Fabrication of artificially stacked ultrathin ZnS/MgF2 multilayer dielectric optical filters.

PubMed

Kedawat, Garima; Srivastava, Subodh; Jain, Vipin Kumar; Kumar, Pawan; Kataria, Vanjula; Agrawal, Yogyata; Gupta, Bipin Kumar; Vijay, Yogesh K

2013-06-12

We report a design and fabrication strategy for creating an artificially stacked multilayered optical filters using a thermal evaporation technique. We have selectively chosen a zinc sulphide (ZnS) lattice for the high refractive index (n = 2.35) layer and a magnesium fluoride (MgF2) lattice as the low refractive index (n = 1.38) layer. Furthermore, the microstructures of the ZnS/MgF2 multilayer films are also investigated through TEM and HRTEM imaging. The fabricated filters consist of high and low refractive 7 and 13 alternating layers, which exhibit a reflectance of 89.60% and 99%, respectively. The optical microcavity achieved an average transmittance of 85.13% within the visible range. The obtained results suggest that these filters could be an exceptional choice for next-generation antireflection coatings, high-reflection mirrors, and polarized interference filters.

Artificial dispersion via high-order homogenization: magnetoelectric coupling and magnetism from dielectric layers

PubMed Central

Liu, Yan; Guenneau, Sébastien; Gralak, Boris

2013-01-01

We investigate a high-order homogenization (HOH) algorithm for periodic multi-layered stacks. The mathematical tool of choice is a transfer matrix method. Expressions for effective permeability, permittivity and magnetoelectric coupling are explored by frequency power expansions. On the physical side, this HOH uncovers a magnetoelectric coupling effect (odd-order approximation) and artificial magnetism (even-order approximation) in moderate contrast photonic crystals. Comparing the effective parameters' expressions of a stack with three layers against that of a stack with two layers, we note that the magnetoelectric coupling effect vanishes while the artificial magnetism can still be achieved in a centre-symmetric periodic structure. Furthermore, we numerically check the effective parameters through the dispersion law and transmission property of a stack with two dielectric layers against that of an effective bianisotropic medium: they are in good agreement throughout the low-frequency (acoustic) band until the first stop band, where the analyticity of the logarithm function of the transfer matrix () breaks down. PMID:24101891

A comparative study on top-gated and bottom-gated multilayer MoS2 transistors with gate stacked dielectric of Al2O3/HfO2.

PubMed

Zou, Xiao; Xu, Jingping; Huang, Hao; Zhu, Ziqang; Wang, Hongjiu; Li, Borui; Liao, Lei; Fang, Guojia

2018-06-15

Top-gated and bottom-gated transistors with multilayer MoS 2 channel fully encapsulated by stacked Al 2 O 3 /HfO 2 (9 nm/6 nm) were fabricated and comparatively studied. Excellent electrical properties are demonstrated for the TG transistors with high on-off current ratio of 10 8 , high field-effect mobility of 10 2 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , and low subthreshold swing of 93 mV dec -1 . Also, enhanced reliability has been achieved for the TG transistors with threshold voltage shift of 10 -3 -10 -2 V MV -1 cm -1 after 6 MV cm -1 gate-biased stressing. All improvement for the TG device can be ascribed to the formed device structure and dielectric environment. Degradation of the performance for the BG transistors should be attributed to reduced gate capacitance density and deteriorated interface properties related to vdW gap with a thickness about 0.4 nm. So, the TG transistor with MoS 2 channel fully encapsulated by stacked Al 2 O 3 /HfO 2 is a promising way to fabricate high-performance ML MoS 2 field-effect transistors for practical electron device applications.

A comparative study on top-gated and bottom-gated multilayer MoS2 transistors with gate stacked dielectric of Al2O3/HfO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Xiao; Xu, Jingping; Huang, Hao; Zhu, Ziqang; Wang, Hongjiu; Li, Borui; Liao, Lei; Fang, Guojia

2018-06-01

Top-gated and bottom-gated transistors with multilayer MoS2 channel fully encapsulated by stacked Al2O3/HfO2 (9 nm/6 nm) were fabricated and comparatively studied. Excellent electrical properties are demonstrated for the TG transistors with high on–off current ratio of 108, high field-effect mobility of 102 cm2 V‑1 s‑1, and low subthreshold swing of 93 mV dec–1. Also, enhanced reliability has been achieved for the TG transistors with threshold voltage shift of 10‑3–10‑2 V MV–1 cm–1 after 6 MV cm‑1 gate-biased stressing. All improvement for the TG device can be ascribed to the formed device structure and dielectric environment. Degradation of the performance for the BG transistors should be attributed to reduced gate capacitance density and deteriorated interface properties related to vdW gap with a thickness about 0.4 nm. So, the TG transistor with MoS2 channel fully encapsulated by stacked Al2O3/HfO2 is a promising way to fabricate high-performance ML MoS2 field-effect transistors for practical electron device applications.

Design of wide-angle solar-selective absorbers using aperiodic metal-dielectric stacks.

PubMed

Sergeant, Nicholas P; Pincon, Olivier; Agrawal, Mukul; Peumans, Peter

2009-12-07

Spectral control of the emissivity of surfaces is essential in applications such as solar thermal and thermophotovoltaic energy conversion in order to achieve the highest conversion efficiencies possible. We investigated the spectral performance of planar aperiodic metal-dielectric multilayer coatings for these applications. The response of the coatings was optimized for a target operational temperature using needle-optimization based on a transfer matrix approach. Excellent spectral selectivity was achieved over a wide angular range. These aperiodic metal-dielectric stacks have the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of thermophotovoltaic and solar thermal conversion systems. Optimal coatings for concentrated solar thermal conversion were modeled to have a thermal emissivity <7% at 720K while absorbing >94% of the incident light. In addition, optimized coatings for solar thermophotovoltaic applications were modeled to have thermal emissivity <16% at 1750K while absorbing >85% of the concentrated solar radiation.

Adhesion enhancement methods for a roll-to-sheet fabrication process of DE stack-transducers and their influences on the electric properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bochmann, Helge; von Heckel, Benedikt; Maas, Jürgen

2017-04-01

Transducers made of dielectric elastomers (DE) offer versatile opportunities for many different applications. To gain large strains and forces a multilayer topology is commonly used. DE stack-transducers represent one multilayer topology and can be operated as a sensor, a generator or an actuator simultaneously. They are made of many layers of DE films, like silicone (PDMS) and polyurethane (PUR), stacked on top of each other. The single layers are several micrometers thin and coated with a compliant electrode on both sides. Depending on the application a DE transducer has to withstand tensile forces, which may lead to a delamination of the layers and a ripping of the stack-transducer. This can be prevented by enhancing the adhesion among the layers. Within this contribution a surface plasma jet treatment with an atmospheric plasma beam as well as an adhesive utilized as electrode material was investigated to obtain an adhesion enhancement. The effects of these methods to enhance the adhesion are introduced briefly. Furthermore, various investigations were made to determine the benefits of the enhancement methods with respect to the electromechanical properties of the electrode. Therefore, certain tests regarding the surface resistance of the electrode and the dielectric breakdown strength (DBS) of the DE film were conducted. The tests indicate that the influences are strongly dependent on the composition of the electrode and the used DE material. Finally, improvements for a dry deposition roll-to-sheet manufacturing process for DE stack-transducers are derived from the obtained results.

High performance capacitors using nano-structure multilayer materials fabrication

DOEpatents

Barbee, Jr., Troy W.; Johnson, Gary W.; O'Brien, Dennis W.

1995-01-01

A high performance capacitor fabricated from nano-structure multilayer materials, such as by controlled, reactive sputtering, and having very high energy-density, high specific energy and high voltage breakdown. The multilayer capacitors, for example, may be fabricated in a "notepad" configuration composed of 200-300 alternating layers of conductive and dielectric materials so as to have a thickness of 1 mm, width of 200 mm, and length of 300 mm, with terminals at each end of the layers suitable for brazing, thereby guaranteeing low contact resistance and high durability. The "notepad" capacitors may be stacked in single or multiple rows (series-parallel banks) to increase the voltage and energy density.

High performance capacitors using nano-structure multilayer materials fabrication

DOEpatents

Barbee, Jr., Troy W.; Johnson, Gary W.; O'Brien, Dennis W.

1996-01-01

A high performance capacitor fabricated from nano-structure multilayer materials, such as by controlled, reactive sputtering, and having very high energy-density, high specific energy and high voltage breakdown. The multilayer capacitors, for example, may be fabricated in a "notepad" configuration composed of 200-300 alternating layers of conductive and dielectric materials so as to have a thickness of 1 mm, width of 200 mm, and length of 300 mm, with terminals at each end of the layers suitable for brazing, thereby guaranteeing low contact resistance and high durability. The "notepad" capacitors may be stacked in single or multiple rows (series-parallel banks) to increase the voltage and energy density.

High Transparent and Conductive TiO2/Ag/TiO2 Multilayer Electrode Films Deposited on Sapphire Substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loka, Chadrasekhar; Moon, Sung Whan; Choi, YiSik; Lee, Kee-Sun

2018-03-01

Transparent conducting oxides attract intense interests due to its diverse industrial applications. In this study, we report sapphire substrate-based TiO2/Ag/TiO2 (TAT) multilayer structure of indium-free transparent conductive multilayer coatings. The TAT thin films were deposited at room temperature on sapphire substrates and a rigorous analysis has been presented on the electrical and optical properties of the films as a function of Ag thickness. The optical and electrical properties were mainly controlled by the Ag mid-layer thickness of the TAT tri-layer. The TAT films showed high luminous transmittance 84% at 550 nm along with noteworthy low electrical resistance 3.65 × 10-5 Ω-cm and sheet resistance of 3.77 Ω/square, which is better are than those of amorphous ITO films and any sapphire-based dielectric/metal/dielectric multilayer stack. The carrier concentration of the films was increased with respect to Ag thickness. We obtained highest Hackke's figure of merit 43.97 × 10-3 Ω-1 from the TAT multilayer thin film with a 16 nm thick Ag mid-layer.

Fabrication of dielectric elastomer stack transducers (DEST) by liquid deposition modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klug, Florian; Solano-Arana, Susana; Mößinger, Holger; Förster-Zügel, Florentine; Schlaak, Helmut F.

2017-04-01

Established fabrication methods for dielectric elastomer stack transducers (DEST) are mostly based on twodimensional thin-film technology. Because of this, DEST are based on simple two-dimensionally structured shapes. For certain applications, like valves or Braille displays, these structures are suited well enough. However, a more flexible fabrication method allows for more complex actuator designs, which would otherwise require extra processing steps. Fabrication methods with the possibility of three-dimensional structuring allow e.g. the integration of electrical connections, cavities, channels, sensor and other structural elements during the fabrication. This opens up new applications, as well as the opportunity for faster prototype production of individually designed DEST for a given application. In this work, a manufacturing system allowing three dimensional structuring is described. It enables the production of multilayer and three-dimensional structured DEST by liquid deposition modelling. The system is based on a custom made dual extruder, connected to a commercial threeaxis positioning system. It allows a computer controlled liquid deposition of two materials. After tuning the manufacturing parameters the production of thin layers with at thickness of less than 50 μm, as well as stacking electrode and dielectric materials is feasible. With this setup a first DEST with dielectric layer thickness less than 50 μm is build successfully and its performance is evaluated.

Disordered animal multilayer reflectors and the localization of light

PubMed Central

Jordan, T. M.; Partridge, J. C.; Roberts, N. W.

2014-01-01

Multilayer optical reflectors constructed from ‘stacks’ of alternating layers of high and low refractive index dielectric materials are present in many animals. For example, stacks of guanine crystals with cytoplasm gaps occur within the skin and scales of fish, and stacks of protein platelets with cytoplasm gaps occur within the iridophores of cephalopods. Common to all these animal multilayer reflectors are different degrees of random variation in the thicknesses of the individual layers in the stack, ranging from highly periodic structures to strongly disordered systems. However, previous discussions of the optical effects of such thickness disorder have been made without quantitative reference to the propagation of light within the reflector. Here, we demonstrate that Anderson localization provides a general theoretical framework to explain the common coherent interference and optical properties of these biological reflectors. Firstly, we illustrate how the localization length enables the spectral properties of the reflections from more weakly disordered ‘coloured’ and more strongly disordered ‘silvery’ reflectors to be explained by the same physical process. Secondly, we show how the polarization properties of reflection can be controlled within guanine–cytoplasm reflectors, with an interplay of birefringence and thickness disorder explaining the origin of broadband polarization-insensitive reflectivity. PMID:25339688

High performance capacitors using nano-structure multilayer materials fabrication

DOEpatents

Barbee, T.W. Jr.; Johnson, G.W.; O`Brien, D.W.

1995-05-09

A high performance capacitor is fabricated from nano-structure multilayer materials, such as by controlled, reactive sputtering, and having very high energy-density, high specific energy and high voltage breakdown. The multilayer capacitors, for example, may be fabricated in a ``notepad`` configuration composed of 200-300 alternating layers of conductive and dielectric materials so as to have a thickness of 1 mm, width of 200 mm, and length of 300 mm, with terminals at each end of the layers suitable for brazing, thereby guaranteeing low contact resistance and high durability. The notepad capacitors may be stacked in single or multiple rows (series-parallel banks) to increase the voltage and energy density. 5 figs.

High performance capacitors using nano-structure multilayer materials fabrication

DOEpatents

Barbee, T.W. Jr.; Johnson, G.W.; O`Brien, D.W.

1996-01-23

A high performance capacitor is described which is fabricated from nano-structure multilayer materials, such as by controlled, reactive sputtering, and having very high energy-density, high specific energy and high voltage breakdown. The multilayer capacitors, for example, may be fabricated in a ``notepad`` configuration composed of 200--300 alternating layers of conductive and dielectric materials so as to have a thickness of 1 mm, width of 200 mm, and length of 300 mm, with terminals at each end of the layers suitable for brazing, thereby guaranteeing low contact resistance and high durability. The ``notepad`` capacitors may be stacked in single or multiple rows (series-parallel banks) to increase the voltage and energy density. 5 figs.

Arsenic sulfide layers for dielectric reflection mirrors prepared from solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matějec, Vlastimil; Pedlikova, Jitka; BartoÅ, Ivo; Podrazký, Ondřej

2017-12-01

Chalcogenide materials due to high refractive indices, transparency in the mid-IR spectral region, nonlinear refractive indices, etc, have been employed as fibers and films in different photonic devices such as light amplifiers, optical regenerators, broadband radiation sources. Chalcogenide films can be prepared by physical methods as well as by solution-based techniques in which solutions of chalcogenides in amines are used. This paper presents results on the solution-based fabrication and optical characterization of single arsenic sulfide layers and multilayer stacks containing As2S3 layers together with porous silica layers coated on planar and fiber-optic substrates. Input As2S3 solutions for the layer fabrications were prepared by dissolving As2S3 powder in n-propylamine in a concentration of 0.50 mol/l. These solutions were applied on glass slides by dip-coating method and obtained layers were thermally treated in vacuum at temperatures up to 180 °C. Similar procedure was used for As2S3 layers in multilayer stacks. Such stacks were fabricated by repeating the application of one porous silica layer prepared by the sol-gel method and one As2S3 layer onto glass slides or silica fibers (a diameter of 0.3 mm) by using the dip-coating method. It has been found that the curing process of the applied layers has to be carefully controlled in order to obtain stacks with three pairs of such layers. Single arsenic and porous silica layers were characterized by optical microscopy, and by measuring their transmission spectra in a range of 200-2500 nm. Thicknesses and refractive indices were estimated from the spectra. Transmission spectra of planar multilayer stacks were measured, too. Interference bands have been determined from optical measurements on the multilayer stacks with a minimum transmittance of about 50% which indicates the possibility of using such stacks as reflecting mirrors.

Negative refraction and sub-wavelength focusing in the visible range using transparent metallo-dielectric stacks.

PubMed

Scalora, Michael; D'Aguanno, Giuseppe; Mattiucci, Nadia; Bloemer, Mark J; de Ceglia, Domenico; Centini, Marco; Mandatori, Antonio; Sibilia, Concita; Akozbek, Neset; Cappeddu, Mirko G; Fowler, Mark; Haus, Joseph W

2007-01-22

We numerically demonstrate negative refraction of the Poynting vector and sub-wavelength focusing in the visible part of the spectrum using a transparent multilayer, metallo-dielectric photonic band gap structure. Our results reveal that in the wavelength regime of interest evanescent waves are not transmitted by the structure, and that the main underlying physical mechanisms for sub-wavelength focusing are resonance tunneling, field localization, and propagation effects. These structures offer several advantages: tunability and high transmittance (50% or better) across the visible and near IR ranges; large object-image distances, with image planes located beyond the range where the evanescent waves have decayed. From a practical point of view, our findings point to a simpler way to fabricate a material that exhibits negative refraction and maintains high transparency across a broad wavelength range. Transparent metallo-dielectric stacks also provide an opportunity to expand the exploration of wave propagation phenomena in metals, both in the linear and nonlinear regimes.

Vibrotactile display for mobile applications based on dielectric elastomer stack actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matysek, Marc; Lotz, Peter; Flittner, Klaus; Schlaak, Helmut F.

2010-04-01

Dielectric elastomer stack actuators (DESA) offer the possibility to build actuator arrays at very high density. The driving voltage can be defined by the film thickness, ranging from 80 μm down to 5 μm and driving field strength of 30 V/μm. In this paper we present the development of a vibrotactile display based on multilayer technology. The display is used to present several operating conditions of a machine in form of haptic information to a human finger. As an example the design of a mp3-player interface is introduced. To build up an intuitive and user friendly interface several aspects of human haptic perception have to be considered. Using the results of preliminary user tests the interface is designed and an appropriate actuator layout is derived. Controlling these actuators is important because there are many possibilities to present different information, e.g. by varying the driving parameters. A built demonstrator is used to verify the concept: a high recognition rate of more than 90% validates the concept. A characterization of mechanical and electrical parameters proofs the suitability of dielectric elastomer stack actuators for the use in mobile applications.

Thermal conductivity measurement of amorphous dielectric multilayers for phase-change memory power reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fong, S. W.; Sood, A.; Chen, L.; Kumari, N.; Asheghi, M.; Goodson, K. E.; Gibson, G. A.; Wong, H.-S. P.

2016-07-01

In this work, we investigate the temperature-dependent thermal conductivities of few nanometer thick alternating stacks of amorphous dielectrics, specifically SiO2/Al2O3 and SiO2/Si3N4. Experiments using steady-state Joule-heating and electrical thermometry, while using a micro-miniature refrigerator over a wide temperature range (100-500 K), show that amorphous thin-film multilayer SiO2/Si3N4 and SiO2/Al2O3 exhibit through-plane room temperature effective thermal conductivities of about 1.14 and 0.48 W/(m × K), respectively. In the case of SiO2/Al2O3, the reduced conductivity is attributed to lowered film density (7.03 → 5.44 × 1028 m-3 for SiO2 and 10.2 → 8.27 × 1028 m-3 for Al2O3) caused by atomic layer deposition of thin-films as well as a small, finite, and repeating thermal boundary resistance (TBR) of 1.5 m2 K/GW between dielectric layers. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that vibrational mismatch between amorphous oxide layers is small, and that the TBR between layers is largely due to imperfect interfaces. Finally, the impact of using this multilayer dielectric in a dash-type phase-change memory device is studied using finite-element simulations.

Magneto-Optic Materials for Biasing Ring Laser Gyros. Report Number 3. (Computer Model for Evaluating Scattering from Multi-Layer Dielectric Thin Film Structures Containing a Magnetic Layer.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-09-30

16. "Substituted Rare Earth Garnet Substrate Crystals and LPE Films for Magneto-optic Applications," M. Kestigian, W.R. Bekebrede and A.B. Smith, J...transparent garnet magnetic films have been discussed by workers at Sperry [4,5]. The above considerations indicate that it is highly desirable to have...metallic magnetic film , such as a garnet , on top of an MLD stack. C. A partially transparent (very thin) magnetic metal film on top of an MLD stack. We

Multilayer Transparent Top Electrode for Solution Processed Perovskite/Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 Four Terminal Tandem Solar Cells.

PubMed

Yang, Yang Michael; Chen, Qi; Hsieh, Yao-Tsung; Song, Tze-Bin; Marco, Nicholas De; Zhou, Huanping; Yang, Yang

2015-07-28

Halide perovskites (PVSK) have attracted much attention in recent years due to their high potential as a next generation solar cell material. To further improve perovskites progress toward a state-of-the-art technology, it is desirable to create a tandem structure in which perovskite may be stacked with a current prevailing solar cell such as silicon (Si) or Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 (CIGS). The transparent top electrode is one of the key components as well as challenges to realize such tandem structure. Herein, we develop a multilayer transparent top electrode for perovskite photovoltaic devices delivering an 11.5% efficiency in top illumination mode. The transparent electrode is based on a dielectric/metal/dielectric structure, featuring an ultrathin gold seeded silver layer. A four terminal tandem solar cell employing solution processed CIGS and perovskite cells is also demonstrated with over 15% efficiency.

Tunable graphene-based hyperbolic metamaterial operating in SCLU telecom bands.

PubMed

Janaszek, Bartosz; Tyszka-Zawadzka, Anna; Szczepański, Paweł

2016-10-17

The tunability of graphene-based hyperbolic metamaterial structure operating in SCLU telecom bands is investigated. For the first time it has been shown that for the proper design of a graphene/dielectric multilayer stack, the HMM Type I, Epsilon-Near-Zero and Type II regimes are possible by changing the biasing potential. Numerical results reveal the effect of structure parameters such as the thickness of the dielectric layer as well as a number of graphene sheets in a unit cell (i.e., dielectric/graphene bilayer) on the tunability range and shape of the dispersion characteristics (i.e., Type I/ENZ/Type II) in SCLU telecom bands. This kind of materials could offer a technological platform for novel devices having various applications in optical communications technology.

Characterizing dielectric tensors of anisotropic materials from a single measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Paula Kay

Ellipsometry techniques look at changes in polarization states to measure optical properties of thin film materials. A beam reflected from a substrate measures the real and imaginary parts of the index of the material represented as n and k, respectively. Measuring the substrate at several angles gives additional information that can be used to measure multilayer thin film stacks. However, the outstanding problem in standard ellipsometry is that it uses a limited number of incident polarization states (s and p). This limits the technique to isotropic materials. The technique discussed in this paper extends the standard process to measure anisotropic materials by using a larger set of incident polarization states. By using a polarimeter to generate several incident polarization states and measure the polarization properties of the sample, ellipsometry can be performed on biaxial materials. Use of an optimization algorithm in conjunction with biaxial ellipsometry can more accurately determine the dielectric tensor of individual layers in multilayer structures. Biaxial ellipsometry is a technique that measures the dielectric tensors of a biaxial substrate, single-layer thin film, or multi-layer structure. The dielectric tensor of a biaxial material consists of the real and imaginary parts of the three orthogonal principal indices (n x + ikx, ny +iky and nz + i kz) as well as three Euler angles (alpha, beta and gamma) to describe its orientation. The method utilized in this work measures an angle-of-incidence Mueller matrix from a Mueller matrix imaging polarimeter equipped with a pair of microscope objectives that have low polarization properties. To accurately determine the dielectric tensors for multilayer samples, the angle-of-incidence Mueller matrix images are collected for multiple wavelengths. This is done in either a transmission mode or a reflection mode, each incorporates an appropriate dispersion model. Given approximate a priori knowledge of the dielectric tensor and film thickness, a Jones reflectivity matrix is calculated by solving Maxwell's equations at each surface. Converting the Jones matrix into a Mueller matrix provides a starting point for optimization. An optimization algorithm then finds the best fit dielectric tensor based on the measured angle-of-incidence Mueller matrix image. This process can be applied to polarizing materials, birefringent crystals and the multilayer structures of liquid crystal displays. In particular, the need for such accuracy in liquid crystal displays is growing as their applications in industry evolve.

Micromachined Thin-Film Sensors for SOI-CMOS Co-Integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laconte, Jean; Flandre, D.; Raskin, Jean-Pierre

Co-integration of sensors with their associated electronics on a single silicon chip may provide many significant benefits regarding performance, reliability, miniaturization and process simplicity without significantly increasing the total cost. Micromachined Thin-Film Sensors for SOI-CMOS Co-integration covers the challenges and interests and demonstrates the successful co-integration of gas flow sensors on dielectric membrane, with their associated electronics, in CMOS-SOI technology. We firstly investigate the extraction of residual stress in thin layers and in their stacking and the release, in post-processing, of a 1 μm-thick robust and flat dielectric multilayered membrane using Tetramethyl Ammonium Hydroxide (TMAH) silicon micromachining solution.

Ni-BaTiO3-Based Base-Metal Electrode (BME) Ceramic Capacitors for Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Donhang; Fetter, Lula; Meinhold, Bruce

2015-01-01

A multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) is a high-temperature (1350C typical) co-fired ceramic monolithic that is composed of many layers of alternately stacked oxide-based dielectric and internal metal electrodes. To make the dielectric layers insulating and the metal electrode layers conducting, only highly oxidation-resistant precious metals, such as platinum, palladium, and silver, can be used for the co-firing of insulating MLCCs in a regular air atmosphere. MLCCs made with precious metals as internal electrodes and terminations are called precious-metal electrode (PME) capacitors. Currently, all military and space-level applications only address the use of PME capacitors.

Multilayer Piezoelectric Stack Actuator Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherrit, Stewart; Jones, Christopher M.; Aldrich, Jack B.; Blodget, Chad; Bao, Xioaqi; Badescu, Mircea; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2008-01-01

Future NASA missions are increasingly seeking to use actuators for precision positioning to accuracies of the order of fractions of a nanometer. For this purpose, multilayer piezoelectric stacks are being considered as actuators for driving these precision mechanisms. In this study, sets of commercial PZT stacks were tested in various AC and DC conditions at both nominal and extreme temperatures and voltages. AC signal testing included impedance, capacitance and dielectric loss factor of each actuator as a function of the small-signal driving sinusoidal frequency, and the ambient temperature. DC signal testing includes leakage current and displacement as a function of the applied DC voltage. The applied DC voltage was increased to over eight times the manufacturers' specifications to investigate the correlation between leakage current and breakdown voltage. Resonance characterization as a function of temperature was done over a temperature range of -180C to +200C which generally exceeded the manufacturers' specifications. In order to study the lifetime performance of these stacks, five actuators from one manufacturer were driven by a 60volt, 2 kHz sine-wave for ten billion cycles. The tests were performed using a Lab-View controlled automated data acquisition system that monitored the waveform of the stack electrical current and voltage. The measurements included the displacement, impedance, capacitance and leakage current and the analysis of the experimental results will be presented.

Magnetic multilayer structure

DOEpatents

Herget, Philipp; O'Sullivan, Eugene J.; Romankiw, Lubomyr T.; Wang, Naigang; Webb, Bucknell C.

2016-07-05

A mechanism is provided for an integrated laminated magnetic device. A substrate and a multilayer stack structure form the device. The multilayer stack structure includes alternating magnetic layers and diode structures formed on the substrate. Each magnetic layer in the multilayer stack structure is separated from another magnetic layer in the multilayer stack structure by a diode structure.

Magnetic multilayer structure

DOEpatents

Herget, Philipp; O'Sullivan, Eugene J.; Romankiw, Lubomyr T.; Wang, Naigang; Webb, Bucknell C.

2017-03-21

A mechanism is provided for an integrated laminated magnetic device. A substrate and a multilayer stack structure form the device. The multilayer stack structure includes alternating magnetic layers and diode structures formed on the substrate. Each magnetic layer in the multilayer stack structure is separated from another magnetic layer in the multilayer stack structure by a diode structure.

Matrix method for two-dimensional waveguide mode solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Baoguang; Cai, Congzhong; Venkatesh, Balajee Seshasayee

2018-05-01

In this paper, we show that the transfer matrix theory of multilayer optics can be used to solve the modes of any two-dimensional (2D) waveguide for their effective indices and field distributions. A 2D waveguide, even composed of numerous layers, is essentially a multilayer stack and the transmission through the stack can be analysed using the transfer matrix theory. The result is a transfer matrix with four complex value elements, namely A, B, C and D. The effective index of a guided mode satisfies two conditions: (1) evanescent waves exist simultaneously in the first (cladding) layer and last (substrate) layer, and (2) the complex element D vanishes. For a given mode, the field distribution in the waveguide is the result of a 'folded' plane wave. In each layer, there is only propagation and absorption; at each boundary, only reflection and refraction occur, which can be calculated according to the Fresnel equations. As examples, we show that this method can be used to solve modes supported by the multilayer step-index dielectric waveguide, slot waveguide, gradient-index waveguide and various plasmonic waveguides. The results indicate the transfer matrix method is effective for 2D waveguide mode solution in general.

Mitigating intrinsic defects and laser damage using pulsetrain-burst (>100 MHz) ultrafast laser processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKinney, Luke; Frank, Felix; Graper, David; Dean, Jesse; Forrester, Paul; Rioblanc, Maxence; Nantel, Marc; Marjoribanks, Robin

2005-09-01

Ultrafast-laser micromachining has promise as an approach to trimming and 'healing' small laser-produced damage sites in laser-system optics--a common experience in state-of-the-art high-power laser systems. More-conventional approaches currently include mechanical micromachining, chemical modification, and treatment using cw and long-pulse lasers. Laser-optics materials of interest include fused silica, multilayer dielectric stacks for anti-reflection coatings or high-reflectivity mirrors, and inorganic crystals such as KD*P, used for Pockels cells and frequency-doubling. We report on novel efforts using ultrafast-laser pulsetrain-burst processing (microsecond bursts at 133 MHz) to mitigate damage in fused silica, dielectric coatings, and KD*P crystals. We have established the characteristics of pulsetrain-burst micromachining in fused silica, multilayer mirrors, and KD*P, and determined the etch rates and morphology under different conditions of fluence-delivery. From all of these, we have begun to identify new means to optimize the laser-repair of optics defects and damage.

Lead zirconate titanate thin films directly on copper electrodes for ferroelectric, dielectric and piezoelectric applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kingon, Angus I.; Srinivasan, Sudarsan

2005-03-01

Replacement of noble metal electrodes by base metals significantly lowers the cost of ferroelectric, piezoelectric and dielectric devices. Here, we demonstrate that it is possible to process lead zirconate (Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3, or PZT) thin films directly on base metal copper foils. We explore the impact of the oxygen partial pressure during processing, and demonstrate that high-quality films and interfaces can be achieved through control of the oxygen partial pressure within a narrow window predicted by thermodynamic stability considerations. This demonstration has broad implications, opening up the possibility of the use of low-cost, high-conductivity copper electrodes for a range of Pb-based perovskite materials, including PZT films in embedded printed circuit board applications for capacitors, varactors and sensors; multilayer PZT piezoelectric stacks; and multilayer dielectric and electrostrictive devices based on lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate. We also point out that the capacitors do not fatigue on repeated switching, unlike those with Pt noble metal electrodes. Instead, they appear to be fatigue-resistant, like capacitors with oxide electrodes. This may have implications for ferroelectric non-volatile memories.

Near-field heat transfer between graphene/hBN multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Bo; Guizal, Brahim; Zhang, Zhuomin M.; Fan, Shanhui; Antezza, Mauro

2017-06-01

We study the radiative heat transfer between multilayer structures made by a periodic repetition of a graphene sheet and a hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) slab. Surface plasmons in a monolayer graphene can couple with hyperbolic phonon polaritons in a single hBN film to form hybrid polaritons that can assist photon tunneling. For periodic multilayer graphene/hBN structures, the stacked metallic/dielectric array can give rise to a further effective hyperbolic behavior, in addition to the intrinsic natural hyperbolic behavior of hBN. The effective hyperbolicity can enable more hyperbolic polaritons that enhance the photon tunneling and hence the near-field heat transfer. However, the hybrid polaritons on the surface, i.e., surface plasmon-phonon polaritons, dominate the near-field heat transfer between multilayer structures when the topmost layer is graphene. The effective hyperbolic regions can be well predicted by the effective medium theory (EMT), thought EMT fails to capture the hybrid surface polaritons and results in a heat transfer rate much lower compared to the exact calculation. The chemical potential of the graphene sheets can be tuned through electrical gating and results in an additional modulation of the heat transfer. We found that the near-field heat transfer between multilayer structures does not increase monotonously with the number of layers in the stack, which provides a way to control the heat transfer rate by the number of graphene layers in the multilayer structure. The results may benefit the applications of near-field energy harvesting and radiative cooling based on hybrid polaritons in two-dimensional materials.

Plated lamination structures for integrated magnetic devices

DOEpatents

Webb, Bucknell C.

2014-06-17

Semiconductor integrated magnetic devices such as inductors, transformers, etc., having laminated magnetic-insulator stack structures are provided, wherein the laminated magnetic-insulator stack structures are formed using electroplating techniques. For example, an integrated laminated magnetic device includes a multilayer stack structure having alternating magnetic and insulating layers formed on a substrate, wherein each magnetic layer in the multilayer stack structure is separated from another magnetic layer in the multilayer stack structure by an insulating layer, and a local shorting structure to electrically connect each magnetic layer in the multilayer stack structure to an underlying magnetic layer in the multilayer stack structure to facilitate electroplating of the magnetic layers using an underlying conductive layer (magnetic or seed layer) in the stack as an electrical cathode/anode for each electroplated magnetic layer in the stack structure.

Development of Novel RF and Millimeter Wave Structures by Laser Direct-Write

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

layers of patterned dielectric or conductor can be stacked or laminated to form multi-layer FSSs. A FSS is designed to perform at a specific frequency...in millimeters) a) b) c) a) b) Fig. 2 Schematic representations of a) a “traditional” FSS, b) a Fresnel zone plate, and c) a convolution of...cannot be predicted so easily. Even in cases where a “ convolution of models” allows one to pre- dict the performance of a “non-traditional” FSS, it

Bloch surface wave structures for high sensitivity detection and compact waveguiding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, Muhammad Umar; Corbett, Brian

2016-01-01

Resonant propagating waves created on the surface of a dielectric multilayer stack, called Bloch surface waves (BSW), can be designed for high sensitivity monitoring of the adjacent refractive index as an alternative platform to the metal-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing. The resonant wavelength and polarization can be designed by engineering of the dielectric layers unlike the fixed resonance of SPR, while the wide bandwidth low loss of dielectrics permits sharper resonances, longer propagation lengths and thus their use in waveguiding devices. The transparency of the dielectrics allows the excitation and monitoring of surface-bound fluorescent molecules. We review the recent developments in this technology. We show the advantages that can be obtained by using high index contrast layered structures. Operating at 1550 nm wavelengths will allow the BSW sensors to be implemented in the silicon photonics platform where active waveguiding can be used in the realization of compact planar integrated circuits for multi-parameter sensing.

Multilayer capacitor suitable for substrate integration and multimegahertz filtering

DOEpatents

Ngo, Khai D. T.

1990-01-01

A multilayer capacitor comprises stacked, spaced-apart electrodes of sheet form, dielectric layers between the electrodes, and first and second groups of spaced-apart conductive vias extending transversely of the sheet-form electrodes and through aligned holes in the dielectric layers. Alternate electrodes are instantaneously positive, and the remaining electrodes are instantaneously negative. Each via of the first group is electrically connected to the positive electrodes and passes insulatingly through the negative electrodes. Similarly, each via of the second group is electrically connected to the negative electrodes and passes insulatingly through the positive electrodes. Each via has, in the plane of the electrodes, a cross-sectional form in the shape of an elongated rib of greater length than width. The elongated ribs of the first group are disposed in a first plurality of rows with their lengths in spaced-apart, aligned relationship, and the ribs of the second group are disposed in a second plurality of rows with their lengths in spaced-apart, aligned relationship. The first plurality of rows is disposed substantially orthogonally with respect to the second plurality of rows.

Fatigue of extracted lead zirconate titanate multilayer actuators under unipolar high field electric cycling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hong; Lee, Sung-Min; Wang, James L.; Lin, Hua-Tay

2014-12-01

Testing of large prototype lead zirconate titanate (PZT) stacks presents substantial technical challenges to electronic testing systems, so an alternative approach that uses subunits extracted from prototypes has been pursued. Extracted 10-layer and 20-layer plate specimens were subjected to an electric cycle test under an electric field of 3.0/0.0 kV/mm, 100 Hz to 108 cycles. The effects of measurement field level and stack size (number of PZT layers) on the fatigue responses of piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients were observed. On-line monitoring permitted examination of the fatigue response of the PZT stacks. The fatigue rate (based on on-line monitoring) and the fatigue index (based on the conductance spectrum from impedance measurement or small signal measurement) were developed to quantify the fatigue status of the PZT stacks. The controlling fatigue mechanism was analyzed against the fatigue observations. The data presented can serve as input to design optimization of PZT stacks and to operation optimization in critical applications, such as piezoelectric fuel injectors in heavy-duty diesel engines.

Fatigue of extracted lead zirconate titanate multilayer actuators under unipolar high field electric cycling

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

Wang, Hong; Lee, Sung Min; Wang, James L.

Testing of large prototype lead zirconate titanate (PZT) stacks presents substantial technical challenges to electronic testing systems, so an alternative approach that uses subunits extracted from prototypes has been pursued. Extracted 10-layer and 20-layer plate specimens were subjected to an electric cycle test under an electric field of 3.0/0.0 kV/mm, 100 Hz to 10^8 cycles. The effects of measurement field level and stack size (number of PZT layers) on the fatigue responses of piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients were observed. On-line monitoring permitted examination of the fatigue response of the PZT stacks. The fatigue rate (based on on-line monitoring) and themore » fatigue index (based on the conductance spectrum from impedance measurement or small signal measurement) were developed to quantify the fatigue status of the PZT stacks. The controlling fatigue mechanism was analyzed against the fatigue observations. The data presented can serve as input to design optimization of PZT stacks and to operation optimization in critical applications such as piezoelectric fuel injectors in heavy-duty diesel engines.« less

Fatigue of extracted lead zirconate titanate multilayer actuators under unipolar high field electric cycling

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

Wang, Hong, E-mail: wangh@ornl.gov; Lee, Sung-Min; Wang, James L.

Testing of large prototype lead zirconate titanate (PZT) stacks presents substantial technical challenges to electronic testing systems, so an alternative approach that uses subunits extracted from prototypes has been pursued. Extracted 10-layer and 20-layer plate specimens were subjected to an electric cycle test under an electric field of 3.0/0.0 kV/mm, 100 Hz to 10{sup 8} cycles. The effects of measurement field level and stack size (number of PZT layers) on the fatigue responses of piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients were observed. On-line monitoring permitted examination of the fatigue response of the PZT stacks. The fatigue rate (based on on-line monitoring) and the fatiguemore » index (based on the conductance spectrum from impedance measurement or small signal measurement) were developed to quantify the fatigue status of the PZT stacks. The controlling fatigue mechanism was analyzed against the fatigue observations. The data presented can serve as input to design optimization of PZT stacks and to operation optimization in critical applications, such as piezoelectric fuel injectors in heavy-duty diesel engines.« less

Fatigue of extracted lead zirconate titanate multilayer actuators under unipolar high field electric cycling

DOE PAGES

Wang, Hong; Lee, Sung Min; Wang, James L.; ...

2014-12-19

Testing of large prototype lead zirconate titanate (PZT) stacks presents substantial technical challenges to electronic testing systems, so an alternative approach that uses subunits extracted from prototypes has been pursued. Extracted 10-layer and 20-layer plate specimens were subjected to an electric cycle test under an electric field of 3.0/0.0 kV/mm, 100 Hz to 10^8 cycles. The effects of measurement field level and stack size (number of PZT layers) on the fatigue responses of piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients were observed. On-line monitoring permitted examination of the fatigue response of the PZT stacks. The fatigue rate (based on on-line monitoring) and themore » fatigue index (based on the conductance spectrum from impedance measurement or small signal measurement) were developed to quantify the fatigue status of the PZT stacks. The controlling fatigue mechanism was analyzed against the fatigue observations. The data presented can serve as input to design optimization of PZT stacks and to operation optimization in critical applications such as piezoelectric fuel injectors in heavy-duty diesel engines.« less

Lifetime of dielectric elastomer stack actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lotz, Peter; Matysek, Marc; Schlaak, Helmut F.

2011-04-01

Dielectric elastomer stack actuators (DESA) are well suited for the use in mobile devices, fluidic applications and small electromechanical systems. Despite many improvements during the last years the long term behavior of dielectric elastomer actuators in general is not known or has not been published. The first goal of the study is to characterize the overall lifetime under laboratory conditions and to identify potential factors influencing lifetime. For this we have designed a test setup to examine 16 actuators at once. The actuators are subdivided into 4 groups each with a separate power supply and driving signal. To monitor the performance of the actuators driving voltage and current are measured continuously and additionally, the amplitude of the deformations of each actuator is measured sequentially. From our first results we conclude that lifetime of these actuators is mainly influenced by the contact material between feeding line and multilayer electrodes. So far, actuators themselves are not affected by long term actuation. With the best contact material actuators can be driven for more than 2700 h at 200 Hz with an electrical field strength of 20 V/μm. This results in more than 3 billion cycles. Actually, there are further actuators driven at 10 Hz for more than 4000 hours and still working.

Leaky polarizing beam splitter with adjustable leak ratio for operation in the wavelength range of 440-690 nm.

PubMed

Cheng, L; Bartlett, C L; Erwin, J K; Mansuripur, M

1997-07-01

We discuss the optomechanical design and fabrication of a novel wideband (440-690-nm), leaky polarizing beam splitter with an adjustable leak ratio. This beam splitter is an important component of a multiwavelength dynamic testbed that we have constructed for testing optical disks. The multilayer thin-film structure of the beam splitter is essentially a stacked pair of narrow-band dielectric reflectors that have been fine tuned for optimal performance. The characteristics of the fabricated device are in good agreement with our theoretical calculations.

Rhombohedral Multilayer Graphene: A Magneto-Raman Scattering Study.

PubMed

Henni, Younes; Ojeda Collado, Hector Pablo; Nogajewski, Karol; Molas, Maciej R; Usaj, Gonzalo; Balseiro, Carlos A; Orlita, Milan; Potemski, Marek; Faugeras, Clement

2016-06-08

Graphene layers are known to stack in two stable configurations, namely, ABA or ABC stacking, with drastically distinct electronic properties. Unlike the ABA stacking, little has been done to experimentally investigate the electronic properties of ABC graphene multilayers. Here, we report on the first magneto optical study of a large ABC domain in a graphene multilayer flake, with ABC sequences exceeding 17 graphene sheets. ABC-stacked multilayers can be fingerprinted with a characteristic electronic Raman scattering response, which persists even at room temperatures. Tracing the magnetic field evolution of the inter Landau level excitations from this domain gives strong evidence for the existence of a dispersionless electronic band near the Fermi level, characteristic of such stacking. Our findings present a simple yet powerful approach to probe ABC stacking in graphene multilayer flakes, where this highly degenerated band appears as an appealing candidate to host strongly correlated states.

Process for manufacturing multilayer capacitors

DOEpatents

Lauf, Robert J.; Holcombe, Cressie E.; Dykes, Norman L.

1996-01-01

The invention is directed to a method of manufacture of multilayer electrical components, especially capacitors, and components made by such a method. High capacitance dielectric materials and low cost metallizations layered with such dielectrics may be fabricated as multilayer electrical components by sintering the metallizations and the dielectrics during the fabrication process by application of microwave radiation.

Superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors with non-periodic dielectric multilayers.

PubMed

Yamashita, Taro; Waki, Kentaro; Miki, Shigehito; Kirkwood, Robert A; Hadfield, Robert H; Terai, Hirotaka

2016-10-24

We present superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SSPDs) on non-periodic dielectric multilayers, which enable us to design a variety of wavelength dependences of optical absorptance by optimizing the dielectric multilayer. By adopting a robust simulation to optimize the dielectric multilayer, we designed three types of SSPDs with target wavelengths of 500 nm, 800 nm, and telecom range respectively. We fabricated SSPDs based on the optimized designs for 500 and 800 nm, and evaluated the system detection efficiency at various wavelengths. The results obtained confirm that the designed SSPDs with non-periodic dielectric multilayers worked well. This versatile device structure can be effective for multidisciplinary applications in fields such as the life sciences and remote sensing that require high efficiency over a precise spectral range and strong signal rejection at other wavelengths.

Fatigue and failure responses of lead zirconate titanate multilayer actuator under unipolar high-field electric cycling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Fan Wen; Wang, Hong; Lin, Hua-Tay

2013-07-01

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) multilayer actuators with an interdigital electrode design were studied under high electric fields (3 and 6 kV/mm) in a unipolar cycling mode. A 100 Hz sine wave was used in cycling. Five specimens tested under 6 kV/mm failed from 3.8 × 105 to 7 × 105 cycles, whereas three other specimens tested under 3 kV/mm were found to be still functional after 108 cycles. Variations in piezoelectric and dielectric responses of the tested specimens were observed during the fatigue test, depending on the measuring and cycling conditions. Selected fatigued and damaged actuators were characterized using an impedance analyzer or small signal measurement. Furthermore, involved fatigue and failure mechanisms were investigated using scanning acoustic microscope and scanning electron microscope. The extensive cracks and porous regions were revealed across the PZT layers on the cross sections of a failed actuator. The results from this study have demonstrated that the high-field cycling can accelerate the fatigue of PZT stacks as long as the partial discharge is controlled. The small signal measurement can also be integrated into the large signal measurement to characterize the fatigue response of PZT stacks in a more comprehensive basis. The former can further serve as an experimental method to test and monitor the behavior of PZT stacks.

Fatigue in artificially layered Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 ferroelectric films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, A. Q.; Scott, J. F.; Dawber, M.; Wang, C.

2002-12-01

We have performed fatigue tests on lead zirconate titanate (PZT) multilayers having stacks of Pb(Zr0.8Ti0.2)O3/Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 with repeated distances of 12 formula groups. The results are compared with single-layer n-type (0.5 at. % Ta-doped) PZT films. We conclude that fatigue is dominated by space-charge layers in each case, but that in the multilayer such space charge accumulates at the layer interfaces, rather than at the electrode-dielectric interface. The model, which includes both drift and diffusion, is quantitative and yields a rate-limiting mobility of 6.9±0.9×10-12 cm2/V s, in excellent agreement with the oxygen vacancy mobility for perovskite oxides obtained from Zafar et al.

Hidden symmetries in N-layer dielectric stacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Haihao; Shoufie Ukhtary, M.; Saito, Riichiro

2017-11-01

The optical properties of a multilayer system with arbitrary N layers of dielectric media are investigated. Each layer is one of two dielectric media, with a thickness one-quarter the wavelength of light in that medium, corresponding to a central frequency f 0. Using the transfer matrix method, the transmittance T is calculated for all possible 2 N sequences for small N. Unexpectedly, it is found that instead of 2 N different values of T at f 0 (T 0), there are only (N/2+1) discrete values of T 0, for even N, and (N + 1) for odd N. We explain this high degeneracy in T 0 values by finding symmetry operations on the sequences that do not change T 0. Analytical formulae were derived for the T 0 values and their degeneracies as functions of N and an integer parameter for each sequence we call ‘charge’. Additionally, the bandwidth at f 0 and filter response of the transmission spectra are investigated, revealing asymptotic behavior at large N.

Process for manufacturing multilayer capacitors

DOEpatents

Lauf, R.J.; Holcombe, C.E.; Dykes, N.L.

1996-01-02

The invention is directed to a method of manufacture of multilayer electrical components, especially capacitors, and components made by such a method. High capacitance dielectric materials and low cost metallizations layered with such dielectrics may be fabricated as multilayer electrical components by sintering the metallizations and the dielectrics during the fabrication process by application of microwave radiation. 4 figs.

VUV thin films, chapter 7

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zukic, Muamer; Torr, Douglas G.

1993-01-01

The application of thin film technology to the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) wavelength region from 120 nm to 230 nm has not been fully exploited in the past because of absorption effects which complicate the accurate determination of the optical functions of dielectric materials. The problem therefore reduces to that of determining the real and imaginary parts of a complex optical function, namely the frequency dependent refractive index n and extinction coefficient k. We discuss techniques for the inverse retrieval of n and k for dielectric materials at VUV wavelengths from measurements of their reflectance and transmittance. Suitable substrate and film materials are identified for application in the VUV. Such applications include coatings for the fabrication of narrow and broadband filters and beamsplitters. The availability of such devices open the VUV regime to high resolution photometry, interferometry and polarimetry both for space based and laboratory applications. This chapter deals with the optics of absorbing multilayers, the determination of the optical functions for several useful materials, and the design of VUV multilayer stacks as applied to the design of narrow and broadband reflection and transmission filters and beamsplitters. Experimental techniques are discussed briefly, and several examples of the optical functions derived for selected materials are presented.

Three-dimensional negative index of refraction at optical frequencies by coupling plasmonic waveguides.

PubMed

Verhagen, Ewold; de Waele, René; Kuipers, L; Polman, Albert

2010-11-26

We identify a route towards achieving a negative index of refraction at optical frequencies based on coupling between plasmonic waveguides that support backwards waves. We show how modal symmetry can be exploited in metal-dielectric waveguide pairs to achieve negative refraction of both phase and energy. Control of waveguide coupling yields a metamaterial consisting of a one-dimensional multilayer stack that exhibits an isotropic index of -1 at a free-space wavelength of 400 nm. The concepts developed here may inspire new low-loss metamaterial designs operating close to the metal plasma frequency.

ZrO2 Layer Thickness Dependent Electrical and Dielectric Properties of BST/ZrO2/BST Multilayer Thin Films

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

Sahoo, S. K.; Misra, D.; Agrawal, D. C.

2011-01-01

Recently, high K materials play an important role in microelectronic devices such as capacitors, memory devices, and microwave devices. Now a days ferroelectric barium strontium titanate [Ba{sub x}Sr{sub 1-x}TiO{sub 3}, (BST)] thin film is being actively investigated for applications in dynamic random access memories (DRAM), field effect transistor (FET), and tunable devices because of its properties such as high dielectric constant, low leakage current, low dielectric loss, and high dielectric breakdown strength. Several approaches have been used to optimize the dielectric and electrical properties of BST thin films such as doping, graded compositions, and multilayer structures. We have found thatmore » inserting a ZrO{sub 2} layer in between two BST layers results in a significant reduction in dielectric constant, loss tangent, and leakage current in the multilayer thin films. Also it is shown that the properties of multilayer structure are found to depend strongly on the sublayer thicknesses. In this work the effect of ZrO{sub 2} layer thickness on the dielectric, ferroelectric as well as electrical properties of BST/ZrO{sub 2}/BST multilayer structure is studied. The multilayer Ba{sub 0.8}Sr{sub 0.2}TiO{sub 3}/ZrO{sub 2}/Ba{sub 0.8}Sr{sub 0.2}TiO{sub 3} film is deposited by a sol-gel process on the platinized Si substrate. The thickness of the middle ZrO{sub 2} layer is varied while keeping the top and bottom BST layer thickness as fixed. It is observed that the dielectric constant, dielectric loss tangent, and leakage current of the multilayer films reduce with the increase of ZrO{sub 2} layer thickness and hence suitable for memory device applications. The ferroelectric properties of the multilayer film also decrease with the ZrO{sub 2} layer thickness.« less

Reliability Evaluation of Base-Metal-Electrode (BME) Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors for Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David (Donghang)

2011-01-01

This paper reports reliability evaluation of BME ceramic capacitors for possible high reliability space-level applications. The study is focused on the construction and microstructure of BME capacitors and their impacts on the capacitor life reliability. First, the examinations of the construction and microstructure of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) BME capacitors show great variance in dielectric layer thickness, even among BME capacitors with the same rated voltage. Compared to PME (precious-metal-electrode) capacitors, BME capacitors exhibit a denser and more uniform microstructure, with an average grain size between 0.3 and approximately 0.5 micrometers, which is much less than that of most PME capacitors. The primary reasons that a BME capacitor can be fabricated with more internal electrode layers and less dielectric layer thickness is that it has a fine-grained microstructure and does not shrink much during ceramic sintering. This results in the BME capacitors a very high volumetric efficiency. The reliability of BME and PME capacitors was investigated using highly accelerated life testing (HALT) and regular life testing as per MIL-PRF-123. Most BME capacitors were found to fail· with an early dielectric wearout, followed by a rapid wearout failure mode during the HALT test. When most of the early wearout failures were removed, BME capacitors exhibited a minimum mean time-to-failure of more than 10(exp 5) years. Dielectric thickness was found to be a critical parameter for the reliability of BME capacitors. The number of stacked grains in a dielectric layer appears to play a significant role in determining BME capacitor reliability. Although dielectric layer thickness varies for a given rated voltage in BME capacitors, the number of stacked grains is relatively consistent, typically between 10 and 20. This may suggest that the number of grains per dielectric layer is more critical than the thickness itself for determining the rated voltage and the life expectancy of the BME capacitor. Since BME capacitors have a much smaller grain size than PME capacitors, it is reasonable to predict that BME capacitors with thinner dielectric layers may have an equivalent life expectancy to that of PME capacitors with thicker dielectric layers.

Study of all-angle negative refraction of light in metal-dielectric-metal multilayered structures based on generalized formulas of reflection and refraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jiangwei; Liu, Jun; Xu, Weidong

2017-09-01

In this paper, refraction behaviors of light in both metal single-layered film and metal-dielectric-metal multilayered films are investigated based on the generalized formulas of reflection and refraction. The obtained results, especially, dependence of power refractive index on incident angles for a light beam traveling through a metal-dielectric-metal multilayered structure, are well consistent with the experimental observations. Our work may offer a new angle of view to understand the all-angle negative refraction of light in metal-dielectric-metal multilayered structures, and provide a convenient approach to optimize the devised design and address the issue on making the perfect lens.

Optimization design and laser damage threshold analysis of pulse compression multilayer dielectric gratings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Shuwei; Bai, Liang; Chen, Nana

2016-08-01

As one of the key elements of high-power laser systems, the pulse compression multilayer dielectric grating is required for broader band, higher diffraction efficiency and higher damage threshold. In this paper, the multilayer dielectric film and the multilayer dielectric gratings(MDG) were designed by eigen matrix and optimized with the help of generic algorithm and rigorous coupled wave method. The reflectivity was close to 100% and the bandwith were over 250nm, twice compared to the unoptimized film structure. The simulation software of standing wave field distribution within MDG was developed and the electric field of the MDG was calculated. And the key parameters which affected the electric field distribution were also studied.

Low voltage electrowetting lenticular lens by using multilayer dielectric structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Junsik; Kim, Junoh; Kim, Cheoljoong; Shin, Dooseub; Koo, Gyohyun; Sim, Jee Hoon; Won, Yong Hyub

2017-02-01

Lenticular type multi-view display is one of the most popular ways for implementing three dimensional display. This method has a simple structure and exhibits a high luminance. However, fabricating the lenticular lens is difficult because it requires optically complex calculations. 2D-3D conversion is also impossible due to the fixed shape of the lenticular lens. Electrowetting based liquid lenticular lens has a simple fabrication process compared to the solid lenticular lens and the focal length of the liquid lenticular lens can be changed by applying the voltage. 3D and 2D images can be observed with a convex and a flat lens state respectively. Despite these advantages, the electrowetting based liquid lenticular lens demands high driving voltage and low breakdown voltage with a single dielectric layer structure. A certain degree of thickness of the dielectric layer is essential for a uniform operation and a low degradation over time. This paper presents multilayer dielectric structure which results in low driving voltage and the enhanced dielectric breakdown. Aluminum oxide (Al2O3), silicon oxide (SiO2) and parylene C were selected as the multilayer insulators. The total thickness of the dielectric layer of all samples was the same. This method using the multilayer dielectric structure can achieve the lower operating voltage than when using the single dielectric layer. We compared the liquid lenticular lens with three kinds of the multilayer dielectric structure to one with the parylene C single dielectric layer in regard to operational characteristics such as the driving voltage and the dielectric breakdown.

Nanostructure multilayer dielectric materials for capacitors and insulators

DOEpatents

Barbee, Jr., Troy W.; Johnson, Gary W.

1998-04-21

A capacitor is formed of at least two metal conductors having a multilayer dielectric and opposite dielectric-conductor interface layers in between. The multilayer dielectric includes many alternating layers of amorphous zirconium oxide (ZrO.sub.2) and alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3). The dielectric-conductor interface layers are engineered for increased voltage breakdown and extended service life. The local interfacial work function is increased to reduce charge injection and thus increase breakdown voltage. Proper material choices can prevent electrochemical reactions and diffusion between the conductor and dielectric. Physical vapor deposition is used to deposit the zirconium oxide (ZrO.sub.2) and alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) in alternating layers to form a nano-laminate.

Nanostructure multilayer dielectric materials for capacitors and insulators

DOEpatents

Barbee, T.W. Jr.; Johnson, G.W.

1998-04-21

A capacitor is formed of at least two metal conductors having a multilayer dielectric and opposite dielectric-conductor interface layers in between. The multilayer dielectric includes many alternating layers of amorphous zirconium oxide (ZrO{sub 2}) and alumina (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}). The dielectric-conductor interface layers are engineered for increased voltage breakdown and extended service life. The local interfacial work function is increased to reduce charge injection and thus increase breakdown voltage. Proper material choices can prevent electrochemical reactions and diffusion between the conductor and dielectric. Physical vapor deposition is used to deposit the zirconium oxide (ZrO{sub 2}) and alumina (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) in alternating layers to form a nano-laminate. 1 fig.

Effects of Interphase Modification and Biaxial Orientation on Dielectric Properties of Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) Multilayer Films.

PubMed

Yin, Kezhen; Zhou, Zheng; Schuele, Donald E; Wolak, Mason; Zhu, Lei; Baer, Eric

2016-06-01

Recently, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based multilayer films have demonstrated enhanced dielectric properties, combining high energy density and high dielectric breakdown strength from the component polymers. In this work, further enhanced dielectric properties were achieved through interface/interphase modulation and biaxial orientation for the poly(ethylene terephthalate)/poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) [PET/PMMA/P(VDF-HFP)] three-component multilayer films. Because PMMA is miscible with P(VDF-HFP) and compatible with PET, the interfacial adhesion between PET and P(VDF-HFP) layers should be improved. Biaxial stretching of the as-extruded multilayer films induced formation of highly oriented fibrillar crystals in both P(VDF-HFP) and PET, resulting in improved dielectric properties with respect to the unstretched films. First, the parallel orientation of PVDF crystals reduced the dielectric loss from the αc relaxation in α crystals. Second, biaxial stretching constrained the amorphous phase in P(VDF-HFP) and thus the migrational loss from impurity ions was reduced. Third, biaxial stretching induced a significant amount of rigid amorphous phase in PET, further enhancing the breakdown strength of multilayer films. Due to the synergistic effects of improved interfacial adhesion and biaxial orientation, the PET/PMMA/P(VDF-HFP) 65-layer films with 8 vol % PMMA exhibited optimal dielectric properties with an energy density of 17.4 J/cm(3) at breakdown and the lowest dielectric loss. These three-component multilayer films are promising for future high-energy-density film capacitor applications.

Multilayer dielectric diffraction gratings

DOEpatents

Perry, Michael D.; Britten, Jerald A.; Nguyen, Hoang T.; Boyd, Robert; Shore, Bruce W.

1999-01-01

The design and fabrication of dielectric grating structures with high diffraction efficiency used in reflection or transmission is described. By forming a multilayer structure of alternating index dielectric materials and placing a grating structure on top of the multilayer, a diffraction grating of adjustable efficiency, and variable optical bandwidth can be obtained. Diffraction efficiency into the first order in reflection varying between 1 and 98 percent has been achieved by controlling the design of the multilayer and the depth, shape, and material comprising the grooves of the grating structure. Methods for fabricating these gratings without the use of ion etching techniques are described.

Multilayer dielectric diffraction gratings

DOEpatents

Perry, M.D.; Britten, J.A.; Nguyen, H.T.; Boyd, R.; Shore, B.W.

1999-05-25

The design and fabrication of dielectric grating structures with high diffraction efficiency used in reflection or transmission is described. By forming a multilayer structure of alternating index dielectric materials and placing a grating structure on top of the multilayer, a diffraction grating of adjustable efficiency, and variable optical bandwidth can be obtained. Diffraction efficiency into the first order in reflection varying between 1 and 98 percent has been achieved by controlling the design of the multilayer and the depth, shape, and material comprising the grooves of the grating structure. Methods for fabricating these gratings without the use of ion etching techniques are described. 7 figs.

Radiation pressure of light pulses and conservation of linear momentum in dispersive media.

PubMed

Scalora, Michael; D'Aguanno, Giuseppe; Mattiucci, Nadia; Bloemer, Mark J; Centini, Marco; Sibilia, Concita; Haus, Joseph W

2006-05-01

We derive an expression for the Minkowski momentum under conditions of dispersive susceptibility and permeability, and compare it to the Abraham momentum in order to test the principle of conservation of linear momentum when matter is present. We investigate cases when an incident pulse interacts with a variety of structures, including thick substrates, resonant, free-standing, micron-sized multilayer stacks, and negative index materials. In general, we find that for media only a few wavelengths thick the Minkowski and Abraham momentum densities yield similar results. For more extended media, including substrates and Bragg mirrors embedded inside thick dielectric substrates, our calculations show dramatic differences between the Minkowski and Abraham momenta. Without exception, in all cases investigated the instantaneous Lorentz force exerted on the medium is consistent only with the rate of change of the Abraham momentum. As a practical example, we use our model to predict that electromagnetic momentum and energy buildup inside a multilayer stack can lead to widely tunable accelerations that may easily reach and exceed 10(10) m/s(2) for a mass of 10(-5) g. Our results suggest that the physics of the photonic band edge and other similar finite structures may be used as a testing ground for basic electromagnetic phenomena such as momentum transfer to macroscopic media.

Contractive tension force stack actuator based on soft dielectric EAP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovacs, Gabor; Düring, Lukas

2009-03-01

Among the electronic polymers EAPs especially the dielectric elastomers are functional materials that have promising potential as muscle-like actuators due to their inherent compliancy and good overall performance. The combination of huge active deformations, high energy densities, good efficiencies and fast response is unique to dielectric elastomers. Furthermore, they are lightweight, have a simple structure and can be easily tailored to various applications. Up to now most scientific research work has been focused on the planar expanding actuation mode due to the fact that the commercially available acrylic material VHB 4910 (3M) can easily be processed to planar actuators and has demonstrated very high actuation performance when pre-strained. Many different actuator designs have been developed and tested which expands in plane when voltage is applied and shrinks back as soon as the applied charges are removed from the electrodes. Obviously the contractive operation mode at activation is required for a wide range of application. Due to the principle of operation of soft DE EAP, mainly two directions to performed work against external loads are possible. Beside of the commonly used expanding actuation in planar direction the contractile actuation in thickness direction of the DE film represents a very promising option in the multilayer configuration. First approaches have been presented by the folded actuator design and by the multilayer tactile display device. In this study a novel approach for active structures driven by soft dielectric EAP is presented, which can perform contractive displacements at external tensile load. The device is composed of an array of equal segments, where the dielectric films are arranged in a pile-up configuration. In order to maintain satisfying structural integrity when external tension load is applied special attention was paid to the compliant electrode design which takes a central importance concerning the force transmission capability between each layer of the actuator. Due to the stack configuration of the actuator the commonly used and pre-strained acrylic film was replaced by the stress-free IPN modified acrylic film in order to eliminate the need for external pre-strain-supporting structures. Introductorily, the specific problems on conventional expanding actuators are discussed and the aims for contractive tension force actuators are specified. Then some structural design parameters are addressed in order to achieve a high rate of yield and reliable working principle. In the main part of the study the manufacturing process of the actuators and some measurement results and experiences are discussed in detail.

Method to adjust multilayer film stress induced deformation of optics

DOEpatents

Spiller, Eberhard A.; Mirkarimi, Paul B.; Montcalm, Claude; Bajt, Sasa; Folta, James A.

2000-01-01

Stress compensating systems that reduces/compensates stress in a multilayer without loss in reflectivity, while reducing total film thickness compared to the earlier buffer-layer approach. The stress free multilayer systems contain multilayer systems with two different material combinations of opposite stress, where both systems give good reflectivity at the design wavelengths. The main advantage of the multilayer system design is that stress reduction does not require the deposition of any additional layers, as in the buffer layer approach. If the optical performance of the two systems at the design wavelength differ, the system with the poorer performance is deposited first, and then the system with better performance last, thus forming the top of the multilayer system. The components for the stress reducing layer are chosen among materials that have opposite stress to that of the preferred multilayer reflecting stack and simultaneously have optical constants that allow one to get good reflectivity at the design wavelength. For a wavelength of 13.4 nm, the wavelength presently used for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, Si and Be have practically the same optical constants, but the Mo/Si multilayer has opposite stress than the Mo/Be multilayer. Multilayer systems of these materials have practically identical reflectivity curves. For example, stress free multilayers can be formed on a substrate using Mo/Be multilayers in the bottom of the stack and Mo/Si multilayers at the top of the stack, with the switch-over point selected to obtain zero stress. In this multilayer system, the switch-over point is at about the half point of the total thickness of the stack, and for the Mo/Be--Mo/Si system, there may be 25 deposition periods Mo/Be to 20 deposition periods Mo/Si.

Novel techniques for optical sensor using single core multi-layer structures for electric field detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, Amir R.; Kamel, Mohamed A.

2017-05-01

This paper studies the effect of the electrostriction force on the single optical dielectric core coated with multi-layers based on whispering gallery mode (WGM). The sensing element is a dielectric core made of polymeric material coated with multi-layers having different dielectric and mechanical properties. The external electric field deforming the sensing element causing shifts in its WGM spectrum. The multi-layer structures will enhance the body and the pressure forces acting on the core of the sensing element. Due to the gradient on the dielectric permittivity; pressure forces at the interface between every two layers will be created. Also, the gradient on Young's modulus will affect the overall stiffness of the optical sensor. In turn the sensitivity of the optical sensor to the electric field will be increased when the materials of each layer selected properly. A mathematical model is used to test the effect for that multi-layer structures. Two layering techniques are considered to increase the sensor's sensitivity; (i) Pressure force enhancement technique; and (ii) Young's modulus reduction technique. In the first technique, Young's modulus is kept constant for all layers, while the dielectric permittivity is varying. In this technique the results will be affected by the value dielectric permittivity of the outer medium surrounding the cavity. If the medium's dielectric permittivity is greater than that of the cavity, then the ascending ordered layers of the cavity will yield the highest sensitivity (the core will have the smallest dielectric permittivity) to the applied electric field and vice versa. In the second technique, Young's modulus is varying along the layers, while the dielectric permittivity has a certain constant value per layer. On the other hand, the descending order will enhance the sensitivity in the second technique. Overall, results show the multi-layer cavity based on these techniques will enhance the sensitivity compared to the typical polymeric optical sensor.

Characterization and metrology implications of the 1997 NTRS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Class, W.; Wortman, J. J.

1998-11-01

In the Front-end (transistor forming) area of silicon CMOS device processing, several NTRS difficult challenges have been identified including; scaled and alternate gate dielectric materials, new DRAM dielectric materials, alternate gate materials, elevated contact structures, engineered channels, and large-area cost-effective silicon substrates. This paper deals with some of the characterization and metrology challenges facing the industry if it is to meet the projected needs identified in the NTRS. In the areas of gate and DRAM dielectric, scaling requires that existing material layers be thinned to maximize capacitance. For the current gate dielectric, SiO2 and its nitrided derivatives, direct tunneling will limit scaling to approximately 1.5nm for logic applications before power losses become unacceptable. Low power logic and memory applications may limit scaling to the 2.0-2.2nm range. Beyond these limits, dielectric materials having higher dielectric constant, will permit continued capacitance increases while allowing for the use of thicker dielectric layers, where tunneling may be minimized. In the near term silicon nitride is a promising SiO2 substitute material while in the longer term "high-k" materials such as tantalum pentoxide and barium strontium titanate (BST) will be required. For these latter materials, it is likely that a multilayer dielectric stack will be needed, consisting of an ultra-thin (1-2 atom layer) interfacial SiO2 layer and a high-k overlayer. Silicon wafer surface preparation control, as well as the control of composition, crystal structure, and thickness for such stacks pose significant characterization and metrology challenges. In addition to the need for new gate dielectric materials, new gate materials will be required to overcome the limitations of the current doped polysilicon gate materials. Such a change has broad ramifications on device electrical performance and manufacturing process robustness which again implies a broad range of new characterization and metrology requirements. Finally, the doped structure of the MOS transistor must scale to very small lateral and depth dimensions, and thermal budgets must be reduced to permit the retention of very abrupt highly doped drain and channel engineered structures. Eventually, the NTRS forecasts the need for an elevated contact structure. Here, there are significant challenges associated with three-dimensional dopant profiling, measurement of dopant activity in ultra-shallow device regions, as well as point defect metrology and characterization.

Full Piezoelectric Multilayer-Stacked Hybrid Actuation/Transduction Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Su, Ji; Jiang, Xiaoning; Zu, Tian-Bing

2011-01-01

The Stacked HYBATS (Hybrid Actuation/Transduction system) demonstrates significantly enhanced electromechanical performance by using the cooperative contributions of the electromechanical responses of multilayer, stacked negative strain components and positive strain components. Both experimental and theoretical studies indicate that, for Stacked HYBATS, the displacement is over three times that of a same-sized conventional flextensional actuator/transducer. The coupled resonance mode between positive strain and negative strain components of Stacked HYBATS is much stronger than the resonance of a single element actuation only when the effective lengths of the two kinds of elements match each other. Compared with the previously invented hybrid actuation system (HYBAS), the multilayer Stacked HYBATS can be designed to provide high mechanical load capability, low voltage driving, and a highly effective piezoelectric constant. The negative strain component will contract, and the positive strain component will expand in the length directions when an electric field is applied on the device. The interaction between the two elements makes an enhanced motion along the Z direction for Stacked-HYBATS. In order to dominate the dynamic length of Stacked-HYBATS by the negative strain component, the area of the cross-section for the negative strain component will be much larger than the total cross-section areas of the two positive strain components. The transverse strain is negative and longitudinal strain positive in inorganic materials, such as ceramics/single crystals. Different piezoelectric multilayer stack configurations can make a piezoelectric ceramic/single-crystal multilayer stack exhibit negative strain or positive strain at a certain direction without increasing the applied voltage. The difference of this innovation from the HYBAS is that all the elements can be made from one-of-a-kind materials. Stacked HYBATS can provide an extremely effective piezoelectric constant at both resonance and off resonance frequencies. The effective piezoelectric constant can be alternated by varying the size of each component, the degree of the pre-curvature of the positive strain components, the thickness of each layer in the multilayer stacks, and the piezoelectric constant of the material used. Because all of the elements are piezoelectric components, Stacked HYBATS can serve as projector and receiver for underwater detection. The performance of this innovation can be enhanced by improving the piezoelectric properties.

All-Dielectric Multilayer Cylindrical Structures for Invisibility Cloaking

PubMed Central

Mirzaei, Ali; Miroshnichenko, Andrey E.; Shadrivov, Ilya V.; Kivshar, Yuri S.

2015-01-01

We study optical response of all-dielectric multilayer structures and demonstrate that the total scattering of such structures can be suppressed leading to optimal invisibility cloaking. We use experimental material data and a genetic algorithm to reduce the total scattering by adjusting the material and thickness of various layers for several types of dielectric cores at telecommunication wavelengths. Our approach demonstrates 80-fold suppression of the total scattering cross-section by employing just a few dielectric layers. PMID:25858295

Bottom-up Fabrication of Multilayer Stacks of 3D Photonic Crystals from Titanium Dioxide.

PubMed

Kubrin, Roman; Pasquarelli, Robert M; Waleczek, Martin; Lee, Hooi Sing; Zierold, Robert; do Rosário, Jefferson J; Dyachenko, Pavel N; Montero Moreno, Josep M; Petrov, Alexander Yu; Janssen, Rolf; Eich, Manfred; Nielsch, Kornelius; Schneider, Gerold A

2016-04-27

A strategy for stacking multiple ceramic 3D photonic crystals is developed. Periodically structured porous films are produced by vertical convective self-assembly of polystyrene (PS) microspheres. After infiltration of the opaline templates by atomic layer deposition (ALD) of titania and thermal decomposition of the polystyrene matrix, a ceramic 3D photonic crystal is formed. Further layers with different sizes of pores are deposited subsequently by repetition of the process. The influence of process parameters on morphology and photonic properties of double and triple stacks is systematically studied. Prolonged contact of amorphous titania films with warm water during self-assembly of the successive templates is found to result in exaggerated roughness of the surfaces re-exposed to ALD. Random scattering on rough internal surfaces disrupts ballistic transport of incident photons into deeper layers of the multistacks. Substantially smoother interfaces are obtained by calcination of the structure after each infiltration, which converts amorphous titania into the crystalline anatase before resuming the ALD infiltration. High quality triple stacks consisting of anatase inverse opals with different pore sizes are demonstrated for the first time. The elaborated fabrication method shows promise for various applications demanding broadband dielectric reflectors or titania photonic crystals with a long mean free path of photons.

Microfabricated bragg waveguide

DOEpatents

Fleming, James G.; Lin, Shawn-Yu; Hadley, G. Ronald

2004-10-19

A microfabricated Bragg waveguide of semiconductor-compatible material having a hollow core and a multilayer dielectric cladding can be fabricated by integrated circuit technologies. The microfabricated Bragg waveguide can comprise a hollow channel waveguide or a hollow fiber. The Bragg fiber can be fabricated by coating a sacrificial mandrel or mold with alternating layers of high- and low-refractive-index dielectric materials and then removing the mandrel or mold to leave a hollow tube with a multilayer dielectric cladding. The Bragg channel waveguide can be fabricated by forming a trench embedded in a substrate and coating the inner wall of the trench with a multilayer dielectric cladding. The thicknesses of the alternating layers can be selected to satisfy the condition for minimum radiation loss of the guided wave.

Compositionally Graded Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors.

PubMed

Song, Hyun-Cheol; Zhou, Jie E; Maurya, Deepam; Yan, Yongke; Wang, Yu U; Priya, Shashank

2017-09-27

Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are widely used in consumer electronics. Here, we provide a transformative method for achieving high dielectric response and tunability over a wide temperature range through design of compositionally graded multilayer (CGML) architecture. Compositionally graded MLCCs were found to exhibit enhanced dielectric tunability (70%) along with small dielectric losses (<2.5%) over the required temperature ranges specified in the standard industrial classifications. The compositional grading resulted in generation of internal bias field which enhanced the tunability due to increased nonlinearity. The electric field tunability of MLCCs provides an important avenue for design of miniature filters and power converters.

Electronic, Magnetic and Optical Properties of 2D Metal Nanolayers: A DFT Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhuyan, Prabal Dev; Gupta, Sanjeev K.; Singh, Deobrat; Sonvane, Yogesh; Gajjar, P. N.

2018-03-01

In the recent work, we have investigated the structural, electronic, magnetic and optical properties of graphene-like hexagonal monolayers and multilayers (up to five layers) of 3d-transition metals Fe, Co and Ni based on spin-polarized density functional theory. Here, we have taken two types of pattern namely AA-stacking and AB-stacking for the calculations. The binding energy calculations show that the AA-type configuration is energetically more stable. The calculated binding energies of Fe, Co and Ni-bilayer monolayer are - 3.24, - 2.53 and - 1.94 eV, respectively. The electronic band structures show metallic behavior for all the systems and each configurations of Fe, Co and Ni-atoms. While, the quantum ballistic conductances of these metallic systems are found to be higher for pentalayer than other layered systems. The density of states confirms the ferromagnetic behavior of monolayers and multilayers of Fe and Co having negative spin polarizations. We have also calculated frequency dependent complex dielectric function, electronic energy loss spectrum and reflectance spectrum of monolayer to pentalayer metallic systems. The ferromagnetic material shows different permittivity tensor (ɛ), which is due to high spin magnetic moment for n-layered Fe and Co two-dimensional (2D) nanolayers. The theoretical investigation suggests that the electronic, magnetic and optical properties of 3d-transition metal nanolayers offers great promise for their use in spintronics nanodevices and magneto-optical nanodevices applications.

A two-ply polymer-based flexible tactile sensor sheet using electric capacitance.

PubMed

Guo, Shijie; Shiraoka, Takahisa; Inada, Seisho; Mukai, Toshiharu

2014-01-29

Traditional capacitive tactile sensor sheets usually have a three-layered structure, with a dielectric layer sandwiched by two electrode layers. Each electrode layer has a number of parallel ribbon-like electrodes. The electrodes on the two electrode layers are oriented orthogonally and each crossing point of the two perpendicular electrode arrays makes up a capacitive sensor cell on the sheet. It is well known that compatibility between measuring precision and resolution is difficult, since decreasing the width of the electrodes is required to obtain a high resolution, however, this may lead to reduction of the area of the sensor cells, and as a result, lead to a low Signal/Noise (S/N) ratio. To overcome this problem, a new multilayered structure and related calculation procedure are proposed. This new structure stacks two or more sensor sheets with shifts in position. Both a high precision and a high resolution can be obtained by combining the signals of the stacked sensor sheets. Trial production was made and the effect was confirmed.

Tetradymite layer assisted heteroepitaxial growth and applications

DOEpatents

Stoica, Vladimir A.; Endicott, Lynn; Clarke, Roy; Uher, Ctirad

2017-08-01

A multilayer stack including a substrate, an active layer, and a tetradymite buffer layer positioned between the substrate and the active layer is disclosed. A method for fabricating a multilayer stack including a substrate, a tetradymite buffer layer and an active layer is also disclosed. Use of such stacks may be in photovoltaics, solar cells, light emitting diodes, and night vision arrays, among other applications.

Alkali resistant optical coatings for alkali lasers and methods of production thereof

DOEpatents

Soules, Thomas F; Beach, Raymond J; Mitchell, Scott C

2014-11-18

In one embodiment, a multilayer dielectric coating for use in an alkali laser includes two or more alternating layers of high and low refractive index materials, wherein an innermost layer includes a thicker, >500 nm, and dense, >97% of theoretical, layer of at least one of: alumina, zirconia, and hafnia for protecting subsequent layers of the two or more alternating layers of high and low index dielectric materials from alkali attack. In another embodiment, a method for forming an alkali resistant coating includes forming a first oxide material above a substrate and forming a second oxide material above the first oxide material to form a multilayer dielectric coating, wherein the second oxide material is on a side of the multilayer dielectric coating for contacting an alkali.

Multilayer Dielectric Transmissive Optical Phase Modulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keys, Andrew Scott; Fork, Richard Lynn

2004-01-01

A multilayer dielectric device has been fabricated as a prototype of a low-loss, low-distortion, transmissive optical phase modulator that would provide as much as a full cycle of phase change for all frequency components of a transmitted optical pulse over a frequency band as wide as 6.3 THz. Arrays of devices like this one could be an alternative to the arrays of mechanically actuated phase-control optics (adaptive optics) that have heretofore been used to correct for wave-front distortions in highly precise optical systems. Potential applications for these high-speed wave-front-control arrays of devices include agile beam steering, optical communications, optical metrology, optical tracking and targeting, directional optical ranging, and interferometric astronomy. The device concept is based on the same principle as that of band-pass interference filters made of multiple dielectric layers with fractional-wavelength thicknesses, except that here there is an additional focus on obtaining the desired spectral phase profile in addition to the device s spectral transmission profile. The device includes a GaAs substrate, on which there is deposited a stack of GaAs layers alternating with AlAs layers, amounting to a total of 91 layers. The design thicknesses of the layers range from 10 nm to greater than 1 micrometer. The number of layers and the thickness of each layer were chosen in a computational optimization process in which the wavelength dependences of the indices of refraction of GaAs and AlAs were taken into account as the design was iterated to maximize the transmission and minimize the group-velocity dispersion for a wavelength band wide enough to include all significant spectral components of the pulsed optical signal to be phase modulated.

Multilayer Dye Aggregation at Dye/TiO2 Interface via π…π Stacking and Hydrogen Bond and Its Impact on Solar Cell Performance: A DFT Analysis.

PubMed

Zhang, Lei; Liu, Xiaogang; Rao, Weifeng; Li, Jingfa

2016-10-21

Multilayer dye aggregation at the dye/TiO 2 interface of dye-sensitized solar cells is probed via first principles calculations, using p-methyl red azo dye as an example. Our calculations suggest that the multilayer dye aggregates at the TiO 2 surface can be stabilized by π…π stacking and hydrogen bond interactions. Compared with previous two-dimensional monolayer dye/TiO 2 model, the multilayer dye aggregation model proposed in this study constructs a three-dimensional multilayer dye/TiO 2 interfacial structure, and provides a better agreement between experimental and computational results in dye coverage and dye adsorption energy. In particular, a dimer forms by π…π stacking interactions between two neighboring azo molecules, while one of them chemisorbs on the TiO 2 surface; a trimer may form by introducing one additional azo molecule on the dimer through a hydrogen bond between two carboxylic acid groups. Different forms of multilayer dye aggregates, either stabilized by π…π stacking or hydrogen bond, exhibit varied optical absorption spectra and electronic properties. Such variations could have a critical impact on the performance of dye sensitized solar cells.

Multilayer Dye Aggregation at Dye/TiO2 Interface via π…π Stacking and Hydrogen Bond and Its Impact on Solar Cell Performance: A DFT Analysis

PubMed Central

Zhang, Lei; Liu, Xiaogang; Rao, Weifeng; Li, Jingfa

2016-01-01

Multilayer dye aggregation at the dye/TiO2 interface of dye-sensitized solar cells is probed via first principles calculations, using p-methyl red azo dye as an example. Our calculations suggest that the multilayer dye aggregates at the TiO2 surface can be stabilized by π…π stacking and hydrogen bond interactions. Compared with previous two-dimensional monolayer dye/TiO2 model, the multilayer dye aggregation model proposed in this study constructs a three-dimensional multilayer dye/TiO2 interfacial structure, and provides a better agreement between experimental and computational results in dye coverage and dye adsorption energy. In particular, a dimer forms by π…π stacking interactions between two neighboring azo molecules, while one of them chemisorbs on the TiO2 surface; a trimer may form by introducing one additional azo molecule on the dimer through a hydrogen bond between two carboxylic acid groups. Different forms of multilayer dye aggregates, either stabilized by π…π stacking or hydrogen bond, exhibit varied optical absorption spectra and electronic properties. Such variations could have a critical impact on the performance of dye sensitized solar cells. PMID:27767196

Compositionally Graded Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors

DOE PAGES

Song, Hyun-Cheol; Zhou, Jie E.; Maurya, Deepam; ...

2017-09-27

Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are widely used in consumer electronics. In this paper, we provide a transformative method for achieving high dielectric response and tunability over a wide temperature range through design of compositionally graded multilayer (CGML) architecture. Compositionally graded MLCCs were found to exhibit enhanced dielectric tunability (70%) along with small dielectric losses (<2.5%) over the required temperature ranges specified in the standard industrial classifications. The compositional grading resulted in generation of internal bias field which enhanced the tunability due to increased nonlinearity. The electric field tunability of MLCCs provides an important avenue for design of miniature filters andmore » power converters.« less

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

Lereu, Aude L.; Zerrad, M.; Passian, Ali

In photonics, the field concentration and enhancement have been major objectives for achieving size reduction and device integration. Plasmonics offers resonant field confinement and enhancement, but ultra-sharp optical resonances in all-dielectric multi-layer thin films are emerging as a powerful contestant. Thus, applications capitalizing upon stronger and sharper optical resonances and larger field enhancements could be faced with a choice for the superior platform. Here in this paper, we present a comparison between plasmonic and dielectric multi-layer thin films for their resonance merits. We show that the remarkable characteristics of the resonance behavior of optimized dielectric multi-layers can outweigh those ofmore » their metallic counterpart.« less

Material optimization of multi-layered enhanced nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strobbia, Pietro

The employment of surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based sensing in real-world scenarios will offer numerous advantages over current optical sensors. Examples of these advantages are the intrinsic and simultaneous detection of multiple analytes, among many others. To achieve such a goal, SERS substrates with throughput and reproducibility comparable to commonly used fluorescence sensors have to be developed. To this end, our lab has discovered a multi-layer geometry, based on alternating films of a metal and a dielectric, that amplifies the SERS signal (multi-layer enhancement). The advantage of these multi-layered structures is to amplify the SERS signal exploiting layer-to-layer interactions in the volume of the structures, rather than on its surface. This strategy permits an amplification of the signal without modifying the surface characteristics of a substrate, and therefore conserving its reproducibility. Multi-layered structures can therefore be used to amplify the sensitivity and throughput of potentially any previously developed SERS sensor. In this thesis, these multi-layered structures were optimized and applied to different SERS substrates. The role of the dielectric spacer layer in the multi-layer enhancement was elucidated by fabricating spacers with different characteristics and studying their effect on the overall enhancement. Thickness, surface coverage and physical properties of the spacer were studied. Additionally, the multi-layered structures were applied to commercial SERS substrates and to isolated SERS probes. Studies on the dependence of the multi-layer enhancement on the thickness of the spacer demonstrated that the enhancement increases as a function of surface coverage at sub-monolayer thicknesses, due to the increasing multi-layer nature of the substrates. For fully coalescent spacers the enhancement decreases as a function of thickness, due to the loss of interaction between proximal metallic films. The influence of the physical properties of the spacer on the multi-layer enhancement were also studied. The trends in Schottky barrier height, interfacial potential and dielectric constant were isolated by using different materials as spacers (i.e., TiO2, HfO2, Ag 2O and Al2O3). The results show that the bulk dielectric constant of the material can be used to predict the relative magnitude of the multi-layer enhancement, with low dielectric constant materials performing more efficiently as spacers. Optimal spacer layers were found to be ultrathin coalescent films (ideally a monolayer) of low dielectric constant materials. Finally, multi-layered structures were observed to be employable to amplify SERS in drastically different substrate geometries. The multi-layered structures were applied to disposable commercial SERS substrates (i.e., Klarite). This project involved the regeneration of the used substrates, by stripping and redepositing the gold coating layer, and their amplification, by using the multi-layer geometry. The latter was observed to amplify the sensitivity of the substrates. Additionally, the multi-layered structures were applied to probes dispersed in solution. Such probes were observed to yield stronger SERS signal when optically trapped and to reduce the background signal. The application of the multi-layered structures on trapped probes, not only further amplified the SERS signal, but also increased the maximum number of applicable layers for the structures.

Periodic dielectric structure for production of photonic band gap and method for fabricating the same

DOEpatents

Ozbay, Ekmel; Tuttle, Gary; Michel, Erick; Ho, Kai-Ming; Biswas, Rana; Chan, Che-Ting; Soukoulis, Costas

1995-01-01

A method for fabricating a periodic dielectric structure which exhibits a photonic band gap. Alignment holes are formed in a wafer of dielectric material having a given crystal orientation. A planar layer of elongate rods is then formed in a section of the wafer. The formation of the rods includes the step of selectively removing the dielectric material of the wafer between the rods. The formation of alignment holes and layers of elongate rods and wafers is then repeated to form a plurality of patterned wafers. A stack of patterned wafers is then formed by rotating each successive wafer with respect to the next-previous wafer, and then placing the successive wafer on the stack. This stacking results in a stack of patterned wafers having a four-layer periodicity exhibiting a photonic band gap.

Surface plasmons and Bloch surface waves: Towards optimized ultra-sensitive optical sensors

DOE PAGES

Lereu, Aude L.; Zerrad, M.; Passian, Ali; ...

2017-07-07

In photonics, the field concentration and enhancement have been major objectives for achieving size reduction and device integration. Plasmonics offers resonant field confinement and enhancement, but ultra-sharp optical resonances in all-dielectric multi-layer thin films are emerging as a powerful contestant. Thus, applications capitalizing upon stronger and sharper optical resonances and larger field enhancements could be faced with a choice for the superior platform. Here in this paper, we present a comparison between plasmonic and dielectric multi-layer thin films for their resonance merits. We show that the remarkable characteristics of the resonance behavior of optimized dielectric multi-layers can outweigh those ofmore » their metallic counterpart.« less

Polytypism and unexpected strong interlayer coupling in two-dimensional layered ReS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Xiao-Fen; Wu, Jiang-Bin; Zhou, Linwei; Qiao, Jingsi; Shi, Wei; Chen, Tao; Zhang, Xin; Zhang, Jun; Ji, Wei; Tan, Ping-Heng

2016-04-01

Anisotropic two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) layered materials, with both scientific interest and application potential, offer one more dimension than isotropic 2D materials to tune their physical properties. Various physical properties of 2D multi-layer materials are modulated by varying their stacking orders owing to significant interlayer vdW coupling. Multilayer rhenium disulfide (ReS2), a representative anisotropic 2D material, was expected to be randomly stacked and lack interlayer coupling. Here, we demonstrate two stable stacking orders, namely isotropic-like (IS) and anisotropic-like (AI) N layer (NL, N > 1) ReS2 are revealed by ultralow- and high-frequency Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence and first-principles density functional theory calculation. Two interlayer shear modes are observed in AI-NL-ReS2 while only one shear mode appears in IS-NL-ReS2, suggesting anisotropic- and isotropic-like stacking orders in IS- and AI-NL-ReS2, respectively. This explicit difference in the observed frequencies identifies an unexpected strong interlayer coupling in IS- and AI-NL-ReS2. Quantitatively, the force constants of them are found to be around 55-90% of those of multilayer MoS2. The revealed strong interlayer coupling and polytypism in multi-layer ReS2 may stimulate future studies on engineering physical properties of other anisotropic 2D materials by stacking orders.Anisotropic two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) layered materials, with both scientific interest and application potential, offer one more dimension than isotropic 2D materials to tune their physical properties. Various physical properties of 2D multi-layer materials are modulated by varying their stacking orders owing to significant interlayer vdW coupling. Multilayer rhenium disulfide (ReS2), a representative anisotropic 2D material, was expected to be randomly stacked and lack interlayer coupling. Here, we demonstrate two stable stacking orders, namely isotropic-like (IS) and anisotropic-like (AI) N layer (NL, N > 1) ReS2 are revealed by ultralow- and high-frequency Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence and first-principles density functional theory calculation. Two interlayer shear modes are observed in AI-NL-ReS2 while only one shear mode appears in IS-NL-ReS2, suggesting anisotropic- and isotropic-like stacking orders in IS- and AI-NL-ReS2, respectively. This explicit difference in the observed frequencies identifies an unexpected strong interlayer coupling in IS- and AI-NL-ReS2. Quantitatively, the force constants of them are found to be around 55-90% of those of multilayer MoS2. The revealed strong interlayer coupling and polytypism in multi-layer ReS2 may stimulate future studies on engineering physical properties of other anisotropic 2D materials by stacking orders. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c6nr01569g

Automated manufacturing process for DEAP stack-actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tepel, Dominik; Hoffstadt, Thorben; Maas, Jürgen

2014-03-01

Dielectric elastomers (DE) are thin polymer films belonging to the class of electroactive polymers (EAP), which are coated with compliant and conductive electrodes on each side. Due to the influence of an electrical field, dielectric elastomers perform a large amount of deformation. In this contribution a manufacturing process of automated fabricated stack-actuators based on dielectric electroactive polymers (DEAP) are presented. First of all the specific design of the considered stack-actuator is explained and afterwards the development, construction and realization of an automated manufacturing process is presented in detail. By applying this automated process, stack-actuators with reproducible and homogeneous properties can be manufactured. Finally, first DEAP actuator modules fabricated by the mentioned process are validated experimentally.

Optimizing ITO for incorporation into multilayer thin film stacks for visible and NIR applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roschuk, Tyler; Taddeo, David; Levita, Zachary; Morrish, Alan; Brown, Douglas

2017-05-01

Indium Tin Oxide, ITO, is the industry standard for transparent conductive coatings. As such, the common metrics for characterizing ITO performance are its transmission and conductivity/resistivity (or sheet resistance). In spite of its recurrent use in a broad range of technological applications, the performance of ITO itself is highly variable, depending on the method of deposition and chamber conditions, and a single well defined set of properties does not exist. This poses particular challenges for the incorporation of ITO in complex optical multilayer stacks while trying to maintain electronic performance. Complicating matters further, ITO suffers increased absorption losses in the NIR - making the ability to incorporate ITO into anti-reflective stacks crucial to optimizing overall optical performance when ITO is used in real world applications. In this work, we discuss the use of ITO in multilayer thin film stacks for applications from the visible to the NIR. In the NIR, we discuss methods to analyze and fine tune the film properties to account for, and minimize, losses due to absorption and to optimize the overall transmission of the multilayer stacks. The ability to obtain high transmission while maintaining good electrical properties, specifically low resistivity, is demonstrated. Trade-offs between transmission and conductivity with variation of process parameters are discussed in light of optimizing the performance of the final optical stack and not just with consideration to the ITO film itself.

Periodic dielectric structure for production of photonic band gap and method for fabricating the same

DOEpatents

Ozbay, E.; Tuttle, G.; Michel, E.; Ho, K.M.; Biswas, R.; Chan, C.T.; Soukoulis, C.

1995-04-11

A method is disclosed for fabricating a periodic dielectric structure which exhibits a photonic band gap. Alignment holes are formed in a wafer of dielectric material having a given crystal orientation. A planar layer of elongate rods is then formed in a section of the wafer. The formation of the rods includes the step of selectively removing the dielectric material of the wafer between the rods. The formation of alignment holes and layers of elongate rods and wafers is then repeated to form a plurality of patterned wafers. A stack of patterned wafers is then formed by rotating each successive wafer with respect to the next-previous wafer, and then placing the successive wafer on the stack. This stacking results in a stack of patterned wafers having a four-layer periodicity exhibiting a photonic band gap. 42 figures.

Incident-angle-controlled semitransparent colored perovskite solar cells with improved efficiency exploiting a multilayer dielectric mirror.

PubMed

Lee, Kyu-Tae; Jang, Ji-Yun; Park, Sang Jin; Ok, Song Ah; Park, Hui Joon

2017-09-28

See-through perovskite solar cells with high efficiency and iridescent colors are demonstrated by employing a multilayer dielectric mirror. A certain amount of visible light is used for wide color gamut semitransparent color generation, which can be easily tuned by changing an angle of incidence, and a wide range of visible light is efficiently reflected back toward a photoactive layer of the perovskite solar cells by the dielectric mirror for highly efficient light-harvesting performance, thus achieving 10.12% power conversion efficiency. We also rigorously examine how the number of pairs in the multilayer dielectric mirror affects optical properties of the colored semitransparent perovskite solar cells. The described approach can open the door to a large number of applications such as building-integrated photovoltaics, self-powered wearable electronics and power-generating color filters for energy-efficient display systems.

Effect of stacking sequence and surface treatment on the thermal conductivity of multilayered hybrid nano-composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papanicolaou, G. C.; Pappa, E. J.; Portan, D. V.; Kotrotsos, A.; Kollia, E.

2018-02-01

The aim of the present investigation was to study the effect of both the stacking sequence and surface treatment on the thermal conductivity of multilayered hybrid nano-composites. Four types of multilayered hybrid nanocomposites were manufactured and tested: Nitinol- CNTs (carbon nanotubes)- Acrylic resin; Nitinol- Acrylic resin- CNTs; Surface treated Nitinol- CNTs- Acrylic resin and Surface treated Nitinol- Acrylic resin- CNTs. Surface treatment of Nitinol plies was realized by means of the electrochemical anodization. Surface topography of the anodized nitinol sheets was investigated through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). It was found that the overall thermal response of the manufactured multilayered nano-composites was greatly influenced by both the anodization and the stacking sequence. A theoretical model for the prediction of the overall thermal conductivity has been developed considering the nature of the different layers, their stacking sequence as well as the interfacial thermal resistance. Thermal conductivity and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) measurements were conducted, to verify the predicted by the model overall thermal conductivities. In all cases, a good agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results was found.

Electrolyte creepage barrier for liquid electrolyte fuel cells

DOEpatents

Li, Jian [Alberta, CA; Farooque, Mohammad [Danbury, CT; Yuh, Chao-Yi [New Milford, CT

2008-01-22

A dielectric assembly for electrically insulating a manifold or other component from a liquid electrolyte fuel cell stack wherein the dielectric assembly includes a substantially impermeable dielectric member over which electrolyte is able to flow and a barrier adjacent the dielectric member and having a porosity of less than 50% and greater than 10% so that the barrier is able to measurably absorb and chemically react with the liquid electrolyte flowing on the dielectric member to form solid products which are stable in the liquid electrolyte. In this way, the barrier inhibits flow or creepage of electrolyte from the dielectric member to the manifold or component to be electrically insulated from the fuel cell stack by the dielectric assembly.

Ultra-Compact Accelerator Technologies for Application in Nuclear Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sampayan, S.; Caporaso, G.; Chen, Y.-J.; Carazo, V.; Falabella, S.; Guethlein, G.; Guse, S.; Harris, J. R.; Hawkins, S.; Holmes, C.; Krogh, M.; Nelson, S.; Paul, A. C.; Pearson, D.; Poole, B.; Schmidt, R.; Sanders, D.; Selenes, K.; Sitaraman, S.; Sullivan, J.; Wang, L.; Watson, J.

2009-12-01

We report on compact accelerator technology development for potential use as a pulsed neutron source quantitative post verifier. The technology is derived from our on-going compact accelerator technology development program for radiography under the US Department of Energy and for a clinic sized compact proton therapy systems under an industry sponsored Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. The accelerator technique relies on the synchronous discharge of a prompt pulse generating stacked transmission line structure with the beam transit. The goal of this technology is to achieve ˜10 MV/m gradients for 10 s of nanoseconds pulses and ˜100 MV/m gradients for ˜1 ns systems. As a post verifier for supplementing existing x-ray equipment, this system can remain in a charged, stand-by state with little or no energy consumption. We describe the progress of our overall component development effort with the multilayer dielectric wall insulators (i.e., the accelerator wall), compact power supply technology, kHz repetition-rate surface flashover ion sources, and the prompt pulse generation system consisting of wide-bandgap switches and high performance dielectric materials.

Interfacial Cation-Defect Charge Dipoles in Stacked TiO2/Al2O3 Gate Dielectrics.

PubMed

Zhang, Liangliang; Janotti, Anderson; Meng, Andrew C; Tang, Kechao; Van de Walle, Chris G; McIntyre, Paul C

2018-02-14

Layered atomic-layer-deposited and forming-gas-annealed TiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 dielectric stacks, with the Al 2 O 3 layer interposed between the TiO 2 and a p-type germanium substrate, are found to exhibit a significant interface charge dipole that causes a ∼-0.2 V shift of the flat-band voltage and suppresses the leakage current density for gate injection of electrons. These effects can be eliminated by the formation of a trilayer dielectric stack, consistent with the cancellation of one TiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 interface dipole by the addition of another dipole of opposite sign. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the observed interface-dependent properties of TiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 dielectric stacks are consistent in sign and magnitude with the predicted behavior of Al Ti and Ti Al point-defect dipoles produced by local intermixing of the Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 layers across the interface. Evidence for such intermixing is found in both electrical and physical characterization of the gate stacks.

EUV mirror based absolute incident flux detector

DOEpatents

Berger, Kurt W.

2004-03-23

A device for the in-situ monitoring of EUV radiation flux includes an integrated reflective multilayer stack. This device operates on the principle that a finite amount of in-band EUV radiation is transmitted through the entire multilayer stack. This device offers improvements over existing vacuum photo-detector devices since its calibration does not change with surface contamination.

The possibility of giant dielectric materials for multilayer ceramic capacitors.

PubMed

Ishii, Tatsuya; Endo, Makoto; Masuda, Kenichiro; Ishida, Keisuke

2013-02-11

There have been numerous reports on discovery of giant dielectric permittivity materials called internal barrier layer capacitor in the recent years. We took particular note of one of such materials, i.e., BaTiO 3 with SiO 2 coating. It shows expressions of giant electric permittivity when processed by spark plasma sintering. So we evaluated various electrical characteristics of this material to find out whether it is applicable to multilayer ceramic capacitors. Our evaluation revealed that the isolated surface structure is the sole cause of expressions of giant dielectric permittivity.

A General Reliability Model for Ni-BaTiO3-Based Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Donhang

2014-01-01

The evaluation of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with Ni electrode and BaTiO3 dielectric material for potential space project applications requires an in-depth understanding of their reliability. A general reliability model for Ni-BaTiO3 MLCC is developed and discussed. The model consists of three parts: a statistical distribution; an acceleration function that describes how a capacitor's reliability life responds to the external stresses, and an empirical function that defines contribution of the structural and constructional characteristics of a multilayer capacitor device, such as the number of dielectric layers N, dielectric thickness d, average grain size, and capacitor chip size A. Application examples are also discussed based on the proposed reliability model for Ni-BaTiO3 MLCCs.

A General Reliability Model for Ni-BaTiO3-Based Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Donhang

2014-01-01

The evaluation for potential space project applications of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with Ni electrode and BaTiO3 dielectric material requires an in-depth understanding of the MLCCs reliability. A general reliability model for Ni-BaTiO3 MLCCs is developed and discussed in this paper. The model consists of three parts: a statistical distribution; an acceleration function that describes how a capacitors reliability life responds to external stresses; and an empirical function that defines the contribution of the structural and constructional characteristics of a multilayer capacitor device, such as the number of dielectric layers N, dielectric thickness d, average grain size r, and capacitor chip size A. Application examples are also discussed based on the proposed reliability model for Ni-BaTiO3 MLCCs.

Dielectric Properties of BST/(Y 2O 3) x(ZrO 2) 1-x/BST Trilayer Films

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

Sahoo, Santosh K.; Misra, D.

2011-01-31

Thin films of Ba1-xSrxTiO3 (BST) are being actively investigated for applications in dynamic random access memories (DRAM) because of their properties such as high dielectric constant, low leakage current, and high dielectric breakdown strength. Various approaches have been used to improve the dielectric properties of BST thin films such as doping, graded compositions, and multilayer structures. We have found that inserting a ZrO2 layer in between two BST layers results in a significant reduction in dielectric constant as well as dielectric loss. In this work the effect of Y2O3 doped ZrO2 on the dielectric properties of BST/ZrO2/BST trilayer structure ismore » studied. The structure Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3/(Y2O3)x(ZrO2)1-x/Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 is deposited by a sol-gel process on platinized Si substrate. The composition (x) of the middle layer is varied while keeping the total thickness of the trilayer film constant. The dielectric constant of the multilayer film decreases with the increase of Y2O3 amount in the film whereas there is a slight variation in dielectric loss. In Y2O3 doped multilayer thin films, the dielectric loss is lower in comparison to other films and also there is good frequency stability in the loss in the measured frequency range and hence very suitable for microwave device applications.« less

Infrared metamaterial by RF magnetron sputtered ZnO/Al:ZnO multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santiago, Kevin C.; Mundle, Rajeh; White, Curtis; Bahoura, Messaoud; Pradhan, Aswini K.

2018-03-01

Hyperbolic metamaterials create artificial anisotropy using metallic wires suspended in dielectric media or alternating layers of a metal and dielectric (Type I or Type II). In this study we fabricated ZnO/Al:ZnO (AZO) multilayers by the RF magnetron sputtering deposition technique. Our fabricated multilayers satisfy the requirements for a type II hyperbolic metamaterial. The optical response of individual AZO and ZnO films, as well as the multilayered film were investigated via UV-vis-IR transmittance and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The optical response of the multilayered system is calculated using the nonlocal-corrected Effective Medium Approximation (EMA). The spectroscopic ellipsometry data of the multilayered system was modeled using a uniaxial material model and EMA model. Both theoretical and experimental studies validate the fabricated multilayers undergo a hyperbolic transition at a wavelength of 2.2 μm. To our knowledge this is the first AZO/ZnO type II hyperbolic metamaterial system fabricated by magnetron sputtering deposition method.

Ablation of film stacks in solar cell fabrication processes

DOEpatents

Harley, Gabriel; Kim, Taeseok; Cousins, Peter John

2013-04-02

A dielectric film stack of a solar cell is ablated using a laser. The dielectric film stack includes a layer that is absorptive in a wavelength of operation of the laser source. The laser source, which fires laser pulses at a pulse repetition rate, is configured to ablate the film stack to expose an underlying layer of material. The laser source may be configured to fire a burst of two laser pulses or a single temporally asymmetric laser pulse within a single pulse repetition to achieve complete ablation in a single step.

Design and fabrication of far ultraviolet filters based on π-multilayer technology in high-k materials

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiao-Dong; Chen, Bo; Wang, Hai-Feng; He, Fei; Zheng, Xin; He, Ling-Ping; Chen, Bin; Liu, Shi-Jie; Cui, Zhong-Xu; Yang, Xiao-Hu; Li, Yun-Peng

2015-01-01

Application of π-multilayer technology is extended to high extinction coefficient materials, which is introduced into metal-dielectric filter design. Metal materials often have high extinction coefficients in far ultraviolet (FUV) region, so optical thickness of metal materials should be smaller than that of the dielectric material. A broadband FUV filter of 9-layer non-periodic Al/MgF2 multilayer was successfully designed and fabricated and it shows high reflectance in 140–180 nm, suppressed reflectance in 120–137 nm and 181–220 nm. PMID:25687255

Tailoring the soft magnetic properties of sputtered multilayers by microstructure engineering for high frequency applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falub, Claudiu V.; Rohrmann, Hartmut; Bless, Martin; Meduňa, Mojmír; Marioni, Miguel; Schneider, Daniel; Richter, Jan H.; Padrun, Marco

2017-05-01

Soft magnetic Ni78.5Fe21.5, Co91.5Ta4.5Zr4 and Fe52Co28B20 thin films laminated with SiO2, Al2O3, AlN, and Ta2O5 dielectric interlayers were deposited on 8" Si wafers using DC, pulsed DC and RF cathodes in the industrial, high-throughput Evatec LLS-EVO-II magnetron sputtering system. A typical multilayer consists of a bilayer stack up to 50 periods, with alternating (50-100) nm thick magnetic layers and (2-20) nm thick dielectric interlayers. We introduced the in-plane magnetic anisotropy in these films during sputtering by a combination of a linear magnetic field, seed layer texturing by means of linear collimators, and the oblique incidence inherent to the geometry of the sputter system. Depending on the magnetic material, the anisotropy field for these films was tuned in the range of ˜(7-120) Oe by choosing the appropriate interlayer thickness, the aspect ratios of the linear collimators in front of the targets, and the sputter process parameters (e.g. pressure, power, DC pulse frequency), while the coercivity was kept low, ˜(0.05-0.9) Oe. The alignment of the easy axis (EA) on the 8" wafers was typically between ±1.5° and ±4°. We discuss the interdependence of structure and magnetic properties in these films, as revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray reflectivity (XRR) with reciprocal space mapping (RSM) and magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) measurements.

SiO2/AlON stacked gate dielectrics for AlGaN/GaN MOS heterojunction field-effect transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Kenta; Terashima, Daiki; Nozaki, Mikito; Yamada, Takahiro; Nakazawa, Satoshi; Ishida, Masahiro; Anda, Yoshiharu; Ueda, Tetsuzo; Yoshigoe, Akitaka; Hosoi, Takuji; Shimura, Takayoshi; Watanabe, Heiji

2018-06-01

Stacked gate dielectrics consisting of wide bandgap SiO2 insulators and thin aluminum oxynitride (AlON) interlayers were systematically investigated in order to improve the performance and reliability of AlGaN/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) devices. A significantly reduced gate leakage current compared with that in a single AlON layer was achieved with these structures, while maintaining the superior thermal stability and electrical properties of the oxynitride/AlGaN interface. Consequently, distinct advantages in terms of the reliability of the gate dielectrics, such as an improved immunity against electron injection and an increased dielectric breakdown field, were demonstrated for AlGaN/GaN MOS capacitors with optimized stacked structures having a 3.3-nm-thick AlON interlayer.

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

Song, Hyun-Cheol; Zhou, Jie E.; Maurya, Deepam

Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) are widely used in consumer electronics. In this paper, we provide a transformative method for achieving high dielectric response and tunability over a wide temperature range through design of compositionally graded multilayer (CGML) architecture. Compositionally graded MLCCs were found to exhibit enhanced dielectric tunability (70%) along with small dielectric losses (<2.5%) over the required temperature ranges specified in the standard industrial classifications. The compositional grading resulted in generation of internal bias field which enhanced the tunability due to increased nonlinearity. The electric field tunability of MLCCs provides an important avenue for design of miniature filters andmore » power converters.« less

Effect of Temperature on Formation and Stability of Shallow Trap at a Dielectric Interface of the Multilayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogti, F.

2015-12-01

Space-charge behavior at dielectric interfaces in multilayer low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) subjected to a direct-current (DC) field has been investigated as a function of temperature using the pulsed electroacoustic technique. A sandwich structure constituted by two nonidentical LDPE/FEP dielectric films was used to study the charging propensity of electrode/dielectric and dielectric/dielectric interfaces. The time dependence of the space-charge distribution was subsequently recorded at four temperatures, 20°C, 25°C, 40°C, and 60°C, under field (polarization) and short-circuit (depolarization) conditions. The experimental results demonstrate that temperature plays a significant role in the space-charge dynamics at the dielectric interface. It affects the charge injection, increases the charge mobility and electrical conductivity, and increases the density of shallow traps and trap filling. It is found that traps formed during polarization at high temperature do not remain stable after complete discharge of the multidielectric structure and when poled at low temperatures.

Improvement in the breakdown endurance of high-κ dielectric by utilizing stacking technology and adding sufficient interfacial layer.

PubMed

Pang, Chin-Sheng; Hwu, Jenn-Gwo

2014-01-01

Improvement in the time-zero dielectric breakdown (TZDB) endurance of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor with stacking structure of Al/HfO2/SiO2/Si is demonstrated in this work. The misalignment of the conduction paths between two stacking layers is believed to be effective to increase the breakdown field of the devices. Meanwhile, the resistance of the dielectric after breakdown for device with stacking structure would be less than that of without stacking structure due to a higher breakdown field and larger breakdown power. In addition, the role of interfacial layer (IL) in the control of the interface trap density (D it) and device reliability is also analyzed. Device with a thicker IL introduces a higher breakdown field and also a lower D it. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) of the samples with different IL thicknesses is provided to confirm that IL is needed for good interfacial property.

Dual-band absorption of mid-infrared metamaterial absorber based on distinct dielectric spacing layers.

PubMed

Zhang, Nan; Zhou, Peiheng; Cheng, Dengmu; Weng, Xiaolong; Xie, Jianliang; Deng, Longjiang

2013-04-01

We present the simulation, fabrication, and characterization of a dual-band metamaterial absorber in the mid-infrared regime. Two pairs of circular-patterned metal-dielectric stacks are employed to excite the dual-band absorption peaks. Dielectric characteristics of the dielectric spacing layer determine energy dissipation in each resonant stack, i.e., dielectric or ohmic loss. By controlling material parameters, both two mechanisms are introduced into our structure. Up to 98% absorption is obtained at 9.03 and 13.32 μm in the simulation, which is in reasonable agreement with experimental results. The proposed structure holds promise for various applications, e.g., thermal radiation modulators and multicolor infrared focal plane arrays.

Stacked multilayers of alternating reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes for planar supercapacitors.

PubMed

Moon, Geon Dae; Joo, Ji Bong; Yin, Yadong

2013-12-07

A simple layer-by-layer approach has been developed for constructing 2D planar supercapacitors of multi-stacked reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes. This sandwiched 2D architecture enables the full utilization of the maximum active surface area of rGO nanosheets by using a CNT layer as a porous physical spacer to enhance the permeation of a gel electrolyte inside the structure and reduce the agglomeration of rGO nanosheets along the vertical direction. As a result, the stacked multilayers of rGO and CNTs are capable of offering higher output voltage and current production.

Ferroelectric properties of PZT/BFO multilayer thin films prepared using the sol-gel method.

PubMed

Jo, Seo-Hyeon; Lee, Sung-Gap; Lee, Young-Hie

2012-01-05

In this study, Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/BiFeO3 [PZT/BFO] multilayer thin films were fabricated using the spin-coating method on a Pt(200 nm)/Ti(10 nm)/SiO2(100 nm)/p-Si(100) substrate alternately using BFO and PZT metal alkoxide solutions. The coating-and-heating procedure was repeated several times to form the multilayer thin films. All PZT/BFO multilayer thin films show a void-free, uniform grain structure without the presence of rosette structures. The relative dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the six-coated PZT/BFO [PZT/BFO-6] thin film were approximately 405 and 0.03%, respectively. As the number of coatings increased, the remanent polarization and coercive field increased. The values for the BFO-6 multilayer thin film were 41.3 C/cm2 and 15.1 MV/cm, respectively. The leakage current density of the BFO-6 multilayer thin film at 5 V was 2.52 × 10-7 A/cm2.

Direct-Write Laser Grayscale Lithography for Multilayer Lead Zirconate Titanate Thin Films.

PubMed

Benoit, Robert R; Jordan, Delaney M; Smith, Gabriel L; Polcawich, Ronald G; Bedair, Sarah S; Potrepka, Daniel M

2018-05-01

Direct-write laser grayscale lithography has been used to facilitate a single-step patterning technique for multilayer lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films. A 2.55- -thick photoresist was patterned with a direct-write laser. The intensity of the laser was varied to create both tiered and sloped structures that are subsequently transferred into multilayer PZT(52/48) stacks using a single Ar ion-mill etch. Traditional processing requires a separate photolithography step and an ion mill etch for each layer of the substrate, which can be costly and time consuming. The novel process allows access to buried electrode layers in the multilayer stack in a single photolithography step. The grayscale process was demonstrated on three 150-mm diameter Si substrates configured with a 0.5- -thick SiO 2 elastic layer, a base electrode of Pt/TiO 2 , and a stack of four PZT(52/48) thin films of either 0.25- thickness per layer or 0.50- thickness per layer, and using either Pt or IrO 2 electrodes above and below each layer. Stacked capacitor structures were patterned and results will be reported on the ferroelectric and electromechanical properties using various wiring configurations and compared to comparable single layer PZT configurations.

The Ordering and Electronic Structure of Multilayer Epitaxial Graphene on SiC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conrad, Edward

2011-03-01

The structural definition of graphene as a single sheet of hexagonal carbon limits how we view this material. It is the electronic properties of a single isolated graphene sheet that actually defines and motivates current graphene research. Remarkably, the best example of the idealized band structure of graphene comes does not come from a single graphene layer but from multilayer films grown on SiC. Multilayer epitaxial graphene (MEG) not only shows all the 2D properties expected for an isolated graphene sheet, but it the scalability to large scale integrated carbon circuits. I will show that the reason for this remarkable property, i.e. that a multilayer graphene films behaving like a single graphene sheet, is due to MEG's unique stacking. MEG films have a quasi-ordered rotational stacking that breaks the Bernal stacking symmetry associated with graphite. Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) data demonstrates that the bands are linear at the K-point of these films. We can also show that the rotated stacking is highly ordered and that less than 20% of the graphene sheets in the film are Bernal stacked. I will also show that ARPES measurements on MEG films demonstrate serious inadequacies with both tight binding and ab initio formalisms. In particular the data shows no reductions in the Fermi velocity or the formation of Van Hove singularity that have been consistently predicted for this material. I wish to acknowledge funding from the NSF under Grants No. DMR-0820382 and DMR-1005880.

Stacking dependence of carrier transport properties in multilayered black phosphorous

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sengupta, A.; Audiffred, M.; Heine, T.; Niehaus, T. A.

2016-02-01

We present the effect of different stacking orders on carrier transport properties of multi-layer black phosphorous. We consider three different stacking orders AAA, ABA and ACA, with increasing number of layers (from 2 to 6 layers). We employ a hierarchical approach in density functional theory (DFT), with structural simulations performed with generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and the bandstructure, carrier effective masses and optical properties evaluated with the meta-generalized gradient approximation (MGGA). The carrier transmission in the various black phosphorous sheets was carried out with the non-equilibrium green’s function (NEGF) approach. The results show that ACA stacking has the highest electron and hole transmission probabilities. The results show tunability for a wide range of band-gaps, carrier effective masses and transmission with a great promise for lattice engineering (stacking order and layers) in black phosphorous.

Performance of PZT stacks under high-field electric cycling at various temperatures in heavy-duty diesel engine fuel injectors

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

Wang, Hong; Lin, Hua-Tay; Stafford, Mr Randy

2016-01-01

Testing and characterization of large prototype lead zirconate titanate (PZT) stacks present substantial technical challenges to electronic systems. The work in this study shows that an alternative approach can be pursued by using subunits extracted from prototype stacks. Piezoelectric and dielectric integrity was maintained even though the PZT plate specimens experienced an additional loading process involved with the extraction after factory poling. Extracted 10-layer plate specimens were studied by an electric cycle test under an electric field of 3.0/0.0 kV/mm, 100 Hz to 108 cycles, both at room temperature (22 C) and at 50 C. The elevated temperature had amore » defined impact on the fatigue of PZT stacks. About 48 and 28% reductions were observed in the piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients, respectively, after 108 cycles at 50 C, compared with reductions of 25 and 15% in the respective coefficients at 22 C. At the same time, the loss tangent varied to a limited extent. The evolution of PZT electrode interfacial layers or nearby dielectric layers should account for the difference in the fatigue rates of piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients. But the basic contribution to observed fatigue may result from the buildup of a bias field that finally suppressed the motion of the domain walls. Finally, monitoring of dielectric coefficients can be an effective tool for on-line lifetime prediction of PZT stacks in service if a failure criterion is defined properly.« less

Performance of PZT stacks under high-field electric cycling at various temperatures in heavy-duty diesel engine fuel injectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hong; Lee, Sung-Min; Lin, Hua-Tay; Stafford, Randy

2016-04-01

Testing and characterization of large prototype lead zirconate titanate (PZT) stacks present substantial technical challenges to electronic systems. The work in this study shows that an alternative approach can be pursued by using subunits extracted from prototype stacks. Piezoelectric and dielectric integrity was maintained even though the PZT plate specimens experienced an additional loading process involved with the extraction after factory poling. Extracted 10-layer plate specimens were studied by an electric cycle test under an electric field of 3.0/0.0 kV/mm, 100 Hz to 108 cycles, both at room temperature (22°C) and at 50°C. The elevated temperature had a defined impact on the fatigue of PZT stacks. About 48 and 28% reductions were observed in the piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients, respectively, after 108 cycles at 50°C, compared with reductions of 25 and 15% in the respective coefficients at 22°C. At the same time, the loss tangent varied to a limited extent. The evolution of PZT-electrode interfacial layers or nearby dielectric layers should account for the difference in the fatigue rates of piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients. But the basic contribution to observed fatigue may result from the buildup of a bias field that finally suppressed the motion of the domain walls. Finally, monitoring of dielectric coefficients can be an effective tool for on-line lifetime prediction of PZT stacks in service if a failure criterion is defined properly.

Reliability Evaluation of Base-Metal-Electrode Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors for Potential Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David (Donhang); Sampson, Michael J.

2011-01-01

Base-metal-electrode (BME) ceramic capacitors are being investigated for possible use in high-reliability spacelevel applications. This paper focuses on how BME capacitors construction and microstructure affects their lifetime and reliability. Examination of the construction and microstructure of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) BME capacitors reveals great variance in dielectric layer thickness, even among BME capacitors with the same rated voltage. Compared to PME (precious-metal-electrode) capacitors, BME capacitors exhibit a denser and more uniform microstructure, with an average grain size between 0.3 and 0.5 m, which is much less than that of most PME capacitors. BME capacitors can be fabricated with more internal electrode layers and thinner dielectric layers than PME capacitors because they have a fine-grained microstructure and do not shrink much during ceramic sintering. This makes it possible for BME capacitors to achieve a very high capacitance volumetric efficiency. The reliability of BME and PME capacitors was investigated using highly accelerated life testing (HALT). Most BME capacitors were found to fail with an early avalanche breakdown, followed by a regular dielectric wearout failure during the HALT test. When most of the early failures, characterized with avalanche breakdown, were removed, BME capacitors exhibited a minimum mean time-to-failure (MTTF) of more than 105 years at room temperature and rated voltage. Dielectric thickness was found to be a critical parameter for the reliability of BME capacitors. The number of stacked grains in a dielectric layer appears to play a significant role in determining BME capacitor reliability. Although dielectric layer thickness varies for a given rated voltage in BME capacitors, the number of stacked grains is relatively consistent, typically around 12 for a number of BME capacitors with a rated voltage of 25V. This may suggest that the number of grains per dielectric layer is more critical than the thickness itself for determining the rated voltage and the life expectancy of the BME capacitor. The leakage current characterization and the failure analysis results suggest that most of these early avalanche failures are due to the extrinsic minor construction defects introduced during fabrication of BME capacitors. The concentration of the extrinsic defects must be reduced if the BME capacitors are considered for high reliability applications. There are two approaches that can reduce or prevent the occurrence of early failure in BME capacitors: (1) to reduce the defect concentration with improved processing control; (2) to prevent the use of BME capacitors under harsh external stress levels so that the extrinsic defects will never be triggered for a failure. In order to do so appropriate dielectric layer thickness must be determined for a given rated voltage.

High thermal conductivity lossy dielectric using co-densified multilayer configuration

DOEpatents

Tiegs, Terry N.; Kiggans, Jr., James O.

2003-06-17

Systems and methods are described for loss dielectrics. A method of manufacturing a lossy dielectric includes providing at least one high dielectric loss layer and providing at least one high thermal conductivity-electrically insulating layer adjacent the at least one high dielectric loss layer and then densifying together. The systems and methods provide advantages because the lossy dielectrics are less costly and more environmentally friendly than the available alternatives.

Fabrication of mitigation pits for improving laser damage resistance in dielectric mirrors by femtosecond laser machining

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

Wolfe, Justin E.; Qiu, S. Roger; Stolz, Christopher J.

2011-03-20

Femtosecond laser machining is used to create mitigation pits to stabilize nanosecond laser-induced damage in multilayer dielectric mirror coatings on BK7 substrates. In this paper, we characterize features and the artifacts associated with mitigation pits and further investigate the impact of pulse energy and pulse duration on pit quality and damage resistance. Our results show that these mitigation features can double the fluence-handling capability of large-aperture optical multilayer mirror coatings and further demonstrate that femtosecond laser macromachining is a promising means for fabricating mitigation geometry in multilayer coatings to increase mirror performance under high-power laser irradiation.

Robust optimization of the laser induced damage threshold of dielectric mirrors for high power lasers.

PubMed

Chorel, Marine; Lanternier, Thomas; Lavastre, Éric; Bonod, Nicolas; Bousquet, Bruno; Néauport, Jérôme

2018-04-30

We report on a numerical optimization of the laser induced damage threshold of multi-dielectric high reflection mirrors in the sub-picosecond regime. We highlight the interplay between the electric field distribution, refractive index and intrinsic laser induced damage threshold of the materials on the overall laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) of the multilayer. We describe an optimization method of the multilayer that minimizes the field enhancement in high refractive index materials while preserving a near perfect reflectivity. This method yields a significant improvement of the damage resistance since a maximum increase of 40% can be achieved on the overall LIDT of the multilayer.

A new method for achieving enhanced dielectric response over a wide temperature range

DOE PAGES

Maurya, Deepam; Sun, Fu -Chang; Pamir Alpay, S.; ...

2015-10-19

We report a novel approach for achieving high dielectric response over a wide temperature range. In this approach, multilayer ceramic heterostructures with constituent compositions having strategically tuned Curie points (TC) were designed and integrated with varying electrical connectivity. Interestingly, these multilayer structures exhibited different dielectric behavior in series and parallel configuration due to variations in electrical boundary conditions resulting in the differences in the strength of the electrostatic coupling. The results are explained using nonlinear thermodynamic model taking into account electrostatic interlayer interaction. We believe that present work will have huge significance in design of high performance ceramic capacitors.

Tunable positive and negative refraction of infrared radiation in graphene-dielectric multilayers

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

Zhang, R. Z.; Zhang, Z. M., E-mail: zhuomin.zhang@me.gatech.edu

2015-11-09

Graphene-dielectric multilayers consisting of alternating layers of atom-thick graphene and nanometer-scale dielectric films exhibit characteristics of hyperbolic metamaterials, in which one positive and one negative permittivity are defined for orthogonal directions. Negative permittivity for electric field polarized in the direction parallel to the conductive graphene sheets gives rise to a negative angle of refraction and low-loss transmission for the side-incidence perspective proposed in this work. The Poynting vector tracing demonstrates the switching between positive and negative refraction in the mid-infrared region by tuning the chemical potential of graphene. This adjustable dual-mode metamaterial holds promise for infrared imaging applications.

A new method for achieving enhanced dielectric response over a wide temperature range

PubMed Central

Maurya, Deepam; Sun, Fu-Chang; Pamir Alpay, S.; Priya, Shashank

2015-01-01

We report a novel approach for achieving high dielectric response over a wide temperature range. In this approach, multilayer ceramic heterostructures with constituent compositions having strategically tuned Curie points (TC) were designed and integrated with varying electrical connectivity. Interestingly, these multilayer structures exhibited different dielectric behavior in series and parallel configuration due to variations in electrical boundary conditions resulting in the differences in the strength of the electrostatic coupling. The results are explained using nonlinear thermodynamic model taking into account electrostatic interlayer interaction. We believe that present work will have huge significance in design of high performance ceramic capacitors. PMID:26477391

Fully inkjet-printed two-dimensional material field-effect heterojunctions for wearable and textile electronics.

PubMed

Carey, Tian; Cacovich, Stefania; Divitini, Giorgio; Ren, Jiesheng; Mansouri, Aida; Kim, Jong M; Wang, Chaoxia; Ducati, Caterina; Sordan, Roman; Torrisi, Felice

2017-10-31

Fully printed wearable electronics based on two-dimensional (2D) material heterojunction structures also known as heterostructures, such as field-effect transistors, require robust and reproducible printed multi-layer stacks consisting of active channel, dielectric and conductive contact layers. Solution processing of graphite and other layered materials provides low-cost inks enabling printed electronic devices, for example by inkjet printing. However, the limited quality of the 2D-material inks, the complexity of the layered arrangement, and the lack of a dielectric 2D-material ink able to operate at room temperature, under strain and after several washing cycles has impeded the fabrication of electronic devices on textile with fully printed 2D heterostructures. Here we demonstrate fully inkjet-printed 2D-material active heterostructures with graphene and hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) inks, and use them to fabricate all inkjet-printed flexible and washable field-effect transistors on textile, reaching a field-effect mobility of ~91 cm 2  V -1  s -1 , at low voltage (<5 V). This enables fully inkjet-printed electronic circuits, such as reprogrammable volatile memory cells, complementary inverters and OR logic gates.

Microwave synthesis of noncentrosymmetric BaTiO3 truncated nanocubes for charge storage applications.

PubMed

Swaminathan, V; Pramana, Stevin S; White, T J; Chen, L; Chukka, Rami; Ramanujan, R V

2010-11-01

Truncated nanocubes of barium titanate (BT) were synthesized using a rapid, facile microwave-assisted hydrothermal route. Stoichiometric composition of pellets of nanocube BT powders was prepared by two-stage microwave process. Characterization by powder XRD, Rietveld refinement, SEM, TEM, and dielectric and polarization measurements was performed. X-ray diffraction revealed a polymorphic transformation from cubic Pm3̅m to tetragonal P4mm after 15 min of microwave irradiation, arising from titanium displacement along the c-axis. Secondary electron images were examined for nanocube BT synthesis and annealed at different timings. Transmission electron microscopy showed a narrow particle size distribution with an average size of 70 ± 9 nm. The remanence and saturation polarization were 15.5 ± 1.6 and 19.3 ± 1.2 μC/cm(2), respectively. A charge storage density of 925 ± 47 nF/cm(2) was obtained; Pt/BT/Pt multilayer ceramic capacitor stack had an average leakage current density of 5.78 ± 0.46 × 10(-8) A/cm(2) at ±2 V. The significance of this study shows an inexpensive and facile processing platform for synthesis of high-k dielectric for charge storage applications.

Piezoelectric Multilayer-Stacked Hybrid Actuation/Transduction System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, Tian-Bing (Inventor); Jiang, Xiaoning (Inventor); Su, Ji (Inventor)

2014-01-01

A novel full piezoelectric multilayer stacked hybrid actuation/transduction system. The system demonstrates significantly-enhanced electromechanical performance by utilizing the cooperative contributions of the electromechanical responses of multilayer stacked negative and positive strain components. Both experimental and theoretical studies indicate that for this system, the displacement is over three times that of a same-sized conventional flextensional actuator/transducer. The system consists of at least 2 layers which include electromechanically active components. The layers are arranged such that when electric power is applied, one layer contracts in a transverse direction while the second layer expands in a transverse direction which is perpendicular to the transverse direction of the first layer. An alternate embodiment includes a third layer. In this embodiment, the outer two layers contract in parallel transverse directions while the middle layer expands in a transverse direction which is perpendicular to the transverse direction of the outer layers.

Modeling of mechanical properties of stack actuators based on electroactive polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tepel, Dominik; Graf, Christian; Maas, Jürgen

2013-04-01

Dielectric elastomers are thin polymer films belonging to the class of electroactive polymers, which are coated with compliant and conductive electrodes on each side. Under the influence of an electrical field, dielectric elastomers perform a large amount of deformation. Depending on the mechanical setup, stack and roll actuators can be realized. In this contribution the mechanical properties of stack actuators are modeled by a holistic electromechanical approach of a single actuator film, by which the model of a stack actuator without constraints can be derived. Due to the mechanical connection between the stack actuator and the application, bulges occur at the free surfaces of the EAP material, which are calculated, experimentally validated and considered in the model of the stack actuator. Finally, the analytic actuator film model as well as the stack actuator model are validated by comparison to numerical FEM-models in ANSYS.

Multilayer Lead-Free Ceramic Capacitors with Ultrahigh Energy Density and Efficiency.

PubMed

Li, Jinglei; Li, Fei; Xu, Zhuo; Zhang, Shujun

2018-06-26

The utilization of antiferroelectric (AFE) materials is thought to be an effective approach to enhance the energy density of dielectric capacitors. However, the high energy dissipation and inferior reliability that are associated with the antiferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transition are the main issues that restrict the applications of antiferroelectric ceramics. Here, simultaneously achieving high energy density and efficiency in a dielectric ceramic is proposed by combining antiferroelectric and relaxor features. Based on this concept, a lead-free dielectric (Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 )TiO 3 -x(Sr 0.7 Bi 0.2 )TiO 3 (NBT-xSBT) system is investigated and the corresponding multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) are fabricated. A record-high energy density of 9.5 J cm -3 , together with a high energy efficiency of 92%, is achieved in NBT-0.45SBT multilayer ceramic capacitors, which consist of ten dielectric layers with the single-layer thickness of 20 µm and the internal electrode area of 6.25 mm 2 . Furthermore, the newly developed capacitor exhibits a wide temperature usage range of -60 to 120 °C, with an energy-density variation of less than 10%, and satisfactory cycling reliability, with degradation of less than 8% over 10 6 cycles. These characteristics demonstrate that the NBT-0.45SBT multilayer ceramic is a promising candidate for high-power energy storage applications. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Stacked multilayers of alternating reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes for planar supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moon, Geon Dae; Joo, Ji Bong; Yin, Yadong

2013-11-01

A simple layer-by-layer approach has been developed for constructing 2D planar supercapacitors of multi-stacked reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes. This sandwiched 2D architecture enables the full utilization of the maximum active surface area of rGO nanosheets by using a CNT layer as a porous physical spacer to enhance the permeation of a gel electrolyte inside the structure and reduce the agglomeration of rGO nanosheets along the vertical direction. As a result, the stacked multilayers of rGO and CNTs are capable of offering higher output voltage and current production.A simple layer-by-layer approach has been developed for constructing 2D planar supercapacitors of multi-stacked reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes. This sandwiched 2D architecture enables the full utilization of the maximum active surface area of rGO nanosheets by using a CNT layer as a porous physical spacer to enhance the permeation of a gel electrolyte inside the structure and reduce the agglomeration of rGO nanosheets along the vertical direction. As a result, the stacked multilayers of rGO and CNTs are capable of offering higher output voltage and current production. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental details, SEM and TEM images and additional electrochemical data. See DOI: 10.1039/c3nr04339h

Ferroelectric properties of PZT/BFO multilayer thin films prepared using the sol-gel method

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

In this study, Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/BiFeO3 [PZT/BFO] multilayer thin films were fabricated using the spin-coating method on a Pt(200 nm)/Ti(10 nm)/SiO2(100 nm)/p-Si(100) substrate alternately using BFO and PZT metal alkoxide solutions. The coating-and-heating procedure was repeated several times to form the multilayer thin films. All PZT/BFO multilayer thin films show a void-free, uniform grain structure without the presence of rosette structures. The relative dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the six-coated PZT/BFO [PZT/BFO-6] thin film were approximately 405 and 0.03%, respectively. As the number of coatings increased, the remanent polarization and coercive field increased. The values for the BFO-6 multilayer thin film were 41.3 C/cm2 and 15.1 MV/cm, respectively. The leakage current density of the BFO-6 multilayer thin film at 5 V was 2.52 × 10-7 A/cm2. PMID:22221519

Simulation and analysis of plasmonic sensor in NIR with fluoride glass and graphene layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandey, Ankit Kumar; Sharma, Anuj K.

2018-02-01

A calcium fluoride (CaF2) prism based plasmonic biosensor with graphene layer is proposed in near infrared region (NIR) of operation. The stacking of multilayer graphene is considered with dielectric interlayer sandwiched between two graphene layers. Excellent optical properties of CaF2 glass and enhanced field at the graphene-analyte interface are intended to be exploited for proposed sensor structure in NIR spectral region. Performance parameters in terms of field enhancement at interface and figure of merit (FOM) are analyzed and compared with those of conventional SPR based sensor. It is demonstrated that the same sensor probe can also be used for gas sensing with nearly 3.5-4 times enhancement in FOM, compared with conventional sensor. The results show that CaF2 based SPR sensor provides much better sensitivity than that based on other glasses.

Interface band alignment in high-k gate stacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eric, Bersch; Hartlieb, P.

2005-03-01

In order to successfully implement alternate high-K dielectric materials into MOS structures, the interface properties of MOS gate stacks must be better understood. Dipoles that may form at the metal/dielectric and dielectric/semiconductor interfaces make the band offsets difficult to predict. We have measured the conduction and valence band densities of states for a variety MOS stacks using in situ using inverse photoemission (IPE) and photoemission spectroscopy (PES), respectively. Results obtained from clean and metallized (with Ru or Al) HfO2/Si, SiO2/Si and mixed silicate films will be presented. IPE indicates a shift of the conduction band minimum (CBM) to higher energy (i.e. away from EF) with increasing SiO2. The effect of metallization on the location of band edges depends upon the metal species. The addition of N to the dielectrics shifts the CBM in a way that is thickness dependent. Possible mechanisms for these observed effects will be discussed.

Low Voltage Electrowetting-on-Dielectric Platform using Multi-Layer Insulators

PubMed Central

Lin, Yan-You; Evans, Randall D.; Welch, Erin; Hsu, Bang-Ning; Madison, Andrew C.; Fair, Richard B.

2010-01-01

A low voltage, two-level-metal, and multi-layer insulator electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWD) platform is presented. Dispensing 300pl droplets from 140nl closed on-chip reservoirs was accomplished with as little as 11.4V solely through EWD forces, and the actuation threshold voltage was 7.2V with a 1Hz voltage switching rate between electrodes. EWD devices were fabricated with a multilayer insulator consisting of 135nm sputtered tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) and 180nm parylene C coated with 70nm of CYTOP. Furthermore, the minimum actuation threshold voltage followed a previously published scaling model for the threshold voltage, VT, which is proportional to (t/εr)1/2, where t and εr are the insulator thickness and dielectric constant respectively. Device threshold voltages are compared for several insulator thicknesses (200nm, 500nm, and 1µm), different dielectric materials (parylene C and tantalum pentoxide), and homogeneous versus heterogeneous compositions. Additionally, we used a two-level-metal fabrication process, which enables the fabrication of smaller and denser electrodes with high interconnect routing flexibility. We also have achieved low dispensing and actuation voltages for scaled devices with 30pl droplets. PMID:20953362

Computational Modeling of Bloch Surface Waves in One-Dimensional Periodic and Aperiodic Multilayer Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koju, Vijay

Photonic crystals and their use in exciting Bloch surface waves have received immense attention over the past few decades. This interest is mainly due to their applications in bio-sensing, wave-guiding, and other optical phenomena such as surface field enhanced Raman spectroscopy. Improvement in numerical modeling techniques, state of the art computing resources, and advances in fabrication techniques have also assisted in growing interest in this field. The ability to model photonic crystals computationally has benefited both the theoretical as well as experimental communities. It helps the theoretical physicists in solving complex problems which cannot be solved analytically and helps to acquire useful insights that cannot be obtained otherwise. Experimentalists, on the other hand, can test different variants of their devices by changing device parameters to optimize performance before fabrication. In this dissertation, we develop two commonly used numerical techniques, namely transfer matrix method, and rigorous coupled wave analysis, in C++ and MATLAB, and use two additional software packages, one open-source and another commercial, to model one-dimensional photonic crystals. Different variants of one-dimensional multilayered structures such as perfectly periodic dielectric multilayers, quasicrystals, aperiodic multilayer are modeled, along with one-dimensional photonic crystals with gratings on the top layer. Applications of Bloch surface waves, along with new and novel aperiodic dielectric multilayer structures that support Bloch surface waves are explored in this dissertation. We demonstrate a slow light configuration that makes use of Bloch Surface Waves as an intermediate excitation in a double-prism tunneling configuration. This method is simple compared to the more usual techniques for slowing light using the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency in atomic gases or doped ionic crystals operated at temperatures below 4K. Using a semi-numerical approach, we show that a 1D photonic crystal, a multilayer structure composed of alternating layers of TiO2 and SiO2 , can be used to slow down light by a factor of up to 400. The results also show that better control of the speed of light can be achieved by changing the number of bilayers and the air-gap thickness appropriately. The existence of Bloch surface waves in periodic dielectric multilayer structures with a surface defect is well-known. Not yet recognized is that quasi-crystals and aperiodic dielectric multilayers can also support Bloch-like surface waves. We numerically show the excitation of Bloch-like surface waves in Fibonacci quasi-crystals, Thue-Morse aperiodic dielectric multilayers using the prism coupling method. We report improved surface electric field intensity and penetration depth of Bloch-like surface waves in the air side in such structures compared to their periodic counterparts. Bloch surface waves have also demonstrated significant potential in the field of bios-ensing technology. We further extend our study into a new type of multilayer structure based on Maximal-length sequence, which is a pseudo random sequence. We study the characteristics of Bloch surface waves in a 32 layered Maximal-length sequence multilayer and perform angular, as well as spectral sensitivity analysis for refractive index change detection. We demonstrate numerically that Maximal-length sequence multilayers significantly enhance the sensitivity of Bloch surface waves. Another type of structure that support Bloch surface waves are dielectric multilayer structures with a grating profile on the top-most layer. The grating profile adds an additional degree of freedom to the phase matching conditions for Bloch surface wave excitation. In such structures, the conditions for Bloch surface wave coupling can also be achieved by rotating both polar and azimuthal angles. The generation of Bloch surface waves as a function of azimuthal angle have similar characteristics to conventional grating coupled Bloch surface waves. However, azimuthal generated Bloch surface waves have enhanced angular sensitivity compared to conventional polar angle coupled modes, which makes them appropriate for detecting tiny variations in surface refractive index due to the addition of nano-particles such as protein molecules.

Energy-Sensitive Ion- and Cathode-Luminescent Radiation-Beam Monitors Based on Multilayer Thin-Film Designs.

PubMed

Gil-Rostra, Jorge; Ferrer, Francisco J; Espinós, Juan Pedro; González-Elipe, Agustín R; Yubero, Francisco

2017-05-17

A multilayer luminescent design concept is presented to develop energy-sensitive radiation-beam monitors on the basis of colorimetric analysis. Each luminescent layer within the stack consists of rare-earth-doped transparent oxides of optical quality and a characteristic luminescent emission under excitation with electron or ion beams. For a given type of particle beam (electron, protons, α particles, etc.), its penetration depth and therefore its energy loss at a particular buried layer within the multilayer stack depend on the energy of the initial beam. The intensity of the luminescent response of each layer is proportional to the energy deposited by the radiation beam within the layer, so characteristic color emission will be achieved if different phosphors are considered in the layers of the luminescent stack. Phosphor doping, emission efficiency, layer thickness, and multilayer structure design are key parameters relevant to achieving a broad colorimetric response. Two case examples are designed and fabricated to illustrate the capabilities of these new types of detector to evaluate the kinetic energy of either electron beams of a few kilo-electron volts or α particles of a few mega-electron volts.

Speeding up nanomagnetic logic by DMI enhanced Pt/Co/Ir films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziemys, Grazvydas; Ahrens, Valentin; Mendisch, Simon; Csaba, Gyorgy; Becherer, Markus

2018-05-01

We investigated a new type of multilayer film for Nanomagnetic Logic with perpendicular anisotropy (pNML) enhanced by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). The DMI effect provides an additional energy term and widens the design space for pNML film optimization. In this work we added an Ir layer between Co and Pt to our standard pNML multilayer (ML) film stack - [Co/Pt]x4. Multilayer stacks of films with and w/o Ir were sputtered and patterned to nanowires of 400 nm width by means of focused ion beam lithography (FIB). For comparability of the films they were tuned to show identical anisotropy for multilayer stacks with and w/o Ir. The field-driven domain wall (DW) velocity in the nanowires was measured by using wide-field MOKE microscopy. We found a strong impact of Ir on the DW velocity being up to 2 times higher compared to the standard [Co/Pt]x4 ML films. Moreover, the maximum velocity is reached at much lower magnetic field, which is beneficial for pNML operation. These results pave the way for pNML with higher clocking rates and at the same time allow a further reduce power consumption.

Eigenmodes of Multilayer Slit Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovalenko, A. N.

2017-12-01

We generalize the high-efficiency numerical-analytical method of calculating the eigenmodes of a microstrip line, which was proposed in [1], to multilayer slit structures. The obtained relationships make it possible to allow for the multilayer nature of the medium on the basis of solving the electrodynamic problem for a two-layer structure. The algebraic models of a single line and coupled slit lines in a multilayer dielectric medium are constructed. The matrix elements of the system of linear algebraic equations, which is used to determine the expansion coefficients of the electric field inside the slits in a Chebyshev basis, are converted to rapidly convergent series. The constructed models allow one to use computer simulation to obtain numerical results with high speed and accuracy, regardless of the number of dielectric layers. The presented results of a numerical study of the method convergence confirm high efficiency of the method.

A study of metalized electrode self-clearing in electroactive polymer (EAP) based actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, Saad; Ounaies, Zoubeida

2016-04-01

Electroactive polymer (EAP) based technologies have shown promise in areas such as artificial muscles, actuator, aerospace, medical and soft robotics. Still challenges remain such as low induced forces and defects-driven electrical breakdown, which impede the practical implementation of this technology. Multilayered or stacked configuration can address the low induced force issue whereas self-clearing can be a technique to improve breakdown limit of EAP based actuators. Self-clearing refers to the partial local breakdown of dielectric medium due to the presence of impurities, which in turn results in the evaporation of some of the metalized electrode. After this evaporation, the impurity is cleared and any current path would be safely cut off, which means the actuator continues to perform. It is a widely studied concept in the capacitor community, while it has not been studied much for EAP technologies. In this paper we report a systematic approach to precondition a silver-metalized electroactive polymer (EAP), more specifically P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) terpolymer, using self-clearing concept. First, we show improvement in the dielectric breakdown strength of EAP based unimorph actuators after pre-clearing the impurities using low electric field (lower than dielectric breakdown of the terpolymer). Inspired by this improvement, we used Weibull statistics to systematically estimate the self-clearing/ preconditioning field needed to clear the defects. Then electrical breakdown experiments are conducted with and without preconditioning the samples to investigate its effect on the breakdown strength of the sample.

Optical properties of metal-dielectric based epsilon near zero metamaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subramania, Ganapathi; Fischer, Arthur; Luk, Ting

2014-03-01

Epsilon(ɛ) near zero(ENZ) materials are metamaterials where the effective dielectric constant(ɛ) is close to zero for a range of wavelengths resulting in zero effective displacement field (D = ɛE) and displacement current. ENZ structures are of great interest in many application areas such as optical nanocircuits, supercoupling, cloaking, emission enhancement etc. Effective ENZ behavior has been demonstrated using cut-off frequency region in a metallic waveguide where the modal index vanishes. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of ENZ metamaterials operating at visible wavelengths (λ ~ 640nm) using an effective medium approach based on a metal-dielectric composites(App. Phys. Let.,101,241107(2012)) that can act as ``bulk'' ENZ material. The structure consists of a multilayer stack composite of alternating nanoscale thickness layers of Ag and TiO2. Optical spectroscopy shows transmission and absorption response is consistent with ENZ behavior and matches well with simulations. We will discuss the criteria necessary in the design and practical implementation of the composite that better approximates a homogenous effective medium including techniques to minimize the effect of optical losses to boost transmission. The potential for hosting gain media in the gratings to address losses and emission control will be discussed. 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. DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Transfer matrix approach for the Kerr and Faraday rotation in layered nanostructures.

PubMed

Széchenyi, Gábor; Vigh, Máté; Kormányos, Andor; Cserti, József

2016-09-21

To study the optical rotation of the polarization of light incident on multilayer systems consisting of atomically thin conductors and dielectric multilayers we present a general method based on transfer matrices. The transfer matrix of the atomically thin conducting layer is obtained using the Maxwell equations. We derive expressions for the Kerr (Faraday) rotation angle and for the ellipticity of the reflected (transmitted) light as a function of the incident angle and polarization of the light. The method is demonstrated by calculating the Kerr (Faraday) angle for bilayer graphene in the quantum anomalous Hall state placed on the top of dielectric multilayers. The optical conductivity of the bilayer graphene is calculated in the framework of a four-band model.

Observation of van Hove Singularities in Twisted Silicene Multilayers.

PubMed

Li, Zhi; Zhuang, Jincheng; Chen, Lan; Ni, Zhenyi; Liu, Chen; Wang, Li; Xu, Xun; Wang, Jiaou; Pi, Xiaodong; Wang, Xiaolin; Du, Yi; Wu, Kehui; Dou, Shi Xue

2016-08-24

Interlayer interactions perturb the electronic structure of two-dimensional materials and lead to new physical phenomena, such as van Hove singularities and Hofstadter's butterfly pattern. Silicene, the recently discovered two-dimensional form of silicon, is quite unique, in that silicon atoms adopt competing sp(2) and sp(3) hybridization states leading to a low-buckled structure promising relatively strong interlayer interaction. In multilayer silicene, the stacking order provides an important yet rarely explored degree of freedom for tuning its electronic structures through manipulating interlayer coupling. Here, we report the emergence of van Hove singularities in the multilayer silicene created by an interlayer rotation. We demonstrate that even a large-angle rotation (>20°) between stacked silicene layers can generate a Moiré pattern and van Hove singularities due to the strong interlayer coupling in multilayer silicene. Our study suggests an intriguing method for expanding the tunability of the electronic structure for electronic applications in this two-dimensional material.

Method of fabricating reflection-mode EUV diffraction elements

DOEpatents

Naulleau, Patrick P.

2002-01-01

Techniques for fabricating a well-controlled, quantized-level, engineered surface that serves as substrates for EUV reflection multilayer overcomes problems associated with the fabrication of reflective EUV diffraction elements. The technique when employed to fabricate an EUV diffraction element that includes the steps of: (a) forming an etch stack comprising alternating layers of first and second materials on a substrate surface where the two material can provide relative etch selectivity; (b) creating a relief profile in the etch stack wherein the relief profile has a defined contour; and (c) depositing a multilayer reflection film over the relief profile wherein the film has an outer contour that substantially matches that of the relief profile. For a typical EUV multilayer, if the features on the substrate are larger than 50 nm, the multilayer will be conformal to the substrate. Thus, the phase imparted to the reflected wavefront will closely match that geometrically set by the surface height profile.

Multilayer coating of optical substrates by ion beam sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniel, M. V.; Demmler, M.

2017-10-01

Ion beam sputtering is well established in research and industry, despite its relatively low deposition rates compared to electron beam evaporation. Typical applications are coatings of precision optics, like filters, mirrors and beam splitter. Anti-reflective or high-reflective multilayer stacks benefit from the high mobility of the sputtered particles on the substrate surface and the good mechanical characteristics of the layers. This work gives the basic route from single layer optimization of reactive ion beam sputtered Ta2O5 and SiO2 thin films towards complex multilayer stacks for high-reflective mirrors and anti-reflective coatings. Therefore films were deposited using different oxygen flow into the deposition chamber Afterwards, mechanical (density, stress, surface morphology, crystalline phases) and optical properties (reflectivity, absorption and refractive index) were characterized. These knowledge was used to deposit a multilayer coating for a high reflective mirror.

Electrostatically assisted fabrication of silver-dielectric core/shell nanoparticles thin film capacitor with uniform metal nanoparticle distribution and controlled spacing.

PubMed

Li, Xue; Niitsoo, Olivia; Couzis, Alexander

2016-03-01

An electrostatically-assisted strategy for fabrication of thin film composite capacitors with controllable dielectric constant (k) has been developed. The capacitor is composed of metal-dielectric core/shell nanoparticle (silver/silica, Ag@SiO2) multilayer films, and a backfilling polymer. Compared with the simple metal particle-polymer mixtures where the metal nanoparticles (NP) are randomly dispersed in the polymer matrix, the metal volume fraction in our capacitor was significantly increased, owing to the densely packed NP multilayers formed by the electrostatically assisted assembly process. Moreover, the insulating layer of silica shell provides a potential barrier that reduces the tunneling current between neighboring Ag cores, endowing the core/shell nanocomposites with a stable and relatively high dielectric constant (k) and low dielectric loss (D). Our work also shows that the thickness of the SiO2 shell plays a dominant role in controlling the dielectric properties of the nanocomposites. Control over metal NP separation distance was realized not only by variation the shell thickness of the core/shell NPs but also by introducing a high k nanoparticle, barium strontium titanate (BST) of relatively smaller size (∼8nm) compared to 80-160nm of the core/shell Ag@SiO2 NPs. The BST assemble between the Ag@SiO2 and fill the void space between the closely packed core/shell NPs leading to significant enhancement of the dielectric constant. This electrostatically assisted assembly method is promising for generating multilayer films of a large variety of NPs over large areas at low cost. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Manifold gasket accommodating differential movement of fuel cell stack

DOEpatents

Kelley, Dana A.; Farooque, Mohammad

2007-11-13

A gasket for use in a fuel cell system having at least one externally manifolded fuel cell stack, for sealing the manifold edge and the stack face. In accordance with the present invention, the gasket accommodates differential movement between the stack and manifold by promoting slippage at interfaces between the gasket and the dielectric and between the gasket and the stack face.

Note: Resonance magnetoelectric interactions in laminate of FeCuNbSiB and multilayer piezoelectric stack for magnetic sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jianqiang; Lu, Caijiang; Xu, Changbao; Zhong, Ming

2015-09-01

This paper develops a simple miniature magnetoelectric (ME) laminate FeCuNbSiB/PZT-stack made up of magnetostrictive Fe73.5Cu1Nb3Si13.5B9 (FeCuNbSiB) foils and piezoelectric Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 (PZT) multilayer stack vibrator. Resonant ME interactions of FeCuNbSiB/PZT-stack with different layers of FeCuNbSiB foil (L) are investigated in detail. The experimental results show that the ME voltage coefficient reaches maximum value of 141.5 (V/cm Oe) for FeCuNbSiB/PZT-stack with L = 6. The AC-magnetic sensitivities can reach 524.29 mV/Oe and 1.8 mV/Oe under resonance 91.6 kHz and off-resonance 1 kHz, respectively. The FeCuNbSiB/PZT-stack can distinguish small dc-magnetic field of ˜9 nT. The results indicate that the proposed ME composites are very promising for the cheap room-temperature magnetic field sensing technology.

SEGR in SiO$${}_2$$ –Si$$_3$$ N$$_4$$ Stacks

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

Javanainen, Arto; Ferlet-Cavrois, Veronique; Bosser, Alexandre

2014-04-17

This work presents experimental SEGR data for MOS-devices, where the gate dielectrics are are made of stacked SiO 2–Si 3N 4 structures. Also a semi-empirical model for predicting the critical gate voltage in these structures under heavy-ion exposure is proposed. Then statistical interrelationship between SEGR cross-section data and simulated energy deposition probabilities in thin dielectric layers is discussed.

On-chip copper-dielectric interference filters for manufacturing of ambient light and proximity CMOS sensors.

PubMed

Frey, Laurent; Masarotto, Lilian; D'Aillon, Patrick Gros; Pellé, Catherine; Armand, Marilyn; Marty, Michel; Jamin-Mornet, Clémence; Lhostis, Sandrine; Le Briz, Olivier

2014-07-10

Filter technologies implemented on CMOS image sensors for spectrally selective applications often use a combination of on-chip organic resists and an external substrate with multilayer dielectric coatings. The photopic-like and near-infrared bandpass filtering functions respectively required by ambient light sensing and user proximity detection through time-of-flight can be fully integrated on chip with multilayer metal-dielectric filters. Copper, silicon nitride, and silicon oxide are the materials selected for a technological proof-of-concept on functional wafers, due to their immediate availability in front-end semiconductor fabs. Filter optical designs are optimized with respect to specific performance criteria, and the robustness of the designs regarding process errors are evaluated for industrialization purposes.

Complex oxide thin films for microelectronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suvorova, Natalya

The rapid scaling of the device dimensions, namely in metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), is reaching its fundamental limit which includes the increase in allowable leakage current due to direct tunneling with decrease of physical thickness of SiO2 gate dielectric. The significantly higher relative dielectric constant (in the range 9--25) of the gate dielectric beyond the 3.9 value of silicon dioxide will allow increasing the physical thickness. Among the choices for the high dielectric constant (K) materials for future generation MOSFET application, barium strontium titanate (BST) and strontium titanate (STO) possess one of the highest attainable K values making them the promising candidates for alternative gate oxide. However, the gate stack engineering does not imply the simple replacement of the SiO2 with the new dielectric. Several requirements should be met for successful integration of a new material. The major one is a production of high level of interface states (Dit) compared to that of SiO 2 on Si. An insertion of a thin SiO2 layer prior the growth of high-K thin film is a simple solution that helps to limit reaction with Si substrate and attains a high quality interface. However, the combination of two thin films reduces the overall K of the dielectric stack. An optimization of the SiO2 underlayer in order to maintain the interface quality yet minimize the effect on K is the focus of this work. The results from our study are presented with emphasis on the key process parameters that improve the dielectric film stack. For in-situ growth characterization of BST and STO films sputter deposited on thermally oxidized Si substrates spectroscopic ellipsometry in combination with time of flight ion scattering and recoil spectrometry have been employed. Studies of material properties have been complemented with analytical electron microscopy. To evaluate the interface quality the electrical characterization has been employed using capacitance-voltage and conductance-voltage measurements. Special attention was given to the extraction of static dielectric constant of BST and STO from the multiple film stack. The K value was found to be sensitive to the input parameters such as dielectric constant and thickness of interface layers.

Photoluminescence enhancement through vertical stacking of defect-engineered Ge on Si quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groiss, Heiko; Spindlberger, Lukas; Oberhumer, Peter; Schäffler, Friedrich; Fromherz, Thomas; Grydlik, Martyna; Brehm, Moritz

2017-02-01

In this work, we show that the room-temperature photoluminescence intensity from Ge ion-bombarded (GIB) epitaxial Ge on Si quantum dots (QD) can be improved by their vertical stacking. We stress that the growth of GIB-QD multilayers is more demanding compared to all-crystalline epitaxial QDs, as a consequence of local amorphous regions within the GIB-QDs required during their genesis. We show that in spite of those amorphous regions, for accurately chosen growth temperatures of the Si spacer layers separating the GIB-QD layers, multiple GIB-QD layers can be stacked without detrimental break-down of epitaxial growth. Compared to a single GIB-QD layer, we observe a 650% increase in PL intensity for an eleven-layer GIB-QD stack, indicating that such multilayers are promising candidates as gain material for all-group-IV nano-photonic lasers.

Study on the dielectric properties of Al2O3/TiO2 sub-nanometric laminates: effect of the bottom electrode and the total thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben Elbahri, M.; Kahouli, A.; Mercey, B.; Lebedev, O.; Donner, W.; Lüders, U.

2018-02-01

Dielectrics based on amorphous sub-nanometric laminates of TiO2 and Al2O3 are subject to elevated dielectric losses and leakage currents, in large parts due to the extremely thin individual layer thickness chosen for the creation of the Maxwell-Wagner relaxation and therefore the high apparent dielectric constants. The optimization of performances of the laminate itself being strongly limited by this contradiction concerning its internal structure, we will show in this study that modifications of the dielectric stack of capacitors based on these sub-nanometric laminates can positively influence the dielectric losses and the leakage, as for example the nature of the electrodes, the introduction of thick insulating layers at the laminate/electrode interfaces and the modification of the total laminate thickness. The optimization of the dielectric stack leads to the demonstration of a capacitor with an apparent dielectric constant of 90, combined with low dielectric loss (tan δ) of 7 · 10-2 and with leakage currents smaller than 1  ×  10-6 A cm-2 at 10 MV m-1.

Fabrication of PVDF-TrFE based bilayered PbTiO3/PVDF-TrFE films capacitor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2016-07-01

Development of high performance capacitor is reaching towards new generation where the ferroelectric materials take places as the active dielectric layer. The motivation of this study is to produce high capacitance device with long life cycle. This was configured by preparing bilayered films where lead titanate as an active dielectric layer and stacked with the top dielectric layer, poly(vinyledenefluoride-trifluoroethylene). Both of them are being referred that have one in common which is ferroelectric behavior. Therefore the combination of ceramic and polymer ferroelectric material could perform optimum dielectric characteristic for capacitor applications. The fabrication was done by simple sol-gel spin coating method that being varied at spinning speed property for polymer layers, whereas maintaining the ceramic layer. The characterization of PVDF-TrFE/PbTiO3 was performed according to metal-insulator-metal stacked capacitor measurement which includes structural, dielectric, and ferroelectric measurement.

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

Lu, Cimang, E-mail: cimang@adam.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Lee, Choong Hyun; Nishimura, Tomonori

We investigated yttrium scandate (YScO{sub 3}) as an alternative high-permittivity (k) dielectric thin film for Ge gate stack formation. Significant enhancement of k-value is reported in YScO{sub 3} comparing to both of its binary compounds, Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Sc{sub 2}O{sub 3}, without any cost of interface properties. It suggests a feasible approach to a design of promising high-k dielectrics for Ge gate stack, namely, the formation of high-k ternary oxide out of two medium-k binary oxides. Aggressive scaling of equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) with promising interface properties is presented by using YScO{sub 3} as high-k dielectric and yttrium-doped GeO{submore » 2} (Y-GeO{sub 2}) as interfacial layer, for a demonstration of high-k gate stack on Ge. In addition, we demonstrate Ge n-MOSFET performance showing the peak electron mobility over 1000 cm{sup 2}/V s in sub-nm EOT region by YScO{sub 3}/Y-GeO{sub 2}/Ge gate stack.« less

van der Waals torque and force between dielectrically anisotropic layered media.

PubMed

Lu, Bing-Sui; Podgornik, Rudolf

2016-07-28

We analyse van der Waals interactions between a pair of dielectrically anisotropic plane-layered media interacting across a dielectrically isotropic solvent medium. We develop a general formalism based on transfer matrices to investigate the van der Waals torque and force in the limit of weak birefringence and dielectric matching between the ordinary axes of the anisotropic layers and the solvent. We apply this formalism to study the following systems: (i) a pair of single anisotropic layers, (ii) a single anisotropic layer interacting with a multilayered slab consisting of alternating anisotropic and isotropic layers, and (iii) a pair of multilayered slabs each consisting of alternating anisotropic and isotropic layers, looking at the cases where the optic axes lie parallel and/or perpendicular to the plane of the layers. For the first case, the optic axes of the oppositely facing anisotropic layers of the two interacting slabs generally possess an angular mismatch, and within each multilayered slab the optic axes may either be the same or undergo constant angular increments across the anisotropic layers. In particular, we examine how the behaviors of the van der Waals torque and force can be "tuned" by adjusting the layer thicknesses, the relative angular increment within each slab, and the angular mismatch between the slabs.

Polarization Coupling in Ferroelectric Multilayers as a Function of Interface Charge Concentration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okatan, Mahmut; Mantese, Joseph; Alpay, Pamir

2009-03-01

Intriguing properties of multilayered and graded ferroelectrics follow from the electrostatic and electromechanical interactions. The strength of the interlayer coupling depends on the concentration of interfacial defects with short-range local electrostatic fields. Defects may locally relax polarization differences and thus reduce the commensurate bound charge concentration at the interlayer interfaces. In this talk, we develop a theoretical analysis based on non-linear thermodynamics coupled with basic electrostatic relations to understand the role of charge compensation at the interlayer interfaces. The results show multilayered ferroelectrics with systematic variations in the composition may display a colossal dielectric response depending upon the interlayer electrostatic interactions. It is expected that other properties such as the pyroelectric and piezoelectric response will yield concomitant increases through the dielectric permittivity.

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

Samant, Saumil P.; Grabowski, Christopher A.; Kisslinger, Kim

Emerging needs for fast charge/discharge yet high-power, lightweight, and flexible electronics requires the use of polymer-film-based solid-state capacitors with high energy densities. Fast charge/discharge rates of film capacitors on the order of microseconds are not achievable with slower charging conventional batteries, supercapacitors and related hybrid technologies. However, the current energy densities of polymer film capacitors fall short of rising demand, and could be significantly enhanced by increasing the breakdown strength (E BD) and dielectric permittivity (ε r) of the polymer films. Co-extruded two-homopolymer component multilayered films have demonstrated much promise in this regard showing higher E BD over that ofmore » component polymers. Multilayered films can also help incorporate functional features besides energy storage, such as enhanced optical, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. In this work, we report accomplishing multilayer, multicomponent block copolymer dielectric films (BCDF) with soft-shear driven highly oriented self-assembled lamellar diblock copolymers (BCP) as a novel application of this important class of self-assembling materials. Results of a model PS-b-PMMA system show ~50% enhancement in E BD of self-assembled multilayer lamellar BCP films compared to unordered as-cast films, indicating that the breakdown is highly sensitive to the nanostructure of the BCP. The enhancement in E BD is attributed to the “barrier effect”, where the multiple interfaces between the lamellae block components act as barriers to the dielectric breakdown through the film. The increase in E BD corresponds to more than doubling the energy storage capacity using a straightforward directed self-assembly strategy. This approach opens a new nanomaterial paradigm for designing high energy density dielectric materials.« less

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

Samant, Saumil P.; Grabowski, Christopher A.; Kisslinger, Kim

Emerging needs for fast charge/discharge yet high-power, lightweight, and flexible electronics requires the use of polymer-film-based solid-state capacitors with high energy densities. Fast charge/discharge rates of film capacitors on the order of microseconds are not achievable with slower charging conventional batteries, supercapacitors and related hybrid technologies. However, the current energy densities of polymer film capacitors fall short of rising demand, and could be significantly enhanced by increasing the breakdown strength (E BD) and dielectric permittivity (ε r) of the polymer films. Co-extruded two-homopolymer component multilayered films have demonstrated much promise in this regard showing higher E BD over that ofmore » component polymers. Multilayered films can also help incorporate functional features besides energy storage, such as enhanced optical, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. In this work, we report accomplishing multilayer, multicomponent block copolymer dielectric films (BCDF) with soft-shear driven highly oriented self-assembled lamellar diblock copolymers (BCP) as a novel application of this important class of self-assembling materials. Results of a model PS- b-PMMA system show ~50% enhancement in E BD of self-assembled multilayer lamellar BCP films compared to unordered as-cast films, indicating that the breakdown is highly sensitive to the nanostructure of the BCP. The enhancement in E BD is attributed to the “barrier effect”, where the multiple interfaces between the lamellae block components act as barriers to the dielectric breakdown through the film. The increase in E BD corresponds to more than doubling the energy storage capacity using a straightforward directed self-assembly strategy. Lastly, this approach opens a new nanomaterial paradigm for designing high energy density dielectric materials.« less

Pointillist structural color in Pollia fruit

PubMed Central

Vignolini, Silvia; Rudall, Paula J.; Rowland, Alice V.; Reed, Alison; Moyroud, Edwige; Faden, Robert B.; Baumberg, Jeremy J.; Glover, Beverley J.; Steiner, Ullrich

2012-01-01

Biological communication by means of structural color has existed for at least 500 million years. Structural color is commonly observed in the animal kingdom, but has been little studied in plants. We present a striking example of multilayer-based strong iridescent coloration in plants, in the fruit of Pollia condensata. The color is caused by Bragg reflection of helicoidally stacked cellulose microfibrils that form multilayers in the cell walls of the epicarp. We demonstrate that animals and plants have convergently evolved multilayer-based photonic structures to generate colors using entirely distinct materials. The bright blue coloration of this fruit is more intense than that of any previously described biological material. Uniquely in nature, the reflected color differs from cell to cell, as the layer thicknesses in the multilayer stack vary, giving the fruit a striking pixelated or pointillist appearance. Because the multilayers form with both helicoidicities, optical characterization reveals that the reflected light from every epidermal cell is polarized circularly either to the left or to the right, a feature that has never previously been observed in a single tissue. PMID:23019355

First-principles determination of the Raman fingerprint of rhombohedral graphite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torche, Abderrezak; Mauri, Francesco; Charlier, Jean-Christophe; Calandra, Matteo

2017-09-01

Multilayer graphene with rhombohedral stacking is a promising carbon phase possibly displaying correlated states like magnetism or superconductivity due to the occurrence of a flat surface band at the Fermi level. Recently, flakes of thickness up to 17 layers were tentatively attributed to ABC sequences although the Raman fingerprint of rhombohedral multilayer graphene is currently unknown and the 2D resonant Raman spectrum of Bernal graphite is not understood. We provide a first principles description of the 2D Raman peak in three and four layers graphene (all stackings) as well as in Bernal, rhombohedral, and an alternation of Bernal and rhombohedral graphite. We give practical prescriptions to identify long range sequences of ABC multilayer graphene. Our work is a prerequisite to experimental nondestructive identification and synthesis of rhombohedral graphite.

A General Strategy to Achieve Colossal Permittivity and Low Dielectric Loss Through Constructing Insulator/Semiconductor/Insulator Multilayer Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Kai; Sun, Yalong; Zheng, Fengang; Tse, Mei-Yan; Sun, Qingbo; Liu, Yun; Hao, Jianhua

2018-06-01

In this work, we propose a route to realize high-performance colossal permittivity (CP) by creating multilayer structures of insulator/semiconductor/insulator. To prove the new concept, we made heavily reduced rutile TiO2 via annealing route in Ar/H2 atmosphere. Dielectric studies show that the maximum dielectric permittivity ( 3.0 × 104) of our prepared samples is about 100 times higher than that ( 300) of conventional TiO2. The minimum dielectric loss is 0.03 (at 104-105 Hz). Furthermore, CP is almost independent of the frequency (100-106 Hz) and the temperature (20-350 K). We suggest that the colossal permittivity is attributed to the high carrier concentration of the inner TiO2 semiconductor, while the low dielectric loss is due to the presentation of the insulator layer on the surface of TiO2. The method proposed here can be expanded to other material systems, such as semiconductor Si sandwiched by top and bottom insulator layers of Ga2O3.

Observation of van Hove Singularities in Twisted Silicene Multilayers

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Interlayer interactions perturb the electronic structure of two-dimensional materials and lead to new physical phenomena, such as van Hove singularities and Hofstadter’s butterfly pattern. Silicene, the recently discovered two-dimensional form of silicon, is quite unique, in that silicon atoms adopt competing sp2 and sp3 hybridization states leading to a low-buckled structure promising relatively strong interlayer interaction. In multilayer silicene, the stacking order provides an important yet rarely explored degree of freedom for tuning its electronic structures through manipulating interlayer coupling. Here, we report the emergence of van Hove singularities in the multilayer silicene created by an interlayer rotation. We demonstrate that even a large-angle rotation (>20°) between stacked silicene layers can generate a Moiré pattern and van Hove singularities due to the strong interlayer coupling in multilayer silicene. Our study suggests an intriguing method for expanding the tunability of the electronic structure for electronic applications in this two-dimensional material. PMID:27610412

Study of Cr/Sc-based multilayer reflecting mirrors using soft x-ray reflectivity and standing wave-enhanced x-ray fluorescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Meiyi; Burcklen, Catherine; André, Jean-Michel; Guen, Karine Le; Giglia, Angelo; Koshmak, Konstantin; Nannarone, Stefano; Bridou, Françoise; Meltchakov, Evgueni; Rossi, Sébastien de; Delmotte, Franck; Jonnard, Philippe

2017-11-01

We study Cr/Sc-based multilayer mirrors designed to work in the water window range using hard and soft x-ray reflectivity as well as x-ray fluorescence enhanced by standing waves. Samples differ by the elemental composition of the stack, the thickness of each layer, and the order of deposition. This paper mainly consists of two parts. In the first part, the optical performances of different Cr/Sc-based multilayers are reported, and in the second part, we extend further the characterization of the structural parameters of the multilayers, which can be extracted by comparing the experimental data with simulations. The methodology is detailed in the case of Cr/B4C/Sc sample for which a three-layer model is used. Structural parameters determined by fitting reflectivity curve are then introduced as fixed parameters to plot the x-ray standing wave curve, to compare with the experiment, and confirm the determined structure of the stack.

Aminosilane multilayer formed on a single-crystalline diamond surface with controlled nanoscopic hardness and bioactivity by a wet process.

PubMed

Amemiya, Yosuke; Hatakeyama, Akiko; Shimamoto, Nobuo

2009-01-06

Diamond could be an excellent support for nanodevices utilizing biomolecules if it is covered with a polymer layer immobilizing a variety of biomolecules. We report a wet method to form a 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) multilayer with a controlled hardness, roughness, and capacity for immobilizing protein. The method is feasible in typical biochemical laboratories where biomolecules are prepared. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that the surface geometries and nanoscopic hardness of the multilayers on an oxygen-terminated single-crystalline diamond surface depended on the dielectric constant of the solvent; the smaller the constant, the harder the layer. The hard multilayers had holes and APTES aggregates on the surfaces, while less hard ones had homogeneous surfaces with rare holes and little aggregates. The secondary deposition of APTES in a solvent with a large dielectric constant on a hard multilayer removed the holes, and further treatment of the multilayer in acidic ethanol solution diminished the aggregates. Such a surface can immobilize streptavidin with enough specificity against nonspecific adsorption using a combination of polyethylene glycol reagents. The results of a scratching test and nanoindentation test with AFM provided consistent results, suggesting some universality of the scratching test independent of the tip structure of the cantilever. The mechanism of formation of multilayers on the diamond surface and their binding to it is discussed.

Nonvolatile memory characteristics of organic thin film transistors using poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-based polymer multilayer dielectric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ying-Chih; Su, Yan-Kuin; Yu, Hsin-Chieh; Huang, Chun-Yuan; Huang, Tsung-Syun

2011-10-01

A wide hysteresis width characteristic (memory window) was observed in the organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) using poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA)-based polymer multilayers. In this study, a strong memory effect was also found in the pentacene-based OTFTs and the electric characteristics were improved by introducing PHEMA/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/PHEMA trilayer to replace the conventional PHEMA monolayer or PMMA/PHEMA and PHEMA/PMMA bilayer as the dielectric layers of OTFTs. The memory effect was originated from the electron trapping and slow polarization of the dielectrics. The hydroxyl (-OH) groups inside the polymer dielectric were the main charge storage sites of the electrons. This charge-storage phenomenon could lead to a wide flat-band voltage shift (memory window, △VFB = 22 V) which is essential for the OTFTs' memory-related applications. Moreover, the fabricated transistors also exhibited significant switchable channel current due to the charge-storage and slow charge relaxation.

Fabrication and characterization of WO3/Ag/WO3 multilayer transparent anode with solution-processed WO3 for polymer light-emitting diodes

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

The dielectric/metal/dielectric multilayer is suitable for a transparent electrode because of its high-optical and high-electrical properties; however, it is fabricated by an expensive and inefficient multistep vacuum process. We present a WO3/Ag/WO3 (WAW) multilayer transparent anode with solution-processed WO3 for polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs). This WAW multilayer not only has high transmittance and low resistance but also can be easily and rapidly fabricated. We devised a novel method to deposit a thin WO3 layer by a solution process in an air environment. A tungstic acid solution was prepared from an aqueous solution of Na2WO4 and then converted to WO3 nanoparticles (NPs) by a thermal treatment. Thin WO3 NP layers form WAW multilayer with a thermal-evaporated Ag layer, and they improve the transmittance of the WAW multilayer because of its high transmittance and refractive index. Moreover, the surface of the WO3 layer is homogeneous and flat with low roughness because of the WO3 NP generation from the tungstic acid solution without aggregation. We performed optical simulation and experiments, and the optimized WAW multilayer had a high transmittance of 85% with a sheet resistance of 4 Ω/sq. Finally, PLEDs based on the WAW multilayer anode achieved a maximum luminance of 35,550 cd/m2 at 8 V, and this result implies that the solution-processed WAW multilayer is appropriate for use as a transparent anode in PLEDs. PMID:22587669

Fabrication and characterization of WO3/Ag/WO3 multilayer transparent anode with solution-processed WO3 for polymer light-emitting diodes.

PubMed

Jeon, Kangmin; Youn, Hongseok; Kim, Seongbeom; Shin, Seongbeom; Yang, Minyang

2012-05-15

The dielectric/metal/dielectric multilayer is suitable for a transparent electrode because of its high-optical and high-electrical properties; however, it is fabricated by an expensive and inefficient multistep vacuum process. We present a WO3/Ag/WO3 (WAW) multilayer transparent anode with solution-processed WO3 for polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs). This WAW multilayer not only has high transmittance and low resistance but also can be easily and rapidly fabricated. We devised a novel method to deposit a thin WO3 layer by a solution process in an air environment. A tungstic acid solution was prepared from an aqueous solution of Na2WO4 and then converted to WO3 nanoparticles (NPs) by a thermal treatment. Thin WO3 NP layers form WAW multilayer with a thermal-evaporated Ag layer, and they improve the transmittance of the WAW multilayer because of its high transmittance and refractive index. Moreover, the surface of the WO3 layer is homogeneous and flat with low roughness because of the WO3 NP generation from the tungstic acid solution without aggregation. We performed optical simulation and experiments, and the optimized WAW multilayer had a high transmittance of 85% with a sheet resistance of 4 Ω/sq. Finally, PLEDs based on the WAW multilayer anode achieved a maximum luminance of 35,550 cd/m2 at 8 V, and this result implies that the solution-processed WAW multilayer is appropriate for use as a transparent anode in PLEDs.

Innovative soft magnetic multilayers with enhanced in-plane anisotropy and ferromagnetic resonance frequency for integrated RF passive devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falub, Claudiu V.; Bless, Martin; Hida, Rachid; MeduÅa, Mojmír; Ammann, Arnold

2018-04-01

We present an innovative, economical method for manufacturing soft magnetic materials that may pave the way for integrated thin film magnetic cores with dramatically improved properties. Soft magnetic multilayered thin films based on the Fe-28%Co20%B (at.%) and Co-4.5%Ta4%Zr (at.%) amorphous alloys are deposited on 8" bare Si and Si/200nm-thermal-SiO2 wafers in an industrial, high-throughput Evatec LLS EVO II magnetron sputtering system. The multilayers consist of stacks of alternating 80-nm-thick ferromagnetic layers and 4-nm-thick Al2O3 dielectric interlayers. Since in our dynamic sputter system the substrate cage rotates continuously, such that the substrates face different targets alternatively, each ferromagnetic sublayer in the multilayer consists of a fine structure comprising alternating CoTaZr and FeCoB nanolayers with very sharp interfaces. We adjust the thickness of these individual nanolayers between 0.5 and 1.5 nm by changing the cage rotation speed and the power of each gun, which is an excellent mode to engineer new, composite ferromagnetic materials. Using X-ray reflectometry (XRR) we reveal that the interfaces between the FeCoB and CoTaZr nanolayers are perfectly smooth with roughness of 0.2-0.3 nm. Kerr magnetometry and B-H looper measurements for the as-deposited samples show that the coercivity of these thin films is very low, 0.2-0.3 Oe, and gradually scales up with the thickness of FeCoB nanolayers, i.e. with the increase of the overall Fe content from 0 % (e.g. CoTaZr-based multilayers) to 52 % (e.g. FeCoB-based multilayers). We explain this trend in the random anisotropy model, based on considerations of grain size growth, as revealed by glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD), but also because of the increase of magnetostriction with the increase of Fe content as shown by B-H looper measurements performed on strained wafers. The unexpected enhancement of the in-plane anisotropy field from 18.3 Oe and 25.8 Oe for the conventional CoTaZr- and FeCoB-based multilayers, respectively, up to ˜48 Oe for the nanostructured multilayers with FeCoB/CoTaZr nano-bilayers is explained based on interface anisotropy contribution. These novel soft magnetic multilayers, with enhanced in-plane anisotropy, allow operation at higher frequencies, as revealed by broadband (between 100 MHz and 10 GHz) RF measurements that exhibit a classical Landau-Lifschitz-Gilbert (LLG) behavior.

Corrosion protected, multi-layer fuel cell interface

DOEpatents

Feigenbaum, Haim; Pudick, Sheldon; Wang, Chiu L.

1986-01-01

An improved interface configuration for use between adjacent elements of a fuel cell stack. The interface is impervious to gas and liquid and provides resistance to corrosion by the electrolyte of the fuel cell. The multi-layer configuration for the interface comprises a non-cupreous metal-coated metallic element to which is film-bonded a conductive layer by hot pressing a resin therebetween. The multi-layer arrangement provides bridging electrical contact.

Directed Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers for High Breakdown Strength Polymer Film Capacitors.

PubMed

Samant, Saumil P; Grabowski, Christopher A; Kisslinger, Kim; Yager, Kevin G; Yuan, Guangcui; Satija, Sushil K; Durstock, Michael F; Raghavan, Dharmaraj; Karim, Alamgir

2016-03-01

Emerging needs for fast charge/discharge yet high-power, lightweight, and flexible electronics requires the use of polymer-film-based solid-state capacitors with high energy densities. Fast charge/discharge rates of film capacitors on the order of microseconds are not achievable with slower charging conventional batteries, supercapacitors and related hybrid technologies. However, the current energy densities of polymer film capacitors fall short of rising demand, and could be significantly enhanced by increasing the breakdown strength (EBD) and dielectric permittivity (εr) of the polymer films. Co-extruded two-homopolymer component multilayered films have demonstrated much promise in this regard showing higher EBD over that of component polymers. Multilayered films can also help incorporate functional features besides energy storage, such as enhanced optical, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. In this work, we report accomplishing multilayer, multicomponent block copolymer dielectric films (BCDF) with soft-shear driven highly oriented self-assembled lamellar diblock copolymers (BCP) as a novel application of this important class of self-assembling materials. Results of a model PS-b-PMMA system show ∼50% enhancement in EBD of self-assembled multilayer lamellar BCP films compared to unordered as-cast films, indicating that the breakdown is highly sensitive to the nanostructure of the BCP. The enhancement in EBD is attributed to the "barrier effect", where the multiple interfaces between the lamellae block components act as barriers to the dielectric breakdown through the film. The increase in EBD corresponds to more than doubling the energy storage capacity using a straightforward directed self-assembly strategy. This approach opens a new nanomaterial paradigm for designing high energy density dielectric materials.

Directed self-assembly of block copolymers for high breakdown strength polymer film capacitors

DOE PAGES

Samant, Saumil P.; Grabowski, Christopher A.; Kisslinger, Kim; ...

2016-03-04

Emerging needs for fast charge/discharge yet high-power, lightweight, and flexible electronics requires the use of polymer-film-based solid-state capacitors with high energy densities. Fast charge/discharge rates of film capacitors on the order of microseconds are not achievable with slower charging conventional batteries, supercapacitors and related hybrid technologies. However, the current energy densities of polymer film capacitors fall short of rising demand, and could be significantly enhanced by increasing the breakdown strength (E BD) and dielectric permittivity (ε r) of the polymer films. Co-extruded two-homopolymer component multilayered films have demonstrated much promise in this regard showing higher E BD over that ofmore » component polymers. Multilayered films can also help incorporate functional features besides energy storage, such as enhanced optical, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties. In this work, we report accomplishing multilayer, multicomponent block copolymer dielectric films (BCDF) with soft-shear driven highly oriented self-assembled lamellar diblock copolymers (BCP) as a novel application of this important class of self-assembling materials. Results of a model PS- b-PMMA system show ~50% enhancement in E BD of self-assembled multilayer lamellar BCP films compared to unordered as-cast films, indicating that the breakdown is highly sensitive to the nanostructure of the BCP. The enhancement in E BD is attributed to the “barrier effect”, where the multiple interfaces between the lamellae block components act as barriers to the dielectric breakdown through the film. The increase in E BD corresponds to more than doubling the energy storage capacity using a straightforward directed self-assembly strategy. Lastly, this approach opens a new nanomaterial paradigm for designing high energy density dielectric materials.« less

Origin of colossal dielectric response of CaCu3Ti4O12 studied by using CaTiO3/CaCu3Ti4O12/CaTiO3 multilayer thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitsugi, Masakazu; Asanuma, Shutaro; Uesu, Yoshiaki; Fukunaga, Mamoru; Kobayashi, Wataru; Terasaki, Ichiro

2007-06-01

To elucidate the origin of the colossal dielectric response (CDR) of CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO), multilayer thin films of CCTO interposed in insulating CaTiO3 (CTO) were synthesized using a pulsed laser deposition technique. The capacitance C of CTO/CCTO/CTO films with different layer thicknesses is measured. After removing the capacitance of CTO by extrapolating C to zero CTO thickness, the real part of dielectric constant of CCTO is estimated to be 329-435, which is much smaller than the reported value for CCTO thin films. This fact indicates that the CDR of CCTO is extrinsic and originates from an internal barrier layer capacitor.

Fabrication of PVDF-TrFE based bilayered PbTiO{sub 3}/PVDF-TrFE films capacitor

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

Nurbaya, Z., E-mail: nurbayazainal@gmail.com; Razak School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 54100 Kuala Lumpur; Wahid, M. H.

2016-07-06

Development of high performance capacitor is reaching towards new generation where the ferroelectric materials take places as the active dielectric layer. The motivation of this study is to produce high capacitance device with long life cycle. This was configured by preparing bilayered films where lead titanate as an active dielectric layer and stacked with the top dielectric layer, poly(vinyledenefluoride-trifluoroethylene). Both of them are being referred that have one in common which is ferroelectric behavior. Therefore the combination of ceramic and polymer ferroelectric material could perform optimum dielectric characteristic for capacitor applications. The fabrication was done by simple sol-gel spin coatingmore » method that being varied at spinning speed property for polymer layers, whereas maintaining the ceramic layer. The characterization of PVDF-TrFE/PbTiO3 was performed according to metal-insulator-metal stacked capacitor measurement which includes structural, dielectric, and ferroelectric measurement.« less

Atomic layer deposition TiO 2-Al 2O 3 stack: An improved gate dielectric on Ga-polar GaN metal oxide semiconductor capacitors

DOE PAGES

Wei, Daming; Edgar, James H.; Briggs, Dayrl P.; ...

2014-10-15

This research focuses on the benefits and properties of TiO 2-Al 2O 3 nano-stack thin films deposited on Ga 2O 3/GaN by plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (PA-ALD) for gate dielectric development. This combination of materials achieved a high dielectric constant, a low leakage current, and a low interface trap density. Correlations were sought between the films’ structure, composition, and electrical properties. The gate dielectrics were approximately 15 nm thick and contained 5.1 nm TiO 2, 7.1 nm Al 2O 3 and 2 nm Ga 2O 3 as determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The interface carbon concentration, as measured by x-ray photoelectronmore » spectroscopy (XPS) depth profile, was negligible for GaN pretreated by thermal oxidation in O 2 for 30 minutes at 850°C. The RMS roughness slightly increased after thermal oxidation and remained the same after ALD of the nano-stack, as determined by atomic force microscopy. The dielectric constant of TiO 2-Al 2O 3 on Ga2O3/GaN was increased to 12.5 compared to that of pure Al 2O 3 (8~9) on GaN. In addition, the nano-stack's capacitance-voltage (C-V) hysteresis was small, with a total trap density of 8.74 × 10 11 cm -2. The gate leakage current density (J=2.81× 10 -8 A/cm 2) was low at +1 V gate bias. These results demonstrate the promising potential of plasma ALD deposited TiO 2/Al 2O 3 for serving as the gate oxide on Ga 2O 3/GaN based MOS devices.« less

Atomic layer deposition TiO 2-Al 2O 3 stack: An improved gate dielectric on Ga-polar GaN metal oxide semiconductor capacitors

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

Wei, Daming; Edgar, James H.; Briggs, Dayrl P.

This research focuses on the benefits and properties of TiO 2-Al 2O 3 nano-stack thin films deposited on Ga 2O 3/GaN by plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition (PA-ALD) for gate dielectric development. This combination of materials achieved a high dielectric constant, a low leakage current, and a low interface trap density. Correlations were sought between the films’ structure, composition, and electrical properties. The gate dielectrics were approximately 15 nm thick and contained 5.1 nm TiO 2, 7.1 nm Al 2O 3 and 2 nm Ga 2O 3 as determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The interface carbon concentration, as measured by x-ray photoelectronmore » spectroscopy (XPS) depth profile, was negligible for GaN pretreated by thermal oxidation in O 2 for 30 minutes at 850°C. The RMS roughness slightly increased after thermal oxidation and remained the same after ALD of the nano-stack, as determined by atomic force microscopy. The dielectric constant of TiO 2-Al 2O 3 on Ga2O3/GaN was increased to 12.5 compared to that of pure Al 2O 3 (8~9) on GaN. In addition, the nano-stack's capacitance-voltage (C-V) hysteresis was small, with a total trap density of 8.74 × 10 11 cm -2. The gate leakage current density (J=2.81× 10 -8 A/cm 2) was low at +1 V gate bias. These results demonstrate the promising potential of plasma ALD deposited TiO 2/Al 2O 3 for serving as the gate oxide on Ga 2O 3/GaN based MOS devices.« less

High quantum efficiency and low dark count rate in multi-layer superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors

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

Jafari Salim, A., E-mail: ajafaris@uwaterloo.ca; Eftekharian, A.; University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1

In this paper, we theoretically show that a multi-layer superconducting nanowire single-photon detector (SNSPD) is capable of approaching characteristics of an ideal SNSPD in terms of the quantum efficiency, dark count, and band-width. A multi-layer structure improves the performance in two ways. First, the potential barrier for thermally activated vortex crossing, which is the major source of dark counts and the reduction of the critical current in SNSPDs is elevated. In a multi-layer SNSPD, a vortex is made of 2D-pancake vortices that form a stack. It will be shown that the stack of pancake vortices effectively experiences a larger potentialmore » barrier compared to a vortex in a single-layer SNSPD. This leads to an increase in the experimental critical current as well as significant decrease in the dark count rate. In consequence, an increase in the quantum efficiency for photons of the same energy or an increase in the sensitivity to photons of lower energy is achieved. Second, a multi-layer structure improves the efficiency of single-photon absorption by increasing the effective optical thickness without compromising the single-photon sensitivity.« less

Pronounced Photovoltaic Response from Multilayered Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides PN-Junctions.

PubMed

Memaran, Shahriar; Pradhan, Nihar R; Lu, Zhengguang; Rhodes, Daniel; Ludwig, Jonathan; Zhou, Qiong; Ogunsolu, Omotola; Ajayan, Pulickel M; Smirnov, Dmitry; Fernández-Domínguez, Antonio I; García-Vidal, Francisco J; Balicas, Luis

2015-11-11

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are layered semiconductors with indirect band gaps comparable to Si. These compounds can be grown in large area, while their gap(s) can be tuned by changing their chemical composition or by applying a gate voltage. The experimental evidence collected so far points toward a strong interaction with light, which contrasts with the small photovoltaic efficiencies η ≤ 1% extracted from bulk crystals or exfoliated monolayers. Here, we evaluate the potential of these compounds by studying the photovoltaic response of electrostatically generated PN-junctions composed of approximately 10 atomic layers of MoSe2 stacked onto the dielectric h-BN. In addition to ideal diode-like response, we find that these junctions can yield, under AM-1.5 illumination, photovoltaic efficiencies η exceeding 14%, with fill factors of ~70%. Given the available strategies for increasing η such as gap tuning, improving the quality of the electrical contacts, or the fabrication of tandem cells, our study suggests a remarkable potential for photovoltaic applications based on TMDs.

Conformal growth of Mo/Si multilayers on grating substrates using collimated ion beam sputtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voronov, D. L.; Gawlitza, P.; Cambie, R.; Dhuey, S.; Gullikson, E. M.; Warwick, T.; Braun, S.; Yashchuk, V. V.; Padmore, H. A.

2012-05-01

Deposition of multilayers on saw-tooth substrates is a key step in the fabrication of multilayer blazed gratings (MBG) for extreme ultraviolet and soft x-rays. Growth of the multilayers can be perturbed by shadowing effects caused by the highly corrugated surface of the substrates, which results in distortion of the multilayer stack structure and degradation of performance of MBGs. To minimize the shadowing effects, we used an ion-beam sputtering machine with a highly collimated atomic flux to deposit Mo/Si multilayers on saw-tooth substrates. The sputtering conditions were optimized by finding a balance between smoothening and roughening processes in order to minimize degradation of the groove profile in the course of deposition and at the same time to keep the interfaces of a multilayer stack smooth enough for high efficiency. An optimal value of energy of 200 eV for sputtering Kr+ ions was found by deposition of test multilayers on flat substrates at a range of ion energies. Two saw-tooth substrates were deposited at energies of 200 eV and 700 eV for the sputtering ions. It was found that reduction of the ion energy improved the blazing performance of the MBG and resulted in a 40% gain in the diffraction efficiency due to better replication of the groove profile by the multilayer. As a result of the optimization performed, an absolute diffraction efficiency of 28.8% was achieved for the 2nd blaze order of the MBG with a groove density of 7350 lines/mm at a wavelength of 13.5 nm. Details of the growth behavior of the multilayers on flat and saw-tooth substrates are discussed in terms of the linear continuous model of film growth.

Conformal growth of Mo/Si multilayers on grating substrates using collimated ion beam sputtering

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

Voronov, D. L.; Cambie, R.; Dhuey, S.

2012-05-01

Deposition of multilayers on saw-tooth substrates is a key step in the fabrication of multilayer blazed gratings (MBG) for extreme ultraviolet and soft x-rays. Growth of the multilayers can be perturbed by shadowing effects caused by the highly corrugated surface of the substrates, which results in distortion of the multilayer stack structure and degradation of performance of MBGs. To minimize the shadowing effects, we used an ion-beam sputtering machine with a highly collimated atomic flux to deposit Mo/Si multilayers on saw-tooth substrates. The sputtering conditions were optimized by finding a balance between smoothening and roughening processes in order to minimizemore » degradation of the groove profile in the course of deposition and at the same time to keep the interfaces of a multilayer stack smooth enough for high efficiency. An optimal value of energy of 200 eV for sputtering Kr{sup +} ions was found by deposition of test multilayers on flat substrates at a range of ion energies. Two saw-tooth substrates were deposited at energies of 200 eV and 700 eV for the sputtering ions. It was found that reduction of the ion energy improved the blazing performance of the MBG and resulted in a 40% gain in the diffraction efficiency due to better replication of the groove profile by the multilayer. As a result of the optimization performed, an absolute diffraction efficiency of 28.8% was achieved for the 2nd blaze order of the MBG with a groove density of 7350 lines/mm at a wavelength of 13.5 nm. Details of the growth behavior of the multilayers on flat and saw-tooth substrates are discussed in terms of the linear continuous model of film growth.« less

Conformal growth of Mo/Si multilayers on grating substrates using collimated ion beam sputtering

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

Voronov, D. L.; Gawlitza, Peter; Cambie, Rossana

2012-05-07

Deposition of multilayers on saw-tooth substrates is a key step in the fabrication of multilayer blazed gratings (MBG) for extreme ultraviolet and soft x-rays. Growth of the multilayers can be perturbed by shadowing effects caused by the highly corrugated surface of the substrates, which results in distortion of the multilayer stack structure and degradation of performance of MBGs. In this study, to minimize the shadowing effects, we used an ion-beamsputtering machine with a highly collimated atomic flux to deposit Mo/Si multilayers on saw-tooth substrates. The sputtering conditions were optimized by finding a balance between smoothening and roughening processes in ordermore » to minimize degradation of the groove profile in the course of deposition and at the same time to keep the interfaces of a multilayer stack smooth enough for high efficiency. An optimal value of energy of 200 eV for sputtering Kr + ions was found by deposition of test multilayers on flat substrates at a range of ion energies. Two saw-tooth substrates were deposited at energies of 200 eV and 700 eV for the sputtering ions. It was found that reduction of the ion energy improved the blazing performance of the MBG and resulted in a 40% gain in the diffraction efficiency due to better replication of the groove profile by the multilayer. As a result of the optimization performed, an absolute diffraction efficiency of 28.8% was achieved for the 2nd blaze order of the MBG with a groove density of 7350 lines/mm at a wavelength of 13.5 nm. Lastly, details of the growth behavior of the multilayers on flat and saw-tooth substrates are discussed in terms of the linear continuous model of film growth.« less

III-V semiconductor nanoresonators-a new strategy for passive, active, and nonlinear all-dielectric metamaterials

DOE PAGES

Liu, Sheng; Keeler, Gordon A.; Reno, John L.; ...

2016-06-10

We demonstrate 2D and multilayer dielectric metamaterials made from III–V semiconductors using a monolithic fabrication process. The resulting structures could be used to recompress chirped femtosecond optical pulses and in a variety of other optical applications requiring low loss. Moreover, these III–V all-dielectric metamaterials could enable novel active applications such as efficient nonlinear frequency converters, light emitters, detectors, and modulators.

Electrocaloric Refrigeration for Superconductors

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-02-01

Dielectric properties 40 3.3.2. Relation to capacitance thermometer manufacturing . . 42 3.4. SrTiO, Glass-Ceramic Multilayer Samples 42 3.4.1...Experimental Methods 66 3.6.1. Dielectric properties 66 3.6.2. Thermodynamic properties 7 0 3.6.3. Thermal conductivity. .... 80 3.7...Discussion of Experimental Results 143 3.8.1. Dielectric Troperties 143 3.8.2. Thermal Properties 150 3.8.3. Recommendations for further work

Space domain analysis of micro-IDG structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izzat, Narian; Pennock, Steve R.; Rozzi, Tullio

1994-06-01

The Microstrip Loaded Inset Dielectric Waveguide has been proposed as a transmission medium alternative to microstrip, and as a useful antenna medium at X-band and millimetric frequencies. In the present analysis we consider the case where a multi-layer, multi-conductor microstrip circuit may be housed within Inset Dielectric Waveguide.

Laser-induced damage of intrinsic and extrinsic defects by picosecond pulses on multilayer dielectric coatings for petawatt-class lasers

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

Negres, Raluca A.; Carr, Christopher W.; Laurence, Ted A.

2016-08-01

Here, we describe a damage testing system and its use in investigating laser-induced optical damage initiated by both intrinsic and extrinsic precursors on multilayer dielectric coatings suitable for use in high-energy, large-aperture petawatt-class lasers. We employ small-area damage test methodologies to evaluate the intrinsic damage resistance of various coatings as a function of deposition methods and coating materials under simulated use conditions. In addition, we demonstrate that damage initiation by raster scanning at lower fluences and growth threshold testing are required to probe the density of extrinsic defects, which will limit large-aperture optics performance.

A route for efficient non-resonance cloaking by using multilayer dielectric coating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiaohui; Semouchkina, Elena

2013-03-01

An approach for designing transmission cloaks by using ordinary dielectrics instead of meta- and plasmonic materials is proposed and demonstrated by the development of a multi-layer cloak for hiding cylindrical objects larger than the wavelengths of incident radiation. The parameters of the cloak layers were found by using the Genetic Algorithm-based optimization procedure, which employed the reciprocal of total scattering cross width of the cloaked target, derived from the solution of the Helmholtz equation, as the fitness function. The proposed cloak demonstrated better cloaking efficiency than did a similarly sized metamaterial cloak designed by using the transformation optics relations.

Stress insensitive multilayer chip inductor with ferrite core

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

Vishwas, B.; Madhuri, W., E-mail: madhuriw12@gmail.com; Rao, N. Madhusudan

2015-06-24

Mg{sub 0.25}Cu{sub 0.25}Zn{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} is synthesized by sol gel auto combustion technique. The obtained ferrite powder is finally sintered in a microwave furnace at 850°C. Multilayer chip inductor (MLCI) of two layers is prepared by screen printing technique. The sintered ferrite is characterized by X-ray diffraction. The frequency response of dielectric constant is studied in the frequency range of 100Hz to 5MHz. Dielectric polarization is discussed in the light of Maxwell-Wagner interfacial polarization. The prepared MLCI is studied for stress sensitivity in the range of 0 to 8 MPa.

Lithographically-generated 3D lamella layers and their structural color

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Sichao; Chen, Yifang; Lu, Bingrui; Liu, Jianpeng; Shao, Jinhai; Xu, Chen

2016-04-01

Inspired by the structural color from the multilayer nanophotonic structures in Morpho butterfly wing scales, 3D lamellae layers in dielectric polymers (polymethyl methacrylate, PMMA) with n ~ 1.5 were designed and fabricated by standard top-down electron beam lithography with one-step exposure followed by an alternating development/dissolution process of PMMA/LOR (lift-off resist) multilayers. This work offers direct proof of the structural blue/green color via lithographically-replicated PMMA/air multilayers, analogous to those in real Morpho butterfly wings. The success of nanolithography in this work for the 3D lamellae structures in dielectric polymers not only enables us to gain deeper insight into the mysterious blue color of the Morpho butterfly wings, but also breaks through the bottleneck in technical development toward broad applications in gas/liquid sensors, 3D meta-materials, coloring media, and infrared imaging devices, etc.

A multi-layer circularly polarized microstrip patch antenna with proximity coupling and increased gain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zawadzki, M.

2001-01-01

Presented is a description of the single stacked element, and measured and calculated results at 2.56 GHz. Also included are measured results for the array, and calculated results of a stacked element for the required frequency-scaled version at 32 GHz.

Electrical and ferroelectric properties of RF sputtered PZT/SBN on silicon for non-volatile memory applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Prashant; Jha, Rajesh Kumar; Singh, Rajat Kumar; Singh, B. R.

2018-02-01

We report the integration of multilayer ferroelectric film deposited by RF magnetron sputtering and explore the electrical characteristics for its application as the gate of ferroelectric field effect transistor for non-volatile memories. PZT (Pb[Zr0.35Ti0.65]O3) and SBN (SrBi2Nb2O9) ferroelectric materials were selected for the stack fabrication due to their large polarization and fatigue free properties respectively. Electrical characterization has been carried out to obtain memory window, leakage current density, PUND and endurance characteristics. Fabricated multilayer ferroelectric film capacitor structure shows large memory window of 17.73 V and leakage current density of the order 10-6 A cm-2 for the voltage sweep of -30 to +30 V. This multilayer gate stack of PZT/SBN shows promising endurance property with no degradation in the remnant polarization for the read/write iteration cycles upto 108.

Delocalization of positive charge in π-stacked multi-benzene rings in multilayered cyclophanes.

PubMed

Fujitsuka, Mamoru; Tojo, Sachiko; Shibahara, Masahiko; Watanabe, Motonori; Shinmyozu, Teruo; Majima, Tetsuro

2011-02-10

In the present study, delocalization of a positive charge in π-stacked multi-benzene rings in multilayered para- and meta-cyclophanes, in which benzene rings are connected by propyl chains to form a chromophore array with the face-to-face structure, was investigated by means of transient absorption spectroscopy during the pulse radiolysis using dichloroethane as a solvent. The local excitation and charge resonance (CR) bands were successfully observed. It was revealed that the CR band shifted to the longer wavelength side with the number of the benzene rings. The stabilization energy estimated from the peak position of the CR band showed the efficient charge delocalization over the cyclophanes. Furthermore, the CR bands showed the slight spectral change attributable to the change in distribution of the conformers. The substantially long lifetime of the CR band can be explained on the basis of the smaller charge distribution on the outer layers of the multilayered cyclophanes.

Magneto-optical fingerprints of distinct graphene multilayers using the giant infrared Kerr effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellis, Chase T.; Stier, Andreas V.; Kim, Myoung-Hwan; Tischler, Joseph G.; Glaser, Evan R.; Myers-Ward, Rachael L.; Tedesco, Joseph L.; Eddy, Charles R.; Gaskill, D. Kurt; Cerne, John

2013-11-01

The remarkable electronic properties of graphene strongly depend on the thickness and geometry of graphene stacks. This wide range of electronic tunability is of fundamental interest and has many applications in newly proposed devices. Using the mid-infrared, magneto-optical Kerr effect, we detect and identify over 18 interband cyclotron resonances (CR) that are associated with ABA and ABC stacked multilayers as well as monolayers that coexist in graphene that is epitaxially grown on 4H-SiC. Moreover, the magnetic field and photon energy dependence of these features enable us to explore the band structure, electron-hole band asymmetries, and mechanisms that activate a CR response in the Kerr effect for various multilayers that coexist in a single sample. Surprisingly, we find that the magnitude of monolayer Kerr effect CRs is not temperature dependent. This unexpected result reveals new questions about the underlying physics that makes such an effect possible.

Direct visualization and in-depth physical study of metal filament formation in percolated high-κ dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, X.; Pey, K. L.; Bosman, M.; Liu, W. H.; Kauerauf, T.

2010-01-01

The migration of Ta atoms from a transistor gate electrode into the percolated high-κ (HK) gate dielectrics is directly shown using transmission electron microscopy analysis. A nanoscale metal filament that formed under high current injection is identified to be the physical defect responsible for the ultrafast transient breakdown (BD) of the metal-gate/high-κ (MG/HK) gate stacks. This highly conductive metal filament poses reliability concerns for MG/HK gate stacks as it significantly reduces the post-BD reliability margin of a transistor.

Solar cell contact formation using laser ablation

DOEpatents

Harley, Gabriel; Smith, David D.; Cousins, Peter John

2015-07-21

The formation of solar cell contacts using a laser is described. A method of fabricating a back-contact solar cell includes forming a poly-crystalline material layer above a single-crystalline substrate. The method also includes forming a dielectric material stack above the poly-crystalline material layer. The method also includes forming, by laser ablation, a plurality of contacts holes in the dielectric material stack, each of the contact holes exposing a portion of the poly-crystalline material layer; and forming conductive contacts in the plurality of contact holes.

Solar cell contact formation using laser ablation

DOEpatents

Harley, Gabriel; Smith, David; Cousins, Peter

2012-12-04

The formation of solar cell contacts using a laser is described. A method of fabricating a back-contact solar cell includes forming a poly-crystalline material layer above a single-crystalline substrate. The method also includes forming a dielectric material stack above the poly-crystalline material layer. The method also includes forming, by laser ablation, a plurality of contacts holes in the dielectric material stack, each of the contact holes exposing a portion of the poly-crystalline material layer; and forming conductive contacts in the plurality of contact holes.

Solar cell contact formation using laser ablation

DOEpatents

Harley, Gabriel; Smith, David D.; Cousins, Peter John

2014-07-22

The formation of solar cell contacts using a laser is described. A method of fabricating a back-contact solar cell includes forming a poly-crystalline material layer above a single-crystalline substrate. The method also includes forming a dielectric material stack above the poly-crystalline material layer. The method also includes forming, by laser ablation, a plurality of contacts holes in the dielectric material stack, each of the contact holes exposing a portion of the poly-crystalline materiat layer; and forming conductive contacts in the plurality of contact holes.

Direct growth of nanocrystalline hexagonal boron nitride films on dielectric substrates

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

Tay, Roland Yingjie; Temasek Laboratories@NTU, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore, Singapore 639798; Tsang, Siu Hon

Atomically thin hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) films are primarily synthesized through chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on various catalytic transition metal substrates. In this work, a single-step metal-catalyst-free approach to obtain few- to multi-layer nanocrystalline h-BN (NCBN) directly on amorphous SiO{sub 2}/Si and quartz substrates is demonstrated. The as-grown thin films are continuous and smooth with no observable pinholes or wrinkles across the entire deposited substrate as inspected using optical and atomic force microscopy. The starting layers of NCBN orient itself parallel to the substrate, initiating the growth of the textured thin film. Formation of NCBN is due to the random andmore » uncontrolled nucleation of h-BN on the dielectric substrate surface with no epitaxial relation, unlike on metal surfaces. The crystallite size is ∼25 nm as determined by Raman spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the NCBN formed sheets of multi-stacked layers with controllable thickness from ∼2 to 25 nm. The absence of transfer process in this technique avoids any additional degradation, such as wrinkles, tears or folding and residues on the film which are detrimental to device performance. This work provides a wider perspective of CVD-grown h-BN and presents a viable route towards large-scale manufacturing of h-BN substrates and for coating applications.« less

Low voltage picoliter droplet manipulation utilizing electrowetting-on-dielectric platforms.

PubMed

Lin, Yan-You; Welch, Erin R F; Fair, Richard B

2012-10-01

Picoliter droplets actuated on an electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWD) actuator are demonstrated. In this study, the physical scaling of electrodes for 33 μm and 21 μm EWD devices resulted in droplets of 12 pl and 5 pl being dispensed respectively in conjunction with 3 μm SU8 gaskets. The stacked multi-layer insulators in the actuators consisted of 200 nm tantalum pentoxide (Ta 2 O 5 ) and 200 nm parylene C films deposited and coated with 70 nm of CYTOP. The voltages for dispensing droplets on chips without any external pressure sources are 17.1 V rms and 22 V rms for these two sets of devices. A 12 pl droplet can be split into two 6 pl daughter droplets at 18.7 V rms with 33 μm electrode devices. Droplet manipulation is also demonstrated with paramagnetic beads and buffer solutions with proteins. In addition, electrodes with interlocking protrusions and special featured reservoir gasket are designed to facilitate droplet dispensing on these scaled EWD devices. In order to improve sealing of the two-piece sandwich EWD structure, a soft material, Norland Optical Adhesive (NOA), was coated on the top plate along with pressure on top. We demonstrate that based on fundamental theories and experiments, the dimensional scaling of EWD devices has not yet met a limitation as long as the EWD device can be sealed well.

Low voltage picoliter droplet manipulation utilizing electrowetting-on-dielectric platforms

PubMed Central

Lin, Yan-You; Welch, Erin R.F.; Fair, Richard B.

2012-01-01

Picoliter droplets actuated on an electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWD) actuator are demonstrated. In this study, the physical scaling of electrodes for 33 μm and 21 μm EWD devices resulted in droplets of 12 pl and 5 pl being dispensed respectively in conjunction with 3 μm SU8 gaskets. The stacked multi-layer insulators in the actuators consisted of 200 nm tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) and 200 nm parylene C films deposited and coated with 70 nm of CYTOP. The voltages for dispensing droplets on chips without any external pressure sources are 17.1 Vrms and 22 Vrms for these two sets of devices. A 12 pl droplet can be split into two 6 pl daughter droplets at 18.7 Vrms with 33 μm electrode devices. Droplet manipulation is also demonstrated with paramagnetic beads and buffer solutions with proteins. In addition, electrodes with interlocking protrusions and special featured reservoir gasket are designed to facilitate droplet dispensing on these scaled EWD devices. In order to improve sealing of the two-piece sandwich EWD structure, a soft material, Norland Optical Adhesive (NOA), was coated on the top plate along with pressure on top. We demonstrate that based on fundamental theories and experiments, the dimensional scaling of EWD devices has not yet met a limitation as long as the EWD device can be sealed well. PMID:23559693

Oxygen vacancy defect engineering using atomic layer deposited HfAlOx in multi-layered gate stack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhuyian, M. N.; Sengupta, R.; Vurikiti, P.; Misra, D.

2016-05-01

This work evaluates the defects in high quality atomic layer deposited (ALD) HfAlOx with extremely low Al (<3% Al/(Al + Hf)) incorporation in the Hf based high-k dielectrics. The defect activation energy estimated by the high temperature current voltage measurement shows that the charged oxygen vacancies, V+/V2+, are the primary source of defects in these dielectrics. When Al is added in HfO2, the V+ type defects with a defect activation energy of Ea ˜ 0.2 eV modify to V2+ type to Ea ˜ 0.1 eV with reference to the Si conduction band. When devices were stressed in the gate injection mode for 1000 s, more V+ type defects are generated and Ea reverts back to ˜0.2 eV. Since Al has a less number of valence electrons than do Hf, the change in the co-ordination number due to Al incorporation seems to contribute to the defect level modifications. Additionally, the stress induced leakage current behavior observed at 20 °C and at 125 °C demonstrates that the addition of Al in HfO2 contributed to suppressed trap generation process. This further supports the defect engineering model as reduced flat-band voltage shifts were observed at 20 °C and at 125 °C.

Surface plasmon polariton Akhmediev Breather in a dielectric-metal-dielectric geometry with subwavelength thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devi, Koijam Monika; Porsezian, K.; Sarma, Amarendra K.

2018-05-01

We report Akhmediev Breather solutions in a nonlinear multilayer structure comprising of a metal sandwiched between two semi-infinite dielectric layers with subwavelength thickness. These nonlinear solutions inherit the properties of Surface plasmon polaritons and its dynamics is governed by the Nonlinear Schrodinger equation. The breather evolution is studied for specific values of nonlinear and dispersion parameters. An experimental scheme to observe these breathers is also proposed.

Multi-layered nanocomposite dielectrics for high density organic memory devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Moonyeong; Chung, Kyungwha; Baeg, Kang-Jun; Kim, Dong Ha; Kim, Choongik

2015-01-01

We fabricated organic memory devices with metal-pentacene-insulator-silicon structure which contain double dielectric layers comprising 3D pattern of Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) and block copolymer (PS-b-P2VP). The role of Au NPs is to charge/discharge carriers upon applied voltage, while block copolymer helps to form highly ordered Au NP patterns in the dielectric layer. Double-layered nanocomposite dielectrics enhanced the charge trap density (i.e., trapped charge per unit area) by Au NPs, resulting in increase of the memory window (ΔVth).

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

Upadhyaya, Mihir; Jindal, Vibhu; Basavalingappa, Adarsh

The availability of defect-free masks is considered to be a critical issue for enabling extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) as the next generation technology. Since completely defect-free masks will be hard to achieve, it is essential to have a good understanding of the printability of the native EUV mask defects. In this work, we performed a systematic study of native mask defects to understand the defect printability caused by them. The multilayer growth over native substrate mask blank defects was correlated to the multilayer growth over regular-shaped defects having similar profiles in terms of their width and height. To model themore » multilayer growth over the defects, a novel level-set multilayer growth model was used that took into account the tool deposition conditions of the Veeco Nexus ion beam deposition tool. The same tool was used for performing the actual deposition of the multilayer stack over the characterized native defects, thus ensuring a fair comparison between the actual multilayer growth over native defects, and modeled multilayer growth over regular-shaped defects. Further, the printability of the characterized native defects was studied with the SEMATECH-Berkeley Actinic Inspection Tool (AIT), an EUV mask-imaging microscope at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Printability of the modeled regular-shaped defects, which were propagated up the multilayer stack using level-set growth model was studied using defect printability simulations implementing the waveguide algorithm. Good comparison was observed between AIT and the simulation results, thus demonstrating that multilayer growth over a defect is primarily a function of a defect’s width and height, irrespective of its shape. This would allow us to predict printability of the arbitrarily-shaped native EUV mask defects in a systematic and robust manner.« less

Multi-layer coating of SiO2 nanoparticles to enhance light absorption by Si solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nam, Yoon-Ho; Um, Han-Don; Park, Kwang-Tae; Shin, Sun-Mi; Baek, Jong-Wook; Park, Min-Joon; Jung, Jin-Young; Zhou, Keya; Jee, Sang-Won; Guo, Zhongyi; Lee, Jung-Ho

2012-06-01

We found that multi-layer coating of a Si substrate with SiO2 dielectric nanoparticles (NPs) was an effective method to suppress light reflection by silicon solar cells. To suppress light reflection, two conditions are required for the coating: 1) The difference of refractive indexes between air and Si should be alleviated, and 2) the quarter-wavelength antireflection condition should be satisfied while avoiding intrinsic absorption loss. Light reflection was reduced due to destructive interference at certain wavelengths that depended on the layer thickness. For the same thickness dielectric layer, smaller NPs enhanced antireflectance more than larger NPs due to a decrease in scattering loss by the smaller NPs.

Accurate characterization and understanding of interface trap density trends between atomic layer deposited dielectrics and AlGaN/GaN with bonding constraint theory

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

Ramanan, Narayanan; Lee, Bongmook; Misra, Veena, E-mail: vmisra@ncsu.edu

2015-06-15

Many dielectrics have been proposed for the gate stack or passivation of AlGaN/GaN based metal oxide semiconductor heterojunction field effect transistors, to reduce gate leakage and current collapse, both for power and RF applications. Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is preferred for dielectric deposition as it provides uniform, conformal, and high quality films with precise monolayer control of film thickness. Identification of the optimum ALD dielectric for the gate stack or passivation requires a critical investigation of traps created at the dielectric/AlGaN interface. In this work, a pulsed-IV traps characterization method has been used for accurate characterization of interface traps withmore » a variety of ALD dielectrics. High-k dielectrics (HfO{sub 2}, HfAlO, and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) are found to host a high density of interface traps with AlGaN. In contrast, ALD SiO{sub 2} shows the lowest interface trap density (<2 × 10{sup 12 }cm{sup −2}) after annealing above 600 °C in N{sub 2} for 60 s. The trend in observed trap densities is subsequently explained with bonding constraint theory, which predicts a high density of interface traps due to a higher coordination state and bond strain in high-k dielectrics.« less

Multilayer thin films with compositional PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.5O7 layers for tunable applications

PubMed Central

Yu, Shihui; Li, Lingxia; Zhang, Weifeng; Sun, Zheng; Dong, Helei

2015-01-01

The dielectric properties and tunability of multilayer thin films with compositional PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3/Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.5O7 (PZT/BZN) layers (PPBLs) fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrate have been investigated. Dielectric measurements indicate that the PZT/BZN bilayer thin films exhibit medium dielectric constant of about 490, low loss tangent of 0.017, and superior tunable dielectric properties (tunability = 49.7% at 500 kV/cm) at a PZT/BZN thickness ratio of 3, while the largest figure of merit is obtained as 51.8. The thickness effect is discussed with a series connection model of bilayer capacitors, and the calculated dielectric constant and loss tangent are obtained. Furthermore, five kinds of thin–film samples comprising single bilayers, two, three, four and five PPBLs were also elaborated with the final same thickness. The four PPBLs show the largest dielectric constant of ~538 and tunability of 53.3% at a maximum applied bias field of 500 kV/cm and the lowest loss tangent of ~0.015, while the largest figure of merit is 65.6. The results indicate that four PPBLs are excellent candidates for applications of tunable devices. PMID:25960043

Artificial dielectric stepped-refractive-index lens for the terahertz region.

PubMed

Hernandez-Serrano, A I; Mendis, Rajind; Reichel, Kimberly S; Zhang, Wei; Castro-Camus, E; Mittleman, Daniel M

2018-02-05

In this paper we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate a stepped-refractive-index convergent lens made of a parallel stack of metallic plates for terahertz frequencies based on artificial dielectrics. The lens consist of a non-uniformly spaced stack of metallic plates, forming a mirror-symmetric array of parallel-plate waveguides (PPWGs). The operation of the device is based on the TE 1 mode of the PPWG. The effective refractive index of the TE 1 mode is a function of the frequency of operation and the spacing between the plates of the PPWG. By varying the spacing between the plates, we can modify the local refractive index of the structure in every individual PPWG that constitutes the lens producing a stepped refractive index profile across the multi stack structure. The theoretical and experimental results show that this structure is capable of focusing a 1 cm diameter beam to a line focus of less than 4 mm for the design frequency of 0.18 THz. This structure shows that this artificial-dielectric concept is an important technology for the fabrication of next generation terahertz devices.

Real-time Java simulations of multiple interference dielectric filters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kireev, Alexandre N.; Martin, Olivier J. F.

2008-12-01

An interactive Java applet for real-time simulation and visualization of the transmittance properties of multiple interference dielectric filters is presented. The most commonly used interference filters as well as the state-of-the-art ones are embedded in this platform-independent applet which can serve research and education purposes. The Transmittance applet can be freely downloaded from the site http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk. Program summaryProgram title: Transmittance Catalogue identifier: AEBQ_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEBQ_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 5778 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 90 474 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Java Computer: Developed on PC-Pentium platform Operating system: Any Java-enabled OS. Applet was tested on Windows ME, XP, Sun Solaris, Mac OS RAM: Variable Classification: 18 Nature of problem: Sophisticated wavelength selective multiple interference filters can include some tens or even hundreds of dielectric layers. The spectral response of such a stack is not obvious. On the other hand, there is a strong demand from application designers and students to get a quick insight into the properties of a given filter. Solution method: A Java applet was developed for the computation and the visualization of the transmittance of multilayer interference filters. It is simple to use and the embedded filter library can serve educational purposes. Also, its ability to handle complex structures will be appreciated as a useful research and development tool. Running time: Real-time simulations

Piezoelectric Actuator/Sensor Technology at Rockwell

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neurgaonkar, Ratnakar R.

1996-01-01

We describe the state-of-the art of piezoelectric materials based on perovskite and tungsten bronze families for sensor, actuator and smart structure applications. The microstructural defects in these materials have been eliminated to a large extent and the resulting materials exhibit exceedingly high performance for various applications. The performance of Rockwell actuators/sensors is at least 3 times better than commercially available products. These high performance actuators are being incorporated into various applications including, DOD, NASA and commercial. The multilayer actuator stacks fabricated from our piezoceramics are advantageous for sensing and high capacitance applications. In this presentation, we will describe the use of our high performance piezo-ceramics for actuators and sensors, including multilayer stacks and composite structures.

LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE OF SOLID OXIDE STACKS WITH ELECTRODE-SUPPORTED CELLS OPERATING IN THE STEAM ELECTROLYSIS MODE

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

J. E. O'Brien; R. C. O'Brien; X. Zhang

2011-11-01

Performance characterization and durability testing have been completed on two five-cell high-temperature electrolysis stacks constructed with advanced cell and stack technologies. The solid oxide cells incorporate a negative-electrode-supported multi-layer design with nickel-zirconia cermet negative electrodes, thin-film yttria-stabilized zirconia electrolytes, and multi-layer lanthanum ferrite-based positive electrodes. The per-cell active area is 100 cm2. The stack is internally manifolded with compliant mica-glass seals. Treated metallic interconnects with integral flow channels separate the cells. Stack compression is accomplished by means of a custom spring-loaded test fixture. Initial stack performance characterization was determined through a series of DC potential sweeps in both fuel cellmore » and electrolysis modes of operation. Results of these sweeps indicated very good initial performance, with area-specific resistance values less than 0.5 ?.cm2. Long-term durability testing was performed with A test duration of 1000 hours. Overall performance degradation was less than 10% over the 1000-hour period. Final stack performance characterization was again determined by a series of DC potential sweeps at the same flow conditions as the initial sweeps in both electrolysis and fuel cell modes of operation. A final sweep in the fuel cell mode indicated a power density of 0.356 W/cm2, with average per-cell voltage of 0.71 V at a current of 50 A.« less

Realization of a complementary medium using dielectric photonic crystals.

PubMed

Xu, Tao; Fang, Anan; Jia, Ziyuan; Ji, Liyu; Hang, Zhi Hong

2017-12-01

By exploiting the scaling invariance of photonic band diagrams, a complementary photonic crystal slab structure is realized by stacking two uniformly scaled double-zero-index dielectric photonic crystal slabs together. The space cancellation effect in complementary photonic crystals is demonstrated in both numerical simulations and microwave experiments. The refractive index dispersion of double-zero-index dielectric photonic crystal is experimentally measured. Using pure dielectrics, our photonic crystal structure will be an ideal platform to explore various intriguing properties related to a complementary medium.

Fatigue responses of lead zirconate titanate stacks under semibipolar electric cycling with mechanical preload

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hong; Cooper, Thomas A.; Lin, Hua-Tay; Wereszczak, Andrew A.

2010-10-01

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) stacks that had an interdigital internal electrode configuration were tested to more than 108 cycles. A 100 Hz semibipolar sine wave with a field range of +4.5/-0.9 kV/mm was used in cycling with a concurrently-applied 20 MPa preload. Significant reductions in piezoelectric and dielectric responses were observed during the cycling depending on the measuring condition. Extensive partial discharges were also observed. These surface events resulted in the erosion of external electrode and the exposure of internal electrodes. Sections prepared by sequential polishing technique revealed a variety of damage mechanisms including delaminations, pores, and etch grooves. The scale of damage was correlated with the degree of fatigue-induced reduction in piezoelectric and dielectric responses. The results from this study demonstrate the feasibility of using a semibipolar mode to drive a PZT stack under a mechanical preload and illustrate the potential fatigue and damages of the stack in service.

Summary Report of the Summer Conference DARPA-Materials Research Council Held in La Jolla, California on 10 July thru 4 August 1989

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-08-04

ceramic substrate and a multilayer thin film metal (copper) and polymer ( polyimide ) overlays. 73 The MCM technology was pioneered by IBM, which has made...packaging. The first is the use of polymeric dielectric layers such as polyimides . In fact, the current MCP’s 3 being developed for the DoD use... polyimide dielectrics. Nonetheless, much work remains to be done before these organic dielectrics can be regarded as Isatisfactory. Polyimides have a

Three-Dimensional Microphase Separation and Synergistic Permeability in Stacked Lipid–Polymer Hybrid Membranes

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

Kang, Minjee; Lee, Byeongdu; Leal, Cecilia

Here, we present new structures of soft-material thin films that augment the functionality of substrate-mediated delivery systems. A hybrid material composed of phospholipids and block copolymers adopts a multilayered membrane structure supported on a solid surface. The hybrid films comprise intentional intramembrane heterogeneities that register across multilayers. These stacked domains convey unprecedented enhancement and control of permeability of solutes across micrometer-thick films. Using grazing incidence X-ray scattering, phase contrast atomic force microscopy, and confocal microscopy, we observed that in each lamella, lipid and polymers partition unevenly within the membrane plane segregating into lipid- or polymer-rich domains. Interestingly, we found evidencemore » that like-domains align in registry across multilayers, thereby making phase separation three-dimensional. Phase boundaries exist over extended length scales to compensate the height mismatch between lipid and polymer molecules. We show that microphase separation in hybrid films can be exploited to augment the capability of drug-eluting substrates. Lipid–polymer hybrid films loaded with paclitaxel show synergistic permeability of drug compared to single-component counterparts. We present a thorough structural study of stacked lipid–polymer hybrid membranes and propose that the presence of registered domains and domain boundaries impart enhanced drug release functionality. This work offers new perspectives in designing thin films for controlled delivery applications« less

Three-Dimensional Microphase Separation and Synergistic Permeability in Stacked Lipid–Polymer Hybrid Membranes

DOE PAGES

Kang, Minjee; Lee, Byeongdu; Leal, Cecilia

2017-10-20

Here, we present new structures of soft-material thin films that augment the functionality of substrate-mediated delivery systems. A hybrid material composed of phospholipids and block copolymers adopts a multilayered membrane structure supported on a solid surface. The hybrid films comprise intentional intramembrane heterogeneities that register across multilayers. These stacked domains convey unprecedented enhancement and control of permeability of solutes across micrometer-thick films. Using grazing incidence X-ray scattering, phase contrast atomic force microscopy, and confocal microscopy, we observed that in each lamella, lipid and polymers partition unevenly within the membrane plane segregating into lipid- or polymer-rich domains. Interestingly, we found evidencemore » that like-domains align in registry across multilayers, thereby making phase separation three-dimensional. Phase boundaries exist over extended length scales to compensate the height mismatch between lipid and polymer molecules. We show that microphase separation in hybrid films can be exploited to augment the capability of drug-eluting substrates. Lipid–polymer hybrid films loaded with paclitaxel show synergistic permeability of drug compared to single-component counterparts. We present a thorough structural study of stacked lipid–polymer hybrid membranes and propose that the presence of registered domains and domain boundaries impart enhanced drug release functionality. This work offers new perspectives in designing thin films for controlled delivery applications« less

Heat resistive dielectric multi-layer micro-mirror array in epitaxial lateral overgrowth gallium nitride.

PubMed

Huang, Chen-Yang; Ku, Hao-Min; Liao, Wei-Tsai; Chao, Chu-Li; Tsay, Jenq-Dar; Chao, Shiuh

2009-03-30

Ta2O5 / SiO2 dielectric multi-layer micro-mirror array (MMA) with 3mm mirror size and 6mm array period was fabricated on c-plane sapphire substrate. The MMA was subjected to 1200 degrees C high temperature annealing and remained intact with high reflectance in contrast to the continuous multi-layer for which the layers have undergone severe damage by 1200 degrees C annealing. Epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) of gallium nitride (GaN) was applied to the MMA that was deposited on both sapphire and sapphire with 2:56 mm GaN template. The MMA was fully embedded in the ELO GaN and remained intact. The result implies that our MMA is compatible to the high temperature growth environment of GaN and the MMA could be incorporated into the structure of the micro-LED array as a one to one micro backlight reflector, or as the patterned structure on the large area LED for controlling the output light.

Conductive, magnetic and structural properties of multilayer films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotov, L. N.; Turkov, V. K.; Vlasov, V. S.; Lasek, M. P.; Kalinin, Yu E.; Sitnikov, A. V.

2013-12-01

Composite-semiconductor and composite-dielectric multilayer films were obtained by the ion beam sputtering method in the argon and hydrogen atmospheres with compositions: {[(Co45-Fe45-Zr10)x(Al2O3)y]-[α-Si]}120, {[(Co45-Ta45-Nb10)x(SiO2)y]-[SiO2]}56, {[(Co45-Fe45-Zr10)x(Al2O3)y]-[α-Si:H]}120. The images of surface relief and distribution of the dc current on composite layer surface were obtained with using of atomic force microscopy (AFM). The dependencies of specific electric resistance, ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) fields and width of line on metal (magnetic) phase concentration x and nanolayers thickness of multilayer films were obtained. The characteristics of FMR depend on magnetic interaction among magnetic granules in the composite layers and between the layers. These characteristics depend on the thickness of composite and dielectric or semiconductor nanolayers. The dependences of electric microwave losses on the x and alternating field frequency were investigated.

Piezoelectric polymer multilayer on flexible substrate for energy harvesting.

PubMed

Zhang, Lei; Oh, Sharon Roslyn; Wong, Ting Chong; Tan, Chin Yaw; Yao, Kui

2013-09-01

A piezoelectric polymer multilayer structure formed on a flexible substrate is investigated for mechanical energy harvesting under bending mode. Analytical and numerical models are developed to clarify the effect of material parameters critical to the energy harvesting performance of the bending multilayer structure. It is shown that the maximum power is proportional to the square of the piezoelectric stress coefficient and the inverse of dielectric permittivity of the piezoelectric polymer. It is further found that a piezoelectric multilayer with thinner electrodes can generate more electric energy in bending mode. The effect of improved impedance matching in the multilayer polymer on energy output is remarkable. Comparisons between piezoelectric ceramic multilayers and polymer multilayers on flexible substrate are discussed. The fabrication of a P(VDF-TrFE) multilayer structure with a thin Al electrode layer is experimentally demonstrated by a scalable dip-coating process on a flexible aluminum substrate. The results indicate that it is feasible to produce a piezoelectric polymer multilayer structure on flexible substrate for harvesting mechanical energy applicable for many low-power electronics.

Method of manufacturing flexible metallic photonic band gap structures, and structures resulting therefrom

DOEpatents

Gupta, Sandhya; Tuttle, Gary L.; Sigalas, Mihail; McCalmont, Jonathan S.; Ho, Kai-Ming

2001-08-14

A method of manufacturing a flexible metallic photonic band gap structure operable in the infrared region, comprises the steps of spinning on a first layer of dielectric on a GaAs substrate, imidizing this first layer of dielectric, forming a first metal pattern on this first layer of dielectric, spinning on and imidizing a second layer of dielectric, and then removing the GaAs substrate. This method results in a flexible metallic photonic band gap structure operable with various filter characteristics in the infrared region. This method may be used to construct multi-layer flexible metallic photonic band gap structures. Metal grid defects and dielectric separation layer thicknesses are adjusted to control filter parameters.

Electric-field-control of magnetic anisotropy of Co0.6Fe0.2B0.2/oxide stacks using reduced voltage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kita, Koji; Abraham, David W.; Gajek, Martin J.; Worledge, D. C.

2012-08-01

We have demonstrated purely electrical manipulation of the magnetic anisotropy of a Co0.6Fe0.2B0.2 film by applying only 8 V across the CoFeB/oxide stack. A clear transition from in-plane to perpendicular anisotropy was observed. The quantitative relationship between interface anisotropy energy and the applied electric-field was determined from the linear voltage dependence of the saturation field. By comparing the dielectric stacks of MgO/Al2O3 and MgO/HfO2/Al2O3, enhanced voltage control was also demonstrated, due to the higher dielectric constant of the HfO2. These results suggest the feasibility of purely electrical control of magnetization with small voltage bias for spintronics applications.

Development and production of a multilayer-coated x-ray reflecting stack for the Athena mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massahi, S.; Ferreira, D. D. M.; Christensen, F. E.; Shortt, B.; Girou, D. A.; Collon, M.; Landgraf, B.; Barriere, N.; Krumrey, M.; Cibik, L.; Schreiber, S.

2016-07-01

The Advanced Telescope for High-Energy Astrophysics, Athena, selected as the European Space Agency's second large-mission, is based on the novel Silicon Pore Optics X-ray mirror technology. DTU Space has been working for several years on the development of multilayer coatings on the Silicon Pore Optics in an effort to optimize the throughput of the Athena optics. A linearly graded Ir/B4C multilayer has been deposited on the mirrors, via the direct current magnetron sputtering technique, at DTU Space. This specific multilayer, has through simulations, been demonstrated to produce the highest reflectivity at 6 keV, which is a goal for the scientific objectives of the mission. A critical aspect of the coating process concerns the use of photolithography techniques upon which we will present the most recent developments in particular related to the cleanliness of the plates. Experiments regarding the lift-off and stacking of the mirrors have been performed and the results obtained will be presented. Furthermore, characterization of the deposited thin-films was performed with X-ray reflectometry at DTU Space and in the laboratory of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt at the synchrotron radiation facility BESSY II.

Multilayer optical dielectric coating

DOEpatents

Emmett, John L.

1990-01-01

A highly damage resistant, multilayer, optical reflective coating includes alternating layers of doped and undoped dielectric material. The doping levels are low enough that there are no distinct interfaces between the doped and undoped layers so that the coating has properties nearly identical to the undoped material. The coating is fabricated at high temperature with plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition techniques to eliminate defects, reduce energy-absorption sites, and maintain proper chemical stoichiometry. A number of differently-doped layer pairs, each layer having a thickness equal to one-quarter of a predetermined wavelength in the material are combined to form a narrowband reflective coating for a predetermined wavelength. Broadband reflectors are made by using a number of narrowband reflectors, each covering a portion of the broadband.

Short pulse laser stretcher-compressor using a single common reflective grating

DOEpatents

Erbert, Gaylen V.; Biswal, Subrat; Bartolick, Joseph M.; Stuart, Brent C.; Telford, Steve

2004-05-25

The present invention provides an easily aligned, all-reflective, aberration-free pulse stretcher-compressor in a compact geometry. The stretcher-compressor device is a reflective multi-layer dielectric that can be utilized for high power chirped-pulse amplification material processing applications. A reflective grating element of the device is constructed: 1) to receive a beam for stretching of laser pulses in a beam stretcher beam path and 2) to also receive stretched amplified pulses to be compressed in a compressor beam path through the same (i.e., common) reflective multilayer dielectric diffraction grating. The stretched and compressed pulses are interleaved about the grating element to provide the desired number of passes in each respective beam path in order to achieve the desired results.

Thermally invariant dielectric coatings for micromirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wei; Talghader, Joseph J.

2002-06-01

Thermal expansion-induced curvature becomes a major effect in micromirrors as the mirror diameter exceeds 100 mum. Such mirrors are used for optical switching, scanning, and many other applications. By using multilayer coatings instead of a single metal reflector, one can use the mechanical properties of the multilayer to create mirrors with zero curvature across temperature. We demonstrate the fabrication of such thermally invariant mirrors using dielectric coatings. A semianalytic model based on free-plate elastic theory is developed that uses empirical parameters in place of the true thermal expansion coefficients of the coating materials. Micromirrors are demonstrated that maintain their design curvature to within lambda/60 for lambda = 633 nm across an operating range from 21 degC to 58 degC.

Fatigue response of a PZT multilayer actuator under high-field electric cycling with mechanical preload

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hong; Wereszczak, Andrew A.; Lin, Hua-Tay

2009-01-01

An electric fatigue test system was developed for evaluating the reliability of piezoelectric actuators with a mechanical loading capability. Fatigue responses of a lead zirconate titanate (PZT) multilayer actuator with a platethrough electrode configuration were studied under an electric field (1.7 times that of the coercive field of PZT material) and a concurrent mechanical preload (30.0 MPa). A total of 109 cycles was carried out. Variations in charge density and mechanical strain under the high electric field and constant mechanical loads were observed during the fatigue test. The dc and the first harmonic (at 10 Hz) dielectric and piezoelectric coefficients were subsequently characterized using fast Fourier transformation. Both the dielectric and the piezoelectric coefficients exhibited a monotonic decrease prior to 2.86×108 cycles under certain preloading conditions, and then fluctuated. Both the dielectric loss tangent and the piezoelectric loss tangent also fluctuated after a decrease. The results are interpreted and discussed with respect to domain wall activities, microdefects, and other anomalies.

Method and Apparatus for Evaluating Multilayer Objects for Imperfections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heyman, Joseph S. (Inventor); Abedin, Nurul (Inventor); Sun, Kuen J. (Inventor)

1999-01-01

A multilayer object having multiple layers arranged in a stacking direction is evaluated for imperfections such as voids, delaminations and microcracks. First. an acoustic wave is transmitted into the object in the stacking direction via an appropriate transducer/waveguide combination. The wave propagates through the multilayer object and is received by another transducer/waveguide combination preferably located on the same surface as the transmitting combination. The received acoustic wave is correlated with the presence or absence of imperfections by, e.g., generating pulse echo signals indicative of the received acoustic wave. wherein the successive signals form distinct groups over time. The respective peak amplitudes of each group are sampled and curve fit to an exponential curve. wherein a substantial fit of approximately 80-90% indicates an absence of imperfections and a significant deviation indicates the presence of imperfections. Alternatively, the time interval between distinct groups can be measured. wherein equal intervals indicate the absence of imperfections and unequal intervals indicate the presence of imperfections.

Method and apparatus for evaluating multilayer objects for imperfections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heyman, Joseph S. (Inventor); Abedin, Nurul (Inventor); Sun, Kuen J. (Inventor)

1997-01-01

A multilayer object having multiple layers arranged in a stacking direction is evaluated for imperfections such as voids, delaminations and microcracks. First, an acoustic wave is transmitted into the object in the stacking direction via an appropriate transducer/waveguide combination. The wave propagates through the multilayer object and is received by another transducer/waveguide combination preferably located on the same surface as the transmitting combination. The received acoustic wave is correlated with the presence or absence of imperfections by, e.g., generating pulse echo signals indicative of the received acoustic wave, wherein the successive signals form distinct groups over time. The respective peak amplitudes of each group are sampled and curve fit to an exponential curve, wherein a substantial fit of approximately 80-90% indicates an absence of imperfections and a significant deviation indicates the presence of imperfections. Alternatively, the time interval between distinct groups can be measured, wherein equal intervals indicate the absence of imperfections and unequal intervals indicate the presence of imperfections.

Gate-tunable diode-like current rectification and ambipolar transport in multilayer van der Waals ReSe2/WS2 p-n heterojunctions.

PubMed

Wang, Cong; Yang, Shengxue; Xiong, Wenqi; Xia, Congxin; Cai, Hui; Chen, Bin; Wang, Xiaoting; Zhang, Xinzheng; Wei, Zhongming; Tongay, Sefaattin; Li, Jingbo; Liu, Qian

2016-10-12

Vertically stacked van der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted a great deal of attention due to their fascinating properties. In this work, we report two important gate-tunable phenomena in new artificial vdW p-n heterojunctions created by vertically stacking p-type multilayer ReSe 2 and n-type multilayer WS 2 : (1) well-defined strong gate-tunable diode-like current rectification across the p-n interface is observed, and the tunability of the electronic processes is attributed to the tunneling-assisted interlayer recombination induced by majority carriers across the vdW interface; (2) the distinct ambipolar behavior under gate voltage modulation both at forward and reverse bias voltages is found in the vdW ReSe 2 /WS 2 heterojunction transistors and a corresponding transport model is proposed for the tunable polarity behaviors. The findings may provide some new opportunities for building nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Influence of low energy argon plasma treatment on the moisture barrier performance of hot wire-CVD grown SiNx multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majee, Subimal; Fátima Cerqueira, Maria; Tondelier, Denis; Geffroy, Bernard; Bonnassieux, Yvan; Alpuim, Pedro; Bourée, Jean Eric

2014-01-01

The reliability and stability are key issues for the commercial utilization of organic photovoltaic devices based on flexible polymer substrates. To increase the shelf-lifetime of these devices, transparent moisture barriers of silicon nitride (SiNx) films are deposited at low temperature by hot wire CVD (HW-CVD) process. Instead of the conventional route based on organic/inorganic hybrid structures, this work defines a new route consisting in depositing multilayer stacks of SiNx thin films, each single layer being treated by argon plasma. The plasma treatment allows creating smoother surface and surface atom rearrangement. We define a critical thickness of the single layer film and focus our attention on the effect of increasing the number of SiNx single-layers on the barrier properties. A water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of 2 × 10-4 g/(m2·day) is reported for SiNx multilayer stack and a physical interpretation of the plasma treatment effect is given.

A novel application of dielectric stack actuators: a pumping micromixer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solano-Arana, Susana; Klug, Florian; Mößinger, Holger; Förster-Zügel, Florentine; Schlaak, Helmut F.

2018-07-01

The fabrication of pumping micromixers as a novel application of dielectric stack actuators is proposed in this work. DEA micromixers can be valuable for medical and pharmaceutical applications, due to: firstly, the biocompatibility of the used materials (PDMS and graphite); secondly, the pumping is done with peristaltic movements, allowing only the walls of the channel to be in contact with the liquid, avoiding possible contamination from external parts; and thirdly, the low flow velocity in the micromixers required in many applications. The micromixer based on peristasltic movements will not only mix, but also pump the fluids in and out the device. The developed device is a hybrid micromixer: active, because it needs a voltage source to enhance the quality and speed of the mixing; and passive, with a similar shape to the well-known Y-type micromixers. The proposed micromixer is based on twelve stack actuators distributed in: two pumping chambers, consisting of four stack actuators in series; and a mixing chamber, made of four consecutive stack actuators with 30 layers per stack. The DEA micromixer is able to mix two solutions with a flow rate of 21.5 μl min–1 at the outlet, applying 1500 V at 10 Hz and actuating two actuators at a time.

High Energy Density and High Temperature Multilayer Capacitor Films for Electric Vehicle Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Treufeld, Imre; Song, Michelle; Zhu, Lei; Baer, Eric; Snyder, Joe; Langhe, Deepak

2015-03-01

Multilayer films (MLFs) with high energy density and high temperature capability (>120 °C) have been developed at Case Western Reserve University. Such films offer a potential solution for electric car DC-link capacitors, where high ripple currents and high temperature tolerance are required. The current state-of-the-art capacitors used in electric cars for converting DC to AC use biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), which can only operate at temperatures up to 85 °C requiring an external cooling system. The polycarbonate (PC)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) MLFs have a higher permittivity compared to that of BOPP (2.3), leading to higher energy density. They have good mechanical stability and reasonably low dielectric losses at 120 °C. Nonetheless, our preliminary dielectric measurements show that the MLFs exhibit appreciable dielectric losses (20%) at 120 °C, which would, despite all the other advantages, make them not suitable for practical applications. Our preliminary data showed that dielectric losses of the MLFs at 120 °C up to 400 MV/m and 1000 Hz originate mostly from impurity ionic conduction. This work is supported by the NSF PFI/BIC Program (IIP-1237708).

Structural properties of Al/Mo/SiC multilayers with high reflectivity for extreme ultraviolet light.

PubMed

Hu, Min-Hui; Le Guen, Karine; André, Jean-Michel; Jonnard, Philippe; Meltchakov, Evgueni; Delmotte, Franck; Galtayries, Anouk

2010-09-13

We present the results of an optical and chemical, depth and surface study of Al/Mo/SiC periodic multilayers, designed as high reflectivity coatings for the extreme ultra-violet (EUV) range. In comparison to the previously studied Al/SiC system, the introduction of Mo as a third material in the multilayer structure allows us to decrease In comparison to the previously studied Al/SiC system with a reflectance of 37% at near normal incidence around 17 nm, the introduction of Mo as a third material in the multilayer structure allows us to decrease the interfacial roughness and achieve an EUV reflectivity of 53.4%, measured with synchrotron radiation. This is the first report of a reflectivity higher than 50% around 17 nm. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements are performed on the Al/Mo/SiC system in order to analyze the individual layers within the stack. ToF-SIMS and XPS results give evidence that the first SiC layer is partially oxidized, but the O atoms do not reach the first Mo and Al layers. We use these results to properly describe the multilayer stack and discuss the possible reasons for the difference between the measured and simulated EUV reflectivity values.

Magnetisation reversal in anisotropy graded Co/Pd multilayers

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

Barton, C. W., E-mail: craig.barton-2@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk; Thomson, T.

2015-08-14

We demonstrate high precision controllability of the magnetization reversal nucleation process in [Co/Pd]{sub 8} multilayer films consisting of two sets of bilayers with high and low perpendicular anisotropy, respectively. The anisotropy of the entire film is set by the degree of Co/Pd interfacial mixing during deposition which provides fine control of the anisotropy of an individual bilayer in the multilayer stack. The relative number of each type of bilayer is used to select the magnetisation reversal behavior such that changing one bilayer changes the properties of the entire multilayer through anisotropy averaging. A simple extension to the sputtering protocol wouldmore » provide multilayer films with fully graded anisotropy, while maintaining a constant saturation magnetization opening new possibilities for the creation of highly engineered multilayer structures for spin torque devices and future magnetic recording media.« less

Control of Ga-oxide interlayer growth and Ga diffusion in SiO2/GaN stacks for high-quality GaN-based metal-oxide-semiconductor devices with improved gate dielectric reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamada, Takahiro; Watanabe, Kenta; Nozaki, Mikito; Yamada, Hisashi; Takahashi, Tokio; Shimizu, Mitsuaki; Yoshigoe, Akitaka; Hosoi, Takuji; Shimura, Takayoshi; Watanabe, Heiji

2018-01-01

A simple and feasible method for fabricating high-quality and highly reliable GaN-based metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices was developed. The direct chemical vapor deposition of SiO2 films on GaN substrates forming Ga-oxide interlayers was carried out to fabricate SiO2/GaO x /GaN stacked structures. Although well-behaved hysteresis-free GaN-MOS capacitors with extremely low interface state densities below 1010 cm-2 eV-1 were obtained by postdeposition annealing, Ga diffusion into overlying SiO2 layers severely degraded the dielectric breakdown characteristics. However, this problem was found to be solved by rapid thermal processing, leading to the superior performance of the GaN-MOS devices in terms of interface quality, insulating property, and gate dielectric reliability.

Electronic, Mechanical, and Dielectric Properties of Two-Dimensional Atomic Layers of Noble Metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapoor, Pooja; Kumar, Jagdish; Kumar, Arun; Kumar, Ashok; Ahluwalia, P. K.

2017-01-01

We present density functional theory-based electronic, mechanical, and dielectric properties of monolayers and bilayers of noble metals (Au, Ag, Cu, and Pt) taken with graphene-like hexagonal structure. The Au, Ag, and Pt bilayers stabilize in AA-stacked configuration, while the Cu bilayer favors the AB stacking pattern. The quantum ballistic conductance of the noble-metal mono- and bilayers is remarkably increased compared with their bulk counterparts. Among the studied systems, the tensile strength is found to be highest for the Pt monolayer and bilayer. The noble metals in mono- and bilayer form show distinctly different electron energy loss spectra and reflectance spectra due to the quantum confinement effect on going from bulk to the monolayer limit. Such tunability of the electronic and dielectric properties of noble metals by reducing the degrees of freedom of electrons offers promise for their use in nanoelectronics and optoelectronics applications.

AlN and Al oxy-nitride gate dielectrics for reliable gate stacks on Ge and InGaAs channels

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

Guo, Y.; Li, H.; Robertson, J.

2016-05-28

AlN and Al oxy-nitride dielectric layers are proposed instead of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} as a component of the gate dielectric stacks on higher mobility channels in metal oxide field effect transistors to improve their positive bias stress instability reliability. It is calculated that the gap states of nitrogen vacancies in AlN lie further away in energy from the semiconductor band gap than those of oxygen vacancies in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}, and thus AlN might be less susceptible to charge trapping and have a better reliability performance. The unfavourable defect energy level distribution in amorphous Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} is attributed tomore » its larger coordination disorder compared to the more symmetrically bonded AlN. Al oxy-nitride is also predicted to have less tendency for charge trapping.« less

Dynamic signatures of the transition from stacking disordered to hexagonal ice: Dielectric and nuclear magnetic resonance studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gainaru, C.; Vynokur, E.; Köster, K. W.; Fuentes-Landete, V.; Spettel, N.; Zollner, J.; Loerting, T.; Böhmer, R.

2018-04-01

Using various temperature-cycling protocols, the dynamics of ice I were studied via dielectric spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry on protonated and deuterated samples obtained by heating high-density amorphous ices as well as crystalline ice XII. Previous structural studies of ice I established that at temperatures of about 230 K, the stacking disorder of the cubic/hexagonal oxygen lattice vanishes. The present dielectric and nuclear magnetic resonance investigations of spectral changes disclose that the memory of the existence of a precursor phase is preserved in the hydrogen matrix up to 270 K. This finding of hydrogen mobility lower than that of the undoped hexagonal ice near the melting point highlights the importance of dynamical investigations of the transitions between various ice phases and sheds new light on the dynamics in ice I in general.

Process for 3D chip stacking

DOEpatents

Malba, V.

1998-11-10

A manufacturable process for fabricating electrical interconnects which extend from a top surface of an integrated circuit chip to a sidewall of the chip using laser pantography to pattern three dimensional interconnects. The electrical interconnects may be of an L-connect or L-shaped type. The process implements three dimensional (3D) stacking by moving the conventional bond or interface pads on a chip to the sidewall of the chip. Implementation of the process includes: (1) holding individual chips for batch processing, (2) depositing a dielectric passivation layer on the top and sidewalls of the chips, (3) opening vias in the dielectric, (4) forming the interconnects by laser pantography, and (5) removing the chips from the holding means. The process enables low cost manufacturing of chips with bond pads on the sidewalls, which enables stacking for increased performance, reduced space, and higher functional per unit volume. 3 figs.

Process for 3D chip stacking

DOEpatents

Malba, Vincent

1998-01-01

A manufacturable process for fabricating electrical interconnects which extend from a top surface of an integrated circuit chip to a sidewall of the chip using laser pantography to pattern three dimensional interconnects. The electrical interconnects may be of an L-connect or L-shaped type. The process implements three dimensional (3D) stacking by moving the conventional bond or interface pads on a chip to the sidewall of the chip. Implementation of the process includes: 1) holding individual chips for batch processing, 2) depositing a dielectric passivation layer on the top and sidewalls of the chips, 3) opening vias in the dielectric, 4) forming the interconnects by laser pantography, and 5) removing the chips from the holding means. The process enables low cost manufacturing of chips with bond pads on the sidewalls, which enables stacking for increased performance, reduced space, and higher functional per unit volume.

Integration of perovskite oxide dielectrics into complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor structures using amorphous TaSiN as oxygen diffusion barrier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mešić, Biljana; Schroeder, Herbert

2011-09-01

The high permittivity perovskite oxides have been intensively investigated for their possible application as dielectric materials for stacked capacitors in dynamic random access memory circuits. For the integration of such oxide materials into the CMOS world, a conductive diffusion barrier is indispensable. An optimized stack p++-Si/Pt/Ta21Si57N21/Ir was developed and used as the bottom electrode for the oxide dielectric. The amorphous TaSiN film as oxygen diffusion barrier showed excellent conductive properties and a good thermal stability up to 700 °C in oxygen ambient. The additional protective iridium layer improved the surface roughness after annealing. A 100-nm-thick (Ba,Sr)TiO3 film was deposited using pulsed laser deposition at 550 °C, showing very promising properties for application; the maximum relative dielectric constant at zero field is κ ≈ 470, and the leakage current density is below 10-6 A/cm2 for fields lower then ± 200 kV/cm, corresponding to an applied voltage of ± 2 V.

Numerical method of applying shadow theory to all regions of multilayered dielectric gratings in conical mounting.

PubMed

Wakabayashi, Hideaki; Asai, Masamitsu; Matsumoto, Keiji; Yamakita, Jiro

2016-11-01

Nakayama's shadow theory first discussed the diffraction by a perfectly conducting grating in a planar mounting. In the theory, a new formulation by use of a scattering factor was proposed. This paper focuses on the middle regions of a multilayered dielectric grating placed in conical mounting. Applying the shadow theory to the matrix eigenvalues method, we compose new transformation and improved propagation matrices of the shadow theory for conical mounting. Using these matrices and scattering factors, being the basic quantity of diffraction amplitudes, we formulate a new description of three-dimensional scattering fields which is available even for cases where the eigenvalues are degenerate in any region. Some numerical examples are given for cases where the eigenvalues are degenerate in the middle regions.

Miniaturized High-Temperature Superconducting/Dielectric Multilayer Filters for Satellite Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miranda, Felix A.

1997-01-01

Most communication satellites contain well over a hundred filters in their payload. Current technology in typical satellite multiplexers use dual-mode cavity or dielectric resonator filters that are large (approx. 25 to 125 cu in) and heavy (up to 600 g). As the complexity of future advanced electronic systems for satellite communications increases, even more filters will be needed, requiring filter miniaturization without performance degradation. Such improvements in filter technology will enhance satellite performance. To reduce the size, weight, and cost of the multiplexers without compromising performance, the NASA Lewis Research Center is collaborating with industry to develop a new class of dual-mode multilayer filters consisting of YBa2Cu3O7-delta high-temperature superconducting (HTS) thin films on LaAlO3 substrates.

Transient Signal Distortion and Coupling in Multilayer Multiconductor MIC Microstrips

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-22

cess.ar1 and identify by block number) I FIELD GROUP I $..)3-{; ’\\0-:: Transient signals, distortion, dispersion, microstrip J 1 i nes , multi...printed circuit design; complex microstrip structures {multiple lines and/or dielectric layers), coupling between lines, distortion of non -periodic...signals on complex structures, and a new method to control coupling on multilayer structures, as well as presenting numerical results for each of these

Finite-size effects of hysteretic dynamics in multilayer graphene on a ferroelectric

DOE PAGES

Morozovska, Anna N.; Pusenkova, Anastasiia S.; Varenyk, Oleksandr V.; ...

2015-06-11

The origin and influence of finite-size effects on the nonlinear dynamics of space charge stored by multilayer graphene on a ferroelectric and resistivity of graphene channel were analyzed. In this paper, we develop a self-consistent approach combining the solution of electrostatic problems with the nonlinear Landau-Khalatnikov equations for a ferroelectric. The size-dependent behaviors are governed by the relations between the thicknesses of multilayer graphene, ferroelectric film, and the dielectric layer. The appearance of charge and electroresistance hysteresis loops and their versatility stem from the interplay of polarization reversal dynamics and its incomplete screening in an alternating electric field. These featuresmore » are mostly determined by the dielectric layer thickness. The derived analytical expressions for electric fields and space-charge-density distribution in a multilayer system enable knowledge-driven design of graphene-on-ferroelectric heterostructures with advanced performance. We further investigate the effects of spatially nonuniform ferroelectric domain structures on the graphene layers’ conductivity and predict its dramatic increase under the transition from multi- to single-domain state in a ferroelectric. Finally, this intriguing effect can open possibilities for the graphene-based sensors and explore the underlying physical mechanisms in the operation of graphene field-effect transistor with ferroelectric gating.« less

The Load Capability of Piezoelectric Single Crystal Actuators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, Tian-Bing; Su, Ji; Jiang, Xiaoning; Rehrig, Paul W.; Hackenberger, Wesley S.

2006-01-01

Piezoelectric lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-PT) single crystal is one of the most promising materials for electromechanical device applications due to its high electrical field induced strain and high electromechanical coupling factor. PMN-PT single crystal-based multilayer stack actuators and multilayer stack-based flextensional actuators have exhibited high stroke and high displacement-voltage ratios. The actuation capabilities of these two actuators were evaluated using a newly developed method based upon a laser vibrometer system under various loading conditions. The measured displacements as a function of mechanical loads at different driving voltages indicate that the displacement response of the actuators is approximately constant under broad ranges of mechanical load. The load capabilities of these PMN-PT single crystal-based actuators and the advantages of the capability for applications will be discussed.

The Load Capability of Piezoelectric Single Crystal Actuators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Xu, Tian-Bing; Su, Ji; Jiang, Xiaoning; Rehrig, Paul W.; Hackenberger, Wesley S.

2007-01-01

Piezoelectric lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-PT) single crystal is one of the most promising materials for electromechanical device applications due to its high electrical field induced strain and high electromechanical coupling factor. PMN-PT single crystal-based multilayer stack actuators and multilayer stack-based flextensional actuators have exhibited high stroke and high displacement-voltage ratios. The actuation capabilities of these two actuators were evaluated using a newly developed method based upon a laser vibrometer system under various loading conditions. The measured displacements as a function of mechanical loads at different driving voltages indicate that the displacement response of the actuators is approximately constant under broad ranges of mechanical load. The load capabilities of these PMN-PT single crystal-based actuators and the advantages of the capability for applications will be discussed.

Ultra-high density diffraction grating

DOEpatents

Padmore, Howard A.; Voronov, Dmytro L.; Cambie, Rossana; Yashchuk, Valeriy V.; Gullikson, Eric M.

2012-12-11

A diffraction grating structure having ultra-high density of grooves comprises an echellette substrate having periodically repeating recessed features, and a multi-layer stack of materials disposed on the echellette substrate. The surface of the diffraction grating is planarized, such that layers of the multi-layer stack form a plurality of lines disposed on the planarized surface of the structure in a periodical fashion, wherein lines having a first property alternate with lines having a dissimilar property on the surface of the substrate. For example, in one embodiment, lines comprising high-Z and low-Z materials alternate on the planarized surface providing a structure that is suitable as a diffraction grating for EUV and soft X-rays. In some embodiments, line density of between about 10,000 lines/mm to about 100,000 lines/mm is provided.

Nano-indentation and laser-induced damage testing in optical multilayer-dielectric gratings [Nanomechanics and laser-induced damage in optical multilayer dielectric gratings

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

Mehrotra, K.; Corning Research & Development Corp., Coming, NY; Taylor, B. N.

Here, we demonstrate how a nanomechanical test can be used to generate metrics to complement laser-induced–damage testing (LIDT) measurements and show that differences in optical performance of the gratings (arising from changes in cleaning process and/or fabrication methods) can be related to their mechanical reliability. Data are presented on LIDT measurements in diffractive gratings of silica deposited on optical multilayers. The nano-indentation response of the diffraction gratings is measured in a new mode that allows for the extraction of a measurable metric characterizing the brittleness of the gratings, as well as their ductility. We show that lower LIDT’s are positivelymore » correlated with an increased grating brittleness, and therefore identify a nanomechanical approach to describe LIDT’s. We present extensive numerical simulations of nano-indentation tests and identify different deformation modes including stretching, shear concentration, and bending as precursors to mechanical failure in the nano-indentation test. The effects of geometrical inhomogeneities on enhanced stress generation in these gratings are specifically examined and addressed.« less

Nano-indentation and laser-induced damage testing in optical multilayer-dielectric gratings [Nanomechanics and laser-induced damage in optical multilayer dielectric gratings

DOE PAGES

Mehrotra, K.; Corning Research & Development Corp., Coming, NY; Taylor, B. N.; ...

2017-03-16

Here, we demonstrate how a nanomechanical test can be used to generate metrics to complement laser-induced–damage testing (LIDT) measurements and show that differences in optical performance of the gratings (arising from changes in cleaning process and/or fabrication methods) can be related to their mechanical reliability. Data are presented on LIDT measurements in diffractive gratings of silica deposited on optical multilayers. The nano-indentation response of the diffraction gratings is measured in a new mode that allows for the extraction of a measurable metric characterizing the brittleness of the gratings, as well as their ductility. We show that lower LIDT’s are positivelymore » correlated with an increased grating brittleness, and therefore identify a nanomechanical approach to describe LIDT’s. We present extensive numerical simulations of nano-indentation tests and identify different deformation modes including stretching, shear concentration, and bending as precursors to mechanical failure in the nano-indentation test. The effects of geometrical inhomogeneities on enhanced stress generation in these gratings are specifically examined and addressed.« less

Stacked dielectric elastomer actuator (SDEA): casting process, modeling and active vibration isolation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhuoyuan; Sheng, Meiping; Wang, Minqing; Dong, Pengfei; Li, Bo; Chen, Hualing

2018-07-01

In this paper, a novel fabrication process of stacked dielectric elastomer actuator (SDEA) is developed based on casting process and elastomeric electrode. The so-fabricated SDEA benefits the advantages of homogenous and reproducible properties as well as little performance degradation after one-year use. A coupling model of SDEA is established by taking into consideration of the elastomeric electrode and the calculated results agree with the experiments. Based on the model, we attain the method to optimize the SDEA’s parameters. Finally, the SDEA is used as an isolator in active vibration isolation system to verify the feasibility in dynamic application. And the experiment results show a great prospect for SDEA in such application.

Discharge cell for ozone generator

DOEpatents

Nakatsuka, Suguru

2000-01-01

A discharge cell for use in an ozone generator is provided which can suppress a time-related reduction in ozone concentration without adding a catalytic gas such as nitrogen gas to oxygen gas as a raw material gas. The discharge cell includes a pair of electrodes disposed in an opposed spaced relation with a discharge space therebetween, and a dielectric layer of a three-layer structure consisting of three ceramic dielectric layers successively stacked on at least one of the electrodes, wherein a first dielectric layer of the dielectric layer contacting the one electrode contains no titanium dioxide, wherein a second dielectric layer of the dielectric layer exposed to the discharge space contains titanium dioxide in a metal element ratio of not lower than 10 wt %.

Design guidelines for advanced LSI microcircuit packaging using thick film multilayer technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peckinpaugh, C. J.

1974-01-01

Ceramic multilayer circuitry results from the sequential build-up of two or more layers of pre-determined conductive interconnections separated by dielectric layers and fired at an elevated temperature to form a solidly fused structure. The resultant ceramic interconnect matrix is used as a base to mount active and passive devices and provide the necessary electrical interconnection to accomplish the desired electrical circuit. Many methods are known for developing multilevel conductor mechanisms such as multilayer printed circuits, welded wire matrices, flexible copper tape conductors, and thin and thick-film ceramic multilayers. Each method can be considered as a specialized field with each possessing its own particular set of benefits and problems. This design guide restricts itself to the art of design, fabrication and assembly of ceramic multilayer circuitry and the reliability of the end product.

Interfacial and electrical properties of InGaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor with TiON/TaON multilayer composite gate dielectric

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, L. S.; Xu, J. P.; Liu, L.; Lu, H. H.; Lai, P. T.; Tang, W. M.

2015-03-01

InGaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors with composite gate dielectric consisting of Ti-based oxynitride (TiON)/Ta-based oxynitride (TaON) multilayer are fabricated by RF sputtering. The interfacial and electrical properties of the TiON/TaON/InGaAs and TaON/TiON/InGaAs MOS structures are investigated and compared. Experimental results show that the former exhibits lower interface-state density (1.0 × 1012 cm-2 eV-1 at midgap), smaller gate leakage current (9.5 × 10-5 A/cm2 at a gate voltage of 2 V), larger equivalent dielectric constant (19.8), and higher reliability under electrical stress than the latter. The involved mechanism lies in the fact that the ultrathin TaON interlayer deposited on the sulfur-passivated InGaAs surface can effectively reduce the defective states and thus unpin the Femi level at the TaON/InGaAs interface, improving the electrical properties of the device.

Stacked Multilayer Self-Organizing Map for Background Modeling.

PubMed

Zhao, Zhenjie; Zhang, Xuebo; Fang, Yongchun

2015-09-01

In this paper, a new background modeling method called stacked multilayer self-organizing map background model (SMSOM-BM) is proposed, which presents several merits such as strong representative ability for complex scenarios, easy to use, and so on. In order to enhance the representative ability of the background model and make the parameters learned automatically, the recently developed idea of representative learning (or deep learning) is elegantly employed to extend the existing single-layer self-organizing map background model to a multilayer one (namely, the proposed SMSOM-BM). As a consequence, the SMSOM-BM gains several merits including strong representative ability to learn background model of challenging scenarios, and automatic determination for most network parameters. More specifically, every pixel is modeled by a SMSOM, and spatial consistency is considered at each layer. By introducing a novel over-layer filtering process, we can train the background model layer by layer in an efficient manner. Furthermore, for real-time performance consideration, we have implemented the proposed method using NVIDIA CUDA platform. Comparative experimental results show superior performance of the proposed approach.

Bandwidth enhancement of dielectric resonator antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Richard Q.; Simons, Rainee N.

1993-01-01

An experimental investigation of bandwidth enhancement of dielectric resonator antennas (DRA) using parasitic elements is reported. Substantial bandwidth enhancement for the HE(sub 11delta) mode of the stacked geometry and for the HE(sub 13delta) mode of the coplanar collinear geometry was demonstrated. Excellent radiation patterns for the HE(sub 11delta) mode were also recorded.

Giant dielectric constant dominated by Maxwell-Wagner relaxation in Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/TiO{sub 2} nanolaminates synthesized by atomic layer deposition.

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

Li, W.; Auciello, O.; Premnath, R. N.

2010-01-01

Nanolaminates consisting of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and TiO{sub 2} oxide sublayers were synthesized by using atomic layer deposition to produce individual layers with atomic scale thickness control. The sublayer thicknesses were kept constant for each multilayer structure, and were changed from 50 to 0.2 nm for a series of different samples. Giant dielectric constant ({approx}1000) was observed when the sublayer thickness is less than 0.5 nm, which is significantly larger than that of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} and TiO{sub 2} dielectrics. Detailed investigation revealed that the observed giant dielectric constant is originated from the Maxwell-Wagner type dielectric relaxation.

Stabilization of solar films against hi temperature deactivation

DOEpatents

Jefferson, Clinton F.

1984-03-20

A multi-layer solar energy collector of improved stability comprising: (1) a solar absorptive film consisting essentially of copper oxide, cobalt oxide and manganese oxide; (2) a substrate of quartz, silicate glass or a stainless steel; and (3) an interlayer of platinum, plus a method for preparing a thermally stable multi-layered solar collector, in which the absorptive layer is undercoated with a thin film of platinum to obtain a stable conductor-dielectric tandem.

Fabrication of wedged multilayer Laue lenses

DOE PAGES

Prasciolu, M.; Leontowich, A. F. G.; Krzywinski, J.; ...

2015-01-01

We present a new method to fabricate wedged multilayer Laue lenses, in which the angle of diffracting layers smoothly varies in the lens to achieve optimum diffracting efficiency across the entire pupil of the lens. This was achieved by depositing a multilayer onto a flat substrate placed in the penumbra of a straight-edge mask. The distance between the mask and the substrate was calibrated and the multilayer Laue lens was cut in a position where the varying layer thickness and the varying layer tilt simultaneously satisfy the Fresnel zone plate condition and Bragg’s law for all layers in the stack.more » This method can be used to extend the achievable numerical aperture of multilayer Laue lenses to reach considerably smaller focal spot sizes than achievable with lenses composed of parallel layers.« less

Quantum-dot size and thin-film dielectric constant: precision measurement and disparity with simple models.

PubMed

Grinolds, Darcy D W; Brown, Patrick R; Harris, Daniel K; Bulovic, Vladimir; Bawendi, Moungi G

2015-01-14

We study the dielectric constant of lead sulfide quantum dot (QD) films as a function of the volume fraction of QDs by varying the QD size and keeping the ligand constant. We create a reliable QD sizing curve using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), thin-film SAXS to extract a pair-distribution function for QD spacing, and a stacked-capacitor geometry to measure the capacitance of the thin film. Our data support a reduced dielectric constant in nanoparticles.

Control of a chemical reaction (photodegradation of the p3ht polymer) with nonlocal dielectric environments

PubMed Central

Peters, V. N.; Tumkur, T. U.; Zhu, G.; Noginov, M. A.

2015-01-01

Proximity to metallic surfaces, plasmonic structures, cavities and other inhomogeneous dielectric environments is known to control spontaneous emission, energy transfer, scattering, and many other phenomena of practical importance. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate that, in spirit of the Marcus theory, the rates of chemical reactions can, too, be influenced by nonlocal dielectric environments, such as metallic films and metal/dielectric bilayer or multilayer structures. We have experimentally shown that metallic, composite metal/dielectric substrates can, indeed, control ordering as well as photodegradation of thin poly-3-hexylthiophene (p3ht) films. In many particular experiments, p3ht films were separated from metal by a dielectric spacer, excluding conventional catalysis facilitated by metals and making modification of the nonlocal dielectric environment a plausible explanation for the observed phenomena. This first step toward understanding of a complex relationship between chemical reactions and nonlocal dielectric environments is to be followed by the theory development and a broader scope of thorough experimental studies. PMID:26434679

Phase constitution and interface structure of nano-sized Ag-Cu/AlN multilayers: Experiment and ab initio modeling

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

Pigozzi, Giancarlo; Janczak-Rusch, Jolanta; Passerone, Daniele

2012-10-29

Nano-sized Ag-Cu{sub 8nm}/AlN{sub 10nm} multilayers were deposited by reactive DC sputtering on {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}(0001) substrates. Investigation of the phase constitution and interface structure of the multilayers evidences a phase separation of the alloy sublayers into nanosized grains of Ag and Cu. The interfaces between the Ag grains and the quasi-single-crystalline AlN sublayers are semi-coherent, whereas the corresponding Cu/AlN interfaces are incoherent. The orientation relationship between Ag and AlN is constant throughout the entire multilayer stack. These observations are consistent with atomistic models of the interfaces as obtained by ab initio calculations.

Method of using sacrificial materials for fabricating internal cavities in laminated dielectric structures

DOEpatents

Peterson, Kenneth A [Albuquerque, NM

2009-02-24

A method of using sacrificial materials for fabricating internal cavities and channels in laminated dielectric structures, which can be used as dielectric substrates and package mounts for microelectronic and microfluidic devices. A sacrificial mandrel is placed in-between two or more sheets of a deformable dielectric material (e.g., unfired LTCC glass/ceramic dielectric), wherein the sacrificial mandrel is not inserted into a cutout made in any of the sheets. The stack of sheets is laminated together, which deforms the sheet or sheets around the sacrificial mandrel. After lamination, the mandrel is removed, (e.g., during LTCC burnout), thereby creating a hollow internal cavity in the monolithic ceramic structure.

Dielectric elastomer actuators used for pneumatic valve technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giousouf, Metin; Kovacs, Gabor

2013-10-01

Dielectric elastomer actuators have been investigated for applications in the field of pneumatic automation technology. We have developed different valve designs with stacked dielectric elastomer actuators and with integrated high voltage converters. The actuators were made using VHB-4910 material and a stacker machine for automated fabrication of the cylindrical actuators. Typical characteristics of pneumatic valves such as flow rate, power consumption and dynamic behaviour are presented. For valve construction the force and stroke parameters of the dielectric elastomer actuator have been measured. Further, benefits for valve applications using dielectric elastomers are shown as well as their potential operational area. Finally, challenges are discussed that are relevant for the use of elastomer actuators in valves for industrial applications.

An All-Dielectric Coaxial Waveguide.

PubMed

Ibanescu; Fink; Fan; Thomas; Joannopoulos

2000-07-21

An all-dielectric coaxial waveguide that can overcome problems of polarization rotation and pulse broadening in the transmission of optical light is presented here. It consists of a coaxial waveguiding region with a low index of refraction, bounded by two cylindrical, dielectric, multilayer, omnidirectional reflecting mirrors. The waveguide can be designed to support a single mode whose properties are very similar to the unique transverse electromagnetic mode of a traditional metallic coaxial cable. The new mode has radial symmetry and a point of zero dispersion. Moreover, because the light is not confined by total internal reflection, the waveguide can guide light around very sharp corners.

Structure and performance of dielectric films based on self-assembled nanocrystals with a high dielectric constant.

PubMed

Huang, Limin; Liu, Shuangyi; Van Tassell, Barry J; Liu, Xiaohua; Byro, Andrew; Zhang, Henan; Leland, Eli S; Akins, Daniel L; Steingart, Daniel A; Li, Jackie; O'Brien, Stephen

2013-10-18

Self-assembled films built from nanoparticles with a high dielectric constant are attractive as a foundation for new dielectric media with increased efficiency and range of operation, due to the ability to exploit nanofabrication techniques and emergent electrical properties originating from the nanoscale. However, because the building block is a discrete one-dimensional unit, it becomes a challenge to capture potential enhancements in dielectric performance in two or three dimensions, frequently due to surface effects or the presence of discontinuities. This is a recurring theme in nanoparticle film technology when applied to the realm of thin film semiconductor and device electronics. We present the use of chemically synthesized (Ba,Sr)TiO3 nanocrystals, and a novel deposition-polymerization technique, as a means to fabricate the dielectric layer. The effective dielectric constant of the film is tunable according to nanoparticle size, and effective film dielectric constants of up to 34 are enabled. Wide area and multilayer dielectrics of up to 8 cm(2) and 190 nF are reported, for which the building block is an 8 nm nanocrystal. We describe models for assessing dielectric performance, and distinct methods for improving the dielectric constant of a nanocrystal thin film. The approach relies on evaporatively driven assembly of perovskite nanocrystals with uniform size distributions in a tunable 7-30 nm size range, coupled with the use of low molecular weight monomer/polymer precursor chemistry that can infiltrate the porous nanocrystal thin film network post assembly. The intercrystal void space (low k dielectric volume fraction) is minimized, while simultaneously promoting intercrystal connectivity and maximizing volume fraction of the high k dielectric component. Furfuryl alcohol, which has good affinity to the surface of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 nanocrystals and miscibility with a range of solvents, is demonstrated to be ideal for the production of nanocomposites. The nanocrystal/furfuryl alcohol dispersions are suitable for the fabrication of thin films by chemical deposition techniques, including spin-coating, printing or a spraying process. To demonstrate the application of this technique to device fabrication, a multilayer capacitor with capacitance of 0.83 nF mm(-2) at 1 MHz is presented.

Bloch surface waves confined in one dimension with a single polymeric nanofibre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ruxue; Xia, Hongyan; Zhang, Douguo; Chen, Junxue; Zhu, Liangfu; Wang, Yong; Yang, Erchan; Zang, Tianyang; Wen, Xiaolei; Zou, Gang; Wang, Pei; Ming, Hai; Badugu, Ramachandram; Lakowicz, Joseph R.

2017-02-01

Polymeric fibres with small radii (such as ≤125 nm) are delicate to handle and should be laid down on a solid substrate to obtain practical devices. However, placing these nanofibres on commonly used glass substrates prevents them from guiding light. In this study, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate that when the nanofibre is placed on a suitable dielectric multilayer, it supports a guided mode, a Bloch surface wave (BSW) confined in one dimension. The physical origin of this new mode is discussed in comparison with the typical two-dimensional BSW mode. Polymeric nanofibres are easily fabricated to contain fluorophores, which make the dielectric nanofibre and multilayer configuration suitable for developing a large range of new nanometric scale devices, such as processor-memory interconnections, devices with sensitivity to target analytes, incident polarization and multi-colour BSW modes.

Revisiting the effective medium approximation in all-dielectric subwavelength multilayers: Breakdown and rebuilding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Xinrui; Mao, Lei; Lu, Yonghua; Wang, Pei

2017-07-01

Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the effective medium approximation (EMA) breakdown in all-dielectric deep-subwavelength multilayers made of alternating layers by means of the transfer matrix method. We demonstrated that the approximation is invalid at the vicinity of the effective medium's critical angle for total internal reflection and obtained an analytical criterion for the breakdown of the EMA, which depends on the layer thickness, the incident angle, and the permittivity difference between the alternate layers. We rebuilt the EMA by adding higher-order correction onto the traditional effective permittivity. Furthermore, we found that the EMA breakdown that arises from the boundary effect cannot be repaired in the traditional homogenization strategy with only one layer of effective medium. By adding an artificial matched layer after the conventional effective layer, the boundary effect breakdown was neatly removed.

Magnetoresponsive discoidal photonic crystals toward active color pigments.

PubMed

Lee, Hye Soo; Kim, Ju Hyeon; Lee, Joon-Seok; Sim, Jae Young; Seo, Jung Yoon; Oh, You-Kwan; Yang, Seung-Man; Kim, Shin-Hyun

2014-09-03

Photonic microdisks with a multilayered structure are designed from photocurable suspensions by step-by-step photolithography. In each step of photolithography, either a colloidal photonic crystal or a magnetic-particle-laden layer is stacked over the windows of a photomask. Sequential photolithography enables the creation of multilayered photonic microdisks that have brilliant structural colors that can be switched by an external magnetic field. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Monolithic ceramic capacitors for high reliability applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thornley, E. B.

1981-01-01

Monolithic multi-layer ceramic dielectric capacitors are widely used in high reliability applications in spacecraft, launch vehicles, and military equipment. Their relatively low cost, wide range of values, and package styles are attractive features that result in high usage in electronic circuitry in these applications. Design and construction of monolithic ceramic dielectric capacitors, defects that can lead to failure, and methods for defect detection that are being incorporated in military specifications are discussed.

The Electromagnetic and Mechanical Properties of Structural Composites: A Theoretical and Experimental Design Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-22

higher frequencies due to weaves with smaller unit cells. A second predicts the dielectric properties of unidirectional composite fabrics and laminates ...effective dielectric properties of composite laminates within the X- band (8-12 GHz). The circuit analog method becomes less accurate as the...architectures and to multilayered laminates . In this project, experimental validation from 4-50 GHz is provided for single layers of dry structural grade

Method to fabricate silicon chromatographic column comprising fluid ports

DOEpatents

Manginell, Ronald P.; Frye-Mason, Gregory C.; Heller, Edwin J.; Adkins, Douglas R.

2004-03-02

A new method for fabricating a silicon chromatographic column comprising through-substrate fluid ports has been developed. This new method enables the fabrication of multi-layer interconnected stacks of silicon chromatographic columns.

Basic criteria for formation of growth twins in high stacking fault energy metals

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

Yu, K. Y.; Zhang, X.; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A and M University, College Station, Texas 77843

Nanotwinned metals received significant interest lately as twin boundaries may enable simultaneous enhancement of strength, ductility, thermal stability, and radiation tolerance. However, nanotwins have been the privilege of metals with low-to-intermediate stacking fault energy (SFE). Recent scattered studies show that nanotwins could be introduced into high SFE metals, such as Al. In this paper, we examine several sputter-deposited, (111) textured Ag/Al, Cu/Ni, and Cu/Fe multilayers, wherein growth twins were observed in Al, Ni, and face-centered cubic (fcc) Fe. The comparisons lead to two important design criteria that dictate the introduction of growth twins in high SFE metals. The validity ofmore » these criteria was then examined in Ag/Ni multilayers. Furthermore, another twin formation mechanism in high SFE metals was discovered in Ag/Ni system.« less

Perfect absorption in 1D photonic crystal nanobeam embedded with graphene/Al2O3 multilayer stack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hanqing; Zha, Song; Liu, Peiguo; Zhou, Xiaotian; Bian, Li-an

2018-05-01

We exploit the concept of critical coupling to graphene based chip-integrated applications and numerically demonstrate that a perfect absorption (PA) absorber in the near-infrared can be obtained by graphene/Al2O3 multilayer stack (GAMS) critical coupling with a resonant cavity in the 1D photonic crystal nanobeam (PCN). The key point is dynamically matching the coupling rate of incident light wave to the cavity with the absorbing rate of GAMS via electrically modulating the chemical potential of graphene. Simulation results show that the radius of GAMS as well as the thickness of Al2O3 layer are closely connected with the performance of perfect absorption. These results may provide potential applications in the high-density integrated optical devices, photolectric transducers, and laser pulse limiters.

Perforated-Layer Implementation Of Radio-Frequency Lenses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dolgin, Benjamin P.

1996-01-01

Luneberg-type radio-frequency dielectric lenses made of stacked perforated circular dielectric sheets, according to proposal. Perforation pattern designed to achieve required spatial variation of permittivity. Consists of round holes distributed across face of each sheet in "Swiss-cheese" pattern, plus straight or curved slots that break up outer parts into petals in "daisy-wheel" pattern. Holes and slots made by numerically controlled machining.

Indium diffusion through high-k dielectrics in high-k/InP stacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, H.; Cabrera, W.; Galatage, R. V.; Santosh KC, Brennan, B.; Qin, X.; McDonnell, S.; Zhernokletov, D.; Hinkle, C. L.; Cho, K.; Chabal, Y. J.; Wallace, R. M.

2013-08-01

Evidence of indium diffusion through high-k dielectric (Al2O3 and HfO2) films grown on InP (100) by atomic layer deposition is observed by angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and low energy ion scattering spectroscopy. The analysis establishes that In-out diffusion occurs and results in the formation of a POx rich interface.

Artificial dielectric polarizing-beamsplitter and isolator for the terahertz region.

PubMed

Mendis, Rajind; Nagai, Masaya; Zhang, Wei; Mittleman, Daniel M

2017-07-19

We demonstrate a simple and effective strategy for implementing a polarizing beamsplitter for the terahertz spectral region, based on an artificial dielectric medium that is scalable to a range of desired frequencies. The artificial dielectric medium consists of a uniformly spaced stack of metal plates, which is electromagnetically equivalent to a stacked array of parallel-plate waveguides. The operation of the device relies on both the lowest-order, transverse-electric and transverse-magnetic modes of the parallel-plate waveguide. This is in contrast to previous work that relied solely on the transverse-electric mode. The fabricated polarizing beamsplitter exhibits extinction ratios as high as 42 dB along with insertion losses as low as 0.18 dB. Building on the same idea, we also demonstrate an isolator with non-reciprocal transmission, providing high isolation and low insertion loss at a select design frequency. The performance of our isolator far exceeds that of other experimentally demonstrated terahertz isolators, and indeed, even rivals that of commercially available isolators for optical wavelengths. Because these waveguide-based artificial dielectrics are low loss, inexpensive, and easy to fabricate, this approach offers a promising new route for polarization control of free-space terahertz beams.

Effect of Solvent Dielectric Constant on the Formation of Large Flat Bilayer Stacks in a Lecithin/Hexadecanol Hydrogel.

PubMed

Nakagawa, Yasuharu; Nakazawa, Hiromitsu; Kato, Satoru

2016-07-12

We investigated the effect of dielectric properties of the aqueous medium on the novel type of hydrogel composed of a crude lecithin mixture (PC70) and hexadecanol (HD), in which charged sheet-like bilayers are kept far apart due to interbilayer repulsive interaction. We used dipropylene glycol (DPG) as a modifier of the dielectric properties and examined its effect on the hydrogel by synchrotron X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy, and freeze-fracture electron microscopy. We found that at a DPG weight fraction in the aqueous medium WDPG ≈ 0.4, the bilayer organization is transformed into unusually large flat bilayer stacks with a regular lamellar spacing of 6.25 nm and consequently disintegration of the hydrogel takes place. Semiquantitative calculation of the interbilayer interaction energy based on the Deyaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory suggested that the reduction of the aqueous medium dielectric constant ε by DPG may lower the energy barrier preventing flat bilayers from coming closer together. We inferred that the size of the bilayer sheet increases because the reduction of ε promotes protonation of acidic lipids that work as edge-capping molecules.

Stress evolution of Ge nanocrystals in dielectric matrices.

PubMed

Bahariqushchi, Rahim; Raciti, Rosario; Kasapoğlu, Ahmet Emre; Gür, Emre; Sezen, Meltem; Kalay, Eren; Mirabella, Salvatore; Aydinli, A

2018-05-04

Germanium nanocrystals (Ge NCs) embedded in single and multilayer silicon oxide and silicon nitride matrices have been synthesized using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition followed by conventional furnace annealing or rapid thermal processing in N 2 ambient. Compositions of the films were determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The formation of NCs under suitable process conditions was observed with high resolution transmission electron microscope micrographs and Raman spectroscopy. Stress measurements were done using Raman shifts of the Ge optical phonon line at 300.7 cm -1 . The effect of the embedding matrix and annealing methods on Ge NC formation were investigated. In addition to Ge NCs in single layer samples, the stress on Ge NCs in multilayer samples was also analyzed. Multilayers of Ge NCs in a silicon nitride matrix separated by dielectric buffer layers to control the size and density of NCs were fabricated. Multilayers consisted of SiN y :Ge ultrathin films sandwiched between either SiO 2 or Si 3 N 4 by the proper choice of buffer material. We demonstrated that it is possible to tune the stress state of Ge NCs from compressive to tensile, a desirable property for optoelectronic applications. We also observed that there is a correlation between the stress and the crystallization threshold in which the compressive stress enhances the crystallization, while the tensile stress suppresses the process.

Stress evolution of Ge nanocrystals in dielectric matrices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahariqushchi, Rahim; Raciti, Rosario; Emre Kasapoğlu, Ahmet; Gür, Emre; Sezen, Meltem; Kalay, Eren; Mirabella, Salvatore; Aydinli, A.

2018-05-01

Germanium nanocrystals (Ge NCs) embedded in single and multilayer silicon oxide and silicon nitride matrices have been synthesized using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition followed by conventional furnace annealing or rapid thermal processing in N2 ambient. Compositions of the films were determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The formation of NCs under suitable process conditions was observed with high resolution transmission electron microscope micrographs and Raman spectroscopy. Stress measurements were done using Raman shifts of the Ge optical phonon line at 300.7 cm-1. The effect of the embedding matrix and annealing methods on Ge NC formation were investigated. In addition to Ge NCs in single layer samples, the stress on Ge NCs in multilayer samples was also analyzed. Multilayers of Ge NCs in a silicon nitride matrix separated by dielectric buffer layers to control the size and density of NCs were fabricated. Multilayers consisted of SiN y :Ge ultrathin films sandwiched between either SiO2 or Si3N4 by the proper choice of buffer material. We demonstrated that it is possible to tune the stress state of Ge NCs from compressive to tensile, a desirable property for optoelectronic applications. We also observed that there is a correlation between the stress and the crystallization threshold in which the compressive stress enhances the crystallization, while the tensile stress suppresses the process.

Electronic Asymmetry by Compositionally Braking Inversion Symmetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warusawithana, Maitri

2005-03-01

By stacking molecular layers of 3 different perovskite titanate phases, BaTiO3, SrTiO3 and CaTiO3 with atomic layer control, we construct nanostructures where global inversion symmetry is broken. With the structures clamped to the substrate, the stacking order gives rise to asymmetric strain fields. The dielectric response show asymmetric field tuning consistent with the symmetry of the stacking order. By analyzing the temperature and frequency dependence of the complex dielectric constant, we show that the response comes from activated switching of dipoles between two asymmetric states separated by an energy barrier. We find the size of average dipole units from the temperature dependence of the linewidth of field tuning curves to be around 10 unit cells in all the different nanostructures we investigate. At low temperatures we observe a deviation from the kinetic response suggesting a further growth in correlations. Pyrocurrent measurements confirm this observation indicating a phase transition to a ferro-like state. We explain the high temperature dipoles as single unit cell cross sectional columns correlated via the strain fields in the stacking direction, with the height somewhat short of the film thickness possibly due to some form of weak disorder.

Anomalous positive flatband voltage shifts in metal gate stacks containing rare-earth oxide capping layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caraveo-Frescas, J. A.; Hedhili, M. N.; Wang, H.; Schwingenschlögl, U.; Alshareef, H. N.

2012-03-01

It is shown that the well-known negative flatband voltage (VFB) shift, induced by rare-earth oxide capping in metal gate stacks, can be completely reversed in the absence of the silicon overlayer. Using TaN metal gates and Gd2O3-doped dielectric, we measure a ˜350 mV negative shift with the Si overlayer present and a ˜110 mV positive shift with the Si overlayer removed. This effect is correlated to a positive change in the average electrostatic potential at the TaN/dielectric interface which originates from an interfacial dipole. The dipole is created by the replacement of interfacial oxygen atoms in the HfO2 lattice with nitrogen atoms from TaN.

Development of an active isolation mat based on dielectric elastomer stack actuators for mechanical vibration cancellation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karsten, Roman; Flittner, Klaus; Haus, Henry; Schlaak, Helmut F.

2013-04-01

This paper describes the development of an active isolation mat for cancelation of vibrations on sensitive devices with a mass of up to 500 gram. Vertical disturbing vibrations are attenuated actively while horizontal vibrations are damped passively. The dimensions of the investigated mat are 140 × 140 × 20 mm. The mat contains 5 dielectric elastomer stack actuators (DESA). The design and the optimization of active isolation mat are realized by ANSYS FEM software. The best performance shows a DESA with air cushion mounted on its circumference. Within the mounting encased air increases static and reduces dynamic stiffness. Experimental results show that vibrations with amplitudes up to 200 μm can be actively eliminated.

Photo-crosslinkable polymers for fabrication of photonic multilayer sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiappelli, Maria; Hayward, Ryan C.

2013-03-01

We have used photo-crosslinkable polymers to fabricate photonic multilayer sensors. Benzophenone is utilized as a covalently incorporated pendent photo-crosslinker, providing a convenient means of fabricating multilayer films by sequential spin-coating and crosslinking processes. Colorimetric temperature sensors were designed from thermally-responsive, low-refractive index poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and high-refractive index poly(para-methyl styrene) (P pMS). Copolymer chemistries and layer thicknesses were selected to provide robust multilayer sensors which show color changes across nearly the full visible spectrum due to changes in temperature of the hydrated film stack. We have characterized the uniformity and interfacial broadening within the multilayers, the kinetics of swelling and de-swelling, and the reversibility over multiple hydration/dehydration cycles. We also describe how the approach can be extended to alternative sensor designs through the ability to tailor each layer independently, as well as to additional stimuli by selecting alternative copolymer chemistries.

Multispectral surface plasmon resonance approach for ultra-thin silver layer characterization: Application to top-emitting OLED cathode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taverne, S.; Caron, B.; Gétin, S.; Lartigue, O.; Lopez, C.; Meunier-Della-Gatta, S.; Gorge, V.; Reymermier, M.; Racine, B.; Maindron, T.; Quesnel, E.

2018-01-01

While dielectric/metal/dielectric (DMD) multilayer thin films have raised considerable interest as transparent and conductive electrodes in various optoelectronic devices, the knowledge of optical characteristics of thin metallic layers integrated in such structures is still rather approximate. The multispectral surface plasmon resonance characterization approach described in this work precisely aims at providing a rigorous methodology able to accurately determine the optical constants of ultra-thin metallic films. As a practical example, the refractive index and extinction dispersion curves of 8 to 25 nm-thick silver layers have been investigated. As a result, their extreme dependence on the layer thickness is highlighted, in particular in a thickness range close to the critical threshold value (˜10 nm) where the silver film becomes continuous and its electrical conductance/optical transmittance ratio particularly interesting. To check the validity of the revisited Ag layers constant dispersion curves deduced from this study, they were introduced into a commercial optical model software to simulate the behavior of various optoelectronic building blocks from the simplest ones (DMD electrodes) to much more complex structures [full organic light emitting device (OLED) stacks]. As a result, a much better prediction of the emission spectrum profile as well as the angular emission pattern of top-emitting OLEDs is obtained. On this basis, it is also shown how a redesign of the top encapsulation thin film of OLEDs is necessary to better take benefit from the advanced DMD electrode. These results should particularly interest the micro-OLED display field where bright and directive single color pixel emission is required.

Oxygen vacancy defect engineering using atomic layer deposited HfAlO{sub x} in multi-layered gate stack

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

Bhuyian, M. N., E-mail: mnb3@njit.edu; Misra, D.; Sengupta, R.

2016-05-02

This work evaluates the defects in high quality atomic layer deposited (ALD) HfAlO{sub x} with extremely low Al (<3% Al/(Al + Hf)) incorporation in the Hf based high-k dielectrics. The defect activation energy estimated by the high temperature current voltage measurement shows that the charged oxygen vacancies, V{sup +}/V{sup 2+}, are the primary source of defects in these dielectrics. When Al is added in HfO{sub 2}, the V{sup +} type defects with a defect activation energy of E{sub a} ∼ 0.2 eV modify to V{sup 2+} type to E{sub a} ∼ 0.1 eV with reference to the Si conduction band. When devices were stressedmore » in the gate injection mode for 1000 s, more V{sup +} type defects are generated and E{sub a} reverts back to ∼0.2 eV. Since Al has a less number of valence electrons than do Hf, the change in the co-ordination number due to Al incorporation seems to contribute to the defect level modifications. Additionally, the stress induced leakage current behavior observed at 20 °C and at 125 °C demonstrates that the addition of Al in HfO{sub 2} contributed to suppressed trap generation process. This further supports the defect engineering model as reduced flat-band voltage shifts were observed at 20 °C and at 125 °C.« less

Industrial femtosecond lasers for machining of heat-sensitive polymers (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendricks, Frank; Bernard, Benjamin; Matylitsky, Victor V.

2017-03-01

Heat-sensitive materials, such as polymers, are used increasingly in various industrial sectors such as medical device manufacturing and organic electronics. Medical applications include implantable devices like stents, catheters and wires, which need to be structured and cut with minimum heat damage. Also the flat panel display market moves from LCD displays to organic LED (OLED) solutions, which utilize heat-sensitive polymer substrates. In both areas, the substrates often consist of multilayer stacks with different types of materials, such as metals, dielectric layers and polymers with different physical characteristic. The different thermal behavior and laser absorption properties of the materials used makes these stacks difficult to machine using conventional laser sources. Femtosecond lasers are an enabling technology for micromachining of these materials since it is possible to machine ultrafine structures with minimum thermal impact and very precise control over material removed. An industrial femtosecond Spirit HE laser system from Spectra-Physics with pulse duration <400 fs, pulse energies of >120 μJ and average output powers of >16 W is an ideal tool for industrial micromachining of a wide range of materials with highest quality and efficiency. The laser offers process flexibility with programmable pulse energy, repetition rate, and pulse width. In this paper, we provide an overview of machining heat-sensitive materials using Spirit HE laser. In particular, we show how the laser parameters (e.g. laser wavelength, pulse duration, applied energy and repetition rate) and the processing strategy (gas assisted single pass cut vs. multi-scan process) influence the efficiency and quality of laser processing.

Disordered Nanohole Patterns in Metal-Insulator Multilayer for Ultra-broadband Light Absorption: Atomic Layer Deposition for Lithography Free Highly repeatable Large Scale Multilayer Growth.

PubMed

Ghobadi, Amir; Hajian, Hodjat; Dereshgi, Sina Abedini; Bozok, Berkay; Butun, Bayram; Ozbay, Ekmel

2017-11-08

In this paper, we demonstrate a facile, lithography free, and large scale compatible fabrication route to synthesize an ultra-broadband wide angle perfect absorber based on metal-insulator-metal-insulator (MIMI) stack design. We first conduct a simulation and theoretical modeling approach to study the impact of different geometries in overall stack absorption. Then, a Pt-Al 2 O 3 multilayer is fabricated using a single atomic layer deposition (ALD) step that offers high repeatability and simplicity in the fabrication step. In the best case, we get an absorption bandwidth (BW) of 600 nm covering a range of 400 nm-1000 nm. A substantial improvement in the absorption BW is attained by incorporating a plasmonic design into the middle Pt layer. Our characterization results demonstrate that the best configuration can have absorption over 0.9 covering a wavelength span of 400 nm-1490 nm with a BW that is 1.8 times broader compared to that of planar design. On the other side, the proposed structure retains its absorption high at angles as wide as 70°. The results presented here can serve as a beacon for future performance enhanced multilayer designs where a simple fabrication step can boost the overall device response without changing its overall thickness and fabrication simplicity.

Arbitrarily shaped dual-stacked patch antennas: A hybrid FEM simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gong, Jian; Volakis, John L.

1995-01-01

A dual-stacked patch antenna is analyzed using a hybrid finite element - boundary integral (FE-BI) method. The metallic patches of the antenna are modeled as perfectly electric conducting (PEC) plates stacked on top of two different dielectric layers. The antenna patches may be of any shape and the lower patch is fed by a coaxial cable from underneath the ground plane or by an aperture coupled microstrip line. The ability of the hybrid FEM technique for the stacked patch antenna characterization will be stressed, and the EM coupling mechanism is also discussed with the aid of the computed near field patterns around the patches.

Lightweight, High-Current Welding Gun

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Starck, Thomas F.; Brennan, Andrew D.

1989-01-01

Lighweight resistance-welding, hand-held gun supplies alternating or direct current over range of 600 to 4,000 A and applies forces from 40 to 60 lb during welding. Used to weld metal sheets in multilayered stacks.

Investigation of optical properties of multilayer dielectric structures using prism-coupling technique

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

Sokolov, V I; Glebov, V N; Malyutin, A M

2015-09-30

A method based on resonant excitation of waveguide modes with a prism coupler is proposed for measuring the thickness and refractive index of thin-film layers in multilayer dielectric structures. The peculiarities of reflection of TE- and TM-polarised light beams from a structure comprising eleven alternating layers of zinc sulfide (ZnS) and magnesium barium fluoride (MgBaF{sub 4}), whose thicknesses are much less than the wavelength of light, are investigated. Using the mathematical model developed, we have calculated the coefficients of reflection of collimated TE and TM light beams from a multilayer structure and determined the optical constants and thicknesses of themore » structure layers. The refractive indices of the layers, obtained for TE and TM polarisation of incident light, are in good agreement. The thicknesses of ZnS and MgBaF{sub 4} layers, found for different polarisations, coincide with an accuracy of ±1%. Thus, we have demonstrated for the first time that the prism-coupling technique allows one to determine the optical properties of thin-film structures when the number of layers in the structure exceeds ten layers. (integrated optics)« less

Dielectric multilayer beam splitter with differential phase shift on transmission and reflection for division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter.

PubMed

Yuan, Wenjia; Shen, Weidong; Zhang, Yueguang; Liu, Xu

2014-05-05

Dielectric multilayer beam splitter with differential phase shift on transmission and reflection for division-of-amplitude photopolarimeter (DOAP) was presented for the first time to our knowledge. The optimal parameters for the beam splitter are Tp = 78.9%, Ts = 21.1% and Δr - Δt = π/2 at 532nm at an angle of incidence of 45°. Multilayer anti-reflection coating with low phase shift was applied to reduce the backside reflection. Different design strategies that can achieve all optimal targets at the wavelength were tested. Two design methods were presented to optimize the differential phase shift. The samples were prepared by ion beam sputtering (IBS). The experimental results show good agreement with those of the design. The ellipsometric parameters of samples were measured in reflection (ψr, Δr) = (26.5°, 135.1°) and (28.2°, 133.5°), as well as in transmission (ψt, Δt) = (62.5°, 46.1°) and (63.5°, 46°) at 532.6nm. The normalized determinant of instrument matrix to evaluate the performance of samples is respectively 0.998 and 0.991 at 532.6nm.

Distinguishability of stacks in ZnTe/ZnSe quantum dots via spectral analysis of Aharonov-Bohm oscillations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Bidisha; Ji, Haojie; Dhomkar, Siddharth; Cadieu, Fred J.; Peng, Le; Moug, Richard; Tamargo, Maria C.; Kuskovsky, Igor L.

2013-02-01

A spectral analysis of the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillations in photoluminescence intensity was performed for stacked type-II ZnTe/ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) fabricated within multilayered Zn-Se-Te system with sub-monolayer insertions of Te. Robust AB oscillations allowed for fine probing of distinguishable QDs stacks within the ensemble of QDs. The AB transition magnetic field, B AB , changed from the lower energy side to the higher energy side of the PL spectra revealing the presence of different sets of QDs stacks. The change occurs within the spectral range, where the contributing green and blue bands of the spectra overlapped. "Bundling" in lifetime measurements is seen at transition spectral regions confirming the results.

Bloch surface waves confined in one dimension with a single polymeric nanofibre

PubMed Central

Wang, Ruxue; Xia, Hongyan; Zhang, Douguo; Chen, Junxue; Zhu, Liangfu; Wang, Yong; Yang, Erchan; Zang, Tianyang; Wen, Xiaolei; Zou, Gang; Wang, Pei; Ming, Hai; Badugu, Ramachandram; Lakowicz, Joseph R.

2017-01-01

Polymeric fibres with small radii (such as ≤125 nm) are delicate to handle and should be laid down on a solid substrate to obtain practical devices. However, placing these nanofibres on commonly used glass substrates prevents them from guiding light. In this study, we numerically and experimentally demonstrate that when the nanofibre is placed on a suitable dielectric multilayer, it supports a guided mode, a Bloch surface wave (BSW) confined in one dimension. The physical origin of this new mode is discussed in comparison with the typical two-dimensional BSW mode. Polymeric nanofibres are easily fabricated to contain fluorophores, which make the dielectric nanofibre and multilayer configuration suitable for developing a large range of new nanometric scale devices, such as processor–memory interconnections, devices with sensitivity to target analytes, incident polarization and multi-colour BSW modes. PMID:28155871

Polarization-independent absorption enhancement in a graphene square array with a cascaded grating structure.

PubMed

Wu, Jun

2018-03-01

The polarization-independent enhanced absorption effect of graphene in the near-infrared range is investigated. This is achieved by placing a graphene square array on top of a dielectric square array backed by a two-dimensional multilayer grating. Total optical absorption in graphene can be attributed to critical coupling, which is achieved through the combined effect of guided-mode resonance with the dielectric square array and the photonic band gap with the two-dimensional multilayer grating. To reveal the physical origin of such a phenomenon, the electromagnetic field distributions for both polarizations are illustrated. The designed graphene absorber exhibits near-unity polarization-independent absorption at resonance with an ultra-narrow spectrum. Moreover, the polarization-independent absorption can be tuned simply by changing the geometric parameters. The results may have promising potential for the design of graphene-based optoelectronic devices.

Characterization of Piezoelectric Stacks for Space Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherrit, Stewart; Jones, Christopher; Aldrich, Jack; Blodget, Chad; Bao, Xiaoqi; Badescu, Mircea; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2008-01-01

Future NASA missions are increasingly seeking to actuate mechanisms to precision levels in the nanometer range and below. Co-fired multilayer piezoelectric stacks offer the required actuation precision that is needed for such mechanisms. To obtain performance statistics and determine reliability for extended use, sets of commercial PZT stacks were tested in various AC and DC conditions at both nominal and high temperatures and voltages. In order to study the lifetime performance of these stacks, five actuators were driven sinusoidally for up to ten billion cycles. An automated data acquisition system was developed and implemented to monitor each stack's electrical current and voltage waveforms over the life of the test. As part of the monitoring tests, the displacement, impedance, capacitance and leakage current were measured to assess the operation degradation. This paper presents some of the results of this effort.

Wafer-scale solution-derived molecular gate dielectrics for low-voltage graphene electronics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangwan, Vinod K.; Jariwala, Deep; Everaerts, Ken; McMorrow, Julian J.; He, Jianting; Grayson, Matthew; Lauhon, Lincoln J.; Marks, Tobin J.; Hersam, Mark C.

2014-02-01

Graphene field-effect transistors are integrated with solution-processed multilayer hybrid organic-inorganic self-assembled nanodielectrics (SANDs). The resulting devices exhibit low-operating voltage (2 V), negligible hysteresis, current saturation with intrinsic gain >1.0 in vacuum (pressure < 2 × 10-5 Torr), and overall improved performance compared to control devices on conventional SiO2 gate dielectrics. Statistical analysis of the field-effect mobility and residual carrier concentration demonstrate high spatial uniformity of the dielectric interfacial properties and graphene transistor characteristics over full 3 in. wafers. This work thus establishes SANDs as an effective platform for large-area, high-performance graphene electronics.

Dielectric elastomer generators that stack up

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McKay, T. G.; Rosset, S.; Anderson, I. A.; Shea, H.

2015-01-01

This paper reports the design, fabrication, and testing of a soft dielectric elastomer power generator with a volume of less than 1 cm3. The generator is well suited to harvest energy from ambient and from human body motion as it can harvest from low frequency (sub-Hz) motions, and is compact and lightweight. Dielectric elastomers are highly stretchable variable capacitors. Electrical energy is produced when the deformation of a stretched, charged dielectric elastomer is relaxed; like-charges are compressed together and opposite-charges are pushed apart, resulting in an increased voltage. This technology provides an opportunity to produce soft, high energy density generators with unparalleled robustness. Two major issues block this goal: current configurations require rigid frames that maintain the dielectric elastomer in a prestretched state, and high energy densities have come at the expense of short lifetime. This paper presents a self-supporting stacked generator configuration which does not require rigid frames. The generator consists of 48 generator films stacked on top of each other, resulting in a structure that fits within an 11 mm diameter footprint while containing enough active material to produce useful power. To ensure sustainable power production, we also present a mathematical model for designing the electronic control of the generator which optimizes energy production while limiting the electrical stress on the generator below failure limits. When cyclically compressed at 1.6 Hz, our generator produced 1.8 mW of power, which is sufficient for many low-power wireless sensor nodes. This performance compares favorably with similarly scaled electromagnetic, piezoelectric, and electrostatic generators. The generator’s small form factor and ability to harvest useful energy from low frequency motions such as tree swaying or shoe impact provides an opportunity to deliver power to remote wireless sensor nodes or to distributed points in the human body without the need for costly periodic battery replacement.

Some Aspects of the Failure Mechanisms in BaTiO3-Based Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David Donhang; Sampson, Michael J.

2012-01-01

The objective of this presentation is to gain insight into possible failure mechanisms in BaTiO3-based ceramic capacitors that may be associated with the reliability degradation that accompanies a reduction in dielectric thickness, as reported by Intel Corporation in 2010. The volumetric efficiency (microF/cm3) of a multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) has been shown to not increase limitlessly due to the grain size effect on the dielectric constant of ferroelectric ceramic BaTiO3 material. The reliability of an MLCC has been discussed with respect to its structure. The MLCCs with higher numbers of dielectric layers will pose more challenges for the reliability of dielectric material, which is the case for most base-metal-electrode (BME) capacitors. A number of MLCCs manufactured using both precious-metal-electrode (PME) and BME technology, with 25 V rating and various chip sizes and capacitances, were tested at accelerated stress levels. Most of these MLCCs had a failure behavior with two mixed failure modes: the well-known rapid dielectric wearout, and so-called 'early failures." The two failure modes can be distinguished when the testing data were presented and normalized at use-level using a 2-parameter Weibull plot. The early failures had a slope parameter of Beta >1, indicating that the early failures are not infant mortalities. Early failures are triggered due to external electrical overstress and become dominant as dielectric layer thickness decreases, accompanied by a dramatic reduction in reliability. This indicates that early failures are the main cause of the reliability degradation in MLCCs as dielectric layer thickness decreases. All of the early failures are characterized by an avalanche-like breakdown leakage current. The failures have been attributed to the extrinsic minor construction defects introduced during fabrication of the capacitors. A reliability model including dielectric thickness and extrinsic defect feature size is proposed in this presentation. The model can be used to explain the Intel-reported reliability degradation in MLCCs with respect to the reduction of dielectric thickness. It can also be used to estimate the reliability of a MLCC based on its construction and microstructure parameters such as dielectric thickness, average grain size, and number of dielectric layers. Measures for preventing early failures are also discussed in this document.

Nanomechanical investigation of thin-film electroceramic/metal-organic framework multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Best, James P.; Michler, Johann; Liu, Jianxi; Wang, Zhengbang; Tsotsalas, Manuel; Maeder, Xavier; Röse, Silvana; Oberst, Vanessa; Liu, Jinxuan; Walheim, Stefan; Gliemann, Hartmut; Weidler, Peter G.; Redel, Engelbert; Wöll, Christof

2015-09-01

Thin-film multilayer stacks of mechanically hard magnetron sputtered indium tin oxide (ITO) and mechanically soft highly porous surface anchored metal-organic framework (SURMOF) HKUST-1 were studied using nanoindentation. Crystalline, continuous, and monolithic surface anchored MOF thin films were fabricated using a liquid-phase epitaxial growth method. Control over respective fabrication processes allowed for tuning of the thickness of the thin film systems with a high degree of precision. It was found that the mechanical indentation of such thin films is significantly affected by the substrate properties; however, elastic parameters were able to be decoupled for constituent thin-film materials (EITO ≈ 96.7 GPa, EHKUST-1 ≈ 22.0 GPa). For indentation of multilayer stacks, it was found that as the layer thicknesses were increased, while holding the relative thickness of ITO and HKUST-1 constant, the resistance to deformation was significantly altered. Such an observation is likely due to small, albeit significant, changes in film texture, interfacial roughness, size effects, and controlling deformation mechanism as a result of increasing material deposition during processing. Such effects may have consequences regarding the rational mechanical design and utilization of MOF-based hybrid thin-film devices.

Nanoimprinted Hybrid Metal-Semiconductor Plasmonic Multilayers with Controlled Surface Nano Architecture for Applications in NIR Detectors

PubMed Central

Khosroabadi, Akram A.; Gangopadhyay, Palash; Hernandez, Steven; Kim, Kyungjo; Peyghambarian, Nasser; Norwood, Robert A.

2015-01-01

We present a proof of concept for tunable plasmon resonance frequencies in a core shell nano-architectured hybrid metal-semiconductor multilayer structure, with Ag as the active shell and ITO as the dielectric modulation media. Our method relies on the collective change in the dielectric function within the metal semiconductor interface to control the surface. Here we report fabrication and optical spectroscopy studies of large-area, nanostructured, hybrid silver and indium tin oxide (ITO) structures, with feature sizes below 100 nm and a controlled surface architecture. The optical and electrical properties of these core shell electrodes, including the surface plasmon frequency, can be tuned by suitably changing the order and thickness of the dielectric layers. By varying the dimensions of the nanopillars, the surface plasmon wavelength of the nanopillar Ag can be tuned from 650 to 690 nm. Adding layers of ITO to the structure further shifts the resonance wavelength toward the IR region and, depending on the sequence and thickness of the layers within the structure, we show that such structures can be applied in sensing devices including enhancing silicon as a photodetection material. PMID:28793489

Work function measurement of multilayer electrodes using Kelvin probe force microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peres, L.; Bou, A.; Cornille, C.; Barakel, D.; Torchio, P.

2017-04-01

The workfunction of dielectric|metal|dielectric transparent and conductive electrodes, promising candidates for replacing ITO in thin film solar cells, is measured by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). Measurement on commercial ITO gives a workfunction of 4.74 eV, which is in agreement with the values reported in the literature. Measurements are then performed on optically optimised multilayer electrodes fabricated on glass by e-beam evaporation, using three different dielectrics. For TiO2(37 nm)|Ag(13 nm)|TiO2(42 nm), SnO x (45 nm)|Ag(10 nm)|SnO x (45 nm), and ZnS(47 nm)|Ag(12 nm)|ZnS(42 nm), workfunctions of 4.83 eV, 4.75 eV, and 4.48 eV are measured respectively. These values suggest that these transparent and conductive electrodes are well adapted to extract photo-generated charge carriers in photovoltaic devices in which ITO is normally used. Furthermore, the KPFM technique proves to be an efficient and relatively fast way to determine the work function values of such electrodes.

Porous Structures in Stacked, Crumpled and Pillared Graphene-Based 3D Materials.

PubMed

Guo, Fei; Creighton, Megan; Chen, Yantao; Hurt, Robert; Külaots, Indrek

2014-01-01

Graphene, an atomically thin material with the theoretical surface area of 2600 m 2 g -1 , has great potential in the fields of catalysis, separation, and gas storage if properly assembled into functional 3D materials at large scale. In ideal non-interacting ensembles of non-porous multilayer graphene plates, the surface area can be adequately estimated using the simple geometric law ~ 2600 m 2 g -1 /N, where N is the number of graphene sheets per plate. Some processing operations, however, lead to secondary plate-plate stacking, folding, crumpling or pillaring, which give rise to more complex structures. Here we show that bulk samples of multilayer graphene plates stack in an irregular fashion that preserves the 2600/N surface area and creates regular slot-like pores with sizes that are multiples of the unit plate thickness. In contrast, graphene oxide deposits into films with massive area loss (2600 to 40 m 2 g -1 ) due to nearly perfect alignment and stacking during the drying process. Pillaring graphene oxide sheets by co-deposition of colloidal-phase particle-based spacers has the potential to partially restore the large monolayer surface. Surface areas as high as 1000 m 2 g -1 are demonstrated here through colloidal-phase deposition of graphene oxide with water-dispersible aryl-sulfonated ultrafine carbon black as a pillaring agent.

Landau quantization of Dirac fermions in graphene and its multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Long-Jing; Bai, Ke-Ke; Wang, Wen-Xiao; Li, Si-Yu; Zhang, Yu; He, Lin

2017-08-01

When electrons are confined in a two-dimensional (2D) system, typical quantum-mechanical phenomena such as Landau quantization can be detected. Graphene systems, including the single atomic layer and few-layer stacked crystals, are ideal 2D materials for studying a variety of quantum-mechanical problems. In this article, we review the experimental progress in the unusual Landau quantized behaviors of Dirac fermions in monolayer and multilayer graphene by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS). Through STS measurement of the strong magnetic fields, distinct Landau-level spectra and rich level-splitting phenomena are observed in different graphene layers. These unique properties provide an effective method for identifying the number of layers, as well as the stacking orders, and investigating the fundamentally physical phenomena of graphene. Moreover, in the presence of a strain and charged defects, the Landau quantization of graphene can be significantly modified, leading to unusual spectroscopic and electronic properties.

Switchable adhesion for wafer-handling based on dielectric elastomer stack transducers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grotepaß, T.; Butz, J.; Förster-Zügel, F.; Schlaak, H. F.

2016-04-01

Vacuum grippers are often used for the handling of wafers and small devices. In order to evacuate the gripper, a gas flow is created that can harm the micro structures on the wafer. A promising alternative to vacuum grippers could be adhesive grippers with switchable adhesion. There have been some publications of gecko-inspired adhesive devices. Most of these former works consist of a structured surface which adheres to the object manipulated and an actuator for switching the adhesion. Until now different actuator principles have been investigated, like smart memory alloys and pneumatics. In this work for the first time dielectric elastomer stack transducers (DEST) are combined with a structured surface. DESTs are a promising new transducer technology with many applications in different industry sectors like medical devices, human-machine-interaction and soft robotics. Stacked dielectric elastomer transducers show thickness contraction originating from the electromechanical pressure of two compliant electrodes compressing an elastomeric dielectric when a voltage is applied. Since DESTs and the adhesive surfaces previously described are made of elastomers, it is self-evident to combine both systems in one device. The DESTs are fabricated by a spin coating process. If the flat surface of the spinning carrier is substituted for example by a perforated one, the structured elastomer surface and the DEST can be fabricated in one process. By electrical actuation the DEST contracts and laterally expands which causes the gecko-like cilia to adhere on the object to manipulate. This work describes the assembly and the experimental results of such a device using switchable adhesion. It is intended to be used for the handling of glass wafers.

Controlled thermal expansion printed wiring boards based on liquid crystal polymer dielectrics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knoll, Thomas E.; Blizard, Kent; Jayaraj, K.; Rubin, Leslie S.

1994-01-01

Dielectric materials based on innovative Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCP's) have been used to fabricate surface mount printed wiring boards (PWB's) with a coefficient of thermal expansion matched to leadless ceramic chip carriers. Proprietary and patented polymer processing technology has resulted in self reinforcing material with balanced in-plane mechanical properties. In addition, LCP's possess excellent electrical properties, including a low dielectric constant (less than 2.9) and very low moisture absorption (less than 0.02%). LCP-based multilayer boards processed with conventional drilling and plating processes show improved performance over other materials because they eliminate the surface flatness problems of glass or aramid reinforcements. Laser drilling of blind vias in the LCP dielectric provides a very high density for use in direct chip attach and area array packages. The material is ideally suited for MCM-L and PCMCIA applications fabricated with very thin dielectric layers of the liquid crystal polymer.

A study on the effect of surface topography on the actuation performance of stacked-rolled dielectric electro active polymer actuator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sait, Usha; Muthuswamy, Sreekumar

2016-05-01

Dielectric electro active polymer (DEAP) is a suitable actuator material that finds wide applications in the field of robotics and medical areas. This material is highly controllable, flexible, and capable of developing large strain. The influence of geometrical behavior becomes critical when the material is used as miniaturized actuation devices in robotic applications. The present work focuses on the effect of surface topography on the performance of flat (single sheet) and stacked-rolled DEAP actuators. The non-active areas in the form of elliptical spots that affect the performance of the actuator are identified using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dissipated X-ray (EDX) experiments. Performance of DEAP actuation is critically evaluated, compared, and presented with analytical and experimental results.

Reducing the layer number of AB stacked multilayer graphene grown on nickel by annealing at low temperature.

PubMed

Velasco, J Marquez; Giamini, S A; Kelaidis, N; Tsipas, P; Tsoutsou, D; Kordas, G; Raptis, Y S; Boukos, N; Dimoulas, A

2015-10-09

Controlling the number of layers of graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition is crucial for large scale graphene application. We propose here an etching process of graphene which can be applied immediately after growth to control the number of layers. We use nickel (Ni) foil at high temperature (T = 900 °C) to produce multilayer-AB-stacked-graphene (MLG). The etching process is based on annealing the samples in a hydrogen/argon atmosphere at a relatively low temperature (T = 450 °C) inside the growth chamber. The extent of etching is mainly controlled by the annealing process duration. Using Raman spectroscopy we demonstrate that the number of layers was reduced, changing from MLG to few-layer-AB-stacked-graphene and in some cases to randomly oriented few layer graphene near the substrate. Furthermore, our method offers the significant advantage that it does not introduce defects in the samples, maintaining their original high quality. This fact and the low temperature our method uses make it a good candidate for controlling the layer number of already grown graphene in processes with a low thermal budget.

Green’s Functions for a Theoretical Model of an Aperture Fed Stacked-Patch Microstrip Antenna

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-01

44 4 - 1 Normalized values of D bk3b on the real axis for (a) f = 4 GHz, bib = 1.6 mm, b2b = 4.8 mm, Flb = 5 o’ 2b = 2.5 Eo’ 3b = Co, P’lb = 2b...dielectric la. bIb Thickness of dielectric lb. b2b Total thickness of dielectrics lb and 2b. Cli Observer cell on the aperture, i is an index variable...interface 3b (patch 2). Sfj Source current cell on the feedline. tb Thickness of dielectric layer 2b ( b2b - bib). T lj Vector rooftop basis function

Strong-interaction-mediated critical coupling at two distinct frequencies.

PubMed

Gupta, S Dutta

2007-06-01

I study a multilayered medium consisting of a metal-dielectric composite film, a spacer layer, and a dielectric Bragg reflector. I demonstrate a greater flexibility over the critical coupling phenomenon [Tischler et al., Opt. Lett. 31, 2045 (2006)], whereby nearly all the incident light energy is absorbed by the composite film through suppression of both transmission and reflection from the structure. For a larger volume fraction of the metal inclusions, strong light-matter coupling is shown to lead to almost total absorption at two distinct frequencies.

Numerical simulation of reflective infrared absorber based on metal and dielectric nanorings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Dong; Zhang, Guizhong; Ding, Xin; Yao, Jianquan

2018-04-01

We propose a subwavelength micro-structure of /metal-ring/dielectric-ring/metal-substrate/ for infrared absorber, and numerically simulate its spectral reflectance in the infrared regime. Besides its pragmatic fabrication, this nanoring structure is characterized by excellent infrared reflectance, angle and polarization insensitivities and large tunability. Based upon the nanoring structure, a multilayered nanoring structure is demonstrated to be able to further tune the resonance wavelength. We also use an area-corrected plasmon polariton model to decipher the resonance wavelengths.

Proposal for a multilayer read-only-memory optical disk structure.

PubMed

Ichimura, Isao; Saito, Kimihiro; Yamasaki, Takeshi; Osato, Kiyoshi

2006-03-10

Coherent interlayer cross talk and stray-light intensity of multilayer read-only-memory (ROM) optical disks are investigated. From results of scalar diffraction analyses, we conclude that layer separations above 10 microm are preferred in a system using a 0.85 numerical aperture objective lens in terms of signal quality and stability in focusing control. Disk structures are optimized to prevent signal deterioration resulting from multiple reflections, and appropriate detectors are determined to maintain acceptable stray-light intensity. In the experiment, quadrilayer and octalayer high-density ROM disks are prepared by stacking UV-curable films onto polycarbonate substrates. Data-to-clock jitters of < or = 7% demonstrate the feasibility of multilayer disk storage up to 200 Gbytes.

Compact particle accelerator

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

Elizondo-Decanini, Juan M.

2017-08-29

A compact particle accelerator having an input portion configured to receive power to produce particles for acceleration, where the input portion includes a switch, is provided. In a general embodiment, a vacuum tube receives particles produced from the input portion at a first end, and a plurality of wafer stacks are positioned serially along the vacuum tube. Each of the plurality of wafer stacks include a dielectric and metal-oxide pair, wherein each of the plurality of wafer stacks further accelerate the particles in the vacuum tube. A beam shaper coupled to a second end of the vacuum tube shapes themore » particles accelerated by the plurality of wafer stacks into a beam and an output portion outputs the beam.« less

A first principles approach to magnetic and optical properties in single-layer graphene sandwiched between boron nitride monolayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Ritwika; Chowdhury, Suman; Jana, Debnarayan

2015-07-01

The dependence of the stability of single-layer graphene (SLG) sandwiched between hexagonal boron nitride bilayers (h-BN) has been described and investigated for different types of stacking in order to provide the fingerprint of the stacking order which affects the optical properties of such trilayer systems. Considering the four stacking models AAA-, AAB-, ABA-, and ABC-type stacking, the static dielectric functions (in case of parallel polarizations) for AAB-type stacking possesses maximum values, and minimum values are noticed for AAA. However, AAA-type stacking structures contribute the maximum magnetic moment while vanishing magnetic moments are observed for ABA and ABC stacking. The observed optical anisotropy and magnetic properties of these trilayer heterostructures (h-BN/SLG/h-BN) can be understood from the crystallographic stacking order and inherent crystal lattice symmetry. These optical and magnetic results suggest that the h-BN/SLG/h-BN could provide a viable route to graphene-based opto-electronic and spintronic devices.

Spectral tailoring of nanoscale EUV and soft x-ray multilayer optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Qiushi; Medvedev, Viacheslav; van de Kruijs, Robbert; Yakshin, Andrey; Louis, Eric; Bijkerk, Fred

2017-03-01

Extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray (XUV) multilayer optics have experienced significant development over the past few years, particularly on controlling the spectral characteristics of light for advanced applications like EUV photolithography, space observation, and accelerator- or lab-based XUV experiments. Both planar and three dimensional multilayer structures have been developed to tailor the spectral response in a wide wavelength range. For the planar multilayer optics, different layered schemes are explored. Stacks of periodic multilayers and capping layers are demonstrated to achieve multi-channel reflection or suppression of the reflective properties. Aperiodic multilayer structures enable broadband reflection both in angles and wavelengths, with the possibility of polarization control. The broad wavelength band multilayer is also used to shape attosecond pulses for the study of ultrafast phenomena. Narrowband multilayer monochromators are delivered to bridge the resolution gap between crystals and regular multilayers. High spectral purity multilayers with innovated anti-reflection structures are shown to select spectrally clean XUV radiation from broadband X-ray sources, especially the plasma sources for EUV lithography. Significant progress is also made in the three dimensional multilayer optics, i.e., combining micro- and nanostructures with multilayers, in order to provide new freedom to tune the spectral response. Several kinds of multilayer gratings, including multilayer coated gratings, sliced multilayer gratings, and lamellar multilayer gratings are being pursued for high resolution and high efficiency XUV spectrometers/monochromators, with their advantages and disadvantages, respectively. Multilayer diffraction optics are also developed for spectral purity enhancement. New structures like gratings, zone plates, and pyramids that obtain full suppression of the unwanted radiation and high XUV reflectance are reviewed. Based on the present achievement of the spectral tailoring multilayer optics, the remaining challenges and opportunities for future researches are discussed.

Non-destructive spatial characterization of buried interfaces in multilayer stacks via two color picosecond acoustics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faria, Jorge C. D.; Garnier, Philippe; Devos, Arnaud

2017-12-01

We demonstrate the ability to construct wide-area spatial mappings of buried interfaces in thin film stacks in a non-destructive manner using two color picosecond acoustics. Along with the extraction of layer thicknesses and sound velocities from acoustic signals, the morphological information presented is a powerful demonstration of phonon imaging as a metrological tool. For a series of heterogeneous (polymer, metal, and semiconductor) thin film stacks that have been treated with a chemical procedure known to alter layer properties, the spatial mappings reveal changes to interior thicknesses and chemically modified surface features without the need to remove uppermost layers. These results compare well to atomic force microscopy scans showing that the technique provides a significant advantage to current characterization methods for industrially important device stacks.

Micromixer based on dielectric stack actuators for medical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solano-Arana, Susana; Klug, Florian; Mößinger, Holger; Förster-Zügel, Florentine; Schlaak, Helmut F.

2017-04-01

Based on a previously developed microperistaltic pump, a micromixer made out of dielectric elastomer stack actuators (DESA) is proposed. The micromixer will be able to mix two fluids at the microscale, pumping both fluids in and out of the device. The device consists of three chambers. In the first and second chambers, fluids A and B are hosted, while in the third chamber, fluids A and B are mixed. The fluid flow regime is laminar. The application of voltage leads to an increase of the size of a gap in the z-axis direction, due to the actuators area expansion. This makes a channel open through which the fluid flows. The frequency of the actuation of the different actuators allows an increase of the flow rate. The micromixer can be used for applications such as drug delivery and synthesis of nucleic acids, the proposed device will be made of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as dielectric and graphite powder as electrode material. PDMS is a biocompatible material, widely used in the prosthesis field. Mixing fluids at a microscale is also in need in the lab-on-achip technology for complex chemical reactions.

Symmetric scrolled packings of multilayered carbon nanoribbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savin, A. V.; Korznikova, E. A.; Lobzenko, I. P.; Baimova, Yu. A.; Dmitriev, S. V.

2016-06-01

Scrolled packings of single-layer and multilayer graphene can be used for the creation of supercapacitors, nanopumps, nanofilters, and other nanodevices. The full atomistic simulation of graphene scrolls is restricted to consideration of relatively small systems in small time intervals. To overcome this difficulty, a two-dimensional chain model making possible an efficient calculation of static and dynamic characteristics of nanoribbon scrolls with allowance for the longitudinal and bending stiffness of nanoribbons is proposed. The model is extended to the case of scrolls of multilayer graphene. Possible equilibrium states of symmetric scrolls of multilayer carbon nanotribbons rolled up so that all nanoribbons in the scroll are equivalent are found. Dependences of the number of coils, the inner and outer radii, lowest vibrational eigenfrequencies of rolled packages on the length L of nanoribbons are obtained. It is shown that the lowest vibrational eigenfrequency of a symmetric scroll decreases with a nanoribbon length proportionally to L -1. It is energetically unfavorable for too short nanoribbons to roll up, and their ground state is a stack of plane nanoribbons. With an increasing number k of layers, the nanoribbon length L necessary for creation of symmetric scrolls increases. For a sufficiently small number of layers k and a sufficiently large nanoribbon length L, the scrolled packing has the lowest energy as compared to that of stack of plane nanoribbons and folded structures. The results can be used for development of nanomaterials and nanodevices on the basis of graphene scrolled packings.

Enhanced Performance of Gate-First p-Channel Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors with Polycrystalline Silicon/TiN/HfSiON Stacks Fabricated by Physical Vapor Deposition Based In situ Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitano, Naomu; Horie, Shinya; Arimura, Hiroaki; Kawahara, Takaaki; Sakashita, Shinsuke; Nishida, Yukio; Yugami, Jiro; Minami, Takashi; Kosuda, Motomu; Hosoi, Takuji; Shimura, Takayoshi; Watanabe, Heiji

2007-12-01

We demonstrated the use of an in situ metal/high-k fabrication method for improving the performance of metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MISFETs). Gate-first pMISFETs with polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si)/TiN/HfSiON stacks were fabricated by techniques based on low-damage physical vapor deposition, in which high-quality HfSiON dielectrics were formed by the interface reaction between an ultrathin metal-Hf layer (0.5 nm thick) and a SiO2 underlayer, and TiN electrodes were continuously deposited on the gate dielectrics without exposure to air. Gate-first pMISFETs with high carrier mobility and a low threshold voltage (Vth) were realized by reducing the carbon impurity in the gate stacks and improving the Vth stability against thermal treatment. As a result, we obtained superior current drivability (Ion = 350 μA/μm at Ioff = 200 pA/μm), which corresponds to a 13% improvement over that of conventional chemical vapor deposition-based metal/high-k devices.

Pit formation observed in a multilayer dielectric coating as a result of simulated space environmental exposure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuqua, Peter D.; Presser, Nathan; Barrie, James D.; Meshishnek, Michael J.; Coleman, Dianne J.

2002-06-01

Certain spaceborne telescope designs require that dielectric-coated lenses be exposed to the energetic electrons and protons associated with the space environment. Test coupons that were exposed to a simulated space environment showed extensive pitting as a result of dielectric breakdown. A typical pit was 50-100 mum at the surface and extended to the substrate material, in which a 10-mum-diameter melt region was found. Pitting was not observed on similar samples that had also been overcoated with a transparent conductive thin film. Measurement of the bidirectional reflectance distribution transfer function showed that pitting caused a fivefold to tenfold increase in the scattering of visible light.

Tunable photonic multilayer sensors from photo-crosslinkable polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiappelli, Maria; Hayward, Ryan

2014-03-01

The fabrication of tunable photonic multilayer sensors from stimuli-responsive, photo-crosslinkable polymers will be described. Benzophenone is covalently incorporated as a pendent photo-crosslinker, allowing for facile preparation of multilayer films by sequential spin-coating and crosslinking processes. Copolymer chemistries and layer thicknesses are selected to provide robust multilayer sensors which can show color changes across nearly the full visible spectrum due to the specific stimulus-responsive nature of the hydrated film stack. We will describe how this approach is extended to alternative sensor designs by tailoring the thickness and chemistry of each layer independently, allowing for the preparation of sensors which depend not only on the shift in wavelength of a reflectance peak, but also on the transition between Bragg mirrors and filters. Device design is optimized by photo-patterning sensor arrays on a single substrate, providing more efficient fabrication time as well as multi-functional sensors. Finally, radiation-sensitive multilayers, designed by choosing polymers which will preferentially degrade or crosslink under ionizing radiation, will also be described.

WSi2/Si multilayer sectioning by reactive ion etching for multilayer Laue lens fabrication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouet, N.; Conley, R.; Biancarosa, J.; Divan, R.; Macrander, A. T.

2010-09-01

Reactive ion etching (RIE) has been employed in a wide range of fields such as semiconductor fabrication, MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), and refractive x-ray optics with a large investment put towards the development of deep RIE. Due to the intrinsic differing chemistries related to reactivity, ion bombardment, and passivation of materials, the development of recipes for new materials or material systems can require intense effort and resources. For silicon in particular, methods have been developed to provide reliable anisotropic profiles with good dimensional control and high aspect ratios1,2,3, high etch rates, and excellent material to mask etch selectivity. A multilayer Laue lens4 is an x-ray focusing optic, which is produced by depositing many layers of two materials with differing electron density in a particular stacking sequence where the each layer in the stack satisfies the Fresnel zone plate law. When this stack is sectioned to allow side-illumination with radiation, the diffracted exiting radiation will constructively interfere at the focal point. Since the first MLLs were developed at Argonne in the USA in 20064, there have been published reports of MLL development efforts in Japan5, and, very recently, also in Germany6. The traditional technique for sectioning multilayer Laue lens (MLL) involves mechanical sectioning and polishing7, which is labor intensive and can induce delamination or structure damage and thereby reduce yield. If a non-mechanical technique can be used to section MLL, it may be possible to greatly shorten the fabrication cycle, create more usable optics from the same amount of deposition substrate, and perhaps develop more advanced structures to provide greater stability or flexibility. Plasma etching of high aspect-ratio multilayer structures will also expand the scope for other types of optics fabrication (such as gratings, zone plates, and so-on). However, well-performing reactive ion etching recipes have been developed for only a small number of materials, and even less recipes exist for concurrent etching of more than one element so a fully material specific process needs to be developed. In this paper, sectioning of WSi2/Si multilayers for MLL fabrication using fluorinated gases is investigated. The main goals were to demonstrate the feasibility of this technique, achievement of high anisotropy, adequate sidewall roughness control and high etching rates. We note that this development for MLL sidewalls should be distinguished from work on improving aspect ratios in traditional Fresnel zone plates. Aspect ratios for MLL sidewalls are not similarly constrained.

Multilayer Coextrusion of Polymer Composites to Develop Organic Capacitors

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

Mondy, L.; Mrozek, R.; Rao, R.

Multilayer coextrusion is applied to produce a tape containing layers of alternating electrical properties to demonstrate the potential for using coextrusion to manufacture capacitors. To obtain the desired properties, we develop two filled polymer systems, one for conductive layers and one for dielectric layers. We describe numerical models used to help determine the material and processing parameters that impact processing and layer stability. These models help quantify the critical ratios of densities and viscosities of the two layers to maintain stable layers, as well as the effect of increasing the flow rate of one of the two materials. The conductingmore » polymer is based on polystyrene filled with a blend of low-melting-point eutectic metal and nickel particulate filler, as described by Mrozek et al. (2010). The appropriate concentrations of fillers are determined by balancing measured conductivity with processability in a twin screw extruder. Based on results of the numerical models and estimates of the viscosity of emulsions and suspensions, a dielectric layer composed of polystyrene filled with barium titanate is formulated. Despite the fact that the density of the dielectric filler is less than the metallic filler of the conductive phase, as well as rheological measurements that later showed that the dielectric formulation is not an ideal match to the viscosity of the conductive material, the two materials can be successfully coextruded if the flow rates of the two materials are not identical. A measurable capacitance of the layered structure is obtained.« less

Multilayer Coextrusion of Polymer Composites to Develop Organic Capacitors

DOE PAGES

Mondy, L.; Mrozek, R.; Rao, R.; ...

2015-05-29

Multilayer coextrusion is applied to produce a tape containing layers of alternating electrical properties to demonstrate the potential for using coextrusion to manufacture capacitors. To obtain the desired properties, we develop two filled polymer systems, one for conductive layers and one for dielectric layers. We describe numerical models used to help determine the material and processing parameters that impact processing and layer stability. These models help quantify the critical ratios of densities and viscosities of the two layers to maintain stable layers, as well as the effect of increasing the flow rate of one of the two materials. The conductingmore » polymer is based on polystyrene filled with a blend of low-melting-point eutectic metal and nickel particulate filler, as described by Mrozek et al. (2010). The appropriate concentrations of fillers are determined by balancing measured conductivity with processability in a twin screw extruder. Based on results of the numerical models and estimates of the viscosity of emulsions and suspensions, a dielectric layer composed of polystyrene filled with barium titanate is formulated. Despite the fact that the density of the dielectric filler is less than the metallic filler of the conductive phase, as well as rheological measurements that later showed that the dielectric formulation is not an ideal match to the viscosity of the conductive material, the two materials can be successfully coextruded if the flow rates of the two materials are not identical. A measurable capacitance of the layered structure is obtained.« less

Validated numerical simulation model of a dielectric elastomer generator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foerster, Florentine; Moessinger, Holger; Schlaak, Helmut F.

2013-04-01

Dielectric elastomer generators (DEG) produce electrical energy by converting mechanical into electrical energy. Efficient operation requires homogeneous deformation of each single layer. However, by different internal and external influences like supports or the shape of a DEG the deformation will be inhomogeneous and hence negatively affect the amount of the generated electrical energy. Optimization of the deformation behavior leads to improved efficiency of the DEG and consequently to higher energy gain. In this work a numerical simulation model of a multilayer dielectric elastomer generator is developed using the FEM software ANSYS. The analyzed multilayer DEG consists of 49 active dielectric layers with layer thicknesses of 50 μm. The elastomer is silicone (PDMS) while the compliant electrodes are made of graphite powder. In the simulation the real material parameters of the PDMS and the graphite electrodes need to be included. Therefore, the mechanical and electrical material parameters of the PDMS are determined by experimental investigations of test samples while the electrode parameters are determined by numerical simulations of test samples. The numerical simulation of the DEG is carried out as coupled electro-mechanical simulation for the constant voltage energy harvesting cycle. Finally, the derived numerical simulation model is validated by comparison with analytical calculations and further simulated DEG configurations. The comparison of the determined results show good accordance with regard to the deformation of the DEG. Based on the validated model it is now possible to optimize the DEG layout for improved deformation behavior with further simulations.

Asynchronous cracking with dissimilar paths in multilayer graphene.

PubMed

Jang, Bongkyun; Kim, Byungwoon; Kim, Jae-Hyun; Lee, Hak-Joo; Sumigawa, Takashi; Kitamura, Takayuki

2017-11-16

Multilayer graphene consists of a stack of single-atomic-thick monolayer graphene sheets bound with π-π interactions and is a fascinating model material opening up a new field of fracture mechanics. In this study, fracture behavior of single-crystalline multilayer graphene was investigated using an in situ mode I fracture test under a scanning electron microscope, and abnormal crack propagation in multilayer graphene was identified for the first time. The fracture toughness of graphene was determined from the measured load-displacement curves and the realistic finite element modelling of specimen geometries. Nonlinear fracture behavior of the multilayer graphene is discussed based on nonlinear elastic fracture mechanics. In situ scanning electron microscope images obtained during the fracture test showed asynchronous crack propagation along independent paths, causing interlayer shear stress and slippages. We also found that energy dissipation by interlayer slippages between the graphene layers is the reason for the enhanced fracture toughness of multilayer graphene. The asynchronous cracking with independent paths is a unique cracking and toughening mechanism for single-crystalline multilayer graphene, which is not observed for the monolayer graphene. This could provide a useful insight for the design and development of graphene-based composite materials for structural applications.

Energy considerations for a superlens based on metal/dielectric multilayers.

PubMed

Bloemer, Mark J; D'Aguanno, Giuseppe; Scalora, Michael; Mattiucci, Nadia; de Ceglia, Domenico

2008-11-10

We investigate the resolution and absorption losses of a Ag/GaP multilayer superlens. For a fixed source to image distance the resolution is independent of the position of the lens but the losses depend strongly on the lens placement. The absorption losses associated with the evanescent waves can be significantly larger than losses associated with the propagating waves especially when the superlens is close to the source. The interpretation of transmittance values greater than unity for evanescent waves is clarified with respect to the associated absorption losses.

Thin film solar energy collector

DOEpatents

Aykan, Kamran; Farrauto, Robert J.; Jefferson, Clinton F.; Lanam, Richard D.

1983-11-22

A multi-layer solar energy collector of improved stability comprising: (1) a substrate of quartz, silicate glass, stainless steel or aluminum-containing ferritic alloy; (2) a solar absorptive layer comprising silver, copper oxide, rhodium/rhodium oxide and 0-15% by weight of platinum; (3) an interlayer comprising silver or silver/platinum; and (4) an optional external anti-reflective coating, plus a method for preparing a thermally stable multi-layered solar collector, in which the absorptive layer is undercoated with a thin film of silver or silver/platinum to obtain an improved conductor-dielectric tandem.

Physical and Electrical Characterization of Aluminum Polymer Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David; Sampson, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Polymer aluminum capacitors from several manufacturers with various combinations of capacitance, rated voltage, and ESR values were physically examined and electrically characterized. The physical construction analysis of the capacitors revealed three different capacitor structures, i.e., traditional wound, stacked, and laminated. Electrical characterization results of polymer aluminum capacitors are reported for frequency-domain dielectric response at various temperatures, surge breakdown voltage, and other dielectric properties. The structure-property relations in polymer aluminum capacitors are discussed.

Physical and Electrical Characterization of Polymer Aluminum Capacitors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, David; Sampson, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Polymer aluminum capacitors from several manufacturers with various combinations of capacitance, rated voltage, and ESR values were physically examined and electrically characterized. The physical construction analysis of the capacitors revealed three different capacitor structures, i.e., traditional wound, stacked, and laminated. Electrical characterization results of polymer aluminum capacitors are reported for frequency-domain dielectric response at various temperatures, surge breakdown voltage, and other dielectric properties. The structure-property relations in polymer aluminum capacitors are discussed.

Switching from visibility to invisibility via Fano resonances: theory and experiment.

PubMed

Rybin, Mikhail V; Filonov, Dmitry S; Belov, Pavel A; Kivshar, Yuri S; Limonov, Mikhail F

2015-03-05

Subwavelength structures demonstrate many unusual optical properties which can be employed for engineering of a new generation of functional metadevices, as well as controlled scattering of light and invisibility cloaking. Here we demonstrate that the suppression of light scattering for any direction of observation can be achieved for a uniform dielectric object with high refractive index, in a sharp contrast to the cloaking with multilayered plasmonic structures suggested previously. Our finding is based on the novel physics of cascades of Fano resonances observed in the Mie scattering from a homogeneous dielectric rod. We observe this effect experimentally at microwaves by employing high temperature-dependent dielectric permittivity of a glass cylinder with heated water. Our results open a new avenue in analyzing the optical response of high-index dielectric nanoparticles and the physics of cloaking.

Switching from Visibility to Invisibility via Fano Resonances: Theory and Experiment

PubMed Central

Rybin, Mikhail V.; Filonov, Dmitry S.; Belov, Pavel A.; Kivshar, Yuri S.; Limonov, Mikhail F.

2015-01-01

Subwavelength structures demonstrate many unusual optical properties which can be employed for engineering of a new generation of functional metadevices, as well as controlled scattering of light and invisibility cloaking. Here we demonstrate that the suppression of light scattering for any direction of observation can be achieved for a uniform dielectric object with high refractive index, in a sharp contrast to the cloaking with multilayered plasmonic structures suggested previously. Our finding is based on the novel physics of cascades of Fano resonances observed in the Mie scattering from a homogeneous dielectric rod. We observe this effect experimentally at microwaves by employing high temperature-dependent dielectric permittivity of a glass cylinder with heated water. Our results open a new avenue in analyzing the optical response of high-index dielectric nanoparticles and the physics of cloaking. PMID:25739324

Terahertz antireflection coating enabled by a subwavelength metallic mesh capped with a thin dielectric film

DOE PAGES

Huang, Li; Chen, Hou -Tong; Zeng, Beibei; ...

2016-03-30

Metamaterials/metasurfaces have enabled unprecedented manipulation of electromagnetic waves. Here we present a new design of metasurface structure functioning as antireflection coatings. The structure consists of a subwavelength metallic mesh capped with a thin dielectric layer on top of a substrate. By tailoring the geometric parameters of the metallic mesh and the refractive index and thickness of the capping dielectric film, reflection from the substrate can be completely eliminated at a specific frequency. Compared to traditional methods such as coatings with single- or multi-layer dielectric films, the metasurface antireflection coatings are much thinner and the requirement of index matching is largelymore » lifted. Here, this approach is particularly suitable for antireflection coatings in the technically challenging terahertz frequency range and is also applicable in other frequency regimes.« less

Graphene-based multilayer resonance structure to enhance the optical pressure on a Mie particle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassanzadeh, Abdollah; Mohammadnezhad, Mohammadbagher

2016-04-01

We theoretically investigate the optical force exerted on a Mie dielectric particle in the evanescent field of a graphene-based resonance multilayer structure using the arbitrary beam theory and the theory of multilayer films. The resonance structure consists of several thin films including a dielectric film (MgF2), a metal film (silver or gold), and several graphene layers which are located on a prism base. The effects of the metal film thickness and the number of graphene layers on the optical force are numerically investigated. The thickness of the metal layer and the number of graphene layers are optimized to reach the highest optical force. The numerical results show that an optimized composition of graphene and gold leads to a higher optical force compared to that of the graphene and silver. The optical force was enhanced resonantly by four orders of magnitude for the resonance structure containing graphene and a gold film and by three orders of magnitude for the structure containing graphene and a silver film compared to other similar resonance structures. We hope that the results presented in this paper can provide an excellent means of improving the optical manipulation of particles and enable the provision of effective optical tweezers, micromotors, and microaccelelators.

Internal filament modulation in low-dielectric gap design for built-in selector-less resistive switching memory application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ying-Chen; Lin, Chih-Yang; Huang, Hui-Chun; Kim, Sungjun; Fowler, Burt; Chang, Yao-Feng; Wu, Xiaohan; Xu, Gaobo; Chang, Ting-Chang; Lee, Jack C.

2018-02-01

Sneak path current is a severe hindrance for the application of high-density resistive random-access memory (RRAM) array designs. In this work, we demonstrate nonlinear (NL) resistive switching characteristics of a HfO x /SiO x -based stacking structure as a realization for selector-less RRAM devices. The NL characteristic was obtained and designed by optimizing the internal filament location with a low effective dielectric constant in the HfO x /SiO x structure. The stacking HfO x /SiO x -based RRAM device as the one-resistor-only memory cell is applicable without needing an additional selector device to solve the sneak path issue with a switching voltage of ~1 V, which is desirable for low-power operating in built-in nonlinearity crossbar array configurations.

Far infrared filters for the Galileo-Jupiter and other missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seeley, J. S.; Hunneman, R.; Whatley, A.

1981-01-01

Progress in the development of FIR multilayer interference filters for the net flux radiometer and photopolarizing radiometer to be carried on board the Galileo mission to Jupiter is reported. The multilayer interference technique has been extended to the region above 40 microns by the use of PbTe/II-VI materials in hard-coated combination, with the thickest layers composed of CdSe QWOT at 74 microns and PbTe QWOT. Improvements have also been obtained in filters below 20 microns on the basis of the Chebyshev stack design. A composite filter cutting on steeply at 40 microns has been designed which employs a thin crystal quartz substrate, shorter wavelength absorption in ZnS and As2S3 thin films, and supplementary multilayer interference. Finally, absorptive filters have been developed based on II-VI compounds in multilayer combination with KRS-5 (or 6) on a KRS-5 (or 6) substrate

Mixing Of Mode Symmetries In Top Gated Bilayer And Multilayer Graphene Field Effect Devices

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

Chakraborty, Biswanath; Das, Anindya; Sood, A. K.

2011-07-15

We report Raman study to investigate the influence of stacking on the inversion symmetry breaking in top gated bi- and multi-layer ({approx}10 layers) graphene field effect transistors. The G phonon mode splits into a low frequency (G{sub low}) and a high frequency (G{sub high}) mode in bi- and multi-layer graphene and the two modes show different dependence on doping. The mode splitting is explained in terms of mixing of zone-center in-plane optical phonons representing in-phase and out-of-phase inter-layer atomic motions. Unlike in bilayer graphene, there is no transfer of intensity from G{sub low} to G{sub high} in multilayer graphene. Amore » comparison is made for the bilayer graphene data with the recent theory of Gava et al. [Phys. Rev. B 80, 155422 (2009)].« less

Alternate Multilayer Gratings with Enhanced Diffraction Efficiency in the 500-5000 eV Energy Domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polack, François; Lagarde, Bruno; Idir, Mourad; Cloup, Audrey Liard; Jourdain, Erick; Roulliay, Marc; Delmotte, Franck; Gautier, Julien; Ravet-Krill, Marie-Françoise

2007-01-01

An alternate multilayer (AML) grating is a 2 dimensional diffraction structure formed on an optical surface, having a 0.5 duty cycle in the in-plane and in the in-depth direction. It can be made by covering a shallow depth laminar grating with a multilayer stack. We show here that their 2D structure confer AML gratings a high angular and energetic selectivity and therefore enhanced diffraction properties, when used in grazing incidence. In the tender X-ray range (500eV - 5000 eV) they behave much like blazed gratings. Over 15% efficiency has been measured on a 1200 lines/mm Mo/Si AML grating in the 1.2 - 1.5 keV energy range. Computer simulations show that selected multilayer materials such as Cr/C should allow diffraction efficiency over 50% at photon energies over 3 keV.

Enhancement of thermal stability and water resistance in yttrium-doped GeO{sub 2}/Ge gate stack

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

Lu, Cimang, E-mail: cimang@adam.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Hyun Lee, Choong; Zhang, Wenfeng

2014-03-03

We have systematically investigated the material and electrical properties of yttrium-doped GeO{sub 2} (Y-GeO{sub 2}) on Germanium (Ge). A significant improvement of both thermal stability and water resistance were demonstrated by Y-GeO{sub 2}/Ge stack, compared to that of pure GeO{sub 2}/Ge stack. The excellent electrical properties of Y-GeO{sub 2}/Ge stacks with low D{sub it} were presented as well as enhancement of dielectric constant in Y-GeO{sub 2} layer, which is beneficial for further equivalent oxide thickness scaling of Ge gate stack. The improvement of thermal stability and water resistance are discussed both in terms of the Gibbs free energy lowering andmore » network modification of Y-GeO{sub 2}.« less

Reducing the substrate dependent scanner leveling effect in low-k1 contact printing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, C. S.; Tseng, C. F.; Huang, C. H.; Yang, Elvis; Yang, T. H.; Chen, K. C.

2015-03-01

As the scaling down of design rule for high-density memory device, the small depth of focus (DoF) budget may be deteriorated by focus leveling errors, which arises in unpredicted reflectivity from multilayer structures on the topographic wafer. The leveling sensors of ASML scanner use near infrared (NIR) range wavelength which can penetrate through most of films using in semiconductor fabrication such as photo-resist, bottom anti reflective coating (BARC) and dielectric materials. Consequently, the reflected light from underlying substructures would disturb leveling sensors from accurate leveling. The different pattern densities and layout characteristics between array and periphery of a memory chip are expected to result in different leveling signals. Furthermore, the process dependent variations between wafer central and edge areas are also considered to yield different leveling performances during wafer exposure. In this study, lower blind contact immunity was observed for peripheral contacts comparing to the array contacts especially around wafer edge region. In order to overcome this problem, a series of investigations have been carried out. The wafer edge leveling optimization through circuit dependent focus edge clearance (CDFEC) option doesn't get improvement. Air gauge improved process leveling (AGILE) function of ASML immersion scanner doesn't show improved result either. The ILD uniformity improvement and step height treatments around wafer edge such as edge exclusion of film deposition and bevel etching are also ineffective to mitigate the blind contact problem of peripheral patterns. Altering the etch hard-mask stack is finally found to be an effective approach to alleviate the issue. For instance, through either containing high temperature deposition advanced patterning film (APF) in the hard-mask or inserting higher opaque film such as amorphous Si in between the hard-mask stack.

Tuning the effective parameters in (Ta/Cu/[Ni/Co]x/Ta) multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayareh, Zohreh; Moradi, Mehrdad; Mahmoodi, Saman

2018-06-01

In this paper, we report perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in a (Ta/Cu/[Ni/Co]x/Ta) multilayers structure. These typical structures usually include a multilayer of ferromagnetic and transition metal thin films. Usually, magnetic anisotropy is characterized by magnetization loops determined by magnetometer or magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). The interface between ferromagnetic and metallic layers plays an important role in magnetic anisotropy evolution from out-of-plane to in-plane in (Ta/Cu/[Ni/Co]/Ta) structure. Obtained results from MOKE and magnetometry of these samples show that they have different easy axes due to change in thickness of Cu as spacer layer and difference in number of repetition of [Ni/Co] stacks.

Metal oxide multilayer hard mask system for 3D nanofabrication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Zhongmei; Salmi, Emma; Vehkamäki, Marko; Leskelä, Markku; Ritala, Mikko

2018-02-01

We demonstrate the preparation and exploitation of multilayer metal oxide hard masks for lithography and 3D nanofabrication. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) and focused ion beam (FIB) technologies are applied for mask deposition and mask patterning, respectively. A combination of ALD and FIB was used and a patterning procedure was developed to avoid the ion beam defects commonly met when using FIB alone for microfabrication. ALD grown Al2O3/Ta2O5/Al2O3 thin film stacks were FIB milled with 30 keV gallium ions and chemically etched in 5% tetramethylammonium hydroxide at 50 °C. With metal evaporation, multilayers consisting of amorphous oxides Al2O3 and Ta2O5 can be tailored for use in 2D lift-off processing, in preparation of embedded sub-100 nm metal lines and for multilevel electrical contacts. Good pattern transfer was achieved by lift-off process from the 2D hard mask for micro- and nano-scaled fabrication. As a demonstration of the applicability of this method to 3D structures, self-supporting 3D Ta2O5 masks were made from a film stack on gold particles. Finally, thin film resistors were fabricated by utilizing controlled stiction of suspended Ta2O5 structures.

Nanomechanical investigation of thin-film electroceramic/metal-organic framework multilayers

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

Best, James P., E-mail: james.best@empa.ch, E-mail: engelbert.redel@kit.edu, E-mail: christof.woell@kit.edu; Michler, Johann; Maeder, Xavier

2015-09-07

Thin-film multilayer stacks of mechanically hard magnetron sputtered indium tin oxide (ITO) and mechanically soft highly porous surface anchored metal-organic framework (SURMOF) HKUST-1 were studied using nanoindentation. Crystalline, continuous, and monolithic surface anchored MOF thin films were fabricated using a liquid-phase epitaxial growth method. Control over respective fabrication processes allowed for tuning of the thickness of the thin film systems with a high degree of precision. It was found that the mechanical indentation of such thin films is significantly affected by the substrate properties; however, elastic parameters were able to be decoupled for constituent thin-film materials (E{sub ITO} ≈ 96.7 GPa, E{sub HKUST−1} ≈ 22.0 GPa).more » For indentation of multilayer stacks, it was found that as the layer thicknesses were increased, while holding the relative thickness of ITO and HKUST-1 constant, the resistance to deformation was significantly altered. Such an observation is likely due to small, albeit significant, changes in film texture, interfacial roughness, size effects, and controlling deformation mechanism as a result of increasing material deposition during processing. Such effects may have consequences regarding the rational mechanical design and utilization of MOF-based hybrid thin-film devices.« less

Base-Metal Electrode-Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors: Past, Present and Future Perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kishi, Hiroshi; Mizuno, Youichi; Chazono, Hirokazu

2003-01-01

Multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) production and sales figures are the highest among fine-ceramic products developed in the past 30 years. The total worldwide production and sales reached 550 billion pieces and 6 billion dollars, respectively in 2000. In the course of progress, the development of base-metal electrode (BME) technology played an important role in expanding the application area. In this review, the recent progress in MLCCs with BME nickel (Ni) electrodes is reviewed from the viewpoint of nonreducible dielectric materials. Using intermediate-ionic-size rare-earth ion (Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Y2O3) doped BaTiO3 (ABO3)-based dielectrics, highly reliable Ni-MLCCs with a very thin layer below 2 μm in thickness have been developed. The effect of site occupancy of rare-earth ions in BaTiO3 on the electrical properties and microstructure of nonreducible dielectrics is studied systematically. It appears that intermediate-ionic-size rare-earth ions occupy both A- and B-sites in the BaTiO3 lattice and effectively control the donor/acceptor dopant ratio and microstructural evolution. The relationship between the electrical properties and the microstructure of Ni-MLCCs is also presented.

Development of an Ultra-Wideband Circularly Polarized Multiple Layer Dielectric Rod Antenna Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wainwright, Gregory D.

This dissertations focuses on the development of a novel Ultra-Wideband (UWB) circularly polarized dielectric rod antenna (CPDRA) which yields a constant gain, pattern, and phase center. These properties are important in many applications. Within radar systems a constant phase center is desirable to avoid errors within downrange and crossrange measurements. In a reflector antenna the illumination, spillover, and phase efficiencies will remain the same over an ultra-wideband. Lastly, near field probes require smooth amplitude and phase patterns over frequency to avoid errors during the calibration process of the antenna under test. In this dissertation a novel CP feeding network has been developed for an ultra-wideband dielectric rod antenna. Circularly-polarized antennas have a major advantage over its linearly-polarized counterpart in that the polarization mismatch loss caused by misalignment between the polarizations of the incident fields and antenna can be avoided. This is important in satellite communications and broadcasts where signal propagation through the ionosphere can experience Faraday Rotation. A circularly polarized antenna is also helpful in mobile radar and communication systems where the receiving antennas orientation is not fixed. Previous research on UWB dielectric rod antenna designs has focused on Dual linear feeds. Each polarization within the dual linear feed is excited by a pair of linear launcher arms fed with a 0°-180° hybrid balun. The proposed CPDRA design does not require the 0°-180° hybrid baluns or 0°-90° hybrid for achieving CP operation. These hybrids will increase the antennas size, weight, cost, and reduce operational bandwidth. A design technique has been developed for an UWB multilayer dielectric waveguide used in a CPDRA antenna. This design technique uses near-field Electric field data from inside the waveguide, in conjunction with a genetic algorithm optimization to yield a wideband waveguide with a near field amplitude distribution that scales with frequency. A multilayered dielectric waveguide presents many fabrication challenges. The thermal expansion rates, moisture absorption rates, and vibration properties differ within the various dielectric materials used. Therefore, the development of a wideband waveguide using one material with a low dielectric constant would be advantages since 3-D printing technology can be utilized. In this dissertation novel TE01 and TM01 mode suppressors have been developed using only a single dielectric material.

Highly conductive transparent organic electrodes with multilayer structures for rigid and flexible optoelectronics.

PubMed

Guo, Xiaoyang; Liu, Xingyuan; Lin, Fengyuan; Li, Hailing; Fan, Yi; Zhang, Nan

2015-05-27

Transparent electrodes are essential components for optoelectronic devices, such as touch panels, organic light-emitting diodes, and solar cells. Indium tin oxide (ITO) is widely used as transparent electrode in optoelectronic devices. ITO has high transparency and low resistance but contains expensive rare elements, and ITO-based devices have poor mechanical flexibility. Therefore, alternative transparent electrodes with excellent opto-electrical performance and mechanical flexibility will be greatly demanded. Here, organics are introduced into dielectric-metal-dielectric structures to construct the transparent electrodes on rigid and flexible substrates. We show that organic-metal-organic (OMO) electrodes have excellent opto-electrical properties (sheet resistance of below 10 Ω sq(-1) at 85% transmission), mechanical flexibility, thermal and environmental stabilities. The OMO-based polymer photovoltaic cells show performance comparable to that of devices based on ITO electrodes. This OMO multilayer structure can therefore be used to produce transparent electrodes suitable for use in a wide range of optoelectronic devices.

Method and Apparatus for Monitoring the Integrity of a Geomembrane Liner using time Domain Reflectometry

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

Morris, John L.

1998-11-09

Leaks are detected in a multi-layered geomembrane liner by a two-dimensional time domain reflectometry (TDR) technique. The TDR geomembrane liner is constructed with an electrically conductive detection layer positioned between two electrically non-conductive dielectric layers, which are each positioned between the detection layer and an electrically conductive reference layer. The integrity of the TDR geomembrane liner is determined by generating electrical pulses within the detection layer and measuring the time delay for any reflected electrical energy caused by absorption of moisture by a dielectric layer.

Method and apparatus for monitoring the integrity of a geomembrane liner using time domain reflectometry

DOEpatents

Morrison, John L [Idaho Falls, ID

2001-04-24

Leaks are detected in a multi-layered geomembrane liner by a two-dimensional time domain reflectometry (TDR) technique. The TDR geomembrane liner is constructed with an electrically conductive detection layer positioned between two electrically non-conductive dielectric layers, which are each positioned between the detection layer and an electrically conductive reference layer. The integrity of the TDR geomembrane liner is determined by generating electrical pulses within the detection layer and measuring the time delay for any reflected electrical energy caused by absorption of moisture by a dielectric layer.

Reflection characterization of nano-sized dielectric structure in Morpho butterfly wings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Dong

2017-10-01

Morpho butterflies living in Central and South America are well-known for their structural-colored blue wings. The blue coloring originates from the interaction of light with nano-sized dielectric structures that are equipped on the external surface of scales covering over their wings. The high-accuracy nonstandard finite-difference time domain (NS-FDTD) method is used to investigate the reflection characterization from the nanostructures. In the NS-FDTD calculation, a computational model is built to mimic the actual tree-like multilayered structures wherever possible using the hyperbolic tangent functions. It is generally known that both multilayer interference and diffraction grating phenomena can occur when light enters the nano-sized multilayered structure. To answer the question that which phenomenon is mainly responsible for the blue coloring, the NS-FDTD calculation is performed under various incidence angles at wavelengths from 360 to 500 nm. The calculated results at one incident wavelength under different incidence angles are visualized in a two-dimensional mapping image, where horizontal and vertical axes are incidence and reflection angles, respectively. The images demonstrate a remarkable transition from a ring-like pattern at shorter wavelengths to a retro-reflection pattern at longer wavelengths. To clarify the origin of the pattern transition, the model is separated into several simpler parts and compared their mapping images with the theoretical diffraction calculations. It can be concluded that the blue coloring at longer wavelengths is mainly caused by the cooperation of multilayer interference and retro-reflection while the effect of diffraction grating is predominant at shorter wavelengths.

High-resolution nondestructive testing of multilayer dielectric materials using wideband microwave synthetic aperture radar imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Tae Hee; James, Robin; Narayanan, Ram M.

2017-04-01

Fiber Reinforced Polymer or Plastic (FRP) composites have been rapidly increasing in the aerospace, automotive and marine industry, and civil engineering, because these composites show superior characteristics such as outstanding strength and stiffness, low weight, as well as anti-corrosion and easy production. Generally, the advancement of materials calls for correspondingly advanced methods and technologies for inspection and failure detection during production or maintenance, especially in the area of nondestructive testing (NDT). Among numerous inspection techniques, microwave sensing methods can be effectively used for NDT of FRP composites. FRP composite materials can be produced using various structures and materials, and various defects or flaws occur due to environmental conditions encountered during operation. However, reliable, low-cost, and easy-to-operate NDT methods have not been developed and tested. FRP composites are usually produced as multilayered structures consisting of fiber plate, matrix and core. Therefore, typical defects appearing in FRP composites are disbondings, delaminations, object inclusions, and certain kinds of barely visible impact damages. In this paper, we propose a microwave NDT method, based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging algorithms, for stand-off imaging of internal delaminations. When a microwave signal is incident on a multilayer dielectric material, the reflected signal provides a good response to interfaces and transverse cracks. An electromagnetic wave model is introduced to delineate interface widths or defect depths from the reflected waves. For the purpose of numerical analysis and simulation, multilayered composite samples with various artificial defects are assumed, and their SAR images are obtained and analyzed using a variety of high-resolution wideband waveforms.

Synthesis, characterization and application of Co doped TiO2 multilayer thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, M. I.

2018-06-01

To use the visible portion of solar light, 2% cobalt doped TiO2 (Co: TiO2) multilayer thin films having 1, 2, 3 and 4 stacked layers have been deposited on FTO substrates using spray pyrolysis technique. XRD results show that 1 and 2 layers of films have anatase phase. Brookite phase has been appeared at the 3 and 4 layered films. The average grain size of 1, 2, 3 and 4 layers of films are 14.4, 23.5, 29.7 and 33.6 nm respectively. UV-Vis results show that 4th layer film has high absorption in the visible region. The calculated Eg of 1, 2, 3 and 4 layers is 3.54, 3.42, 3.30 and 3.03 eV respectively. The calculated average sheet resistivity of 1, 2, 3 and 4 layers of films is 7.68 × 104, 4.54 × 104, 8.85 × 103 and 7.95 × 102 (ohm-m) respectively, according to four point probe technique. Solar simulator results show that highest solar conversion efficiency (5.6%) has been obtained by using 3 stacked layers photoanode. This new structure in the form of stack layers provides a way to improve the efficiency of optoelectronic devices.

Morphological, Raman, electrical and dielectric properties of rare earth doped X-type hexagonal ferrites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majeed, Abdul; Khan, Muhammad Azhar; ur Raheem, Faseeh; Ahmad, Iftikhar; Akhtar, Majid Niaz; Warsi, Muhammad Farooq

2016-12-01

The influence of rare-earth metals (La, Nd, Gd, Tb, Dy) on morphology, Raman, electrical and dielectric properties of Ba2NiCoRExFe28-xO46 ferrites were studied. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) exhibited the platelet like structure of these hexagonal ferrites. The surface morphology indicated the formation of ferrite grains in the nano-regime scale. The bands obtained at lower wave number may be attributed to the metal-oxygen vibration at octahedral site which confirm the development of hexagonal phase of these ferrites. The resonance peaks were observed in dielectric constant, dielectric loss factor and quality factor versus frequency graphs. These dielectric parameters indicate that these ferrites nano-materials are potential candidates in the high frequency applications. The enhancement in DC electric resistivity from 2.48×108 to 1.20×109 Ω cm indicates that the prepared materials are beneficial for decreasing the eddy current losses at high frequencies and for the fabrication of multilayer chip inductor (MLCI) devices.

Trends in Dielectric Etch for Microelectronics Processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudson, Eric A.

2003-10-01

Dielectric etch technology faces many challenges to meet the requirements for leading-edge microelectronics processing. The move to sub 100-nm device design rules increases the aspect ratios of certain features, imposes tighter restrictions on etched features' critical dimensions, and increases the density of closely packed arrays of features. Changes in photolithography are driving transitions to new photoresist materials and novel multilayer resist methods. The increasing use of copper metallization and low-k interlayer dielectric materials has introduced dual-damascene integration methods, with specialized dielectric etch applications. A common need is the selective removal of multiple layers which have very different compositions, while maintaining close control of the etched features' profiles. To increase productivity, there is a growing trend toward in-situ processing, which allows several films to be successively etched during a single pass through the process module. Dielectric etch systems mainly utilize capacitively coupled etch reactors, operating with medium-density plasmas and low gas residence time. Commercial technology development increasingly relies upon plasma diagnostics and modeling to reduce development cycle time and maximize performance.

Alternating stacking of ferromagnetic nanosheet and nanoparticle films: heteroassembly and magneto-optical Kerr effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Baoping; Zhang, Wei; Liu, Hui; Lin, Bencai; Ding, Jianning

2016-09-01

Heterostructured multilayer films of two different nanocrystals have been successfully fabricated by layer-by-layer stacking of Ti0.8Co0.2O2 nanosheet and Fe3O4 nanoparticle films. UV-Vis spectroscopy and AFM observation confirmed the successful alternating deposition in the multilayer buildup process. The average thickness of both Ti0.8Co0.2O2 nanosheet and Fe3O4 nanoparticle layers was determined to be about 1.4-1.7 and 5 nm, which was in good agreement with TEM results. Magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements demonstrated that the heteroassemblies exhibit gigantic magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) (2 × 104 deg/cm) at 320-360 nm, deriving from strong interlayer [Co2+]t2g-[Fe3+]eg d-d charge transfer which was further confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Their structure-dependent MCD showed high potential in rational design and construction of high-efficiency magneto-optical devices.

Mesoscale Graphene-like Honeycomb Mono- and Multilayers Constructed via Self-Assembly of Coclusters.

PubMed

Hou, Xue-Sen; Zhu, Guo-Long; Ren, Li-Jun; Huang, Zi-Han; Zhang, Rui-Bin; Ungar, Goran; Yan, Li-Tang; Wang, Wei

2018-02-07

Honeycomb structure endows graphene with extraordinary properties. But could a honeycomb monolayer superlattice also be generated via self-assembly of colloids or nanoparticles? Here we report the construction of mono- and multilayer molecular films with honeycomb structure that can be regarded as self-assembled artificial graphene (SAAG). We construct fan-shaped molecular building blocks by covalently connecting two kinds of clusters, one polyoxometalate and four polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes. The precise shape control enables these complex molecules to self-assemble into a monolayer 2D honeycomb superlattice that mirrors that of graphene but on the mesoscale. The self-assembly of the SAAG was also reproduced via coarse-grained molecular simulations of a fan-shaped building block. It revealed a hierarchical process and the key role of intermediate states in determining the honeycomb structure. Experimental images also show a diversity of bi- and trilayer stacking modes. The successful creation of SAAG and its stacks opens up prospects for the preparation of novel self-assembled nanomaterials with unique properties.

Internal Electrostatic Discharge Monitor - IESDM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Wousik; Goebel, Dan M.; Jun, Insoo; Garrett, Henry B.

2011-01-01

A document discusses an innovation designed to effectively monitor dielectric charging in spacecraft components to measure the potential for discharge in order to prevent damage from internal electrostatic discharge (IESD). High-energy electrons penetrate the structural materials and shielding of a spacecraft and then stop inside dielectrics and keep accumulating. Those deposited charges generate an electric field. If the electric field becomes higher than the breakdown threshold (approx. =2 x 10(exp 5) V/cm), discharge occurs. This monitor measures potentials as a function of dielectric depth. Differentiation of potential with respect to the depth yields electric field. Direct measurement of the depth profile of the potential in a dielectric makes real-time electronic field evaluation possible without simulations. The IESDM has been designed to emulate a multi-layer circuit board, to insert very thin metallic layers between the dielectric layers. The conductors serve as diagnostic monitoring locations to measure the deposited electron-charge and the charge dynamics. Measurement of the time-dependent potential of the metal layers provides information on the amount of charge deposited in the dielectrics and the movement of that charge with time (dynamics).

Center for dielectric studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cross, L. E.; Newnham, R. E.; Biggers, J. V.

1984-05-01

This report focuses upon the parts of the Center program which have drawn most extensively upon Navy funds. In the basic study of polarization processes in high K dielectrics, major progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms in relaxor ferroelectric in the perovskite structure families. A new effort is also being mounted to obtain more precise evaluation of the internal stress effects in fine grained barium titanate. Related to reliability, studies of the effects of induced macro-defects are described, and preparation for the evaluation of space charge by internal potential distribution measurements discussed. To develop new processing methods for very thin dielectric layers, a new type of single barrier layer multilayer is discussed, and work on the thermal evaporation of oriented crystalline antimony sulphur iodide describe.

Investigation of optical pump on dielectric tunability in PZT/PT thin film by THz spectroscopy.

PubMed

Ji, Jie; Luo, Chunya; Rao, Yunkun; Ling, Furi; Yao, Jianquan

2016-07-11

The dielectric spectra of single-layer PbTiO₃ (PT), single-layer PbZr_xTi_1-xO₃ (PZT) and multilayer PZT/PT thin films under an external optical field were investigated at room temperature by time-domain terahertz (THz) spectroscopy. Results showed that the real part of permittivity increased upon application of an external optical field, which could be interpreted as hardening of the soft mode and increasing of the damping coefficient and oscillator strength. Furthermore, the central mode was observed in the three films. Among the dielectric property of the three thin films studied, the tunability of the PZT/PT superlattice was the largest.

Influence of Chemical Composition and Structure in Silicon Dielectric Materials on Passivation of Thin Crystalline Silicon on Glass.

PubMed

Calnan, Sonya; Gabriel, Onno; Rothert, Inga; Werth, Matteo; Ring, Sven; Stannowski, Bernd; Schlatmann, Rutger

2015-09-02

In this study, various silicon dielectric films, namely, a-SiOx:H, a-SiNx:H, and a-SiOxNy:H, grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) were evaluated for use as interlayers (ILs) between crystalline silicon and glass. Chemical bonding analysis using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that high values of oxidant gases (CO2 and/or N2), added to SiH4 during PECVD, reduced the Si-H and N-H bond density in the silicon dielectrics. Various three layer stacks combining the silicon dielectric materials were designed to minimize optical losses between silicon and glass in rear side contacted heterojunction pn test cells. The PECVD grown silicon dielectrics retained their functionality despite being subjected to harsh subsequent processing such as crystallization of the silicon at 1414 °C or above. High values of short circuit current density (Jsc; without additional hydrogen passivation) required a high density of Si-H bonds and for the nitrogen containing films, additionally, a high N-H bond density. Concurrently high values of both Jsc and open circuit voltage Voc were only observed when [Si-H] was equal to or exceeded [N-H]. Generally, Voc correlated with a high density of [Si-H] bonds in the silicon dielectric; otherwise, additional hydrogen passivation using an active plasma process was required. The highest Voc ∼ 560 mV, for a silicon acceptor concentration of about 10(16) cm(-3), was observed for stacks where an a-SiOxNy:H film was adjacent to the silicon. Regardless of the cell absorber thickness, field effect passivation of the buried silicon surface by the silicon dielectric was mandatory for efficient collection of carriers generated from short wavelength light (in the vicinity of the glass-Si interface). However, additional hydrogen passivation was obligatory for an increased diffusion length of the photogenerated carriers and thus Jsc in solar cells with thicker absorbers.

CMOS image sensor with organic photoconductive layer having narrow absorption band and proposal of stack type solid-state image sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takada, Shunji; Ihama, Mikio; Inuiya, Masafumi

2006-02-01

Digital still cameras overtook film cameras in Japanese market in 2000 in terms of sales volume owing to their versatile functions. However, the image-capturing capabilities such as sensitivity and latitude of color films are still superior to those of digital image sensors. In this paper, we attribute the cause for the high performance of color films to their multi-layered structure, and propose the solid-state image sensors with stacked organic photoconductive layers having narrow absorption bands on CMOS read-out circuits.

Frustration and correlations in stacked triangular-lattice Ising antiferromagnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burnell, F. J.; Chalker, J. T.

2015-12-01

We study multilayer triangular-lattice Ising antiferromagnets with interlayer interactions that are weak and frustrated in an abc stacking. By analyzing a coupled height model description of these systems, we show that they exhibit a classical spin liquid regime at low temperature, in which both intralayer and interlayer correlations are strong but there is no long-range order. Diffuse scattering in this regime is concentrated on a helix in reciprocal space, as observed for charge ordering in the materials LuFe2O4 and YbFe2O4 .

Multilayer-Grown Ultrathin Nanostructured GaAs Solar Cells as a Cost-Competitive Materials Platform for III-V Photovoltaics.

PubMed

Gai, Boju; Sun, Yukun; Lim, Haneol; Chen, Huandong; Faucher, Joseph; Lee, Minjoo L; Yoon, Jongseung

2017-01-24

Large-scale deployment of GaAs solar cells in terrestrial photovoltaics demands significant cost reduction for preparing device-quality epitaxial materials. Although multilayer epitaxial growth in conjunction with printing-based materials assemblies has been proposed as a promising route to achieve this goal, their practical implementation remains challenging owing to the degradation of materials properties and resulting nonuniform device performance between solar cells grown in different sequences. Here we report an alternative approach to circumvent these limitations and enable multilayer-grown GaAs solar cells with uniform photovoltaic performance. Ultrathin single-junction GaAs solar cells having a 300-nm-thick absorber (i.e., emitter and base) are epitaxially grown in triple-stack releasable multilayer assemblies by molecular beam epitaxy using beryllium as a p-type impurity. Microscale (∼500 × 500 μm 2 ) GaAs solar cells fabricated from respective device layers exhibit excellent uniformity (<3% relative) of photovoltaic performance and contact properties owing to the suppressed diffusion of p-type dopant as well as substantially reduced time of epitaxial growth associated with ultrathin device configuration. Bifacial photon management employing hexagonally periodic TiO 2 nanoposts and a vertical p-type metal contact serving as a metallic back-surface reflector together with specialized epitaxial design to minimize parasitic optical losses for efficient light trapping synergistically enable significantly enhanced photovoltaic performance of such ultrathin absorbers, where ∼17.2% solar-to-electric power conversion efficiency under simulated AM1.5G illumination is demonstrated from 420-nm-thick single-junction GaAs solar cells grown in triple-stack epitaxial assemblies.

Accurate image-charge method by the use of the residue theorem for core-shell dielectric sphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Jing; Xu, Zhenli

2018-02-01

An accurate image-charge method (ICM) is developed for ionic interactions outside a core-shell structured dielectric sphere. Core-shell particles have wide applications for which the theoretical investigation requires efficient methods for the Green's function used to calculate pairwise interactions of ions. The ICM is based on an inverse Mellin transform from the coefficients of spherical harmonic series of the Green's function such that the polarization charge due to dielectric boundaries is represented by a series of image point charges and an image line charge. The residue theorem is used to accurately calculate the density of the line charge. Numerical results show that the ICM is promising in fast evaluation of the Green's function, and thus it is useful for theoretical investigations of core-shell particles. This routine can also be applicable for solving other problems with spherical dielectric interfaces such as multilayered media and Debye-Hückel equations.

Visible and infrared optical properties of stacked cone graphite microtubes.

PubMed

Bruce, Charles W; Alyones, Sharhabeel

2012-06-01

The absorptive and scattering optical properties of heat-treated, vapor-grown, graphite microtubes consisting of nanotubes in a "stacked cone" configuration were investigated through the visible and infrared wavelengths using photoacoustic and other spectrometric techniques. However, computations of these properties involved uncertainties that were not easily resolved; the appropriate dielectric coefficients were presumed to be a combination of the published values for the distinct orientations of graphite, but the correct proportions are not evident and none of the reasonable choices produced satisfactory agreement (within the measurement limits of error). Since both of the primary components of the extinction were measured, the appropriate computational codes were employed in reverse to compute the dielectric coefficients for the graphite microtubes. Differences, primarily for the imaginary index, are most distinct for visible and near infrared wavelengths; in this wavelength region, the imaginary index falls progressively to less than half that for the computed mixture.

Anomaly of Transmission Properties in Pre-Cantor Dielectric Multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaino, Keimei; Sonoda, Jun

2008-02-01

Using the transmission-line theory, we investigate wave propagation in a pre-Cantor multilayer. Transmission spectra of the low stages of pre-Cantor media show good agreement with those of numerical calculation of Maxwell's equations using the FDTD method. Numerical results obtained using the FDTD method show that the electric field at the midpoint of the nth stage pre-Cantor medium has sharp resonance and broad attenuation at transmission bands that are newly generated in attenuation bands of the (n-1)th stage. Using an expression of transmittance of the high stage of pre-Cantor multilayer, we show that the transmittance t becomes a two-valued function of t = 0/1 and the collection of points for t = 1 is a power set of positive integers whose cardinal number is 3ℵ0.

A small biomimetic quadruped robot driven by multistacked dielectric elastomer actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Canh Toan; Phung, Hoa; Dat Nguyen, Tien; Lee, Choonghan; Kim, Uikyum; Lee, Donghyouk; Moon, Hyungpil; Koo, Jachoon; Nam, Jae-do; Ryeol Choi, Hyouk

2014-06-01

A kind of dielectric elastomer (DE) material, called ‘synthetic elastomer’, has been developed based on acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) to be used as a dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA). By stacking single layers of synthetic elastomer, a linear actuator, called a multistacked actuator, is produced, and used by mechatronic and robotic systems to generate linear motion. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of the multistacked dielectric elastomer actuator in a biomimetic legged robot. A miniature robot driven by a biomimetic actuation system with four 2-DOF (two-degree-of-freedom) legged mechanisms is realized. Based on the experimental results, we evaluate the performance of the proposed robot and validate the feasibility of the multistacked actuator in a locomotion system as a replacement for conventional actuators.

Dielectric properties of graphene/MoS2 heterostructures from ab initio calculations and electron energy-loss experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohn, Michael J.; Hambach, Ralf; Wachsmuth, Philipp; Giorgetti, Christine; Kaiser, Ute

2018-06-01

High-energy electronic excitations of graphene and MoS2 heterostructures are investigated by momentum-resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy in the range of 1 to 35 eV. The interplay of excitations on different sheets is understood in terms of long-range Coulomb interactions and is simulated using a combination of ab initio and dielectric model calculations. In particular, the layered electron-gas model is extended to thick layers by including the spatial dependence of the dielectric response in the direction perpendicular to the sheets. We apply this model to the case of graphene/MoS2/graphene heterostructures and discuss the possibility of extracting the dielectric properties of an encapsulated monolayer from measurements of the entire stack.

Electric and ferroelectric properties of PZT/BLT multilayer films prepared by photochemical metal-organic deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Hyeong-Ho; Lee, Hong-Sub; Park, Hyung-Ho; Hill, Ross H.; Hwang, Yun Taek

2009-01-01

The electric and ferroelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and lanthanum-substituted bismuth titanate (BLT) multilayer films prepared using photosensitive precursors were characterized. The electric and ferroelectric properties were investigated by studying the effect of the stacking order of four ferroelectric layers of PZT or BLT in 4-PZT, PZT/2-BLT/PZT, BLT/2-PZT/BLT, and 4-BLT multilayer films. The remnant polarization values of the 4-BLT and BLT/2-PZT/BLT multilayer films were 12 and 17 μC/cm 2, respectively. Improved ferroelectric properties of the PZT/BLT multilayer films were obtained by using a PZT intermediate layer. The films which contained a BLT layer on the Pt substrate had improved leakage currents of approximately two orders of magnitude and enhanced fatigue resistances compared to the films with a PZT layer on the Pt substrate. These improvements are due to the reduced number of defects and space charges near the Pt electrodes. The PZT/BLT multilayer films prepared by photochemical metal-organic deposition (PMOD) possessed enhanced electric and ferroelectric properties, and allow direct patterning to fabricate micro-patterned systems without dry etching.

Photochemical degradation of polymeric coatings on mirrors as studied in situ using FT-IR reflection-absorbance spectroscopy

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

Webb, J.D.; Schissel, P.; Czanderna, A.W.

1981-12-01

Reflection-absorbance spectroscopy has been used to obtain analytical information on samples of polymer/metal multilayer stacks subjected to degradative factors. The capabilities of the apparatus are summarized and representative data from initial studies are presented. (LEW)

Wideband analytical equivalent circuit for one-dimensional periodic stacked arrays.

PubMed

Molero, Carlos; Rodríguez-Berral, Raúl; Mesa, Francisco; Medina, Francisco; Yakovlev, Alexander B

2016-01-01

A wideband equivalent circuit is proposed for the accurate analysis of scattering from a set of stacked slit gratings illuminated by a plane wave with transverse magnetic or electric polarization that impinges normally or obliquely along one of the principal planes of the structure. The slit gratings are printed on dielectric slabs of arbitrary thickness, including the case of closely spaced gratings that interact by higher-order modes. A Π-circuit topology is obtained for a pair of coupled arrays, with fully analytical expressions for all the circuit elements. This equivalent Π circuit is employed as the basis to derive the equivalent circuit of finite stacks with any given number of gratings. Analytical expressions for the Brillouin diagram and the Bloch impedance are also obtained for infinite periodic stacks.

Broadband optical properties of graphene and HOPG investigated by spectroscopic Mueller matrix ellipsometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Baokun; Gu, Honggang; Zhu, Simin; Jiang, Hao; Chen, Xiuguo; Zhang, Chuanwei; Liu, Shiyuan

2018-05-01

Optical properties of mono-graphene fabricated by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) are comparatively studied by Mueller matrix ellipsometry (MME) over an ultra-wide energy range of 0.73-6.42 eV. A multilayer stacking model is constructed to describe the CVD mono-graphene, in which the roughness of the glass substrate and the water adsorption on the graphene are considered. We introduce a uniaxial anisotropic dielectric model to parameterize the optical constants of both the graphene and the HOPG. With the established models, broadband optical constants of the graphene and the HOPG are determined from the Mueller matrix spectra based on a point-by-point method and a non-linear regression method, respectively. Two significant absorption peaks at 4.75 eV and 6.31 eV are observed in the extinction coefficient spectra of the mono-graphene, which can be attributed to the von-Hove singularity (i.e., the π-to-π∗ exciton transition) near the M point and the σ-to-σ∗ exciton transition near the Γ point of the Brillouin zone, respectively. Comparatively, only a major absorption peak at 4.96 eV appears in the ordinary extinction coefficient spectra of the HOPG, which is mainly formed by the π-to-π∗ interband transition.

Direct growth of hexagonal boron nitride/graphene heterostructures on cobalt foil substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

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

Xu, Zhongguang; Khanaki, Alireza; Tian, Hao

2016-07-25

Graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (G/h-BN) heterostructures have attracted a great deal of attention because of their exceptional properties and wide variety of potential applications in nanoelectronics. However, direct growth of large-area, high-quality, and stacked structures in a controllable and scalable way remains challenging. In this work, we demonstrate the synthesis of h-BN/graphene (h-BN/G) heterostructures on cobalt (Co) foil by sequential deposition of graphene and h-BN layers using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that the coverage of h-BN layers can be readily controlled on the epitaxial graphene by growth time. Large-area, uniform-quality, and multi-layer h-BN films on thin graphite layersmore » were achieved. Based on an h-BN (5–6 nm)/G (26–27 nm) heterostructure, capacitor devices with Co(foil)/G/h-BN/Co(contact) configuration were fabricated to evaluate the dielectric properties of h-BN. The measured breakdown electric field showed a high value of ∼2.5–3.2 MV/cm. Both I-V and C-V characteristics indicate that the epitaxial h-BN film has good insulating characteristics.« less

Two-dimensional layered semiconductor/graphene heterostructures for solar photovoltaic applications.

PubMed

Shanmugam, Mariyappan; Jacobs-Gedrim, Robin; Song, Eui Sang; Yu, Bin

2014-11-07

Schottky barriers formed by graphene (monolayer, bilayer, and multilayer) on 2D layered semiconductor tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanosheets are explored for solar energy harvesting. The characteristics of the graphene-WS2 Schottky junction vary significantly with the number of graphene layers on WS2, resulting in differences in solar cell performance. Compared with monolayer or stacked bilayer graphene, multilayer graphene helps in achieving improved solar cell performance due to superior electrical conductivity. The all-layered-material Schottky barrier solar cell employing WS2 as a photoactive semiconductor exhibits efficient photon absorption in the visible spectral range, yielding 3.3% photoelectric conversion efficiency with multilayer graphene as the Schottky contact. Carrier transport at the graphene/WS2 interface and the interfacial recombination process in the Schottky barrier solar cells are examined.

Interface Optoelectronics Engineering for Mechanically Stacked Tandem Solar Cells Based on Perovskite and Silicon.

PubMed

Kanda, Hiroyuki; Uzum, Abdullah; Nishino, Hitoshi; Umeyama, Tomokazu; Imahori, Hiroshi; Ishikawa, Yasuaki; Uraoka, Yukiharu; Ito, Seigo

2016-12-14

Engineering of photonics for antireflection and electronics for extraction of the hole using 2.5 nm of a thin Au layer have been performed for two- and four-terminal tandem solar cells using CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 perovskite (top cell) and p-type single crystal silicon (c-Si) (bottom cell) by mechanically stacking. Highly transparent connection multilayers of evaporated-Au and sputtered-ITO films were fabricated at the interface to be a point-contact tunneling junction between the rough perovskite and flat silicon solar cells. The mechanically stacked tandem solar cell with an optimized tunneling junction structure was ⟨perovskite for the top cell/Au (2.5 nm)/ITO (154 nm) stacked-on ITO (108 nm)/c-Si for the bottom cell⟩. It was confirmed the best efficiency of 13.7% and 14.4% as two- and four-terminal devices, respectively.

Supra-Nanoparticle Functional Assemblies through Programmable Stacking

DOE PAGES

Tian, Cheng; Cordeiro, Marco Aurelio L.; Lhermitte, Julien; ...

2017-05-25

The quest for the by-design assembly of material and devices from nanoscale inorganic components is well recognized. Conventional self-assembly is often limited in its ability to control material morphology and structure simultaneously. We report a general method of assembling nanoparticles in a linear “pillar” morphology with regulated internal configurations. Our approach is inspired by supramolecular systems, where intermolecular stacking guides the assembly process to form diverse linear morphologies. Programmable stacking interactions were realized through incorporation of DNA coded recognition between the designed planar nanoparticle clusters. This resulted in the formation of multilayered pillar architectures with a well-defined internal nanoparticle organization.more » Furthermore, by controlling the number, position, size, and composition of the nanoparticles in each layer, a broad range of nanoparticle pillars were assembled and characterized in detail. In addition, we demonstrated the utility of this stacking assembly strategy for investigating plasmonic and electrical transport properties.« less

Supra-Nanoparticle Functional Assemblies through Programmable Stacking

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

Tian, Cheng; Cordeiro, Marco Aurelio L.; Lhermitte, Julien

The quest for the by-design assembly of material and devices from nanoscale inorganic components is well recognized. Conventional self-assembly is often limited in its ability to control material morphology and structure simultaneously. We report a general method of assembling nanoparticles in a linear “pillar” morphology with regulated internal configurations. Our approach is inspired by supramolecular systems, where intermolecular stacking guides the assembly process to form diverse linear morphologies. Programmable stacking interactions were realized through incorporation of DNA coded recognition between the designed planar nanoparticle clusters. This resulted in the formation of multilayered pillar architectures with a well-defined internal nanoparticle organization.more » Furthermore, by controlling the number, position, size, and composition of the nanoparticles in each layer, a broad range of nanoparticle pillars were assembled and characterized in detail. In addition, we demonstrated the utility of this stacking assembly strategy for investigating plasmonic and electrical transport properties.« less

Supra-Nanoparticle Functional Assemblies through Programmable Stacking.

PubMed

Tian, Cheng; Cordeiro, Marco Aurelio L; Lhermitte, Julien; Xin, Huolin L; Shani, Lior; Liu, Mingzhao; Ma, Chunli; Yeshurun, Yosef; DiMarzio, Donald; Gang, Oleg

2017-07-25

The quest for the by-design assembly of material and devices from nanoscale inorganic components is well recognized. Conventional self-assembly is often limited in its ability to control material morphology and structure simultaneously. Here, we report a general method of assembling nanoparticles in a linear "pillar" morphology with regulated internal configurations. Our approach is inspired by supramolecular systems, where intermolecular stacking guides the assembly process to form diverse linear morphologies. Programmable stacking interactions were realized through incorporation of DNA coded recognition between the designed planar nanoparticle clusters. This resulted in the formation of multilayered pillar architectures with a well-defined internal nanoparticle organization. By controlling the number, position, size, and composition of the nanoparticles in each layer, a broad range of nanoparticle pillars were assembled and characterized in detail. In addition, we demonstrated the utility of this stacking assembly strategy for investigating plasmonic and electrical transport properties.

Dielectric anomaly and relaxation natures in a Zn-Cr pillar−layered metal−organic framework with cages and channels

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

Xue, Chen; Yao, Zhi-Yuan; Liu, Shao-Xian

A bimetallic metal–organic framework (MOF) with the formula [Zn{sub 3}btc{sub 2}(Cr{sub 3}O(isonic){sub 6}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2}(OH))]·(DMF){sub 15.5}(H{sub 2}O){sub 8} (H{sub 3}btc=1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid; isonic=isonicotinicate) shows a pillar-layered structure. The monolayer consists of hexagon-like rings formed by the [Zn(isonic){sub 2}(btc){sub 2}] tetrahedral and the consecutive monolayers are pillared by trigonal–prismatic clusters of [Cr{sub 3}O(isonic){sub 6}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2}(OH)]through the remaining binding sites of the Zn{sup 2+} ions. DMF and water molecules are confined in the cages and channels. TGA indicates that the lattice DMF and water molecules begin to be released at temperatures above 363 K. Dielectric measurements were carried out in the rangemore » of 173–363 K and 1–10{sup 7} Hz for three successive thermal cycles. The dielectric spectroscopy obtained in the first thermal cycle was different from that observed in the next two thermal cycles, while the dielectric spectra in the last two thermal cycles were almost identical. The dielectric nature of this MOF is discussed in detail for each thermal cycle. Since MOFs are unique host–guest systems in which the structure of the host framework is designable and the guests are exchangeable, it is no doubt those MOFs are materials with a variety of dielectric natures. This study gives a fresh impetus to achieve MOFs–based dielectric materials. - Graphical abstract: The bimetallic MOF [Zn{sub 3}btc{sub 2}(Cr{sub 3}O(isonic){sub 6}(H{sub 2}O){sub 2}(OH))]·(DMF){sub 15.5}(H{sub 2}O){sub 8}1, shows a pillar-layered open-framework structure. The dielectric spectra of 1 are almost identical in the last two thermal cycles, whereas significantly different from that observed in the first thermal cycle. The novel dielectric anomaly associated with a stacked structure transformation of the disordered guests. - Highlights: • A bimetallic metal-organic framework shows a pillar-layered structure. • The MOF displays novel dielectric anomaly and relaxation behaviors. • The dielectric anomaly arises from the stacking structure transformation of guests. • The dielectric relaxation is related to the dipole dynamics of guests.« less

SU-E-T-512: Electromagnetic Simulations of the Dielectric Wall Accelerator

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

Uselmann, A; Mackie, T

Purpose: To characterize and parametrically study the key components of a dielectric wall accelerator through electromagnetic modeling and particle tracking. Methods: Electromagnetic and particle tracking simulations were performed using a commercial code (CST Microwave Studio, CST Inc.) utilizing the finite integration technique. A dielectric wall accelerator consists of a series of stacked transmission lines sequentially fired in synchrony with an ion pulse. Numerous properties of the stacked transmission lines, including geometric, material, and electronic properties, were analyzed and varied in order to assess their impact on the transverse and axial electric fields. Additionally, stacks of transmission lines were simulated inmore » order to quantify the parasitic effect observed in closely packed lines. Particle tracking simulations using the particle-in-cell method were performed on the various stacks to determine the impact of the above properties on the resultant phase space of the ions. Results: Examination of the simulation results show that novel geometries can shape the accelerating pulse in order to reduce the energy spread and increase the average energy of accelerated ions. Parasitic effects were quantified for various geometries and found to vary with distance from the end of the transmission line and along the beam axis. An optimal arrival time of an ion pulse relative to the triggering of the transmission lines for a given geometry was determined through parametric study. Benchmark simulations of single transmission lines agree well with published experimental results. Conclusion: This work characterized the behavior of the transmission lines used in a dielectric wall accelerator and used this information to improve them in novel ways. Utilizing novel geometries, we were able to improve the accelerating gradient and phase space of the accelerated particle bunch. Through simulation, we were able to discover and optimize design issues with the device at low cost. Funding: Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison WI; Conflict of Interest: Dr. Mackie is an investor and board member at CPAC, a company developing compact accelerator designs similar to those discussed in this work, but designs discussed are not directed by CPAC. Funding: Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison WI; Conflict of Interest: Dr. Mackie is an investor and board member at CPAC, a company developing compact accelerator designs similar to those discussed in this work, but designs discussed are not directed by CPAC.« less

Heterogeneous multi-layered IF steel with simultaneous high strength and good ductility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ling; Jiang, Xiaojuan; Wang, Yuhui; Chen, Qiang; Chen, Zhen; Zhang, Yonghong; Huang, Tianlin; Wu, Guilin

2017-07-01

Multi-layered IF steel samples were designed and fabricated by hot compression followed by cold forging of an alternating stack of cold-rolled and annealed IF steel sheets, with an aim to improve the strength of the material without losing much ductility. A very good combination of strength and ductility was achieved by proper annealing after deformation. Microstructural analysis by electron back-scatter diffraction revealed that the good combination of strength and ductility is related to a characteristic hierarchical structure that is characterized by layered and lamella structures with different length scales.

Multilayered BN Coatings Processed by a Continuous LPCVD Treatment onto Hi-Nicalon Fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacques, S.; Vincent, H.; Vincent, C.; Lopez-Marure, A.; Bouix, J.

2001-12-01

Boron nitride coatings were deposited onto SiC fibers by means of continuous low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) treatment from BF3/NH3 mixtures. This process lies in unrolling the fiber in the reactor axis. The relationships between the processing parameters and the structure of the BN deposits are presented. Thanks to a temperature gradient present in the reactor, multilayered BN films can be performed by stacking successive isotropic and anisotropic sublayers. Tensile tests show that when the temperature profile is well adapted, the SiC fibers are not damaged by the LPCVD treatment.

Thin film transistors for flexible electronics: contacts, dielectrics and semiconductors.

PubMed

Quevedo-Lopez, M A; Wondmagegn, W T; Alshareef, H N; Ramirez-Bon, R; Gnade, B E

2011-06-01

The development of low temperature, thin film transistor processes that have enabled flexible displays also present opportunities for flexible electronics and flexible integrated systems. Of particular interest are possible applications in flexible sensor systems for unattended ground sensors, smart medical bandages, electronic ID tags for geo-location, conformal antennas, radiation detectors, etc. In this paper, we review the impact of gate dielectrics, contacts and semiconductor materials on thin film transistors for flexible electronics applications. We present our recent results to fully integrate hybrid complementary metal oxide semiconductors comprising inorganic and organic-based materials. In particular, we demonstrate novel gate dielectric stacks and semiconducting materials. The impact of source and drain contacts on device performance is also discussed.

Orbital-dependent Electron-Hole Interaction in Graphene and Associated Multi-Layer Structures

PubMed Central

Deng, Tianqi; Su, Haibin

2015-01-01

We develop an orbital-dependent potential to describe electron-hole interaction in materials with structural 2D character, i.e. quasi-2D materials. The modulated orbital-dependent potentials are also constructed with non-local screening, multi-layer screening, and finite gap due to the coupling with substrates. We apply the excitonic Hamiltonian in coordinate-space with developed effective electron-hole interacting potentials to compute excitons’ binding strength at M (π band) and Γ (σ band) points in graphene and its associated multi-layer forms. The orbital-dependent potential provides a range-separated property for regulating both long- and short-range interactions. This accounts for the existence of the resonant π exciton in single- and bi-layer graphenes. The remarkable strong electron-hole interaction in σ orbitals plays a decisive role in the existence of σ exciton in graphene stack at room temperature. The interplay between gap-opening and screening from substrates shed a light on the weak dependence of σ exciton binding energy on the thickness of graphene stacks. Moreover, the analysis of non-hydrogenic exciton spectrum in quasi-2D systems clearly demonstrates the remarkable comparable contribution of orbital dependent potential with respect to non-local screening process. The understanding of orbital-dependent potential developed in this work is potentially applicable for a wide range of materials with low dimension. PMID:26610715

Correlation Between Material Properties of Ferroelectric Thin Films and Design Parameters for Microwave Device Applications: Modeling Examples and Experimental Verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miranda, Felix A.; VanKeuls, Fred W.; Subramanyam, Guru; Mueller, Carl H.; Romanofsky, Robert R.; Rosado, Gerardo

2000-01-01

The application of thin ferroelectric films for frequency and phase agile components is the topic of interest of many research groups worldwide. Consequently, proof-of-concepts (POC) of different tunable microwave components using either (HTS, metal)/ferroelectric thin film/dielectric heterostructures or (thick, thin) film "flip-chip" technology have been reported. Either as ferroelectric thin film characterization tools or from the point of view of circuit implementation approach, both configurations have their respective advantages and limitations. However, we believe that because of the progress made so far using the heterostructure (i.e., multilayer) approach, and due to its intrinsic features such as planar configuration and monolithic integration, a study on the correlation of circuit geometry aspects and ferroelectric material properties could accelerate the insertion of this technology into working systems. In this paper, we will discuss our study performed on circuits based on microstrip lines at frequencies above 10 GHz, where the multilayer configuration offers greater ease of insertion due to circuit's size reduction. Modeled results of relevant circuit parameters such as the characteristic impedance, effective dielectric constant, and attenuation as a function of ferroelectric film's dielectric constant, tans, and thickness, will be presented for SrTiO3 and Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO3 ferroelectric films. A comparison between the modeled and experimental data for some of these parameters will be presented.

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.

Slotted rectangular waveguide with dielectric sandwich structure inside

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullin, R. R.; Sokolov, R. I.

2018-03-01

This paper continues the series of works devoted to the investigation of leaky-wave antenna based on layered rectangular waveguide with periodic transverse slots in broad face. Previously developed wavenumber calculation technique has been adapted for analysis of slotted sandwich waveguide with three layers at least. The paper provides the numerical results of velocity factor dependencies for partially filled slotted rectangular waveguide containing a dielectric slab in the middle position inside or an air gap between two dielectric slabs. Additionally, dispersion properties are also considered for multilayer waveguide with linear laws combinations of thickness and permittivity. This allows recognizing the trends to develop new prospective antennas with complex patterns of tilt angle change. All numerical results obtained are confirmed with the in-situ measurements of transmission coefficient phase.

Compact multilayer film structure for angle insensitive color filtering.

PubMed

Yang, Chenying; Shen, Weidong; Zhang, Yueguang; Li, Kan; Fang, Xu; Zhang, Xing; Liu, Xu

2015-03-19

Here we report a compact multilayer film structure for angle robust color filtering, which is verified by theoretical calculations and experiment results. The introduction of the amorphous silicon in the proposed unsymmetrical resonant cavity greatly reduces the angular sensitivity of the filters, which is confirmed by the analysis of the phase shift within the structure. The temperature of the substrate during the deposition is expressly investigated to obtain the best optical performance with high peak reflectance and good angle insensitive color filtering by compromising the refractive index of dielectric layer and the surface roughness of the multilayer film. And the outlayer of the structure, worked as the anti-reflection layer, have an enormous impact on the filtering performance. This method, described in this paper, can have enormous potential for diverse applications in display, colorful decoration, anti-counterfeiting and so forth.

Tunable magnetotransport in Fe/hBN/graphene/hBN/Pt(Fe) epitaxial multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magnus Ukpong, Aniekan

2018-03-01

Theoretical and computational analysis of the magnetotransport properties and spin-transfer torque field-induced switching of magnetization density in vertically-stacked multilayers is presented. Using epitaxially-capped free layers of Pt and Fe, atom-resolved magnetic moments and spin-transfer torques are computed at finite bias. The calculations are performed within linear response approximation to the spin-density reformulation of the van der Waals density functional theory. Dynamical spin excitations are computed as a function of a spin-transfer torque induced magnetic field along the magnetic easy axis, and the corresponding spin polarization perpendicular to the easy axis is obtained. Bias-dependent giant anisotropic magnetoresistance of up to 3200% is obtained in the nonmagnetic-metal-capped Fe/hBN/graphene/hBN/Pt multilayer architecture. Since this specific heterostructure is not yet fabricated and characterized, the predicted high performance has not been demonstrated experimentally. Nevertheless, similar calculations performed on the Fe/hBN/Co stack show that the tunneling magnetoresistance obtained at the Fermi-level is in excellent agreement with results of recent magnetotransport measurements on magnetic tunnel junctions that contain the monolayer hBN tunnel region. The magnitude of the spin-transfer torque is found to increase as the tunneling spin current increases, and this activates the magnetization switching process due to increased charge accumulation. This mechanism causes substantial spin backflow, which manifests as rapid undulations in the bias-dependent tunneling spin currents. The implication of these findings on the design of nanoscale spintronic devices with spin-transfer torque tunable magnetization density is discussed. Insights derived from this study are expected to enhance the prospects for developing and integrating artificially assembled van der Waals multilayer heterostructures as the preferred material platform for efficient engineering of spin switches for spintronic applications.

Distinct Element Method modelling of fold-related fractures in a multilayer sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaserer, Klemens; Schöpfer, Martin P. J.; Grasemann, Bernhard

2017-04-01

Natural fractures have a significant impact on the performance of hydrocarbon systems/reservoirs. In a multilayer sequence, both the fracture density within the individual layers and the type of fracture intersection with bedding contacts are key parameters controlling fluid pathways. In the present study the influence of layer stacking and interlayer friction on fracture density and connectivity within a folded sequence is systematically investigated using 2D Distinct Element Method modelling. Our numerical approach permits forward modelling of both fracture nucleation/propagation/arrest and (contemporaneous) frictional slip along bedding planes in a robust and mechanically sound manner. Folding of the multilayer sequence is achieved by enforcing constant curvature folding by means of a velocity boundary condition at the model base, while a constant overburden pressure is maintained at the model top. The modelling reveals that with high bedding plane friction the multilayer stack behaves mechanically as a single layer so that the neutral surface develops in centre of the sequence and fracture spacing is controlled by the total thickness of the folded sequence. In contrast, low bedding plane friction leads to decoupling of the individual layers (flexural slip folding) so that a neutral surface develops in the centre of each layer and fracture spacing is controlled by the thickness of the individual layers. The low interfacial friction models illustrate that stepping of fractures across bedding planes is a common process, which can however have two contrasting origins: The mechanical properties of the interface cause fracture stepping during fracture propagation. Originally through-going fractures are later offset by interfacial slip during folding. A combination of these two different origins may lead to (apparently) inconsistent fracture offsets across bedding planes within a flexural slip fold.

A computational study of bulk porous two-dimensional polymers related to graphyne.

PubMed

Sánchez-González, A; Dobado, J A; Torneiro, M

2016-08-03

Over the last twelve years there has been an explosion in the area of reticular chemistry with several classes of carbonaceous or carbon-rich reticular compounds coming into the scene and/or suffering an exponential growth in the number of related studies. Examples are MOFs, COFs, graphene and 2D polymers. π-Conjugated reticular compounds in particular are of great interest due to their optoelectronic properties. In this study we use density functional theory methods with periodic boundary conditions to investigate the stacking arrangements of bulk 2D polymer multilayer porous graphyne A, the related carbon allotrope multilayer graphyne B, and the analog bulk 2D polymer C in which the triple bonds of A are substituted by double bonds. The results show that for the three materials the eclipsed stacking arrangements are considerably less stable than staggered and slipped arrangements, with the more stable structures being slipped, staggered and off-centered-staggered arrangements for A, B and C, respectively. To shed light on the π-π interactions responsible for the geometry and relative energies of the different stacking modes we analyze the topology of the electron density using the electron localization function. In addition, simulated patterns for powder X-ray diffraction have been obtained from the optimized systems, which can be used for identification of the bulk 2D reticular compounds in future syntheses.

Braided and Stacked Electrospun Nanofibrous Scaffolds for Tendon and Ligament Tissue Engineering

PubMed Central

Rothrauff, Benjamin B.; Lauro, Brian B.; Yang, Guang; Debski, Richard E.; Musahl, Volker

2017-01-01

Tendon and ligament injuries are a persistent orthopedic challenge given their poor innate healing capacity. Nonwoven electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds composed of polyesters have been used to mimic the mechanics and topographical cues of native tendons and ligaments. However, nonwoven nanofibers have several limitations that prevent broader clinical application, including poor cell infiltration, as well as tensile and suture-retention strengths that are inferior to native tissues. In this study, multilayered scaffolds of aligned electrospun nanofibers of two designs–stacked or braided–were fabricated. Mechanical properties, including structural and mechanical properties and suture-retention strength, were determined using acellular scaffolds. Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were seeded on scaffolds for up to 28 days, and assays for tenogenic differentiation, histology, and biochemical composition were performed. Braided scaffolds exhibited improved tensile and suture-retention strengths, but reduced moduli. Both scaffold designs supported expression of tenogenic markers, although the effect was greater on braided scaffolds. Conversely, cell infiltration was superior in stacked constructs, resulting in enhanced cell number, total collagen content, and total sulfated glycosaminoglycan content. However, when normalized against cell number, both designs modulated extracellular matrix protein deposition to a similar degree. Taken together, this study demonstrates that multilayered scaffolds of aligned electrospun nanofibers supported tenogenic differentiation of seeded MSCs, but the macroarchitecture is an important consideration for applications of tendon and ligament tissue engineering. PMID:28071988

Braided and Stacked Electrospun Nanofibrous Scaffolds for Tendon and Ligament Tissue Engineering.

PubMed

Rothrauff, Benjamin B; Lauro, Brian B; Yang, Guang; Debski, Richard E; Musahl, Volker; Tuan, Rocky S

2017-05-01

Tendon and ligament injuries are a persistent orthopedic challenge given their poor innate healing capacity. Nonwoven electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds composed of polyesters have been used to mimic the mechanics and topographical cues of native tendons and ligaments. However, nonwoven nanofibers have several limitations that prevent broader clinical application, including poor cell infiltration, as well as tensile and suture-retention strengths that are inferior to native tissues. In this study, multilayered scaffolds of aligned electrospun nanofibers of two designs-stacked or braided-were fabricated. Mechanical properties, including structural and mechanical properties and suture-retention strength, were determined using acellular scaffolds. Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were seeded on scaffolds for up to 28 days, and assays for tenogenic differentiation, histology, and biochemical composition were performed. Braided scaffolds exhibited improved tensile and suture-retention strengths, but reduced moduli. Both scaffold designs supported expression of tenogenic markers, although the effect was greater on braided scaffolds. Conversely, cell infiltration was superior in stacked constructs, resulting in enhanced cell number, total collagen content, and total sulfated glycosaminoglycan content. However, when normalized against cell number, both designs modulated extracellular matrix protein deposition to a similar degree. Taken together, this study demonstrates that multilayered scaffolds of aligned electrospun nanofibers supported tenogenic differentiation of seeded MSCs, but the macroarchitecture is an important consideration for applications of tendon and ligament tissue engineering.

Mo/Si multilayers with enhanced TiO II- and RuO II-capping layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yulin, Sergiy; Benoit, Nicolas; Feigl, Torsten; Kaiser, Norbert; Fang, Ming; Chandhok, Manish

2008-03-01

The lifetime of Mo/Si multilayer-coated projection optics is one of the outstanding issues on the road of commercialization of extreme-ultraviolet lithography (EUVL). The application of Mo/Si multilayer optics in EUVL requires both sufficient radiation stability and also the highest possible normal-incidence reflectivity. A serious problem of conventional high-reflective Mo/Si multilayers capped by silicon is the considerable degradation of reflective properties due to carbonization and oxidation of the silicon surface layer under exposure by EUV radiation. In this study, we focus on titanium dioxide (TiO II) and ruthenium dioxide (RuO II) as promising capping layer materials for EUVL multilayer coatings. The multilayer designs as well as the deposition parameters of the Mo/Si systems with different capping layers were optimized in terms of maximum peak reflectivity at the wavelength of 13.5 nm and longterm stability under high-intensive irradiation. Optimized TiO II-capped Mo/Si multilayer mirrors with an initial reflectivity of 67.0% presented a reflectivity drop of 0.6% after an irradiation dose of 760 J/mm2. The reflectivity drop was explained by the partial oxidation of the silicon sub-layer. No reflectivity loss after similar irradiation dose was found for RuO II-capped Mo/Si multilayer mirrors having initial peak reflectivity of 66%. In this paper we present data on improved reflectivity of interface-engineered TiO II- and RuO II-capped Mo/Si multilayer mirrors due to the minimization of both interdiffusion processes inside the multilayer stack and absorption loss in the oxide layer. Reflectivities of 68.5% at the wavelength of 13.4 nm were achieved for both TiO II- and RuO II-capped Mo/Si multilayer mirrors.

Identifying the perfect absorption of metamaterial absorbers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, G.; Schalch, J.; Zhao, X.; Zhang, J.; Averitt, R. D.; Zhang, X.

2018-01-01

We present a detailed analysis of the conditions that result in unity absorption in metamaterial absorbers to guide the design and optimization of this important class of functional electromagnetic composites. Multilayer absorbers consisting of a metamaterial layer, dielectric spacer, and ground plane are specifically considered. Using interference theory, the dielectric spacer thickness and resonant frequency for unity absorption can be numerically determined from the functional dependence of the relative phase shift of the total reflection. Further, using transmission line theory in combination with interference theory we obtain analytical expressions for the unity absorption resonance frequency and corresponding spacer layer thickness in terms of the bare resonant frequency of the metamaterial layer and metallic and dielectric losses within the absorber structure. These simple expressions reveal a redshift of the unity absorption frequency with increasing loss that, in turn, necessitates an increase in the thickness of the dielectric spacer. The results of our analysis are experimentally confirmed by performing reflection-based terahertz time-domain spectroscopy on fabricated absorber structures covering a range of dielectric spacer thicknesses with careful control of the loss accomplished through water absorption in a semiporous polyimide dielectric spacer. Our findings can be widely applied to guide the design and optimization of the metamaterial absorbers and sensors.

First principles investigation of nitrogenated holey graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Cui-Yan; Dong, Hai-Kuan; Shi, Li-Bin

2018-04-01

The zero band gap problem limits the application of graphene in the field of electronic devices. Opening the band gap of graphene has become a research issue. Nitrogenated holey graphene (NHG) has attracted much attention because of its semiconducting properties. However, the stacking orders and defect properties have not been investigated. In this letter, the structural and stacking properties of NHG are first investigated. We obtain the most stable stacking structure. Then, the band structures for bulk and multilayer NHG are studied. Impact of the strain on the band gaps and bond characteristics is discussed. In addition, we investigate formation mechanism of native defects of carbon vacancy (VC), carbon interstitial (Ci), nitrogen vacancy (VN), and nitrogen interstitial (Ni) in bulk NHG. Formation energies and transition levels of these native defects are assessed.

Floquet high Chern insulators in periodically driven chirally stacked multilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Si; Liu, Cheng-Cheng; Yao, Yugui

2018-03-01

Chirally stacked N-layer graphene is a semimetal with ±p N band-touching at two nonequivalent corners in its Brillioun zone. We predict that an off-resonant circularly polarized light (CPL) drives chirally stacked N-layer graphene into a Floquet Chern insulators (FCIs), aka quantum anomalous Hall insulators, with tunable high Chern number C F = ±N and large gaps. A topological phase transition between such a FCI and a valley Hall (VH) insulator with high valley Chern number C v = ±N induced by a voltage gate can be engineered by the parameters of the CPL and voltage gate. We propose a topological domain wall between the FCI and VH phases, along which perfectly valley-polarized N-channel edge states propagate unidirectionally without backscattering.

Terahertz Artificial Dielectric Lens.

PubMed

Mendis, Rajind; Nagai, Masaya; Wang, Yiqiu; Karl, Nicholas; Mittleman, Daniel M

2016-03-14

We have designed, fabricated, and experimentally characterized a lens for the THz regime based on artificial dielectrics. These are man-made media that mimic properties of naturally occurring dielectric media, or even manifest properties that cannot generally occur in nature. For example, the well-known dielectric property, the refractive index, which usually has a value greater than unity, can have a value less than unity in an artificial dielectric. For our lens, the artificial-dielectric medium is made up of a parallel stack of 100 μm thick metal plates that form an array of parallel-plate waveguides. The convergent lens has a plano-concave geometry, in contrast to conventional dielectric lenses. Our results demonstrate that this lens is capable of focusing a 2 cm diameter beam to a spot size of 4 mm, at the design frequency of 0.17 THz. The results further demonstrate that the overall power transmission of the lens can be better than certain conventional dielectric lenses commonly used in the THz regime. Intriguingly, we also observe that under certain conditions, the lens boundary demarcated by the discontinuous plate edges actually resembles a smooth continuous surface. These results highlight the importance of this artificial-dielectric technology for the development of future THz-wave devices.

Terahertz Artificial Dielectric Lens

PubMed Central

Mendis, Rajind; Nagai, Masaya; Wang, Yiqiu; Karl, Nicholas; Mittleman, Daniel M.

2016-01-01

We have designed, fabricated, and experimentally characterized a lens for the THz regime based on artificial dielectrics. These are man-made media that mimic properties of naturally occurring dielectric media, or even manifest properties that cannot generally occur in nature. For example, the well-known dielectric property, the refractive index, which usually has a value greater than unity, can have a value less than unity in an artificial dielectric. For our lens, the artificial-dielectric medium is made up of a parallel stack of 100 μm thick metal plates that form an array of parallel-plate waveguides. The convergent lens has a plano-concave geometry, in contrast to conventional dielectric lenses. Our results demonstrate that this lens is capable of focusing a 2 cm diameter beam to a spot size of 4 mm, at the design frequency of 0.17 THz. The results further demonstrate that the overall power transmission of the lens can be better than certain conventional dielectric lenses commonly used in the THz regime. Intriguingly, we also observe that under certain conditions, the lens boundary demarcated by the discontinuous plate edges actually resembles a smooth continuous surface. These results highlight the importance of this artificial-dielectric technology for the development of future THz-wave devices. PMID:26973294

Nondestructive defect detection in laser optical coatings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marrs, C. D.; Porteus, J. O.; Palmer, J. R.

1985-03-01

Defects responsible for laser damage in visible-wavelength mirrors are observed at nondamaging intensities using a new video microscope system. Studies suggest that a defect scattering phenomenon combined with lag characteristics of video cameras makes this possible. Properties of the video-imaged light are described for multilayer dielectric coatings and diamond-turned metals.

Comparison of Multilayer Dielectric Thin Films for Future Metal-Insulator-Metal Capacitors: Al2O3/HfO2/Al2O3 versus SiO2/HfO2/SiO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Sang-Uk; Kwon, Hyuk-Min; Han, In-Shik; Jung, Yi-Jung; Kwak, Ho-Young; Choi, Woon-Il; Ha, Man-Lyun; Lee, Ju-Il; Kang, Chang-Yong; Lee, Byoung-Hun; Jammy, Raj; Lee, Hi-Deok

2011-10-01

In this paper, two kinds of multilayered metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors using Al2O3/HfO2/Al2O3 (AHA) and SiO2/HfO2/SiO2 (SHS) were fabricated and characterized for radio frequency (RF) and analog mixed signal (AMS) applications. The experimental results indicate that the AHA MIM capacitor (8.0 fF/µm2) is able to provide a higher capacitance density than the SHS MIM capacitor (5.1 fF/µm2), while maintaining a low leakage current of about 50 nA/cm2 at 1 V. The quadratic voltage coefficient of capacitance, α gradually decreases as a function of stress time under constant voltage stress (CVS). The parameter variation of SHS MIM capacitors is smaller than that of AHA MIM capacitors. The effects of CVS on voltage linearity and time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) characteristics were also investigated.

Active voltage contrast imaging of cross-sectional surface of multilayer ceramic capacitor using helium ion microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakai, C.; Ishida, N.; Masuda, H.; Nagano, S.; Kitahara, M.; Ogata, Y.; Fujita, D.

2016-08-01

We studied active voltage contrast (AVC) imaging using helium ion microscopy (HIM). We observed secondary electron (SE) images of the cross-sectional surface of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with and without a voltage applied to the internal electrodes. When no voltage was applied, we obtained an image reflecting the material contrast between the Ni internal electrode region and the BaTiO3 dielectric region of the cross-sectional surface of the MLCC. When a voltage was applied, the electrical potential difference between the grounded and the positively biased internal electrodes affected the contrast (voltage contrast). Moreover, attenuation of the SE intensity from the grounded to the positively biased internal electrodes was observed in the dielectric region. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements of the contact potential difference (CPD) were performed on the same sample. By using the AVC image from the HIM observation and the CPD image from the KPFM measurement, we could quantitatively evaluate the electrical potential. We think that the results of this study will lead to an expansion in the number of applications of HIM.

Estimation of Complex Permittivity of Composite Multilayer Material at Microwave Frequency Using Waveguide Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deshpande, Manohar D.; Dudley, Kenneth

2003-01-01

A simple method is presented to estimate the complex dielectric constants of individual layers of a multilayer composite material. Using the MatLab Optimization Tools simple MatLab scripts are written to search for electric properties of individual layers so as to match the measured and calculated S-parameters. A single layer composite material formed by using materials such as Bakelite, Nomex Felt, Fiber Glass, Woven Composite B and G, Nano Material #0, Cork, Garlock, of different thicknesses are tested using the present approach. Assuming the thicknesses of samples unknown, the present approach is shown to work well in estimating the dielectric constants and the thicknesses. A number of two layer composite materials formed by various combinations of above individual materials are tested using the present approach. However, the present approach could not provide estimate values close to their true values when the thicknesses of individual layers were assumed to be unknown. This is attributed to the difficulty in modelling the presence of airgaps between the layers while doing the measurement of S-parameters. A few examples of three layer composites are also presented.

Temperature-Dependent Energy Gap Shift and Thermally Activated Transition in Multilayer CdTe/ZnTe Quantum Dots.

PubMed

Man, Minh Tan; Lee, Hong Seok

2015-10-01

We investigated the influence of growth conditions on carrier dynamics in multilayer CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots (QDs) by monitoring the temperature dependence of the photoluminescence emission energy. The results were analyzed using the empirical Varshni and O'Donnell relations for temperature variation of the energy gap shift. Best fit values showed that the thermally activated transition between two different states occurs due to band low-temperature quenching with values separated by 5.0-6.5 meV. The addition of stack periods in multilayer CdTe/ZnTe QDs plays an important role in the energy gap shift, where the exciton binding energy is enhanced, and, conversely, the exciton-phonon coupling strength is suppressed with an average energy of 19.3-19.8 meV.

Effect of neodymium substitution on the electric and dielectric properties of Mn-Ni-Zn ferrite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agami, W. R.

2018-04-01

Ferrite samples of Mn0.5Ni0.1Zn0.4NdxFe2-xO4 (x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.075 and 0.1) have been prepared by usual ceramic method. The temperature and composition dependences of the dc electric resistivity (ρdc) were studied. The frequency and composition dependences of the ac electric resistivity (ρac) and dielectric parameters (dielectric constant ε' and dielectric loss ε'') have been investigated. ρdc was found to decrease with temperature for all samples while it increases with increasing Nd3+ concentration. On the other hand, ρac and the dielectric properties were found to decrease with increasing the frequency while ρac increases and both ε' and ε'' decrease with increasing Nd3+ concentration. These results were explained by the Maxwell-Wagner two-layer model and Koops's theory. The improvement in dc and ac electric resistivities shows that these prepared materials are valid for decreasing the eddy current losses at high frequencies, so they can be used in the fabrication of multilayer chip inductor (MLCI) devices.

Nonlinear multilayers as optical limiters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner-Valle, Jennifer Anne

1998-10-01

In this work we present a non-iterative technique for computing the steady-state optical properties of nonlinear multilayers and we examine nonlinear multilayer designs for optical limiters. Optical limiters are filters with intensity-dependent transmission designed to curtail the transmission of incident light above a threshold irradiance value in order to protect optical sensors from damage due to intense light. Thin film multilayers composed of nonlinear materials exhibiting an intensity-dependent refractive index are used as the basis for optical limiter designs in order to enhance the nonlinear filter response by magnifying the electric field in the nonlinear materials through interference effects. The nonlinear multilayer designs considered in this work are based on linear optical interference filter designs which are selected for their spectral properties and electric field distributions. Quarter wave stacks and cavity filters are examined for their suitability as sensor protectors and their manufacturability. The underlying non-iterative technique used to calculate the optical response of these filters derives from recognizing that the multi-valued calculation of output irradiance as a function of incident irradiance may be turned into a single-valued calculation of incident irradiance as a function of output irradiance. Finally, the benefits and drawbacks of using nonlinear multilayer for optical limiting are examined and future research directions are proposed.

Microwave absorption properties of carbon nanocoils coated with highly controlled magnetic materials by atomic layer deposition.

PubMed

Wang, Guizhen; Gao, Zhe; Tang, Shiwei; Chen, Chaoqiu; Duan, Feifei; Zhao, Shichao; Lin, Shiwei; Feng, Yuhong; Zhou, Lei; Qin, Yong

2012-12-21

In this work, atomic layer deposition is applied to coat carbon nanocoils with magnetic Fe(3)O(4) or Ni. The coatings have a uniform and highly controlled thickness. The coated nanocoils with coaxial multilayer nanostructures exhibit remarkably improved microwave absorption properties compared to the pristine carbon nanocoils. The enhanced absorption ability arises from the efficient complementarity between complex permittivity and permeability, chiral morphology, and multilayer structure of the products. This method can be extended to exploit other composite materials benefiting from its convenient control of the impedance matching and combination of dielectric-magnetic multiple loss mechanisms for microwave absorption applications.

Comparative Study of HfTa-based gate-dielectric Ge metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors with and without AlON interlayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, J. P.; Zhang, X. F.; Li, C. X.; Chan, C. L.; Lai, P. T.

2010-04-01

The electrical properties and high-field reliability of HfTa-based gate-dielectric metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices with and without AlON interlayer on Ge substrate are investigated. Experimental results show that the MOS capacitor with HfTaON/AlON stack gate dielectric exhibits low interface-state/oxide-charge densities, low gate leakage, small capacitance equivalent thickness (˜1.1 nm), and high dielectric constant (˜20). All of these should be attributed to the blocking role of the ultrathin AlON interlayer against interdiffusions of Ge, Hf, and Ta and penetration of O into the Ge substrate, with the latter effectively suppressing the unintentional formation of unstable poor-quality low- k GeO x and giving a superior AlON/Ge interface. Moreover, incorporation of N into both the interlayer and high- k dielectric further improves the device reliability under high-field stress through the formation of strong N-related bonds.

Film bonded fuel cell interface configuration

DOEpatents

Kaufman, Arthur; Terry, Peter L.

1985-01-01

An improved interface configuration for use between adjacent elements of a fuel cell stack. The interface is impervious to gas and liquid and provides resistance to corrosion by the electrolyte of the fuel cell. A multi-layer arrangement for the interface provides bridging electrical contact with a hot-pressed resin filling the void space.

Process for making film-bonded fuel cell interfaces

DOEpatents

Kaufman, Arthur; Terry, Peter L.

1990-07-03

An improved interface configuration for use between adjacent elements of a fuel cell stack. The interface is impervious to gas and liquid and provides resistance to corrosion by the electrolyte of the fuel cell. A multi-layer arrangement for the interface provides bridging electrical contact with a hot-pressed resin filling the void space.

A mixed solution-processed gate dielectric for zinc-tin oxide thin-film transistor and its MIS capacitance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hunho; Kwack, Young-Jin; Yun, Eui-Jung; Choi, Woon-Seop

2016-09-01

Solution-processed gate dielectrics were fabricated with the combined ZrO2 and Al2O3 (ZAO) in the form of mixed and stacked types for oxide thin film transistors (TFTs). ZAO thin films prepared with double coatings for solid gate dielectrics were characterized by analytical tools. For the first time, the capacitance of the oxide semiconductor was extracted from the capacitance-voltage properties of the zinc-tin oxide (ZTO) TFTs with the combined ZAO dielectrics by using the proposed metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structure model. The capacitance evolution of the semiconductor from the TFT model structure described well the threshold voltage shift observed in the ZTO TFT with the ZAO (1:2) gate dielectric. The electrical properties of the ZTO TFT with a ZAO (1:2) gate dielectric showed low voltage driving with a field effect mobility of 37.01 cm2/Vs, a threshold voltage of 2.00 V, an on-to-off current ratio of 1.46 × 105, and a subthreshold slope of 0.10 V/dec.

A mixed solution-processed gate dielectric for zinc-tin oxide thin-film transistor and its MIS capacitance

PubMed Central

Kim, Hunho; Kwack, Young-Jin; Yun, Eui-Jung; Choi, Woon-Seop

2016-01-01

Solution-processed gate dielectrics were fabricated with the combined ZrO2 and Al2O3 (ZAO) in the form of mixed and stacked types for oxide thin film transistors (TFTs). ZAO thin films prepared with double coatings for solid gate dielectrics were characterized by analytical tools. For the first time, the capacitance of the oxide semiconductor was extracted from the capacitance-voltage properties of the zinc-tin oxide (ZTO) TFTs with the combined ZAO dielectrics by using the proposed metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structure model. The capacitance evolution of the semiconductor from the TFT model structure described well the threshold voltage shift observed in the ZTO TFT with the ZAO (1:2) gate dielectric. The electrical properties of the ZTO TFT with a ZAO (1:2) gate dielectric showed low voltage driving with a field effect mobility of 37.01 cm2/Vs, a threshold voltage of 2.00 V, an on-to-off current ratio of 1.46 × 105, and a subthreshold slope of 0.10 V/dec. PMID:27641430

Thermal conductivity and thermal boundary resistance of atomic layer deposited high-k dielectric aluminum oxide, hafnium oxide, and titanium oxide thin films on silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, Ethan A.; Gaskins, John T.; King, Sean W.; Hopkins, Patrick E.

2018-05-01

The need for increased control of layer thickness and uniformity as device dimensions shrink has spurred increased use of atomic layer deposition (ALD) for thin film growth. The ability to deposit high dielectric constant (high-k) films via ALD has allowed for their widespread use in a swath of optical, optoelectronic, and electronic devices, including integration into CMOS compatible platforms. As the thickness of these dielectric layers is reduced, the interfacial thermal resistance can dictate the overall thermal resistance of the material stack compared to the resistance due to the finite dielectric layer thickness. Time domain thermoreflectance is used to interrogate both the thermal conductivity and the thermal boundary resistance of aluminum oxide, hafnium oxide, and titanium oxide films on silicon. We calculate a representative design map of effective thermal resistances, including those of the dielectric layers and boundary resistances, as a function of dielectric layer thickness, which will be of great importance in predicting the thermal resistances of current and future devices.

Supramolecular self-assembly of graphene oxide and metal nanoparticles into stacked multilayers by means of a multitasking protein ring.

PubMed

Ardini, Matteo; Golia, Giordana; Passaretti, Paolo; Cimini, Annamaria; Pitari, Giuseppina; Giansanti, Francesco; Di Leandro, Luana; Ottaviano, Luca; Perrozzi, Francesco; Santucci, Sandro; Morandi, Vittorio; Ortolani, Luca; Christian, Meganne; Treossi, Emanuele; Palermo, Vincenzo; Angelucci, Francesco; Ippoliti, Rodolfo

2016-03-28

Graphene oxide (GO) is rapidly emerging worldwide as a breakthrough precursor material for next-generation devices. However, this requires the transition of its two-dimensional layered structure into more accessible three-dimensional (3D) arrays. Peroxiredoxins (Prx) are a family of multitasking redox enzymes, self-assembling into ring-like architectures. Taking advantage of both their symmetric structure and function, 3D reduced GO-based composites are hereby built up. Results reveal that the "double-faced" Prx rings can adhere flat on single GO layers and partially reduce them by their sulfur-containing amino acids, driving their stacking into 3D multi-layer reduced GO-Prx composites. This process occurs in aqueous solution at a very low GO concentration, i.e. 0.2 mg ml(-1). Further, protein engineering allows the Prx ring to be enriched with metal binding sites inside its lumen. This feature is exploited to both capture presynthesized gold nanoparticles and grow in situ palladium nanoparticles paving the way to straightforward and "green" routes to 3D reduced GO-metal composite materials.

Multi-layer electrode with nano-Li4Ti5O12 aggregates sandwiched between carbon nanotube and graphene networks for high power Li-ion batteries.

PubMed

Choi, Jin-Hoon; Ryu, Won-Hee; Park, Kyusung; Jo, Jeong-Dai; Jo, Sung-Moo; Lim, Dae-Soon; Kim, Il-Doo

2014-12-05

Self-aggregated Li4Ti5O12 particles sandwiched between graphene nanosheets (GNSs) and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) network are reported as new hybrid electrodes for high power Li-ion batteries. The multi-layer electrodes are fabricated by sequential process comprising air-spray coating of GNSs layer and the following electrostatic spray (E-spray) coating of well-dispersed colloidal Li4Ti5O12 nanoparticles, and subsequent air-spray coating of SWCNTs layer once again. In multi-stacked electrodes of GNSs/nanoporous Li4Ti5O12 aggregates/SWCNTs networks, GNSs and SWCNTs serve as conducting bridges, effectively interweaving the nanoporous Li4Ti5O12 aggregates, and help achieve superior rate capability as well as improved mechanical stability of the composite electrode by holding Li4Ti5O12 tightly without a binder. The multi-stacked electrodes deliver a specific capacity that maintains an impressively high capacity of 100 mA h g(-1) at a high rate of 100C even after 1000 cycles.

A study of nitrogen behavior in the formation of Ta/TaN and Ti/TaN alloyed metal electrodes on SiO2 and HfO2 dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gassilloud, R.; Maunoury, C.; Leroux, C.; Piallat, F.; Saidi, B.; Martin, F.; Maitrejean, S.

2014-04-01

We studied Ta, TaN, and sub-stoichiometric TaNx electrodes (obtained by nitrogen redistribution in Ta/TaN or Ti/TaN bilayers) deposited on thermal SiO2 and HfO2/IL (0.8 nm SiO2 IL, i.e., interlayer) stacks. Effective work-functions (WF) were extracted on MOS capacitor structures on SiO2 bevelled insulator of 4.2 eV for pure Ta, 4.6 eV for TaN, and 4.3 eV for sub-stoichiometric TaNx. This intermediate WF value is explained by TaN nitrogen redistribution with reactive Ta or Ti elements shifting the gate work-function toward the Si conduction band. The same electrodes deposited on an HfO2/IL dielectric showed different behavior: First, the Ta/HfO2/IL stack shows a +200 meV WF increase (towards the Si valence band) compared to the SiO2 dielectric stack. This increase is explained by the well-known HfO2/IL dipole formation. Second, in contrast to electrodes deposited on SiO2, sub-stoichiometric TaNx/HfO2 is found to have a lower WF (4.3 eV), than pure Ta on HfO2 (4.4 eV). This inversion in work-function behavior measured on SiO2 vs. HfO2 is explained by the nitrogen redistribution in Ta/TaN bilayer together with diffusion of nitrogen through the HfO2 layer, leading to Si-N formation which prevents dipole formation at the HfO2/IL interface.

Aerosol-Jet-Printing silicone layers and electrodes for stacked dielectric elastomer actuators in one processing device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reitelshöfer, Sebastian; Göttler, Michael; Schmidt, Philip; Treffer, Philipp; Landgraf, Maximilian; Franke, Jörg

2016-04-01

In this contribution we present recent findings of our efforts to qualify the so called Aerosol-Jet-Printing process as an additive manufacturing approach for stacked dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA). With the presented system we are able to print the two essential structural elements dielectric layer and electrode in one machine. The system is capable of generating RTV-2 silicone layers made of Wacker Elastosil P 7670. Therefore, two aerosol streams of both precursor components A and B are generated in parallel and mixed in one printing nozzle that is attached to a 4-axis kinematic. At maximum speed the printing of one circular Elastosil layer with a calculated thickness of 10 μm and a diameter of 1 cm takes 12 seconds while the process keeps stable for 4.5 hours allowing a quite high overall material output and the generation of numerous silicone layers. By adding a second printing nozzle and the infrastructure to generate a third aerosol, the system is also capable of printing inks with conductive particles in parallel to the silicone. We have printed a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) ink prepared in our lab to generate electrodes on VHB 4905, Elastosil foils and finally on Aerosol-Jet-Printed Elastosil layers. With rGO ink printed on Elastosil foil, layers with a 4-point measured sheet resistance as low as 4 kΩ can be realized leaving room for improving the electrode printing time, which at the moment is not as good as the quite good time-frame for printing the silicone layers. Up to now we have used the system to print a fully functional two-layer stacked DEA to demonstrate the principle of continuously 3D printing actuators.

Heterogeneously integrated microsystem-on-a-chip

DOEpatents

Chanchani, Rajen [Albuquerque, NM

2008-02-26

A microsystem-on-a-chip comprises a bottom wafer of normal thickness and a series of thinned wafers can be stacked on the bottom wafer, glued and electrically interconnected. The interconnection layer comprises a compliant dielectric material, an interconnect structure, and can include embedded passives. The stacked wafer technology provides a heterogeneously integrated, ultra-miniaturized, higher performing, robust and cost-effective microsystem package. The highly integrated microsystem package, comprising electronics, sensors, optics, and MEMS, can be miniaturized both in volume and footprint to the size of a bottle-cap or less.

Wafer-scale aluminum nano-plasmonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

George, Matthew C.; Nielson, Stew; Petrova, Rumyana; Frasier, James; Gardner, Eric

2014-09-01

The design, characterization, and optical modeling of aluminum nano-hole arrays are discussed for potential applications in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensing, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and surface-enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy (SEFS). In addition, recently-commercialized work on narrow-band, cloaked wire grid polarizers composed of nano-stacked metal and dielectric layers patterned over 200 mm diameter wafers for projection display applications is reviewed. The stacked sub-wavelength nanowire grid results in a narrow-band reduction in reflectance by 1-2 orders of magnitude, which can be tuned throughout the visible spectrum for stray light control.

Demonstration of an X-Band Multilayer Yagi-Like Microstrip Patch Antenna With High Directivity and Large Bandwidth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nessel, James A.; Zaman, Afroz; Lee, Richard Q.; Lambert, Kevin

2005-01-01

The feasibility of obtaining large bandwidth and high directivity from a multilayer Yagi-like microstrip patch antenna at 10 GHz is investigated. A measured 10-dB bandwidth of approximately 20 percent and directivity of approximately 11 dBi is demonstrated through the implementation of a vertically-stacked structure with three parasitic directors, above the driven patch, and a single reflector underneath the driven patch. Simulated and measured results are compared and show fairly close agreement. This antenna offers the advantages of large bandwidth, high directivity, and symmetrical broadside patterns, and could be applicable to satellite as well as terrestrial communications.

Superconducting properties of multilayered Ag/Bi(Pb)-2223 tapes prepared using pretextured monolayered tapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syamaprasad, U.; Sarma, M. S.; Guruswamy, P.; Pillai, S. G. K.; Warrier, K. G. K.; Damodaran, A. D.

1997-02-01

Multilayered Ag/Bi(Pb)-2223 tapes with high critical current densities 0953-2048/10/2/005/img1 have been fabricated using partially heat treated, textured monolayered tapes. Cut sections of the monolayered tapes have been stacked one over the other and folded together using high-purity silver foil and further rolled and heat treated to obtain multilayered tapes of different thickness with an HTS layer thickness varying from 9 to 0953-2048/10/2/005/img2. A comparison of the superconducting properties of the multilayered tapes with those of monolayered tapes prepared under identical heat treatment conditions shows that the 0953-2048/10/2/005/img3 ratio at 77 K is as high as 0.57. The ratio is found to decrease with a decrease in the HTS core thickness of the multilayered tapes. XRD studies of `banana peeled' samples show that the monolayered tapes at the folding stage acquire a good degree of texturing. The relatively high value of the 0953-2048/10/2/005/img3 ratio obtained in the present case compared with those reported by the existing techniques is attributed to the use of pretextured monolayered tapes.

Thin Film Multilayer Conductor/Ferroelectric Tunable Microwave Components for Communication Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miranda, Felix A.; Romanofsky, Robert R.; VanKeuls, Frederick W.; Mueller, Carl H.; Treece, Randolph E.; Rivkin, Tania V.

1997-01-01

High Temperature Superconductor/Ferroelectric (HTS/FE ) thin film multilayered structures deposited onto dielectric substrates are currently being investigated for use in low loss, tunable microwave components for satellite and ground based communications. The main goal for this technology is to achieve maximum tunability while keeping the microwave losses as low as possible, so as to avoid performance degradation when replacing conventional technology (e.g., filters and oscillators) with HTS/FE components. Therefore, for HTS/FE components to be successfully integrated into current working systems, full optimization of the material and electrical properties of the ferroelectric films, without degrading those of the HTS film; is required. Hence, aspects such as the appropriate type of ferroelectric and optimization of the deposition conditions (e.g., deposition temperature) should be carefully considered. The tunability range as well as the microwave losses of the desired varactor (i.e., tunable component) are also dependent on the geometry chosen (e.g., parallel plate capacitor, interdigital capacitor, coplanar waveguide, etc.). In addition, the performance of the circuit is dependent on the location of the varactor in the circuit and the biasing circuitry. In this paper, we will present our results on the study of the SrTiO3/YBa2Cu3O(7-delta)/LaAl03 (STO/YBCO/LAO) and the Ba(x)Sr(1-x)TiO3/YBa2Cu3O(7-delta)/LaAl03(BSTO/YBCO/ILAO) HTS/FE multilayered structures. We have observed that the amount of variation of the dielectric constant upon the application of a dc electric field is closely related to the microstructure of the film. The largest tuning of the STO/YBCO/LAO structure corresponded to single-phased, epitaxial STO films deposited at 800 C and with a thickness of 500 nm. Higher temperatures resulted in interfacial degradation and poor film quality, while lower deposition temperatures resulted in films with lower dielectric constants, lower tunabilities, and higher losses. For STO/LAO multilayer structures having STO film of similar quality we have observed that interdigital capacitor configurations allow for higher tunabilities and lower losses than parallel plate configurations, but required higher dc voltage. Results on the use of these geometries in working microwave components such as filters and stabilizing resonators for local oscillators (LO) will be discussed.

Processes for multi-layer devices utilizing layer transfer

DOEpatents

Nielson, Gregory N; Sanchez, Carlos Anthony; Tauke-Pedretti, Anna; Kim, Bongsang; Cederberg, Jeffrey; Okandan, Murat; Cruz-Campa, Jose Luis; Resnick, Paul J

2015-02-03

A method includes forming a release layer over a donor substrate. A plurality of devices made of a first semiconductor material are formed over the release layer. A first dielectric layer is formed over the plurality of devices such that all exposed surfaces of the plurality of devices are covered by the first dielectric layer. The plurality of devices are chemically attached to a receiving device made of a second semiconductor material different than the first semiconductor material, the receiving device having a receiving substrate attached to a surface of the receiving device opposite the plurality of devices. The release layer is etched to release the donor substrate from the plurality of devices. A second dielectric layer is applied over the plurality of devices and the receiving device to mechanically attach the plurality of devices to the receiving device.

Evidence of interfacial charge trapping mechanism in polyaniline/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites

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

Islam, Rakibul; Brun, Jean-François; Roussel, Frederick, E-mail: frederick.roussel@univ-lille1.fr

Relaxation mechanisms in polyaniline (PANI)/Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO) nanocomposites are investigated using broad band dielectric spectroscopy. The multilayered nanostructural features of the composites and the intimate interactions between PANI and RGO are evidenced by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Increasing the RGO fraction in the composites results in a relaxation process observed at a frequency of ca. 5 kHz. This mechanism is associated with an electrical charge trapping phenomenon occurring at the PANI/RGO interfaces. The dielectric relaxation processes are interpreted according to the Sillars approach and the results are consistent with the presence ofmore » conducting prolate spheroids (RGO) embedded into a polymeric matrix (PANI). Dielectric permittivity data are analyzed within the framework of the Kohlrausch-William-Watts model, evidencing a Debye-like relaxation process.« less

Titanium-tungsten nanocrystals embedded in a SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3) gate dielectric stack for low-voltage operation in non-volatile memory.

PubMed

Yang, Shiqian; Wang, Qin; Zhang, Manhong; Long, Shibing; Liu, Jing; Liu, Ming

2010-06-18

Titanium-tungsten nanocrystals (NCs) were fabricated by a self-assembly rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process. Well isolated Ti(0.46)W(0.54) NCs were embedded in the gate dielectric stack of SiO(2)/Al(2)O(3). A metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor was fabricated to investigate its application in a non-volatile memory (NVM) device. It demonstrated a large memory window of 6.2 V in terms of flat-band voltage (V(FB)) shift under a dual-directional sweeping gate voltage of - 10 to 10 V. A 1.1 V V(FB) shift under a low dual-directional sweeping gate voltage of - 4 to 4 V was also observed. The retention characteristic of this MOS capacitor was demonstrated by a 0.5 V memory window after 10(4) s of elapsed time at room temperature. The endurance characteristic was demonstrated by a program/erase cycling test.

High-performance III-V MOSFET with nano-stacked high-k gate dielectric and 3D fin-shaped structure.

PubMed

Chen, Szu-Hung; Liao, Wen-Shiang; Yang, Hsin-Chia; Wang, Shea-Jue; Liaw, Yue-Gie; Wang, Hao; Gu, Haoshuang; Wang, Mu-Chun

2012-08-01

A three-dimensional (3D) fin-shaped field-effect transistor structure based on III-V metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) fabrication has been demonstrated using a submicron GaAs fin as the high-mobility channel. The fin-shaped channel has a thickness-to-width ratio (TFin/WFin) equal to 1. The nano-stacked high-k Al2O3 dielectric was adopted as a gate insulator in forming a metal-oxide-semiconductor structure to suppress gate leakage. The 3D III-V MOSFET exhibits outstanding gate controllability and shows a high Ion/Ioff ratio > 105 and a low subthreshold swing of 80 mV/decade. Compared to a conventional Schottky gate metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor or planar III-V MOSFETs, the III-V MOSFET in this work exhibits a significant performance improvement and is promising for future development of high-performance n-channel devices based on III-V materials.

High-performance III-V MOSFET with nano-stacked high-k gate dielectric and 3D fin-shaped structure

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

A three-dimensional (3D) fin-shaped field-effect transistor structure based on III-V metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) fabrication has been demonstrated using a submicron GaAs fin as the high-mobility channel. The fin-shaped channel has a thickness-to-width ratio (TFin/WFin) equal to 1. The nano-stacked high-k Al2O3 dielectric was adopted as a gate insulator in forming a metal-oxide-semiconductor structure to suppress gate leakage. The 3D III-V MOSFET exhibits outstanding gate controllability and shows a high Ion/Ioff ratio > 105 and a low subthreshold swing of 80 mV/decade. Compared to a conventional Schottky gate metal–semiconductor field-effect transistor or planar III-V MOSFETs, the III-V MOSFET in this work exhibits a significant performance improvement and is promising for future development of high-performance n-channel devices based on III-V materials. PMID:22853458

First-principles study on leakage current caused by oxygen vacancies at HfO2/SiO2/Si interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takagi, Kensuke; Ono, Tomoya

2018-06-01

The relationship between the position of oxygen vacancies in HfO2/SiO2/Si gate stacks and the leakage current is studied by first-principles electronic-structure and electron-conduction calculations. We find that the increase in the leakage current due to the creation of oxygen vacancies in the HfO2 layer is much larger than that in the SiO2 interlayer. According to previous first-principles total energy calculations, the formation energy of oxygen vacancies is smaller in the SiO2 interlayer than that in the HfO2 layer under the same conditions. Therefore, oxygen vacancies will be attracted from the SiO2 interlayer to minimize the energy, thermodynamically justifying the scavenging technique. Thus, the scavenging process efficiently improves the dielectric constant of HfO2-based gate stacks without increasing the number of oxygen vacancies, which cause the dielectric breakdown.

Dielectric Actuation of Polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Xiaofan

Dielectric polymers are widely used in a plurality of applications, such as electrical insulation, dielectric capacitors, and electromechanical actuators. Dielectric polymers with large strain deformations under an electric field are named dielectric elastomers (DE), because of their relative low modulus, high elongation at break, and outstanding resilience. Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) are superior to traditional transducers as a muscle-like technology: large strains, high energy densities, high coupling efficiency, quiet operation, and light weight. One focus of this dissertation is on the design of DE materials with high performance and easy processing. UV radiation curing of reactive species is studied as a generic synthesis methodology to provide a platform for material scientists to customize their own DE materials. Oligomers/monomers, crosslinkers, and other additives are mixed and cured at appropriate ratios to control the stress-strain response, suppress electromechanical instability of the resulting polymers, and provide stable actuation strains larger than 100% and energy densities higher than 1 J/g. The processing is largely simplified in the new material system by removal of the prestretching step. Multilayer stack actuators with 11% linear strain are demonstrated in a procedure fully compatible with industrial production. A multifunctional DE derivative material, bistable electroactive polymer (BSEP), is invented enabling repeatable rigid-to-rigid deformation without bulky external structures. Bistable actuation allows the polymer actuator to have two distinct states that can support external load without device failure. Plasticizers are used to lower the glass transition temperature to 45 °C. Interpenetrating polymer network structure is established inside the BSEP to suppress electromechanical instability, providing a breakdown field of 194 MV/m and a stable bistable strain as large as 228% with a 97% strain fixity. The application of BSEP in tactile display is investigated by the prototyping of a large scale refreshable Braille display device. Braille is a critical way for the vision impaired community to learn literacy and improve life quality. Current piezoelectrics-based refreshable Braille display technologies are limited to up to 1 line of Braille text, due to the bulky size of bimorph actuators. Based on the unique actuation feature of BSEP, refreshable Braille display devices up to smartphone-size have been demonstrated by polymer sheet laminates. Dots in the devices can be individually controlled via incorporated field-driven BSEP actuators and Joule heater units. A composite material consisting of silver nanowires (AgNW) embedded in a polymer substrate is brought up as a compliant electrode candidate for BSEP application. The AgNW composite is highly conductive (Rs: 10 Ω/sq) and remains conductive at strains as high as 140% (Rs: <10 3 Ω/sq). The baseline conductivity has only small changes up to 90% strain, which makes it low enough for both field driving and stretchable Joule heating. An out-of-plane bistable area strain up to 68% under Joule heating is achieved.

Phase transformation in SiOx/SiO₂ multilayers for optoelectronics and microelectronics applications.

PubMed

Roussel, M; Talbot, E; Pratibha Nalini, R; Gourbilleau, F; Pareige, P

2013-09-01

Due to the quantum confinement, silicon nanoclusters (Si-ncs) embedded in a dielectric matrix are of prime interest for new optoelectronics and microelectronics applications. In this context, SiO(x)/SiO₂ multilayers have been prepared by magnetron sputtering and subsequently annealed to induce phase separation and Si clusters growth. The aim of this paper is to study phase separation processes and formation of nanoclusters in SiO(x)/SiO₂ multilayers by atom probe tomography. Influences of the silicon supersaturation, annealing temperature and SiO(x) and SiO₂ layer thicknesses on the final microstructure have been investigated. It is shown that supersaturation directly determines phase separation regime between nucleation/classical growth and spinodal decomposition. Annealing temperature controls size of the particles and interface with the surrounding matrix. Layer thicknesses directly control Si-nc shapes from spherical to spinodal-like structures. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of Various Passivation Layers on Electrical Properties of Multilayer MoS₂ Transistors.

PubMed

Ma, Jiyeon; Yoo, Geonwook

2018-09-01

So far many of research on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are based on a bottomgate device structure due to difficulty with depositing a dielectric film on top of TMDs channel layer. In this work, we study different effects of various passivation layers on electrical properties of multilayer MoS2 transistors: spin-coated CYTOP, SU-8, and thermal evaporated MoOX. The SU-8 passivation layer alters device performance least significantly, and MoOX induces positive threshold voltage shift of ~8.0 V due to charge depletion at the interface, and the device with CYTOP layer exhibits decreased field-effect mobility by ~50% due to electric dipole field effect of C-F bonds in the end groups. Our results imply that electrical properties of the multilayer MoS2 transistors can be modulated using a passivation layer, and therefore a proper passivation layer should be considered for MoS2 device structures.

Optimized multilayered wideband absorbers with graded fractal FSS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinoy, K. J.; Jose, K. A.; Varadan, Vijay K.; Varadan, Vasundara V.

2001-08-01

Various approaches have been followed for the reduction of radar cross section (RCS), especially of aircraft and missiles. In this paper we present the use of multiple layers of FSS-like fractal geometries printed on dielectric substrates for the same goal. The experimental results shown here indicate 15 dB reduction in the reflection of a flat surface, by the use of this configuration with low loss dielectrics. An extensive optimization scheme is required for extending the angle coverage as well as the bandwidth of the absorber. A brief investigation of such a scheme involving genetic algorithm for this purpose is also presented here.

Multilayer Anti-Reflective Coating Development for PMMA Fresnel Lenses

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-07

been sputter deposited on UV transparent polymethylmethacrylate (UVT-PMMA) windows. The amorphous coatings are deposited using reactive sputtering in a...SUBJECT TERMS Anti-reflective coatings, Fresnel lens, polymethylmethacrylate , PMMA 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 18...high quality dielectric materials deposited on a variety of substrates including polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)  Highly amorphous films achieved

Tunable UV Filters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bruner, Marilyn E. (Principal Investigator); Rosenberg, William A.

1996-01-01

This report describes an investigation intended to determine the practical short wavelength limit for Fabry-Perot etalons operating in the far ultraviolet. This portion of the investigation includes a design study of multilayer dielectric reflector coatings that would be required by such an etalon. Results of the study indicate that etalons may be made to operate at wavelengths as short as 121 nm.

High-gradient compact linear accelerator

DOEpatents

Carder, B.M.

1998-05-26

A high-gradient linear accelerator comprises a solid-state stack in a vacuum of five sets of disc-shaped Blumlein modules each having a center hole through which particles are sequentially accelerated. Each Blumlein module is a sandwich of two outer conductive plates that bracket an inner conductive plate positioned between two dielectric plates with different thicknesses and dielectric constants. A third dielectric core in the shape of a hollow cylinder forms a casing down the series of center holes, and it has a dielectric constant different that the two dielectric plates that sandwich the inner conductive plate. In operation, all the inner conductive plates are charged to the same DC potential relative to the outer conductive plates. Next, all the inner conductive plates are simultaneously shorted to the outer conductive plates at the outer diameters. The signal short will propagate to the inner diameters at two different rates in each Blumlein module. A faster wave propagates quicker to the third dielectric core across the dielectric plates with the closer spacing and lower dielectric constant. When the faster wave reaches the inner extents of the outer and inner conductive plates, it reflects back outward and reverses the field in that segment of the dielectric core. All the field segments in the dielectric core are then in unipolar agreement until the slower wave finally propagates to the third dielectric core across the dielectric plates with the wider spacing and higher dielectric constant. During such unipolar agreement, particles in the core are accelerated with gradients that exceed twenty megavolts per meter. 10 figs.

High-gradient compact linear accelerator

DOEpatents

Carder, Bruce M.

1998-01-01

A high-gradient linear accelerator comprises a solid-state stack in a vacuum of five sets of disc-shaped Blumlein modules each having a center hole through which particles are sequentially accelerated. Each Blumlein module is a sandwich of two outer conductive plates that bracket an inner conductive plate positioned between two dielectric plates with different thicknesses and dielectric constants. A third dielectric core in the shape of a hollow cylinder forms a casing down the series of center holes, and it has a dielectric constant different that the two dielectric plates that sandwich the inner conductive plate. In operation, all the inner conductive plates are charged to the same DC potential relative to the outer conductive plates. Next, all the inner conductive plates are simultaneously shorted to the outer conductive plates at the outer diameters. The signal short will propagate to the inner diameters at two different rates in each Blumlein module. A faster wave propagates quicker to the third dielectric core across the dielectric plates with the closer spacing and lower dielectric constant. When the faster wave reaches the inner extents of the outer and inner conductive plates, it reflects back outward and reverses the field in that segment of the dielectric core. All the field segments in the dielectric core are then in unipolar agreement until the slower wave finally propagates to the third dielectric core across the dielectric plates with the wider spacing and higher dielectric constant. During such unipolar agreement, particles in the core are accelerated with gradients that exceed twenty megavolts per meter.

Hexagonal boron nitride intercalated multi-layer graphene: a possible ultimate solution to ultra-scaled interconnect technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yong-Jun; Sun, Qing-Qing; Chen, Lin; Zhou, Peng; Wang, Peng-Fei; Ding, Shi-Jin; Zhang, David Wei

2012-03-01

We proposed intercalation of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in multilayer graphene to improve its performance in ultra-scaled interconnects for integrated circuit. The effect of intercalated hBN layer in bilayer graphene is investigated using non-equilibrium Green's functions. We find the hBN intercalated bilayer graphene exhibit enhanced transport properties compared with pristine bilayer ones, and the improvement is attributed to suppression of interlayer scattering and good planar bonding condition of inbetween hBN layer. Based on these results, we proposed a via structure that not only benefits from suppressed interlayer scattering between multilayer graphene, but also sustains the unique electrical properties of graphene when many graphene layers are stacking together. The ideal current density across the structure can be as high as 4.6×109 A/cm2 at 1V, which is very promising for the future high-performance interconnect.

Chromatic control in coextruded layered polymer microlenses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crescimanno, Michael; Oder, Tom N.; Andrews, James H.; Zhou, Chuanhong; Petrus, Joshua B.; Merlo, Cory; Bagheri, Cameron; Hetzel, Connor; Tancabel, James; Singer, Kenneth D.; Baer, Eric

2014-12-01

We describe the formation, characterization and theoretical understanding of microlenses comprised of alternating polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate layers produced by multilayer coextrusion. These lenses are fabricated by photolithography, using a grayscale mask followed by plasma etching, so that the refractive index alternation of the bilayer stack appears across the radius of the microlens. The alternating quarter-wave thick layers form a one-dimensional photonic crystal whose dispersion augments the material dispersion, allowing one to sculpt the chromatic dispersion of the lens by adjusting the layered structure. Using Huygen's principle, we model our experimental measurements of the focal length of these lenses across the reflection band of the multilayer polymer film from which the microlens is fashioned. For a 56 micron diameter multilayered lens of focal length 300 microns, we measured a nearly 25 percent variation in the focal length across a shallow, 50 nm-wide reflection band.

Electronic cooling via interlayer Coulomb coupling in multilayer epitaxial graphene

PubMed Central

Mihnev, Momchil T.; Tolsma, John R.; Divin, Charles J.; Sun, Dong; Asgari, Reza; Polini, Marco; Berger, Claire; de Heer, Walt A.; MacDonald, Allan H.; Norris, Theodore B.

2015-01-01

In van der Waals bonded or rotationally disordered multilayer stacks of two-dimensional (2D) materials, the electronic states remain tightly confined within individual 2D layers. As a result, electron–phonon interactions occur primarily within layers and interlayer electrical conductivities are low. In addition, strong covalent in-plane intralayer bonding combined with weak van der Waals interlayer bonding results in weak phonon-mediated thermal coupling between the layers. We demonstrate here, however, that Coulomb interactions between electrons in different layers of multilayer epitaxial graphene provide an important mechanism for interlayer thermal transport, even though all electronic states are strongly confined within individual 2D layers. This effect is manifested in the relaxation dynamics of hot carriers in ultrafast time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. We develop a theory of interlayer Coulomb coupling containing no free parameters that accounts for the experimentally observed trends in hot-carrier dynamics as temperature and the number of layers is varied. PMID:26399955

500 C Electronic Packaging and Dielectric Materials for High Temperature Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Liang-yu; Neudeck, Philip G.; Spry, David J.; Beheim, Glenn M.; Hunter, Gary W.

2016-01-01

High-temperature environment operable sensors and electronics are required for exploring the inner solar planets and distributed control of next generation aeronautical engines. Various silicon carbide (SiC) high temperature sensors, actuators, and electronics have been demonstrated at and above 500C. A compatible packaging system is essential for long-term testing and application of high temperature electronics and sensors. High temperature passive components are also necessary for high temperature electronic systems. This talk will discuss ceramic packaging systems developed for high temperature electronics, and related testing results of SiC circuits at 500C and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) integrated circuits at temperatures beyond commercial limit facilitated by these high temperature packaging technologies. Dielectric materials for high temperature multilayers capacitors will also be discussed. High-temperature environment operable sensors and electronics are required for probing the inner solar planets and distributed control of next generation aeronautical engines. Various silicon carbide (SiC) high temperature sensors, actuators, and electronics have been demonstrated at and above 500C. A compatible packaging system is essential for long-term testing and eventual applications of high temperature electronics and sensors. High temperature passive components are also necessary for high temperature electronic systems. This talk will discuss ceramic packaging systems developed for high electronics and related testing results of SiC circuits at 500C and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) integrated circuits at temperatures beyond commercial limit facilitated by high temperature packaging technologies. Dielectric materials for high temperature multilayers capacitors will also be discussed.

Refraction effects in soft x-ray multilayer blazed gratings.

PubMed

Voronov, D L; Salmassi, F; Meyer-Ilse, J; Gullikson, E M; Warwick, T; Padmore, H A

2016-05-30

A 2500 lines/mm Multilayer Blazed Grating (MBG) optimized for the soft x-ray wavelength range was fabricated and tested. The grating coated with a W/B₄C multilayer demonstrated a record diffraction efficiency in the 2nd blazed diffraction order in the energy range from 500 to 1200 eV. Detailed investigation of the diffraction properties of the grating demonstrated that the diffraction efficiency of high groove density MBGs is not limited by the normal shadowing effects that limits grazing incidence x-ray grating performance. Refraction effects inherent in asymmetrical Bragg diffraction were experimentally confirmed for MBGs. The refraction affects the blazing properties of the MBGs and results in a shift of the resonance wavelength of the gratings and broadening or narrowing of the grating bandwidth depending on diffraction geometry. The true blaze angle of the MBGs is defined by both the real structure of the multilayer stack and by asymmetrical refraction effects. Refraction effects can be used as a powerful tool in providing highly efficient suppression of high order harmonics.

Electric Field-Dependent Photoluminescence in Multilayer Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanev, T. K.; Henning, A.; Sangwan, V. K.; Speiser, N.; Stern, N. P.; Lauhon, L. J.; Hersam, M. C.; Wang, K.; Valencia, D.; Charles, J.; Kubis, T. C.

Owing to interlayer coupling, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as MoS2 exhibit strong layer dependence of optical and electronic phenomena such as the band gap and trion and neutral exciton population dynamics. Here, we systematically measure the effect of layer number on the optical response of multilayer MoS2 in an external electric field, observing field and layer number dependent emission energy and photoluminescence intensity. These effects are studied in few (2-6) and bulk (11 +) layered structures at low temperatures. In MoS2\\ the observed layer dependence arises from several mechanisms, including interlayer charge transfer, band structure, Stark Effect, Fermi level changes, screening, and surface effects, so it can be challenging to isolate how these mechanisms impact the observables. Because it behaves like a stack of weakly interacting monolayers rather than multilayer or bulk, ReS2 provides a comparison to traditional TMDCs to help isolate the underlying physical mechanisms dictating the response of multilayers. This work is supported by the National Science Foundation MRSEC program (DMR-1121262), and the 2-DARE Grant (EFRI-1433510). N.P.S. is an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow.

Optical and structural characterization of Ge clusters embedded in ZrO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agocs, E.; Zolnai, Z.; Rossall, A. K.; van den Berg, J. A.; Fodor, B.; Lehninger, D.; Khomenkova, L.; Ponomaryov, S.; Gudymenko, O.; Yukhymchuk, V.; Kalas, B.; Heitmann, J.; Petrik, P.

2017-11-01

The change of optical and structural properties of Ge nanoclusters in ZrO2 matrix have been investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry versus annealing temperatures. Radio-frequency top-down magnetron sputtering approach was used to produce the samples of different types, i.e. single-layers of pure Ge, pure ZrO2 and Ge-rich-ZrO2 as well as multi-layers stacked of 40 periods of 5-nm-Ge-rich-ZrO2 layers alternated by 5-nm-ZrO2 ones. Germanium nanoclusters in ZrO2 host were formed by rapid-thermal annealing at 600-800 °C during 30 s in nitrogen atmosphere. Reference optical properties for pure ZrO2 and pure Ge have been extracted using single-layer samples. As-deposited multi-layer structures can be perfectly modeled using the effective medium theory. However, annealed multi-layers demonstrated a significant diffusion of elements that was confirmed by medium energy ion scattering measurements. This fact prevents fitting of such annealed structure either by homogeneous or by periodic multi-layer models.

In situ catalytic growth of large-area multilayered graphene/MoS2 heterostructures.

PubMed

Fu, Wei; Du, Fei-Hu; Su, Juan; Li, Xin-Hao; Wei, Xiao; Ye, Tian-Nan; Wang, Kai-Xue; Chen, Jie-Sheng

2014-04-14

Stacking various two-dimensional atomic crystals on top of each other is a feasible approach to create unique multilayered heterostructures with desired properties. Herein for the first time, we present a controlled preparation of large-area graphene/MoS2 heterostructures via a simple heating procedure on Mo-oleate complex coated sodium sulfate under N2 atmosphere. Through a direct in situ catalytic reaction, graphene layer has been uniformly grown on the MoS2 film formed by the reaction of Mo species with Species, which is from the carbothermal reduction of sodium sulfate. Due to the excellent graphene "painting" on MoS2 atomic layers, the significantly shortened lithium ion diffusion distance and the markedly enhanced electronic conductivity, these multilayered graphene/MoS2 heterostructures exhibit high specific capacity, unprecedented rate performance and outstanding cycling stability, especially at a high current density, when used as an anode material for lithium batteries. This work provides a simple but efficient route for the controlled fabrication of large-area multilayered graphene/metal sulfide heterostructures with promising applications in battery manufacture, electronics or catalysis.

In situ catalytic growth of large-area multilayered graphene/MoS2 heterostructures

PubMed Central

Fu, Wei; Du, Fei-Hu; Su, Juan; Li, Xin-Hao; Wei, Xiao; Ye, Tian-Nan; Wang, Kai-Xue; Chen, Jie-Sheng

2014-01-01

Stacking various two-dimensional atomic crystals on top of each other is a feasible approach to create unique multilayered heterostructures with desired properties. Herein for the first time, we present a controlled preparation of large-area graphene/MoS2 heterostructures via a simple heating procedure on Mo-oleate complex coated sodium sulfate under N2 atmosphere. Through a direct in situ catalytic reaction, graphene layer has been uniformly grown on the MoS2 film formed by the reaction of Mo species with S pecies, which is from the carbothermal reduction of sodium sulfate. Due to the excellent graphene “painting” on MoS2 atomic layers, the significantly shortened lithium ion diffusion distance and the markedly enhanced electronic conductivity, these multilayered graphene/MoS2 heterostructures exhibit high specific capacity, unprecedented rate performance and outstanding cycling stability, especially at a high current density, when used as an anode material for lithium batteries. This work provides a simple but efficient route for the controlled fabrication of large-area multilayered graphene/metal sulfide heterostructures with promising applications in battery manufacture, electronics or catalysis. PMID:24728289

In situ catalytic growth of large-area multilayered graphene/MoS2 heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Wei; Du, Fei-Hu; Su, Juan; Li, Xin-Hao; Wei, Xiao; Ye, Tian-Nan; Wang, Kai-Xue; Chen, Jie-Sheng

2014-04-01

Stacking various two-dimensional atomic crystals on top of each other is a feasible approach to create unique multilayered heterostructures with desired properties. Herein for the first time, we present a controlled preparation of large-area graphene/MoS2 heterostructures via a simple heating procedure on Mo-oleate complex coated sodium sulfate under N2 atmosphere. Through a direct in situ catalytic reaction, graphene layer has been uniformly grown on the MoS2 film formed by the reaction of Mo species with S pecies, which is from the carbothermal reduction of sodium sulfate. Due to the excellent graphene ``painting'' on MoS2 atomic layers, the significantly shortened lithium ion diffusion distance and the markedly enhanced electronic conductivity, these multilayered graphene/MoS2 heterostructures exhibit high specific capacity, unprecedented rate performance and outstanding cycling stability, especially at a high current density, when used as an anode material for lithium batteries. This work provides a simple but efficient route for the controlled fabrication of large-area multilayered graphene/metal sulfide heterostructures with promising applications in battery manufacture, electronics or catalysis.

Micro/Nano Multilayered Scaffolds of PLGA and Collagen by Alternately Electrospinning for Bone Tissue Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwak, Sanghwa; Haider, Adnan; Gupta, Kailash Chandra; Kim, Sukyoung; Kang, Inn-Kyu

2016-07-01

The dual extrusion electrospinning technique was used to fabricate multilayered 3D scaffolds by stacking microfibrous meshes of poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) in alternate fashion to micro/nano mixed fibrous meshes of PLGA and collagen. To fabricate the multilayered scaffold, 35 wt% solution of PLGA in THF-DMF binary solvent (3:1) and 5 wt% solution of collagen in hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) with and without hydroxyapatite nanorods (nHA) were used. The dual and individual electrospinning of PLGA and collagen were carried out at flow rates of 1.0 and 0.5 mL/h, respectively, at an applied voltage of 20 kV. The density of collagen fibers in multilayered scaffolds has controlled the adhesion, proliferation, and osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells. The homogeneous dispersion of glutamic acid-modified hydroxyapatite nanorods (nHA-GA) in collagen solution has improved the osteogenic properties of fabricated multilayered scaffolds. The fabricated multilayered scaffolds were characterized using FT-IR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to evaluate the adhesion and spreads of MC3T3-E1 cells on multilayered scaffolds. The activity of MC3T3-E1 cells on the multilayered scaffolds was evaluated by applying MTT, alkaline phosphatase, Alizarin Red, von Kossa, and cytoskeleton F-actin assaying protocols. The micro/nano fibrous PLGA-Col-HA scaffolds were found to be highly bioactive in comparison to pristine microfibrous PLGA and micro/nano mixed fibrous PLGA and Col scaffolds.

Localized temperature stability in Low Temperature Cofired Ceramics (LTCC).

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

Dai, Steven Xunhu; Hsieh, Lung-Hwa.

2012-04-01

The base dielectrics of commercial low temperature cofired ceramics (LTCC) systems have a temperature coefficient of resonant frequency ({tau}{sub f}) in the range -50 {approx} -80 ppm/C. In this research we explored a method to realize zero or near zero {tau}{sub f} resonators by incorporating {tau}{sub f} compensating materials locally into a multilayer LTCC structure. To select composition for {tau}{sub f} adjustment, {tau}{sub f} compensating materials with different amount of titanates were formulated, synthesized, and characterized. Chemical interactions and physical compatibility between the {tau}{sub f} modifiers and the host LTCC dielectrics were investigated. Studies on stripline (SL) resonator panels withmore » multiple compensating dielectrics revealed that: 1) compositions using SrTiO{sub 3} provide the largest {tau}{sub f} adjustment among titanates, 2) the {tau}{sub f} compensation is proportional to the amount of SrTiO{sub 3} in compensating materials, as well as the thickness of the compensating layer, and 3) the most effective {tau}{sub f} compensation is achieved when the compensating dielectric is integrated next to the SL. Using the effective dielectric constant of a heterogeneous layered dielectric structure, results from Method of Momentum (MoM) electromagnetic simulations are consistent with the experimental observations.« less

Dielectric properties and microstructures for various MLCCs coated with additives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Min Wook; Yeo, Dong Hun; Shin, Hyo Soon; Jeong, Dae Yong

2013-12-01

As electronic devices become smaller and have higher capacity, dielectric thin films are being used in the development of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs). Smaller BaTiO3 dielectric particles should be used to obtain the thickness of low dielectric layers. Further, MLCC properties are achieved through the uniform addition of various additives, but the existing method of adding nano additives has limitations. As such, this study evaluated the dielectric properties of BaTiO3 pellets after using the liquid coating method to add additives such as Dy, Mg, Mn, Cr, and Si to 150 nm BaTiO3 dielectric powder. Mn, Cr, and Si ions were each fixed at 0.1, 0.1, and 0.65 mol-%. Sintering was performed in a reducing atmosphere, and the microstructure and the dielectric properties were evaluated while varying Dy from 0.5 to 1.0 mol-% and Mg from 1.0 to 2.0 mol-%. Grain growth was observed for higher amounts of Dy, but were suppressed for higher amounts of Mg. With regards to changes in particle size, both the permittivity and the temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC) increased with increasing particle size. The permittivity was highest for Si=0.65, Mn=0.1, Cr=0.1 Dy=0.75, and Mg=2.0 mol-%. These levels also satisfied the TCC properties of X7R. In the microstructure, the core-shell was the most developed.

Sharp focusing of laser light by multilayer cylinders with circular cross-section

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozlova, E. S.

2018-04-01

In this paper, the focusing of laser light at 532 nm by dielectric cylinders with a metal shells is studied by using COMSOL Multiphysics. The analysis of cylinder design which proposed multilayered shell shows that a microcylinder with a gold-silver (or silver-gold) shell can improve the focusing process, especially in the case of TM polarization. The microcylinder with thin internal silver layer of 1 nm and outside gold layer of 9 nm focus TE-polarized light to nanojet with maximal intensity of 5.65 a.u., full width and full length at half maximum of intensity of of 0.39λ and 0.72λ, respectively.

A method for building low loss multi-layer wiring for superconducting microwave devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunsworth, A.; Barends, R.; Chen, Yu; Chen, Zijun; Chiaro, B.; Fowler, A.; Foxen, B.; Jeffrey, E.; Kelly, J.; Klimov, P. V.; Lucero, E.; Mutus, J. Y.; Neeley, M.; Neill, C.; Quintana, C.; Roushan, P.; Sank, D.; Vainsencher, A.; Wenner, J.; White, T. C.; Neven, H.; Martinis, John M.; Megrant, A.

2018-02-01

Complex integrated circuits require multiple wiring layers. In complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor processing, these layers are robustly separated by amorphous dielectrics. These dielectrics would dominate energy loss in superconducting integrated circuits. Here, we describe a procedure that capitalizes on the structural benefits of inter-layer dielectrics during fabrication and mitigates the added loss. We use a deposited inter-layer dielectric throughout fabrication and then etch it away post-fabrication. This technique is compatible with foundry level processing and can be generalized to make many different forms of low-loss wiring. We use this technique to create freestanding aluminum vacuum gap crossovers (airbridges). We characterize the added capacitive loss of these airbridges by connecting ground planes over microwave frequency λ/4 coplanar waveguide resonators and measuring resonator loss. We measure a low power resonator loss of ˜3.9 × 10-8 per bridge, which is 100 times lower than that of dielectric supported bridges. We further characterize these airbridges as crossovers, control line jumpers, and as part of a coupling network in gmon and fluxmon qubits. We measure qubit characteristic lifetimes (T1s) in excess of 30 μs in gmon devices.

Design and analysis of all-dielectric broadband nonpolarizing parallel-plate beam splitters.

PubMed

Wang, Wenliang; Xiong, Shengming; Zhang, Yundong

2007-06-01

Past research on the all-dielectric nonpolarizing beam splitter is reviewed. With the aid of the needle thin-film synthesis method and the conjugate graduate refine method, three different split ratio nonpolarizing parallel-plate beam splitters over a 200 nm spectral range centered at 550 nm with incidence angles of 45 degrees are designed. The chosen materials component and the initial stack are based on the Costich and Thelen theories. The results of design and analysis show that the designs maintain a very low polarization ratio in the working range of the spectrum and has a reasonable angular field.

All-dielectric broadband non-polarizing parallel plate beam splitter operating between 450-650nm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wenliang; Xiong, Shenming; Zhang, Yundong

2007-12-01

Past research on all-dielectric non-polarizing beam splitter is reviewed. With the aid of needle thin film synthesis method and conjugate graduate refining method, three non-polarizing parallel plate beam splitters with different split ratios over a 200nm spectral range centered at 550nm with incidence angle 45° are designed. Selection of material components and initial stack are based on Costich and Thelen's theory. The results of design and analysis show that it maintains a very low polarization ratio in the working range of spectrum and has a reasonable angular field.

A compact 300 kV solid-state high-voltage nanosecond generator for dielectric wall accelerator

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

Shen, Yi; Wang, Wei; Liu, Yi

2015-05-15

Compact solid-state system is the main development trend in pulsed power technologies. A compact solid-state high-voltage nanosecond pulse generator with output voltage of 300 kV amplitude, 10 ns duration (FWHM), and 3 ns rise-time was designed for a dielectric wall accelerator. The generator is stacked by 15 planar-plate Blumlein pulse forming lines (PFL). Each Blumlein PFL consists of two solid-state planar transmission lines, a GaAs photoconductive semiconductor switch, and a laser diode trigger. The key components of the generator and the experimental results are reported in this paper.

Optical trapping performance of dielectric-metallic patchy particles

PubMed Central

Lawson, Joseph L.; Jenness, Nathan J.; Clark, Robert L.

2015-01-01

We demonstrate a series of simulation experiments examining the optical trapping behavior of composite micro-particles consisting of a small metallic patch on a spherical dielectric bead. A full parameter space of patch shapes, based on current state of the art manufacturing techniques, and optical properties of the metallic film stack is examined. Stable trapping locations and optical trap stiffness of these particles are determined based on the particle design and potential particle design optimizations are discussed. A final test is performed examining the ability to incorporate these composite particles with standard optical trap metrology technologies. PMID:26832054

Longitudinal-bending mode micromotor using multilayer piezoelectric actuator.

PubMed

Yao, K; Koc, B; Uchino, K

2001-07-01

Longitudinal-bending mode ultrasonic motors with a diameter of 3 mm were fabricated using stacked multilayer piezoelectric actuators, which were self-developed from hard lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic. A bending vibration was converted from a longitudinal vibration with a longitudinal-bending coupler. The motors could be bidirectionally operated by changing driving frequency. Their starting and braking torque were analyzed based on the transient velocity response. With a load of moment of inertia 2.5 x 10(-7) kgm2, the motor showed a maximum starting torque of 127.5 microNm. The braking torque proved to be a constant independent on the motor's driving conditions and was roughly equivalent to the maximum starting torque achievable with our micromotors.

Localized temperature stability of low temperature cofired ceramics

DOEpatents

Dai, Steven Xunhu

2013-11-26

The present invention is directed to low temperature cofired ceramic modules having localized temperature stability by incorporating temperature coefficient of resonant frequency compensating materials locally into a multilayer LTCC module. Chemical interactions can be minimized and physical compatibility between the compensating materials and the host LTCC dielectrics can be achieved. The invention enables embedded resonators with nearly temperature-independent resonance frequency.

Active voltage contrast imaging of cross-sectional surface of multilayer ceramic capacitor using helium ion microscopy

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

Sakai, C., E-mail: SAKAI.Chikako@nims.go.jp; Ishida, N.; Masuda, H.

2016-08-01

We studied active voltage contrast (AVC) imaging using helium ion microscopy (HIM). We observed secondary electron (SE) images of the cross-sectional surface of multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) with and without a voltage applied to the internal electrodes. When no voltage was applied, we obtained an image reflecting the material contrast between the Ni internal electrode region and the BaTiO{sub 3} dielectric region of the cross-sectional surface of the MLCC. When a voltage was applied, the electrical potential difference between the grounded and the positively biased internal electrodes affected the contrast (voltage contrast). Moreover, attenuation of the SE intensity from themore » grounded to the positively biased internal electrodes was observed in the dielectric region. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements of the contact potential difference (CPD) were performed on the same sample. By using the AVC image from the HIM observation and the CPD image from the KPFM measurement, we could quantitatively evaluate the electrical potential. We think that the results of this study will lead to an expansion in the number of applications of HIM.« less

Single resonance monolithic Fabry-Perot filters formed by volume Bragg gratings and multilayer dielectric mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lumeau, Julien; Koc, Cihan; Mokhun, Oleksiy; Smirnov, Vadim; Lequime, Michel; Glebov, Leonid B.

2012-02-01

High efficiency reflecting volume Bragg gratings (VBGs) recorded in PTR glass plates have shown un-preceded performances that make them very good candidates for narrowband spectral filtering with sub-nanometer spectral widths. However, decreasing the bandwidth to value below 30-50 pm is very challenging as it requires increasing the thickness of the RBG to more than 15-20 mm. To overcome this limitation, we propose a new approach which is a monolithic Fabry-Perot cavity which consists from a reflecting VBG with a multilayer dielectric mirror (MDM) deposited on its surface. A VBG with a grating vector perpendicular to its surface and a MDM produce a Fabry-Perot resonator with a single transmission band inside of the reflection spectrum of the VBG. We present a theoretical description of this new class of filters that allow achieving a single ultra-narrowband resonance associated with several hundred nanometers rejection band. Then we show the methods for designing and fabricating such filter. Finally, we present the steps that we followed in order to fabricate a first prototype for 852 nm and 1062 nm region that demonstrates a 30 pm bandwidth, 90+% transmission at resonance and a good agreement with theoretical simulation.

Multifunctional graded dielectrics fabricated using dry powder printing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Good, Austin J.; Roper, David; Good, Brandon; Yarlagadda, Shridhar; Mirotznik, Mark S.

2017-09-01

The ability to fabricate multifunctional devices that combine good structural properties with embedded electromagnetic functionality has many practical applications, including antireflective surfaces for structural radomes, load bearing conformal antennas, integrated RF transmission lines and passive beam forming networks. We describe here a custom made 3D printer that can print high dielectric constant ceramic powders within a low-loss structural composite substrate to produce mechanically robust parts with integrated graded dielectric properties. We fabricated a number of these parts and evaluated their anisotropic dielectric properties by determining the complete permittivity tensor of the printed samples as a function of local powder weight. This data was then experimentally validated using two practical examples: a Chebyshev antireflective stack and a 2D passive beamsteering network. The results of both electromagnetic systems displayed acceptable agreement between the simulated and measured results. This agreement shows that powder printing is a potential approach for fabricating spatially graded dielectric electromagnetic systems. This paper was submitted for review on 15 February 2017. The project is funded by the Office of Naval Research, Code 331.

Investigation on interfacial and electrical properties of Ge MOS capacitor with different NH3-plasma treatment procedure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiaoyu; Xu, Jingping; Liu, Lu; Cheng, Zhixiang; Huang, Yong; Gong, Jingkang

2017-08-01

The effects of different NH3-plasma treatment procedures on interfacial and electrical properties of Ge MOS capacitors with stacked gate dielectric of HfTiON/TaON were investigated. The NH3-plasma treatment was performed at different steps during fabrication of the stacked gate dielectric, i.e. before or after interlayer (TaON) deposition, or after deposition of high-k dielectric (HfTiON). It was found that the excellent interface quality with an interface-state density of 4.79 × 1011 eV-1 cm-2 and low gate leakage current (3.43 × 10-5 A/cm2 at {V}{{g}}=1 {{V}}) could be achieved for the sample with NH3-plasma treatment directly on the Ge surface before TaON deposition. The involved mechanisms are attributed to the fact that the NH3-plasma can directly react with the Ge surface to form more Ge-N bonds, i.e. more GeO x Ny, which effectively blocks the inter-diffusion of elements and suppresses the formation of unstable GeO x interfacial layer, and also passivates oxygen vacancies and dangling bonds near/at the interface due to more N incorporation and decomposed H atoms from the NH3-plasma. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61176100, 61274112).

Exciton-phonon coupling in diindenoperylene thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heinemeyer, U.; Scholz, R.; Gisslén, L.; Alonso, M. I.; Ossó, J. O.; Garriga, M.; Hinderhofer, A.; Kytka, M.; Kowarik, S.; Gerlach, A.; Schreiber, F.

2008-08-01

We investigate exciton-phonon coupling and exciton transfer in diindenoperylene (DIP) thin films on oxidized Si substrates by analyzing the dielectric function determined by variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. Since the molecules in the thin-film phase form crystallites that are randomly oriented azimuthally and highly oriented along the surface normal, DIP films exhibit strongly anisotropic optical properties with uniaxial symmetry. This anisotropy can be determined by multiple sample analysis. The thin-film spectrum is compared with a monomer spectrum in solution, which reveals similar vibronic subbands and a Huang-Rhys parameter of S≈0.87 for an effective internal vibration at ℏωeff=0.17eV . However, employing these parameters the observed dielectric function of the DIP films cannot be described by a pure Frenkel exciton model, and the inclusion of charge-transfer (CT) states becomes mandatory. A model Hamiltonian is parametrized with density-functional theory calculations of single DIP molecules and molecule pairs in the stacking geometry of the thin-film phase, revealing the vibronic coupling constants of DIP in its excited and charged states together with electron and hole transfer integrals along the stack. From a fit of the model calculation to the observed dielectric tensor, we find the lowest CT transition E00CT at 0.26±0.05eV above the neutral molecular excitation energy E00F , which is an important parameter for device applications.

Effects of doping and bias voltage on the screening in AAA-stacked trilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadi, Yawar; Moradian, Rostam; Shirzadi Tabar, Farzad

2014-09-01

We calculate the static polarization of AAA-stacked trilayer graphene (TLG) and study its screening properties within the random phase approximation (RPA) in all undoped, doped and biased regimes. We find that the static polarization of undoped AAA-stacked TLG is a combination of the doped and undoped single-layer graphene static polarization. This leads to an enhancement of the dielectric background constant along a Thomas-Fermi screening with the Thomas-Fermi wave vector which is independent of carrier concentrations and a 1/r3 power law decay for the long-distance behavior of the screened Coulomb potential. We show that effects of a bias voltage can be taken into account by a renormalization of the interlayer hopping energy to a new bias-voltage-dependent value, indicating screening properties of AAA-stacked TLG can be tuned electrically. We also find that screening properties of doped AAA-stacked TLG, when μ exceeds √{2}γ, are similar to that of doped SLG only depending on doping. While for μ<√{2}γ, its screening properties are combination of SLG and AA-stacked bilayer graphene screening properties and they are determined by doping and the interlayer hopping energy.

Studies of the resonant interaction of photons with surface plasmons and sub-wavelength apetures in metallo-dielectric structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stark, Peter Randolph Hazard

Since the publication of the work by Thomas Ebbesen, et al. in 1998 on the extraordinary optical transmission of photons through sub-wavelength apertures in metallic films there has been tremendous interest in the phenomenon and applications of it. This dissertation is a compilation of investigations into applications of the extraordinary optical transmission through apertures in metallo-dielectric structures. Asymmetric metallo-dielectric structures (structures in which the dielectric functions of the dielectrics are not equivalent in a dielectric/metal film/dielectric stack) are fabricated by either sputtering or thermal evaporation. Apertures in the metal film are milled using a focused ion beam instrument. Transmission of photons through the apertures is characterized by the following photosensitive methods: direct exposure of photoresist, exposure of charged coupled devices through intermediate optics, direct exposure of a fluorescent medium and subsequent collection through intermediate optics and subsequent collection via photomultiplier tubes and CCD, collection by a photocathodic material and direct collection by photomultiplier tubes. Results indicate not only the extraordinary transmission discovered by Ebbesen et al.; but, in contravention to previously held theory, that photons emitted from such subwavelength apertures in asymmetric metallo-dielectric structures (aperture diameters typically

Multilayer on-chip stacked Fresnel zone plates: Hard x-ray fabrication and soft x-ray simulations

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

Li, Kenan; Wojcik, Michael J.; Ocola, Leonidas E.

2015-11-01

Fresnel zone plates are widely used as x-ray nanofocusing optics. To achieve high spatial resolution combined with good focusing efficiency, high aspect ratio nanolithography is required, and one way to achieve that is through multiple e-beam lithography writing steps to achieve on-chip stacking. A two-step writing process producing 50 nm finest zone width at a zone thickness of 1.14 µm for possible hard x-ray applications is shown here. The authors also consider in simulations the case of soft x-ray focusing where the zone thickness might exceed the depth of focus. In this case, the authors compare on-chip stacking with, andmore » without, adjustment of zone positions and show that the offset zones lead to improved focusing efficiency. The simulations were carried out using a multislice propagation method employing Hankel transforms.« less

Coexistence of high performance resistance and capacitance memory based on multilayered metal-oxide structures

PubMed Central

Yan, Z. B.; Liu, J. -M.

2013-01-01

The Au/DyMnO3/Nb:SrTiO3/Au stack was demonstrated to be not only a high performance memristor but also a good memcapacitor. The switching time is below 10 ns, the retention is longer than 105 s, and the change ratio of resistance (or capacitance) is larger than 100 over the 108 switching cycles. Moreover, this stack has a broad range of intermediate states that are tunable by the operating voltages. It is indicated that the memory effects originate from the Nb:SrTiO3/Au junction where the barrier profile is electrically modulated. The serial connected Au/DyMnO3/Nb:SrTiO3 stack behaves as a high nonlinear resistor paralleling with a capacitor, which raises the capacitance change ratio and enhances the memory stability of the device. PMID:23963467

Cassettes for solid-oxide fuel cell stacks and methods of making the same

DOEpatents

Weil, K. Scott; Meinhardt, Kerry D; Sprenkle, Vincent L

2012-10-23

Solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack assembly designs are consistently investigated to develop an assembly that provides optimal performance, and durability, within desired cost parameters. A new design includes a repeat unit having a SOFC cassette and being characterized by a three-component construct. The three components include an oxidation-resistant, metal window frame hermetically joined to an electrolyte layer of a multi-layer, anode-supported ceramic cell and a pre-cassette including a separator plate having a plurality of vias that provide electrical contact between an anode-side collector within the pre-cassette and a cathode-side current collector of an adjacent cell. The third component is a cathode-side seal, which includes a standoff that supports a cathode channel spacing between each of the cassettes in a stack. Cassettes are formed by joining the pre-cassette and the window frame.

Device considerations and characterizations of pre and post fabricated GaAs based pHEMTs using multilayer 3D MMIC technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alim, Mohammad A.; Ali, Mayahsa M.; Haris, Norshakila; Kyabaggu, Peter B. K.; Rezazadeh, Ali A.

2017-05-01

This study focuses on the characterization of two 0.5 μm gate-length double heterojunction AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs pHEMTs using pre and post fabricated vertical oriented multilayer 3D monolithic microwave integrated (MMIC) circuit technology. The effects of the presence of 3D components above the active layer were accomplished by means of capacitance-voltage measurement, on-wafer DC and S-parameter measurements and two-tone intermodulation distortion measurement. The barrier height, donor concentration in the barrier layer, existing two-dimensional electron gas, output current, off and on state leakage, transconductance, cut-off frequency, small signal model parameters, gain, minimum noise figures and nonlinear distortion behavior reveals no significant performance degradation. Furthermore the fundamental device properties such as the depletion depth d, the sheet charge densities of the 2-DEG, n s, filed dependent mobility, μ, and the effective carrier velocity, v eff is not much affected due to multilayer processing. Less than 5% changes in magnitude of the device parameters are realized between the pre and post fabricated multilayer 3D MMIC technology. These effective comparisons of the both device are useful for future designs and optimizations of multilayer vertical stacked 3D MMICs.

A comparison of LIDT behavior of metal-dielectric mirrors in ns and ps pulse regime at 1030 nm with regard to the coating technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Škoda, Václav; Vanda, Jan; Uxa, Štěpán

2017-11-01

Several sets of mirror samples with multilayer system Ta2O5/SiO2 on silver metal layer were manufactured using either PVD or IAD coating technology. Both BK7 and fused silica substrates were used for preparation of samples. Laserinduced- damage-threshold (LIDT) of metal-dielectric mirrors was tested using a laser apparatus working at 1030 nm wavelength, in ns and ps pulse length domains in S-on-1 test mode. The measured damage threshold values at 45 deg angle of incidence and P-polarization were compared for different pulse length, substrate materials and coating technology.

Graphene/semicrystalline-carbon derived from amylose films for supercapacitor application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deraman, M.; Sazali, N. E. S.; Hanappi, M. F. Y. M.; Tajuddin, N. S. M.; Hamdan, E.; Suleman, M.; Othman, M. A. R.; Omar, R.; Hashim, M. A.; Basri, N. H.; Nor, N. S. M.; Dolah, B. N. M.; Noor, A. M.; Jasni, M. R. M.

2016-08-01

Graphene/semicrystalline-carbon in the form of carbon flakes is produced by carbonization up to 600, 700, 800, 900 and 1000°C, respectively, of the amylose films prepared by a casting method on copper foil substrate. The carbon flakes are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method to determine their microcrystallite interlayer spacing, width and stack-height; and Raman spectroscopy (RS) method to obtain structural information from the D-, D2- and G-bands peak-intensities. The XRD results show that increase in carbonization temperature lead to ~(1-3%), ~85% and ~30%increase in the microcrystallites interlayer spacing, width and stack-height, respectively, indicating that a larger growth of microcrytallite of carbon flakes occurs in the direction parallel to (001) plane or film planar surface. The specific surface area of carbon flakes estimated from the XRD results in decreases from ~4400 to ~3400 m2/g, corresponding to the specific capacitance between ~500 to ~400 F/g, which are well within the range of specific capacitance for typical electrodes carbon for supercapacitor application. The RS results show that the multilayer graphene co-exist with semicrystalline- carbon within the carbon flakes, with the multilayer graphene relative quantities increase with increasing carbonization temperature.

Investigation on plasmonic responses in multilayered nanospheres including asymmetry and spatial nonlocal effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Tianyu; Shi, Yi; Liu, Hui; Chen, Feng; Ma, Xikui; Mittra, Raj

2017-12-01

In this work, we present a rigorous approach for analyzing the optical response of multilayered spherical nano-particles comprised of either plasmonic metal or dielectric, when there is no longer radial symmetry and when nonlocality is included. The Lorenz-Mie theory is applied, and a linearized hydrodynamic Drude model as well as the general nonlocal optical response model for the metals are employed. Additional boundary conditions, viz., the continuity of normal components of polarization current density and the continuity of first-order pressure of free electron density, respectively, are incorporated when handling interfaces involving metals. The application of spherical addition theorems, enables us to express a spherical harmonic about one origin to spherical harmonics about a different origin, and leads to a linear system of equations for the inward- and outward-field modal coefficients for all the layers in the nanoparticle. Scattering matrices at interfaces are obtained and cascaded to obtain the expansion coefficients, to yield the final solution. Through extensive modelling of stratified concentric and eccentric metal-involved spherical nanoshells illuminating by a plane wave, we show that, within a nonlocal description, significant modifications of plasmonic response appear, e.g. a blue-shift in the extinction / scattering spectrum and a broadening spectrum of the resonance. In addition, it has been demonstrated that core-shell nanostructures provide an option for tunable Fano-resonance generators. The proposed method shows its capability and flexibility to analyze the nonlocal response of eccentric hybrid metal-dielectric multilayer structures as well as adjoined metal-involved nanoparticles, even when the number of layers is large.

Control of resonant wavelength from organic light-emitting materials by use of a Fabry-Perot microcavity structure.

PubMed

Jung, Boo Young; Kim, Nam Young; Lee, Changhee; Hwangbo, Chang Kwon; Seoul, Chang

2002-06-01

We report the fabrication of Fabry-Perot microcavity structures with the organic light-emitting material tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3) and derive their optical properties by measuring their photoluminescence (PL) and absorption. Silver and a TiO2-SiO2 multilayer were used as metal and dielectric reflectors, respectively, in a Fabry-Perot microcavity structure. Three types of microcavity were prepared: type A consisted of [air[Ag[Alq3]Ag]glass]; type B, of [air[dielectric[Alq3]dielectric]glass]; and type C, of [air[Ag[Alq2]dielectric]glass]. A bare Alq3 film of [air[Alq3]glass] had its PL peak near 514 nm, and its full width at half-maximum (FWHM) was 80 nm. The broad FWHM of a bare Alq3 film was reduced to 15-27.5, 7-10.5, and 16-16.6 nm for microcavity types A, B, and C, respectively. Also, we could control the PL peak of the microcavity structure by changing the spacer thickness, the amount of phase change on reflection, and the angle of incidence.

Gate bias stress stability under light irradiation for indium zinc oxide thin-film transistors based on anodic aluminium oxide gate dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Min; Lan, Linfeng; Xu, Miao; Wang, Lei; Xu, Hua; Luo, Dongxiang; Zou, Jianhua; Tao, Hong; Yao, Rihui; Peng, Junbiao

2011-11-01

Thin-film transistors (TFTs) using indium zinc oxide as the active layer and anodic aluminium oxide (Al2O3) as the gate dielectric layer were fabricated. The device showed an electron mobility of as high as 10.1 cm2 V-1 s-1, an on/off current ratio of as high as ~108, and a turn-on voltage (Von) of only -0.5 V. Furthermore, this kind of TFTs was very stable under positive bias illumination stress. However, when the device experienced negative bias illumination stress, the threshold voltage shifted to the positive direction. It was found that the instability under negative bias illumination stress (NBIS) was due to the electrons from the Al gate trapping into the Al2O3 dielectric when exposed to the illuminated light. Using a stacked structure of Al2O3/SiO2 dielectrics, the device became more stable under NBIS.

Energy harvesting with stacked dielectric elastomer transducers: Nonlinear theory, optimization, and linearized scaling law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tutcuoglu, A.; Majidi, C.

2014-12-01

Using principles of damped harmonic oscillation with continuous media, we examine electrostatic energy harvesting with a "soft-matter" array of dielectric elastomer (DE) transducers. The array is composed of infinitely thin and deformable electrodes separated by layers of insulating elastomer. During vibration, it deforms longitudinally, resulting in a change in the capacitance and electrical enthalpy of the charged electrodes. Depending on the phase of electrostatic loading, the DE array can function as either an actuator that amplifies small vibrations or a generator that converts these external excitations into electrical power. Both cases are addressed with a comprehensive theory that accounts for the influence of viscoelasticity, dielectric breakdown, and electromechanical coupling induced by Maxwell stress. In the case of a linearized Kelvin-Voigt model of the dielectric, we obtain a closed-form estimate for the electrical power output and a scaling law for DE generator design. For the complete nonlinear model, we obtain the optimal electrostatic voltage input for maximum electrical power output.

Metal-doped graphene layers composed with boron nitride-graphene as an insulator: a nano-capacitor.

PubMed

Monajjemi, Majid

2014-11-01

A model of a nanoscale dielectric capacitor composed of a few dopants has been investigated in this study. This capacitor includes metallic graphene layers which are separated by an insulating medium containing a few h-BN layers. It has been observed that the elements from group IIIA of the periodic table are more suitable as dopants for hetero-structures of the {metallic graphene/hBN/metallic graphene} capacitors compared to those from groups IA or IIA. In this study, we have specifically focused on the dielectric properties of different graphene/h-BN/graphene including their hetero-structure counterparts, i.e., Boron-graphene/h-BN/Boron-graphene, Al-graphene/h-BN/Al-graphene, Mg-graphene/h-BN/Mg-graphene, and Be-graphene/h-BN/Be-graphene stacks for monolayer form of dielectrics. Moreover, we studied the multi dielectric properties of different (h-BN)n/graphene hetero-structures of Boron-graphene/(h-BN)n/Boron-graphene.

Broadband infrared absorbers with stacked double chromium ring resonators

DOE PAGES

Deng, Huixu; Stan, Liliana; Czaplewski, David A.; ...

2017-10-31

A broadband absorber in the infrared wavelength range from 1 μm up to 5 μm is designed and demonstrated with stacked double chromium ring resonators on a reflective chromium mirror. The near-perfect broadband absorption is realized by combining the multilayer impedance match in the short wavelength range and the double plasmonic resonances in the long wavelength range, which is illustrated with an equivalent circuit model for the impedance analysis. The broadband absorber is proved to be angle-insensitive and polarization-independent due to the geometrical symmetry. Lastly, the thermal analysis for heat generation and temperature distributions inside the absorber structure is alsomore » investigated.« less

Broadband infrared absorbers with stacked double chromium ring resonators

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

Deng, Huixu; Stan, Liliana; Czaplewski, David A.

A broadband absorber in the infrared wavelength range from 1 μm up to 5 μm is designed and demonstrated with stacked double chromium ring resonators on a reflective chromium mirror. The near-perfect broadband absorption is realized by combining the multilayer impedance match in the short wavelength range and the double plasmonic resonances in the long wavelength range, which is illustrated with an equivalent circuit model for the impedance analysis. The broadband absorber is proved to be angle-insensitive and polarization-independent due to the geometrical symmetry. Lastly, the thermal analysis for heat generation and temperature distributions inside the absorber structure is alsomore » investigated.« less

Data-adaptive harmonic spectra and multilayer Stuart-Landau models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chekroun, Mickaël D.; Kondrashov, Dmitri

2017-09-01

Harmonic decompositions of multivariate time series are considered for which we adopt an integral operator approach with periodic semigroup kernels. Spectral decomposition theorems are derived that cover the important cases of two-time statistics drawn from a mixing invariant measure. The corresponding eigenvalues can be grouped per Fourier frequency and are actually given, at each frequency, as the singular values of a cross-spectral matrix depending on the data. These eigenvalues obey, furthermore, a variational principle that allows us to define naturally a multidimensional power spectrum. The eigenmodes, as far as they are concerned, exhibit a data-adaptive character manifested in their phase which allows us in turn to define a multidimensional phase spectrum. The resulting data-adaptive harmonic (DAH) modes allow for reducing the data-driven modeling effort to elemental models stacked per frequency, only coupled at different frequencies by the same noise realization. In particular, the DAH decomposition extracts time-dependent coefficients stacked by Fourier frequency which can be efficiently modeled—provided the decay of temporal correlations is sufficiently well-resolved—within a class of multilayer stochastic models (MSMs) tailored here on stochastic Stuart-Landau oscillators. Applications to the Lorenz 96 model and to a stochastic heat equation driven by a space-time white noise are considered. In both cases, the DAH decomposition allows for an extraction of spatio-temporal modes revealing key features of the dynamics in the embedded phase space. The multilayer Stuart-Landau models (MSLMs) are shown to successfully model the typical patterns of the corresponding time-evolving fields, as well as their statistics of occurrence.

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in Mo/Co2FeAl0.5Si0.5/MgO/Mo multilayers with optimal Mo buffer layer thickness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saravanan, L.; Raja, M. Manivel; Prabhu, D.; Pandiyarasan, V.; Ikeda, H.; Therese, H. A.

2018-05-01

Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy (PMA) was realized in as-deposited Mo(10)/Co2FeAl0.5Si0.5(CFAS)(3)/MgO(0.5)/Mo multilayer stacks with large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy energy (Keff). PMA of this multilayer is found to be strongly dependent on the thickness of the individual CFAS (tCFAS), Mo (tMo) and MgO (tMgO) layers and annealing temperatures. The interactions at the Mo/CFAS/MgO interfaces are critical to induce PMA and are tuned by the interfacial oxidation. The major contribution to PMA is due to iron oxide at the CFAS/MgO interface. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopic (FT-IR) studies further ascertain this. However, an adequate oxidation of MgO and the formation of (0 2 4) and (0 1 8) planes of α-Fe2O3 at the optimal Mo buffer layer thickness is mainly inducing PMA in Mo/CFAS/MgO/Mo stack. Microstructural changes in the films are observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) demonstrates the oxidation of CFAS/MgO interface and the formation of Fe-O bonds confirming that the real origin of PMA in Mo/CFAS/MgO is due to hybridization of Fe (3dz2) and O (2pz) orbitals and the resulted spin-orbit interaction at their interface. The half-metallic nature CFAS with Mo layer exhibiting PMA can be a potential candidate as p-MTJs electrodes for the new generation spintronic devices.

Structural and electronic properties of multilayer graphene on monolayer hexagonal boron nitride/nickel (111) interface system: A van der Waals density functional study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yelgel, Celal

2016-02-01

The structural and electronic properties of multilayer graphene adsorbed on monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)/Ni(111) interface system are investigated using the density functional theory with a recently developed non-local van der Waals density functional (rvv10). The most energetically favourable configuration for a monolayer h-BN/Ni(111) interface is found to be N atom atop the Ni atoms and B atom in fcc site with the interlayer distance of 2.04 Å and adsorption energy of 302 meV/BN. Our results show that increasing graphene layers on a monolayer h-BN/Ni(111) interface leads to a weakening of the interfacial interaction between the monolayer h-BN and Ni(111) surface. The adsorption energy of graphene layers on the h-BN/Ni(111) interface is found to be in the range of the 50-120 meV/C atom as the vertical distance from h-BN to the bottommost graphene layers decreases. With the adsorption of a multilayer graphene on the monolayer h-BN/Ni(111) interface system, the band gap of 0.12 eV and 0.25 eV opening in monolayer graphene and bilayer graphene near the K point is found with an upward shifting of the Fermi level. However, a stacking-sensitive band gap is opened in trilayer graphene. We obtain the band gap of 0.35 eV close to the K point with forming a Mexican hat band structure for ABC-stacked trilayer graphene.

Vacancy-type defects in TiO2/SiO2/SiC dielectric stacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coleman, P. G.; Burrows, C. P.; Mahapatra, R.; Wright, N. G.

2007-07-01

Open-volume (vacancy-type) point defects have been observed in ˜80-nm-thick titanium dioxide films grown on silicon dioxide/4H silicon carbide substrates as stacks with high dielectric constant for power device applications, using variable-energy positron annihilation spectroscopy. The concentration of vacancies decreases as the titanium dioxide growth temperature is increased in the range from 700to1000°C, whereas grain boundaries form in the polycrystalline material at the highest growth temperatures. It is proposed that the optimal electrical performance for films grown at 800°C reflects a balance between decreasing vacancy concentration and increasing grain boundary formation. The concentration of vacancies at the silicon dioxide/silicon carbide interface appears to saturate after 2.5h oxidation at 1150°C. A supplementary result suggests that the quality of the 10-μm-thick deposited silicon carbide epilayer is compromised at depths of about 2μm and beyond, possibly by the migration of impurities and/or other defects from the standard-grade highly doped 4H silicon carbide wafer beneath the epilayer during oxidation.

Manufacturing Methods and Technology for Microwave Stripline Circuits

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-02-26

to the dielectric material so It does not peel during the etching and subsequent processing. The copper cladding requirements were defined by MIL-F...the B-stage,giv- ing acceptable peel strengths per the military requirements. For PTFE sub- strata printed wiring boards that are laminated using a...examining multilayers for measles and delaminations, and analytically by performing peel tests and glass transition temperatures. "STRIPLINE

Herpin effective media resonant underlayers and resonant overlayer designs for ultra-high NA interference lithography.

PubMed

Bourke, Levi; Blaikie, Richard J

2017-12-01

Dielectric waveguide resonant underlayers are employed in ultra-high NA interference photolithography to effectively double the depth of field. Generally a single high refractive index waveguiding layer is employed. Here multilayer Herpin effective medium methods are explored to develop equivalent multilayer waveguiding layers. Herpin equivalent resonant underlayers are shown to be suitable replacements provided at least one layer within the Herpin trilayer supports propagating fields. In addition, a method of increasing the intensity incident upon the photoresist using resonant overlayers is also developed. This method is shown to greatly enhance the intensity within the photoresist making the use of thicker, safer, non-absorbing, low refractive index matching liquids potentially suitable for large-scale applications.

Characteristics of high-k gate dielectric formed by the oxidation of sputtered Hf/Zr/Hf thin films on the Si substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, H. D.; Roh, Y.; Lee, J. E.; Kang, H.-B.; Yang, C.-W.; Lee, N.-E.

2004-07-01

We have investigated the effects of high temperature annealing on the physical and electrical properties of multilayered high-k gate oxide [HfSixOy/HfO2/intermixed-layer(IL)/ZrO2/intermixed-layer(IL)/HfO2] in metal-oxide-semiconductor device. The multilayered high-k films were formed after oxidizing the Hf/Zr/Hf films deposited directly on the Si substrate. The subsequent N2 annealing at high temperature (>= 700 °C) not only results in the polycrystallization of the multilayered high-k films, but also causes the diffusion of Zr. The latter transforms the HfSixOy/HfO2/IL/ZrO2/IL/HfO2 film into the Zr-doped HfO2 film, and improves electrical properties in general. However, the thin SiOx interfacial layer starts to form if annealing temperature increases over 700 °C, deteriorating the equivalent oxide thickness. .

Formation of silicides in annealed periodic multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maury, H.; Jonnard, P.; Le Guen, K.; André, J.-M.

2009-05-01

Periodic multilayers of nanometric period are widely used as optical components for the X-ray and extreme UV (EUV) ranges, in X-ray space telescopes, X-ray microscopes, EUV photolithography or synchrotron beamlines for example. Their optical performances depend on the quality of the interfaces between the various layers: chemical interdiffusion or mechanical roughness shifts the application wavelength and can drastically decrease the reflectance. Since under high thermal charge interdiffusion is known to get enhanced, the study of the thermal stability of such structures is essential to understand how interfacial compounds develop. We have characterized X-ray and EUV siliconcontaining multilayers (Mo/Si, Sc/Si and Mg/SiC) as a function of the annealing temperature (up to 600°C) using two non-destructive methods. X-ray emission from the silicon atoms, describing the Si valence states, is used to determine the chemical nature of the compounds present in the interphases while X-ray reflectivity in the hard and soft X-ray ranges can be related to the optical properties. In the three cases, interfacial metallic (Mo, Sc, Mg) silicides are evidenced and the thickness of the interphase increases with the annealing temperature. For Mo/Si and Sc/Si multilayers, silicides are even present in the as-prepared multilayers. Characteristic parameters of the stacks are determined: composition of the interphases, thickness and roughness of the layers and interphases if any. Finally, we have evidenced the maximum temperature of application of these multilayers to minimize interdiffusion.

Study of PECVD films containing flourine and carbon and diamond like carbon films for ultra low dielectric constant interlayer dielectric applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sundaram, Nandini Ganapathy

Lowering the capacitance of Back-end-of-line (BEOL) structures by decreasing the dielectric permittivity of the interlayer dielectric material in integrated circuits (ICs) lowers device delay times, power consumption and parasitic capacitance. a:C-F films that are thermally stable at 400°C were deposited using tetrafluorocarbon and disilane (5% by volume in Helium) as precursors. The bulk dielectric constant (k) of the film was optimized from 2.0 / 2.2 to 1.8 / 1.91 as-deposited and after heat treatment. Films, with highly promising k-values but discarded for failing to meet shrinkage rate requirements were salvaged by utilizing a novel extended heat treatment scheme. Film properties including chemical bond structure, F/C ratio, refractive index, surface planarity, contact angle, dielectric constant, flatband voltage shift, breakdown field potential and optical energy gap were evaluated by varying process pressure, power, substrate temperature and flow rate ratio (FRR) of processing gases. Both XPS and FTIR results confirmed that the stoichiometry of the ultra-low k (ULK) film is close to that of CF2 with no oxygen. C-V characteristics indicated the presence of negative charges that are either interface trapped charges or bulk charges. Average breakdown field strength was in the range of 2-8 MV/cm while optical energy gap varied between 2.2 eV and 3.4 eV. Irradiation or plasma damage significantly impacts the ability to integrate the film in VSLI circuits. The film was evaluated after exposure to oxygen plasma and HMDS vapors and no change in the FTIR spectra or refractive index was observed. Film is resistant to attack by developers CD 26 and KOH. While the film dissolves in UVN-30 negative resist, it is impermeable to PGDMA. A 12% increase in dielectric constant and a decrease in contact angle from 65° to 47° was observed post e-beam exposure. The modified Gaseous Electronics Conference (mGEC) reference cell was used to deposit DLC films using CH4 and Argon as precursors. Pre and post-anneal structural properties of the deposited thin film were studied using laser excitation of 633 nm in a Jobin Yvon Labram high-resolution micro-Raman spectrometer. The film was further characterized using AFM, FTIR, XRD, goniometry and electrical testing. Average film roughness as measured by AFM was less than 1 nm, the k-value was 2.5, and the contact angle with water was 42°. Lastly, layered dielectric films comprising of Diamond like Carbon (DLC) and Amorphous Fluorocarbon (a:C-F) were generated using three different stack configurations and subsequently evaluated. Seven unique process conditions generated promising stacks with k-values between 1.69 and 1.95. Of these, only one film exhibited very low shrinkage rates acceptable for semiconductor device processing. Annealed a:C-F films with DLC top coat are similar in bonding structure to as deposited FC films proving that DLC deposition significantly modified the bonding structure of the underlying annealed a:C-F film. Stacks comprised of a:C-F films with higher oxygen content, deposited using high FRRs exhibited both macro and microbuckling to a larger degree and extent. Film integrity was preserved by annealing the Fluorocarbon component or by providing a DLC base coat.

Multilayer Coatings for UV Spectral Range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miloushev, Ilko; Tenev, Tihomir; Peyeva, Rumiana; Panajotov, Krassimir

2010-01-01

Optical coatings for the UV spectral range play currently a significant role in the modern optical devices. For reducing of manufacturing cost the reliable design is essential. Therefore, better understanding of the optical properties of the used materials is indispensable for the proper design and manufacturing of the multilayer UV coatings. In this work we present some results on the preparation of reflective UV coatings. The implemented materials are magnesium fluoride and lanthanum fluoride. Their optical constants are determined from spectral characteristics of single layers in the 200-800 nm spectral range, obtained by thermal boat evaporation in high vacuum conditions. These results are subsequently used for the analysis of high reflection (HR) stack made of 40 layers deposited by the same deposition process.

Investigation of multilayer domains in large-scale CVD monolayer graphene by optical imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Yuanfang; Li, Zhenzhen; Wang, Wenhui; Guo, Xitao; Jiang, Jie; Nan, Haiyan; Ni, Zhenhua

2017-03-01

CVD graphene is a promising candidate for optoelectronic applications due to its high quality and high yield. However, multi-layer domains could inevitably form at the nucleation centers during the growth. Here, we propose an optical imaging technique to precisely identify the multilayer domains and also the ratio of their coverage in large-scale CVD monolayer graphene. We have also shown that the stacking disorder in twisted bilayer graphene as well as the impurities on the graphene surface could be distinguished by optical imaging. Finally, we investigated the effects of bilayer domains on the optical and electrical properties of CVD graphene, and found that the carrier mobility of CVD graphene is seriously limited by scattering from bilayer domains. Our results could be useful for guiding future optoelectronic applications of large-scale CVD graphene. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61422503, 61376104), the Open Research Funds of Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education (SEU, China), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

Theory of interaction-induced renormalization of Drude weight and plasmon frequency in chiral multilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiao; Tse, Wang-Kong

2017-02-01

We develop a theory for the optical conductivity of doped ABC-stacked multilayer graphene including the effects of electron-electron interactions. Applying the quantum kinetic formalism, we formulate a set of pseudospin Bloch equations that govern the dynamics of the nonequilibrium density matrix driven by an external ac electric field under the influence of Coulomb interactions. These equations reveal a dynamical mechanism that couples the Drude and interband responses arising from the chirality of pseudospin textures in multilayer graphene systems. We demonstrate that this results in an interaction-induced enhancement of the Drude weight and plasmon frequency strongly dependent on the pseudospin winding number. Using bilayer graphene as an example, we also study the influence of higher-energy bands and find that they contribute considerable renormalization effects not captured by a low-energy two-band description. We argue that this enhancement of Drude weight and plasmon frequency occurs generally in materials characterized by electronic chirality.