coat would be about 1,000 A. The cover and inner layers would be interspersed with 0.25-mil (0.00635-mm)-thick layers of carbon-carbon composite mesh. The blanket would have total thickness of 4.75 mils (approximately equal to 0.121 mm) and an areal mass density of 0.7 kilograms per square meter. One could, of course, increase the thermal- insulation capability of the blanket by increasing number of inner layers (thereby unavoidably increasing the total thickness and mass density).

Deposition of SiC x H y O z thin film on epoxy resin by nanosecond pulsed APPJ for improving the surface insulating performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qing, XIE; Haofan, LIN; Shuai, ZHANG; Ruixue, WANG; Fei, KONG; Tao, SHAO

2018-02-01

Non-thermal plasma surface modification for epoxy resin (EP) to improve the insulation properties has wide application prospects in gas insulated switchgear and gas insulated transmission line. In this paper, a pulsed Ar dual dielectrics atmospheric-pressure plasma jet (APPJ) was used for SiC x H y O z thin film deposition on EP samples. The film deposition was optimized by varying the treatment time while other parameters were kept at constants (treatment distance: 10 mm, precursor flow rate: 0.6 l min-1, maximum instantaneous power: 3.08 kW and single pulse energy: 0.18 mJ). It was found that the maximum value of flashover voltages for negative and positive voltage were improved by 18% and 13% when the deposition time was 3 min, respectively. The flashover voltage reduced as treatment time increased. Moreover, all the surface conductivity, surface charge dissipation rate and surface trap level distribution reached an optimal value when thin film deposition time was 3 min. Other measurements, such as atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscope for EP surface morphology, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for EP surface compositions, optical emission spectra for APPJ deposition process were carried out to better understand the deposition processes and mechanisms. The results indicated that the original organic groups (C-H, C-C, C=O, C=C) were gradually replaced by the Si containing inorganic groups (Si-O-Si and Si-OH). The reduction of C=O in ester group and C=C in p-substituted benzene of the EP samples might be responsible for shallowing the trap level and then enhancing the flashover voltage. However, when the plasma treatment time was longer than 3 min, the significant increase of the surface roughness might increase the trap level depth and then deteriorate the flashover performance.

Atomic Layer Deposition of Vanadium Dioxide and a Temperature-dependent Optical Model.

PubMed

Currie, Marc; Mastro, Michael A; Wheeler, Virginia D

2018-05-23

Vanadium dioxide is a material that has a reversible metal-insulator phase change near 68 °C. To grow VO2 on a wide variety of substrates, with wafer-scale uniformity and angstrom level control of thickness, the method of atomic-layer deposition was chosen. This ALD process enables high-quality, low-temperature (≤150 °C) growth of ultrathin films (100-1000 Å) of VO2. For this demonstration, the VO2 films were grown on sapphire substrates. This low temperature growth technique produces mostly amorphous VO2 films. A subsequent anneal in an ultra-high vacuum chamber with a pressure of 7x10 -4 Pa of ultra-high purity (99.999%) oxygen produced oriented, polycrystalline VO2 films. The crystallinity, phase, and strain of the VO2 were determined by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, while the stoichiometry and impurity levels were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and finally the morphology was determined by atomic force microscopy. These data demonstrate the high-quality of the films grown by this technique. A model was created to fit to the data for VO2 in its metallic and insulating phases in the near infrared spectral region. The permittivity and refractive index of the ALD VO2 agreed well with the other fabrication methods in its insulating phase, but showed a difference in its metallic state. Finally, the analysis of the films' optical properties enabled the creation of a wavelength- and temperature-dependent model of the complex optical refractive index for developing VO2 as a tunable refractive index material.

Ion beam modification of topological insulator bismuth selenide

DOE PAGES

Sharma, Peter Anand; Sharma, A. L. Lima; Hekmaty, Michelle A.; ...

2014-12-17

In this study, we demonstrate chemical doping of a topological insulator Bi 2Se 3 using ion implantation. Ion beam-induced structural damage was characterized using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Ion damage was reversed using a simple thermal annealing step. Carrier-type conversion was achieved using ion implantation followed by an activation anneal in Bi 2Se 3 thin films. These two sets of experiments establish the feasibility of ion implantation for chemical modification of Bi 2Se 3, a prototypical topological insulator. Ion implantation can, in principle, be used for any topological insulator. The direct implantation of dopants should allowmore » better control over carrier concentrations for the purposes of achieving low bulk conductivity. Ion implantation also enables the fabrication of inhomogeneously doped structures, which in turn should make possible new types of device designs.« less

Thermal insulation for high temperature microwave sintering operations and method thereof

DOEpatents

Holcombe, Cressie E.; Dykes, Norman L.; Morrow, Marvin S.

1995-01-01

Superior microwave transparent thermal insulations for high temperature microwave sintering operations were prepared. One embodiment of the thermal insulation comprises granules of boron nitride coated with a very thin layer of glassy carbon made by preparing a glassy carbon precursor and blending it with boron nitride powder to form a mixture. The blended mixture is granulated to form a grit which is dried and heated to form the granules of boron nitride coated with a glassy carbon. Alternatively, grains of glassy carbon are coated with boron nitride by blending a mixture of a slurry comprising boron nitride, boric acid binder, and methyl alcohol with glassy carbon grains to form a blended mixture. The blended mixture is dried to form grains of glassy carbon coated with boron nitride. In addition, a physical mixture of boron nitride powder and glassy carbon grains has also been shown to be an excellent thermal insulation material for microwave processing and sintering.

Method of preparing thermal insulation for high temperature microwave sintering operations

DOEpatents

Holcombe, Cressie E.; Dykes, Norman L.; Morrow, Marvin S.

1996-01-01

Superior microwave transparent thermal insulations for high temperature microwave sintering operations were prepared. One embodiment of the thermal insulation comprises granules of boron nitride coated with a very thin layer of glassy carbon made by preparing a glassy carbon precursor and blending it with boron nitride powder to form a mixture. The blended mixture is granulated to form a grit which is dried and heated to form the granules of boron nitride coated with a glassy carbon. Alternatively, grains of glassy carbon are coated with boron nitride by blending a mixture of a slurry comprising boron nitride, boric acid binder, and methyl alcohol with glassy carbon grains to form a blended mixture. The blended mixture is dried to form grains of glassy carbon coated with boron nitride. In addition, a physical mixture of boron nitride powder and glassy carbon grains has also been shown to be an excellent thermal insulation material for microwave processing and sintering.

Band and Correlated Insulators of Cold Fermions in a Mesoscopic Lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lebrat, Martin; Grišins, Pjotrs; Husmann, Dominik; Häusler, Samuel; Corman, Laura; Giamarchi, Thierry; Brantut, Jean-Philippe; Esslinger, Tilman

2018-01-01

We investigate the transport properties of neutral, fermionic atoms passing through a one-dimensional quantum wire containing a mesoscopic lattice. The lattice is realized by projecting individually controlled, thin optical barriers on top of a ballistic conductor. Building an increasingly longer lattice, one site after another, we observe and characterize the emergence of a band insulating phase, demonstrating control over quantum-coherent transport. We explore the influence of atom-atom interactions and show that the insulating state persists as contact interactions are tuned from moderately to strongly attractive. Using bosonization and classical Monte Carlo simulations, we analyze such a model of interacting fermions and find good qualitative agreement with the data. The robustness of the insulating state supports the existence of a Luther-Emery liquid in the one-dimensional wire. Our work realizes a tunable, site-controlled lattice Fermi gas strongly coupled to reservoirs, which is an ideal test bed for nonequilibrium many-body physics.

Low-threshold voltage ultraviolet light-emitting diodes based on (Al,Ga)N metal-insulator-semiconductor structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Yu-Han; Towe, Elias

2017-12-01

Al-rich III-nitride-based deep-ultraviolet (UV) (275-320 nm) light-emitting diodes are plagued with a low emission efficiency and high turn-on voltages. We report Al-rich (Al,Ga)N metal-insulator-semiconductor UV light-emitting Schottky diodes with low turn-on voltages of <3 V, which are about half those of typical (Al,Ga)N p-i-n diodes. Our devices use a thin AlN film as the insulator and an n-type Al0.58Ga0.42N film as the semiconductor. To improve the efficiency, we inserted a GaN quantum-well structure between the AlN insulator and the n-type Al x Ga1- x N semiconductor. The benefits of the quantum-well structure include the potential to tune the emission wavelength and the capability to confine carriers for more efficient radiative recombination.

Pure electronic metal-insulator transition at the interface of complex oxides

DOE PAGES

Meyers, D.; Liu, Jian; Freeland, J. W.; ...

2016-06-21

We observed complex materials in electronic phases and transitions between them often involve coupling between many degrees of freedom whose entanglement convolutes understanding of the instigating mechanism. Metal-insulator transitions are one such problem where coupling to the structural, orbital, charge, and magnetic order parameters frequently obscures the underlying physics. We demonstrate a way to unravel this conundrum by heterostructuring a prototypical multi-ordered complex oxide NdNiO3 in ultra thin geometry, which preserves the metal-to-insulator transition and bulk-like magnetic order parameter, but entirely suppresses the symmetry lowering and long-range charge order parameter. Furthermore, these findings illustrate the utility of heterointerfaces as amore » powerful method for removing competing order parameters to gain greater insight into the nature of the transition, here revealing that the magnetic order generates the transition independently, leading to an exceptionally rare purely electronic metal-insulator transition with no symmetry change.« less

Feasible voltage-tap based quench detection in a Ag/Bi-2212 coil enabled by fast 3D normal zone propagation

DOE PAGES

Shen, Tengming; Ye, Liyang; Li, Pei

2016-07-01

For this study, small insert solenoids have been built using a commercial Ag/Bi-2212 multifilamentary round wire, insulated with a new thin TiO 2– polymer coating insulation (thickness in ~20 μm versus ~100 μm for a commonly used mullite braided sleeve insulation), and characterized in background magnetic field up to 14 T at 4.2 K to explore the high-field performance and quench detection of Bi-2212 magnets. The coil has no visible leakage and no electrical shorts after reaction, and it carries 280 A/mm -2 in a background field 14 T and generates an additional 1.7 T. A notable result is that,more » despite normal zones propagate slowly along the conductor, the hot spot temperature upon detection increases only from 40 K to 60 K when the resistive quench detection voltage threshold increases from 0.1 V to 1 V for all operating current density investigated, showing that quench detection using voltage taps is feasible for this coil. This is in a strong contrast to a coil we previously built to the same specifications but from wires insulated with the mullite braided sleeve insulation, for which the hot spot temperature upon detection increases from ~80 K to ~140 K while increasing from the detection voltage threshold from 0.1 V to 1 V, and thus for which quench detection using voltage taps presents significant risks, consistent with the common belief that the effectiveness of quench detection using voltage taps for superconducting magnets built using high temperature superconductors is seriously compromised by their slow normal zone propagation. This striking difference is ascribed to the fast transverse quench propagation enabled by thin insulation and improved thermal coupling between conductor turns. Finally, this work demonstrates that quench detection for high-temperature superconducting magnets highly depends on the design and construction of the coils such as insulation materials used and this dependence should be factored into the overall magnet design.« less

Feasible voltage-tap based quench detection in a Ag/Bi-2212 coil enabled by fast 3D normal zone propagation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shen, Tengming; Ye, Liyang; Li, Pei

For this study, small insert solenoids have been built using a commercial Ag/Bi-2212 multifilamentary round wire, insulated with a new thin TiO 2– polymer coating insulation (thickness in ~20 μm versus ~100 μm for a commonly used mullite braided sleeve insulation), and characterized in background magnetic field up to 14 T at 4.2 K to explore the high-field performance and quench detection of Bi-2212 magnets. The coil has no visible leakage and no electrical shorts after reaction, and it carries 280 A/mm -2 in a background field 14 T and generates an additional 1.7 T. A notable result is that,more » despite normal zones propagate slowly along the conductor, the hot spot temperature upon detection increases only from 40 K to 60 K when the resistive quench detection voltage threshold increases from 0.1 V to 1 V for all operating current density investigated, showing that quench detection using voltage taps is feasible for this coil. This is in a strong contrast to a coil we previously built to the same specifications but from wires insulated with the mullite braided sleeve insulation, for which the hot spot temperature upon detection increases from ~80 K to ~140 K while increasing from the detection voltage threshold from 0.1 V to 1 V, and thus for which quench detection using voltage taps presents significant risks, consistent with the common belief that the effectiveness of quench detection using voltage taps for superconducting magnets built using high temperature superconductors is seriously compromised by their slow normal zone propagation. This striking difference is ascribed to the fast transverse quench propagation enabled by thin insulation and improved thermal coupling between conductor turns. Finally, this work demonstrates that quench detection for high-temperature superconducting magnets highly depends on the design and construction of the coils such as insulation materials used and this dependence should be factored into the overall magnet design.« less

Characterization of zinc oxide thin film for pH detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashim, Uda; Fathil, M. F. M.; Arshad, M. K. Md; Gopinath, Subash C. B.; Uda, M. N. A.

2017-03-01

This paper presents the fabrication process of the zinc oxide thin films for using to act as pH detection by using different PH solution. Sol-gel solution technique is used for preparing zinc oxide seed solution, followed by metal oxide deposition process by using spin coater on the silicon dioxide. Silicon dioxide layer is grown on the silicon wafer, then, ZnO seed solution is deposited on the silicon layer, baked, and annealing process carried on to undergo the characterization of its surface morphology, structural and crystalline phase. Electrical characterization is showed by using PH 4, 7, and 10 is dropped on the surface of the die, in addition, APTES solution is used as linker and also as a references of the electrical characterization.

Organic thin film transistor with a simplified planar structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lei; Yu, Jungsheng; Zhong, Jian; Jiang, Yadong

2009-05-01

Organic thin film transistor (OTFT) with a simplified planar structure is described. The gate electrode and the source/drain electrodes of OTFT are processed in one planar structure. And these three electrodes are deposited on the glass substrate by DC sputtering technology using Cr/Ni target. Then the electrode layouts of different width length ratio are made by photolithography technology at the same time. Only one step of deposition and one step of photolithography is needed while conventional process takes at least two steps of deposition and two steps of photolithography. Metal is first prepared on the other side of glass substrate and electrode is formed by photolithography. Then source/drain electrode is prepared by deposition and photolithography on the side with the insulation layer. Compared to conventional process of OTFTs, the process in this work is simplified. After three electrodes prepared, the insulation layer is made by spin coating method. The organic material of polyimide is used as the insulation layer. A small molecular material of pentacene is evaporated on the insulation layer using vacuum deposition as the active layer. The process of OTFTs needs only three steps totally. A semi-auto probe stage is used to connect the three electrodes and the probe of the test instrument. A charge carrier mobility of 0.3 cm2 /V s, is obtained from OTFTs on glass substrates with and on/off current ratio of 105. The OTFTs with the planar structure using simplified process can simplify the device process and reduce the fabrication cost.

Resistivity and resistivity fluctuations of thin-film platinum-aluminum oxide granular metal-insulator composites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mantese, J.V.

1986-01-01

Thin film metal-insulator composites were used to study how the resistivity and fluctuations in the resistivity were altered by changes in conduction mechanism so as to understand the source of the fluctuations and to better understand the conduction processes themselves. Metal-insulator composites were prepared by co-evaporation of platinum and aluminum oxide in a high vacuum system to create a series of films which had a range of metal volume fill fractions, p, from 23 to 100%. The samples were patterned using standard photolithographic techniques to form sample geometries of typical dimensions, length approx.40 ..mu..m, width approx.2 ..mu..m, and thickness approx.1500more » A. The resistivity rho, and power spectral density of the resistivity fluctuations, S/sub rho/(f), were measured as a function of p and temperature, T. Rho(p,T) was found to be a rapidly increasing function of decreasing p, rising monotonically by more than 7 orders of magnitude as p was decreased from 100% to 23%. For p greater than or equal to 59% the resistivity decreased linearly with decreasing temperature until limited by impurity scattering. The resistivities for the low metal fill fraction materials (P greater than or equal to 50%) increased as the temperature was reduced as expected of thermally assisted tunneling conduction in metal-insulator composites. The transition from metallic conduction to thermally assisted tunneling occurred at a critical value, p/sub c/, between 59% and 50% Pt.« less

Self Healing Coating/Film Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Summerfield, Burton; Thompson, Karen; Zeitlin, Nancy; Mullenix, Pamela; Calle, Luz; Williams, Martha

2015-01-01

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has been developing self healing materials and technologies. This project seeks to further develop self healing functionality in thin films for applications such as corrosion protective coatings, inflatable structures, space suit materials, and electrical wire insulation.

Thermal conductance of Nb thin films at sub-kelvin temperatures.

PubMed

Feshchenko, A V; Saira, O-P; Peltonen, J T; Pekola, J P

2017-02-03

We determine the thermal conductance of thin niobium (Nb) wires on a silica substrate in the temperature range of 0.1-0.6 K using electron thermometry based on normal metal-insulator-superconductor tunnel junctions. We find that at 0.6 K, the thermal conductance of Nb is two orders of magnitude lower than that of Al in the superconducting state, and two orders of magnitude below the Wiedemann-Franz conductance calculated with the normal state resistance of the wire. The measured thermal conductance exceeds the prediction of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory, and demonstrates a power law dependence on temperature as T 4.5 , instead of an exponential one. At the same time, we monitor the temperature profile of the substrate along the Nb wire to observe possible overheating of the phonon bath. We show that Nb can be successfully used for thermal insulation in a nanoscale circuit while simultaneously providing an electrical connection.

Thermal conductance of Nb thin films at sub-kelvin temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feshchenko, A. V.; Saira, O.-P.; Peltonen, J. T.; Pekola, J. P.

2017-02-01

We determine the thermal conductance of thin niobium (Nb) wires on a silica substrate in the temperature range of 0.1-0.6 K using electron thermometry based on normal metal-insulator-superconductor tunnel junctions. We find that at 0.6 K, the thermal conductance of Nb is two orders of magnitude lower than that of Al in the superconducting state, and two orders of magnitude below the Wiedemann-Franz conductance calculated with the normal state resistance of the wire. The measured thermal conductance exceeds the prediction of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory, and demonstrates a power law dependence on temperature as T4.5, instead of an exponential one. At the same time, we monitor the temperature profile of the substrate along the Nb wire to observe possible overheating of the phonon bath. We show that Nb can be successfully used for thermal insulation in a nanoscale circuit while simultaneously providing an electrical connection.

Structural, magnetic, and electronic properties of GdTiO{sub 3} Mott insulator thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grisolia, M. N.; Bruno, F. Y.; Sando, D.

2014-10-27

We report on the optimization process to synthesize epitaxial thin films of GdTiO{sub 3} on SrLaGaO{sub 4} substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Optimized films are free of impurity phases and are fully strained. They possess a magnetic Curie temperature T{sub C} = 31.8 K with a saturation magnetization of 4.2 μ{sub B} per formula unit at 10 K. Transport measurements reveal an insulating response, as expected. Optical spectroscopy indicates a band gap of ∼0.7 eV, comparable to the bulk value. Our work adds ferrimagnetic orthotitanates to the palette of perovskite materials for the design of emergent strongly correlated states at oxide interfaces using a versatile growthmore » technique such as pulsed laser deposition.« less

Oxide Semiconductor-Based Flexible Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Thin-Film Transistors Fabricated on Polydimethylsiloxane Elastomer.

PubMed

Jung, Soon-Won; Choi, Jeong-Seon; Park, Jung Ho; Koo, Jae Bon; Park, Chan Woo; Na, Bock Soon; Oh, Ji-Young; Lim, Sang Chul; Lee, Sang Seok; Chu, Hye Yong

2016-03-01

We demonstrate flexible organic/inorganic hybrid thin-film transistors (TFTs) on a polydimethysilox- ane (PDMS) elastomer substrate. The active channel and gate insulator of the hybrid TFT are composed of In-Ga-Zn-O (IGZO) and blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF- TrFE)] with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), respectively. It has been confirmed that the fabri- cated TFT display excellent characteristics: the recorded field-effect mobility, sub-threshold voltage swing, and I(on)/I(off) ratio were approximately 0.35 cm2 V(-1) s(-1), 1.5 V/decade, and 10(4), respectively. These characteristics did not experience any degradation at a bending radius of 15 mm. These results correspond to the first demonstration of a hybrid-type TFT using an organic gate insulator/oxide semiconducting active channel structure fabricated on PDMS elastomer, and demonstrate the feasibility of a promising device in a flexible electronic system.

Topological Magnon Modes in Patterned Ferrimagnetic Insulator Thin Films.

PubMed

Li, Yun-Mei; Xiao, Jiang; Chang, Kai

2018-05-09

Manipulation of magnons opens an attractive direction in the future energy-efficient information processing devices. Such quasi-particles can transfer and process information free from the troublesome Ohmic loss in conventional electronic devices. Here, we propose to realize topologically protected magnon modes using the interface between the patterned ferrimagnetic insulator thin films of different configurations without the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. The interface thus behaves like a perfect waveguide to conduct the magnon modes lying in the band gap. These modes are immune to backscattering even in sharply bent tracks, robust against the disorders, and maintain a high degree of coherence during propagation. We design a magnonic Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which realizes a continuous change of magnon signal with varying external magnetic field or driving frequency. Our results pave a new way for realizing topologically protected magnon waveguide and finally achieving a scalable low-dissipation spintronic devices and even the magnonic integrated circuit.

Superconductor-Insulator transition in sputtered amorphous MoRu and MoRuN thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makise, K.; Shinozaki, B.; Ichikawa, F.

2018-03-01

This work shows the experimental results of the superconductor-insulator (S-I) transition for amorphous molybdenum ruthenium (MoRu) and molybdenum ruthenium nitride (MoRuN) films. These amorphous films onto c-plane sapphire substrates have been interpreted to be homogeneous by XRD and AFM measurements. Electrical and superconducting properties measurements were carried out on MoRu and MoRuN thin films deposited by reactive sputtering technique. We have analysed the data on R sq (T) based on excess conductivity of superconducting films by the AL and MT term and weak localization and electron-electron interaction for the conductance. MoRu films which offer the most homogeneous film morphology, showed a critical sheet resistance of transition, Rc, of ∼ 2 kΩ. This values is smaller than those previously our reported for quench-condensed MoRu films on SiO underlayer held at liquid He temperature.

Disorder-dominated linear magnetoresistance in topological insulator Bi2Se3 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wen Jie; Gao, Kuang Hong; Li, Qiu Lin; Li, Zhi-Qing

2017-12-01

The linear magnetoresistance (MR) effect is an interesting topic due to its potential applications. In topological insulator Bi2Se3, this effect has been reported to be dominated by the carrier mobility (μ) and hence has a classical origin. Here, we study the magnetotransport properties of Bi2Se3 thin films and observe the linear MR effect, which cannot be attributed to the quantum model. Unexpectedly, the linear MR does not show the linear dependence on μ, in conflict with the reported results. However, we find that the observed linear MR is dominated by the inverse disorder parameter 1 /kFl , where kF and l are the Fermi wave vector and the mean free path, respectively. This suggests that its origin is also classical and that no μ-dominated linear MR effect is observed which may be due to the very small μ values in our samples.

Performance of a hypersonic hot fuselage structure with a carbon dioxide frost projected, nonintegral cryogenic tank

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sharpe, E. L.; Jackson, L. R.

1975-01-01

A model which consisted of a hot structure and a nonintegral tank protected by a carbon dioxide frost thermal protection system was tested under the following conditions: (1) room temperature loading and (2) heating and loading corresponding to the Mach 8 flight of an air-breathing launch vehicle. In the simulated flight tests, liquid nitrogen inside the tank was withdrawn at the rate fuel would be consumed. Prior to each simulated flight test, carbon dioxide was cryodeposited in the insulation surrounding the tank; during the tests, subliming CO2 frost absorbed heat and provided a purge gas for the space between the tank and the structure. A method of flame spraying the joints between panels with a nickel-aluminum material was developed to prevent excessive leakage of the purge gas through the outer structure. The tests indicated that the hot structure (with a joint repaired by riveting), the nonintegral tank and suspension system, and the carbon dioxide frost thermal protection system provide a workable concept with predictable performance.

Electron beam induced damage in PECVD Si3N4 and SiO2 films on InP

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pantic, Dragan M.; Kapoor, Vik J.; Young, Paul G.; Williams, Wallace D.; Dickman, John E.

1990-01-01

Phosphorus rich plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of silicon nitride and silicon dioxide films on n-type indium phosphide (InP) substrates were exposed to electron beam irradiation in the 5 to 40 keV range for the purpose of characterizing the damage induced in the dielectic. The electron beam exposure was on the range of 10(exp -7) to 10(exp -3) C/sq cm. The damage to the devices was characterized by capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements of the metal insulator semiconductor (MIS) capacitors. These results were compared to results obtained for radiation damage of thermal silicon dioxide on silicon (Si) MOS capacitors with similar exposures. The radiation induced damage in the PECVD silicon nitride films on InP was successfully annealed out in an hydrogen/nitrogen (H2/N2) ambient at 400 C for 15 min. The PECVD silicon dioxide films on InP had the least radiation damage, while the thermal silicon dioxide films on Si had the most radiation damage.

Epitaxial Hexagonal Ferrites for Millimeter Wave Tunable Filters.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-12-13

form of thin films or slabs, the LPE format should be particularly suitable. Another potential advantage of the LPE format is that the insulating...flux (solvent). In effect, this emulates the successful LPE garnet (YIG) technology which employs this flux. In contrast to garnets , Pb atoms can be...member for a workshop entitled "Application of Garnet and Ferrite Thin Films to Microwave Devices." The principal investigator also attended the 6th

The Effects of Postprocessing on Physical and Solution Deposition of Complex Oxide Thin Films for Tunable Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-01

BST barium strontium titanate εr dielectric constant MIM metal /insulator/ metal MOSD metal organic spin deposition PtSi platinum silicide RF...improvement. In addition, BST films processed via solution metal organic spin deposition, which yield a lower dielectric range of 150–335, also...layers. This report details how we used solution and physical deposition to fabricate thin films via radio frequency (RF) sputtering and metal

PLD of metal insulator and relaxor electroceramic thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, Robert M.; Catalan, Gustau; Corbett, Michael H.; O'Neill, Dierdre; Gregg, J. M.

2001-04-01

In this paper we describe the use of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) for the growth of thin film VxOy, NdNiO3 and Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3. We begin by briefly describing our growth system. By showing case studies of the three materials systems we identify some important aspects and conditions that we believe are of crucial importance to oxide film growth in general.

Computer program for thin-wire structures in a homogeneous conducting medium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richmond, J. H.

1974-01-01

A computer program is presented for thin-wire antennas and scatters in a homogeneous conducting medium. The anaylsis is performed in the real or complex frequency domain. The program handles insulated and bare wires with finite conductivity and lumped loads. The output data includes the current distribution, impedance, radiation efficiency, gain, absorption cross section, scattering cross section, echo area and the polarization scattering matrix. The program uses sinusoidal bases and Galerkin's method.

Transport studies of mesoscopic and magnetic topological insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kandala, Abhinav

Topological Insulators (TI) are a novel class of materials that are ideally insulating in the bulk, but have gapless, metallic states at the surface. These surface states have very exciting properties such as suppressed backscattering and spin-momentum locking, which are of great interest for research efforts towards dissipation-less electronics and spintronics. The popular thermo-electrics from the Bi chalcogenide family -- Bi2Se3 and Bi 2Te3 -- have been experimentally demonstrated to be promising candidate TI materials, and form the chosen material system for this dissertation research. The first part of this dissertation research focuses on low temperature magneto-transport measurements of mesoscopic topological insulator devices (Chapter 3). The top-down patterning of epitaxial thin films of Bi2Se 3 and Bi2Te3 (that are plagued with bulk conduction) is motivated, in part, by an effort to enhance the surface-to-volume ratio in mesoscopic channels. At cryogenic temperatures, transport measurements of these devices reveal periodic conductance fluctuations in straight channel devices, despite the lack of any explicit patterning of the TI film into a ring or a loop. A careful analysis of the surface morphology and comparison with the transport data then demonstrate that scattering off the edges of triangular plateaus at the surface leads to the creation of Aharonov-Bohm electronic orbits responsible for the periodicity. Another major focus of this dissertation work is on combining topological insulators with magnetism. This has been shown to open a gap in the surface states leading to possibilities of magnetic "gating" and the realization of dissipation-less transport at zero-field, amongst several other exotic quantum phenomena. In this dissertation, I present two different schemes for probing these effects in electrical transport devices -- interfacing with insulating ferromagnets (Chapter 4) and bulk magnetic doping (Chapter 5). In Chapter 4, I shall present the integration of GdN with Bi2Se 3 thin films. Careful structural, magnetic and electrical characterization of the heterostructures is employed to confirm that the magnetic species is solely restricted to the surface, and that the ferromagnetic GdN layer to be insulating, ensuring current flow solely through the TI layer. We also devise a novel device geometry that enables direct comparison of the magneto-transport properties of TI films with and without proximate magnetism, all, in a single device. A comparative study of weak anti-localization suggested that the overlying GdN suppressed quantum interference in the top surface state. In our second generation heterostructure devices, GdN is interfaced with low-carrier density, gate-tunable thin films of (Bi,Sb)2Te3 grown on SrTiO 3 substrates. These devices enable us to map out the comparison of magneto-transport, as the chemical potential is tuned from the bulk conduction band into the bulk valence band. In a second approach to study the effects of magnetism on TI's, I shall present, in Chapter 5, our results from magnetic doping of (Bi,Sb) 2Te3 thin films with Cr -- a system that was recently demonstrated to be a Quantum Anomalous Hall (QAH) insulator. In a Cr-rich regime, a highly insulating, high Curie temperature ferromagnetic phase is achieved. However, a careful, iterative process of tuning the composition of this complex alloy enabled access to the QAHE regime, with the observation of near dissipation-less transport and perfect Hall quantization at zero external field. Furthermore, we demonstrate a field tilt driven crossover between a quantum anomalous Hall phase and a gapless, ferromagnetic TI phase. This crossover manifests itself in an electrically tunable, giant anisotropic magneto-resistance effect that we employ as a quantitative probe of edge transport in this system.

Scanning Probe Microscopy on heterogeneous CaCu3Ti4O12 thin films

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

The conductive atomic force microscopy provided a local characterization of the dielectric heterogeneities in CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) thin films deposited by MOCVD on IrO2 bottom electrode. In particular, both techniques have been employed to clarify the role of the inter- and sub-granular features in terms of conductive and insulating regions. The microstructure and the dielectric properties of CCTO thin films have been studied and the evidence of internal barriers in CCTO thin films has been provided. The role of internal barriers and the possible explanation for the extrinsic origin of the giant dielectric response in CCTO has been evaluated. PMID:21711646

Scanning Probe Microscopy on heterogeneous CaCu3Ti4O12 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiorenza, Patrick; Lo Nigro, Raffaella; Raineri, Vito

2011-12-01

The conductive atomic force microscopy provided a local characterization of the dielectric heterogeneities in CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) thin films deposited by MOCVD on IrO2 bottom electrode. In particular, both techniques have been employed to clarify the role of the inter- and sub-granular features in terms of conductive and insulating regions. The microstructure and the dielectric properties of CCTO thin films have been studied and the evidence of internal barriers in CCTO thin films has been provided. The role of internal barriers and the possible explanation for the extrinsic origin of the giant dielectric response in CCTO has been evaluated.

Scanning Probe Microscopy on heterogeneous CaCu3Ti4O12 thin films.

PubMed

Fiorenza, Patrick; Lo Nigro, Raffaella; Raineri, Vito

2011-02-04

The conductive atomic force microscopy provided a local characterization of the dielectric heterogeneities in CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) thin films deposited by MOCVD on IrO2 bottom electrode. In particular, both techniques have been employed to clarify the role of the inter- and sub-granular features in terms of conductive and insulating regions. The microstructure and the dielectric properties of CCTO thin films have been studied and the evidence of internal barriers in CCTO thin films has been provided. The role of internal barriers and the possible explanation for the extrinsic origin of the giant dielectric response in CCTO has been evaluated.

The effects of layering in ferroelectric Si-doped HfO{sub 2} thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lomenzo, Patrick D.; Nishida, Toshikazu, E-mail: nishida@ufl.edu; Takmeel, Qanit

2014-08-18

Atomic layer deposited Si-doped HfO{sub 2} thin films approximately 10 nm thick are deposited with various Si-dopant concentrations and distributions. The ferroelectric behavior of the HfO{sub 2} thin films are shown to be dependent on both the Si mol. % and the distribution of Si-dopants. Metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor capacitors are shown to exhibit a tunable remanent polarization through the adjustment of the Si-dopant distribution at a constant Si concentration. Inhomogeneous layering of Si-dopants within the thin films effectively lowers the remanent polarization. A pinched hysteresis loop is observed for higher Si-dopant concentrations and found to be dependent on the Si layering distribution.

Insulator-protected mechanically controlled break junctions for measuring single-molecule conductance in aqueous environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muthusubramanian, N.; Galan, E.; Maity, C.; Eelkema, R.; Grozema, F. C.; van der Zant, H. S. J.

2016-07-01

We present a method to fabricate insulated gold mechanically controlled break junctions (MCBJ) by coating the metal with a thin layer of aluminum oxide using plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition. The Al2O3 thickness deposited on the MCBJ devices was varied from 2 to 15 nm to test the suppression of leakage currents in deionized water and phosphate buffered saline. Junctions coated with a 15 nm thick oxide layer yielded atomically sharp electrodes and negligible conductance counts in the range of 1 to 10-4 G0 (1 G0 = 77 μS), where single-molecule conductances are commonly observed. The insulated devices were used to measure the conductance of an amphiphilic oligophenylene ethynylene derivative in deionized water.

Toughened uni-piece, fibrous, reinforced, oxidization-resistant composite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stewart, David A. (Inventor); Leiser, Daniel B. (Inventor)

2008-01-01

A composite thermal protection structure, for applications such as atmospheric re-entry vehicles, that can withstand temperatures as high as 3600.degree. F. The structure includes an exposed surface cap having a specially formulated coating, an insulator base adjacent to the cap with another specially formulated coating, and one or more pins that extend from the cap through the insulator base to tie the cap and base together, through ceramic bonding and mechanical attachment. The cap and insulator base have corresponding depressions and projections that mate and allow for differences in thermal expansion of the cap and base. A thin coating of a reaction cured glass formulation is optionally provided on the structure to allow reduce oxidization and/or to reduce catalytic efficiency.